Marvin, SD to Omaha and Lincoln, NE

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I was about 90 minutes from Omaha when I got a message from my friend, Sarah, who lives in Lincoln. I called her back and we chatted for about ten minutes. Sarah and I did a show together in Washington, DC in the summer of 2005. She moved to NYC a few months after we returned to the States, then back home to Nebraska a while after that. We kept missing each other when she lived in New York, so I haven't seen her in over two years. We made plans to meet for lunch tomorrow, and since my schedule is more flexible, I decided to drive on through to Lincoln and stay at the Motel 6 there.

A quick side note about Motel 6 - they are cheap, they are clean (usually), and they all accept dogs. I'm not a stockholder, nor am I fan of Tom Bodett, but it is awfully convenient to know that I can bring Quincy. However... we'll come back to that in a sec.

Nebraska was not originally part of the plan. However, sometime before I left Indianapolis for the Western leg, I caught an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on Food Network. On this particular episode was a segment on Amato's, a cafe and catering company in Omaha. I've seen plenty of food porn that made me think, that looks pretty good. But there was something about Amato's that made me decide to drive about 450 miles out of my way and add Omaha to my itinerary.

However, I had to make sure that Quincy was taken care of first. When we got to Omaha, it was about 6:15. I figured we could be at the Motel 6 in Lincoln around 7:00, and I could be back at Amato's around 8:00. Although I did not know their hours for certain, I figured it was safe to assume a restaurant would stay open until 8:00 or later, even on a Tuesday.

We did make it to Lincoln by 7:00. But by the time I got checked in, moved our gear into the room, set up the crate, took Quincy on a walk, double-checked the directions, hit the restroom, remembered to bring Quincy his food, refueled the car and made it back to Omaha, it was about 9:25. Amato's was completely dark.

I found another restaurant up the road. Their door said they stopped serving at 9:30. Not wanting to be "that guy," I headed toward the Old Market section of downtown Omaha. What I found was a nice-looking selection of bars, taverns and restaurants, many of which appeared to be a bit on the spendy side. The places that specialized in serving food were all shutting down for the night - flipping chairs, mopping up, rushing the stragglers out without looking like they were rushing them. There were several bars that were still doing a pretty steady business for a Tuesday night, but I wasn't really in the mood for the deep-fried pub fare that many of these places seemed to offer. If their kitchens were still open, that is; I didn't check.

As I drove back to Lincoln, I thought that perhaps I should have gotten a room in Omaha. It would have definitely cut an hour and a half off of my driving time. However, I started to think that if it hadn't been for Quincy, I could have been at Amato's by 6:30. I wouldn't have had to check into a hotel first at all.

Traveling with Quincy requires a certain amount of planning. Everything in the car has to be placed in such a way that he can't get his teeth on it. He has a particualr affinity for things made of plastic and paper. Aside from the upholstery, theat encompasses about 75% of the stuff I brought with us. If he is with me in the car, I have a few choices to make: do I crack the window and leave him inside or do I tie him to something outside the car? If it's outside the car, I then have to select a parking spot away from traffic. Close to the building and I may be able to keep an eye on him, further away and there's less traffic, less chance of him getting hit, but then he panics more because he doesn't see me. Keep in mind, this thought process takes place every time I go into a building.

When Quincy sees me after an absence, whether for 20 minutes or four hours, you would think that I had been gone for a year. Quincy is 75 pounds of loyalty and love, jumping and licking and pawing to show how much he has missed me. It usually takes about 5 minutes to get him to calm down. I have to keep one hand on his collar in order to keep all four paws on the ground or else I could get a painful headbutt to the chin. (It happened once when he was a 30-pound puppy. I can't take a chance of repeating the experience now without proper medical coverage.) Then, once the initial desperation has passed, Quincy will do everything he can to rub against me and lick every square inch of exposed skin.

Taking a trip of this type - staying in a new place almost every night and spending so much time in the car - is stressful to a certain degree. My mother asked me the other day if I was having fun. I don't think "fun" is quite the right word for it. I am enjoying the experience, but it is still hard to travel every day. I'm still not entirely sure why I am taking this trip. However, I have a goal in mind - to travel as much of the country as I can in one go. Even though I haven't quite figured out the spiritual or intellectual portion of this trip, I have the luxury to figure it out as I go. And if I am not fortunate enough to sort it out by the time I finish my lap in New York, I have the rest of my life to look back on these weeks and figure out what it all means.

Quincy's purpose in all of this is tragically simple: he goes because I tell him to. As soon as he starts to become comfortable in one place, I pick him up and take him to the next. He doesn't get a chance to figure out the network of smells anywhere we go before I introduce him to a new one. Right when he adjusts to a new environment, I take him out of it. And when he returns to Indianapolis, he won't reflect on the trip. He won't ask what it all means. Where I can rationalize the stress that I feel, he can only feel it.

Less than a week into the trip, and I now think that it is a good idea to send Quincy back home to Indy. If necessary, I can lose a couple of days and drive him back myself. My mother may meet up with us halfway, somewhere near the Quad Cities on the Illinois/Iowa border. I may also put him on an airplane back, but I'm waiting until tomorrow to figure it out. Mom called a couple of the airlines tonight to see what the possibilities are. When you factor in the cost of fuel and time versus the cost of a doggie plane ticket, the cost is about the same.

I'm feeling guilty for not following through with my plan to travel the country with my dog, but I think that is less than the guilt I feel every day at not including him in the experiences I get to have. It's better to send him back to Indiana, to his home, than to drag him along on a trip in which he has no interest. Read the rest of this entry >>

Fargo, ND to Marvin, SD

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I rolled into Marvin about two hours ago. I will add the pictures shortly.

UPDATE: Here are the pictures I took of Marvin, SD. My mother told me that it was a pretty small town. I wasn't prepared how small it actually is.

Main Street

The park

The local watering hole

The fire station

Blue Cloud Abbey, wher my Uncle Stan lived for about 60 years, is about two miles outside of town. I wanted to stop through and see the place since I never took the opportunity while he was alive. When I arrived, I was unable to find anyone, but I heard the sound of motors running in the basement. When I went to investigate, I discovered six or seven people with mops and industrial shop vacs cleaning up a whole lot of water. It seems that a pipe in the basement ceiling burst shortly before I arrived.

I introduced myself to Brother Chris and asked if I could lend a hand. He handed me a mop and I got to work soaking up the water with everyone else. After an hour or so, we had gottn the floor dry enough that we could rely on strategically-placed fans to take care of the rest. It turns out that the room where the pipe burst is where they recently decided to relocate the Indian Research Center. There are several display cases containing beautiful artifacts. I don't know yet how badly the cases were damaged.

When we were finished, a woman named Colleen appeared, whom I met about 15 years ago, and re-introduced herself to me. She and her husband had come to Indianapolis to pick up my uncle. While he was visiting us, he became extremely ill. Paramedics came out, he went to the hospital, came back to our house, then the whole ordeal repeated the following night. I don't recall what was wrong with him, but the doctor ordered him not to drive. Colleen and her husband stayed wit us fo few days until Uncle Stan was well enough to return to South Dakota.

Back at Blue Cloud this afternoon, everyone decided that they should feed me and put me up for the night in exchange for my help with the mopping. I'll be joining the group for evening prayer and dinner shortly.

Unfortunately, as I was getting my things from the car, I dropped my phone flat on its screen. The closest T-Mobile store is 80.9 miles away, roughly in the direction from which I just came. I can still use the phone, I just don't know who is calling me, and texting is out of the question. However, Marvin is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so I don't have service in these parts anyway. Read the rest of this entry >>

Minneapolis to Fargo

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On my way out of the Minneapolis area I made two stops. The first was downtown near the Nicollet Mall to see the statue of Mary Tyler Moore, dedicated by TV Land way back in 2002.

We're gonna make it after all.

To the west of town, I stopped by Paisley Park Studios, which was built by Prince in 1987. It wasn't until I was leaving Minneapolis this morning that I found out that Prince doesn't live here anymore - he splits his time between LA and Toronto. If only I had known three weeks ago!


Not sure why I found this amusing, but Paisley Park is boxed in by a Kinder Care and la Petite Academy. Two kindergartens that close to the studios that Prince built.

About an hour and a half from Fargo, I got hit by a very rough thunderstorm for about ten minutes. As soon as I came through, I saw the weirdest cloud formation.


I don't think that this picture really captures what I saw because it took me a couple of minutes to get pulled over safely and take this. It looked as though the clouds had been grabbed by a large hand, and the fingers left an impression in the soft material. It gave the already gray clouds a much more ominous appearance.

It was about 6:00 When Quincy and I got into Fargo this evening. By the time we stopped for dinner and drove around for a bit, I decided that we should just stop for the night. As much as I wanted to find what nightlife there may be in Fargo, all of the bars I looked up were closed on Sundays. My friend Holly recommended that I check out Atomic Coffee on Broadway, which I'll do tomorrow morning for breakfast. After that, we'll be heading to Marvin, SD.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Minneapolis

I was pretty tired today and didn't leave the motel until about 4:00 PM. Quincy was also very tired and spent most of the day asleep at my feet. When I left, he put up very little resistance to going into his crate for the evening.

Mall of America is actually in Bloomington, MN. It's a suburb of Minneapolis about three-quarters of a mile from the Motel 6 where I was staying in Richfield, near the airport. It's big.

Really big. Really, very big. For a mall. And it has roller coasters. But basically, it's just a really big mall.

I rode on the Orange Streak, which runs around the entire area of the amusement park inside the mall. The first time I rode, the attendant noticed my camera in my hand and informed me that photography was not allowed on the ride. I apologized and put my camera away.

I got back on a few minutes later and did a better job of hiding my camera.



I walked around the mall for a little while, but really just felt like I was at any other mall I've ever been to which was owned by the Simon family. One unique feature of MoA was the QVC store.


I didn't actually go into any stores while I was at the Mall. Except the Lego store. That was pretty cool. So cool, I forgot to take pictures. Instead, here's a sculpture made with canned food I found while I was walking around:


I left the mall after about an hour and a half and headed into downtown Minneapolis. I started out going by the Guthrie Theatre. Unfortunately the photos did not turn out. I then headed toward St Anthony Main in search of some Minneapolis nightlife. I drove down a very nice-looking cobblestone street, but didn't feel like getting out of the car. I drove by the University of Minnesota (Dinkytown) and ended up back near where I started in Uptown near Lake and Lyndale.

I parked the car in the first free spot I could find and started walking back toward the heart of the activity. I stopped off in a Dunn Brothers' coffee shop to grab a cup and look over the City Pages to see what kind of activity that might lead to. I wound up just walking up and down the streets. There were a lot of folks out and several bars that I could have gone into, but I just wasn't feeling up to it.

I think that traveling alone will pose a special challenge for me, at least in major metropolitan areas. I would much rather go out in social settings where I know at least one or two other people. I'm not big on going out to bars alone. Fortunately, I will have several stops along the way where I am meeting up with people I know.

Heading out tomorrow for Fargo, then heading south to Marvin, SD. Read the rest of this entry >>

Chicago to Minneapolis

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I'm at the Motel 6 near the airport. And the Mall of America. Very sleepy. More tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry >>

Indy to Chicago

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I am in Chicago. 15 days after I left here, I am back on my friend Noah’s couch. I came up tonight in hopes of seeing Noah in Strawdog Theatre Company’s production of RUR.

Unfortunately, tonight was not one of their Thursday performances, but I did get to watch the cast run through three-quarters of the show. The story is about the handful of scientists who run a company that manufactures lifelike robots. One of the scientists starts making the robots smarter, they start a revolt and kill their human masters. At least, that’s what happens through the second act. I didn’t get to see the ending.

The cast ran the show in their street clothes, and they were obviously having a lot of fun with the run tonight, but it still looks like a great show. Sorry I am leaving tomorrow and won’t get to see the end.

I got my Indiana tags yesterday, but I didn’t want to write anything about it out of fear that I would jinx myself into staying in Indianapolis even longer. I’m basically about four days behind where I had hoped to be. Franca and I have been trying to work out when she would come visit me, but it has been difficult to do so without knowing where I’d be. Now that I am finally on the way, we can square away her travel plans.

I still have some notes from the last couple of weeks, which I will get posted soon. I’ve learned that it is extremely tricky to get things online from my notebook. Read the rest of this entry >>

Stuck in Indianapolis, or "The DMV Follies"

I am rolling around with DC tags on my car. They finally arrived while I was in Canada, although they arrived about three days after the temporary tags expired. The bad news is that since I now have an Indiana drivers license, I really need to have Indiana tags to match.

I filled out a form at the Indiana BMV about four weeks ago requesting my bank send the DC title to them so I can convert to an Indiana title then register and tag the car with Indiana tags. The bank didn't have the title then because it was with the DC DMV so they could get me those tags. However, they should have gotten the title back at about the same time I got my DC tags. They should have sent the title right out to Indiana then, right?

Wrong. The bank sat on it until I called them last week to find out what was going on. Apparently, they needed some "information"from me before they sent it to Indiana. Why didn't they call me and let me know this? Good question.

So now I am stuck here in Indiana waiting for the mail to get to the Indiana BMV. By the way, they're also closed on Mondays. Read the rest of this entry >>

Toronto, Day Two

The show at Second City last night was hysterical. The show was a series of sketches, starting with Barack Obama's inauguration speech. Although political humor only made up a small portion of the evening, it was still fun to see to see a foreign perspective on the US political machine.



The standout sketch for me - which was the only one to incorporate improvisation - involved one of the two women in the company as a professional recruiter and the largest man in the company playing a man 18 inches tall. The guy is about my size, and watching him struggle with opening a door, climb down the stairs, get into a chair, etc., had me in physical pain from laughing.

Franca was exploring the possibility of staying an extra night or two with me in Toronto. Unfortunately, the cost of changing her ticket plus lost income from missing her shift at Marie's would have been too much.

The sad thing is that the weather in Toronto is pretty crappy today. We decided against going up into the CN Tower because the visibility is so low. For CAN$33 per person, I want to be able to see further than downtown. I don't think Franca was too disappointed about not going up into the tallest building in the world.

We also decided against going to see the closing of Evil Dead - The Musical tonight due to the ticket prices. We also decided against trying to get into any of the films showing as part of the Toronto International Film Festival which started yesterday. Tickets for the films we are most interested in seeing are almost sold out. Tickets are around CAN$20, and the only way to get in is to go to the venue and hope that rush tickets will be available 15 minutes before showtime. Since most of the TIFF films will be in wider release over the next few months, we'll wait.

Something I noticed today: Canadian coins will stick to a magnet. I have a magnetic money clip and they keep attaching themselves. It is very handy to kep them from jingling in my pocket.

We decided to take a walk around the city again today and headed toward the Distillery District. We followed our handy map to where it said we should go and found this...



Well, there wasn't a lot. Not at first glance anyway. Franca's initial reaction was

"We walked ten miles for a condominium presentation center?"*

What we did find was a lot of galleries, artsy shops and a few nice-looking, although pricey, cafes and restaurants. We also found Soma Chocolatier, which was pricey, but also offered the most delectable selection of chocolates of a much greater variety than I could have ever realized. We enjoyed some gelato (gelati?) and rested our extremely tired feet. Even with the discovery of this chocolate lover's paradise, it was an awful long way to walk for kitsch.

We were pretty much done walking by this point, so we took our first ride on Toronto's mass transit system to get back to our hotel. After a quick nap, we headed up to Absolute Comedy for a show. We took the street car around the corner from our hotel to get to the subway. About two blocks from the station, the streetcar operator told everyone that we had to get off the car because there was an accident on the tracks in front of us. The two cars which had scraped up against one another were parked in such a way that had they moved six inches to the right, we would have been able to keep going.

One of the openers was the new host of Toronto's version of Cash Cab. The headliner was a guy from Brooklyn. While the show was pretty funny, I forgot to write down anyone's name.

*She said it with an American accent, hence the -er rather than the -re.

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Our walking map for the day, mass transit not included

UPDATE 9/28 - Perhaps I was too hasty in my assessment of the Distillery District. Apparently, there is a lot going on there. The combination of the weather and being tired from all the walking should be taken into account. Someone who has been there many more times than I lists it as one of ten reasons to go to Toronto. Look at Hip Movie District, reason #2.
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Toronto, Day One - Thursday 9/4

Franca and I left the hotel at about 10:00 am and changed some money at the CIBC on Spadina and Queen. The teller was extremely friendly – not only did she waive our exchange fee, but also she pointed us toward Kensington Market only a few blocks away as a good place to grab breakfast.

Kensington Street has several funky clothing shops, (few of which were open yet), a delicatessen and a cheese shop. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to go into the cheese shop – we saw a news report later in the day that there had been a case of listeria reported there – but we felt fortunate that we didn’t wind up sampling Canada’s wonderful system of socialized medicine. We opted for omelets (with Canadian bacon, of course) and iced coffees at this very nice coffeehouse at the corner of Kensington and Baldwin.

Our walking tour of the city took us past both the new and old Toronto City Halls. Before we crossed the street to get a better look, we passed what appeared to be a wedding party for a civil wedding ceremony. The four all appeared to be in the mid- to late-40s, two men and two women – a bride, a groom and two witnesses. The men wore gray morning suits and the bride wore a lovely white bridal gown with veil. She appeared to be sitting on either a small stool or perhaps a milk crate. All four of them were smoking cigarettes, they all had the grayish pallor of someone who smokes heavily, and they all looked as though they had just finished the hardest day of their lives. I hope that we caught a glimpse of them after the ceremony and not before. That, or they’ve been living together for a while.

New Toronto City Hall

Old Toronto City Hall (much prettier)

It was such a beautiful day, and since there was rain in the forecast for Friday, we decided to take advantage of the weather and explore Toronto Island Park for a while. There are three docks on the island where the ferries will drop you. By our view of the map, it appeared that any of the three options would be okay to see everything the island had to offer. We decided to take the next ferry, which was the one that would drop us at Hanlan's Point, the westernmost dock near the runway of Toronto City Centre Airport. From there, we figured we would walk to the center of the island where there appeared to be the most activities.


After about 45 minutes of walking, I started to think perhaps we had misjudged the distance on the map. We (and by “we,” I mean “I”) did notice about a dozen signs pointing visitors toward the “clothing-optional beach.” The beach appeared to be off to our right away from the road we were following, but every 100 meters or so another sign would appear pointing our way to the naked people. Where I simply found the frequency of the signs amusing, Franca took my notice of them to mean that I wanted to visit the nude beach. Had we brought towels, I would have considered it.

We came across a little artist’s retreat called Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts. There appeared to be several classrooms and studios surrounding a courtyard area on three sides, but we couldn’t find anyone to provide us with more information. As we continued our walk, Franca noticed a path that had been cleared through the grass just east of the building. We followed it down to a rocky beach where we took off our shoes and soaked our feet in Lake Ontario.

The moment my feet hit the water, I was very glad we didn’t go to the nude beach. While the cold water was very soothing on my tired feet, I don’t care to think about the effect it would have had on the rest of my anatomy.
























We walked along the beach for a little while until we came back to the road. A little further along the way we spotted a school with many young children playing outside for recess. I had seen a sign earlier that said overnight camping was prohibited on the island. It had never occurred to me that there might be folks who actually lived there.

Once we reached the middle of the island we noticed a water playground. There weren’t any kids playing in it because the water was turned off. We thought that perhaps they just left it off until the weekend until I found the on button on a little red pillar. Within a few minutes, the four kids who were playing Frisbee nearby began tossing their disc through the sprays and a young mom brought her toddler over to run around in water.


We rented a quadribike, or pedal car, to continue exploring the east end of the island near the marina. A threesome in a quadribike ahead of us ducked off the road to the boardwalk and we followed suit. Just before my fillings had all come loose, we found ourselves in a little neighborhood. The houses were all rather small, but in place of roads there were sidewalks. I thought it might be how a city would look if there were no cars.

The advantage of a quadribike over a tandem biciycle is that your traveling companion is sitting next to you, giving you the opportunity to chat face-to-face as you ride. However, if you are over six feet tall (like me), your knees tend to hit the steering wheel while you pedal. If you have large feet (like me) your toes tend to hit the front part of the frame while you pedal; until you adjust your feet, of course, when your heel begins to scrap the back part of the frame. And if you have long legs (guess who), the seat is too low to get a really efficient pedal stroke, meaning that your legs never straighten out which puts a whole lotta stress on your knees.*

We returned the bike and decided to catch the next ferry to the mainland. We walked to the Centre Island dock. To get there we walked across the site where crews were setting up for Toronto’s Virgin Music Festival, which was taking place that weekend. Once on the mainland we went to the first affordable restaurant that we could find – The Overdraught Pub. Our server was a dancer performing at the Junction Arts Festival, which was also taking place that weekend. Although Franca had a plane ticket to NYC for Saturday morning, I was considering staying another night in Toronto and going to V-Fest, maybe going to the Toronto Film Festival, and now I had another event to choose from. Franca started thinking that maybe she would get a sub for her shift on the piano at Marie’s Crisis on Saturday night and stay with me.

Last picture before heading back to downtown Toronto

From the pub, we went to Second City Toronto for that night’s show, “Barack to the Future.” I am a big fan of improv comedy and was really looking forward to seeing a show up here. On our way to the theatre, we passed the CBC building where they were advertising a show on their station, “Little Mosque on the Prairie.” I am so gonna check this out.

All told, we walked about 24 km today.


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*For the record, I am transferring this entry from my notes to the blog on September 19, fifteen days after the quadribike ride. The pain is finally gone, but I can still feel the lingering after-effects. I’m sure that all the walking that day and the next didn’t help either. Read the rest of this entry >>

Niagara Falls - Wednesday 9/3

We parked very near the falls when we arrived. After almost getting bamboozled into paying $10 for a parking spot, we found that the National Parks lot right next door was unmanned and we pulled right in.

We walked down to the falls, but since we had arrived around 6:00 pm, most of the bonus attractions - Maid of the Mist, the observation deck, etc. - had closed down for the day.

It's much more spectacular in person.

After walking around for a half hour or so, we decided cross the border into Canada. The guard at the border asked us a couple of perfunctory questions like where we're from, where we were going and why, and let us through.

Once on the other side, we were greeted by the following sight:

not taken by me

Let us compare the US and Canadian sides of Niagara Falls:











USA Canada

Clearly, Canadians know how to turn a natural wonder of the world into a party. We felt it was our duty to celebrate with them.

We started out by going up into the SkyWheel, a 53-meter (175 feet) tall Ferris wheel, to get some better views of the falls. While the pictures may not show it, the view at night was breathtaking.


And, considering that we're both a bit afraid of heights, kinda terrifying.


After our ride, we decided to hit the midway for some skeeball and miniature golf. The golf was an indoor course with day-glo colors and blacklights. It reminded me of countless college dorm rooms.

Do not adjust your monitor. We are controlling the picture.

Once we got our eyes to adjust back to normal, we finished the drive to Toronto and checked into our hotel.

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Rome, NY to Toronto; Labor Day

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Writing this entry at the Ontario Service Plaza on the New York State Thruway. We wound up spending most of our time in Rome sitting at someone's table. As a result, we didn't see a whole lot of the town (city?). However, we did have a very relaxing four days staying with Camille and Donna and visiting with Franca's family. We are about two-and-a-half hours from Toronto now and will be stopping off at Niagra Falls shortly.

I have been to most of Western Europe, Croatia, Hawaii and Hong Kong. I am just as excited to go to Toronto for the first time as I was to go to any of those places.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day

My first impression of Rome, NY

Franca and I got to Rome on Saturday evening. Since we arrived, I feel as though I am trying to store up food for the winter. Every day has been an eating extravaganza. Franca has told me that Italian families show their love by feeding you.

Romulus, Remus and me suckling at the wolf's teat

We are staying with Franca’s mother and aunt, Camille and Donna, on an inflatable mattress in the living room. Unless both parties lie down at the same time, the mattress has the tendency to forcibly eject the person who is already in bed. However, I have definitely gotten the best sleep here that I have had since leaving Indianapolis. Ever since leaving John’s in Pittsburgh, I have been rethinking whether I want to spend several nights at a time sleeping on a rollup mat. I think I’ll have to get a twin inflatable mattress before I start the trip out west.

We took a driving tour of Rome during the day, but I cannot remember a quarter of what was pointed out to me. I’m sure Franca and I will visit a few of these places in the next day or two and I’ll be able to write about them then.

Last night, we had dinner with some of Franca’s cousins in nearby Sylvan Beach, which is a lakeside community about 20 minutes from Rome. The town reminds me of the kind of beach resort town you might find in Florida or along the Gulf coast, but with fewer palm trees. Our hosts Walter and Sandy have a house about 100 feet from the beach of Oneida Lake. Walter’s mother Rose is staying in the house for the summer before returning to her home in Anaheim.

From L-R: Barbara, me, Donna, Rose, Sandy, Camille and Marcella. Not pictured - Franca (taking the picture) and Walter (asleep on the couch)

Rose was once a hairdresser who had a tendency to feed and entertain her customers more frequently than she would actually work on her customers’ hair. It seemed last night that she has maintained that excitement at being the host of the party. There were nine of us seated at the table for dinner, and each branch of the family tree contributed a dish or two for the meal. Franca’s mom and aunt brought a delicious eggplant parmesan, Rose made a delicious salad and brought an enormous platter of garlic chicken from the local grocery store (she assured us that the chicken guy was Italian), and there were ravioli and bread. Everything was wonderful, and I felt very welcome among Franca’s family.

After dessert (homemade pumpkin pie, pecan pie and cake) and coffee, Walter got out his guitar and plugged into his amplifier/karaoke setup to entertain us with a few songs. His set ranged from classic rock to country to Rat Pack-era standards. The crowd then encouraged me to sing something with Walter, but I began to get a bit shy. I’m not certain if I was feeling self-conscious or sluggish from all of the food, but Walter started flipping through his classic rock selections and happened upon “Taking Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive. This is one of the songs that plays in heavy rotation on the radio stations I tend to listen to, so I didn’t even have to look at the words very much. Once the song started to play, I found some courage and had a good time jamming with Walter and his karaoke setup.

Franca went right after me with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which was one of the first records I ever owned. She and Walter followed up with “You’ve Got a Friend,” in more homage to Carole King than James Taylor. Our audience asked us to sing a duet after Franca’s last song, but the only duets we could find were “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” and “You’re The One That I Want.” Since we couldn’t decide who would be Willie Nelson and we both have a fanatical dislike for Grease, we politely declined.

Since it is Labor Day today, we probably won’t go too many places where we might have to fight a crowd. We’re visiting another cousin this afternoon and then more tour of Rome, NY tomorrow. Despite the fact that I had never even heard of Rome, NY before meeting Franca, I am impressed with just how much activity this small city has going on in and around it. Read the rest of this entry >>