Let the travel begin

Sept 13-16

Charlotte has been cloudy and cool. We had packed for hot climates and we each have one pair of jeans, one sweater and one light jacket for cool weather. I think it is supposed to warm up tomorrow but looking ahead we will be in cooler climates the rest of our time on the east coast. Ron dashed off after lunch as he was giving a presentation on working internationally.

We are right in the city center here so can walk to restaurants and Ron’s meetings. I took Sunday as a day of rest. I got an Americano and NY Times and spent much of the day reading either in Starbucks or my room at the hotel. I loved the solitude and quiet after a very busy visit in SC. Ron got up early for a meeting and was gone most of the day.  We met in the late afternoon for a reception. I had seen a colleague of Ron’s earlier in the day and he asked if I would be wearing something from India for the international committee reception. I realized I did have one outfit from India so promised I would wear it. During the afternoon I discovered the 20^th Indian Festival in Charlotte and walked down the blocked off streets viewing the various stalls with lots of Indian clothing and jewelry. I treated myself to some samosas for a snack.

That night I was the only person in ethnic dress at the reception and a woman from India came to me and asked if my outfit was from her country. We had a delightful conversation about India and I told her we had been there six or seven times and loved India. She said her husband was an American and she thought perhaps he loved India more than she did!

The rest of our stay there, Ron was busy with his meetings and I was content to lounge and walk around the city.  We’d have dinner together with colleagues of his except for our last night when we ate by ourselves at a Spanish restaurant where we enjoyed Paella.

Sept 17-20

We flew to Hartford CT where our friend picked us up at the airport and drove us to Granby, MA.  We stayed with our dear friend Laurie Conly who we met in the Rep of GA (ROG) when we lived there. It was a great reunion, our third since ROG. 

We had great weather, sunny, crisp days and chilly nights. The first

day we took a long walks around Smith college.

And the next day around a reservoir, clocking about 5 miles.
We took a hot tub that night. We ate well and just had a grand time being together.

On our last day we did a boat ride on the Connecticut River.  Interesting and relaxing.

Sept 20-22

Jacob - our oldest Grandchild

David and Mark - age 9 & 12?

From MA we took a bus to New York where we stayed at the Parker’s apartment in Manhattan. Pat and Dick Parker are our daughter in love’s parents. They live in ME but keep a great apartment in the city. We spent time with David, our son and Anne his wife and their children, Jacob who is now taller than his mom and Elizabeth who is blossoming into a lovely young girl.

Robin Siegle and Mo Barron

Reid Rosen

We arrived on Saturday and on Sunday we gathered with family
members from as far away as CA to celebrate Sonia Duboe, Ron’s mom. There were 19 of us: our youngest was Sonia great grand son Reid at 10 months and the oldest was Sonia’s brother Mo who is 83. We had a wonderful time being together and celebrating Sonia’s full, rich life. Sonia passed in September of 2013 at 92.

On Monday Ron and I decided to chill. We’ve been moving a lot since we left Portland Sept 6^th. About every three days we were in a different bed. We have been with people the entire trip, seeing relatives and friends. The only time we were alone was when we drove to NC from SC to see a friend from my college days. That was an hour each way. So we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast over the NY Times, had a tasty deli lunch at the apartment and went to see Love Is Strange in the afternoon. It was a good day. That night we had dinner with our NY family.

Sept 23-25

On Tuesday we took a cab to Penn Station and went to RI by train to visit Sandi and Bill, Ron’s sister and her husband. We always have a grand time being together.

On Wednesday we drove to a nearby nature reserve and took a walk near the bay. We had lunch at a small farm and finished off the excursion at Purgatory Chasm.

RI is so beautiful with incredible stone walls, beautiful old homes, some built in the 1700’s. We went out to dinner for a delicious Italian dinner joined by Maxine, Sandi and Bills’ daughter and Pete, her partner. On Thursday we stayed home making dinner and we took a walk to mail our November ballots in between rain showers.

We leave tomorrow quite early to drive to Providence to catch a 6:40 flight to LA.  Sandi and Bill were too kind to accommodate us by driving us to the airport at 4:10 AM.

Sept 26-29

Time flies when you change residences every few days! We stayed at an airbnb in Redondo Beach, about two blocks from where Ron’s 50^th HS reunion was held. It is owned by Gabe who was out of town but he has two house mates, Justin and Dave who took good care of us. Our room was on the main floor which was upstairs from the entry. There was a large living/dining area, a good sized kitchen and lovely patio overlooking the ocean. Our suite had a great bedroom with large screen TV,

iron and board, and a hair dryer. Gabe thought of  everything! We
took it easy upon arrival as we had gotten up at 3:45 in order to leave the house by 4:10 to catch our plane in Providence for a quick one hr flight to Baltimore and then a 6 ½ hour flight to LA after a 2 hr. layover.  After resting briefly we walked to Whole Foods and picked up some deli food and fruit and took it back to the house and had a lovely lunch on the patio.  Later we explored the Redondo pier and enjoyed a lovely sunset.

The next day we walked to Hermosa Beach so Ron could walk down memory lane. His first professional job in public admin was there. He had a good time remembering favorite haunts including the area of the beach where he hung out as a kid before he could drive. Saturday night was reunion night and I actually had a good time. I knew one person besides Ron, Rich Attridge who had worked  for the City of Portland when Ron and I worked there. Ron had a great time reconnecting with various attendees. He introduced me to a woman whom he had “married” when he was five! Apparently their older sisters were creating dramas and had decided a marriage was in order.

Sunday was a relaxing day with coffee, the Times and a walk to a
classic car show that was on the pier. WOW! Those cars were incredible show pieces. One was for sale for $80,000. A rather pricey hobby! My favorite was a restored 1920 something fire engine, complete with chromed or nickel plated nozzles, a fire hose, and a wood ladder. I can’t even begin to imagine the cost involved in the purchase and restoration. We ended the day with dinner in the harbor with Heidi, Ron’s sister, and her husband Drew. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Heidi has just completed a round of treatment for cancer and is healing nicely after surgery, radiation, chemo and more surgery.

We returned to our house and finished packing, and left for the airport around 10:00 p.m. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 1:30 a.m. but left at 2:00. We were to have a two hour layover in Taipei but that turned out to be a mad dash to the other terminal with enough time to grab an Illy coffee before boarding the plane.

Sept 30-Oct 2

We landed in Bangkok around 11:00 on the morning of the 30th, a 20 hour trip all told. For the first time EVER we were first in line at the immigration line. We have been to Thailand about 17 times and usually have to stand in line for up to 45 minutes so imagine how pleased we were. But that was balanced by our luggage being the last to arrive which took about 30-40 minutes. We zipped down stairs and while I got some baht (Thai currency) Ron got SIM cards for our mobile phones. We

grabbed a taxi and headed for Leslie’s. Leslie gave us a recommendation for a massage which was a short two blocks away. We had foot massages before dinner. Leslie and the two of us ate at a nearby restaurant before heading back to the apartment and crashed. Somehow I managed to stay awake until 9:30 but Ron took about an hour nap in the afternoon.  Leslie has a wonderful apartment on the 14th floor of a nice building several stops on the Skytrain from where we normally stay in Bangkok.

On Wednesday our goal today was to get our visas for Laos. We took the sky train to the subway and took a taxi from the subway. We had everything in order so merely had to pay the fee and leave our paperwork and return at 2:00 PM. We went back to our old neighborhood where we usually stay when we are staying in a hotel. We had lunch at a fun place called Chez Charley. The owner has become a friend and her key staff person always recognizes us and greets us warmly. Sitting next to us was a couple woo asked where we were from. They were from Spokane, so we had a good laugh over that. They are teaching at an international school in China and we had a good time exchanging stories of our mutual adventures. After lunch we went on a trek in search of a dust pan for Leslie. Ai the owner of the restaurant had given us a tip on a store that would carry them. Unfortunately we made a couple of wrong turns so walked further than necessary but we were rewarded with the dust pan. Next we hopped back on the sky train, then subway, then taxi and returned to the Laotian embassy to retrieve our passports with visas only to do all this in reverse to go home. It was warm today and way humid so we were rather pooped by late afternoon. We relaxed for a while and then Ron said it was 5:40. Good lord where did the day go?

We walked up the street and ate a hibachi dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant. From there we returned to our massage place and Ron had another foot massage and I indulged in a traditional Thai massage. Ouch! I was so stiff from sitting on airplanes. Before I went in I realized my neck, back and hips hurt from tight muscles. Thai massage is very athletic as it were. The therapist uses her feet, forearms, elbows and thumbs of steel to work the muscles. Tonight was no exception. Several times I suggested she lighten up as I was experiencing pain but she giggled and told me to relax. Right! Back to the house, we visited with Leslie. Ron went to bed about 10:00 and I stayed up to 11:30 on the computer trying to update the blog. I then read awhile. We had been up since 5:00 a.m. so I was surprised I could stay awake that late. Then I woke up at 4:00 and didn’t get back to sleep until around 6:00. I woke up with a start at 7:00 as I needed to head out early for a hair appointment. Leslie had recommended the salon. Oh my, it was very high end with a formal reception area that hid the rest of the operation. It was beautifully decorated. I was taken to the back section where a woman showed me to a raised bed that allowed me to lie down while she washed my hair. It was lovely. My head rested on a device that is similar to a dish drainer but made for this set up so the bed didn’t get wet yet my neck was fully supported. Then I was taken to another area where she combed out my hair. I then waited for the stylist. He came about ten minutes later and asked how short I wanted the cut. After he finished, a different woman rinsed my hair again and dried my hair and then the stylists returned to do the finishing touches with his scissors and shaver. Very interesting, all for $50 which is an enormous amount of money here and $15 more than I pay at home. I am thankful that he knew how to cut hair well and will use him while in Thailand. I then took the sky train to Starbucks in Times Square (Bangkok that is ) and met Ron for coffee. Then we went to the tailor to inquire about a jacket. This was followed by a dual pedicure. What a treat that is. Again we have found a salon that is very professional and does a great job. We have been to various massage parlors and salons and have learned that not all establishments have trained personnel. So when we find one that is professional, we stick with it. We topped off the morning with a dosa (a large lentil flour pancake stuffed with potatoes, onions and spices) at a vegetarian Indian restaurant before coming home for the day.