DANA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY AFTER SPAIN

It was quite a challenge to be up for such a long stretch.  I had gotten up very early in Spain and just napped a bit here and there, arriving in Boston just before Dana's birthday party.

I was fairly tired and it took a while to find the shuttle that was to take me to the hotel.
Finally, Elizabeth found a number that worked and told them I had arrived and was looking for them.
There was a parking lot called "Shared Vans" that held about fifty limos and vans. That was there mine was supposed to be.  No one greeted me with a sign.
So, as I walked into the lot, I started shouting at the top of my lungs.
"Anyone here going to the Kendall Hotel? "
The limo guys all dressed in their prim suits smiled.
"Anyone WANT to go to the Kendall?
And slowly the driver found me.
He knew me by name after Elizabeth's call.
Off we went.
At the hotel I caught up a bit, showered, changed clothes, and off we went to Dana's birthday party which was ironically held in a Spanish tapas bar near the hotel.

I like this hotel.  It is really as much museum as hotel with plenty of firehouse bits and other interesting antiques.

We had stayed once ore perhaps twice before

http://masstravels.blogspot.com/search?q=hotel
http://masstravels.blogspot.com/2017/06/old-post-from-cambridge.html

SARANAC LAKE FOR MEETUP WITH COLLEGE FRIENDS.

 

Seven of us, four of  whom graduated from SUNY Buffalo and were members of the International Club there, met in Saranac Lake for fun and frolic.

Mike and Dawn and Debbie stayed with Elizabeth and I at the Best Western, just across from Lake Flower. Robin and Bobbie live in Saranac Lake.

Elizabeth and I managed to have a fine swim one afternoon, but the rest of the time was scheduled with visits to interesting places in the area.  I did not make all of them. I would not seem to get rested enough to embrace the adventures. 

One I missed was to John Brown's house and fully enjoyed by all with a good lecture on his life and his mission.  

A second place was ??  where visitors learned of the use of Saranac Lake area as a place giving sick people a quiet and clean air environment to aid recovery.  

We also enjoyed a fine time at the nearby carousal.  It is quiet wonderful.  No fake looking plastic horses here.  Every animal is hand carved and the variety was just grand.  It was a work of art that could be ridden.

I love to ride a merry-go-round.  It taps into my youth and I experience it as I did as a kid.  I rode the one at Lime Lake often.  Ten cents a ride and rings to snatch in hopes of a free ride when a gold ring came up.

I rode twice.  Once I rode a wonderful porcupine, intricately carved to show the spikes.  Another time I rode a frog called Wiggly who was stretched out as if swimming.

It was also grand to find I could climb on the moving animals, and off with a little help from Michael.  

FOOD

The first day we had pizza (some with cauliflower crust) at a local place. Then for supper everything seemed closed and we ordered a pizza to be sent in.  I skipped that pizza and had some meatballs.

Our breakfasts were all at the McKensie restaurant next to the hotel.  Hotel guests got a 10% discount.  The food was very good.  They had a kiebasa sausage, but it was very salty and not as good as I hoped. Good coffee.

One night we ate Mexican.  I had mushroom fajitas and it was very good.  Others had other taste treats.  No one was disappointed.  They served Buckler as their NA beer.  So much better than the standard O'doul's or 00 Heineken.  

We also ate once at a BBQ place that served outside on picnic tables.  They had great ribs, a fine tasting baked lobster, clams, and both oreo and smores flavored milk shakes.

On the way home Elizabeth stopped at the Noon Mark diner in Keene and bought a pecan pie and a berry berry pie,  so the off diet life has extended back here to Burden Lake.

*************************************************

Mexican place

ribs with baked lobster and oreo milkshake.

E and I swam for a while one afternoon.

Carousel I rode the porcupine and then a rather floppy frog.

Hand carved.

Ate at the hotel one night as all restaurants were closed.

Had breakfasts each morning at McKensie's right next to the hotel. A great spot for eating and visiting.

Stopped at Noon Mark diner in Keene for homemade pies. Berry berry and pecan pie were just grand. Real old fashion pie taste.

I did not visit the museums, but many saw John Brown's house and a museum depicting the benefit Saranac Lake area had to allow people to recover from diseases like tuberculosis.

Old Post Boston birthday trip Cambridge

Monday, May 27, 2013

Boston Birthday trip

We had a fine couple days in Boston.  I thought it would be just too short, but it felt just fine, just the right length.  It was to celebrate (again)  Elizabeth's birthday and of course to see Dana and Jen and Dan's new place.
The trip out was a bit boring.  Hard rain obscured most of the good views and made the driving a bit of a drag.  We stopped a lot for bathrooms and McDonald's coffee in order to create the need for more bathrooms. 
We had a fine visit out and arrived as planned at the Kendall Hotel

This was a luxuriant place build in what was once a Firehouse.  It was a museum in itself with plenty of small collections and bits of Firehouse memorabilia.
The suite included full kitchen, living room with fireplace, bathroom with Jacuzzi tub big enough for two, and plenty of interesting antiques.

 Looking over kitchen and living room.

and the kitchen itself

 

A fine antique desk of bird's eye maple

Every hallway and every corner included interesting antiques and collections

These photos contrast the way women dressed the year my grandfather was born with the way they dressed when he was thirty.

 

 This particular firehouse was called the Black Sheep of the fire department, so there is this collection and the restaurant is named, Black Sheep

 This in an interesting coffee table made from a piece of firetruck

Here is what my grandfather did for a living, only there were four horses pulling his engine.
******************************************************************************************

We took a walk to the Charles River and a bridge that gave us a fine view of sailboats, rowers in those long thin boats and other craft like

 

Right across the street from the hotel was this MIT COOP bookstore.






Dana treated us to a birthday dinner at a pretty upscale restaurant called Harvest. 

http://harvestcambridge.com/

Along with award winning recipes came restaurant practices that included buying local and sustainable.  Jen ate a filet mignon, Elizabeth and Dana had pork tenderloin.  I ate salmon.  And we had some other tastes in appetizers and asparagus.  With some of the meals came a wine pairing and that was interesting too.  I just had tastes of that.  I had a pea soup that was very creamy.
For dessert there were plenty of interesting tastes, but Jen ordered this award winning chocolate concoction that was really wonderful.  I had a taste. 
http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/2013/04/10/harvest-pastry-chef-wins-food-wine-award/#axzz2UVTcwtRz

The next day we took the T to the Gardiner museum.  The nearby Museum of Fine Arts was free that day and the T was full of folks for that spot and the lines were hours long.  Out line was not so long and while the museum was crowded due to the holiday, it was still a great experience.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

I liked an 18th century guitar made by Jacopo Mosca-Cavelli and very similar to this one
http://www.diomedia.com/public/;jsessionid=12D9F9FECE152122E4B0502A01E4F566.worker1en/10921852/imageDetails.html

I also liked the large painting of Archangel Michael from 1480   with his foot on the satan, keeping the devil from taking souls.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/tapestry_room/archangel_michael?filter=artist:3296

We all seemed to enjoy this large view of gypsy dancers in Southern Spain.  She is older than the dancers I saw in the 60's, but the rest ring true to my memory including the clay water containers set out on the floor to make the scene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Jaleo


I was drawn to some paintings quite different from most of the collections, Morland Summer and Winter shots.

Also, this large depiction of The Tragedy of Lucretia, a 1500 Botticelli, seemed an odd piece to do for a wedding present.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/raphael_room/the_tragedy_of_lucretia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Lucretia_(Botticelli)

It was amazingly busy and full of action.  And sad.

But what do I know about art?  Not much.  Take this one that caught my attention.  Naked women and boats do seem to grab my attention easily.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/short_gallery/my_model_and_my_boat?filter=room:1800

I'm sure that Elizabeth's, Dana's and Jen's experiences were very different from mine, but it was fun to visit this place, in part because the rooms themselves were pretty incredible, built to house the collection of Isabelle after her husband died and she was looking for something to occupy her energy.  She did live in this beautiful place.
In the center was a fine inner courtyard with flowers and sculpture and unlike the rooms, plenty of light.  It was covered with a glass ceiling many floors above the peaceful little place.

Many of the rooms had huge fireplaces.  Still it much have been cold there in the winter. 
Wall decorations of tapestry or tile or in one case an entire wall of leatherwork also added to the experience.

We had lunch in the café built outside the old house.  The food was very good.  I had a baked trout garnished with odd bits I could not identify but wish I could reproduce at home.  And we had some homemade potato chips as well.

And overall we had a fine visit that was full and not rushed.  We caught up on all the new developments in the lives of Dana and Jen, heard about their work and their hopes for future work.  Jen soon moves much closer to her job with Turbine and that should take some of the pressure of long commutes off her daily routine.

They both seemed good.  Dana's place seem pretty comfortable for a single guy and of course included incredible computer equipment including a garbage can with a computer so that the top opened with no touching.

In between then great meals I had a taste of Indian at Dana's and a drink of a milk stout.  It seems Dana keeps milk as his main drink even when he drinks beer.

Our ride home was much easier than our trip out.  For the most part we had sun.  And even the clouds formed to make fine patterns of cloud and sunlight and fields were enveloped in mist.  We stopped at Salmon Run in Lee for a supper of salmon, mine a buffalo wing like taste and Elizabeth's encrusted with potato. They were packed, but the fellow fit us right in the middle at a little table.  It was lively, but a good bit of fun.

OLD POST FROM CAMBRIDGE

Monday, May 27, 2013

Boston Birthday trip

We had a fine couple days in Boston.  I thought it would be just too short, but it felt just fine, just the right length.  It was to celebrate (again)  Elizabeth's birthday and of course to see Dana and Jen and Dan's new place.
The trip out was a bit boring.  Hard rain obscured most of the good views and made the driving a bit of a drag.  We stopped a lot for bathrooms and McDonald's coffee in order to create the need for more bathrooms. 
We had a fine visit out and arrived as planned at the Kendall Hotel

This was a luxuriant place build in what was once a Firehouse.  It was a museum in itself with plenty of small collections and bits of Firehouse memorabilia.
The suite included full kitchen, living room with fireplace, bathroom with Jacuzzi tub big enough for two, and plenty of interesting antiques.

 Looking over kitchen and living room.

and the kitchen itself

 

A fine antique desk of bird's eye maple

Every hallway and every corner included interesting antiques and collections

These photos contrast the way women dressed the year my grandfather was born with the way they dressed when he was thirty.

 

 This particular firehouse was called the Black Sheep of the fire department, so there is this collection and the restaurant is named, Black Sheep

 This in an interesting coffee table made from a piece of firetruck

Here is what my grandfather did for a living, only there were four horses pulling his engine.
******************************************************************************************

We took a walk to the Charles River and a bridge that gave us a fine view of sailboats, rowers in those long thin boats and other craft like

 

Right across the street from the hotel was this MIT COOP bookstore.






Dana treated us to a birthday dinner at a pretty upscale restaurant called Harvest. 

http://harvestcambridge.com/

Along with award winning recipes came restaurant practices that included buying local and sustainable.  Jen ate a filet mignon, Elizabeth and Dana had pork tenderloin.  I ate salmon.  And we had some other tastes in appetizers and asparagus.  With some of the meals came a wine pairing and that was interesting too.  I just had tastes of that.  I had a pea soup that was very creamy.
For dessert there were plenty of interesting tastes, but Jen ordered this award winning chocolate concoction that was really wonderful.  I had a taste. 
http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/2013/04/10/harvest-pastry-chef-wins-food-wine-award/#axzz2UVTcwtRz

The next day we took the T to the Gardiner museum.  The nearby Museum of Fine Arts was free that day and the T was full of folks for that spot and the lines were hours long.  Out line was not so long and while the museum was crowded due to the holiday, it was still a great experience.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

I liked an 18th century guitar made by Jacopo Mosca-Cavelli and very similar to this one
http://www.diomedia.com/public/;jsessionid=12D9F9FECE152122E4B0502A01E4F566.worker1en/10921852/imageDetails.html

I also liked the large painting of Archangel Michael from 1480   with his foot on the satan, keeping the devil from taking souls.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/tapestry_room/archangel_michael?filter=artist:3296

We all seemed to enjoy this large view of gypsy dancers in Southern Spain.  She is older than the dancers I saw in the 60's, but the rest ring true to my memory including the clay water containers set out on the floor to make the scene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Jaleo

I was drawn to some paintings quite different from most of the collections, Morland Summer and Winter shots.

Also, this large depiction of The Tragedy of Lucretia, a 1500 Botticelli, seemed an odd piece to do for a wedding present.
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/raphael_room/the_tragedy_of_lucretia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Lucretia_(Botticelli)

It was amazingly busy and full of action.  And sad.

But what do I know about art?  Not much.  Take this one that caught my attention.  Naked women and boats do seem to grab my attention easily.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artwork/2nd_floor/short_gallery/my_model_and_my_boat?filter=room:1800

I'm sure that Elizabeth's, Dana's and Jen's experiences were very different from mine, but it was fun to visit this place, in part because the rooms themselves were pretty incredible, built to house the collection of Isabelle after her husband died and she was looking for something to occupy her energy.  She did live in this beautiful place.
In the center was a fine inner courtyard with flowers and sculpture and unlike the rooms, plenty of light.  It was covered with a glass ceiling many floors above the peaceful little place.

Many of the rooms had huge fireplaces.  Still it much have been cold there in the winter. 
Wall decorations of tapestry or tile or in one case an entire wall of leatherwork also added to the experience.

We had lunch in the café built outside the old house.  The food was very good.  I had a baked trout garnished with odd bits I could not identify but wish I could reproduce at home.  And we had some homemade potato chips as well.

And overall we had a fine visit that was full and not rushed.  We caught up on all the new developments in the lives of Dana and Jen, heard about their work and their hopes for future work.  Jen soon moves much closer to her job with Turbine and that should take some of the pressure of long commutes off her daily routine.

They both seemed good.  Dana's place seem pretty comfortable for a single guy and of course included incredible computer equipment including a garbage can with a computer so that the top opened with no touching.

In between then great meals I had a taste of Indian at Dana's and a drink of a milk stout.  It seems Dana keeps milk as his main drink even when he drinks beer.

Our ride home was much easier than our trip out.  For the most part we had sun.  And even the clouds formed to make fine patterns of cloud and sunlight and fields were enveloped in mist.  We stopped at Salmon Run in Lee for a supper of salmon, mine a buffalo wing like taste and Elizabeth's encrusted with potato. They were packed, but the fellow fit us right in the middle at a little table.  It was lively, but a good bit of fun.

Today we just loaf about and for supper Jay and Judy will stop by.

PENN YAN

 We went up to Penn Yan on Keuka Lake for an outing this October *(2020) to get out before the next covid surge.  It was near where Michael and Dawn Sam live, so I suggested that they meet us for a meal, and before it all was done, we had them coming for two nights in our hotel, and delightfully Robin and Bobbie joining us as well.  It was  really a fine gathering.

We all got rooms at Best Western PLUS Vineyard Inn and Suites and it was nice with plenty of room in the foyer and with a pool, although only Elizabeth and I went swimming.

We limited ourselves to six people, for easy covid restrictions, so if I missed others of you who live in the area, I'm sorry.  I'll get you next time.  When I booked, they had zero cases; when I left they were up to 12 a day.  Our last night, after the hooligans had gone home, we did not feel comfortable going to a restaurant and took a swim and stayed put, eating left overs in our room.

In preparing for our roadtrip to Penn Yan, I bought a book called Yates Chronicles.  Penn Yan is in Yate county.

Among other bits, I encountered Leon Lewis who with his wife Harriet Lewis were popular writers of the 19th century.

He built two lavish structures, one his house, and one his stable.  The stable was the most luxurious stable anyone had seen.

Harriet died young.  He mourned a bit and even started a paper in her honor, The Penn Yan Mystery.  But suddenly he decided to go to live in England, perhaps to escape debt, perhaps to be free to marry his adopted daughter.  He was 45; she was 15.  In 1913 she divorced him.  He killed himself at the age of 87.

An interesting aside is that he left a manuscript written by a sailor who was on the Essex, the whaling boat that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick.  It was left in an attic of a friend until being rediscovered in 1960. 

https://lostmanuscripts.com/tag/leon-lewis/

*********************************

Another good article

https://www.ulib.niu.edu/badndp/lewis_leon.html

***************************************************************

I also ran into a call for manuscripts and eventually I did publish in Bluff and Vine, although not in time to celebrate that with the group.  And it can be borrowed free on kindle or bought free if you have Kindle unlimited.  

I like the book itself.  I sent copies to Robin and Bobbie, Dawn and Michael.  Also, to Frank and Susan Johnson in Florida.  Elizabeth gave me fifty dollars and honored a rather shaky bet about my becoming famous.  There is a zoom call for writers in December.

*************************************

Elizabeth and I got to go to the Top of the Lake restaurant, overlooking Keuka Lake.  

We got there at sunset and watched the birds retreat and the black water of night fill our view.  The good was grand.

With the whole group we had to settle for other places, but we found some that were generally uncrowed.

One Amish store 

a specialty food store (oakhillbulkfoods.com)

I especially liked the Dutch Delights sugar free pecan pralines.  I'm finding them hard to get on line.

The store had plenty of treats to buy and served a pretty good sandwich.  We ate there twice.  Everyone brought back tastes for gathering in the foyer in the evening for brandy and cheese and other grand foods.

We hung out in the foyer of the restaurant and told old stories and got caught up with new travels.  We were pretty loud and one night the desk clerk came and asked us to tone it down.  He said, "Okay, you hooligans" and so the name stuck.  He was worried that an older couple in a room near the foyer might be disturbed.  Well, Elizabeth and I it turned out were the older couple, in room 109.  Pretty funny.

We did walk the trail in front of the Top of the Lake and watched a hundred gulls take off.  It was grand!

We ate at one place where we sang a medley of old songs from Western TV shows of our youth.  Lots of fun.

That may have been the Keuka Diner.  I've just lost my memory of the places.  

One place we went for our last breakfast served the best steak and eggs I can remember having anywhere.

The hotel was fine.  There was always fresh coffee in the foyer and sometimes a snack.

It was a really fine time, so much a contrast to our shut in lives.  I'm hoping to go again, but I think the next trip to gather will be up North nearer to Robin and Bobbie.

On the way home Elizabeth and I stopped at a small cafe/diner in Casanovia called Latte Da.  The food and service were fine, but it was a bit too close for me, and much of the business that came for take out were from the college.  So that set off some bells about Covid.  Otherwise it was fine.

I enjoyed the ride home.  We had rain much of the trip, but this day was mostly just grey.  My eyes work better in grey than they do in bright sunlight.  We took 20, adding time to the trip, but getting a good view of many Finger Lakes along the way and also staying out of Thruway traffic.