I often joke I live on Planet X, a reference to a Loony Tunes cartoon in which Duck Dodgers travels past an alphabetical series of unexplored planets. Such logic perhaps fits, as I live in the 40th state alphabetically speaking; after an 11 hour drive home, I've reinforced my belief that I live near the outer limits of the known universe! At any rate, living where I do makes me pay attention to anything "new" (to me) while visiting family up north. Among bumper stickers that caught my eye were two relatively old ones I've never seen down here: "Save the TaTas" with a pink ribbon (seen on US 301 in MD) & "Coexist" on a blue field (seen on the Jersey Turnpike).
The weather the night of our roughly 16 hour drive north (made longer by the snow north of NYC) had friends concerned for our safety. What can I say? It's December & snow/ice are seasonal risks! Thankfully the worst road conditions we encountered were not as severe as the worst we've ever driven in, though briefly considered checking in to see if we could crash at the home of a friend in our hometown. Those less than ideal conditions were at their worst at the southern end of I-684 in New York (before we encountered three plows we followed almost to I-84) & within a few miles of my brother's home in Connecticut. The final irony is all that snow MELTED by the time we headed to NYC on the 27th due to daytime highs in the 50s on 12/26!
It was refreshing to catch up with family & friends, including a few we encountered unexpectedly & most fortunately while on a walk with a friend in the town where we grew up. The girls got a kick out of seeing Times Square & Rockefeller Center, including all the Saks 5th Avenue window displays playing up the new Swarovski crystal star atop the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree & the snowflake sound & light show on the wall of Saks facing 30 Rock. As we were leaving Rockefeller Center a gentleman had the ice cleared in order to propose to his girlfriend, who accepted & was cheered by the throngs gathered to watch skaters & see the tree. It was fun to show the kids around NYC, including taking local buses & the Flushing line from what was my early childhood neighborhood in Queens into Manhattan. Unfortunately, our youngest was not feeling her best that night, still fighting a stomach bug even as we drove home yesterday & just now appears to feel more normal than she has since Christmas Eve. Still, she insisted she wasn't going to miss this rare opportunity to go into the city & see things she told her classmates she'd be photographed in front of!
Next trip I think I'll just borrow Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz--much faster!
No comments:
Post a Comment