from Nova Scotia to New York

Part of the Ground Zero memorial

So we survived the flooded highway between St. John, NB and Calais, Me.  3 feet of rushing river water, no sign of a road, but we were waved through by day-glo clad Mounties.

Cousin Carol took us to see part of the Ground Zero memorial being built in New Paltz, NY. and we left Tommy the Truck to his winter quarters.

Close-up.  Names are cutouts; they will be illuminated from below

Joan and Nat in the Cloisters Park, upper Manhattan (waaay upper)

Pre-brunch: Susan, Joan, Nat, Janet, cousin Susan

Something with duck confit at the New Leaf Cafe, Cloister Park

In Manhattan, daughter Joan gave us a warm welcome and a comfy bed, while Zabar's gave us cheeses, lebanon bologna, fresh pasta, and sauce.

Apple store on Broadway / 67th

from New York to Naples and back

Lunar eclipse...magic!

Not a tree in sight...

 We arrived in Naples Fl. to a lunar eclipse at 1 am.  The moon looked red!

The next day, Sarah, Nat, and I set out to buy a Christmas tree.  It was Dec. 21 so surely there would be some around.  As you can see, the cupboard was bare.   Apparently last year's sales were slow, so sellers didn't bring in as many.  And Home Depot's trees had some kind of bug and were quarantined by the health department.  Sarah persevered and finally found one that was on display at Whole Foods.  

Thank you Whole Foods & Sarah!

The result was a gorgeous tree that kept its smell and needles through Epiphany.

aaaaahhhh....

Santa

The Grinch

Joan on Christmas day

Rudolph on the beach

Santa on the beach

Horseshoe crab

Sunset on the beach

Cocktail hour on the beach

The wster's great!

Joan and Bob arrived on Dec. 23, about 6 hours apart at Ft. Myers.  We picked Joan up and headed for the Miromar outlets, just a couple of miles away.  The sales!  By the time we got back to the airport to meet Bob, the trunk was full!

Bob & Sarah & self-timer

We swam, we biked, we ate, we walked, we ate, we shopped, we ate, we slept, we ate...  Boiled shrimp in beer, key lime pie, and Captain Kirk's stone crabs were favorites.

Scrabble and Angry Birds on the iPad were very popular too.

Let's all get in the kitchen

Breezy walk to Doctor's Pass.  Note the jackets.

Bahama Club beach

Agassi and Graf... not so muc

Bob graciously hit balls with us at the Naples public tennis courts.   Don't think we're ready Wimbledon just yet...

Bob just kept hitting those balls back

Mom's iPad was a BIG hi

Sarah's favorite store in Naples

Joan's Christmas tree

Back to New York where Joan had no trouble finding a tree!

After being frightened to death by 'Black Swan', we recovered by looking at furniture at West Elm

Trying on a sofa at West Elm

Joan dispenses hot chocolate at Mulch Fest

Joan helped organize Mulch Fest, a city-wide program that asks New Yorkers to bring their Xmas trees to designated locations for mulching.  You bring your tree and take home some mulch.  We helped her set up at the entrance to Inwood North Park on a freezing Saturday with hot chocolate and a sign up sheet for her Inwood Green Team.   Then New York Rangers showed up with a table, cushions to sit on, and a truck full of trees they had picked up.  Lots of people brought trees, dragging them up the street to throw on the growing pile.

Unloading trees

The chipper/mulcher

from New York to Vancouver

Joan's apartment building courtyard

 The day before we head to Vancouver NY gets 6 inches of snow.

Nat on the A train

$7 dollar snack at the Whitney Museum

View from Museum cafe

So we get an extra day in NYC and head for the Whitney Museum where Nat gets in free because he has work in their collection.

from New York to Vancouver to Bangkok, tra la...

Vancouver was warm and rainy,  our friends Jane and Mike welcoming  us once again with open arms.  The Canada train from the airport into town continues to mystify with its fare system:  it costs twice as much to get into town as it does to leave???   Jane took us to the Museum of Anthropology on the UBC campus to see an exhibit of Man Ray's photos of African artifacts from the 1930's.  The building takes advantage of its location on the water with glass walls that frame the enormous totem poles and canoes.

Sitting at the Museum of Anthropology

Jane and Susan

On to Bangkok, with a 3 hour layover in Taipei, the coldest airport on the planet and no Starbucks!  The crumbling Atlanta on Sukhumvit soi 2 is still presided over by Ang in the restaurant and Roger in the lobby.


                                                                       

Crash landing at the Atlanta

Sky train

Nothing gets rid of jet lag better than gyoza and noodles at Ramentai and a visit to Khun Vey, my favorite hair guy in Nana...on the mezzanine of a shopping plaza, above the bars and sex.

Ramentai, best noodle reataurant in Bangkok

Khun Vee and Khun Susan

Me and the Sky Train

Chao Praya river and water hyacinths

The old and the new

Ralf Tooten, German photographer

 We took a water bus up the Chao Praya river to the National Gallery to see Bangkok Noir, an exhibition of photos by a German ex-pat.   The photos, of life on Bangkok streets after dark, were shown as large transparencies on monitors set on the floor in a dimly lit gallery.

There was also an inexplicable conceptual art installation in several large rooms consisting of written statements, kiddie plastic chairs in neon colors, ditto some umbrellas, and a 1960s Danish modern sofa.  Danish artist.

Student art work at National Gall

This painting of a cat reminded us of Joan's 2 little darlings!




 And of course we shopped;  for DVDs, project cameras, clothes, lenses, and on and on and on.  Bangkok has huge shopping buildings dedicated to electronics or cell phones, or shoes, or clothes.  We always go to Panthip Plaza (electronics, computers, software) and MBK (clothes, cell phones, DVDs, and bus ticket to Mae Sot)

Nothing like sushi after a hard day's shopping at MBK