Dad has been in town with me for the last seven days. He was really excited to come. Dad used to spend his summers here as a student in the sixties, so he wanted to explore his old neighbourhoods and retrace old paths, do a little shopping and just wander among the new and grand buildings that have sprung up since he was here. I wanted him to meet all my friends and to question him about his family who lived in New York, his mother and aunts and grandparents - I'm the fourth generation of Bovee/O'Briens to live in NYC!

Dad spent Friday in the Village, with a visit to his old apartment building at 1 Bank Street. In the evening we went to our West Side taco place on Amsterdam/108th with Jeff and Caitlin Mulcock, Jeff Butler, Colin and Jared. Most of the Mulcocks/McPhees have met most of the Bovee/Kings and we're all like extended family now. Well, I like to think so.


Saturday we met Dave Almond and his sister Elise and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights where we had ice cream on the waterfront, and then went up to Montague Street to see the street where Dad and Aunt Mary used to live. He says the shops have changed but otherwise it looks pretty much the same.

Sunday I got to introduce Dad to several friends at church, and in the evening we had dinner with Mike - a happy reunion for Mike and "Dad" with hugs and reminiscences of Latvian sweaters - and then Dave came by and Dad got to play the infamous Ticket to Ride.

Monday morning I was back at work during the day, so Dad went exploring. In the afternoons he would collect me from work and we'd go do some of our favourite things like perusing the travel section at several large bookshops. We also enjoyed dining out. Tuesday we went for dinner at Molyvos, an upscale Greek restaurant near Carnegie Hall. Some fancier restaurants in NY really don't live up to expectations, but the food here was simply delicious. Perfectly cooked, wonderful ingredients. We were very happy! It turns out restaurants are great places to get people talking about their family history and I noted down several new stories about Dad's family and tidbits of information to follow up on.

Most evenings we ended up at the seaport, having a look in the shops and sitting at the end of the pier, watching the boats. And then back home, where Dad had easily befriended all my roommates.

I was so sorry to say goodbye to Dad yesterday. I stood looking out my office window in the afternoon, wishing he was down there somewhere. But I'm sure he'll be back to visit again soon. New York is too much of a draw. And I think he rather likes my company as well!

Papa arrives today

Escape

This weekend I finally escaped the city for more than just a few hours. I had a car and I intended to go a good long way. First stop was New Bedford where I'd hoped to find some more historical records and photograph some old buildings connected with my family. Neither were to be found, but I did have a jolly nice sandwich (tuna salad made with long grain rice) so it wasn't entirely a bust. Having finished early in the afternoon, I had loads of time on my hands so I headed to Cape Cod. I could have driven all the way to Provincetown, but there's a limit to the hours I can spend in a car, so stopped at Hyannis and went to the beach were the beginnings of the sunset cast long shadows across the dunes.

The next morning was the highlight of the trip. Bright and early, I attended sacrament meeting with the Fall River Branch. This little congregation, with 50-60 people in attendance, were exactly what they professed to be, a family. The Branch President sang his heart out during the hymns. The meeting was friendly and familiar without being irreverent. You could sense real affection among the members and the talks given really drew the Spirit. I even took notes. Haven't done that for years!

After church, I made a quick stop at the cemetery (oh, how I love cemeteries!) and then on to Newport, Rhode Island, the fashionable summer retreat for well-heeled New Yorkers before the turn of the 19th century. The seashore is dotted with grand houses, indeed some, like the Vanderbilt's mansion The Breakers, are virtually palaces.
Despite 90 degree temperatures and blazing sun in New York and New Bedford, Newport was constantly overcast with strong ocean breezes blowing in great clouds of cool, moist air. I walked along the cliff path, enjoying the fresh sea air and the sound of the breaking waves. I love being near the ocean.

The most exhilarating part of the trip was driving over several tall bridges. The views are spectacular, and it was so tempting to keep taking my eyes off the road. The winds would have easily blown my car into the next lane or, it seemed, over the side of the bridge had I not be ever so careful. The longest and tallest of these bridges was the Pell Bridge connecting Newport to the mainland. I managed to take this picture during the long 200-foot ascent.

As I arrived home Sunday night, tired but refreshed, I realised I'd put my feet down in four different states that day.

The rest of the pictures from the trip are on Flickr.

The Mr. Darcy list

Dave Almond and I are doing a joint, or rather simultaneous, post on what he calls the Mr. Darcy list. These are things that we feel are alright, but other people go crazy for, and we don't understand quite what all the fuss is about. For example:


Dave says he appreciates the fine storytelling of Austen's Pride & Prejudice but has never understood the obsessive adoration for the character of Mr. Darcy and various portrayals of him that so many people seem to have. Hence the title of the list. By the way, I don't really understand the allure of him either. Men who are withdrawn and surly are not mysterious and intriguing to me, I see them as grumpy, self-involved and frankly no fun at all. I prefer nice chaps, with smiles and self-esteem.

So anyway, here's my Mr. Darcy list:
Fancy NY restaurants - sometimes delicious, sometimes not, you can't believe the hype, cheap felafel sandwiches are often far more satisfying
The Alchemist - it was a decent read but it didn't change my life
Mountains - i enjoy going up mountains once in a while, especially if they're in the Alps, but at boarding school in Colorado people practically worshipped them (what I do like is tunnels through mountains, I LOVE tunnels)
Mitt Romney - it was kinda fun watching an LDS candidate for president do well, but I couldn't ever really support a Republican and I was recently shocked to discover one of my friends - heretofore a commited Democrat - had served as one of his campaign staff
Traversing the Brooklyn Bridge - she's a beauty, but I could go a good long time without walking across it again

Feel free to chip in with your own Mr. Darcy list contenders (Dad, that means add new ones... we already know you think Mitt is Satan) Or contest any of the above. I may be opinionated, but I'm also English, which means I never miss a chance to apologise for it!

I'm a proper New Yorker now... I just got invited to the Hamptons! That would make two weekends out of the city in a row. I am so anxious to escape, even if it's just for a couple days.

Sleepy Hollow

Kelly was in New York this weekend so on Saturday Libby, Kelly, Eleece and I went on a little adventure out of the city to Sleepy Hollow, home of headless horsemen. We spent most of the time at the Old Dutch Burying Ground.

Now this looks like quite the delightful fellow, historian, lawyer and genealogist. I think we would have been friends. And of course he's a member of the legendary Van Tassel clan.

This is quite the most wonderful toadstool I've ever seen.

This is the infamous Headless Horseman Bridge.Here I am being chased by said headless - and today horseless - horseman, making a rare mid-afternoon appearance.

Oh bother, I appear to have died of fright.

Head, Shoulders, Elbows and Toes

I just got to feel Lucy's baby move again. Last time it was a tiny elbow making room for itself. Today it was a proper kick!

Magical mystery train to PK

So we didn't get to New Bedford this weekend. I wanted to get Lucy out of the city because I knew it would be hot and humid and tiring for her, and I wasn't wrong. We managed one more day in the city yesterday (with trips to Ihop in Brooklyn, the Target in the sky, two games of Ticket to Ride Europe on my roof terrace, and a trip to wholefoods to buy our picnic lunch for Sunday) but today we needed to escape. We needed dry and cool, so we headed north, away from the city and away from the coast.


And where is there to go up north? Well, we didn't rightly know, so we decided to go to Grand Central and get on the first train leaving the station. And that would be the 10.50 express service to Poughkeepsie. It's on the Hudson River line, so we figured green and leafy, perhaps a bit historic. And Lucy knew the kids would love it that she went somewhere with Poo in the name. So what's in Poo-keepsie? A train station, a freeway, a concrete whale, a small park along the river, and, oh well hang on this is quite exciting... the Mid-Hudson Bridge. And here's a picture:
That's me looking so much like Mum. She's cute, isn't she! Oh and we did make a friend.
His name is John. He lives on a boat (moored just off to the right) and is writing a book about daredevils.

So it turns out America isn't like Europe. You can't just jump on a random train and find yourself somewhere interesting. I now know you either stick to the city, or you get on a plane. To somewhere really exciting. Like Cleveland or Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Still, it's fun just to say we did it. It reminded us both of the phone calls we used to get from Stephen when he was in London for the summer, when he'd announce he was in such uninspiring locales as Lewisham or Harrow-on-the-Hill. What are you doing there, we'd ask. "Well, I thought I'd stay on the bus to the end of the line, just to see what was there."

Anyway, we were back in the city by dinner time and ate at a restaurant in Battery Park City, with a view of the Liberty and Ellis Islands.
We also went on another train ride this weekend, to Newark Airport. The least said about that, the better, but we did take a nice picture on the way.Note the smiles. This was the outbound journey! I shall simply have to go to New Bedford another weekend. I think I'll make a day trip of it one weekend this month, although it shalln't be a fraction as fun as going with my little sister.

Shafted and delighted

Our New Bedford trip is off. Stupid nonsense with driving licenses and credit cards, and I don't know what. A wasted trip out to Newark Airport and my eyes are soooo tired now. We tried an alternative route picking up a car in Connecticut, but no good. So we're stuck in the city. Crap.

But.... on a much happier note....while we were waiting for the PATH train back to Manhattan, and my spirits were at a pretty low ebb and just in time to cheer me up, I finally got to feel Lucy's baby move. No big kicks, just a tiny elbow. I felt a few little nudges, and then he stuck it out and held it there, pressing gently against my hand.

Michael is 23 today

And here we are way back in the summer of '06. Two years younger, and a lot more hair...