Finally....Vacation

 We are on Vacation!   A Real Vacation!!!!  I am not ungrateful...we missed ski trips and a trip to Slovenia during the pandemic.  But we were lucky enough to work out of Savannah, GA (3 times), Winter Park, Co (2 times), Bozeman, MT (once) and Columbia, SC (once).  So, we travelled...and we worked.  But now, we are actually on vacation.  Originally, I had booked two weeks in St. Lucia as I thought that Europe would not be open to us.  As it got closer and closer to the cancellation date and St. Lucia had restrictions, I cancelled that trip.  So, where to go in the US for those that would rather be in Europe?  I settled on the Middle Keys of Florida....landed a house in Marathon on a canal with a pool.   We are not beach people.  Cate did not want to bring anyone.  I have to admit, Jamie and I were a bit nervous.  Will this work out?  Will this be a vacation?   I planned several activities from food tours, to snorkeling, to deep sea fishing and an overnight in Key West.

We arrived yesterday.  We rented a Jeep Wrangler...I don't know why...it just seemed appropriate.  Flew from Pittsburgh to Dulles and then from Dulles to Key West - all First Class...why not?  On the way to our rental, we stopped at the 7 Mile Grille and had appetizers - Conch Fritters and beer.  Loved the place.  Stopped in Marathon at the Publix and picked up basic provisions and then on to our rental house.  It is quaint...totally enough size for the three of us and the pool overlooking the canal doesn't stink.  We had dinner outside - crab dip and crackers, simple steamed shrimp and key lime pie.  A great way to start the trip.

I am reading a series of murder mysteries penned by an author called Jean Luc Bannalec.  He is actually a German author but his mysteries are all set in Brittany...hence my interest.  In his latest book, the main character and his girlfriend are on a 2 week trip to a coastal town in Western Brittany.  The author's writing is very descriptive and I think I will have to visit this place.  The girlfriend of the main character is all about relaxing...lounging on the beach, reading a book, swimming, etc.  The main character is going nuts in the matter of 24 hours.  As I read the book, I wonder if Jamie will be the same.

After a nice first night, I sleep until 8:30.  I hear Jamie roam around the house at 7am, hear him leave around 8am.  I am up before he gets back...he has been in search of coffee.  By 9am, I am lounging by the pool.  He comes around from time to time, keeps me updated on the neighbors and their boats.  But I can already tell...he is the main character.  He takes off the roof of the Jeep and at lunch time, the three of us head back to the 7 Mile Grill for lunch.  We already feel like regulars.

He loosens up a bit in the afternoon...swims with Cate in the pool while I nap.  She and I have an aperitif around 4pm.  By 4:30, she is having a siesta, I am showering, and Jamie....he is taking a drive...

It will be interesting go see how the next two weeks go...for all three of us!  Tonight, we are cooking Red Snapper on the grill.  Tomorrow, our activity is a kayak tour.  I am hoping that is enough for everyone.  Jamie is already talking about a possible trip on his own to Austria in the fall as he has 10 weeks of vacation to use before 2022.

One thing for certain...we are not working!

I just want to write....

 Virtually no one reads these postings but there are times when I feel that I need document my thoughts.  Shortly, Jamie's mum (as they say in Pittsburgh) will have escaped her assisted living facility for brunch.  I have ordered biscuits and gravy from a local farmer, hopefully, giving her a taste of her childhood.

We moved!  During COVID, we decided that once Dickinson College, where Cate is attending, would allow her to be on campus, we would put the house up for sale.  We are not made for suburbs.  House sold...for an ungodly price and we are now renters in an upscale area of Pittsburgh.   This has had its own challenges...downsizing;...a man who brags about the pants he has on that are 20+ years old, etc....I could go on and on.    But I love the townhouse we are renting.  I love that in one minute, I can be at a grocery store, the nail salon, restaurants....I love watching people  walk by the house.....I love that it is quieter here than it was in the suburbs.    

It is so much smaller than what we had and I was afraid that Cate would be upset with the move...but she is an Army child...she loves it....spending her time decorating her space.  

So yesterday, I drive to my favorite bakery which is now only a mile away as opposed to 40.  I stand in line as they only allow 2 people in the store at once.  A woman and her two children come up behind  me...and they are not speaking English.   They are speaking German.  I turn around and quietly say, "I love hearing German."   The mom is face-timing with her mom and I overhear the conversation in German...most of which I still do not understand but it had such a calming effect on me.  When they finished their conversation with "Tschuss", I almost cried.  

Then the mom looks at me and says in English, "So you speak German?"  My response, "Ein Bisschein",  a little.  She tells me that she and her husband are from Berlin but her children, grades 2 and 5 were born in the US.   I tell her about our time in Germany and where we lived.  I tell her that Cate attended the local Grundshule  when we  moved to our village and she is amazed.  They want to move back and send their own children to the local German school and they are fighting the effort.

I came home and cried.  I so miss my time in Europe.  I must say that I have cooked more in the last week now that Cate is home.  And I am looking forward to our vacation....not Europe this year but to a place I lived when I was 2 years old....Key West.  Evidently, Tennessee Williams used to drive past our bungalow with his boyfriend... I am looking forward to seeing if the old place still exists. But I like this new place because it reminds me of Europe.  Cate seems to be settling in well.  We had "Mum" over today for brunch and I think she enjoyed it as well.

 I realized yesterday, that I have missed writing....Cate and I were looking at this blog and were so surprised at how many postings I did in 2020.  Maybe I will start up again...

Very few read this but it is somewhat calming for me to throw a few thoughts out there....

Could I Move to a Town Just Because of the Grocery Store?

      Soon, we will be six months into the work from home thing.  Actually, I am now under the "hybrid" model.  I go into the office two days a week and work from home the other three.  Jamie is full time at home with no end in sight.  Cate started Dickinson College 10 days ago from her new dorm room across the hall from her bedroom.  But, we are handling it.  Understanding, it is not ideal for our daughter's development, we have tried as much as possible to not get involved in solving her problems, we do not expect her at dinner, and we refuse to ask, "How was school today?"  I might query with, "How are your classes going?"  I think I would have asked the same question via text or on the phone had she been at Dickinson.

    Jamie takes some weekends to go off to the mountains with a college buddy where they ride bikes, cut wood, have a bonfire, etc.  Then he takes mid-week trips to really obscure places such as the Corning Glass Museum (I won't get into the others).  But the important thing is that he is able to get away, stimulate his mind in a different way and most of his trips center around the proximity to a certain grocery store.  More to follow...

    I do not go anywhere.  Maybe three times, I have had drinks with a friend.  Last weekend, I planned an outing for all of us to stay at a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, have massages and a leisurely dinner at the Capital Grille.  It was wonderful and much needed.

    I am slammed at work.  My cyber school went from an enrollment of about 850 at the end of SY19-20 to nearly 1,500 when school started on August 24.  This is wonderful for us but I have been in constant interviewing mode for several months now.  So, I thought...you can interview from anywhere - so why not go somewhere and work and just spend a few nights on your own.  Since all of our trips to Europe and Canada have been cancelled (and luckily, refunded), we have been taking trips like this to work but have a different setting.  But this would be the first time that I had done it on my own.

    On one of "those" Jamie trips, he discovered the Lake Chautauqua region of New York.  After learning how to properly pronounce it...there is no "g" it is a "qu", he could not reconcile that being a native Pittsburgher and a man of travel, that he did not realize that it was only 2 hours from our house. So, we spent a week here in July.  Cate found it incredibly boring and I do not blame her.  Outside of boating, which was the highlight of her week, there is little else except for anything to do with the lake, which could also mean, looking at the lake, sitting by the lake, maybe kayaking on the lake.  Not exciting for an almost 19 year old.

    But when I decided that I needed to spend a few days on my own and work from a different location, I landed on, what to me is the perfect lake house.  Small - only two bedrooms but a wall full of windows that look out over the lake.  A beautiful screened in porch is attached so I can sit outside and not worry about the bugs.  There is an outdoor deck, an outdoor fire pit and a dock.  In the early mornings, the sun streams in during sunrise.  During the course of the day, as I dial yet another number for another interview, I watch water skiers, kayaks and boats go past my workspace.  It  has a calming effect.  That is not to say that I am any less tired at the end of the day, but I am alone, I am looking at the water, it is quiet and it is peaceful.

    So, why cook for just me?  Why spend the money on things like olive oil, butter, spices and the such, when I am here for only a few days.  If you ask the family, for any road trip, the culinary stash takes up more space than my suitcase.  But I decided to go light this time.  Hence the purpose of my post...Could I move somewhere just because I love the grocery store?

    NY has a chain of stores called Wegman's.  It is family owned and not located solely in NY.  When we lived in DC, we would specifically travel to one in VA about 40 minutes away.  Now in PA, there is one in Erie.  Jamie and I love a great grocery store and this one is it.  I love it mainly for its prepared foods section.  I am not a big proponent of prepared foods.  During this pandemic, Door Dash or pizza delivery has been used by us about 5 times.  But I love a good deli section.  I love getting charcuterie and great cheeses and maybe finding something that I cannot find in Pittsburgh.  That is really my prepared foods.

    So, when Jamie has been travelling, he only travels to NY towns that have a Wegman's and he gets a poke bowl for dinner one night and a small charcuterie/cheese plate for lunch the next day.  Given that I did not want leftovers, I stopped by the closest Wegman's yesterday after work and found a small sashimi plate with tuna and salmon and a summer roll with shrimp.  Ok - that can be dinner.  It was too much for dinner so it became lunch for today as well.  Then I landed upon a premade macaroni and cheese.  I LOVE Mac and Cheese.  How could I resist this?  I started to think about the calories?  Then I noticed that they published it on the side of the dish.  Ummm