ANNUAL
TRIP NORTH
May, 2011
ANCESTRAL
LANDS
We started our
journey this year in Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, staying at our favorite
B&B and stopping by for a howdy at Melvin and Betty’s on the left and Mark
and Catherine’s on the right. As we sat and chatted in the living room, a
pheasant landed in the yard.
CEMETERY
Tickie’s death
earlier this year made our trip to the cemetery a lot sadder than usual
TICKIE’S
GRAVE
Mark’s older
brother, Tickie a.k.a. Paul Armentrout passed away March 1, 2011. We half
expected to see him walk into Mark and Catherine’s parlor but had to drive over
to the cemetery to visit with him instead.
BROTHERS
Philip Armentrout
(October 26, 1747) – July 1, 1836 is Bob’s great, great, great, great, great
grandfather and Peter (September 1751 – January 9, 1824) was Philip’s brother.
PICTURESQUE
One couldn’t ask
for a more peaceful place to spend eternity. The Shenandoah Valley is one
of the prettiest places on earth, with its fertile farmland, rolling hills and
weathered sheds.
NEXT STOP,
PA
We spent the bulk
of our vacation in Shippensburg because that’s where Mom and Dad and John and
Darla live. Some of the kids and all of the grandkids live nearby and were
able to join us for a family gathering at Mom’s place. Jim and Kathryn and
Bob and Deb drove in to join us. More: Shippensburg Visit – May 2011
DANGER
BOYS
During our stay,
we visited Matt and Jenn at the Dickinson College farm and went bike riding with
John. John is preparing to ride the rails on his bicycle, an activity we
declined to try ourselves. Matt prepares to light the burner of the AG1,
his experimental anaerobic digester. There was no explosion and we were
able to use the burner to heat up greens for dinner. More: Dickinson College Farm Tour
PA TO DC
TO NYC
Bob drove us from
Pennsylvania to Maryland. We dropped our bags at Ned’s and he drove us to
Union Station to catch a train to New York. We were really excited about
leaving the car behind and experiencing travel by foot and public transit for a
couple of days.
AMTRAK
Train travel on
the east coast is extremely reliable unlike other parts of the country where the
tracks are owned by the freight train companies. The views from the
train were largely unremarkable. We were a little taken aback by the
presence of police dogs and bag searches though. Things sure aren’t like
they used to be before the Homeland Security Act was signed into law on November
25, 2011. After that, it became de rigueur for Americans to concede their
freedoms in the name of the War on Terrorism.
LION KING
Our first
objective after arrival in New York City was to hook up with Camille’s cousin
Frank. Frank met in front of the Minskoff Theatre, not far from the
Shubert Theatre where our grandfather Frank worked years ago. We had
gotten turned around but finally located our target and were nearly there when
we came upon a raucous, photo flashing crowd clamoring around a limousine on the
curb in front of the theatre. We only had a second to wonder how we were
going to make it to the front door when Frank stepped up, opened a side door and
ushered us off the sweltering sidewalk into a dark and quiet corridor which led
backstage.
ZEBRA LOVE
Camille was in a
state of complete bliss after Frank offered to let her try on one of the zebra
costumes. It reminded her of the cardboard palomino horse she’d wore
around City Island fifty years ago albeit a little heavier. There is a
wand attached to each hind leg so the zebra looks more realistic. How fun
is this! What a beautiful zebra with his/her kind eye. We hoped Spot
wouldn’t feel jealous.
TIMES
SQUARE
On our way out,
Frank took us to the concession area for a killer view of Times Square!
FRYING PAN
Upon Frank’s
recommendation, we walked down to the Hudson and joined the younger set at a
trendy floating bar and watched the sun go down.
FOOTNOTE
Pretty much
everywhere we went there were piles of garbage waiting for removal. As
well as an inordinate number of mattresses. At first we thought there must
just be lots of folks moving, being as how it was the end of the month. By
the second day of our stay we realized that garbage never sleeps and because the
city is built on the vertical, every address belongs to dozens of
apartments. Therefore, in New York, every day is garbage day!
[ Home ] [ Trouts Farm Gardens – May 2011 ] [ Annual Trip North – May & June, 2011 ] [ Wild Kingdom – May 2011 ] [ Shippensburg Visit – May 2011 ] [ Dickinson College Farm Tour ]
