Camp July 2014
A few memories from our week at camp this year. Things started with a bang — in a bad way. Mom was visiting Philadelphia and the Thursday night before our trip started had to be taken to the hospital with some heart issues (she was expertly treated and is now home in the Keys). Given that she was in the hospital, Steve and his family weren’t able to make their way north for their inaugural trip to Camp. Boo....but necessary. They, along with my aunts, took great care of Mom. Kudos to the Paoli hospital for quality of care.
We postponed our departure until Sunday to make sure that nothing declined in Philly and when it didn’t, took the slow way north stopping by at a great farm stand north of Newbury. Blueberries, baby carrots, peppers, and tomatoes — yum!
Once at camp, we were greeted by the Potters who bridged our week and Henri’s. First activity of order was to make gazpacho since some of the ‘maters didm’t make it intact. Sun-blessed tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic all blended into scrumptious goodness. Then for a game of corn hole with our new set.
Monday, Anne gave me an impromptu yoga lesson on the front porch. It was surprisingly powerful and definitely worked my muscles. I may need to look into this… then we headed to the beach for a swim. The lake was definitely warm — that is, as warm as Averill gets. Monday evening I had the Quimby board meeting and Alan joined me for dinner and then the shareholder meeting. It was nice to catch up with old friends Warren, Phil, and Lorie over supper of shrimp skewers and pork ribs.
Tuesday noon Laura and Mark and their boys showed up and thus began 2.5 days of boys play, complete with extended water play, er, battles. The adults also had fun, to be sure. Dinner was delicious salmon from Canada — fresh and simple on the grill.
Wednesday was a rain day so Carole and Laura got baking — banana bread and raspberry pie (thanks to a gluten free crust by Mark). Both were yummy and quickly devoured.
On Thursday, Alan led the menfolk on 187 mile tour of the north country using ATVs from Black Bear. Nobody crashed although there was one flat tire. They returned tired and filthy.
The Potters headed east to Maine Thursday evening, seeing two moose along the way. Then, the Gordons followed suit Friday noon. It was nice to have a little peace — as much peace as you can have with cleaning-dervish Colette in the house. I read on the beach, which was pleasant and then we had a swim. The two adult loons came into the cover fishing and got probably 20’ away from us as we sat on the platform. Very cool. I’m not sure their chicks lived this year as they haven’t been apparent. There are, however, an epidemic of goslings on the property. Wonderful — not.
Saturday we shopped for dinner with Jacques and Jenn, getting more of the yummy salmon. Fresh corn and carrots plus spiraled zucchini = good!
On Sunday, we headed over to Parker Pie Wings for lunch and found, to our surprise, an air show! Very cool to watch the pilots doing their stunts but also a little nerve-wracking watching them plummet to earth with the engine stopped.
In two more weeks, we’ll be back at Papelousu with Alan’s mom. Until then, we’ll enjoy our time in Canaan.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, June 20, 2014
Lightning fast trip to Delft
Dartmouth is a charter member of EdX and they were having a meeting in Delft that Alan had to attend so I decided to tag along and see some of Holland, where I had enjoyed many visits while Dad was teaching at Erasmus University.
We flew into Brussels because it was so much cheaper than Amsterdam. As usual, now that we are Vermonters, the trip had at least three legs. First to drop off Dinah at Runamuck. We had to snake through the area because the annual covered bridge run was in full swing. But luckily earlier explorations came in handy and we left the D at her usual digs when we’re away. Then, it was off to the Burlington airport.
We are certainly familiar with Burlington airport having flown in and out many times over the years but it was a bit weird to arrive from I-89 and not to go to the rental car counter. Once there, we learned that we couldn’t check our luggage through to Brussels because Jet Blue and Delta didn’t have a luggage contract. Boo. Oh well, as it turned out we had to switch terminals so would have had to go through security twice anyways.
We walked from JFK terminal 5 to 4 and along the way got to see some BIG trains — Indian Air and the like. It was kind of cool walking alongside them, almost like we were on the tarmac. Well, except for a metal fence, we were on the tarmac!
We had a longish wait of five hours so got some rather mediocre lunch (LGA really has better options) and hung out in the Sky Lounge where you can now eat with a rather better menu than the restaurant.
The flight over was fine but little more than that. Whatever glamor flying might once have had, it is long gone and is simply an endurance test. Landed in Brussels to a super long line for Passport Control and then another long queue for a taxi. Crazy busy airport left us longing for the peace and efficiency of Zurich. In short, we were sleep deprived, sweaty, and cranky. :-(
The taxi ride was crazy, too, with the driver zooming about like a madman. I hung on to the grip and Alan’s hand for dear life.
Alighting at the hotel, we got a break in that we could check in early. Yes! A shower and several hours of sleep left us feeling ready for an early supper. Alan got a recommendation for a Belgian bistro around the corner and we headed out at the unseemly hour of 6pm for an early meal. The bistro was delightful, very old school. I had chicken waterzooi and Alan moules et frites. Then, for dessert some of the best chocolate profiteroles we’ve ever eaten. Delicious.
After dinner, we walked down to the Grand-Place and did a bit of people watching before heading back to the hotel to read and then sleep again.
Tuesday finds us on the train heading to Den Haag, where we are staying. The countryside is beautiful and brings back many memories of driving through it with my parents.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Hawaii 2nd post 5 months later
Herenui Farm, Maui
We decided rather late to come to Hawaii for Alan’s 50th birthday — just before Thanksgiving. And Hawaii is a popular holiday destination, making finding accommodations challenging. We both spent our time in Zug going through sites looking for a place to stay, making inquiries only to find out things were booked. It was on our way home from Switzerland, literally sitting in the airplane in Zurich, that I received word that the chalet at Herenui organic fruit farm on Maui could be ours — and for a quite reasonable price! We didn’t hesitate and sent off a note to the manager before even leaving Zurich.
Herenui Farm promised two bedrooms, a wrap around deck with views of multiple islands, a new kitchen, and a salt water pool. Its location was a tad unknown — somewhere in rural up country Maui.
Other than sending in the check and confirming our booking, I had no other interactions with the manager so it was with a little trepidation that we left the Maui airport at 4:15pm to head up country. We were quickly engulfed in fog which made navigating the climbing, curving road interesting and as light was dwindling by the time we got to mile marker 16 (the second one), we were more than a little eager to find our digs for the night. At MM 16 v.2 at the “very square” house, we made a hairpin turn onto a dirt road with stunning views of the pacific. After 7/10 of a mile down a jouncing path (glad to have the jeep!), we arrived at Herenui.
Boy was the drive worth it.
The chalet is perched on a hill overlooking Kahoolawe Island Preserve with views of West Maui off to the side. The deck provides ample seating for checking out the views and the grounds, which consist of palms and fruit trees. The master bedroom is set in a corner with sliding screen doors to the deck. You can lay back in bed and watch the sunset.
Sweet!
Our lightning shop en route resulted in a stellar dinner of fried chicken, brownies, and red wine. :-) Night one — check!
Our first morning, we woke up fairly early and explored the place in the daylight. I found some orange trees and brought eight in to make fresh juice. There are also tangerines and papaya on property.
Deciding to spend the day acclimating, we went back down the mountain to the Foodland in Pukalani for a more substantial shop. Foodland is a local Hawaiian chain store that seems to be quite good. Fairly large with ample selection. The prepared sushi and seafood (more poke anyone?) are particularly excellent and, of course, there’s a big selection of Japanese foods. Other than that, the most noticeable difference from the mainland is the price — ouch.
Having stocked up, we headed home to make sandwiches for lunch and then decided to explore the pool. It’s not heated so it was a bit brisk but once you were in, it was fun. We reprised a game from Italy by picking a tangerine and playing catch (there, it was a lemon). A surprisingly relaxing way to pass the afternoon — standing in the pool, looking out at the ocean in the distance and tossing some fruit. :-)
Fresh shrimp fra diavolo for dinner, along with a green salad topped with local sea asparagus and sweet Maui onion.
Monday morning we slept a little late as Alan was a bit under the weather. But then we got our energy together and headed for the town of Hana on the easternmost part of the island. It’s a popular destination by the northern road but since we were already on the south, we took that way. Stunning views of the Alenuihaha Channel and the flanks of Haleakala in bright sunshine.
The road was initially not too challenging — narrow in parts but paved well. The bridges were single lane but there was relatively little traffic. As we made our way east, however, the pavement quality declined and the road got even narrower. In fact, we are theorizing that the most popular road sign in use on Maui is “Road Narrows.” And they are right. In some places, as you wend around a promontory with a cliff on your right and the rocks on the left held up by wire, honking into the unknown to let folks know you’re coming, you think you’re in “Romancing the Stone.”
A pause for an observation. Tourism is obviously a critical industry on Maui and rental cars play a key role. The most common rental vehicle by far is the Ford Mustang. As we traversed the road to Hana, we encountered many, many Mustangs, most of which were driven by idiots who didn’t understand the logistics and ethics of driving single-lane roads perched on the side of a mountain with zero room for error. Beware the Ford Mustang. Top down in one of the rainiest places in the world? Double beware; they’re probably from California. ;-)
Seriously, the road was….interesting. And once we got to Hana, we weren’t eager to return via the same route so we took the northern option. Also narrow and windy but nowhere near the same level of adrenaline. However, first we stopped off in someone’s front yard to grab a BBQ chicken plate from their food truck. Amazing — some of the best chicken we’ve ever had.
The northern route from Hana is Jurassic Park gorgeous and deserves its own day or two to explore the many gardens, overlooks, and waterfalls. All of the guide books say to spend the night in Hana so that you give the area its due and we agree. Next time!
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