Last Day in Japan

We did something today we probably should have done at least a week ago – we slept in, and boy did it feel good. Tomorrow we hope to sleep in even later since we won’t have to worry about waking up in time for the breakfast buffet or in time to check out of the hotel without incurring any fees.

The breakfast buffet was an odd assortment of American and Japanese food. It included potato salad, but nothing like waffles or pancakes. Of course there was miso soup and an assortment of pickled Japanese foods, and hot dogs and ham. I’m really looking forward to having chicken again. I didn’t realize how hard that would be to find.

Checking out is the usual mad dash to squeezed everything into suitcases.  Since we didn’t buy many souvenirs and we brought gifts for our friends, this was easier than on other trips, and uneventful.

Since we checked out on a weekend, we finally had WiFi in our room.

By this point we had 3 ½ hours before the airport shuttle bus came. We spent the time wandering around the area near the train station. A particular highlight was the 100 YEN store (think Dollar Store). We bought some tiny souvenirs, and some Japanese gadgets. Ashley and I picked up some chopsticks that came with a carrying case so we can bring them with us when do a picnic in the park with Tiger Noodle food. Don finally mastered the skill of using chopsticks, but still prefers using a fork.

Yesterday was the day the big sales started. If it is anything like Europe,

there are 2 week-long huge sales twice a year – in the summer and winter. It was probably a good thing we spent one of those days at Mount Fuji since the dollar dropped from 100 just before our trip to 88 on our last couple of days.

We said our final sad good-byes to Masumi. We added a wish to a wish tree that she wins the green card lottery (which is her wish) so she can live in the United States. We’d be lucky to have her living in our country.

The shuttle bus drive was 2 hours long. I took more pictures of Tokyo. The bus took us past Tokyo Disney, but the not close enough to take any last pictures of it. Speaking of pictures, I know we took a lot of pictures (especially with the new camera), but a final count will have to wait until we get home as I packed the power cord to conned the camera to the tablet in the checked luggage. I brought a card reader, but it doesn’t fit in this computer.

We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Good thing since the Air Canada computers were down since it was midnight in Canada. C’est la vie!

So far the flight is uneventful. Annoyed that the person in front of me (who has the exit aisle with about 6 feet of leg room to our few inches) decided to lean back into my space the second he had a chance. I lost my space to do crossword puzzles. He slept the entire time, too, which really annoyed me. Fortunately Ashley slept for a good part of the 12-13 hour flight. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

More pictures of Tokyo

Unchained--Don's first Art exhibit

Last night was a lot of fun! We attended ArtWorks opening reception of the exhibit Unchained: the art of the bicycle. This was his first juried exhibit. The guidelines were that you had to submit art that involved bicycles in some way, shape, or form. there were many photographs and drawings, and a few sculptures. 

Don wore his "Don's Double Century" polo shirt.

This tricycle has a camera mounted on the front and pictures taken by that camera on the wall behind it.

This pooch is made out of bicycle chains.

Don's artwork was pictures he took at Walt Disney World and turned into a calendar. Rather than submitting the calendar, he turned it into a collage. Even enlarged, it is hard to distinguish the images. January was taken at Epcot (near France). October and December were both taken in MGM (before it became known as Hollywood Studios) in the back lot area. The rest were taken in Animal Kingdom. If you love the image, ArtWorks is selling it for $25 with all proceeds going to ArtWorks. Or perhaps a deal can be made with the artist.

What made the evening the most special, though, was seeing so many people from different stages of Don's life. There were the usual Trenton cycling crowd (Jacque, Kate, Mike, and Wills), Lawrence cycling friends (Dennis and his wife, Laura), friends from college (Mike and Debbi, with their boys), and friends from our former church (Jen and Ben). I know as Don reads this, he will remind me of others who turned out for the opening reception. It was so much fun seeing friends from different parts of life come together to celebrate. One of the biggest reasons I have been keeping this blog is to help us to remember special moments in our lives such as this one, and to share those moments with those of you who live too far away to share them with us in person.

His art will be on exhibit through June 13. I encourage you to go to celebrate Trenton's rich art culture. ArtWorks is most easily found by taking the Market Street exit off of Route 1 South. When you come off of the highway, the building is across the street from the exit.

Trenton Times article about the event: http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/05/artworks_unveils_bicycle_art_s.html

Quick trip to NYC

Continuing with the recent theme of things I could or should be doing with all that free time while Ashley is in school (Thunder game, movie) was a quick jaunt into NYC to see a show.

We are lucky we live close to both New York City and Philadelphia. People in our neighborhood commute to those cities. We, though, only go to each one a couple of times a year. Our most recent trip to NYC was earlier this month when we saw "Newsies." 

There are lots of excuses for not going into NYC -- it isn't cheap, it is only easy-ish (parking is a hassle, the trains don't run as often as I would like, it takes about 2 hours to get to NYC from our house when you factor in driving to the train station, catching a train, etc.). Still, we are lucky it is so close to us.

This week Noemi, a friend from Sustainable Lawrence, is starring in a one-woman off-Broadway show that she wrote and is also producing called "The Fountain of Youth." Anyone in theater will tell you that is a lot of hats to wear for a show.

I took the train in with Noemi -- thus eliminating the hurdle of finding parking at the Princeton Junction Train Station. Since I was going to her show, I took the train back with her and her husband, Ron.

While in NYC, I made a pilgrimage stop to the New York Public Library to visit old friends from the 100 Acre Wood. They moved to NYC in 1987. It was a quick visit. 

I had dinner at The Counter -- a burger place on the corner of Broadway and 41st Street. Bill told us about this place during our last visit to NYC. It is amazing -- I had a vegan veggie burger with goat cheese, grilled pineapples, roasted red peppers, roasted onions and artichokes on a ciabatta roll with a side of sweet potato fries. They also have chicken, turkey burgers, beef, and bison. Lots and lots of choices.

The play was the first half of a double bill. It was fun. I was most impressed that Noemi could easily switch between 10 different characters with a shift in her body language, voice and minimal props. She even played a man. The play was very thought provoking. We talked about it during the ride home.

The other play was "Cowl Girl." Three actors each only playing one role. The actor playing Jason reminded me of my eye doctor. The actor playing Alex bore a strong resemblance to someone I know from SVP. I kept thinking it was them on the stage! Each role showed significant growth in 75 minutes. Both shows were part of an acting workshop. The hope is to hone the productions and keep finding new venues (and new funding) for future productions.

It is always fun supporting a friend in the arts.

I was a bit beat today, though. Not used to coming home after midnight, being up in time for the school bus, and having a full day. I'm ready for the weekend!

March Madness

For most, the term March Madness evokes images of basketball games. For us, 2013 March Madness was school plays.

The month began with seeing Seussical at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, NJ. It was phenomenal! Some of the leads were played by Saint Ann School alumni. We look forward to continuing to go to Notre Dame productions to continue to see our stars become their stars.

The next day Ashley and I saw Guys and Dolls at Lawrence Middle School. The 7th and 8th graders did a good job with the tough material.

Ashley's friends from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," were cast in Hillsborough High School's production of "Beauty and the Beast." It was so much fun seeing familiar faces on stage and hugging them afterwards. The production was amazing. You can see the number of hours they put into rehearsing. 



Then, all too quickly, it was time for the Saint Ann School production of "Willy Wonka." Auditions took place last December. Rehearsals began every weekend right after winter break. All of a sudden it seemed it was time for the show.

Ashley was cast as Mrs. Gloop -- Golden Ticket winner Augustus Gloop's mother. This role involved singing a small 2-line solo (her first) and speaking in a German accent. She says the toughest part was having to eat chocolate on stage. It is tough to be an actress.

The productions at Ashley's school are completely parent run -- from the directors, choreographers, costumers, set designers, set painters, back stage crew, ticket sellers, etc. You name it, a parent is doing the work. Well, a couple of alumni come back to help at the last minute.
I use my talents to take pictures of the cast during dress rehearsals, plus I sneak a few in during the show when they are wearing their full costumes. Don's work is ideally not seen, but very important. He works back stage moving sets and props. Ashley helped him during the fall production and said it was so hard, she won't do it again!
Saint Ann's is fortunate to have so many students involved with the show that they have two full casts -- which means twice as many rehearsals for the parent directors, etc. They had so many strong girls auditioning that they had four Wilhamena (Willy) Wonkas and four Charlene (Charlie) Buckets, which also added to the rehearsal schedule.

By the last curtain call, we were all a bit tired. I continue to cull my 1000 pictures down to a couple of hundred. These will be added to the DVDs that are given to each member of the cast and crew during the cast party. It is a labor of love and we love that so many parents are willing to give that love.

March might be over, but we continue to support our friends and family in shows.

A Day at the Movies

Two and a half years ago when I stopped homeschooling Ashley and sent her to a bricks and mortar school I made a mental list of all the ways I could spend my new found free time. I would clean out every closet, volunteer, make amazing meals every day, bake lots of homemade treats, and check out all the new releases at the matinees.

I'm not Donna Reed or June Cleaver, but most nights I do make a home cooked meal, and sometimes I even bake treats (last week I made Scotch Bars for Don's birthday). As many of you know, I do volunteer, sometimes too much. My closets still need to be cleaned, though. Until yesterday, I did not see a single matinee.

Yesterday my running buddy, Sharon, emailed me to see if I wanted to see "The Impossible" with her. She is on a quest to see all the major Oscar nominations before the awards ceremony next month. My first inclination was to say no. I had a to do list a mile long. The kitty was at the vet being spayed. The usual Monday chores (groceries, laundry). A 45-minute run was on my training schedule and the forecast called for temps in the 50s, even though it is January. 

As I was mentally listing my reasons no, I remembered this simple desire I made to myself. The wish to see more movies. Plus another goal to say yes to new adventures.

There are a lot of movies styles I don't care for -- psychological thrillers top that list. I quickly Googled the movie, decided it was one I would enjoy seeing, plus I would go with a friend. Why not?!

The run happened. The groceries were purchased after the movie. The kitty was picked up after the groceries. Lunch was eaten two hours late (probably should have picked up a sandwich from Wegmans while I was there to eat on the drive to the kitty clinic, but was feeling indecisive). The to list was pushed off to today. Alls good.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it. I was enthralled by their adventure, even though I was quite certain they all lived until the end. Some parts of it would have been deemed as contrived had they not been part of their true story. 

My take away was "buy trip insurance in case the horrendous happens." 

I wondered what happened to the lives of the family post-movie. A Google search (yes, as a trained librarian I should be able to use a source better than Google) brought up two good articles:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/4727569/boxing-day-tsunami-maria-alvarez-the-impossible.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/real-story-behind-the-impossible-miracle-1519067

As a warning, the first article will spoil the movie if you plan to see it.

Today's lesson: when a friend invites you to do something fun, say yes and worry about the details later.

One last thought -- the first showing of movies is only $6 at the local megaplex in Hamilton.

University Creameries

Last weekend we drove to Newark, DE to visit our friends Jean and Bill. Jean and I first met in 1993 when she started to work for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. We attended their 1994 wedding. About 5 years later Jean told me about a job opening in the development office at Rider University. We had the pleasure of working together for a couple of more years before I moved onto Princeton Day School's Alumni and Development Office.

Last fall Jean retired from Rider University. She and her husband sold their home and moved to Newark, DE, home to the University of Delaware. Jean and Bill invited us down to check out their new hometown.

Knowing us as well as she does, Jean immediately suggested we start our tour at the University of Delaware Creamery. Well...for the cause, you know. ;) 

As winter break was still in session, the campus was very quiet. We were able to stare at the menu and drool over choices such as Peppermint Bark (white chocolate ice cream with crushed candy canes and chocolate chunks), Peppermint Hot Chocolate ice cream (mint chocolate ice cream with crushed Andes Mint candies) and Not-tella (chocolate hazelnet ice cream with a hazelnut graham cracker swirl). Oh they also have traditional flavors, but those were the ones we put into a giant 3 scoop serving. The creamery is run by university students as a way to learn how to market and run a small business, as well as features the milk from the cows on the other side of the parking lot. We've already determined this is a must-do rest stop when traveling south on I-95. Done right, we'd even avoid a $4 toll, and use that money to buy some ice cream! If only they had public rest rooms.

This is the third creamery we have visited. The second one was the Dairy Store at Michigan State University. We visited that creamery while in Michigan visiting Ashley's friend, Emma, and her family. 

MSU learned a key lesson -- the name really matters! If you are an OSU fan, how could you pass up a Buckeye flavor? Most, if not all, of their flavors were named after competing school teams. 

The mecca of university creameries seems to be at Penn State University, reputed to be the largest university creamery in the nation. It certainly was the largest looking operation of the few we have seen.

Always up for recommendations of creameries to visit -- they don't have to be on university campuses to count.

As a a side bonus, the trip helped me with my top goal for the new year -- spending more time with friends, especially those who have recently moved. Hopefully we'll see Jean and Bill back up in Lawrenceville for Music in the Park, and we hope to go to Newark for some minor league baseball or other fun activities in the warmer weather.

For now, I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

2012 Columbus Half Marathon

In 2011, Aunt Joanie and I had a blast running the Disneyland Half Marathon. We took our time, posed for pictures with characters, walked on the warning track at the Anaheim Stadium, and mostly laughed our way through all 13.1 miles. As Joanie and I emailed back and forth about the 2012 Columbus Half Marathon, I had a similar vision for this race. We'd take our time, and soak up the entertainment. 

Let me backtrack a minute. I'm often asked "why Columbus?" I have family and friends who live in Columbus, OH. I knew at least one of them (Cousin Allie) would be running in the race. Allie's Dad, Uncle Tom's, band, The Danger Brothers, always play at the start of the race. Cousin Laura and Aunt Debra spend the day chasing Allie around town. The route was also very appealing to me as it wound through the parts of Columbus I know -- downtown, past Aunt Debra and Uncle Toms's old neighborhood (Franklin Park) where we went to AmeriFlora in 1992, through Bexley where they live now, back to Franklin Park, over to German Village (where Heidi lives) and back downtown again. It is also a very, very flat course. Even I could not complain about the hills.

Back when I started to train, Joanie was planning on flying out from California to run with me. Back when we made this decision, we were going to pull Ashley out from school for a couple of days. 

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Aunt Joanie's vacation time was not approved until the last minute, by which time the race was sold out. Ashley had some troubles in school and we couldn't pull her out even for a day (in the long run, that was the right decision). Oddly Aunt Debra was in New Jersey at her high school reunion while we were racing.

It was time for a mindset change. I was in it to beat our old time of 3:24 (16 minute mile). If I had a good time, too, that would be nice.

After months of training, the race day was finally here.

With Allie before the race

The race started at 7:27, just as the sun was thinking about rising.

I was blessed to have a lot of sag support. At the starting line, in the spot reserved for band groupies, were Don, Cousin Laura, Aunt Joanie and Joanie's friend Valerie cheering me on as I started the long race. There was even a shout out from Uncle Tom, the drummer, telling the crowd how proud he was of his daughter and niece.

Here I ditched the gloves.

I saw my parents and Ashley hanging out at miles 2 and 7 (they stayed still while I ran for an hour). The first time they caught my white sweatshirt. The second time they were handed my long-sleeved tee. I wish I had hung onto that tee for a few more miles, but alls well that ends well.

Don took his bike to Columbus in order to keep up with me. After seeing him at the start, he caught up with my parents at mile 7. He found me in German Village (by this point, Heidi went inside to get warm) and took my camera from me. He looked for me at the last watering hole, but gave up in time to find me at the finish line.

I stayed true to my training and did not jackrabbit out, as I am prone to do when I run by myself. My first mile was 11:35, and my last was 12:40. My worst mile was 14:00, when I had a 2 minute port-o-potty break. I have wider range in every training run. 

All along I trained to run 4 minutes, walk for one. I was doing great at this pace until about mile 8.5. At this point I realized I had lots of strength to power walk, but I would lose it if I insisted on running 4/5ths of the time. I still picked up my pace to smile for the paparazzi (mostly Don at this point) and to finish with a big grin.

Prior to the race I debated about joining a pace group. I started out ahead of the 2:30 pace group. They passed me at the halfway point. They were going with the running a mile, walking a minute, and walking through water stations mentality. I lost them at the port-o-potty break, not long after I found them. 

I have no complaints about the run. As I completed my second half marathon I began to finally think of myself as a runner. All along I've been "Goldilocks" grumbling about my training runs -- too hot, too cold, too hilly, too boring. When it came down to race day, I really enjoyed it.

Two days after the half marathon I put on a new pair of sneakers and started training for the Trenton Half Marathon (November 10). The next day, I even went out for a 5K run with Sharon, my running buddy.

Family picture at the finish area. Cousin Laura, Uncle Tom, Cousin Allie (with her blue medal for finishing the whole marathon), me (orange medals for half marathon finishers), Don, and Aunt Joanie. 

Final note: Allie and I both earned PRs. Mine was 2:43:46 (41 minutes faster -- 12:30 minute mile). Allie finished the full marathon in 3:46:10 (13 minutes faster, and 11 minutes away from qualifying for Boston)!

Photo Walk 2012

Now celebrating its 5th year, PhotoWalk is a day where people all over the world meet in groups to take pictures. Each person is invited to share their favorite picture of the day with their group. The group leader, in our case Alina Blianch of Alina B Studios in West Windsor, NJ, then selects the top photo from the group to participate in a larger contest.

I didn't know any of that when my friend, Sharon, invited me to participate with her. Our 1/5 to 2 mile walk through Mercer County Park included a dozen photographers, plus the coordinator. Ashley was one of the photographers as it was either join me or go with Don to a class at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). She wisely chose us, and had a great time. I still need to upload her pictures and have her tell me which one is her favorite from the day.

Before we headed out, one gentleman mentioned he sets his camera on aperture priority. Someone else was discussion ISO settings. Yet another person talked about improving their picture in PhotoShop later. 

Yup, even with my "big camera" (Panasonic FZ100) I was in over my head. I tend to shoot in the auto setting. My biggest debate is often flash vs. no flash. On this walk I learned how to change my ISO setting, and also learned that it was set to default at ISO 200. I'll have to play around with the higher settings for taking pictures in a dark theater at Ashley's next play.

I did try changing the ISO setting that day. Even though my photo software will tell me what settings I used, I really should take notes and compare each photo at home and learn what I like. 

Instead that afternoon I focused on taking several pictures of the same location, but with slightly different angles -- portrait vs. landscape, frame it with a tree branch or not, changing where the horizon appears, zoom in, zoom out, etc. 

Here are three pictures of basically the same spot. I like the middle one best.

I also took a lot of pictures with my macro setting -- something I do not tend to do very often. Of those pictures, my favorite one is of these berries. Sharon often posts pictures taken with her macro lens. After seeing how this picture turned out, I think I will start taking more pictures like this one.

 
I almost always only edit photographs through scrapbooking -- I mean using real scissors and not computer generated cropping tools. After hearing my fellow photographers rave about using photo editing tools, I decided to give it a try. It is a small step, but I felt with the old rusted tank adding a sepia tone would give it a timeless look and feel.

Some statistics from Alina:

There were 32,138 walkers registered worldwide who participated in this event today. There were 1339 walks taking place worldwide today. This was a social event for people who have a common interest to meet, make friends and have fun. 

I actually find it kind of incredible to think that we just took part in such a great event going on worldwide in places like India, Argentina, Italy, France, etc. It really amazes me to think how this was all planned and coordinated via social media. Really an incredible effort. 

Thank you, Alina, for coordinating a great event.

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm

With our day trip to Quiet Valley Living History Farm this week, I feel as if Ashley and I are back to day tripping our way through historical sites. Considering it is August already, it is about time.

This trip started out as a Facebook idea. My friend, Michelle, was lamenting that her daughter's field trip was too far away and would not get her home in time for her dance recital later that night. After looking at the place online, I suggested we postpone the trip until the summer and let the girls have a chance to visit together. Another friend, Karin, saw the "conversation" and asked to join the fun outing. 

Three moms, two preteen girls, and two kindergarten(ish) boys had a triple playdate in Stroudsburg, PA. It was nice because for many reasons. The weather cooperated (80, low humidity, and no rain). Plus the kids were all happy because they had a friend to play with, and the moms were thrilled to be able to hold conversations. Oh, we also snuck in a few lessons about farm life in the late 19th century.

The farm was started by the Depper family who escaped from feudal Germany in the late 18th century and settled in Stroudsburg, PA (about 100 miles from Philadelphia). 

Fast forward a number of years. In 1958 a family purchased the farm from the widow Hess with the intention of farming on the 100 acres. After purchasing the property, they recognized the historic value of the property (which I interpret to mean no one fixed anything in at least 100 years). Rather than farming, the family spent a few years fixing up the place and opened it up in 1963 as Quiet Valley Farm Museum. Changes were made over the years, including building a circa-1893 one-room school house, which was finished in 1994.

Tours are lead by "family members" who revel in telling guests about all of their "modern" conveniences. How much easier life is now (in the 1890s) than it was when "grandpa" began farming. It is cute and annoying at the same time. The discussion about the modern appliances in the kitchen came across as a Pampered Chef demonstration about how lucky the housewife is to have all of these gadgets that her husband, Harvey, kept buying for her. The stove in the picture was quite expensive -- $25 back in the late 19th century. Her husband brought it home for her in his wagon. 

The grandson was quite excited to have a modern-day "fiddle" to distribute seed rather than having to hand sow it like his grandfather. 

All of the presenters were enthusiastic. Each was excited to tell us about "their" lives.

On the day we went, there was a wool-dying presentation. Costumed re-enactors were using heavy pots to dye wool. Sometimes they added iron to change the color of the dye. The presenter became a bit too animated, though, when explaining the old-fashioned technique for making wool indigo-colored. Let's just say it includes everyone peeing in a pot and letting that sit for 6 weeks in the sun. Hard to look at the color again without thinking "ewww."

In addition to more staff than I normally see at small historical sites, there were also a bunch of animals. There were at least 6 goats, 5 pigs, 4 sheep, two horses, a mule, a bull and a foal. 

Our biggest challenge of the day way finding the place. It is tucked in the mountains only a few miles away from the Delaware Water Gap. A couple of signs would have helped. If three college-educated women with GPS units and website directions have troubles finding the place, it is not easy to find. Fortunately we also had children in the car saying (as we drive by) "is that it?" We were all glad that we were not the only ones dumb enough to drive past the unmarked parking lot. 

Thank you for the fun outing!

Soldiers without Guns: Women Defense Workers in WWII

I love a good first person re-enactor. A good re-enactor can make you feel as if you have just traveled back in time. They make you feel as if you have met the person they are teaching you about. As a history buff, I have been enthralled by their stories. I often quiz them about their lives. I always learn something from them and feel an attachment in a way that simply reading about the "person" or watching a movie cannot do. I become engaged with their lives.

Over the years I have engaged with Stacy Roth in this manner. She has programs as part of her "History on the Hoof" business. A great way for a local organization to hire her is through a Horizon Speakers Program grant available from NJCH for such a purpose. We have seen Stacy as Molly Pitcher, and as a refined 18th centuryb lady educating us 20th century people about tea. Most recently, I saw her in overalls and a red bandanna as "Rosie the Riveter" in hyer "Soldiers without Guns: Women Defense Workers in WWII" program. 

Technically, this was my second time seeing her as Rosie. The first time was at Peachfield a month earlier. I got lost. I got very lost. By the time I found Peachfield, Stacy was almost finished. She told me should would be reprising her role at the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbury Heights -- not far from Don's office. We all went. Ashley was asked to demonstrate the outfit welders would have worn. It was a bit big on her.

Stacy brought that era to life. All able women took jobs in order to free up the men so they could go off to fight the enemy. In "her" case she learned how to be a welder. Other women drove buses, made deliveries and took other jobs traditionally held by men. After her presentation, members of the audience were encouraged to share stories about their lives (or the lives of their parents) during WWII.

Her presentation made me think about life in America now.  We've been fighting a war in Afghanistan and Iraq for over a decade. Few Americans are making enormous sacrifices. Many are making no real sacrifices. Back in the 1940s, scrap metal was collected to make weapons. People made do with what they had. They grew Victory Gardens. The war was huge news. Everyone did their part for the good of the country. Today most of us don't have that same connection. Personally I know one person who was killed in action (David Weigle) -- the son of our former pastor. I know of a few others who have or who are serving. Most days pass without my giving that part of the globe a moment's thought. I think that is true for most (not all, of course) of the people I know.

It is a different time. 

We still need to support our soldiers, our vets and their families. They have many needs. 

I do not wish enormous sacrifices on our part, nor did I start writing this planning to turn it into a political statement. 

Thank a soldier, a vet, or their family today and every day.

Disneyland

Anaheim, CA. Visiting Disneyland is like a reunion for us. We make plans to catch-up with old friends and make new ones, too.

This year we timed our trip to overlap with Masumi Tsukamato’s visit. The best we could arrange was starting our trip as hers ended. Hurricane Irene nearly cancelled those plans, but thanks to a wonderful JetBlue agent, we met Masumi as planned. (You can read about that in our blog.) Masumi was sad because her flight home to Tokyo was the next morning, but happy to see us.

For Ashley, no trip to Disney is complete without seeing Brianna Garcia. Brianna is an extremely talented artist who is also very encouraging of Ashley’s artwork. Brianna and Ashley are kindred souls. It is always fun to see them play together in Disneyland.

Hurricane Irene also affected the travel plans of friends Patti and Neil Burd. They were stuck on the West Coast after their cruise. As luck would have it, they went to Disneyland during our vacation. Miss Patti, as Ashley calls her, is a docent at the Lenape Village at the Churchville Nature Center, where Ashley spends many nice Sunday afternoons. When Ashley saw Miss Patti at Disney her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Also on this trip we reconnected with Kimberly Fero, a cast member who always has a bright smile and warm heart no matter the situation. Kimberly spent her day off with us playing in the Magic Kingdom.

A highlight of any trip is sitting around the piano at Coke Corner, listening to Robert Glenn serenade the crowd, and catching up with friends. No matter how long it has been since our last Disneyland vacation, and in this case it had been a full year, the group welcomes us back and fills us in on what we missed.        Jacquie

Disneyland

Bummed I accidentally deleted a blog post about Disneyland. I know in the post I wrote about how much I enjoy catching up with friends, such as Kimberly, Marilyn, and Ragtime Robert. 

I also probably wrote about how much we enjoy watching Ashley play musical chairs at 2:30 each afternoon.

Perhaps I also wrote about how our Disney experience has changed over the years.

Unfortunately as I did not make a back up for 2011 (though I have one for 2012), we'll never know the full extent of what I wrote.

Morven Park

Our summer travels took us to Virginia for a couple of days. After a decade, we finally reconnected with Judy and Mike Wodynski in person. Last summer Judy left Nantucket (where we tried to visit them, really) to become the development officer at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia.

Knowing we love to visit historic sites, Judy gave us the full tour of Morven Park. Morven was the model farm home of Westmoreland Davis, Virginia's 55th Governor. Knowing that New Jersey governors used to reside in Morven, I wondered if there was a connection. In Scottish, the term "morven" means shangri-la. It is actually a fairly common name for places.

Morven Park is an 1100 acre oasis in Virginia. Hard to believe we were only an hour outside of Washington, DC. In addition to the mansion, it is a world class equestrian center, it has many trails and great gardens and places to picnic. It has a Civil War Hut site, which is still used by re-enactors at different times of the year. Archaeological research is taking place at that location. The mansion is also home to the Museum of Hounds and Hunting -- a collection of items related to fox hunting. They are also home to a therapeutic riding clinic and a race track.

On the tour of the mansion we learned about the history of Westmoreland Davis and of the mansion itself. Westmoreland learned a lot about farming while living on his estate, and shared his knowledge with others in the Southern Planter, a farming journal he purchased. The house itself has quite a history. It was built in different sections and has 9 different staircases. There are some great pictures of the interior on the website.

Every once in a while it is nice to include a picture of us. These lions reminded me of the TSC lion.

http://www.morvenpark.com/

Children's Garden at Michigan State University

Another highlight from our road trip was wandering around the Children's Garden at Michigan State University. This was at the suggestion of our hosts, Jenny and Chris and their daughter, Emma. I try to not publish too much information on-line about children, so we'll leave their last names out of this blog.

Emma and Ashley were close friends in Kindergarten, when her dad found a great job in Michigan. Sadly for us, but a great move for them, the family (mom, dad, three kids and a dog) moved. Ashley and Emma continued to keep in touch. When thinking through the logistics of our road trip to Chicago, we realized Michigan was only a small detour away. Jenny and Chris were kind enough to let us stay with them for a couple of days. The girls picked up as if it had only been three days instead of three years.

The family recommended we visit the Children's Garden. The garden was designed by the 4-H club (Ashley is a member of 4-H in Lawrenceville). It incorporates lots of familiar stories -- such as the maze from Alice in Wonderland (see above), a Japanese Bridge reminiscent of the one Monet painted in Giverny, a Small World garden and many other small touches.

The favorite spot to pose seemed to be around Christopher Robbin (of Winnie the Pooh fame). Is this a sign of our near future? So not ready!!

The website is under construction. This is a link for the kids tour section of the website. The garden was free to visit, though there is a charge for parking. http://4hgarden.msu.edu/kidstour/tour.html

Theater

As many of you know, the three of us in addition to performing, we enjoy sitting in the audience. The experience is even more fun when we know someone in the cast.

Recent shows include seeing Chris Kubat as Motel in "Fiddler on the Roof"

Hayden Clark in "South Pacific."

Kate Mochnacz in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."











Tell us about the shows you are involved with and hopefully we can see you on stage, too.