A PRETTY STRANGE (BUT TERRIFIC) VISIT

 
Dear George, 

Our son Justin came up from New Orleans for the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. His kids, Alex and Leo, now 16, were home alone, the first time they’d done that other than a one-night stay, but Justin was confident they’d do fine. On Saturday we did the thrift shops, the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (“Fiber is Art”), and the new Tony Trabert Indoor Tennis Complex at Walnut Hills High, plus lunch at Skyline Chili, and dinner at Seasons 52 (Chilean sea bass for Justin, rainbow trout for Katja, and butterfish for me). On Sunday Justin went to the gym, then had brunch with friends. He and I went to the art museum but couldn't get into the Anselm Adams exhibit in its final day. 

Monday morning Justin had coffee with his cousin Chris, and we dropped him off at the airport at noon for his return home. However, his flight to New Orleans was cancelled, and he took an Uber back to our house at 5 p.m. He called the kids. They seemed to be managing all right. 

On Tuesday Justin had made a new flight reservation, but, because of the record-breaking Southern storm, all flights to and from New Orleans were cancelled. We did more thrift shops, watched “The Edge of War” with Jeremy Irons. Alex was sick, and Justin was very worried, but they had no fever and felt better by the next day. 

On Wednesday Justin had scheduled his third flight home but it too was cancelled. He met Katja’s pain doctor, visited his cousin Chris and his family, and we watched “American Primeval” and “The Stranger”. 

On Thursday Justin finally got a nonstop flight to New Orleans on Allegiant. Of course, it too was promptly cancelled. We had lunch at Ruth's Parkside Cafe, dinner at Biaggio’s, and watched “The Conclave” on Amazon. 

On Friday, four days later than planned, Justin made a reservation with American Airlines, and, miracle of miracles, it actually took off. The kids had eaten nothing but pasta and beans all week long, so he encouraged them to go out to a restaurant for lunch. Katja and I bought some booze at the Party Source and headed home. I missed Justin, but Katja was happy that he was getting back to the children. He was a great help to us around the house, and, as always, we found it a joy to be together. Since we got to say goodbye five days in a row it was a one-of-a-kind visit. 

 Love, 

 Dave

OUR QUICK SWEET MICHIGAN TRIP

Dear George, 

Painful to all, our daughter-in-law K’s mom, Linda, passed away in New Orleans in late April, and the family arranged for a mid-June memorial service in East Lansing, next door to her home town. We had had to cancel an earlier planned trip to New Orleans because of our coming down with covid, so this was the first time in a while that we’ve seen our family and really gone anywhere. Our cleaning lady Jan and her husband take care of Iko when we go out of town, and we brought him over on Thursday evening, the night before our departure. Iko loves Jan, but he sensed that something was up when we carried in his bed and a large container of food. Iko promptly peed on the living room curtain, which I interpreted as him saying, “I’m not the sort of dog you want to stay here in your house.” Iko got very clingy and started whimpering as we started to leave, staring up at me with his soulful eyes. Jan grabbed him by the collar, and we made our way out the door. We felt guilty for the next three days. 

We had planned to leave Cincinnati between 9 and 10 on Friday morning, and, as is typical, we left at 1 p.m., heading north on I-75 on the 300-mile journey. We stopped at three Ohio rest areas so I could gather up tourist brochures to use in a scrapbook project, and I bought a marvelous liquor bottle sculpted as a volunteer fireman for only two dollars at a Goodwill. To enjoy more of the small town scenery, we left I-75 at Lima and continued on US-127 the rest of the way to Lansing. The two-lane highway was a more interesting route, though I did get lost and drove 20 miles out of our way. 

We got to East Lansing about 8 p.m. and went straight to our hotel, the Executive East Lansing, located across the street from the Michigan State campus and a block away from the memorial service location. Totally out of character for me, we picked the Executive not only because of its location but also because it was the most expensive lodging in the city. It turned out that we also paid an annoying sixty dollars to park our car in the hotel garage. The lobby of the Executive was quite elegant, and the hotel was technologically on the cutting edge. We had to use our digital room card to operate the elevator, open the door to our room, and turn on the lights. I depended on the kindness of strangers to operate the elevator, and it took several tries to turn on the lights in our room. 

We went out for a late supper, but the first three restaurants we tried were closed, and the only place we found was Murphy’s Brewery, a hangout for MSU college students. I doubt they’ve ever had patrons in the 80s age group. It was so noisy inside that we opted for an outdoors table and watched as the parade of twenty-something students showed their IDs to the bouncer at the door. We haven’t been in a collegiate bar scene for many decades and the energy level was remarkable. The girls and boys came in separate groups of three or four, the boys sporting mod haircuts shaved on the sides and the girls dressed in clothing designed to accentuate their torsos. After a while our son J and grandkids A and L joined us, and the children got our firsthand view of what their lives would be like in 5 or 6 years. The crowd was active and happy, and we were happy too. 

We slept in on Saturday morning, then had brunch at the Thieve’s Banquet, the memorial service site. After eating we drove up the street to the MSU art museum and enjoyed a display concerning “working at home.” Afterwards I went to get the car a couple of blocks away, arranging with Katja to pick her up at the drop-off point in front of the museum. When I returned, however, I didn’t see Katja anywhere. I waited about ten minutes in the car, then got out and walked around the area, hollering “Katja” at the top of my voice. No luck. After five or so minutes Katja did show up. She had been waiting on the bench at a nearby bus stop, finding it more comfortable than the benchless dropoff point. She didn’t see me drive by; I didn’t see her. 

J encouraged us to come promptly for the 4:00 memorial, and the large room was already jam-packed when we arrived. Linda had a big family and a lot of friends in the area, some 90 attendees in total. The mood was literally a “celebration of life,” lots of chatter, catching up, laughter. At 5:00 speeches began by family, friends, and professional legal colleagues. I think it’s amazing to learn so much about a person, and it’s clear that Linda was beloved and respected. Many funny and affectionate stories. J gave a speech about what a wonderful mother-in-law Linda had been, and he had to hold back tears multiple times. K, still more emotional, talked about the final weeks of her mom’s life and the courage and thoughtfulness with which she had dealt with it. The memorial was scheduled for four to six, but half the crowd was still there when we left at seven.

Sunday was Father’s Day. J, K, A and L, K’s sister Jayme, her nephew Con, and K’s dad Ted were staying at a gothic-themed airbnb in Lansing, and Katja and I drove over for a holiday brunch. J made pancakes, the kids wrote greeting cards for the three dads, and Jayme gave Ted and myself T-shirts with an image of a elegant vintage car and a legend that proclaimed, “I’m Not Old — I’m Classic.” We were sad to leave at 1:30 and get on the road. 

On our way home we took a detour through Ann Arbor, a mere fifty miles out of our way, so that Katja could buy a loaf of avocado bread at Zingelman’s Deli. They were out of avocado bread, but Katja bought pumpernickel instead and a basket full of other deli delights. I was disappointed that the Ann Arbor thrift shop was closed on Sunday, but that’s the breaks. We headed south on US-23 and then I-75, eating subs at Hungry Howie’s, and getting back to Cincinnati about 9 p.m. Iko was out of his mind to see us, and we were happy to see him too. Our trip had gone by quickly, but it was packed with good feelings. 

Love, 

Dave

NOLA TRIP PIX

 Dear George, 

We’re recently back from a weeklong family Thanksgiving trip to New Orleans. It was a special time to visit. Our family has recently moved from Mid-City to their new Uptown home. Our grandkids, A and L, are in their final year of junior high and will soon be taking a big test to get into the high school of their choice. K’s parents, Linda and Ted, have both recently returned to New Orleans, Ted staying in J and K’s basement apartment for the winter months and Linda in her nearby apartment complex. Here are some of the highlights of our visit.

On our first full day K took us to see the newly established Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. It’s a very excellently done coverage of the adaptation of European Jewish immigrants to the rural South, often in situations where they were the only Jewish family in the community. Many tears and smiles and highly recommended if you visit NOLA.

 

On Thanksgiving Day J roasted a 20-pound turkey, filling it with butter under its skin, and other family members prepared sides for the holiday feast. Here are a few of the hard-working cooks (Katja, L, and A).

Before Thanksgiving dinner J took a group of us to the horse races at the fairgrounds where the local citizenry dress up in colorful and wacky costumes. My reckless associates lost all of their bets on the horses.

Here is our group at dinner: (from the left), A, Conrad (a family relative), Eddie (as family friend), our daughter-in-law K, K’s dad Ted, the back of my head, L, Linda (K’s mom), and J taking the photo. A happy and filled up bunch.

New Orleans, of course, is a great town for eating out. We had family dinners out at Dat Dog (with the fanciest hot dogs on the planet) and La Crepe Nanou, an elegant French Restaurant. We lunched at the Redfish Grill on Bourbon Street (raw oysters for Katja, a fried oyster po-boy for me), Freret Faire at Rouse’s Market, and Ted’s Frostop, a 1950’s style diner. Above is Katja enjoying her oysters at Redfish Grill, a happy trio at La Crepe Nanou, and Ted’s Frostop.

J took the kids and us to the Historic Orleans Collection which featured a digital tour of the Notre Dame Cathedral post-fire renovation, and then we visited M. S. Rau Fine Arts and Antiques on Royal Street (Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, etc., with price tags up to $2 million, including a million-dollar ornate chess set).

J also took us to see the top high school football player in the nation and University of Texas recruit, quarterback Arch Manning (Peyton’s and Eli’s nephew), in his last home game for local Newman High. Unfortunately Arch had an off day and his team got blown out by upstarts from Baton Rouge.

 

One of our favorite places is the New Orleans Art Museum. This time we saw an exhibition of Black studio photographers in New Orleans and works by surrealist painter Louise Bourgeois. 

Our week went by too quickly and we miss our sweet family. Hopefully we’ll be back in the spring. 

Love, 

Dave

A GATLINBURG REPORT

Dear George, 

 We’ve driven through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina several times on our way to the South Carolina and Florida coasts, but we’ve never stopped to vacation there. Inspired by our recent trip to northern Michigan, we decided to spend a week in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the famous resort town that’s the gateway to the Smokies. The Smokies include the country’s most visited national park, and the mountains were awesome. With both of us limping around a bit we did our mountain touring by car rather than by hiking. In particular, we visited the Roaring Fork Nature Motor Trail near Gatlinburg and Highway 441 south through the Great Smokies National Park to the Chimney Tops and to the Newfound Gap. At one stop a lady said to me, “We are in God’s presence.” While I didn’t agree with her on all the details, I did share the sentiment. Here are some of the views.

 

Downtown Gatlinburg could be regarded either as a tourist paradise or a tourist nightmare. The mile-long strip along the Parkway is filled with every sort of attraction one might imagine: endless gift shops, restaurants of all sorts, art galleries, wineries (including Cotton Candy Wine), mini-golf courses, video game arcades, an aquarium that USA Today listed as the best in the country, the Ripley Believe It or Not museum (where we spent several enjoyable hours), the Amazing Mirror Maze, an earthquake ride, escape games, laser tag, skylifts up adjacent mountains, a space needle, candy makers, movie theaters, ice cream shops, and a mountain adventure park. We browsed in the shops, ate at numerous good restaurants (most notably, Chesapeake’s), and feasted on dark chocolate almonds from the Ole Smoky candy factory. Here are a few pics to give a flavor of downtown Gatlinburg.

 

The highlight of our trip was the afternoon we spent at Anakeesta, Gatlinburg’s new mountain-top theme park that opened in 2017. You get there by riding a skylift to the top of the mountain. Katja was completely relaxed and fearless, riding no-handsies, while my knuckles turned white from gripping the safety bar in front of us. Anakeesta is a beautifully done mountain village with attractive shops, multiple restaurants, a lush botanical garden, and numerous treetop adventures for kids and families, e.g., ziplines, a mountain coaster, and an 880-foot Skywalk bridge. I climbed to the top of the AnaVista Tower which offers scenic views of the mountains as far away as Kentucky on a clear day. Among other treats, we enjoyed a delicious meal at the Cliff Top Restaurant.

One of the main things about our recent trips to Michigan and Tennessee is that they have helped us put the pandemic behind us. After two and a half years of feeling locked up at home, life does seems to be getting back to normal these days. It’s about time. 

Love, Dave

GOOD TIMES IN WATER WONDERLAND

Me, L, Katja, and A at Farm

Dear George, 

Katja and I are just back from our weeklong trip to the U.P. and Northern Michigan. Our son J persuaded us to come up to our family farm in Menominee. He and his family were there, along with our nephew Jacob, his wife Kazandra, and their kids August and Delphine, all of whom had come from Brooklyn. We had a great time. It was a treat to see our grandkids, and we hadn’t seen Jacob and Kazandra’s family in over a decade. Their twelve-year-old daughter Delphine overheard me saying that my sister Vicki and I rarely talk on the telephone, so she called Vicki and said I was on the line, then told me that Vicki was on the line for me. Vicki and I had a nice talk, and it wasn’t till later that I learned that Delphine had arranged the whole thing to repair our fragile brother-sister connection. 

I’d had my 85th birthday just two weeks before, and J arranged for a family birthday celebration at Berg’s Landing, our favorite Menominee restaurant. My grandkids, A and L, gave me thoughtful and fun presents that they’d bought in New York City, and my grand-niece Delphine gave me an artistic birthday card that she’d drawn. I don’t think I’ve had a birthday party with a family group since high school, so it was a memorable occasion. 

As always, we had a good time in Menominee. This included visits to Henes Park, the marina and historic district, the House of Yesteryear and Main Street antique malls, the Rusty Wolfe art gallery, the Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul stores, the Menominee County Museum, the Stephenson Library (with its bargain book sale), and meals out at the Watermark, Culvers, and Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q. I found being at Farm very peaceful. I think it’s because I associate it so strongly with our parents and with wonderful family get-togethers over the years. Everybody was happy to be there.  My cousins Ann and John Buscher came to Farm for lunch, and Ann brought along her amazing family genealogy book.  Then Jacob interviewed me about our family history, an interesting and fun conversation. 

After four days in Menominee, we drove up to St. Ignace where we had whitefish at the Village Inn and stayed overnight at the Budget Host. Katja bought her supply of Murdick’s Fudge for friends, and then we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, driving down the Lake Michigan coast through Petoskey, Charlevoix, Traverse City, Manistee, Pentwater, Ludington, Grand Haven, and South Haven. These are such pristine towns, filled with boutiques and restaurants, and offering magnificent views of Lake Michigan. We stayed overnight in Ludington, did an eight-hour drive back to Cincinnati, and picked up our little dog Iko the following evening.  Now we're resting up and enjoying happy memories.  

Love, Dave 

FAST TIMES IN NOLA

Dear George, 

 It felt like ages since we’d been to New Orleans to visit our family (i.e., before the pandemic), so our recent trip was very special. Here are some photos that capture the highlights. 

Love, 

Dave

J and K recently bought a spacious new house in Uptown, close to Tulane University, Audubon Park, the kids’ school, and an excellent restaurant strip on Freret St. All our family members are overjoyed with their new home.

Katja and I enjoyed eating at Dat Dog on Freret St. which has the best frankfurters, bratwursts, and alligator sausages we’ve ever tasted. We went once, and then Katja treated the whole family there for a second visit.

We went to see the Queen Nefertari’s Egypt exhibit at the New Orleans Art Museum in City Park. A trip to ancient times. In front: L, A, J, Katja. In back: Ted, K’s dad.

Then we went next door and visited the Bischoff Sculpture Garden, our favorite outdoor place in New Orleans. The Sculpture Garden has recently doubled in size.

Getting beignets at Cafe du Monde in City Park is a lot easier than in the tourist-crowded French Quarter location.

We missed Iko a lot, but his little brother Lil Paws was just as much fun.

Here is our group enjoying dinner at the chic Israeli restaurant, Saba. I had Harissa roasted chicken, and Katja had lamb kofta. From the left: Katja, A, K, L, J.

On Sunday we picnicked at Audubon Park, famed for its live oaks. J and L practiced distance running, in preparation for the upcoming Crescent City race.

Monday J took us on a trip to Biloxi and to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where we visited the wonderful Walter Anderson Museum and the Shearwater Pottery.

Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is one of our favorite oyster places.

Katja and I went to the Historic Orleans Collection in the French Quarter where they were featuring a “Streetcar Named Desire” exhibition.

We lunched at Pesch in the Arts District, A stranger asked Katja if she could take her picture because she looked so pretty in her outfit.

We loved the paintings of Luis Cruz Azaceta at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

J and K took us to the concert by Louisiana Philharmonic cellists and dancers at the Marigny Opera House.  Eight cellists, no less.

On Thursday St. Andrews Episcopal School had Grandparents Day. These are the seventh graders, including A and L, performing a song with the bells. We were very impressed with the school and our grandkids’ accomplishments.

Katja and I enjoyed our annual oyster lunch at Desire in the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street.

On our last day we had a family brunch at the Ruby Slipper in the Marigny. That’s J, L, and Jayme, K’s sister who arrived from California. J’s artwork is on the rear wall at the right.

Our last big outing was to the Audubon Aquarium. A very attractive facility with many interesting fishies.

It looks like we needed a nap by the end of the trip.