Breckenridge - Day 2

Sunday, December 26, 2010

It was our plan to ski 3 of the 4 full days we would be here at Breckenridge and to spend 1 day at Vail (only 30 miles west). And that is exactly what we did. On our first full day, we attacked the Breckenridge slopes. We skied Peaks 7, 8 and 9 -- spending most of our time on Peaks 7 and 9. Because Peak 10 is mostly expert runs, we stayed away from that area on our first day. My favorite runs are the intermediate runs - designated on the slopes and on the ski map with blue squares. In contrast, expert runs are designated with a black diamond. And a double-black diamond signifies the most difficult runs. We stayed away from those.

Breckenridge is a beautiful mountain, and our first day here was a clear sunny day. The blue skies above the snow covered terrain created a beautiful contrast. And we skied really hard. We were on the slopes by about 8:45 a.m., and we skied until about 2:30 p.m. Since this

was our first day, we broke a littler earlier than we might have otherwise.

One of the great benefits of our entire trip was that Chad, who now lives in Colorado and regularly skis at Breckenridge and Vail, was our personal guide. He took us on all of his favorite runs, and he kept us moving around the mountain efficiently so that we avoided the crowds and got in the greatest amount of skiing. It was truly wonderful to have Chad as our guide.

Following of day of skiing, we trekked, cleaned up, and headed into town for an early dinner. We had reservations at a restaurant called Relish -- which had been recommended by a friend of mine. We were not disappointed. We had a great meal in a wonderful, cozy environment, and we enjoyed our first stroll down Breckenridge's Main Street.

We turned in early this night. I think we were all still adjusting to the two-hour time difference, but we were also exhausted!

Breckenridge - Day 1

Christmas Day - December 25, 2010

We have returned to embarking on an annual ski vacation between Christmas and New Year's Day, and this year, we headed to Breckenridge, Colorado. I skied here with friends about 20 years ago. I remember very little about the mountain (in part due to age and in part because I have been fortunate to have skied so many

mountains in between), but I do remember having a great time, and I recall enjoying the town of Breckenridge as well.

This year, we were accompanied by my friend Annette and we were further joined by her son, Chad, who is now a Colorado resident and is completing an engineering master's program at Colorado University.

The town of Breckenridge is located about 80 miles due west of Denver - an easy drive. The town of Breckenridge is quite small, basically consisting of one main street lined with shops and restaurants. And the Breckenridge Ski Resort sits immediately next to and west of the main street.

The Breckenridge Ski Resort terrain is made of up of "Peaks" 7 thru 10, and we rented a condo (pictured here) near the base of Peak 9. We had thought that the Peak 9 lifts would be an easy walk from the condo. Well, we could walk there, but it was not necessarily "easy" -- especially with ski boots on and skis and poles in tow. And so, we typically took a shuttle bus to the slopes in the morning, and walked back to the condo in the afternoon.

Following a delightfully on-time flight, we arrived at Breckenridge late in the afternoon on Christmas Day and spent the remainder of the day getting settled. We unpacked, rented ski equipment, grocery shopped, enjoyed a homemade dinner of spaghetti and salad, and got our bearings. We also acclimated to the elevation. Breckenridge is one of the highest ski resorts in the country -- with its highest ski slopes rising to over 12,000 feet above sea level. We were all lucky. Although the high altitude caused some of us to suffer an occasional low grade headache and to experience an occasional shortness of breath, overall, we fared very well.

A Leisurely Sunday and Goodbyes

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Our weekend in Kansas City passed all too quickly. Sunday was upon us in a flash. Luckily, our flights home were late in the day and we were able to enjoy a number of additional activities. They included brunch at the Intercontinental, a driving tour, including a stop at the Storrs Institute, a visit to the Nelson Art Museum, and a stroll through Loose Park.

The stop at the Storrs Institute (a

medical research facility) was prompted by an interest to see an impressive piece of modern art that sits in front of the Institute’s main entryway. My Uncle Jack commissioned this piece and worked with the artist on the concept behind the design. I am not a fan of most contemporary art, but this sculpture is exceptional and we spent several minutes walking around it and through it and taking pictures.

The Nelson Museum is another treasure in this city of treasures. We had limited time there on this particular visit so we confined ourselves to two of the current temporary exhibits. The first featured African art and its purpose was to demonstrate the influence of Westerners on African art. The second was a series of sketches by a Baltimore artist (whose name I cannot remember) who traveled the West during the mid-1800s.

We said our good-byes at Loose Park. It was a wonderful weekend, and we will have to do it all over again soon.

European Cuisine Conquers the Midwest

Saturday, October 2, 2010

On Saturday, my aunt and uncle treated us to lunch at a delightful French café in a small shopping center only a couple miles from their home. This is one of their favorite spots, and they frequently lunch here on weekends. Since all the staff knew them by name, and even knew their drink and meal preferences, they must surely be frequent patrons here. The food was excellent. The company was even better.

After dinner, we spent a couple hours with my Aunt looking through some old family photos (really old family photos – from the 1920s and 1930s) as well as some old family correspondence. The most interesting of the correspondence – to me – was a series

of four (4) letters written by my grandfather (my father’s father) to my grandmother in the year before they were married.Following lunch, we spent a couple hours shopping at the Plaza. The cornerstone store here is the Halls department store – which is a high-end store, much like a Nordstroms. We also shopped at the local grocery story because it was our plan (mine and Lisa’s) to make a nice Italian dinner for my aunt and uncle. The menu consisted of veal cutlets, risotto Milanese, green beans with olive oil and dill, and salad. Carla and Rocky joined us for dinner as well.

My grandmother had been previously married but was widowed at a very young age. Her first husband was a firefighter in Springfield, Massachusetts, and he had the very sad distinction of being the first Springfield firefighter to be killed in the line of duty. At the time of his death, he left behind not only my grandmother but their four year old daughter, my Aunt Rena.

Shortly after her first husband’s tragic death, my grandmother and her young daughter left Springfield and returned home to Portalbera, Italy – where her family could assist in providing for her and her daughter. Prior to my grandmother’s departure from the US, however, she had been introduced to my grandfather, who was similarly widowed and also had a young daughter. My grandfather must have been immediately taken with my grandmother because, after her departure from Springfield, he began to correspond with her in Italy.

My Aunt Rena has copies of four of my grandfather’s letters to my grandmother in Italy. They are real gems. They are so conservative in tone and yet they are very touching – as my grandfather slowly worked at convincing my grandmother to return to the United States and marry him. I never knew either one of my father’s parents. They both died long before I was born. These letters provide great insight into their character and their life together.

Photographic Roots

Saturday, October 2, 2010

My Uncle Jack is an artist. He has many artistic interests and gifts, but he is first and foremost a photographer, and for the majority of his professional life, he has made his living as a professional photographer.

It was his passion and talent for photography that brought him to this country (from Egypt), and it was his maiden voyage to the US on a cross-cultural trip for the purpose of showcasing his Egyptian photographs that provided the stage for his meeting my aunt – who became another great passion in his life. It was also my Uncle’s photographic and artistic talents that led him, and my aunt, to a job with Hallmark,

in Kansas City, in the 1950s. They have lived there ever since, and their roots there are deep ones. This city is clearly another of their passions.

My aunt and uncle have a beautiful home in Kansas City. They have lived in this same house now for over 40 years and it is filled with wonderful pieces of artwork and momentos from family visits and worldly travels over the years. Additionally, and this, of course, comes as no surprise, their house is full of photographs! They sit on every shelf. They crowd each other for space on the refrigerator. They compete with books for space on the shelves. They are hung on walls, doors, beams and columns. And they are wonderful reminders of a lot of love going on in this family.

My uncle, at the youthful age of 89, is still employed. He runs his own publishing business. In addition to editing and publishing a line of books, he has developed and marketed several lines of greeting cards and note cards (bearing his photographs). He also continues to show and sell his photographs. He has a photo “lab” and fully outfitted work space in his home (in the basement), and we were treated to a tour of his home office, which included a peak at some of his current projects – in various stages of completion.

He also proudly showed off his “real” office, located near the Plaza in a building owned by American Century. Most prominently on display in his office at present are a series of black and white photographs depicting scenes in Egypt. These photos were part of the photo show that

first brought my uncle to this country in the 1950s. He is planning a re-showing of these digitally re-mastered photos for some time 2011. They are quite beautiful. And the quality is amazing.

Kansas City Here We Come

Friday, October 1, 2010

I cannot understand why I do not visit Kansas City more often. My favorite aunt and uncle live there, along with their daughter, my favorite cousin, and I always have such a wonderful time there. Too often, life just gets in the way. I must earnestly try to do something about that.

In the late afternoon of Friday, October 1, 2010, my sister and I traveled – in coordinated fashion, of course (we are twins afterall) – to Kansas City, Missouri. It was a beautiful fall day and the entire weekend held the promise of great weather. Lisa set out from Washington, D.C. and I set out from Pittsburgh, PA, and we arrived in Kansas City within several minutes of each other.

We were met at the airport by our cousin, Carla, who had planned an evening of entertainment beginning with a “gallery crawl.” This took us to an area on the river and immediately south of downtown. It’s a surprisingly big area that is home to dozens of small art galleries and restaurants. We saw some very strange things masquerading as “art” and yet we also saw some very lovely things – especially at a gallery that was showing the work of a family friend.

We next dined at an Austrian restaurant, and the weather was lovely enough that we were able to enjoy our meal on the restaurant’s outdoor terrace. We enjoyed some traditional Austrian fare – wiener schnitzel and goulash. Following dinner, Carla took us to our hotel, the

Intercontinental, which sits overlooking the Plaza. Carla then had to depart, but she called her parents (who had attended a piano concert earlier in the evening) to meet us there. At about 10:15pm, we greeted our ever-energetic aunt and uncle in the lobby. We then spent a delightful hour visiting with them in the hotel lounge, where Uncle Jack proceeded to dance with all three of us!

Westward Ho, Young Woman!

Sunday, October 3, 2010:

My sister, Lisa, and I spent a wonderful week-end in Kansas City, Missouri visiting our Aunt Rena, Uncle Jack and cousin Carla. The weather was glorious and the company was even more so. We had a wonderful time.

My Aunt and Uncle are the absolute best hosts.

They know how to show guests a good time, and this week-end was no exception. They love their adopted home town of Kansas City. My Uncle Jack refers to the city as "the best kept secret." He is right.

We saw so many wonderful things this weekend, and one of them was the Kauffman Memorial Garden. What a beautiful place. It was a gift to the city by Ewing and Muriel Kauffman, wealthy benefactors who made their fortune in the pharmaceutical industry. And notwithstanding our visit on a date in early fall, there was much in bloom.

The Kauffman Garden is the perfect size. It includes many paths flanked by a wide variety of plants -- mostly flowering plants. There is a small building in the middle of the garden that houses some beautiful orchids. And on the west side of the garden,

there is a reflecting pool with some beautiful statues of dancers skipping across the surface of the water.

We saw flowers in blue, yellow, white, purple, red, orange and multiple shades of pink. We saw flowers large, medium and small. We saw flowers low to the ground, waist high and above our heads.

One of my favorite features in the Garden was a series

of mirrored balls that sat among the flower beds that flanked the reflecting pool. I had fun taking pictures of our reflection in the

balls!

Boat Meadow Beach

August 2010:

Cape Cod is the perfect environment for bike riding. Not only is there the really terrific Cape Cod Rail Trail (which provides about 20 miles of

bike trails on the Outer Cape), but the terrain is generally flat. Consequently, riding on the roads is easy on the legs.

My favorite time to

ride my bike is in the early morning. I like to leave the house by 7:00 a.m. At that time of day, there is very little traffic either on the roads or on the bike trails. Additionally, the sun is not yet out in full force and so the air temperature is usually very comfortable.

One of my favorite short rides is to Boat Meadow Beach. Boat Meadow Beach is the closest bay

side beach to our house. It's just over a mile away. It is also the

smallest beach in our area. The parking lot probably holds no more than a dozen cars, and it's so small that it is not normally "policed" for parking stickers. There is no beach attendant or life guard during the day. Essentially, it is very quiet. But it's a very pretty little beach.

It is located just around the corner from Rock Harbor, and if you get there between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., you can see the parade of deep sea fishing boats (for hire) departing Rock Harbor in a single file. There are usually between 6 and 12 boats (or more) heading out.

The beach area is very small and it merges into a marsh area, which makes for interesting bird watching as well. Occasionally, you will see a kayak or two moving around in the marsh and heading for the channel that runs under the bridge on Bridge Road. On the morning that Karen and I rode to Boat Meadow Beach, we saw a blue heron wading in the marsh -- before it took off into the sky.

There are also a few small boats that anchor here, and they are a pretty addition to the landscape at any time of the day.

Pool Time

August 2010

This year during our Cape Cod vacation, we especially enjoyed our time around the pool. We had fantastic weather during our entire two weeks, and it was our habit to spend the mornings at the beach and the afternoons around the pool. It is the most perfect combination!

We had a little bit of trouble with the pool during the first week because the heater was not working, and we had to wait several days before an electrician could fit us into his schedule and make the necessary repair. Luckily, the air temperatures were high

so the pool temperature -- even without the heater working --

was comfortable. But, by the weekend, we had the heater working, and then it wasa heavenly 84 degrees.

Our pool activities included playing basketball and volleyball, getting the dogs to ride the floats, and enjoying a cool drink poolside!

A Whale of a Day

Friday, August 5, 2010:

One of my Mom's passions is to go on a whale watch. Luckily, she is joined in her eagerness by Karen and John. They tend to make this activity an annual event, and this year was to be Gabriel's first time on a whale watch. I decided to make it

my first time as well. I have shied away from this activity in the past because I have a tendency towards seasickness, but I planned ahead and brought my Dramamine with me.

We made our excursion on one of the boats in the Dolphin fleet. The family that started the Dolphin whale watch tours are pioneers in this industry. It was in the mid-1970s that they expanded their charter fishing business to include boat tours devoted exclusively to whale-watching. They were the first tour group to do so. Now, whale watching cruises are popular in many locations on the shores of the US. But Provincetown was the first to offer them!

The coast off New England is uniquely well situated for whale watch tours because it is the location of the Stellwagen Bank. The Stellwagen Bank is a 200 foot deep, miles long bank that is ideal for the feeding habits of whales.

Our whale watch experience began at 11:00 a.m. We pulled away from the dock and headed out to the Stellwagen Bank. It takes about an hour to get there, but I was assured we would see some smaller whales and/or dolphins along the way. Well, we didn't see anything. Over an hour passed, and Karen was getting just a bit upset.

Finally, we saw a small group of boats and sailboats clustered together. And there was something going on in the water nearby. A group of whales was surfacing and then diving for food. We joined these other boats and

were thoroughly entertained for the next 45 minutes.

There were six whales in this group. The whales were recognizable to the crew of our boat. They see the same whales all the time, and they have given names to most of them. In the group we were observing, the youngest whale was a "baby" that was only about a year old. He was the most frisky of the group. But we were entertained by them all as they surfaced, swam about, and dove. It was a great excursion and a great day.

Our First Stop - Nauset Light Beach

Monday, August 1, 2010

Today was our first full day at the beach, and for our first beach outing, we chose Nauset Light Beach, one of two National Seashore beaches in Eastham. Nauset Light Beach is the smaller of the two (measured by parking lot), and so it tends to get slightly less crowded.

Like so many Cape Cod, ocean side beaches, Nauset Light Beach has suffered a great deal of erosion over the years. At this point, the parking lot can get no bigger because it now backs up on the road and there are residential properties on the other side of that road.

Nauset Light Beach is unique for several other reasons. As the name suggests, there is a functioning lighthouse at the top of the dune overlooking this beach. To save it from the

effects of erosion, the lighthouse was actually moved several hundred feet from the cliff face about 10 years ago. I should be safe there -- for at least another 40 years.

Because the parking lot for this beach is so small, it fills up very quickly. So you need to get here early. For Eastham home owners (i.e., taxpayers), however, there are about 60 parking spaces reserved in this lot just for us. This is really a great benefit. Although these spaces fill up too, they do not fill up as quickly, and we are easily able to get into the lot any time before 10:30am. Because we tend to get to the beach much earlier than that, this is not a huge issue for us, but it is still a nice

convenience to be able to fall back on.

The beach was very pretty today -- also very comfortable. It was sunny day, with a few clouds meandering about. The air temperature was in the low 80's. The water temperature was a very comfortable 62 degrees. For the Cape, that's actually warm! We spent a pleasant four hours at the beach and then headed home to take a refreshing dip in the pool.

For dinner tonight, we feasted on Lobster Risotto. Chris and I tried making this recipe a couple weeks ago at home, and we were slightly disappointed with the results. But we had

made a large quantity of lobster broth at the time and so we froze the remainder and brought it with us here to give it another try. The results today were much better. I think we hit upon the right combination of ingredients and we added a bit more salt to bring out the flavors.

With so many of us here who like to cook, I think we will eat very well at the beach this year.

Cape Cod 2010 - We Have Arrived

July 31, 2010 (Saturday)

We have arrived for our annual two week vacation on Cape Cod. Our summer home is in Eastham, and we have been vacationing here for decades (literally). Our family will be trickling in over the next few days. At our peak (in terms of guests), there will be 16 of us here.

Chris and I arrived today, as did my Mom. We drove half-way here last night, and made the remainder of our trip this morning. Although we had hoped to arrive by noon, we were foiled by some truly excessive traffic. We hit a slow moving procession of vehicles about

10 miles from the Bourne Bridge. And we crept along. We sat in that traffic for about an hour

It was discouraging. But it is always worth the wait!

We finally arrived at our house around 1:00pm. My Mom was already here, so she constituted our welcoming committee of one. And then we proceeded through our "settling in" routine.

We unpacked the car, and unpacked our clothes, and then we headed to the grocery story to buy the essentials. My Mom and I also made our first run (with many more to come, no doubt) to Snow's -- our favorite all-things-for-the-home store.

And now we are relaxing with our Cape Codders. Chris made them for us. They are a great combination of cranberry juice, vodka and lime. Cheers to another great beach vacation!

A Day at the Races - Sandown Race Track

Saturday, July 3, 2010:

Our primiary plan for this day was to visit Sandown Race Track located in the town of Escher, about 20 miles southeast of London. We annually spend a day at the Saratoga

Race track (in New York) in August, and we were interested in seeing how race tracks in England compare to those we know in the US. We took the train, from London (out of Waterloo Station), and found it to be a very easy trip. Upon arriving at the train station in Escher, we found taht Sandown was a short 10 minute walk away.

The first thing that struck us about Sandown was its size. Compared to US race tracks, the actual rack track seemed equal in size, if not bigger, but the surrounding facility is much smaller. During the course of the day, I found that I really liked the smaller size because it allowed us to move from one area to another much more quickly and, as a result, take in a lot more of the activity.

For example, the parade ring (where the horses are walked around and the jockeys meet the owners for pre-race chit-chat) and the winner's circle

(where the winning jockey and owner are photographed and presented with their trophies) sit directly behind the grandstand and are only 30 feet from each other. Also, the grandstand itself is very small (seating only several hundred people). Most people seemed to spend their time on their feet, in the area between the grandstand seating and the actual track -- which was a much wider and more expansive area then we are used to seeing.

The betting at this track was also different for us. First, although there was a brochure available that explained the betting system, the Brits use terms that were foreign to us to describe the different betting

combinations that are available. For example, there is no such thing as a "win, place or show" bet. Similarly, they don't use the term "boxing." I am sure that comparable types of bets exist, but we had some difficulty trying to figure it all out. So we just placed bets "to win." That phrase (and that type of bet) is universal!

Second, there are two different betting services available to take your bets. The first is a government sponsored system, like the state systems we find across the US. The second, however, is much more fun and it consists of "bookies." They have a different name for them there, but that's what they are.

Just below the grandstand area, these individual bet-takers set up electronic

tote boards under umbrellas (with their names prominently displayed), and offer a set list of "odds" for the horses in each race. While the odds offered by the government are constantly ch

anging to reflect the way in which bets are being placed, the bookies' odds do not change. What makes the bookie system more interesting is that each bookie has set his/her odds independently and they do not all match. So, if you decide you like the look of a particular horse and you plan to bet on him/her regardless of the odds, you can then shop around and find the bookie offering the highest return on your money. It's kind of a neat system.

Sadly, we found the bookie system a bit intimidating. The action around the bookies can get rather fast and furious. So we stuck with the government betting windows. As usual, we were very conservative with our betting -- limiting ourselves to two pound bets per race -- but I got lucky in two races and managed to come out ahead for the day. Sadly, Katherine was not quite as lucky.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at the races. It was a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

The London Eye

Saturday, July 3, 2010:

Katherine and I spent a great day together in London today. During the entire three weeks that I was in London, the weather was unusually wonderful, and today was no exception. We had blue skies and, although it was a bit warm, it was quite comfortable.

We started our day at the London Eye. The London Eye must be one of the world's largest "ferris wheels" -- but that description hardly does it justice. As

part of the City's celebrations for the advent of the new century, just prior to 2000, London built this particular attraction. It was intended to be in operation for just the year 2000 but it was so popular that it has remained in place indefinitely.

The Eye is located on the southern bank of the Thames slightly east of and across from Big Ben and Parliament. From a distance, it looks like a ferris wheel. Up close, it looks much more like a giant bicycle wheel with huge pods attached. The pods are fully enclosed (much like a gondola lift at a ski resort), but they are the size of small rooms and 20 or more people can fit comfortably inside one pod.

The pods are mostly glass and have bench seating in the center. No one sits down, of course. There's too much to see.

We had reserved our tickets in advance so we had an assigned time that we were to show up at the Eye. This worked out really well and although we had a bit of a wait in the ticket line, once we got our tickets we had no wait actually getting onto the Eye.

The Eye is in constant motion -- but it moves very, very slowly. Pods are emptied and re-populated while the Eye is moving ever so slowly past the boarding platform. There is no problem getting everyone off and on with plenty of time to spare.

We were actually on the Eye for about 30 minutes. That's how long it takes for this giant wheel to make one revolution. As we rose higher and

higher over the City scene, on this beautifully clear day, we enjoyed some spectacular views -- and took way too many pictures. It was so hard not to. These vistas gave me a much better feel for London and the surrounding area than I had ever had before. It put everything into geographic perspective!

But I most enjoyed the views of Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. They are such beautiful structures. We also had a neat view over Charing Cross Station and all the trains coming and going. There is so much to see in London and se saw it all from the "Eye" in the sky. It was great.