Vacation - June 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Dee had taken a Sleep Apnea test a week earlier. She strapped a monitor onto herself and slept through the night, then returned the monitor the next morning. This trip to Kaiser was to get the "results". When we got there, she was told she had Sleep Apnea, and they wanted to give her a CPAP calibration machine to use for a week. We explained that we were leaving on a week long trip the next day, and didn't want to haul around a calibration machine. They agreed, so Dee has to come back on June 24th to get the calibration machine. (They only see patients on Wednesdays, and we wouldn't be back until the END of next Wednesday, the 17th.)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

We wake at 4AM. Time to finish packing last minute items like my CPAP machine. We eat our normal Product 19 breakfast, get everything into the car and leave for Kathy's home at 4:45, a little later than planned. When we arrive at Kathy's home, Phil is standing in the street waiting for us. He said he had been waiting about 10 minutes. He's going to take us to the airport and then continue on to his work! He works in Mountain View, but his hours vary, and today it's 6AM to 3PM. So we get to the airport with plenty of time to spare only to find the longest security line we've ever seen. It took an hour to get through security, especially since they had to unpack my CPAP machine and swab it for "explosives".

Our flight to Minneapolis is on an AirBus 320, but there are no jetways in San Jose, and the aircraft is parked a long way from the terminal. One woman was carrying her rather heavy bag over her shoulder, and It would slip off and she'd drag it, then try to hoist it again, etc. Finally she gave up and started crying for help. We had past her, and I turned to look back and saw a guy stop to help, so we kept going. Then I heard her yell out "This is the most <bleep> airline I've ever been on". She was upset.

We carried our luggage on board, and when we got to Minneapolis, we had to change planes. We arrived at Gate F9 and had to depart for Hartford from Gate D14. Well, let me tell you, the Minneapolis Airport is huge. We walked and walked and walked, almost a mile. Meanwhile we saw people on shuttle carts, and wondered about them. Turns out they are what we should have used to change gates.

The trip to Hartford was uneventful, but as we descended for landing, my sinuses got swollen and I was in pain. Fortunately, that subsided as we touched down. We went outside and waited for the Enterprise Rental Car shuttle, which came within 5 minutes, and off we went to get our car. The agent knew we wanted a compact, but tried to talk us into a mid-size car. We took the KIA, the compact we wanted. But the agent talked me into buying a full-tank of gas at 20 cents a gallon lower than street price. He said one tank would be about what we'd need, given our itinerary. So I took the tank of gas. No need to fill up unless we needed more gas to get back to the rental agency. By the end of our trip, we had less than 1/4 tank left, so I was satisfied.

We left the rental place and drove north on I91 out of Connecticut into Massachusetts, following the Connecticut River. We drove through the west side of Springfield to the North End Bridge, across the river into West Springfield, and immediately exited onto Riverdale Road. Our motel, the Red Roof Inn, was right there on the left behind a roadside diner. I had no trouble finding it because I had used Google Maps before we left home to view aerial maps of the areas we planned to visit. I was able to zoom in to see details of every destination spot.

I called my sister Suzanne, and she said she and Jerry would come to the motel. We were in room 113, and they got there in less than 10 minutes. They only live about two miles away on Field St off Elm St off Riverdale Road, so it didn't take long to get to our motel. They wanted to take us out to dinner, so we all piled into their car and went to the Longhorn. What a meal! Dee and I both had Parmesan Chicken, which was truly scrumptious. But it was a double-breast, and I actually got to the point I couldn't eat the last bite. But the waiter came by and wouldn't take the plate unless I finished it…so, one last bite. Dee left an entire breast on her plate. It was just too much for her. Jerry had his favorite, prime rib.

They take us back to our motel and leave. We settle into bed.

Friday, June 12, 2009

We wake up late (9AM), and I call Suzanne again. She suggests we meet at the iHop Restaurant at the junction of Riverdale Road and Elm St. So we head up Riverdale Rd, branch off onto Elm St (Y-intersection), and into the "entrance" to iHop. But the arrows on the pavement are all pointing the wrong way. This is actually the EXIT from iHop's parking lot. Woops! But no big deal, we see lots of people are "going the wrong way".

Dee and I order off the senior menu, the "short stack". Gads, THREE very large pancakes, enough to fill me up, and more then Dee can eat. Only $3.49, what a deal!

After breakfast we all travel to Sue's house at 98 Field St. They show us around and then we chat about a whole bunch of family topics. Suzanne then suggests we go see Wal-Mart where she works. She took the day off special because of our trip, so now she could show us her work place without constraints. She works register 17, the highest numbered register, but the one everyone comes to first as they are leaving the store. Her register is "special" because it is the only register that sells cigarettes, and because it is the first register people encounter. Most people stop there even if other registers are totally devoid of customers. That makes it tough on Suzanne. She can't leave the register without getting another employee to cover for her.

Suzanne takes us around the store, and stops at the photo-duplication station. She's brought a photograph of our mother with her, a photo I do NOT have, and she makes a pair of identical copies. What a wonderful gift to me. The photograph is of my mother in her wedding dress.

After we leave Wal-Mart, Suzanne takes us across the river into Springfield, up State St to the neighborhood where we grew up. I had only lived in the house at 80 Rochelle St for about four years before I left Springfield. Previously, we lived on Essex St in downtown Springfield, but we moved up to Rochelle St. when I left 8th grade. So I went to one year of Junior High (middle school) and three years at Technical High School. Suzanne was almost eight years younger then I, so she spent much more time at Rochelle St. than I did.

After pulling up in front of the house, which was now painted a different color scheme than when we lived there, I got out and was thinking about knocking on the door. But a young man came by, went up the steps, and he knocked on the door. I asked if he lived there. "No, I'm just picking up my daughter from day-care." The woman who lived in the house answered the door, so after turning over the daughter, I went up the steps and introduced myself as follows: "Hello, I'm the guy who lived in this house 50 years ago." She was "surprised" to say the least, but her smile told me she was pleased I stopped by. Dee and Suzanne joined me and we all talked about this house that meant so much to Sue and me.

After 80 Rochelle, we drove down the block (about 10 houses) to the T intersection with Anawan St. Right there, across from Rochelle, was the house where Skip MacMillan lived, the guy who eventually married my other sister, Dolores, or as we all called her, Dolly. Dee had never seen any of this, so for her this was quite a history lesson.

Sue took us back to West Springfield, and we went back to our motel to get ready to go to the Technical High School 50th Reunion. We drove down I91 back into Connecticut to Enfield, just over the border from Massachusetts, to the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resort. Over 86 grads attended, many with their spouses. This was a casual cookout, and we had hamburgers and salad, and I talked to several grads I knew, but didn't recognize. Fortunately they all had name badges with their yearbook picture. Gosh how we change in 50 years! Everyone got an "expanded" yearbook with both our original picture and a current picture (if we sent it to the reunion committee). There was also a brief biography written by each grad. It is amazing that most of them still live within 50 miles of Technical High School. Some live so close they could walk to the reunion at Crowne Plaza. It was a fun evening. We drove back the 8.7 miles to the Red Roof Inn and went to bed.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Rise and shine, and off to iHop again, this time just the two of us. But the place was so busy, guests were overflowing almost into the parking lot. We decided not to wait and went on to Sue & Jerry's place. Christine was visiting with her kids. Christine is Glen's love interest, but Glen wasn't with her. Greg was there, but he is Sue & Jerry's other son, and he lives with them. Lunchtime rolled around and we all had ham and cheese sandwiches. Just right.

After lunch, Sue took us out again on another tour of Springfield. This time we visited our oldest neighborhood where Sacred Heart Church is still standing. We lived in a four story, eight family, apartment building on Essex St., one block directly below the church down a gentle hill. All of that, except the church, is gone now, replaced by an Interstate Highway.

From phantom Essex St. we went across town to State St. again. There we visited the Springfield Museum. In the quadrangle plaza there were several metal sculptures of Dr. Seuss characters. One of the buildings housed an exhibit about Theodore Seuss Geisel, a native of Springfield who is better known as Dr. Seuss. You can read all about him on the Wikipedia web page for "Dr. Seuss".

As we left the Museum, Sue said she wanted to show me something, so she drives up one block and turns right. There in front of me is what's left of Technical High School. Only one building remains of the complex. At the end of the block, we turn right again onto State St, and there in front of me is Classical High School, now turned into an apartment complex. The High School of Commerce is up State St a couple of blocks. This was a very unique set of college-prep high schools designed to specialize in certain college disciplines. Being close together allowed the students to take classes in the other high schools.

Finally, we return to Sue's house, take our car back to Red Roof, and dress for the formal reunion event. The drive down to Enfield is quick because it is Saturday. Classmates are arriving in a steady stream, but we are required to wait in the lobby (no chairs) for the dining hall to be prepared. After two hours, many of us are wondering what's holding up the event. Finally, Joanne (Morrisett) Impoco gets the concierge to open the doors and let us get seated. About 105 classmates attend, along with about 60 spouses. We gather at tables of eight. I really don't have much recollection of any of those at my table, but we strike up several conversations. At one point I mention the "birthday game". With so many in attendance, the odds are VERY high that several will share the same "month-day" birth date. Those at the table find that hard to believe, so I ask them to give their "month-day" birth date. I'm July 19. After writing down the eight dates, I go to the neighboring table and ask them to tell me their "month day". The 3rd person is a MATCH with one of those at my table: 01/23. After doing two more tables (32 people), I have two normal-matches and one triple-match (12/25 three times).

Sunday, June 14, 2009

We have breakfast at iHop again, this time entering from the Riverdale Rd. entrance. We get done early enough to go back to Sue's house, where we find Jerry, but Sue is working at Wal-Mart. We want to know how to find my parent's gravesite at St. Mary's Cemetery, but Jerry doesn't know, so we drive up Westfield Ave to Wal-Mart in Westfield. Sue is at her register 17, so we get to see her "in action". She doesn't know the location of the grave sites either, so we leave for 10:30 mass. We make it to the Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini Church just in time. This St. Francis was a woman, which was a surprise to us. After mass we cross back into Springfield over the Memorial Bridge, turn up State St. and stop in front of Classical High School (condominiums) to take pictures. Further up on State St. we stop again to take pictures of the High School of Commerce.

We now drive up State St. past my old neighborhood, past Trade High School, the last of the four public high schools in Springfield. This is where Junior High students went if they didn't have college aspirations. They could learn a trade, like Auto Mechanic or Nursing, using a combination of schoolroom classes and on-the-job apprenticeships. Springfield had one of the best educational systems I have ever encountered (in my opinion).

We took a leisurely drive on Rt. 20 to Auburn where we stopped at MacDonald's for lunch and then down I395 heading for Putnam. But as we got to Webster, Dee wanted to see "that lake with a long name", so we exited I395 and asked at a gas station where we could see the sign with the Indian name of Webster Lake. We found two signs, and took pictures of both. The lake's Indian name is:

CHARGOGGAGOGGMANCHAUGGAGAGOGGCHAUBUNAGUNGAMAUGG

I kid you not! Webster was the home of the Nipmuc Indians, and this name meant something like this: "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, and nobody fishes in the middle." At least that's what my mother said.

We continued on to Putnam, past St. Mary's Church where graduation ceremonies were in progress (3PM). When we entered the Cemetery we couldn't find my parent's grave. So I called Pauline on my cell phone. She said it was in the front plot on the left, but she also said she'd come to the site and be there in 10 minutes. So while we waited, Dee and I searched the front-left plot and we found my parent's gravestone just six rows up, five stones in from the right. Pauline then showed up, and she took us to the very back of the Cemetery behind a red building where they had opened a new plot. That's where the Picard's gravestones are located. My cousin, Rene, Pauline's husband, was buried there along with their daughter Dr. Brenda L. Picard. Brenda died in 1998 just a few days shy of her 35th birthday (01/16/1963 - 01/02/1998). Rene was born 05/12/1940, a little more than a year before I was born, and he died in August 2008 of lung cancer (although there are suspicions he died at the hands of the care facility). Pauline's name is on the headstone with her birth date: 07/12/1942.

Dee rides with Pauline when we leave to go to her house, and I follow behind her. At one intersection with a flashing red light, they wait for all crossing traffic to end, then start across. Another car comes zooming over the hill on the right, probably going 50 miles/hour. He's got a flashing yellow light, but he doesn't slow down. Pauline swerves to the left and stops, and this guy snakes around in front of her. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Dee would have been directly hit if they hadn't stopped in time. I was yelling "Oh, No, NO NO!". Frightening!!!

We make it to Pauline's safely, and there to greet us are Rene's sister, Gloria, and her husband, and Brenda's sister, Lori, the other daughter of Rene and Pauline. As we enter, Pauline starts to show us her collection of bells… all kinds of bells, mostly ceramic, each about 4 inches high. She has over 7000! Dee and I are amazed, to say the least. Then Pauline says "You think this is a lot, you should see what Rene collected". Turns out Rene was a pack-rat. Pauline takes me outside and shows me their double-wide garage. She opens the door, and it is FULL of stuff, floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall. Outside there's a gazebo, FULL of stuff. And then she points out the 14 trailers, each as big as a horse carrier, FULL of more stuff. Lastly, the basement of the house is FULL, floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall, with narrow aisles to move around. I'M NOT KIDDING!

Pauline is trying to organize to get rid of everything, but it will take months. Oh, and those trailers… Rene had to get them licensed by the state, so he had to empty each one, drive it 150 miles round trip, and then repack it. He did that one trailer at a time, 14 trailers worth.

After four hours of interesting conversation, we left and continued down I395 to CT-164 to CT-2 to Pawcatuck. I had printed a Google map, so I knew what streets to take to get to Skip's house, and we continued down CT-1 to the entrance to Lathrop, but we were hungry, and right across from Lathrop was a small mall with a Pizza place. But we wanted fast food, so we turned around and went back to the CT route junction, and suddenly we were in Rhode Island, the town of Westley. But we couldn't find any familiar places to eat, so we went back the Pizza place. That turned out to be a good decision. We have a medium pizza we split, and some meatball hoagies. VERY GOOD. Finally, in the dark, we navigated down Lathrop to the intersection of Cronin & Shea. Skip's house is on Shea, but I failed to write his house number on the map (stupid me). So I whipped out my cell phone to call him. NO SERVICE. What! Dee then suggests I get out of the car. Viola, the phone is active. I call Skip, and when he answers I say: "We are at the intersection of Cronin and Shea". He repeats it back to me as a question (with voice inflection). He says "You can see my house from there. It is the last house on the right to your left". We can see it, with front light turned on. I get back in the car and start toward the house only to see Skip and Nancy emerge to greet us. This is the first time we've seen Nancy. Warm greeting all around.

We are given a mini-tour inside the house; move our luggage upstairs to the bedroom where we'll be sleeping, and then spend time downstairs talking about our trip thus far. As we go up the stairs to bed, Skip tells us to not be "annoyed" by the trains that pass by very frequently. He tells us we'll hear a long drawn out "swoosh". Sure enough, within 15 minutes here it comes, and there it goes. But the "swoosh" isn't loud. It's one of the high-speed bullet trains that run between New York and Boston. Skip's house is about a half mile away from the tracks.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Skip has gone to work, for half a day. Nancy has breakfast for us, and she's got Product-19, our favorite cereal. I remember we mentioned it in an email prior to leaving on the trip. Nancy tries it too, and discovers she likes it. We then go outside and I take pictures all around the house. Nancy shows us all the work she's done to clear the trees of undergrowth and vines. The tree line is IMPRESSIVE, with beautiful canopies atop the trees, and mulch swath beneath them, and a rock wall to separate their grounds from the woods.

Skip comes home around noon, and we pile into their car and go into the neighboring town of Mystic. Actually, Mystic is only a west borough of Stonington with the Mystic River separating it from Groton, CT. They take us to the S&P Oyster Co. for lunch. From the 2nd floor you can look out over the river and watch the Mystic River Bridge be raised and lowered. Our waitress, Kristen, knows Skip, and she and Skip banter back and forth like sea sailors. At one point she tells me that as Nancy, Dee and I came up the steps, she was HAPPY to see us…then she spotted Skip in the rear.

I had a fish sandwich made with crab. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and Skip was a real joker when it came to bantering with Kristen. We left and walked the streets. I stepped off the curb, and EVERY car stopped! I've never seen such adherence to "the pedestrian has the right of way". And it happened repeatedly everywhere we went. Then I saw a sign posted by the state of Connecticut declaring "severe penalties" for not yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk. I thought California was tough…Connecticut must be much tougher because EVERYONE obeyed that law.

We got home in time for supper. Nancy served corn chowder, and Skip said it was "chowder" because it was made with potatoes. He then got into that song that goes something like this: "I say 'potato' and you say 'potato'", etc. What made that funny is that he pronounced 'potato' the same way both times. In the musical, each is pronounced differently.

Then Skip started to tell jokes. We all laughed our heads off. To wrap it up, he put on a video of Jeff Dunham with his "dummies", Walter, Peanut, and "Jose on a stick" (pronounced 'steek'). After that, time for bed.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Skip's already gone to work before we awake. He's supposed to take another half day, if things go OK. Nancy, Dee and I have another P-19 breakfast, and then Nancy and Dee share recipes while I logon to Skip's computer and check my email and surf the web looking for maps of the area. That's how I discovered the bullet trains pass so close to them.

Around noon Skip calls to tell us some clients made an unexpected visit and he's tied up with them for the rest of the day. We hear Nancy's side of the conversation, and she's talking about some "cruise". After Skip hangs up we have lunch, and then Nancy tells use she's taking us on a little adventure. So we leave in her car and she takes us back to Mystic where we board a sailing ship moored on the river. It's the two-masted Argia schooner. Using the engine, we sail around the inner bay of the Mystic River, out under the drawbridge, out past the railroad bridge into the main harbor heading for Long Island Sound. We pass the lighthouse and they start raising the sails. What a job! Two youngsters, college students, raise the sails while bare foot. It takes both of them working together to get one sail up the mast. The captain, a woman with a very rugged appearance, steers the vessel out toward some islands. They point out one in particular, the island owned by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway device. We are wrapped in blankets to ward off the cold winds. But it's really a beautiful day for sailing.

Time to turn around and go back. Coming about is a very interesting process. The deck hands have to release restraints and hold the ropes as they swing the boom and reposition the sails. The passengers have to be careful not to get in the way of the swinging booms. But all goes well and we are heading back into the harbor. Then they drop the sails and we go back on engines. As we approach the railroad bridge, I get my best shots of it. It pivots on a central shaft opening clear channels on either side of the small island in the middle that supports the bridge. Then, back under the drawbridge and into our mooring spot. WHAT FUN!!!

When we get home, Skip is sitting on the porch waiting for us. Nancy starts supper, baked chicken with a side of specially prepared beans. Dee liked it so much she got that recipe too. Finally, we say good night, our final farewell to Skip since he'll be gone when we get up in the morning. We then pack for our return trip to California.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

We have breakfast with Nancy one last time. The P-19 is gone, so we have other things for breakfast. After loading the car, we leave around 8:30AM for Hartford. I've already looked at Google Maps, so I've got a very clear idea of how to get to Hartford. We drive CT-2 all the way across Connecticut. Going through Norwich is tricky, several turns, and CT-2 isn't well marked. I had to pay close attention to small details.

As we approach Hartford, the road begins to look familiar. I had driven it the night before on Skip's computer! Yes, I used Google's "Street View" to virtually drive from CT-2 to I-91 north to Bradley Field. There is a maze to traverse to get from CT-2 to I91. Take a look at a satellite map of the area between Great River Park and Central Park, and you'll see a dozen different route numbers intersecting in a tangle of roadways.

But I manage to thread the needle and make it through the maze and on toward Bradley Field. We take Rt-20 to Rt-75 to Enterprise Rental Cars, but then go back a block to Subway Sandwiches to get something to bring onto the airplane for lunch on out trip to Minneapolis. After paying for the car, we're taken to the airport, go through security, and board our CRJ-900 for Minneapolis. This is a small aircraft with just pairs of seats on opposite sides of a narrow aisle.. When we get to altitude, we have "lunch" with drinks served by the stewardess.

When we land in Minneapolis, we want to get on a shuttle, but none are waiting. Another group of elderly people is looking around trying to figure out which way to walk. I asked them if they were transferring to another flight, and where. Yes, F-concourse. We are on C-concourse, and we are going to F as well. So we wait together, but when the shuttle shows up there isn't room for all of us, and it's going to G, not F. Dee and I decide to take it, but I tell the others NOT to walk, it is just too far. I recommend they wait for the next shuttle, and if we see one, we’ll send it to get them. Sure enough, as we are heading toward G, we meet another shuttle and send it to C. As we get to F, there's an F shuttle just ahead of us, so our operator contacts it and we transfer. We get to our gate with minimal walking. Five minutes later another shuttle goes by with the people we left at C. One woman sees me and shouts: "Good Advice". Then the woman in back sees me and yells: "We wouldn't have made it walking". So I felt pretty good.

We board our A320 for San Jose scheduled to depart at 5:15 Minneapolis time. Dee and I are separated, but after talking to neighbors, we agree to some seat swaps, and everybody is happy. I'm seated on the aisle, and I can see into the flight deck. The captain is leaning over looking at things and two guys are in there with him, standing and leaning over looking too. They are wearing red vests with white strips. I tell the young girl across the aisle "They are NOT crossing guards".

They are technicians, and they are looking at something that seems to be malfunctioning. At 5:30 the captain gets on the audio-com to tell us one of their 7 computers isn't starting properly. But they've rebooted and it seems to be OK now. So the technicians leave, the door is closed and we begin the pushback. We sit there, and then we go back to the gate! Apparently that computer is still misbehaving again. The techs get back on board and they spend another 30 minutes working on it. Finally they leave, we pushback, and taxi out to the take off point, do a U-turn and go back to the gate again! The computer is still malfunctioning. The techs board again and the captain announces they have to replace that computer. They can't fly on just 6 computers, even though they are all redundant clones of each other. Regulations require all 7 for take off.

While we wait, first-class gets served drinks. We sit and wait. Then the stewardess' phone rings, she answers it, and her face exhibits an expression of disbelief. She then announces to all of us that the cabin crew has "timed out". They've spent so much time here that the flight would put them over their eight-hour shift limit. We have to get a new cabin crew. More waiting. Finally the new crew arrives, and the computer has been replaced. We are ready to go… more than 3 HOURS late. We haven't eaten since lunch, and they won't give us any food. We have to purchase food if we want it. A salad costs $7. Fortunately Dee has some snacks in her carry-on bag. We arrive in San Jose at 10PM, instead of 7PM West coast time. That's 1AM East coast time. We've been up for a long time, we are saddle sore, and downright annoyed with NWA.

Kathy picks us up almost immediately. She's timed it beautifully. She takes us home, and then heads to her own home. Dee and I get to bed at midnight (3AM Eastern time).

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Life resumes a normal course. Our mail is delivered in bulk, and I learn that my colleague at Stanford has been laid-off. Oh well, that's life.

To see pictures of our 2009 vacation, click on the following link  Vacation Pictures

Last modified: