THANKSGIVING WEEKEND we spent with Dave and Kait in Orlando.
The Ritz Orlando Hotel was very festive. We arrived there on Wednesday the 26th November
and Kait and Dave joined us for dinner at "Primo" in the Marriott Hotel adjacent to ours. Melissa
Kelly is the chef and her cuisine was wonderful!
Thursday was Thanksgiving Day and Dave had to work all day. They were feeding 1700 or so guests at his restaurant at Disney. So Ray and I joined Kait for a big family Thanksgiving dinner at Debby's
house with her Family and It was just Wonderful. Debby's dad and I had a great chat about the American Songbook. The whole family was lovely and the dinner a traditional Thanksgiving feast!
On Friday, the 28th, we returned to the St Cloud house for Dave's brunch. The big treat that day was
a visit to the SPA at the Ritz Hotel. We all had a massage and lounged around drinking tea and chilling. It was a great family experience. Later that day we drove out to Winter Garden about 30 minutes away for a visit to the "Wine Room" and dinner at LUNA. It is a favorite spot in the Orlando area. Great food and festive atmosphere.
Saturday we lunched at Nona Blue in St Cloud, and then went for a house tour at Golden Oak,
a beautiful new Disney neighborhood complete with a wonderful restaurant and activity center for the home owners. We did not buy anything .... yet. Later that day we returned to the Ritz for a fun dinner at the newly renovated "Highball and Harvest" restaurant downstairs.
We had head home on Sunday to get back to work....
CHRISTMAS was a California Trip to see JULIE and San Diego...... We arrived at SFO on the 23rd around 2pm. Drove to Calistoga JUST in time to meet Julie and our nephew, Dan for dinner at "Jolie", the restaurant where Julie works. We had a wonderful evening there with super food and (may I mention?) outstanding desserts. Julie in "externing" there as an assistant Pastry chef ......
On the 24th, we went to see Julie in St Helena at her favorite sandwich spot. We had a good conversation over lunch about life, money, and politics. Then Julie needed the afternoon to finish her Christmas shopping and do some baking. We went back to the hotel to relax by the wood burning fire in our room at MEADOWOOD RESORT, #53......
We reunited with Julie at 5pm to drive to Benicia for dinner at Lucca Bar and Grill with Craig, Bridget and Connor. It was during dinner that Craig got a call from Chris to tell us all that our parents
Harry and Evelyn, had been struck by a car in a freak accident. They were both taken to the hospital,
and Harry was admitted for testing. We were all shocked and saddened and felt pretty helpless given we were 3,000 miles away.
Thursday , DEC 25!! Christmas Day. Ray and I had a lovely Christmas Breakfast at the Grill at Meadowood. They do a great Huevos Rancheros there. Then we joined Julie at her place for
gifts and brunch. Steven came by briefly before he had to head off to work at his restaurant job. He brought a beautiful portion of foie gras to add to our brunch. Later that afternoon, we headed in the car for the Sonoma Coast to visit Jenner and have dinner at the Inn at the Tides in Bodega Bay.
It was so nice to see the sun set over the ocean! Lovely Christmas Day.
On the morning of the 26th, Ray and I started the long drive to San Diego! It took about 10 hours.
Started out very light traffic, and it got heavier as we headed South, and worst ( obviously) around
LA. Our hotel was the LODGE at TORREY PINES..... nice place with a huge golf course and a nice spa.
We started a bus tour on the 27th and abandoned it after about 20 minutes. The guide was boring and
we knew more about San Diego than he did!! We got off at the water stop by the Hornblower boats and the statue of Bob Hope. Walked around a bit and back to the car to drive to Coronado Island and the big Hotel there. We had a great time exploring the La Jolla area and ended with Dinner with old friends Karen and Al who live there.
We flew home on the 30th and Ray went to NH and I went directly to Delaware to stay in my sisters house so she could take a vacation, and helped mom with visits to the hospital to see dad. HE was injured in that car accident on the 24th and still in need of medical care. Mom has a sprained ankle which we are babying, and a couple of minor facial cuts, but no other injuries. I spent 5 days with parents and did nothing else. Great bonding time.
Mom and I consoled ourselves with nice dinners every evening. THE BACK BURNER, OKURA JAPANESE, BUCKLEYS TAVERN...... My favorite place was THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM AND MERRY in Hockessin DE. Outstanding. Worth a detour.
Chris and Tom returned from their trip on Sunday, Jan 4th. Ray came down to join me that afternoon and we moved to a room at the Hotel duPont in Wilmington. Very near the hospital. I was SO glad to see him. We stayed the 5th and Ray got to visit the hospital with us. We had dinner that Monday night at Harrys Seafood Restaurant with Chris, Tom, and Ev. Then to the train Station to take the ACELA
to WASHINGTON DC.
Monday January 5th...WE arrived at THE HAY ADAMS hotel just near the White House at 11pm.
ROOM 824. Love it! Book that one again! The Hay Adams is worth a visit even if you don't stay there. Beautiful wood paneled lobby and elegant restaurant. Cool bar downstairs called "Off the Record".... WE were there for the first day of the 114th Congress and the swearing in of all the new senators and congresspeople. Invited by our NH guy, Frank Ginta. He was being sworn in.
He invited us to join a group of his supporters and friends to see his office and tour the CAPITOL BUILDING. Ray and I also took the opportunity to walk through the tunnel to the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS!! WOW!!! An amazing place with little museums all through it. This is the place that gives the Gershwin award for popular song. Mom and I just watched the 2015 ceremony 4 days earlier on TV. Billy Joel won the award this year. That evening we dined at a wonderful Indian Restaurant in town called Ashika. Super good food. We had the 4 course tasting menu with wine pairings. An adventure!
Wednesday the 7th, we returned home to VERY BITTER COLD weather. Whatever. It's New Hampshire in January. I always say thats what keeps the crowds away.
Saturday the 10th we are going down to Mass to pick up Ray's new RED TESLA. The all electric car.
We'll see how we like that. We had to have the garage rewired so we have a place to charge it.
It does about 320 miles on a single charge. No engine. No gas. Another adventure.
The Ritz Orlando Hotel was very festive. We arrived there on Wednesday the 26th November
and Kait and Dave joined us for dinner at "Primo" in the Marriott Hotel adjacent to ours. Melissa
Kelly is the chef and her cuisine was wonderful!
Thursday was Thanksgiving Day and Dave had to work all day. They were feeding 1700 or so guests at his restaurant at Disney. So Ray and I joined Kait for a big family Thanksgiving dinner at Debby's
house with her Family and It was just Wonderful. Debby's dad and I had a great chat about the American Songbook. The whole family was lovely and the dinner a traditional Thanksgiving feast!
On Friday, the 28th, we returned to the St Cloud house for Dave's brunch. The big treat that day was
a visit to the SPA at the Ritz Hotel. We all had a massage and lounged around drinking tea and chilling. It was a great family experience. Later that day we drove out to Winter Garden about 30 minutes away for a visit to the "Wine Room" and dinner at LUNA. It is a favorite spot in the Orlando area. Great food and festive atmosphere.
Saturday we lunched at Nona Blue in St Cloud, and then went for a house tour at Golden Oak,
a beautiful new Disney neighborhood complete with a wonderful restaurant and activity center for the home owners. We did not buy anything .... yet. Later that day we returned to the Ritz for a fun dinner at the newly renovated "Highball and Harvest" restaurant downstairs.
We had head home on Sunday to get back to work....
CHRISTMAS was a California Trip to see JULIE and San Diego...... We arrived at SFO on the 23rd around 2pm. Drove to Calistoga JUST in time to meet Julie and our nephew, Dan for dinner at "Jolie", the restaurant where Julie works. We had a wonderful evening there with super food and (may I mention?) outstanding desserts. Julie in "externing" there as an assistant Pastry chef ......
On the 24th, we went to see Julie in St Helena at her favorite sandwich spot. We had a good conversation over lunch about life, money, and politics. Then Julie needed the afternoon to finish her Christmas shopping and do some baking. We went back to the hotel to relax by the wood burning fire in our room at MEADOWOOD RESORT, #53......
We reunited with Julie at 5pm to drive to Benicia for dinner at Lucca Bar and Grill with Craig, Bridget and Connor. It was during dinner that Craig got a call from Chris to tell us all that our parents
Harry and Evelyn, had been struck by a car in a freak accident. They were both taken to the hospital,
and Harry was admitted for testing. We were all shocked and saddened and felt pretty helpless given we were 3,000 miles away.
Thursday , DEC 25!! Christmas Day. Ray and I had a lovely Christmas Breakfast at the Grill at Meadowood. They do a great Huevos Rancheros there. Then we joined Julie at her place for
gifts and brunch. Steven came by briefly before he had to head off to work at his restaurant job. He brought a beautiful portion of foie gras to add to our brunch. Later that afternoon, we headed in the car for the Sonoma Coast to visit Jenner and have dinner at the Inn at the Tides in Bodega Bay.
It was so nice to see the sun set over the ocean! Lovely Christmas Day.
On the morning of the 26th, Ray and I started the long drive to San Diego! It took about 10 hours.
Started out very light traffic, and it got heavier as we headed South, and worst ( obviously) around
LA. Our hotel was the LODGE at TORREY PINES..... nice place with a huge golf course and a nice spa.
We started a bus tour on the 27th and abandoned it after about 20 minutes. The guide was boring and
we knew more about San Diego than he did!! We got off at the water stop by the Hornblower boats and the statue of Bob Hope. Walked around a bit and back to the car to drive to Coronado Island and the big Hotel there. We had a great time exploring the La Jolla area and ended with Dinner with old friends Karen and Al who live there.
We flew home on the 30th and Ray went to NH and I went directly to Delaware to stay in my sisters house so she could take a vacation, and helped mom with visits to the hospital to see dad. HE was injured in that car accident on the 24th and still in need of medical care. Mom has a sprained ankle which we are babying, and a couple of minor facial cuts, but no other injuries. I spent 5 days with parents and did nothing else. Great bonding time.
Mom and I consoled ourselves with nice dinners every evening. THE BACK BURNER, OKURA JAPANESE, BUCKLEYS TAVERN...... My favorite place was THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM AND MERRY in Hockessin DE. Outstanding. Worth a detour.
Chris and Tom returned from their trip on Sunday, Jan 4th. Ray came down to join me that afternoon and we moved to a room at the Hotel duPont in Wilmington. Very near the hospital. I was SO glad to see him. We stayed the 5th and Ray got to visit the hospital with us. We had dinner that Monday night at Harrys Seafood Restaurant with Chris, Tom, and Ev. Then to the train Station to take the ACELA
to WASHINGTON DC.
Monday January 5th...WE arrived at THE HAY ADAMS hotel just near the White House at 11pm.
ROOM 824. Love it! Book that one again! The Hay Adams is worth a visit even if you don't stay there. Beautiful wood paneled lobby and elegant restaurant. Cool bar downstairs called "Off the Record".... WE were there for the first day of the 114th Congress and the swearing in of all the new senators and congresspeople. Invited by our NH guy, Frank Ginta. He was being sworn in.
He invited us to join a group of his supporters and friends to see his office and tour the CAPITOL BUILDING. Ray and I also took the opportunity to walk through the tunnel to the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS!! WOW!!! An amazing place with little museums all through it. This is the place that gives the Gershwin award for popular song. Mom and I just watched the 2015 ceremony 4 days earlier on TV. Billy Joel won the award this year. That evening we dined at a wonderful Indian Restaurant in town called Ashika. Super good food. We had the 4 course tasting menu with wine pairings. An adventure!
Wednesday the 7th, we returned home to VERY BITTER COLD weather. Whatever. It's New Hampshire in January. I always say thats what keeps the crowds away.
Saturday the 10th we are going down to Mass to pick up Ray's new RED TESLA. The all electric car.
We'll see how we like that. We had to have the garage rewired so we have a place to charge it.
It does about 320 miles on a single charge. No engine. No gas. Another adventure.
