A day trip to Olana

 

RQS and I planned to visit Olana for a long time, but couldn't get out of bed early enough to make the drive to Hudson, NY.  Today was the day we finally made it.

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The first thing on my docket for the day was a Zoom meeting that took up the better part of an hour.  I had gotten dresses in a red floral dress I bought from Target a year or two ago.   When I had come out of my bedroom (this is where I usually work on the computer), I found that RQS had decided to wear the exact same dress in her size!  Today, we would look like the Bobsey Twins whether we planned to or not. This would be my first time at Olana since I was there with XGFJ several years ago.  My visit with RQS would be different - we'd be able to see the second floor of the house as well as the main floor. 

Instead of driving straight up Route 9, I decided to cross over the Hudson at Newburgh, and then speed up to Catskill on the Thruway, instead of getting caught in slower traffic on the East side of the river. This was a wise choice, as we were able to make it to Olana by 2 pm.  Given that the house tours end at 3:45 pm, I figured that we needed the extra time on site if things were busy.

For those unfamiliar with Olana, it is a 250+ acre site that was landscaped and developed by one of the leaders of the Hudson River School of painting.  Frederic Church was extremely successful at his craft, and had the money to make this site both a work of art, and a masterpiece of site location - it is impossible to get a scenic view that isn't fantastic from this property.

With Olana's setting in mind, Church's house is priceless.  .For the most part, it looks exactly like when it was lived in by the Church family, and New York State was lucky to acquire it when it did.  (Could you imagine Church's artistic studies and his own art collection being sold off at auction?  I can't.)  

However, the house was very warm when we visited, and I needed to cool down within an hour of starting the tour.  (Don't worry, I saw everything, missed nothing, and chatted with the docents quite a bit.) So RQS and I got in the car, and started our drive home through scenic rural landscapes.  Eventually, we reached Poughkeepsie, where we stopped to eat (too much), then drove home.

All in all, it was a good summer day, and we had a great time together.... 

Rakugo

 

Rakugo - a form of Japanese verbal entertainment, specifically comedic storytelling. Performers, known as rakugo-ka, sit on a cushion and narrate stories, often acting out multiple characters with only a fan and a hand towel as props.

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I've been looking to see this show in Manhattan for a while.  Last month, I could have seen it when RQS was in Philadelphia visiting her cousin.  I decided not to do so for 2 reasons: (1) It was too hot last month, and (2) RQS could get the tickets cheaper than I could get them.  So, why not wait a month, and both of us could have a great day in the city?

This weekend, the weather was expected to be in the mid 80's, and that meant that the subways would be miserable. (That prediction was spot-on.)  But we had tickets, and I braved the heat in my feminine best (I'm not talking about the formality of what I was wearing, only the attitude that women take in regarding to making no excuses when things have to get done.) Around 5 pm, RQS and I prepared to go to Manhattan, and we went to the subway station at 6:10.  It was warm, but we were tolerably comfortable in the air-conditioned train.

When we arrived in Manhattan, we had to change trains at an overcrowded station.  If it was 85 degrees above ground, it was easily 100 degrees underground.  And when the train came, it was overcrowded. Making it to 50th street, we went above ground with 2 1/2 blocks to walk, and RQS was exhausted.  Although I have more stamina than she does, I knew I had to take a break and down the bottle of seltzer I had with me.  Thankfully, we made it to the theater with 30 minutes to spare before the show.

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Sitting down at our seats (thankfully we were on the aisle), I noticed that every tune played on the PA system before the show was a version of "You are my sunshine."  (How Appropriate!)   The setting was sparse as one would expect, and I knew we'd be entertained given the reviews that RQS had read about this show.

First, an apprentice Rakugo-ka came on stage and told her story.  Then Katsura Sunshine came on to tell his stories.  (This video clip from YouTube should give you an idea about what Rakugo is all about.)  After one story was told in English, he noted that he was learning both Italian and Chinese, then told the same story in both languages, Italian used for "the apprentice" and Chinese used for "the master".  This time, it was language and mannerisms from the storyteller that made one laugh.  Truly, Rakugo is an art which was a worldwide art.

Eventually, the show ended, and we had to go home.  First, we stopped for some cheesecake before going underground.  We missed the train by 30 seconds and would have to wait 12 minutes for the next one.  I remembered that an express train was coming, and that we might overtake the local.  But that didn't happen.  Again, we missed the local by 30 seconds.  So we still ended up waiting those 12 minutes, and then had to transfer one more time.  At least, we found seats on the train to RQS's place.

We were both exhausted by the time we returned to RQS's place, and I needed to take a shower before going to bed.  At least, I had the forethought to leave some pretty night wear at her place for me to wear that evening....
 

 

I'm glad I don't work in the city anymore.

 

Lately, the temperature has broken the 90° mark, and people are sweltering outside. If I had still been commuting to the city, I'd feel as if I needed to take a shower to feel fresh when I got to work.  Even though I went to the City this past Monday, it is not something I'd want to do every day anymore.

There was a time where I would have been glad to put up with the headaches of commuting.  Not anymore.  If I can't get to work with a short drive, I don't want to consider the job.  I no longer need the money, and work is only something to keep myself busy.  Although I will do some volunteer work now and then, I would prefer to get a job that pays me - people care more for a person's work when they have to pay for it.  People don't care much for things that have not been assigned a specific value, and "Free" is something that is rarely valued.

And this leads me to think about the current day....

RQS and I have each been thinking about buying new mattresses.  My mattress has a sagging middle, while RQS's mattress has edges that no longer provide adequate support.  Too bad we couldn't combine our bad mattresses to make one good one.  Due to the weather, we won't be doing any mattress shopping until autumn, as both of us want to look at the Saatva mattress in their NYC showroom.  This will be an excuse for the two of us to take the subway into Manhattan, and explore the city a little bit.

In cooler weather, I'd feel no problem in going to RQS's place.  But when Summer comes, traffic gets fouled up even more the closer I get to RQS's apartment.  It seems that the combination of commuter traffic, stadium traffic, and airport bound traffic brings all the roads I want to use to a stand still when the weather gets warm.  RQS and I have an agreement - she takes the train up to see me during the summer, and I will drive down to her place during the cooler weather.  So far, this has worked out well for us.  It's too bad that we don't live closer to each other.  But this can be changed at some future date.

If I were still working in the city, I'd leave my car in Croton for weekends and stay at RQS's during the week.  Although my commute would likely have taken the same amount of time as taking the train from Croton, I'd have had the benefit of being with RQS all the time.  Since I am no longer working, I have to think about the day that I will no longer be able to drive.  At that time, I want to live in a place where both RQS and I will be able to get around without the need for a car.  If only such places were easy to find....

California Vacation 2023 - Embarkation Day

 

Embarkation Day.  This is where I figured that we'd have some problems because I had lost (or misplaced) my Princess Medallion.  And I was right....

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Getting up this morning, I knew that when I arrived at the pier, that I'd have to go through a gauntlet of headaches before we could get to our cabin.  So I made sure to touch base (again) with the Princess personnel at the hotel to confirm what I needed to do to get on the ship.  And then the fun began.

RQS and I refused to pay $50 to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast.  So we got on line for the in-house Starbucks, where we found reasonably priced breakfast beverages and refreshments before getting on the bus to the cruise ship in San Pedro.  While making a Bio-Break, the bus came and RQS went outside for the bus.  She didn't hear me announce that "I had to see a man about a horse," so she went outside looking for me.  I got a little anxious looking for her, but things turned out all right and the bus started making its way to the pier.

Once at the pier, we had our first expected problem.  It took forever for the people at the pier to cut one-time-use cruise cards that we'd use to get on the ship.  And then, we walked onto the ship and into our second headache - the wait at Guest Services.  Normally, a visit to Guest Services shouldn't take too long.  But it was chaos in front of the desk, and the air conditioning was not able to keep up with the heat.  As a result, I was dripping when I approached the counter.  (Thankfully, I had no need to wear a wig on this trip, as I'd be presenting as Mario for the duration of the trip.)  About ten minutes later, I had a functioning medallion, and I was set to go.  One problem.  RQS's medallion no longer worked.  So it was back to Guest Services, and another ten minutes later, RQS had her working medallion.

It was a long day, and we took a much needed rest before dinner.  This would be the first of seven days where we'd enjoy great food, walk around a lot, and feel tired by day's end.  Things finally were starting to look good....