Up the Hudson

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, Camille and I drove with Sophie up the Hudson River Valley to Albany. Camille has taken a trip out of NYC each weekend.  She thinks it makes the week go faster and the burden of her presence seem lighter on the Zengers, the friends with whom she stays.  It was "just spring" as we drove north, with most of the trees still bare and snow in the Catskills.

It was a thrill to take the FDR Drive up the east side of Manhattan, whirring past public housing projects, huge skyscrapers, and the East River.  After the usual snail's pace of walking through Manhattan, it seemed almost shocking to travel so fast above-ground!

We drove north for nearly an hour, following a Hudson River Valley guide brochure.  Our first stop was billed as a nature walk around a lake.  When we stopped at that supposed tourist site, we all laughed.  The "lake" was a big puddle by the side of the road, with a few geese quacking nearby.  "This was a goose chase," Sophie said wryly.

 Notwithstanding that disappointment, it felt wonderful just to leave the city, which is weighed down with fears of coronavirus.  Unfortunately, nearly everywhere we stopped was closed, including all the state parks.

 We paused for lunch at a cafe in New Paltz which, mercifully, was still open.  I enjoyed the house specialty--pasta with Cajun sausage and a spicy cream sauce.

 We walked along Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, even though the museum and historic homes were closed.  This was a 1700s French Protestant community.  America was a refuge for so many religious dissidents, including the French Protestants who fled France when the Catholics came to power and pushed them out.

 We were the only tourists there, and we enjoyed wandering through the picturesque graveyard.

 Each house had a story.

 Next stop was the home of Frederick Church, one of the "Hudson River School" of painters during the 1830s to 1850s,  My mother was not a connoisseur of paintings, but she did love the lush landscapes of the Hudson River School. 

 The home was a work of art, itself, with Moorish details

 We looked far down the hill at the beautiful Hudson River.

 I will have to come back in the fall, when this valley is most beautiful.

 We wandered on to the quaint town of Hudson, noted for its many antique stores.

Camille and I wandered through the shops, while Sophie dozed in the car.  Sophie is nearly halfway through her radiation treatments, and, as the doctors predicted, she is getting more and more tired.

 We drove up and up into the Catskill Mountains, along narrow, winding roads.  Camille and I took a short hike to Kaaterskill Falls, as, again, Sophie slept.

 Finally, as it began to get dark, we arrived in downtown Albany.  I checked Hotels.com for a good but bargain hotel and, voila, there it was right in front of us--the Fairfield Inn & Suites, for which Camille had Marriott points.  We asked the clerk where we could eat supper and she said that this afternoon Governor Cuomo shut the whole city down--no restaurants were open and the hotel would not be serving its usual complimentary breakfast.  How quickly all of New York State had closed its doors!

 The city was charming, layered over several hills, with historic government buildings.  Albany reminded me of Austin, Texas, another hilly government town.  I will have to come back.

As we drove south to NYC, we passed many army trucks.  We heard on the news that Governor Cuomo had called out the National Guard to help in areas with coronavirus outbreaks, such as New Rochelle, a Jewish Orthodox community just outside NYC.  Camille dropped me off at JFK for my flight home which, again, was only half full.  This has been both a fun weekend and a sobering one. I didn't realize, until I got back to SLC, that NYC had become the heart of the coronavirus epidemic in America.  When I mentioned to a work friend that I was just back from NYC, he moved several steps away from me!

Hanging with my Grandkids in the Big Apple

The week of March 9, 2020 was when the US realized that the coronavirus is here.  The stock market fell 2000 points on Monday, before trading was halted.  In Salt Lake City, I went to Rotary and attended the Broadway Eccles production of "Dear Evan Hansen" on Tuesday, but by Wednesday the World Health Organization had designated the coronavirus outbreak as a "pandemic" and the NBA announced that it would play its games without fans in the stands, since Rudy Goberg, a Utah JAZZ player, has tested positive for coronavirus.  On Wednesday, the Salt Lake Rotary canceled its weekly lunches and the Utah State Bar canceled its spring convention in St. George.  President Trump announced that travel from Europe would be curtailed.  Emilie and Annelise flew to NYC on Tuesday to keep Sophie company for a few days, as she undergoes radiation therapy.  On Wednesday, the museums and Broadway shows were open, but by Thursday night Broadway was dark.

On Thursday night, the plane I flew to NYC was half empty, with middle seats left open to provide "social distancing."  On Friday morning, when I met Camille, Sophie, Emilie, and Annelise at the Zenger's home in Queens,  we had to make new plans, since my usual NYC "dog trot" of museums and plays was shut down.  I rode with Sophie and Camille into Manhattan for Sophie's radiation appointment at the Sloan-Kettering Proton Center in northern Manhattan.  Sloan-Kettering is one of the top cancer hospitals in the world.  New Yorkers are jittery about the virus.  I coughed on the subway and two people around me stood up and moved!

Sophie's appointment lasted just half an hour and Sophie seemed none the worse for her treatment.

The five us then began a 12 mile walking odyssey around Mid-Manhattan, Soho, Chelsea, and Brooklyn.  We stopped at the "Vessel," at Hudson Yards on 24th Street.  It is described as, "This enormous bronze honeycomb standing at 15 stories tall.  From the inside it's an intricate chamber of stairs; there are 2,500 steps, 154 flights, and 80 landings in total."

We walked along the Highline Trail, chatting companionably about the "bachelorette party" which Emilie attended last week.

We began our food tour in earnest.  One stop was Domique Ansel's Bakery in Soho for cronuts and another was Citycakes, a tiny, walk-down shop for large, rich oatmeal , chocolate chip, and peanut butter cookies.

Another "food event" was a stop for Mexican corn on the cob, roasted and then slathered with cheese.

We also hiked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Emilie met her friend, Fallin, who is working with a cosmetics company in NYC.

We finished our evening at a fancy development of shops and restaurants on the Brooklyn waterfront.

The view across the East River to Manhattan was spectacular.

After our big day on Friday, it was nearly noon before our crowd was out of the Zenger's house.  We then did more food touring, including stopping at an upscale collection of Italian shops and restaurants.

Cannolis are one of my cravings.  The cannoli I ate on this trip, filed with ricotta cheese mixed with chocolate chips and garnished with a cherry soaked in amaretto, was superb.

Emilie also celebrated with a sack of Italian pastries.

We lingered at a bookstore, and I took photos of the books I wanted to buy when I got home.  I remembered only too well our trip to NYC for the family reunion many years ago, during which I bought a huge art book at the Metropolitan Museum and lugged it for the 15 miles we walked that day!

We decided to "go healthy" for our last meal in NYC.  We stopped for salads at a shop recommended by a friend from Camille's ward in SLC.

We posed for one last photo at the park near the Zenger's house in Queens, looking across the river to Manhattan.  Then, Emilie and Annelise hurried to the airport to fly home.

Tokyo and New Orleans

 In early March 2020, we were blissfully unaware that the coronavirus was stealthily infiltrating America and would soon make gregarious Sunday dinners with family and friends a luxury of the past.  The virus was "over there" in China, although there were rumblings that it was coming our way.

On March 1, 2020, I did a practice run of the dinner with which I hoped to welcome Jono home from his LDS mission to Japan.  It was Asian soul food--a bowl of pork ramen and as much shrimp tempura as we could eat.  For dessert, we had ginger ice cream.  The last time we were with Jono was June 2018, although we've gotten lots of Facetime glimpses of him since then.

The Eberts had a party with the Other Grandparents on March 1, so we honored Jono and his family in absentia.  Dave's sister Janice joined us.

 The dinner reminded Mike of Heidi's and his trip to Japan to see the cherry blossoms a few years ago.  For months before that trip, they cooked Japanese food to get ready.

Mike and Heidi brought Audrey, as stylishly arrayed as usual, with cap and bow.  Mike held Audrey in the grip he has perfected as most likely to prevent howls.

 We're thrilled that Audrey is now old enough and healthy enough to attend our Sunday dinners with her mom.  That looks like a burp cloth on Heidi's shoulder!

 All was not happiness, however.

On March 8, 2020, we celebrated Mardi Gras with chicken gumbo, red beans and rice, and shrimp remoulade.  I made a King's cake for dessert, and I arrayed the tables with glitzy green/purple/gold table runners, feathers, and beads.

 Camille and Steve spent this weekend at a fancy resort, as a prize for Steve's business performance this year.  Emily brought her sibs to our house for Mardi Gras.  We began the meal with Shirley Temple mocktails, served with bright-colored, squiggly straws.  I was so busy cooking that I forgot to take pictures of all the guests, including beloved Naomi, Spencer, and Grant.  Grant and Emilie stayed after dinner to talk about missionary work at a "Bishop's Fireside" for our ward's teenagers.

I did get pictures of cute Mia and Annelise.