October 01 to November 10, 2004
Back in the USA
October 01 to November 10, 2004
Back in the USA
Greetings Earthlings
It’s always good to be back in the good ol’ USA and our 5-week trip in
October and November was no exception. For some bizarre reason, as we
flew back, two songs kept ringing in my mind. First was the Beach Boys’
“California Girls” and the other was the Beatles’ “Back in the USSR”. While
some might shake their heads in wonder at this, both songs stirred up happy
memories of life in America.
Life in our old hometown of Mountain Lakes seemed hardly to have changed at
all, which is good, as everyone seems to be living the good life. The only major
change was the size of our friends’ kids. They had all grown dramatically, as
had ours, and the older ones had crossed the bridge to adulthood, making my
use of the term “kids” faintly ridiculous.
To be back in our old home, having it filled with the sounds of our large,
extended family, our friends and our three dogs, was thrilling. Andrew,
Richard and Lauren especially enjoyed seeing all their cousins and
experiencing life as part of a large family again – they have 16 aunts and
uncles, 23 first cousins, and 3 grandparents. These visits back to the US
always seem rushed and we leave wishing we had had more time to spend with
everyone.
During our first week in the US, we went to the Annapolis boat show to buy
“stuff” for the boat. Mike Crofton, an old and dear friend, joined us down
there for the day. I met Mike on his 7th birthday and we have enjoyed
talking or arguing about everything ever since. Mike’s preferences for
monohulls and Kerry, rather than my choices of catamarans and Bush, provided
the basis for many hours of spirited debate. The highlight of the trip came
on the drive home, when Mike’s indignation for my views on Kerry rose to such
a fevered pitch that he spontaneously erupted in a nosebleed so massive that
he was completely incapacitated. I immediately claimed victory.
We spent a weekend in NY City, sans enfants, with our friends, Paul and Judy
Konowitch. Our kids spent the weekend with their buddies at the Konowitch
Mans in Westchester. After so many months in the tropics, it was thrilling to
back in NY City, the most exciting and entertaining city that I know. My old
work buddies, Bob Thoma (Carol’s brother) and George Tsahalis took us, with
all our kids and almost all theirs, to a Jets football game. We had a pre-game
BBQ in the parking lot. With temperatures a little above freezing, the kids
played touch football while we watched and drank beer. To cap a perfect
day, the Jets won. Back in Mountain Lakes, our friends made us feel missed
and welcome. Thanks to all of you for being so good to us.
After nearly 4 weeks in New Jersey, it was Election Day. First, we voted,
and then we flew down to Miami with my Mum, who, for many years, has lived
in the apartment above the detached garage at our Mountain Lakes house. As
each winter rolled around, Mum would fly back to South Africa to avoid the
cold and to be with her friends and family. This year, however, Mum had sold
her South African home and planned to spend the winter in our beachfront
condo on the south east coast of Florida. So that Mum would not be lonely,
Anne and Anthony, my sister and her husband, brought out mum's South
African boyfriend, Cyril, a wonderful French Mauritian who had a crush on
her as a kid and looked her up sixty years later.
The day after we arrived in Miami, we left Mum and Cyril at the condo and
drove to Sarasota on Florida’s west coast. There, we spent a week at a
beachfront tennis resort, the Colony, together with the Caccavale family from
Mountain Lakes – John and Ruth with their children Laura (18), Adam (15) and
Sophia (12). This was our fourth early November vacation at the Colony with
the Caccavales and, again, we had a disputed election result. The interesting
part is that while John and our family are firmly Republican, Ruth and her
children are die hard Democrats. Fortunately, it was not as bad as our
vacation to the Colony 4 years previously. This time, the Democrats lost big
and accepted it a sooner, allowing us to get back to issues of more immediate
concern - tennis, cocktails and sunsets on the beach.
After the Colony, we had a quick visit with Carol’s sister, Eileen, her husband
Bill and their five boys: EJ, Thomas, Robert, Harrison and Gunnar. They had
recently moved to Sarasota and we were all happy to have the chance to see
them again.
Being back in the USA was a terrific break from our hectic schedule and it
was over much too quickly. From Sarasota, we returned to Jensen Beach for
a couple of days to say goodbye to Mum and Cyril and then it was back to the
boat and on with our adventure.
