Month: April 2014

We finally reached New York and our old homestead. Grand View is a village saddled in between Nyack, NY and Piermont, NY. It has 125 homes with some very famous people. Our home, now painted all white, was once lilac (main color), black cherry, burgundy, and white. people stayed in our cottage for a respite or to find themselves, a segue way of sorts. LamaTuptin Gyatso, a friend of the Dali Lama, stayed there for several weeks. He didn’t want to leave after coming to the birthday celebration of the Dali Lama July 4th many years ago. Two houses down lives the writer Thomas Burger, famous in the 70’s, and wrote “Little Big Horn,” later staring Al Pachino, “Neighbors” later staring Bill Murray and others (based on his life in Snedens Landing in Piermont where many movie stars lived.Most of the house faces the Hudson River and the other floors are below the street. Then we have, about fifteen houses south, Toni Morrison’s .homeAcross the street from us was William Stanley Wyatt, born in Grand View, (died 1962–son lives there)painter and sculpture, who created the bronze statue outside of St John the Divine church in NYC, atlas obscura.Up about a mile south from our home was the home of William Hurt, now moved.Down into Nyack, a mile north, we have director Johnathan Demi, and then there is Helen Hayes old house that was bought by Rosie O’Donold, who found privacy and issue, planting the huge hedges, then moving.  Hope you enjoyed some of the pictures from the old hood. We loved noting all the changes in the area, and reminiscing about the “good old days”.

Then, home to 84th and Amsterdam.

Till next time.

Our Road Trip from San Francisco to New York City: a 3,200 mile excursion with Tayya, our 8   year-old Lab/Australian Cattle Dog,

And Coral, our 5 year-old Betta fish.Strapped in for safety for all of five miles, then the water sloshed, and the bowl wound up secured on the front floor in front of me. You should have seen the looks when I carried the fish into the hotels.

On the way to Sacramento, we road through Donner Pass–some history there (plane crashed many years ago and people ate people to survive). Of course Larry, my husband, had to ask me if I was hungry.

Then on to Utah, and the city with the cleanest street and calmest feel, Salt Lake City.  Larry had to buy a Duncan Donuts coffee, his favorite, and a fond memory from his New York City days.

Beautiful views leaving the city. See the salt mound in the second picture?

We loved Denver. We were so filled with the city, we forgot to take more pictures! However, we did visit the car show, and decided that since we move so much, we would buy one of these. The motorcycles fit on the back. Of course, we’d have to travel more north with that plow!

Although Larry truly would have preferred one of these two cars. 🙂

Wyoming is one of my favorite states.The winds howled and the gust exceeded forty miles an hour, with fingers threatening to touch land.

Stopping for meals at different ‘home-down” restaurants, we came across this very different cocktail recipe in Idaho Falls, a college town where half of the town seemed to be inhabited by all 35,000 students of the university. Young bloods all over the city! The sunset … well ….

I thought I would love Chicago. But between the cold weather, overpowering high buildings all in rows blocking the sky, and lack of beauty, I felt disappointed. My theatres were dark as most are on Mondays and Tuesdays, but

luckily, the Art Institute of Chicago had a French Impressionism show with pieces we had never seen! Yay!

We stayed at the Hilton, and instead of heading out to a fine-dining restaurant, we eased into comfortable chairs, ate way too many nuts, and toasted the falling snow–that the denizens cursed, yet again.Across from the street there stood a park with a lone rider.

Onward to home … pictures … tomorrow