Carmageddon

Music City: A Nashville Road Trip

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Susan Russo

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On the banks of the Cumberland River on Christmas Eve in 1779 Nashville was founded by James Robertson & John Donelson. The city soon became an important port, cotton center and later on a railroad hub. Of course the history changed when in the 1950s country music came to town. Aside from being country music’s Mecca and one of the birthplaces of rock & roll, Nashville holds a few more historical tidbits. Did you know that William Driver, a relocated New England sea captain was the first to use the term “Old Glory” when referring to the American Flag? Were you aware that the first man to blend a mixture of top roasted coffee beans talked a local Nashville hotel manager into letting him try out the new blended roast? The Maxwell Hotel’s new coffee became a huge hit and was so tasty that Teddy Roosevelt himself said it was, “good to the last drop”. Joel Owsley Cheek named his new product Maxwell House Coffee. Cornelia Clark Ford, the first active duty woman pilot to die in service called Nashville home.

Music is the heart and soul of Nashville today. The WSM Barn Dance was a little radio show when it debuted in 1925. It grew in popularity expanding to 4 hours. On Saturday nights the show followed a classical music program on the NBC Network. One night a conductor made a remark alluding that there was no place for “realism” in the classical genre. When “Barn Dance” host, George Hay, came on the air he remarked that the previous program featured Grand Opera but his show would present the “Grand Ol Opry”. A legend was born. Music recording studios in the 1950s began producing what would later be identified as the Nashville sound. Today a large variety of music is produced in Nashville. Here are some of the diverse songs and albums that were recorded there:
Heartbreak Hotel 1956 Elvis Presley
Rockin Around the Christmas Tree 1958 Brenda Lee
Pretty Woman 1964 Roy Orbison
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down 1971 Joan Baez
License to Chill ’04 Jimmy Buffet
Stronger ’11 Kelly Clarkson

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This year we decided to make a Nashville road trip our Spring Break destination. We set out on a frigid Saturday in what is supposed to be Spring. After an overnight stay in Kingsport, which my “Meet Me Halfway” app designated as the midway point between Linden & Nashville we arrived in Music City. Since we did not account for the time zone change we arrived early to our hotel and our accommodations were not yet ready for our occupation. The sky was crystal blue and cloudless and the sun had warmed things up significantly so we decided to head into downtown and scope things out. Things were hopping when we got there thanks to back to back concerts featuring Bob Seger and then 2 nights of Kenny Cheseny. Today there was a hockey game with tons of fans walking around sporting Red Wings and Predators jerseys. We drove through the streets noting all the pay parking lots & metered spaces when all of a sudden a car departed from an actual free parking spot! Don resurrected his dormant parallel parking skills and soon we were strolling along Broadway.

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We picked our way through the throngs and found our way to the Visitor’s Center. An informative gentleman helped us find what we felt was the best deal to accomplish our touristy goals. Nashville offers a pass called the Total Access which allows you to choose 4 out of 20 local attractions for a flat fee of $60 per ticket. The individual admission prices vary between $35 to $10 per attraction so if you choose wisely the savings can be quite substantial. The Visitor’s Center guy assured us that things would return to “normal” tomorrow after the frenzy of activity in town this weekend. Not wanting to give up a good free parking space we decided to check off some of my downtown must dos and with the weather being so cooperative we decided to head to the Shelby Ave Pedestrian Bridge. This spot affords some beautiful views of the riverfront area and is a nice alternative to the crazy congestion of Broadway.

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Back at street level we did a little more hoofing through downtown. It’s a very festive atmosphere and reminded me a little of when we were in the French Quarter after a Saints victory, except with not as many drunks, less debauchery and a soundtrack of country music instead of jazz emanating from all the honky tonk joints.

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A stop at the Goo Goo Shop was also on my list. What’s a “Goo Goo” you ask? Well, it’s a confection that’s a Nashville tradition and is a chocolate covered nut cluster available in several varieties. Definitely a delightful candy and I bought a box for use as Easter basket fillers.

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Some say that the name “Goo Goo” stands for Grand Ol Opry. I just thought it was because they’re gooey. In the back of the store is where they make the daily special Goo Goos. We sampled the dark chocolate deluxe and Damian gave it his seal of approval. Now with Goo Goos in hand we trekked back to the car and saw a few more sights on the way.

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Time to head back to our hotel for check in, dinner and maybe a swim. Tomorrow will be a busy day as we head off to Andrew Jackson’s Presidential home, The Hermitage.

Categories: Southeast | Tags: Nashville | Leave a comment

The Highland Maple Festival

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Susan Russo

This past weekend we visited what is known as the “little Switzerland” of Virginia. Located in the Allegheny Mountains this is an area that can claim some of the highest elevations east of the Mississippi River. We drove through a section of the George Washington National Forest up through the mountains on steep, winding roads to arrive at our first stop on the trail of the 57th annual Highland Maple Festival. We were set to arrive in the town of McDowell at 10 am to meet with our friends Shannon & Blake. We made a brief detour along the way to visit part of the earthworks that are still standing from The Battle of McDowell which is a Civil War site.

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Our stop made us realize that it was a pretty but chilly morning with a brisk breeze probably made worse by the altitude. Despite our diversion we arrived in town a little early and decided to meander while awaiting the arrival of our friends.

Stonewall Ruritan of McDowell (note the tent frame in foreground that the wind blew down)

Crafts vendors outside the Ruritan

The center of activity in McDowell was the Ruritan Center which housed a very popular “all you can eat” pancake breakfast featuring the locally produced buckwheat flour and maple syrup. There were also numerous crafts and food vendors on site.

The line for pancakes stretched through the entire building.

The artisans were extremely friendly and informative about how they created their works being especially attentive to Damian and the numerous other kids. The prices were extremely reasonable and a few jewelry items and a hand-knitted hat found their way into my shopping bag. The hero of the day, at least in my guy’s minds, was the gentleman manning the freshly made pork rinds kettle. He also obviously took a great deal of pride in his product and filled Damian with facts about porcine by-product production. Don insisted I try one from the 2 enormous bags he and Damian were drooling in and although I find the thought of them repulsive I will admit they had a light, airy texture and not unpleasant taste.

The pork rind man

Despite the early crowds we found Shannon & Blake who were staying the weekend at a friend’s nearby cabin. Roy, the cabin owner, became our de-facto tour guide. It was decided that we would beat the crowds (who were obviously still gorging on pancakes) and head out to Eagle’s Sugar Camp.

Heading out to the sugar camp.

Eagle’s has been producing maple syrup for over 200 years and combines both old school and modern methods of collection and production. Maples are usually tapped beginning at 30 to 40 years of age. Each tree can support between one and three taps, depending on its trunk diameter. The average maple tree will produce about 9 to 13 gallons of sap per season. Seasons last for four to eight weeks, depending on the weather. Some producers also tap in autumn, though this practice is less common than spring tapping. Maples can continue to be tapped for sap until they are over 100 years old. No one knows how Native Americans discovered maple syrup (the sap itself tastes kind of like water) but one legend says that they cooked something in the tree’s sap which concentrated the sugars and the rest is history.

Sap collecting in metal buckets. (old school)

A three bucket trunk!

Modern method of collection with tubing and large reservoirs.

Once the sap is collected it’s taken to the ‘sugar shack’ which is a building louvered at the top to vent the steam from the boiling sap. Eagle’s camp has both open pan wood-fired evaporators and the modern computerized oil-fired evaporators. The smell of the wood smoke & the amazing maple donuts intoxicated me (remember – I don’t drink during Lent).

Don, Blake & Damian in the wood fired room.

The Sugar Shack

Shannon & Roy in the modern processing room.

A view of Eagle’s Camp from further up the mountain.

Naturally, there is a large gift shop on site and I couldn’t resist a few more purchases.

Don’s pork rinds & my donuts, syrup, honey and adorable bunny shaped lollipops for my grandkids. (Don’t tell them!)

A death-defying drive over the mountain led us to our next stop: The Virginia Trout Company. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for Damian, my nature lover. Shannon knows how much Damian loves aquatic life (she bought him a very cute quartz-like rock with a tiny turtle on it from one of the crafts tables). Highland county is full of natural springs and this water flows through the pools of the hatchery year round. These trout are raised without the use of supplemental hormones or antibiotics. Every three months, the Company begins a new hatch of rainbow trout eggs, shepherding the fish through larger and larger tanks until they are moved outdoors. The trout are used for live-stocking and sold to restaurants. They also sell the local favorite, trout sandwich on premises. Delicate and flaky huge fillets fried golden are served on a bun with tarter sauce. Delicious.

Damian & fish friends

The trout pools

Shannon & Damian feeding the fish who are jumping out of the water for the food.

We bid our fish friends a fond farewell and jumped back in the cars to head to Monterey. North Water Street seemed to be the main drag and once again we found many local crafts vendors, a food court, several historic structures and another Virginia volcano!

Vestiges of a prehistoric volcano.

Grilled pork with a maple syrup based bbq sauce.

Local woodworker using a foot powered lathe.

The Highland Inn was known for 75 years as the landmark “Hotel Monterey” and opened in 1904. It is booked solid during the Maple Festival.

On top of the building behind me is a trout.

The historic Highland Inn

This red shack sold maple donuts. The line was the length of several blocks.

Our final destination was the Highland County Museum & Heritage Center which was hosting an encampment of Civil War reenactors. They had already pulled up stakes by the time we arrived since it was now late Sunday afternoon. Since Don was both a Union and Confederate reenactor in a past life we didn’t mind missing the encampment and instead checked out the exhibits and video on the Battle of McDowell. (Don was a Private in the 15th NJ Regiment but a Sargent in the Stonewall Brigade. Obviously the Rebs had more appreciation for his talents, which included spitting moonshine into the campfire to make a big flame and a slovenly appearance.)
The three hour journey home was looming ahead of us so we decided to call it a day. If we did not have the advantage of Roy, Shannon & Blake as our tour guides we would never have been able to cover as much ground as we did in a single day. This is definitely a weekend excursion if you want to fully appreciate all the Festival has to offer.

The scenery isn’t too shabby either.

Highland County

Categories: East Coast | Tags: Festivals | Leave a comment

Travel Mistakes We’ve Made

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Susan Russo

Lest you think that our adventures are all sunshine & roses I am here to assure you that they are not.

Not all sunshine & roses – they’re tulips.

There’s a saying that “mistakes are just lessons you haven’t learned yet” so allow me to school you with a few travel mistakes we’ve made in the past. Perhaps you can learn the easy way. It seems if your last name is Russo that you are destined to learn the hard way. Just ask my boys.

There are 2 main categories of mistakes with several examples noted under each category.

Mistakes before you leave:

We had planned on camping for a night or two when on our epic Historic Route 1 road trip. We packed the camping gear and never used it because we were unaware that you had to make reservations at least 48 hrs in advance. (North Carolina)
We had to travel an additional 75 mile stretch to find accommodations because we didn’t realize that we would be running into The Masters Golf Tournament. (Augusta, GA)

Augusta, GA

3. This one happened to a friend of ours: the keys to the suitcase were left at home and not discovered until their arrival at the airport hotel.

4. We almost missed a flight twice: a. Don left his photo ID home and homeland security detained him. (Dulles) b. We were passing the time between layovers by having a few ‘beverages’ and did not realize our connection was leaving from another terminal. (Dallas)

This is what I was drinking in Dallas.

5. We didn’t check the weight restrictions for carry on luggage at an overseas airport and I had to check my bag unexpectedly incurring a checked luggage fee. (Vienna) My sister now carries a travel size luggage scale because the same thing happened to her.

Me & Wolfie in Vienna

Mistakes after you arrive:

Not having enough respect for time zone changes: a. We had a late cross country flight that landed us in Reno, NV at 11:00 p.m. By the time we acquired our rental car and drove the 1 ½ hrs to Lake Tahoe we were exhausted. b. Due to the exhaustion and the fact that there were 5 of us travelling we did not realize that my luggage was missing until the next morning at about 11:00 am after we woke up. (This is why I now always try to carry on my luggage.)

Tahoe

c. We planned a trip to Hawaii in a single day with 2 lay overs. We were delayed out of LAX because we had to get off the plane due to mechanical issues causing us not to arrive in Hawaii until much later than we had anticipated. ( Now you can fly non stop out of Dulles-not an option at the time we went)

hiking in hawaii

d. After an overnight flight we arrived in Ireland at 8:00 am. We couldn’t check into our villa until 3:00pm. Although exhausted and preferring to take a nap we decided to tour some local castle ruins.

castle ruins in Ireland

2. Generalized poor planning:
a. We meandered on our drive from Las Vegas to Zion National Park stopping along the way to look at stupid stuff and get picnic supplies. When we got to Zion we didn’t get to spend as much time there as we had planned because of the wasted time. (my fault)

zen in zion

b. Not noticing that there were no lights in the parking lots at Grand Canyon National Park. I had insisted on staying to see the sunset having no clue that we wouldn’t be able to get back to our car because we would not be able to find the parking lot let alone the vehicle. (Of course I had a flashlight. . . in the car we couldn’t find)

c. Instead of properly storing our camping supplies we got hammered and left them out. It poured that night and everything got soaked.

On this night we got soaked camping along the Cape Fear river.

3. Generalized poor decision making:
a. Stopping at a roadside market in Vidalia, GA and purchasing a large amount of various types of onions that had literally just come out of the ground. The stench in the car was almost overwhelming and we couldn’t wrap them in plastic because they had to ‘freshen’.

Vidalia onions:
taste great, smell bad

b. Deciding to order and consume food you don’t normally eat while driving along historic Route 66 from Arizona to Las Vegas and suffering the consequences.

c. Not heeding the words of your native Irish driver to avoid the potcheen. (Irish moonshine)

Before the potcheen on the beach in Ireland

By no means is this a comprehensive list of the travel mistakes we’ve made just consider it a representative sample. Remember, it’s only a mistake if you don’t learn something from it. I can honestly say that with the exception of the alcohol related instances, we have learned our lessons. Will you?

Categories: Travel Tips | Leave a comment

How To Plan A Cheap Road Trip

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Susan Russo

Although we are having a snow event today, Spring is in the air! That gets our minds dreaming of Spring Break and planning a new road trip. A lot of folks ask us, “How do you get to take so many trips?” Well, we try to travel as frugally as possible which gives us the ability to travel more often. So I thought today that we’d share some cheap road trip tips.

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1. FIND THE TIME

* Don works for the local school district and his schedule follows the school calendar. He has some teacher work days when school is closed, Federal holidays, breaks, snow days and a couple of personal days he can use to lengthen a stretch. My only schedule requirement is that I work every 3rd weekend but I try to work at least 2 shifts per week. If necessary, I can trade my weekend with another coworker since we always try to help each other out when possible. Not everyone has this kind of flexibility but if travel is as important to you as it is to us you are always looking for an opportunity to get away. Do you have a 3 day weekend coming up? Do you have to travel someplace for work that you can extend a day or two? I plot our schedules out on an app called Cozi which you can set to automatically send an email or text to family members. Once I get a month set I start looking for blocks of time that may be able to accomodate a trip.

* We try to plan at least one big family trip per year. Sometimes it’s a summer trip and sometimes it’s a winter trip. If we’re lucky it’s both. Winter trips are usually planned in January near MLK weekend. This time frame usually includes a long weekend, end of semester testing or marking period and a chance of snow days. The past two years we have had our winter vacations extended by snow days. 😀 Summer trips are helped by the fact that several family members are school system employees and have summers off.

Winter family trip

2. FIND THE PLACE

One of our past hotel rooms

* Will it be a weekend stay, midweek stay, week long stay? How much total time will you have? The less time we have the closer the destination. The more time we have the further away we look.

* Check the long range forecast. Is it summer and camping is a possibility? Is there a possibility of a major snow storm where you’re thinking about going? Two years ago we went to Asheville, NC for a Spring Break retreat. We did not factor in the closing of the Blue Ridge Parkway due to ice and had to re-route our drive home.

* Can you mooch off a friend or relative? Last year we went to Orlando, FL for Spring Break and stayed with my in-laws. This left us with more discretionary funds. We have several friends who own time shares and allow us to purchase their bonus weeks from them. Sometimes it’s cheaper to rent a condo for a week even if you don’t plan on staying the full week. Spread the word that you like to travel and are open to last minute trips. We had a lovely free vacation at a resort in Gaitlinburg, TN because a friend had to have an unexpected surgery and didn’t want the week to go to waste. Other friends who knew they weren’t going to be able to spend the full week at a condo offered us the remaining days after they left. Does a friend or relative need a house-sitter or pet-sitter while they travel? We make every effort to take advantage of a free opportunity. Say,”Yes!”

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* Could you camp or stay in a cabin at a state or national park? I know, this isn’t for everyone. I myself have a long list of criteria for camping (and still wind up with it either raining or 110 degrees).

An absolutely lovely camping trip we took.

* If we are planning to stay at hotels we take advantage of rewards. Don is a member of every major hotel chain’s rewards system. He also gets Orbitz bucks and often tries to book through them when he has substantial bucks built up. He also has a rewards credit card. This year knowing we will be travelling for Spring Break, Don has been using his credit card to pay for gas, groceries, etc to build up points. He comes home and pays off the charge immediately on line. We currently have over 70,000 reward points which we plan to use to pay for our hotels. The credit card that is attached to our bank account also accrues rewards and allows us to cash them in for restaurant or Starbucks gift cards. We will get some of these to use on our trip.

* Our hotel selection criteria usually includes: free hot breakfast, free high speed internet, free parking, an indoor pool/hot tub (especially if Damian is with us), no pets (allergies), microwave & fridge. If Damian will be accompanying us we prefer a suite. Don always calls the hotel directly and asks if they offer military discounts, VFW, AARP, NRA or any of the other crazy organizations of which he is a card carrying member. Sometimes they can offer a better rate than an online booking site. One Christmas we scored an unbelievable rate for two rooms at the Gaylord’s National Harbor location when Don made phone friends with the reservations clerk. I always make him do the booking because he has a way of relating to people on the phone that usually scores us a better deal or some free perks. If the hotel is not at our final destination, for instance an overnight stop en route, we often forgo the amenities and just look for a clean, cheap room.

* Hotels that are located a little bit off the beaten path or near airports can have better deals. Airport locations sometimes have shuttles that may take you to a public transportation site or a downtown location or local place of interest. Many times a visitor’s center will have free parking so we’ll drive into town, stash the car there and take off on foot. The cheapest tickets we found to The Biltmore Estate were through the Asheville Visitors Center. Who knew they even sold them? When we inquired the clerk told us that an agreement with The Biltmore did not allow them to advertise that they sold tickets. Ask.

* It is unusual for us to preconceive a destination. I do look for places I’ve never been to before. I subscribe to numerous travel sites: Travelzoo & Lonely Planet among them to see where the best deals are to be found. For instance, this year Lonely Planet ranks Nashville, TN as a best destination. After doing some research we decided that we will spend Spring Break 2015 in Music City. When you are not committed to destination and instead ‘follow the deals’ you can usually travel at the lowest cost.

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3. YOUR VEHICLE OR A RENTAL?

* We both have older, high mileage vehicles (Shocker, I know). If we are planning a long road trip we often look into renting a car. Our cars are SUV-type vehicles and not too fuel efficient. While they are great for mountaintop living they are not the most cost effective choice for road trips. We also want to limit the wear and tear on our cars.
* Groupon & Living Social sometimes have great deals on rental cars. We also have cultivated some friendships with employees of rental car agencies who can assist us with finding the best deals. AARP also offers discounts on car rentals. We have found we get a better rate if we pick up our rentals near one of the major airports instead of the local rental offices. We also have discovered that renting for a longer time than we need is often the cheapest route. The last time we rented a car we took it for 2 weeks but only needed if for 10 days because it was significantly less expense to do it that way.

4. USE YOUR APPS

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* I sold my GPS device because they wanted to charge me to update & instead I use my trusty Google Maps. (Of course we always travel with an atlas in case we’re somewhere without service).

*I always search my Living Social and Groupon apps when I arrive at any destination to see what local deals I might be able to score.

*We use Meet Me Halfway to determine the halfway point between destinations in case we want to stop for a break or overnight.

*We use Open Table to find & book restaurant reservations. This app also gives you points when you complete your reservation which you can redeem for checks to pay your restaurant tabs.

*We use Restaurant.com to purchase discounts at local eateries. If you can combine Open Table and Restaurant.com – even better!

*I use ReailMeNot to search for deals & coupons for local retailers.

*We use MVDC to search for military/veteran’s discounts.

*I use CamScanner to scan copies of documents, tickets, passes or whatever in case I loose something.

* We use White Noise when sleeping in hotels to provide background noise. (Very handy when you inadvertantly stay in a motel with railroad tracks behind it.) A good night’s sleep allows you to pack in more activities the next day.

*We use Field Trip which alerts you when you are passing historical markers and sites, local points of interest, Zagat-rated restaurants and a load of other things you can set it for. (Really, this is my fun favorite for while we are driving along.)

*We use Kayak to find hotels along the way if we are making an unplanned stop but Don always calls directly before booking on Kayak.

The bottom line is we never buy anything on the road until I’ve checked to see if I can get it cheaper.

5. FOOD & DRINK FOR ROAD WARRIORS

We love food and it’s an important part of our travel experiences. While heading to a destination we always at least pack drinks and snacks.

* A small (or large) cooler or insulated bag always comes with us. My sister bought a cooler bag from Tupperware as a Christmas gift one year. It folds flat when not in use so it’s space saving and has a large capacity. Sometimes we’ll stop at a local grocery or convenience store or farmer’s market while driving and this keeps our purchases cool and fresh.

*I always travel with a corkscrew/bottle opener combo and a travel knife. Many’s the time when a bottle of wine and some locally purchased cheese, dry sausage and crackers made a fine lunch or dinner.

*We each have a thermal travel mug that we take with us and fill up with coffee or tea at the breakfast bar or hospitality area before we take off and I refill the water bottles that I bring with us.

*When the weather’s nice you can often find a park or even some hotels and condos that have outdoor grills. Fresh local fish and certain produce can be quickly grilled for a satisfying and economical meal. We have a refillable travel spice kit that I purchased at World Market. I always take it for just such occassions.

*In more expensive restaurants we sometimes eat a late lunch instead of dinner. The prices are cheaper and then we may be able to get by later with just some finger foods.

*Worst case scenario is you can always heat water in a microwave or coffee maker if you have one available. I’ve made instant oatmeal and ramen this way in a pinch.

*I am a big fan of Justin’s Almond Butter (Maple flavor, please) which comes in little foil packets that I can stash in my purse. Give me an apple, banana or bagel that I’ve picked up along the way and I have breakfast, dinner or a snack. I buy the pricey little things when they are on sale and save them.

*The American Legion is a favorite stop for Don. Members & their guests can score great deals on food and bar drinks. We found a fabulous one in St. Augustine, FL. It was housed in a beautiful historical building and they had a huge lunch spread. We were able to down a few cold ones for a pittance and the local members gave us tips on cheap good eats for dinner.

a few cold ones

6. EXTEND YOUR STAY

We’ve even found a few ways to extend our stays and drag a little more adventure out of each trip.

* When we make a stop while going to our ultimate end site I always try to make it a worthwhile detour. I look for some local point of interest, museum, scenic overlook, hike, craft shop, flea market or something to make the stop another part of the adventure. ( A side trip to the Vidalia Onion warehouse in Georgia comes to mind)

* On check out days we will often head to a beach, lake or park that we’ve found has public showers & rest rooms. On these occasions I pack a tote bag separate from our luggage that has our towels, change of clothes and beach & boat necessities. We will spend the day at the beach then shower, change and head home.

* We’ve booked accomodations for a week when it’s cheaper planning to leave early then get a surprise snow day that allows us to spend an extra day. (This just happened in January for our winter family trip)

We already have trips booked for early summer and fall. What are you waiting for? Get out those calendars because WINTER IS ALMOST OVER (we pray)! A great way to spend a snow day is planning your next cheap road trip. So hit the road – you may just be passing through miracles.

Categories: Travel Tips | Leave a comment

The Almost Snow

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Susan Russo

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My Russo Men as zombies (I didn’t fix the red eyes)

At least once a year Don & I try to get away with all our kids and their families. Destinations have included beach retreats, amusement parks & resorts. When you try to negotiate 15 different schedule needs sometimes winter works best and sometimes it’s summer. We have been fortunate the past two winters because the week we chose to congregate has coincided with snow storms. This has been a big benefit for those members whose schedules depend on school systems. Whether as students or school system employees our ‘snow days’ mean not having to use any paid time off or unexcused absence time. Of course the fact that our school systems close when there is a threat of snow is an added bonus.

The Russos “have always been dependent on the kindness of strangers” and friends. This trip is no exception.
We are able to obtain great accommodations at the Massanutten Resort because we have friends who are time share owners there & graciously book our units for us. Between the Marables and the Thieles we have had many years of memory making at Massanutten. Gatorade bottles in the ski lodge & a mimosa tree one Christmas come to mind. This trip Don & I offered to take all the kids to the water park for a day of fun. While standing in line to buy tickets a gentleman ahead of us turned around a gave Don a discount coupon that landed us half priced admission. I guess our handing off a groupon for half price admission to the Chriskindlemart in Bethlehem to a grateful stranger facilitated that bit of karma.

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The Russos have so much fun that other random children hitch onto our “tube train” just to be a part of it.

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Exhausted at days end.

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The untold benefit of spending the day at the Water Park is that the children come home exhausted and sleep well.

Of course no Russo round up is complete without extensive menu planning and food. Becky Thiele, who has been a witness to many Russo gatherings is constantly amazed at the amount of eating that goes on.

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Menu planning

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Willow nervously eyeing the cooking pot, concerned that she may end up in it.

When not eating, swimming, sauna-ing (?) & skating there is a significant amount of time spent on game playing.

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Rounds & rounds of WAR

A late night favorite

The weather has not been too cooperative for snow sports so far. It was decided that the snow boarders were not going to board this trip. They have another trip pending in February and will board then. The gang did go ice skating outdoors one night at the illuminated rink. While we waited for the promise of “a significant snow event” (Washington D.C. forecasters lingo, not mine) we readied up our boots, snow bibs and sled. Frequent check ins with my sister, Dawn, up in Long Island assured us that they were well prepared for the pounding they were predicted to get. In keeping with my new attitude of “embracing winter” this year (and not having to go anywhere) I was anticipating that at our higher elevation we would see some accumulation.

Boy, were we disappointed.

My sister wracked up a total of about 2 feet in Wantaugh. Facebook photos from nearby Harrisonburg were showing a couple of inches. Up on the mountain here, we received what I wouldn’t even characterize as a dusting. It had all melted by late morning the next day. I’m sure the ski resort management were crying into their North Face jackets. Reports from home indicated that we had somewhere between 3-4 inches up on my mountain & VDOT had already been through.

We departed our mid-winter retreat and about 2 miles down the road we found the snow we were missing on the mountain. I guess that snow line stopped right before us.

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A little snow in Harrisonburg

Don, Damian & I headed up I-81 in the late afternoon. We decided to make a detour at a local treasure of a restaurant in New Market, VA called Southern Kitchen. This establishment has been family owned for it’s entire 60 year existence and has been featured in national publications for it’s famous peanut soup, fried chicken and home made pies. We discovered it while making one of our VMI pilgrimages during Eric’s incarceration, I mean ATTENDANCE, at that fine institute of higher education. The staff is always friendly and the decor is delightful. I am particularly fond of the original neon sign that is really cool looking on a hot summer night.

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Don giving me the stink eye because I am delaying his foray into fried chicken heaven.

If you happen by, I highly recommend the fried chicken and either the lemon meringue or coconut custard pie. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Once stuffed, we headed back home where we located the lost snow.

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It is beautiful up here. Local folks, now you know why school gets cancelled in Fauquier County.

Categories: East Coast | Tags: Family | 2 Comments

A Bronx Tale

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Susan Russo

A very young me in The Bronx

It’s hard for me to write a paean to my hometown. I left The Bronx in 1982 after spending my formative years there. It was not a time of glory days for the borough. It was the aftermath of ‘the burning of The Bronx’, which was a phrase coined by television sportscaster Howard Cosell during the 1977 World Series. This was an era of urban decay and abandonment when landlords, politicians, financiers and the rest of the privileged watched as a once vital community was reduced to ashes. Most of the middle class vaporized and blew away, like the smoke from the smoldering tenements. My husband, myself and my then 1 year old son sought greener pastures after witnessing a shooting less than 25 feet from where we stood.

I was angry at The Bronx.

My children would not get to experience the joy of playing stick ball and 2 hand touch in the street. They would not get to call up to the window, “MA! Mr. Softee!” and have a Kleenex full of change thrown out the window barely missing their heads in order to reap the reward of a hot summer city night.
I cultivated a new identity for myself that made me a “New Yorker” but not necessarily a “Bronxite”.

Time heals all wounds.

On our holiday journey we rewired some Bronx connections by visiting 2 of my oldest friends (OK, long-term friends. I wouldn’t want to offend them) and 1 of Don’s Navy buddies and his lovely wife. The common thread being they are all from The Bronx. We even walked the streets of the good Ol’ Bronx and contributed to the local economy. We drove through the old neighborhood and showed Damian where it all began. He was less than impressed.
Anyway, indulge me while I present a little Bronx history for my unfamiliar readers. What? You gotta problem widdat?

Arthur Avenue back in the day.

First and foremost: it is always THE Bronx. Like it’s always THE Universe, THE Cosmos, THE Heavens.
It is the only New York borough that is primarily on the mainland and it has the largest amount of open space in the form of park lands. It is home to the largest park in NYC (no, it’s not Central Park it’s Pelham Bay Park which also contains Orchard Beach where we spent many a hot summer day), The New York Botanical Gardens (which contains a patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the entire county), The Bronx Zoo (the largest urban zoological park in the entire U.S. and my personal favorite) and the largest open-air church (Yankee Stadium).

Practicing our religion at the “old” church.

My family has a long Bronx history. In 1924, my then 3 year old grandfather relocated to The Bronx from Louisiana when his parents bought a house in the Westchester Square section for $7400. The house on Edwards Avenue remained in the family for 82 years and today descendants still live in the area. When my family settled, West Farms actually contained farms (not hookers, like I remember). It was a rural area that supplied the markets of NYC. Bootlegging was big since most of the illegal liquor sold in Manhattan speakeasies was smuggled in through The Bronx.

Prohibition

The dividing line between east and west in The Bronx is Jerome Avenue, which is actually an extension of 5th Avenue in Manhattan. I came from the east side and Don from the west side. Don grew up in the Kingsbridge section which actually contained a bridge at one time. The bridge was built in 1693 and was a key toll road between Manhattan and access to New England. East and west united in 1977.

Santa Maria Church 1977

The Bronx is a cultural mecca and many famous people in the arts and entertainment industries call it their birthplace. (Look it up, whydoncha?) The Hip Hop culture phenomenon as well as the “Bronx Cheer” originated here.

Graffiti art

Einstein shout out

Break dancing

The Bronx Cheer

On the way to my sister’s house we stopped to visit my long-time friend and mentor, Joanie Moran. Joan lives in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx and is still one of the coolest adults I have ever met. She was my next door neighbor growing up on Frisby Avenue. I used to babysit her kids (who now have kids of their own) and when I had my own kid (Steven) we used to make the long trek to the Castle Hill Beach Club on foot in the summer. She bakes the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet and had a batch ready for me upon my arrival.

The day I left my sister’s home in Long Island we traveled up to Connecticut to re-connect with my childhood friend Donna Bacchiocci (nee Bandanza). Donna and her husband Jim live in a quiet community and spend lots of time with their large family. The girly-est girl I ever knew now bow hunts and fly fishes. When we came to her home she was dressed in a flannel shirt, cowboy boots and big silver belt buckle. She looks exactly the same as when we were in high school together. We had a wonderful lunch of lasagna and moose cutlet parmesan (tastes like veal, no kidding).

“Have you seen a flying squirrel?”

Our Bronx eating saga finally ended when we met up with Don’s Navy buddy from Morris Park, the fabulous Reno Righetti & his wife, Donna. We decided to visit the Little Italy of The Bronx, Arthur Avenue. It is home to some of the finest eating establishments in all of New York City.

Arthur_Avenue_between_184th_and_186th_Street_in_the_Bronx,_New_York_City_001_crop

Same view as the photo earlier in this post.

Arthur Avenue is also the home of ‘street seafood’, which my husband and the Righettis can’t seem to resist.

No one died.

While strolling the streets I began to experience a real sense of deja vu. The Christmas lights and decorations still festooned the streets. The cold air cleared my head. I used to come here as a child of Damian’s age with my paternal grandmother to go to the markets. My Grandma Betty lived on E. 183rd St. and 3rd Ave. and we would cross the street and walk alongside the stone wall that encircled St. Barnabas Hospital. That stone wall is still there and that visual cue unleashed a torrent of memories. Donna Righetti grew up near the other end of Arthur Avenue and she validated my recollections by pointing out which shops still existed from that time. Surprisingly, there are quite a few. Of course Don couldn’t resist purchasing some sopressata and provolone ‘for the road’. My plate was already full with the wonderful childhood memories of time spent with my father’s mother, a truly extraordinary woman.

Our dinner at Pasquale Rigoletto Restaurant was delicious. This is an old school Italian-American restaurant like I used to visit with my parents when I was a kid. The waitstaff is all male and our server was very attentive. Damian gave it 4 stars based on his spaghetti carbonara. Numerous phone calls to and from my sons back home trying to solve long-distance problems and Damian’s ensuing boredom after dinner created some dining chaos. The Righettis were most understanding of our situation and seemed to have a good time despite our questionable company. We parted was with a promise to have another collaboration when the warm weather returns.

You can’t escape who you are.

I’ve made my peace with The Bronx. I hope it accepts my apologies.

Categories: East Coast | Tags: New York | 8 Comments

In With The New

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Susan Russo

You get 3 wishes

Aladdin was Disney magic on Broadway. To say we all enjoyed it would be an understatement. I won’t bore you with my theatre geek review, except to say the genie was spectacular & they made a good decision by not trying to copy Robin Williams. As we left the theater the barricades were just starting to go up for the ball dropping festivities. While we were heading toward Penn Station to make our exit we definitely felt like salmon swimming upstream. The throngs of revelers were arriving en masse.

The train ride back to L.I.

Darren & Dawn had another feast ready to go which featured a beef tenderloin (the size of which I have never seen roasted in a conventional home oven). Shrimp were also served and were prepared in the style of Ina Garten, who’s latest personally autographed cookbook lies in Dawn’s kitchen. Now would be the time to mention my sister’s obsession with The Barefoot Contessa.

Only ‘good’ vanilla.

While Dawn & Darren were staying in a B&B out in The Hamptons someone casually mentioned that Ina’s home was located nearby and gave them the street address. My sister forced my poor brother in law into stalking Ina’s property and photographing her gardens and the guest house where The Barefoot Contessa is filmed. How they didn’t get arrested I don’t know.

Holy Cow!

We gorged ourselves to the brink of a food-induced coma and then retreated to the TV to usher in 2015. It was fun to show Damian on live TV the places that he had been standing in only a few hours before.

Noisemakers

We toasted the New Year at midnight basking in the glow of the enormous high definition TV that dominates my sister’s media room. Not long afterward we bedded down for our first respite of the New Year. New Year’s Day dawned brightly and since it was the last day we would spend at my sister and Darren’s house before heading to Connecticut and upstate NY we decided to take it easy. To burn off some of the extra calories we had been consuming we took a brisk walk through the neighborhood. Damian was complaining mightily about the walk and then we discovered the bruises on his legs from his ice skating adventure. We decided to cut the walk short and returned home to watch my all time favorite Christmas movie which Darren had so thoughtfully recorded for me. We capped the night off by ordering Chinese take-out. A whole lot of it.

Take one from column A and one from column B

In the morning we said our good-byes and closed another chapter in an ever expanding book of memories. Thanks Dawn and Darren.

And to all a good night!

Categories: East Coast | Tags: Family | 4 Comments

Give My Regards

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Susan Russo

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A beautiful sunset at Jones Beach on the way to see the Christmas lights.

We left off our last post with me about to succumb to the respiratory crud I received as a Christmas present from my job. We headed away from the light show to encounter an even more elaborate display.

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On a quiet residential street somewhere in Long Island we hit the Christmas light display jackpot!

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This house had a display that simulcast on a radio station accompanying music. When we arrived the lights were dancing to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was awesome! Of course, if you’re their neighbor you must also at least put forth some effort.

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I gave them an “A” for effort.

When the show was over we applauded and cried, “Bravo!” out Darren’s car window. We then headed home.

The big tree

I promised my sister I’d include a picture of her ‘main’ Christmas tree. (She did not want you to think all she had was “a bunch of sad little trees”.) Go figure.

The next morning after I realized that I had made it through the night, I actually felt a little better. We had an early train to catch and jumped on the Long Island Rail Road headed to Penn Station. Damian was a fan of the train but not so much the crowds in Penn Station.

Our plan for the day was ambitious, to say the least. Upon arriving at Penn Station, we headed over to Macy’s to take in the cool window displays. We knew we wanted to take pictures in Times Square so we brought along our New Year’s Eve party paraphernalia for props. We also planned to ride the Ferris wheel in Toys R Us then we had lunch reservations at an Irish Pub. Curtain time for Aladdin was 1:00pm then immediately after the show we were high-tailing it back to the train so we could get out of Dodge before the street barricades went up. What? Did you think I was crazy enough to stay in Times Square for the ball drop?? It was freezing and once the barricades go up you have nowhere to go for hours and hours. Not something I would attempt without a Depends.

We did have an interesting interaction with a random person in Times Square. After we staged this photo in front of the tower that the ball drops down from we were approached by a person bearing a cell phone. She indicated by pointing that she wanted us to take her picture with her cellphone. My brother-in-law, being the nice guy he is, offers to oblige her by taking her photo. He is assuming that she wants a photo of her group in Times Square.

When he goes to take her picture she stands with Don, Dawn, Damian & I and puts her arms around us. She then smiles at us and says, “friends!”. We thought that was hysterical and suspect that now our picture has gone viral in Singapore.

We finally arrive in our seats and are awaiting transport via flying carpet. Hey Don, that’s no magic lamp you’re rubbing. . . that’s my leg! Talk about a whole new world.

You ain’t never had friends like these!

Categories: East Coast | Tags: New York | Leave a comment

We’re Skating on Thin Ice

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Susan Russo

Damian photo bombing us on ice.

As if taking us all to see Aladdin on Broadway wasn’t enough, our second day with Dawn & Darren proved to have more surprises. They had researched and found a small ice skating rink in an outlet shopping center not far from home. The on line information stated that the skating started at 11:00am. So after a hearty breakfast we headed out.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the ice rink there was a sign that stated the hours for that day started at 3:00 pm.

UNACCEPTABLE!

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme . . .

Nothing will interfere with my sister’s plan of videoing Damian while he skates. So, my long-suffering brother-in-law tells the ice attendant to fire up that Zamboni because the website says skating starts at 11:00am and his nephew will not be disappointed! Incredibly, they open the rink which Damian now has to himself.

Glide!

While Damian slips and slides with Pop Pop and Uncle Darren observing, it is time for Dawn & I to take in a little post Christmas shopping time.
I give Damian maybe 45 minutes before he complains about being cold and wet and decides to bail. However, to my surprise he wants to stay on the ice until 2:00pm! After a quick switch of skates from figure to hockey style, his skating improves dramatically and by the time we drag him off the ice he is gliding along.

Skating sensation!

Master of the Universe!

I buy Damian a new pair of jeans while shopping so he has a dry pair of pants to put on after skating and then we set off to Nathan’s for some NY hotdogs. After our feast, we return to Dawn & Darren’s for some cocktails before heading off to another fabulous activity.

Lights at the beach!

Jones Beach, which for you non-New Yorkers is the premier public beach on Long Island, is very close to my sister’s house. For the past eight years the beach has been dark at Christmastime. Lack of funding after the 2008 economic crisis left the lights off. This year was the resurrection of the beach lights and we were there.

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Wind chill is -10 degrees

Did I mention it was -10 degrees with the wind chill at Jones Beach? Did I also mention that prior to coming to NY the only patients I cared for at my nursing job had the FLU? By the time we returned home from viewing the lights, which despite my illness I thoroughly enjoyed, I thought I had the flu.

In the car headed home. I think I’m going to die.

TOMORROW IS NEW YEAR’S EVE – ALADDIN – BROADWAY- TIMES SQUARE . . . drag my corpse to the theater!!!

Categories: East Coast | Tags: Family | Leave a comment

Our Eleven Days of Christmas

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Susan Russo

Ringing in 2015

Christmas deconstruction at Rancho Russo is like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It requires a staging area.
I have spent the better part of today abolishing Christmas from our abode. It is a solitary task, just like creating Christmas at Rancho Russo. I have packed up and moved everything to our “fitness room” (the room contains a treadmill, weight bench, free weights, TV/TiVo, CD player and now all our Christmas decorations). Trekking up and down the stairs all day lugging this stuff has provided my workout for the day. Tomorrow is the return to ‘normalcy’ for life with the Russos. Work and school will occupy our days now but for a brief, shinning moment the holidays reigned supreme.

I won’t bore you with the details of Christmas here ( I worked. OK, it was only 6 hours but even Santa gets Christmas off). We had a splendid Christmas Eve that involved hours of seafood consumption in what is referred to as “La Viglia” in Italian-American culture.

Stuffing our fishy faces

Still eating

On the Monday after Christmas Don, Damian and I set off on what would become a whirlwind tour. Each year we plan to spend some quality holiday time with my sister, Dawn and her husband, Darren. The past few years it has been a destination celebration for us all. This year we decided that it would be held at Dawn & Darren’s Long Island home.
My sister’s house is, shall we say. . . FESTIVE.

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Staying with them is like being at a Bed & Breakfast . . . only better. We have the run of a full apartment downstairs with a stocked fridge AND my brother-in-law also TiVos shows for us that may be of interest (a series on Lincoln for Don and The Big Bang Theory for me). He even recorded my all-time favorite obscure Christmas movie: Pocketful of Miracles!!

They are big planners and doers. Our first night included a dinner worthy of Michelin stars. Then we opened our Christmas presents. At one point Damian unwrapped an ordinary looking box. He removed the contents. He did not look excited since it contained a piece of paper.

Open Sesame!

Dawn & Darren bought tickets for ALL of us to see Aladdin on Broadway New Year’s Eve!! By no stretch of the imagination do I want you, dear reader, to think that this was the only gift we received from them. There were boxes & boxes of gifts. Their generosity is unparalleled. (Secretly, I think they wanted to share in Damian’s first Broadway experience. I like to share.)

To be continued . . .