a plague of frogs
i can't believe justin cheated and got online while i was in the shower. who knew, back when my mom used to harass me about taking too long in the shower, that there really was a terrible downside to long showers?
it's been a good trip so far, other than getting scalped while simultaneously getting the back of my hair left sort of long and wispy so that it constantly sticks out. (warning: never stop spontaneously in johnstown, new york, to get your hair cut.) miraculously, we have not had a blow out (we have a long and previously-flawless record of having the worst fights ever whenever we take a road trip). of course, we still have half the trip to go.
to bide our time as we meander down rural routes (we're trying to avoid interstates as much as possible), i'm reading sarah vowell's "assasination vacation" aloud. it's a humor-filled look at the assassinations of presidents lincoln, mckinley and garfield, and how we've created historical tourism out of their deaths. seeing as how we've become much more familiar with death of late, and it's a vacation-themed book, it seemed like a good choice for this trip. it has not disappointed. one interesting thing i've learned so far: lincoln's son robert todd lincoln was present at all three assassinations. weird, huh?
we biked and boated and shopped and ate good food in vermont, but best of all we got to visit justin's dad's garden for hans. his dad was in the garden, lighting candles, when we arrived saturday afternoon. the garden is shaded and terraced, but daylight always seems to break through the treetops and illuminate the face of the cherub statue he put there for hans. the cherub is the right one - he looks like we think hans might have looked in another year or so - beautiful.
after we saw the garden, justin asked his dad if he had any spots picked out for his future grandchildren. oh, he didn't know; he just got this spot the way he wants it, and he put off other landscaping plans for this summer to work on hans's garden. so justin asked him if eight months was enough time to plan another spot. the look on his face was priceless.
at one point, yesterday afternoon, as we drove up to stowe to stock up on cider for my brother-in-law's wedding, i looked back and saw my father-in-law nodding off in the back seat, and it crushed me. hans should have been asleep in his seat, next to his grandfather, both of them worn out from entertaining each other.
at an art show in rutland, vermont, we decided to exercise some hope, and we bought a wooden frog ornament for the tadpole (because tadpoles grow up to become frogs). in the children's section at a lovely independent bookstore in brandon, vermont, we bought the tadpole "the secret footprints" by julia alvarez (she spends half the year at nearby middlebury college) and a fun frog clock. and then we realized if we bought every frog thing we see between now and the tadpole's birth, the tadpole will have to be put bottomless out in the yard in a pen, because we will have no money for diapers. i had no idea there was so much frog stuff out there.
today we took the long and winding way to ottawa, ontario, where we found a lovely room awaiting us at the crowne plaza. i think crowne plaza is my new favorite hotel chain, although you can't beat embassy suites' breakfasts. we had a great indian dinner at india palace for about us$30, including two beers for justin and the works. okay, the garlic naan was merely passable - no better than the frozen stuff i buy at trader joe's -but the mushroom palao and matar paneer and vegetable bhaji were outstanding. i'd give the naan a 4, but the meal overall i'd give an 8.5. after dinner we took a walk around downtown and are now in crash mode, but tomorrow we will get our bikes back out of the car and ride to the by ward market here in ottawa and then see where the streets take us. and maybe we'll allow ourselves to buy just ONE frog thing.
it's been a good trip so far, other than getting scalped while simultaneously getting the back of my hair left sort of long and wispy so that it constantly sticks out. (warning: never stop spontaneously in johnstown, new york, to get your hair cut.) miraculously, we have not had a blow out (we have a long and previously-flawless record of having the worst fights ever whenever we take a road trip). of course, we still have half the trip to go.
to bide our time as we meander down rural routes (we're trying to avoid interstates as much as possible), i'm reading sarah vowell's "assasination vacation" aloud. it's a humor-filled look at the assassinations of presidents lincoln, mckinley and garfield, and how we've created historical tourism out of their deaths. seeing as how we've become much more familiar with death of late, and it's a vacation-themed book, it seemed like a good choice for this trip. it has not disappointed. one interesting thing i've learned so far: lincoln's son robert todd lincoln was present at all three assassinations. weird, huh?
we biked and boated and shopped and ate good food in vermont, but best of all we got to visit justin's dad's garden for hans. his dad was in the garden, lighting candles, when we arrived saturday afternoon. the garden is shaded and terraced, but daylight always seems to break through the treetops and illuminate the face of the cherub statue he put there for hans. the cherub is the right one - he looks like we think hans might have looked in another year or so - beautiful.
after we saw the garden, justin asked his dad if he had any spots picked out for his future grandchildren. oh, he didn't know; he just got this spot the way he wants it, and he put off other landscaping plans for this summer to work on hans's garden. so justin asked him if eight months was enough time to plan another spot. the look on his face was priceless.
at one point, yesterday afternoon, as we drove up to stowe to stock up on cider for my brother-in-law's wedding, i looked back and saw my father-in-law nodding off in the back seat, and it crushed me. hans should have been asleep in his seat, next to his grandfather, both of them worn out from entertaining each other.
at an art show in rutland, vermont, we decided to exercise some hope, and we bought a wooden frog ornament for the tadpole (because tadpoles grow up to become frogs). in the children's section at a lovely independent bookstore in brandon, vermont, we bought the tadpole "the secret footprints" by julia alvarez (she spends half the year at nearby middlebury college) and a fun frog clock. and then we realized if we bought every frog thing we see between now and the tadpole's birth, the tadpole will have to be put bottomless out in the yard in a pen, because we will have no money for diapers. i had no idea there was so much frog stuff out there.
today we took the long and winding way to ottawa, ontario, where we found a lovely room awaiting us at the crowne plaza. i think crowne plaza is my new favorite hotel chain, although you can't beat embassy suites' breakfasts. we had a great indian dinner at india palace for about us$30, including two beers for justin and the works. okay, the garlic naan was merely passable - no better than the frozen stuff i buy at trader joe's -but the mushroom palao and matar paneer and vegetable bhaji were outstanding. i'd give the naan a 4, but the meal overall i'd give an 8.5. after dinner we took a walk around downtown and are now in crash mode, but tomorrow we will get our bikes back out of the car and ride to the by ward market here in ottawa and then see where the streets take us. and maybe we'll allow ourselves to buy just ONE frog thing.
posted by laura at 11:25 PM
10 Comments:
Sounds like you are having a good trip so far, touch wood;)
Let's see if you two can stuff up your so far pefect record though...
And the garden sounds magical. I would love to make something that sounds as lovely in words:)
Your trip sounds lovely. I am jealous!
You made me wish I was in VT as well. I do love it there. Hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation!
Frog mania! At least you picked 'tadpole' for the little bugger and not 'spawn'; endless collection of fish ornaments anyone? Plus room for lots of lame jokes about justin's 'tackle'!
My question is, does Justin know that YOU posted? :o)
What a wonderful trip! Next time I'm stowing away with you guys. (Although I can't get Sarah Vowell's voice out of my head now. Literally, especially as my nose is already congested.)
Funny you should mention that ... and yes, I'm fully aware, we had to flirt with the front desk to get a connection! Anyhow, as we were reading, I wasn't hearing Lauras voice, which was strange, because I generally hear her voice when I am reading something that she writes, or even when I am reading something that someone else has written. In marriage, I've become lazy, now I have a reader.
We just witnessed this interesting changing of the guards type ceremony. Tour bus central. We really had just meant to grab a sack of Tim Bits, but got caught up in the parade ... I can't imagine that this was a daily happening, simply because of the intense pagentry that was all 'aboot' us. Maybe our Canadian reader can explain this all to me?
Glad the trip is going well. I think it's great that Justin's dad has made a garden in honor of Hans. Keep up the clean fight record and enjoy the rest of your trip!
p.s. Isn't all that veggie stuff making you gassy?
I think they do some kind of changing of the guards on Parliament hill (known to insiders as 'the hill') was that it? Mounties marching around with flags?
Sounds like a lovely trip, and so glad Justin's father was so happy. The highest high is telling our loved ones about a baby. I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Frog away!
well now you've done it...i just ordered indian food, and i'm not supposed to be spending money on food! i actually just finished this great book of short stories last week (the interpreter of maladies) where all of the stories have to with indians in india, america or first generation americans of indian heritage. after reading a whole book where all this indian food was mentioned, i took all of my veggies for the week and made a giant indian curry with a sort of a lima masala curry. yummy. but now you've made me crave more!
i'm also craving a bicycle in vermont and canada, but that's a little more expensive than indian take out.
i hope the rest of the trip goes as well as it has been, and that the relaxation is blissful. it warms my heart to hear of your froggie purchases...frogs are good luck you know! (in some culture..just not sure which)
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