New York Day Three

We had a leisurely morning punctuated with a trip to Trader Joe's for some stuff we definitely didn't need, the drug store some stuff we definitely did need, and to the bagel shop for some excellent NY bagels that we ate for a late breakfast. For lunch we went to Walter's for famous hot dogs. Walters, founded in 1919, is a Mamaroneck institution housed in an iconic Chinese-style building since 1928. After lunch we drove to Tarrytown on the Hudson River for a visit to Lyndhurst. The Gothic-Revival-style building designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838 and added onto by the same a few years later, was home to three successive families until it was donated to the National Trust. It is small enough that it feels intimate and liveable. The grounds are lovely in spring bloom. This evening for supper, Linda and Mike cooked because, as Linda said, "That's what we do." And they do!

Debra Sue taking care of business

Mamaroneck icon

Reminds me of the Chinese lanterns in the HFAC at BYU

Queued for lunch

 Lyndhurst: originally Lindenhurst because of the linden trees
that surround it

 The work of Alexander Jackson Davis

 Weeping beech and dogwood

 Dickie doin' his thang

 Spring in New York

 American Gothic Revival at its best

 View from the vestibule

 Original library made art gallery by the second owner

A true Bouguereau for Uncle who likes to call Boucher by that name

 A. J. Davis design for a Gothic-Revival chair with a back

patterned after a rose window -- I used an image of this chair in my

history class for over 30 years -- finally got to see it in person

 Our wonderful hosts

 A beautiful setting for dinner

 These folks can cook

Apricot chicken

This was a super-fun day. The days start rainy but end up cool and beautiful. It's all just perfect.

There will be adventures tomorrow, but that's all for now.

OXO

D.

New York Day Two

This morning, after doing a blog post and eating breakfast, we did some bird watching from the Gibbs beautiful Zen-like family room. When all were ready we went into Mamaroneck and Larchmont to the drug store (the most beautiful Walgreens I have ever seen), the hardware store, and the paint store. We were headed to Scarsdale to have lunch with Michael, and on the way Linda showed us some of the beautiful neighborhoods of Westchester County where they live. We stopped in at Scarsdale High School, where Michael is Dean of Students, before heading into the village for lunch at Lange's Deli. Michael showed us the lovely homes of Scarsdale and then we returned home for more bird watching and resting. This evening Michael drove us into the city for dinner at a good little Brazilian restaurant. On the way home, he drove us around Manhattan for an evening tour.

Sheldrake River in the Gibbs' back yard 

 Night Herron

 Errands in Larchmont

 Debby, Linda, and Kris at the Mamaroneck Harbor

 Cherry blossoms around the harbor

 Rainy spring day

 Mamaronek Harbor

 Scarsdale High School

 Dean of Students at work

Scarsdale for lunch

Lange's Deli

Scarsdale

 Falls on the Sheldrake River near the Gibbs' home

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

 Rice and Beans Restaurant on 9th Avenue NYC

Brazilian dinner with Guarana

 Times Square

 The Chrysler Building in the distance

Tomorrow we will likely go to Tarrytown. If we do, I will keep you posted. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

May Day and New York Day One

May 1 is Oliver David's birthday and we all gathered for cake and ice cream. The compound was excited by Zoe's acquisition of a newish Fiat 500. Wednesday, 7 May, Annie dropped us off at the SLC airport for a flight to New York. I was foolish and purchased a very complicated itinerary from SLC to LA, LA to Denver, and Denver to NY. The plane that was to take us from SLC to LA was struck by lightening and the flight was delayed. Southwest rerouted anyone who would miss a connection, so we flew straight to Denver. (Thank you Zeus). That gave us a nice layover in Denver where we had lunch before heading east. When we reached the NY area, the plane broke out of clouds just above the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, banked and headed north along the Hudson past Manhattan Island. The night view of New York City was SPECTACULAR! Debby and Michael were there to greet us at LaGuardia. We arrived in Mamaronek just in time for bed (actually a bit later than bedtime, around midnight). It was lovely to see Linda and Graham again.

 May Day at the Taylors

Ollie  is eleven

 Ollie has a hard time not making a silly face

 Cinquecento!

 European ash in the front yard

 The rains descended on Y Mountain as we departed

 I am a sucker for cumulous clouds

Happy reunion with the Gibbs

We will keep you posted on any adventures today. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Hansen Cousins Day Five

Wednesday was the final day of the cousins reunion. I woke up early, got ready, packed my stuff in the car, and headed out to visit sites from my youth. I stopped at St. Paul the Apostle church near the mission home, made a loop around the temple grounds, and tried to get into the Westwood Ward building. Unhappily, it was locked tight. I also dropped into the office of the Fairburn Avenue School I attended in the mid 50s to see if they had any archived photos of the original school building. No such luck.

Returning to the hotel, Kris was ready and we checked out. We went to Phyllis's for breakfast (with the few cousins who hadn't departed) before heading home across the LA northern corridor, avoiding downtown altogether. The trip went quite well with just a couple of hiccups. The Santa Ana winds were blowing like crazy in LA and when we reached Rancho Cucamonga at the far end of the San Gabriel mountains, a forest fire was threatening houses below and pouring smoke over the freeway. Just beyond there, as we headed up El Cajon Pass on I-15, traffic clogged and slowed to a crawl for several miles. As it does, it suddenly began to move and the jam cleared for no apparent reason. Those were the only exciting bits. Utah was beautiful. I always forget how lucky we are to live in such a spectacular place.

 I watched this "new" church being added to the 

St, Pauls complex in 1956.

 This is the backside of the temple we could see from the mission home.

Almost every evening we were in town, my parents would make

a loop of the temple grounds before bed and I usually joined them.

 The morning light was beautiful.

 This gnarly old tree was planted over 60 years ago.

 This fountain was where I learned what granite looks like and 

where SKT and I lined our pockets with coins.

 These olive trees were already old when they were planted

 Mid-century modern

 This Century-City skyline was built on the 20th-Century Fox
back lot where they shot movies, and was non-existent in the 1950s.

 The Westwood Ward building is a far cry from

what the church builds now: pity

 Breakfast in Bel Air

 The diehards who remained for breakfast

 

Smoke billowing over the 210

 The Santa Ana winds driving the fire down into Rancho Cucamonga

Some of my offspring have requested a guided tour of LA. I think that would be delightful. Sometime let's do a Disneyland plus LA trip. It is something everyone could afford (I think).

We had a wonderful time, but this will likely be all for a few days. The next posts will be from New York. That's all for now.

OXO

D.