Category: Air Hops

We Clicked Our Heels Together

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I hadn’t seen my mom since August, and T hadn’t seen his family either, so we decided to take a quick trip back to the Bay for Thanksgiving. We rented a car, drove to Oakland, and stayed a week with my mom,

Our cabin was on the market, so Thanksgiving was at Jenny’s short term rental in Santa Cruz. In attendance: Jenny, Sherm, Jude, Leslie, Randy, Syd, Whit, Marshall, Emily, Conrad, my mom Karen, Tim and I. Our daughter Skye is a year into her Peace Corps stint in Ecuador, and Monroe and Anna had a massive baby boy a week or so prior, so we toasted everyone remotely and tucked in locally. Jenny delivered a huge meal as always, complete with a perfectly roasted turkey and a plethora of desserts. Libations were liberal and the festivities lively.

Since I’m used to having a particular Thanksgiving menu, I had requested my mom prepare a pre-Thanksgiving meal that we could munch on during our stay at her house. I think she thought I was joking, but joking I was not. After a little pouting and light foot stomping, “we” whipped up a legit spread with our favorites: curry, baked, and fried chicken; mashed potatoes and gravy; turkey wings, Jiffy corn bread; tofu and rice, stuffing, string beans, pumpkin pie, and chocolate cake. Yum.

I got in some gym and beautifying time, played some pickleball with Jude, rendezvous’d with Jane and Rodney at the yacht club, T saw Emil, and my mom and I started a puzzle (that she’ll never finish without me), We also started a new season of Married at First Sight — the go-to for my mom and me. And since T and I were sleeping in my mom’s bed — where the TV is — T unwittingly got roped (hooked!) in too. Extensive commentary and comedy ensued, which is basically the whole point.

It was great to see everyone; a good time was had by all. Now back to Ventura to keep this party going.

Greece: A Retrospective

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We were in Greece in September and October. The best months to visit, we’ve discovered. Crowds (and beaches!) thinned, weather tamed, locals mellowed, I don’t miss the frying pan summers there.

We were both too lazy and busy to bother with writing. Will do better next year! In the meantime, here are the highlights:

Itinerary: Athens, Rhodes, Symi, Karpathos, Symi, Athens

  • Athens:  Admired the art of the Goulandris Foundation, walked in the park (hordes of turtles), checked out Kolonaki (the Pac Heights of Athens: very posy and Louis Vuittony). Saw an opera performance by the Greek National Opera at Stavros Niarchos Hall: Iphigenie en Aulide & Iphigenie en Tauride. Heads up: the crepes sold outside the venue are not to be missed.
  • Rhodes: Saw Count of Monte Cristo, went to the beach (our usual and also tried the free beach. As the comedienne Sommore says, “Free ain’t good”. She’s correct in this instance for sure.). Got my first haircut in Greece: I’d give it a B-/C+.
  • Symi: Did our usual lazing around, a ton of cooking, a day of scuba diving, a couple of dinner parties, the requisite puzzling, a lot of reading, marveling at the beauty of the harbor, and movie watching. My dear friend and first college roommate Kerry came and visited us for about a week, and we had a great time gabbing, going to the gym, watching scary movies, eating great food (prepared expertly by Chef T comme d’habitude), had an awesome last day at Toli beach where Kerry had a mini photo shoot
  • Karpathos: Virgin trip to this island. While initially aesthetically underwhelming, the food was some of the best, most reasonable and varied we’ve had in Greece. Tried zucchini flowers for the first time: delicious. Drove to Olympos, met a nice Dutch couple and had lunch together, bought some beautiful handwoven throws from a traditional Greek proprietor, We also experienced some crystal-clear water while diving on the island. Visited some incredible beaches (and one with an amazing equally incredible restaurant overlooking it. And of course the mandatory mani/pedi with a dose of post-service drama: T was supposed to pick me up but apparently deleted that mental memo, so i ultimately decided to walk back to our apartment (not a given, based on my questionable navigational skills), only to find the outside door locked. Luckily the manager was able to let me into the lobby, but then I couldn’t get into the room as T had the key, the door was locked from the inside, and no amount of knocking brought him to the door. After some mutual worry, panic, and hand wringing, said manager finally banged ferociously on the door and T woke up from his (clearly) deep slumber to let me in 🙄. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Greece …

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… And this would be sarcasm.

We’d booked tickets to Greece on Turkish Airlines, always a safe bet. Two free bags per person and an actual menu — even if you’re not in business or first class. So imagine our surprise when we waited to board and our flight kept getting delayed … until the inevitable cancellation. Turkish let us down with the logistics: we were standing in long queues unnecessarily, no information, just a total lack of basic care.

Alas.

The good news is we got a couple of free nights at the Westin, and we made the most of our extra time in LA by visiting the Getty Center. Neither of us had been, and it did not disappoint.