What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's

Gotcha! Guess what's going on in this picture. Who's flirting with whom? I think they're both bashful, the "cute" boy managed to quickly escape the closeup as I was about to snap the photo, while Dorothy here in her ruby red shoes gets a kick out of it. Hmmm..

Hey, I can keep a secret and let it "stay at Grandma's", but where is the fun in that if I couldn't blog about it? Go ahead and pick on her, she's gone for the next leg of their trip - Los Angeles.

Weight, weight.... please tell me!
And how much did she weigh when she left New York? 231.50 lbs (in Jupiter!). Gravity? Nah..Between the Hershey's chocolate syrup and tubs of the bite-sized ice cream snacks Dibs, that should do it.

Three weeks with us and a whirlwind of a tour but it was all memorable. We hope you'll enjoy your stay in California but don't forget to go back home in time for school in June. And Tere, I think she bought enough gadgets to furnish a kitchen as large as The White House. This Mama cooks!

Goodbye, we'll miss you.

Veni, vidi ... DC

With only a few days left of Kyla and Tere's visit here in the East, we decided to skip town overnight for a change of scenery. Look no further than the nation's capital Washington, DC for a true taste of culture and history and it's only four hours away. At the crack of dawn Tere, Kyla and I headed for the City to catch the 7:30 am DC-bound BoltBus. I figured why not leave the driving to someone else, when we all know how traffic can be horrible and like NYC, DC can be a hell of a place to navigate and park. The naming convention used for the streets never made any sense to me.

With most of the riders plugged in to their iPods and some glued to their Macs, that made for a really quiet trip. Except for the overnight accomodations, I was totally unprepared for this adventure in DC, no itinerary, no maps, no clue as to how far the bus depot is from the National Mall. We had no choice but to wing it; the last time I visited was maybe a decade ago and many things have changed. I knew that if Kyla was able to master the NYC subways, then the Washington Metro system would be a breeze for her. And it was, yet I'm not a bit surprised!

First order of business as we got off the bus was lunch, what else? A taste of authentic Spain, we had an assortment of Tapas at La Tasca near the Gallery Place station. Hasta luego. From here Kyla took the lead on the Metro system - learning how to purchase a fare card and navigate the red, blue, yellow, orange, etc. lines, at one point even ending up at the Pentagon not by choice! Did you know that there's no photography allowed even at the Pentagon station of the Metro?

So, here she is with some highlights of the visit with The President. In the 90 degree weather and Auntie as a tour guide, mother and daughter were pushed to their limits walking the entire length of the National Mall and the gorgeous Reflecting Pool. So much history within a few miles radius, but with no Segway in sight we pounded the pavements and enjoyed the graceful dignity of the museums, memorials and monuments.

First stop was the Smithsonian Castle, shown here is the breathtaking display of flowers at the Enid A. Haupt Garden.

At the Ripley Center, wall to wall display of art work and studio editions of handblown glass by the famous artist Dale Chihuly. He is known for his art installations in many botanical gardens, museums, etc. Awesome! Be sure to check out these Chihuly Exhibitions. Click on Installations. Not something to drink out of, but definitely great pieces.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the perfect place for the weary tourist/traveler. A quick break for some trail mix, pretzels and drinks, we enjoyed the outdoor collection of some of the best modern sculptures available.

At the Hirshhorn, The Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois. No need to be scared of this gigantic eight-legged arachnid, Kyla; it's a magnificent work of art!

What any child would give to see the National Air and Space Museum - How do things fly? How much would I weigh in another world? Aerial photography and spying! Apollo to the Moon. Space and Beyond. Black Holes. The right stuff!

Dedicated in 2004, this is part of the National World War II Veterans Memorial. So much too see but so little time. Our final destination for the day was the White House. Kyla was disappointed that we were not able to see the inside, reservations in advance required, but it was worth the looong walk from the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

At the Arlington National Cemetery after visiting the gravesite of Pres. John F. Kennedy, we witnessed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Learn more about this ceremony The Sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknowns. With almost three hours spent in Arlington, and a hearty lunch that followed in Chinatown, there wasn't much time left to see the rest of the DC sights. Our bus left for New York at 4;30 pm. I'm sure it was an experience Kyla will not forget and for her return trip, she can explore Georgetown and Mount Vernon. On her own!

It was not about proclamation of victory, but rather a learning discovery for a child as bright as Kyla. She can now say "I came, I saw ... and learned a lot in DC."

Study of an 11-year old

Today Kyla turned 11 and what better way to celebrate that than a fun day in the City that never sleeps. Shown here with Vermeer's Study of a Young Woman, she's lucky to have this early exposure to the masterpieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This was taken on Saturday at the advanced birthday celebration at Carol and Ped's home. The funny part was that she's the only kid around, everyone's over 30!

Relics from the past at The American Museum of Natural History, fossils at the Hall of Dinosaurs, mastodons, the giant Seqouia tree, the Hayden Planetarium are just among the valued treasures a child could get excited about. Even us adults!

An evening under the sea with The Little Mermaid on Broadway. It was a choice between Billy Eliot and The Lion King but Auntie Nelsie couldn't get tickets for either one. You could hear the little girls sing Kiss the Girl but utter "yuck" when Prince Eric kissed Ariel. My favorite - the Lobster and Ursula, of course!

An after show treat from Auntie Nelsie - guilty pleasure at the whimsical Serendipity and its famous frozen hot chocolate. It was past her bedtime, but you can tell she's wide awake and having so much fun. It was worth it. The only thing missing - Raymond (her dad) and kids her age!

Happy birthday Kyla!

Not exactly a parade

After attending Easter Sunday services at the Cathedral, we spent the morning bonnet watching along 5th Avenue. It was a fashion show, some extravagant, others outrageous and goes beyond the traditional Easter Sunday hat.

Flamboyant headgears and costumes were paraded down Fifth Avenue for what isn't exactly an Easter parade. Pets dressed in the latest fashion, live birds on bonnets, a replica of the St Patrick's Cathedral atop an oversize elaborately decorated hat were a part of the spectacle.

With St. Patrick's Cathedral on top of her head, this girl needed her Mom's support behind her. What she would do to boast her creation!

The latest doggy wear.. Kyla was featured in the local NY1 TV station with this proud little puppy rolling over and showing off its Easter gear.

Steam pipes are as New York as the Manhattan subways and Times Square. No Kyla, you're not in danger of being engulfed by this small crater - you're just being sterilized!

Homeless in New York

The poster says it all - these are homeless kids, give them a chance! I did. Tere and Kyla arrived on the 6th, three days before Roque and Corie were scheduled to leave. You can see Ceci's Hotel is fully booked so we had to make do with what we had. Dopey me made a mistake of buying an oversize Aerobed, larger than the room and twice the size of the vertically-challenged Corie and Roque.

So much for the extra bed - that ended up in storage in the garage. Corie and Roque had to do their little people trick, duvets and blankets on the hardwood floors (Auntie hates carpeting) and the two wedged themselves between my bureaus at bedtime, because they didn't want to be put out there on the shelter. The other bad news besides the fancy spacious accomodations is the snoring marathon that occured every night. It was a perfect match with the NYC fire trucks and the ambulances.

Kyla conked out the first day with jet lag, but the next day was a different story. Tere took out her list of the "best kept secrets of New York" and a litany of places to see. Thanks a lot Frommer's and Rick Steves' and the Internet - you just handed me an astronomical task! The shopping spots of the city are on her radar as well, having that shopping gene in her bloodline.

And yes folks, I'm taking you to Brooklyn and don't believe everything you've read about the place - Brooklyn is the best - architecture, arts, eats, etc.

Hungry for some culture - here's the Brooklyn Museum of Arts with it's newly renovated facade. Just follow me kids, I warned you to outfit yourselves with sneakers, scarves and a good pair of legs to jump off and on the zooming E or F train. The subway is still the fastest and cheapest way to get around - it's not a deal, it's a steal.

Let's do lunch - New York style. In various stages of tiredness, they managed to line themselves up on the steps of the Brooklyn Museum for a quick bite of a slice of Gino's pizza. They had to - food isn't allowed at the botanical gardens. The poor panhandlers!

Quite early for the cherry blossom display, the magnolias at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens are just magnificent.

Gelato in Little Italy for the poor kids with blisters on their toes. The wait at Lombardi's Pizza is about an hour, so let's forget about that. Pomodoro's was the only choice since we were all starved. After dinner, did you say let's walk again? But of course and no kidding. Let's head to SoHo and they were so thrilled! Sur La Table is a cook's shopping mecca. We all walked out of the store with a bagful of kitchen gadgets and more.

I was hoping that all that walking would be punishment enough for them to quit for a day. But no - they have made plans for tomorrow and the next day and the next.... Oh dear, I remember when I had that much energy to keep on going. On the train headed back home, they were all well-behaved - all four ready to sleep. What if I don't wake them up at our stop - maybe somebody else will take pity and adopt them! But I can't do that, they're craving for Lola's cooking.

Believe me it doesn't take much to make these homeless kids happy! Follow us on our adventure next week.

The Big Hole

Easter break and craving for a dose of stressbuster, Genny, Gene and Ine took off for their much needed R & R and explored Arizona and the Grand Canyon. They were dwarfed by the enormous beauty of the scenery behind them. I can't comment on it much since I've never seen the place, but have heard how grand it is and it's in my bucket list. Gene was in awe talking to me about their trip and below is an excerpt from Genny's blog. "Just a big hole", was her friend's description of this natural wonder! I think that comment is a bit shallow.

A big hole, indeed (and I say that with outright indignation). I bet she has not seen a hole that's 277 miles long and about 18 miles wide. I'm not going to go on a litany about my experience in GC, one of the more impressive natural walking wonders of the world. I think pictures have a better way to giving importance to what I've seen and what I have learned from my trip. As the old adage says, 'A picture is worth a gazillion words...' Although, and I have told my friends and family this, pictures of the Grand Canyon does not even do justice to its glory and majesty compared to seeing it, hiking it, and staring down at its edges, I look at my pictures and still think how truly blessed I am to have the opportunity to at least try to capture and behold what true beauty is.

Truly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

It's a family affair

Yes, I'm still here. Carol has been complaining about my lack of updates. It has turned full circle; my generation is now looking after the next one - I'm doing what my parents did in their days, taking care of the "family needs" of the younger ones, if you can call 40's young!

The visiting nephews and nieces had kept dear Auntie real busy. Since I have a soft spot in my heart for all my "kids", I don't mind keeping the tradition going. I had them test their stunt against the New York City pavements and unforgiving crowd. There is no way they could enjoy the sights without walking the streets of the city so they just had to do as I say! Walk and you'll thank me later. No complaints heard. Good dogs!

After giving them the lay of the land, I sent them off with subway maps, emphasizing the terms "downtown" and "uptown", to enjoy what's left of the heartstoppingly beautiful NYC before everything is plowed under. You never know. There's construction going on all over Manhattan, The Plaza Hotel has already been converted to a luxury condominium.



United we eat. Of course, what would be a visit without the usual eating frenzy. Roque and I took the bus to Ped's in Jersey while the "oldies" were taken by car. Above is a picture of the Mitsuwa Japanese market display of the "untouchable" pastries. Pricey is an understatement and no pictures allowed. Na na na na na ... I stole one! Huffing and puffing as he followed Auntie sprinting, Roque did enjoy the Udon soup at the market eatery.

We were joined by George, Mel and Barb at Ped and Carol's house for lunch. Sporting a pair of red sneakers, I named Mel, Garrison Keillor, which he didn't particularly care about. Tough - I happen to like Garrison, not the best looking guy, but he's very funny!

This is part of the April madness here. Two more family members will be arriving next week! And I heard Tere has a checklist of places to visit. Yikes!

If you hate entertaining or having family over, move over, your last name is not Tinio or Reyes! More updates coming folks, patience is a virtue. It's a family affair. It's a family affair.