Summer Trip to US 2005

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July 31, 2005

Entries are being made from New York! I am functioning on jet lag, so my body doesn't really care what time it is. Yesterday we made a trip to Papa's Ice Cream Store in Lake Luzerne. The trip last year was so memorable that I just had to be taken again. For those who don't know, this is a great place to eat located on the banks of the Hudson River. I think that we had the best seat in the house. Lunch was great, and the ice cream was better. Yukinori had his first hot fudge encounter.

Here we are in the car in front of Papa's.

A new girlfriend?

The best seat in the house! See the river in the background?

Grandpa checks out Japanese phone technology.

Here is another view of the Hudson River.

BBQ roast beef sandwich.

Time for dessert!

Hiding your face won't get rid of the calories!

How's the hot fudge?

Yukinori and his Grandma...

Yukinori and a vintage Hudson

We stopped in to visit Bob and Claire Schlueter, and were glad to find them well.

Thanks for the lemonade, Mrs. Schleuter. We also found a nice yard sale, and Yukinori picked up a trombone cheap. He was delighted, but I may have buyers regret. I wonder if he can take it on the plane as carry on luggage to get it home.

Sunday Lunch at the Gideon Putnam in Saratoga -

Wanda Methe was kind enough to join us for a buffet lunch.

Outside on the lawn was a collection of vintage Cadillacs!

I am not even an automotive enthusiast, but was really impressed with the design and condition of these cars! This one could double as a Batmobile!

This red caddy was a beauty, both inside and out!

I am starting to recover from reverse jet lag and will be posting pictures from the trip. These are a bit laughable, but Yukinori and I enjoyed taking pictures at a local supermarket. Everybody must have thought that we were a bit strange, but the quantity of calories stocking the shelves was amazing to both of us.

This good old Aussie beer looked interesting, but if you buy it, you have to haul it back.

Japanese supermarkets carry only a couple kinds of apples.

Now this is kind of a poor excuse for a daikon, skinny and all dried out.

With Grandma at the Supermarket

My brother John and his lovely wife were kind enough to stop in on their way home from Connecticut. My only regret was that I was not a decent entertaineress owing to jet lag and being drugged to suppress a horrible cough. See? He has to hold me up so I don't collapse right there on the front lawn.

Is that a ham attempting to steal center stage from the tenor of the century? Yukinori should have gotten his new used trombone out. I wonder if they will allow him to bring it on the plane as carrion.

On the road again! I hope that I will be in an increased state of consciousness next time we meet. Thanks for stopping by!

Here we are at a sub shop, and I have ordered a small turkey, but in Japan it would be considered a large size. It was delicious, but I wonder if we really need all of the calories. Adjacent to the sub shop is a wonderful Italian bakery, with all kinds of huge delights!

I might have trouble finishing one of these, good as they look!

How is this for great scenery expanding from wall to wall?

But, if we continue to take in all of that scenery, we will all end up looking like the lady in the background. I know that I am not a featherweight either, but I also know that it gets difficult to move around with so much bulk. I don't have a car and have to do alot of walking, and could never function being that heavy. Even if I am not that big, Yukinori said that I should not lull myself into weight complacency. Yeah, I know, I know! We skipped dessert.

Thursday August 11, 2005

Hey, hey, hey, lookie here! Remember this pic from Papa's Ice Cream Parlors?

This just came in the email, and who is it but Sue Mulder Faulk, my college roomie! Hey, when did you get into town. I missed you by a week!!

Hey Sue, I almost bought these horsie salt and pepper shakers at the antique shop near the river. You can pick them up and send them to me for Christmas. They are on the rack in the front window behind the "husband's waiting chair." Haha!!

And I took some better pictures of the church this year.

Posted 8/11/2005

Thursday August 11, 2005

Yukinori is on his way back to Tokyo. I see they are going to let him on the plane with his garage sale trombone, a weapon of mass distraction. It looks like he patched the holes in the case with duct tape. He will be happy to know that his goldfish is still alive and kicking.

Friday August 12, 2005

Yukinori got back home safely yesterday. He had his suitcase sent home by a delivery service and then headed straight for the emergency ward of his favorite music shop with his "new" trombone. The guys behind the counter laughed and asked him what garbage heap in New Orleans he picked it up from and told him that Louis Armstrong founded an organization to give dead trombones like this to needy children who would probably use it to make repairs to their domestic plumbing. We got this bargain brass for $100 at a yard sale, but the "hospital" told Yukinori that it is gonna cost at least $200 to straighten out a few difficult dents in the slide.

Herr Compukermann was kind enough to drive us to the Clark Art Museum, and there was a lovely painting there in an ornate frame.

Yukinori wanted to get some jellybeans to take back with him, so we stopped in at a place called "The Peanut Principle." The proprietress was kind enough to show us her 80 year old peanut roaster, which she made a point of saying is younger that she is.

Posted 8/12/2005

Saturday August 13, 2005

durn, durn, durn. stumbled yesterday and sprained my hand. Nothing serious, but the right shift key is a bit difficult to reach, so there will be no capital letters from the right side of the keyboard.

Here is some stuff from an antique shop that I thought was interesting, but the analog versions were all too useless or too big or too heavy.

Here is useless. these rolling pins were really pretty, but I would not use any of them, because I do not do alot of fattening rolled baking. don't have anyplace to put them anyway.

Here is too big. I used to have one of these, or something similar.

Here is too heavy. grandma Harriet used to have one of these iron doorstops in front of her cellar door. I really considered getting one of these poochies, but those with me told me I was crazy, so here is the lighter version.

Sunday August 14, 2005

All capital letters are restored today, so I suppose the plasters that I had taped over the sprain have done their job.Today's pictures are from the Glennville Queen Diner, where my uncles and their wives were kind enough to gather for a meal.

We all managed to squeeze into a double booth. From the left we have Uncle Wayne, Uncle Bill, Uncle Gene, Gene's lovely wife Mike, and Wayne's lovely wife Barbara.

Here is a shot taken outside. Thanks for coming everyone, and thanks to Herr Compukermann who treated us all pretty well.

Posted 8/14/2005 at 7:44 PM

Tuesday August 16, 2005

Here is another picture from the other day's lunch. Thanks, Uncle Gene!

Now here is another place that I like to visit, Lake Side Farm. I am not sure of the reason for my attachment to the place. In the fall they sell pumpkins and bug jugs of apple cider. Oops, a typo! I meant big jugs of cider, and the typo may be correct anyway, so I will leave it.

In Japan, each locality has its own special products to take back as souvenirs, but I don't think that American localities are that specialized. Perhaps it is because the "culture of souvenirs" is not so highly developed. Here, if you make a trip you are kind of expected to bring back some little tidbit for all and sundry, at home and in the office. I suppose that if one had to pick a product native upper New York State it would have to be maple products: maple sugar, maple syrup and so on.

Here is the dining area inside the Lake Side Farm building, where you can have a hearty sandwich for lunch.

After lunch, you can have a piece or pie, or take a whole pie home with you!

Posted 8/16/2005 at 8:48 PM

Monday August 15, 2005

Here's a local ice cream stand. It may be nothing special to the Stateside crowd, but the good old red, white and blue scenery does my eyes good.

The family dawg got some ice cream, too. Too bad I missed the shot or boy and dog licking out of the same cup. They say that dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans,' but we should not forget where the doggies are licking.... I just saw a show on TV about a lady that contacted potentially fatal salmonella from sharing a spoon with her Pomeranian.

I liked the umbrella.

Wednesday August 17, 2005

Near the end of our visit, Herr and Mrs. Compukermann were kind enough to drop us off at Crossgates Shopping Mall, where Yukinori and I wandered around independently for awhile, as our interests and shopping styles are different. I regretted that our Japanese cell phones did not work in New York, because we had a bit of trouble finding each other when it was time to go home. We agreed to meet at the agreed meeting place. I meant the original agreed meeting place, but he meant the alternate agreed meeting place, and that is where I eventually found him.

I thought that this store was really cute, and might have undergone the teddy bear creation process but for the fact that I already have more teddy bears than I will ever need. They are actually not a bad thing to collect in Tokyo, since they will not break should an earthquake knock them off of a shelf. Let's take a peek in the shop.

This is a "create your own stuffed animal" shop, and you can make your own bear, cat, rabbit, whatever. Completed samples are on the wall, and you can select the pelt of your choice from the bins below.

Here is the stuffing machine, which tumbles the teddy bear innards to keep them fresh and fluffy. For a small donation, you can add a heart to your bear from the container at the front of the machine. After your animal is stuffed, you sew up the orifice. There are also costumes sold for the creations should one prefer a customized look.

Thursday August 18, 2005

Our shopping trip at Crossgates Mall continues.

Just across from the teddy bear shop is the food court, and here is some good old American Pizza! This may all be very common to y'all Stateside, but to me this was a beautiful sight. I can still smell it. We can get a pretty good pizza here in Japan, but it's gonna costya about $20 for a pizza with just the basics For a bit more you can add toppings which are going to include squid or potatoes. Hmm... I should do a brief report on what goes on pizza here.

Herr Compukermann had just treated us to a hearty lunch, so I was satisfied with a "look but don't touch" policy.

Here is a shot from inside the mall, which I am including because I can see my next stop!

Friday August 19, 2005

Please look at the last picture in yesterday's entry again. You will notice a place called Johnnie Rockets on the right side of the lower level. It looked interesting, and when I peeked into the window, what did I see but total 50's decor! Wow, I fell in love and had to go in!

My seat was around the corner at the left side of the picture. Is this place cool or what?

Here are the juke box and condiments at my seat. The waiter gave me a nickel along with the menu, which I assume was to select a ditty of my choice. I picked a James Taylor tune, but it was probably played after I left. Neither of those songs matches the decor, but I never get tired of "Fire and Rain" or "You've got a Friend."

The staff provides entertainment on the other side of the counter to the tune of "Dancing the Night Away." How about dancing over here and taking my order??

Ah, yes, here it is, a real live VANILLA MALT like I have not had in decades! Ah, I am in a state of total bliss. What more is there to say? I may put this up as wallpaper.

This was on a shelf in a novelty shop. It is a lunch box that I was tempted to buy and did not, but had to bring back a cyberversion. I just love Maxine and her enlightened view of life.

Sunday August 21, 2005

Herr Compukermann was kind enough to get his courage up to drive through some of the older parts of Schenectady to where we used to live on Swan Street. Here is stop #1.

This is our old church, formerly Central Baptist, minus the steeple over the door. I wonder what happened to it? My grandfather was the pastor here way back when (Sorry to have missed him in time by a couple of years, but we will get caught up in eternity where there will be plenty of time.), and we lived just down the street to the left. I can close my eyes and still see Grandma LaVerne at the organ and Aunt Ada singing solos in the choir. Herr and Mrs. Compukermann were in the choir, too, even though compukers hat not been invented yet. How is that for fantastic? Herr C always was ahead of his time. Grandma LaVerne opted out on her organ duty one Sunday morning when she was proudly displaying to Auntie Ann how she could cut through a frozen English muffin with here newfangled serrated knife... I will spare the gory details. I forget who took over for her.

Us three kids used to sit in the pews with Aunt Ada and Uncle Freddy, who would slip us cherry cough drops if we were good. Maybe it was if we were restless. Herr and Mrs. C could always see what we were doing from the perches in the choir loft, and we once all got a lecture about nose blowing procedures that would not gross the pastor out in the middle of his fire and brimstone. Pastor Nelson used to yell a lot, and I always wondered what he was so mad about. When I got a little older, I realized he was saying some good stuff there. Listening to sermons was good practice in listening itself, which is a very useful skill. Mrs. C also requested that we not open up our hankies and rigorously examine the contents for any brain cells that might have been dislodged in the nasal discharge. I am gonna loose my readership. And don't chew gum in the pastor's face, either. What if everybody did it? He is preaching to God's sheep, not a bunch or cud-chewing cattle.

Pastor Nelson also held after school kids meetings. He would stand outside the school handing out invitations and then have a program for us. He would do magic tricks and play his trombone for us, always managing to slip out of his slide for a big laugh. We loved it when he did that. After the Bible story he always had a "magic seat," which meant that he had taped a dime underneath one of our folding chairs.

The basement of the church was where we had Sunday School. Herr Compukermann and Aunt Ada used to be the masters of ceremonies at the opening exercises before we all went to our Sunday School classes, where the foundations of my life were laid. Other basement events included Vacation Bible School, Smorgasbords and Halloween parties. I will never forget being trapped in the dark hall near the huge bonging downstairs bell after tripping on a ladder that had been placed there for an obstacle course. I was wearing a clown suit, blue with white polka dots.

What I would not give to have a breath of the heavily varnished air from inside the sanctuary! The building was used for a recording studio for awhile, and I am not sure what it is being used for now. The floor had fancy grills over the heating ducts. I don't know why I remember that.

When I was in sixth grade, the folks at Central Baptist got together with another group of Christians who had been meeting in a Grange Hall in Glennville. The two groups merged, and Faith Baptist Church was constructed in Rexford, New York. Half of the Central Baptist folks went to the new place, and the other half found other church homes elsewhere. I don't think that there are too many at Faith Baptist who remember this part of the beginning of their church. I guess that you have to be old enough to be able to admit that you remember it, and then you probably don't want to admit to being that old.

We will see more of the old 'hood tomorrow.

Sunday August 21, 2005

Today we continue to bring you pictures of my childhood 'hood. We are still on Swan Street in Schenectady, New York.

If you turn 180 degrees from Central Baptist Church, you can see 12 Swan Street. Grandma LaVerne lived in the first floor apartment on the left. I have some memories of her living here, and this was probably the site of my supposed crimes of swinging on the curtains and playing with Auntie Ann's jewelry box.

Let's look down the center of the street. This entire street used to be lined with trees which were richly populated by squirrels. I wonder what happened to the trees. Maybe they were wiped out by a blight or something. The squirrels provided economic benefits to the manufacturers of metal milk boxes. These milk boxes provided rodent proof protection for the daily bread and weekend coffee cake that the Freihofer man used to bring around in his horse-drawn wagon. The horse was eventually replaced by a truck, and when I asked where the horse went, I was told that it had probably been put out to pasture. I hope that the pasture was not next to a glue factory.

Here is 18 Swan Street, and this location should be embellished with a Stoddard Family historical marker. It is the first home that I remember, and it was always green, so I referred to it as "my green house," to which I always wanted to return in times or infantile mental duress. I suppose Herr and Mrs. Compukermann could have pried a security shingle off somewhere for me to carry around, but they were more interested in the roof not leaking. Very bad for compukers, so it was lucky that we did not have one.

Anyway, we lived upstairs, and the downstairs was divided into two smaller apartments, inhabited at different times by Uncle Bill and Aunt Marie, and Uncle Wayne and Aunt Barbara. I remember that Tina lived there and maybe Kim.

Let's go down the street a bit to number 28. This was where the Stoddard Family lived. It was always full of people and cats, and love was poured out in all of the cups of coffee drunk with Grandma Harriet around the kitchen table. No, Grandma was not drunk. Mrs. C, is there a better way to put that? Love for the kids meant Party Pack ice cream, since it was a well known fact that coffee would stunt our growth. Don't try to change the channel because Grandpa really can snore and watch baseball at the same time. And don't get poor neutered Ernie the cat too excited because he wants something but can't remember what it is and might scratch you. Ernie's lack was probably his gain, because he really was a very nice cat who lived a long life sans the yowling, wandering and fighting. He did have a nice voice, and was named after Tennessee Ernie Ford. This house also used to have a nice maple tree in front of it. Grandma Harriet would always leave a window open upstairs and the cats would climb the tree and let themselves back into the house.

This is 32 Swan Street, where we lived until we moved to 2313 Niskayuna Drive when I was in 6th grade. The porch was made of wood back then, as were the stairs, and not these cement blocks. The house was gray. We lived on the first floor, and Grandma LaVerne later moved into the second floor. It was a relatively (please notice the pun) good arrangement, with both Grandmothers in easy reach. I think that I realized how blessed I was, because the idea of moving to a different location in the city upset me greatly, and I remember protesting that moving would be "breaking up the family!"

But, I was looking back, and Herr and Mrs. C were looking forward to a healthier environment and better schools, and of course they made the right choice. After getting used to the new place I do not remember anymore regretful protestations on my part.

Monday August 22, 2005

Here is a cool picture shot from Herr Compukermannz car.