With my new 'B1 10 Year Visitors Visa' all shiny and new in my passport I felt I had no worries. Pip was in need of a new Visa Waiver (the 3 month automatic visitors visa given to Kiwis) so we knew we had to go inside the border post for processing. All good. We rolled up to the booth as happy as clams!
Fort Erie Border over the Niagara River
That state of mind went pair shaped when the guard in the booth ran my passport. Stepping out of the booth he asks Pip for the car keys. My heart sinks. Then 5 armed guards surround our car, chocks are placed behind the left rear wheel and we are escorted from our car to the border post. I turned back to see Mac peering out the window at our retreating bodies.
Somewhat paranoid, since my last encounter at a border, my throat dried up and my stomach began some very unpleasant churning. It was obvious this was all about me. An hour or so later we were called through locked glass doors to immigration where the young and personable guard suggested that I tell him the truth because there was nothing to lose! He blatantly tried to goad me into revealing something not already documented. Luckily I’m made of sterner stuff and was not to be goaded !!, reiterating that my overstaying had been dealt with, I had been granted a new visa etc. Another hour, ten prints and a mug shot later we were on our way, with the comforting suggestion that I be prepared for this to happen each time I enter the good old United States of America. For life!
At that point I was pretty sure this would be my last trip. My farewell tour!
Both pretty strung after that ordeal we opted for the scenic route through bucolic upstate New York into Pennsylvania. Our destination the Pocono Mountains (part of the Appalacians) about 6 hours away. We passed quaint farms and big old barns, seeing very few animals, just lots of corn and hay! Little towns well passed their glory days slipped by with the miles of green hills and trees. Once we hit Binghamton an old coal town, just shy of Scranton (famous as the home of Jim Corel‘s ‘The Office’) we are back on very familiar roads. We’ve done the drive from Toronto to New York more times now than either can remember…its about 8 hours if all goes well…and a heck of lot stressless at this time of year. (Our trips run the gamut from the seasons heaviest overnight snow fall, torrential rain and searing summer temps)
Firecrackers, thrown by the eldest Paladino male, greeted our arrival at the Paladinos Bach at Lake Naomi. It was great to see the family after nearly 10 months. Jim cooked us spectacular burgers with blue cheese accompanied by lots of wine. Eating al fresco we caught up on all their news. Next day en famille, we hit the Chat-n-Chew for brunch.
From top left. At the Chat-n-chew Blakeslee, PA are Griffin Paladino in Jim's arms, Rowan, Isabella, Pip. Front row NZ Nanny Nicola holding Grant.
Nick our fav waiter was there to greet us with his usual good humour. We always threaten to make him eat Vegemite again, his idea of a fate worse than many other things! A quick stroll round the Sunday market in the parking lot and I had a seriously cute little wicker chair under my arm, a mid-century gem for ten bucks. Pip scored a Pennsylvania number plate for our wall installation and we were done. Rowan and I then headed for the Club beach and kayaked around the lake, scoping all the private beaches and docks as we wended our way passed islands and bays. Each house-owner had trucked in white sand for their beaches, lounge chairs adorned docks over water for sundown drinks and some jetties even had waterslides for their kids.
Lake Naomi Club Beach. Julie and Rowan astide kayaks. Rowan paddles into the blue. Looking back to the clubhouse. Rowan Broughton and Julie sensibly wearing hats!
Images of the Atlantic coast south of New York known to all as the Jersey Shore. Timber shingled houses line the dunes. An early morning Yoga class. Mcgregor on the beach before Dog Curfew. Quaint old boats are tended with pride. The Yacht club in the lagoon is where all the action happens on the water and tennis courts. An early morning catch called a sea robin (bit like a gurard). Breakfast menu at local diner.
The first thing I did was jump in Linda and Allan’s pool. Mac greeted Audrey, their 13 yr old westie, like a long lost lover and I cooled off until Linda arrived home with her boys. Later that night we ate clams and calamari from the Grill (BBQ !) Linda cooked the marinated Calamari under foil wrapped bricks to flatten the tubes, the clams were cooked in a cute wire basket shaped like a fry pan with handle. Served with spaghetti laced with lemon zest and a little garlic butter for the clams we ate dinner out by the pool even tho the air temp was crazy hot. Linda, fit and fabulous, is uber beach chic in her black racer back tunic over shorts with three wooden tribal bracelets up her super tanned arm. Seeing her reminded me how lazy I’ve got since leaving NYC.
Bay Head sign in Village. The Laymons backyard. Mac hopefully waiting for a frog or something !! Julie at the Tiki Bar talking to Pip on cell.
Images of Jen and Mac's Hoboken Brownstone.
Underwhelmed by the exhibitions currently showing I power viewed the gallery and was back on the street in under 30 minutes, feeling even more jaded with the art scene than before. I have a growing dislike for video installations and indulgent try hard protest art. There were some interesting works by
Rivane Neuenschwander:A Day Like Any Other, especially her paintings on maps of NYC left out in a Brazilian rainstorm… aesthetically and texturally interesting but they kinda smacked of try-hardism…it all did… I mean why leave mulitple maps of NYC out in a storm in Brazil…then repaint in the streets of NYC and show them in NYC. WHY??? Derrrrr! Wouldn’t maps of the Brazilian rainforest have been more relevant??? Paint in the areas that have been deforested… I dunno! That I would have found interesting.
Anyhoo….I trooped around the streets visiting my fav haunts, house shops mainly, then headed on the F train for Moma. A quick flick through Anthropologies flagship store at Rockefeller Plaza . Groovy lights made from used herbal tea bags amongst other things continue to inspire me. Their store design team is the best there is. (I hope to put a post together of my old pics of their windows soon)
Tea Bag design at Anthropologie.
Even Moma couldn’t jolt me out of my art blues. It was wonderful seeing all the works I’ve become familiar with during the last 5 years of visits, (sadly my all time fav Cy Twombly’s ‘Four Seasons‘, four huge magical panels were not on show) as usual the design/architecture installations and photography gripped me most. There was the most banal video installation by Bruce Nauman called Days, where the days of the week were repeated endlessly by countless voices in a white gallery… a hideous cacophony ( the whole point) but yuck!
Cy Twombly's Quattro Stagioni my fav painting at Moma.
Ultra cool was the What was Good Design installation. Familiar and forgotten objects popped up here. The McLaren push chair my kids rode in was there in all its folding glory making me realise how quickly design moves onwards (note today’s marathon-running mums who steer three wheeled strollers that withstand speed and bumps and weather) but how clever the original usually is. For the first time ever, I was pleased to head out of the city. My intense love affair with NYC might just be waning. I have pined for it these last 10 months. Literally. But suddenly my allegiance has been usurped by Toronto!!!! Today I felt the hassle and hustle of the city but got none of its exciting vibes I’d thrived on before. It was way too hot. Full of slow walking tourists!! (not sure what I am…fast walking tourist maybe?) Note to all of you, do not visit NYC in July or August. Its too darn hot!
Back home at Jen’s I downed gallons of water then sipped a cool Chardonnay and waited for the boyfriend to come home. We were meeting Jim Paladino for dinner. After a quick beer at his house we three strolled together along Washington street, Hoboken, to the Los Charritos. We were joined by recent new dad, Col, also an expat kiwi working for ConEd in NYC. Once seated, they made a great Sangria with our wine. You bring your own wine and they make jugs of citrusy Sangria loaded with cooling ice. (Did I say the temps were hiking upwards towards 100 degrees) Somewhere between the Chardonnay earlier, the Sangria and the Mole Poblano I got a tiny bit tipsy!!! Oh well..it happens!! The evening was lots of fun, great catching up with our Hoboken friends again.
Mexican Memories!
Next day we headed for DC, taking the scenic route through Maryland. Yet more green corn fields, more green trees and no farm animals. Maryland Crab cakes are advertised at every roadside eatery along the way. Eventually we hit the Chesapeake and crossed over. The water was still and looked so inviting but we had a date in DC so while our GPS had deserted us hours ago at the New Jersey border I tried to finagle us into the city the old fashioned way. With a MAP!
Crossing The Chesapeake Bay
Oh boy….how confusing those old ways are. Our book of maps of states, had no useful city map so…after 1.5 hours of circling DC’s one-way system, driving north instead of south and finding detours and roadwork’s blocking our pathway…Oh boy oh boy.. so we did yell a bit. We did thump the steering wheel. Things did get heated. Those who know us well can just shut your eyes and remember what that sounds like!!!! Until we finally remembered mapquest on the Blackberry!!!! Deeeerrrrrrrr! Eventually we found our hotel. And we still loved each other when we did. Phew!
Our Swiss friend Marco, Director of Operations at the Dupont Hotel, was surprising girlfriend Kirsty (also Kiwi) with our arrival, they’d been ready to greet us since 5.30. We rolled in at 7pm and duly surprised and were happily met, then we all whisked up to our room for the bubbles and choccy coated strawberries Marco had arranged for us. A little later, taking Mac for the ride, we zoomed across the Potomac to their apartment in Virginia, riding there in their orange open top jeep. That was so much fun, warm air in our faces and Macs and my locks slashing around in the evening breeze.
Kiwi Sav blanc in Arlington.
Once there Marco, one-time chef, whipped up nibbles and we drank a lovely kiwi sav blanc to celebrate being together again. Then back to the hotel for drinks and light dins, where the very hip Dupont Cafe provided plenty of eye candy for the boyfriends!.
The Dupont Hotel sits on Dupont Circle in Embassy row. Its not that far from gorgeous Georgetown where Jackie and John Kennedy once lived and just up the road from the Obama‘s big White House. This part of DC is really charming. You feel you could live there in a heartbeat. You just need gozillions to actually live where it is so charming, for the rest there are upmarket old and new suburbs in Virginia outside DC.
Watching late night tv anDC from the Dupont
We loved the décor of the hotel. Marble, pony skin, tan leather, wood, flannel, hot coloured silks, green frosted glass, shutters and contemporary art worked a textural magic.
Next day, while Pip was in meetings, Kirsty and I did a tour of the Renwick museum housing the craft and decorative art collections of the Smithsonian. This small art gallery is very cool. The art blues started to dissipate seeing the eye defying skills of the artisans who’d created the works we saw. Of special note was the swordfish Gamefish by Larry Fuente’s …Beth Lipman’s Bancketje (Banquet) the glass dining table, amphora and venus dress molded on the body and caste in glass.
Popular works include Larry Fuente's Game Fish,and Beth Lipman's Bancketje (Banquet).
Lunch at Rugby, (Pip had discovered it on his last trip), next to Ralf Lauren’s boutique of the same name in Georgetown, was a triumph of Chesapeake crab meat for me and burgers for Kirsty and Pip. Outside the temps were 105 degrees, inside the air con was freezing. I had to keep popping outside to warm up. Yummy homemade lemonade helped to even me out. (Not sure why we don’t do more homemade lemonade in NZ….my mum’s is too die for….its soo much nicer than the fizzy stuff, along with iced tea it’s a summer standard everywhere in North America and once the yard arm drops it’s great with a little vodka added too!)
The Georgetown Canal and Lochs, Lunch with Kirsty Williamson at Rugby in Georgetown.
Later we met up with Kirsty, Marcus and friends at Circa, a bar near the hotel. The drink de jour was the ‘Dark and Stormy’ Light rum and ginger-ale. Very refreshing on a hot hot night. We dined in the Dupont and the food was fab. I was sticking to my seafood and eat it diet… so scallops and grilled lobster were my choices. Best other choices were mussels in a broth of chorizo, tomato flesh, and cream, Skirt steak with Bernaise sauce and the chocolate puddings. My tower of paper thin dark dark chocolate wafers sandwiched with chocolate mousse was far far too delish!
Dinner at Cafe Dupont, Brunch al fresco.
Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, a vacation home designed for the Kaufman family 75 years ago was our destination next day. The trip from DC along the Virginia and Maryland border took us about 4 hours, with a stop to stretch Mac’s legs overlooking the battlegrounds around Gettysburg. It was a complete joy to hit the hill country where the air turned fresher, though still very hot, the higher we climbed. Back in Pennsylvania, we whipped along The Laurel highway, passed more cute farms and silos, horse country and wooded slopes. We’d seen some very poor areas earlier. The term hillbilly shacks came to mind. Horrified that people lived in such tumbledown homes. But they do.
Anyhoo, there was nothing tumbledown about Falling Water, except that lovely clean mountain water tumbles down under its foundations giving its name true meaning and the house extreme beauty and serenity. Defying notions of gravity the terraces jut out over the river and waterfalls, the rounded walls and flat roofs of the main house and guest cottage sit at ease amongst the native rhododendrons and forest trees. For Pip and I it was love at first sight. Right down to the rock pool off the first terrace, a pool that is blocked off from the flow of the stream by the same stone used in the house.
From Top Left: The pool at the guest house. Glass corner details. Views from downstream showing structural stonework beneath cantilevered terraces.
- Fallingwater was donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963.
- Actual building costs for the home was 5 times the original estimate of 35,000
- Nearly all of the furniture in the house is 'built in' meaning it can't be rearranged.
- All of the toilets in the house sit just 10" off the floor, the owner believing it to be more healthful.
- The house is home to several million dollars worth of artwork and furnishings by Picasso, Diego Rivera, Tiffany and others. (The original paintings are hermetically sealed in their frames.)
Covered Walkway between guest house above and main house below. Guest house terrace with pool. Stonework detail at front and guest house.
Interior shots show built in furniture, jewel bright linens, stone floors, steel and glass window. Covered entrance at side of house supported by rock wall below Guest house.
Downmarket after the luxuries of the previous nights but definitely cheap and chic we checked in at a Motel 6 later that night. Funky colours, fresh paint and mod fittings impressed at this 50 buck a night joint!!
Next morning at sparrows fart we were off back to town for a drive by past Carnegie Mellon Uni, where had it not been for one large boyfriend and two young sons I would have attended for 6 months in 1998 on a transfer from AUT. Its something I have regretted but I made the right decision for the time. It’s a great university, fab buildings old and new covering blocks of wonderful grounds next to the Schenely Park and the Botanical Gardens. After a walk around the area we headed downtown for the Strip. Jim Paladino grew up in PA and sent us to an ancient and iconic sandwich diner there called Primanti Bros. Begun in the 20’s as a truck stop their all-in-one sandwich is a Pittsburgh must eat. Awarded for its historic significance to American food history by the James Beard foundation, this tiny dive turns up in National Geographic and on the food network.
Its a very scary sandwich...one you'd only want to tackle once in a life time..but well worth it ONCE!
Here’s how it goes. You slice thick almost brioche like white bread, grill up the meat…I had cajun chicken, that goes on the fresh bread, then a hand full of hot fries, a hand full of coleslaw, sliced tomato and mayo topped with your fresh bread, its then wrapped in wax paper to go. Steelhead beer is the required accompaniment. We passed on that and had sweet iced tea instead as we ate our half of the Crazy Cajun gut buster perching on Armco in the parking lot. Wee Mac searching madly for droppin’s. Astounded that all others were taking on a whole sandwich themselves. It was mighty good and filled the original truckers requirement for a meal to go, everything wrapped in one package !While Pip and Mac digested this I power toured the Andy Warhol Musuem. Art blues completely evaporate. This is the best gallery I’ve ever been in. Maybe I was just ready to respond to these early works and his association with Marcel Duchamp in a way I’d not before. I’ve seen a hell of a lot of Warhol's in the States and Canada but this was something else. It needed hours to do it justice. I had one! And no pictures allowed so I scribbled notes and sketches as I honed in on big canvas paintings like the Bathtub (1966) and The Toilet (1978) inspired by Duchamps porcelain urinal 'The Fountain'.
Marcel Duchamps 'the fountain' exhibited in 1917 shocked the world.
Portrait of Andy in Lobby. Oxidisation panels at right. Helium pillows at lower left.
So both back in the Chevy we left pretty Pittsburgh for Toronto. Only 5.5 hours of driving through more green trees, the odd cute farm with barns and silos and very few animals, a lot of corn and when we got closer to Niagara, grapevines for Africa. We crawled over the bridge across the fast flowing Niagara river, at its source in Lake Erie, , subtly giving the finger to the US side of Fort Erie as our charming (and very pretty) Canadian border guard welcomed us home. Oh Canada!
A quick side trip to the Niagara on the Lake wineries, Coyote Run and Southbook to buy wines, sav blanc mustard and a purple flour made of ground up grape skins to use for making funky purple pizza bases saw us once again off the main highway driving between lots of green grape vines, fruit trees and fields of soya beans. This wine area is primo. We are so lucky in this part of Ontario to have it so close to town.
Stop-n-starting down the QEW we make it home by 7pm. Time to throw a steak on the barbie, make a salad in our new 100 year old salad bowl, drink the Coyote Run Chardonnay and thank the lord we were home. Phew. We put on about two thousand miles onto the odometer in 9 days. I’d said farewell to old friends and places and rediscovered my interest in things arty farty!! Yipppeee!
