#72 - And We're Off! - Aug 13, 2012

We were up this morning. I got something done for work, and then the family was awake. I did some more laundry, organized the garage (mostly breaking down empty boxes and filling other boxes with packing paper), and built a shelf in the garage. Dad and I moved a piece of furniture from Libby’s room to the basement, and Katrina and I moved a pile of food from a place that was in the way in the kitchen to out of the way. Bit by bit the house keeps coming together.


Then Katrina and I packed up, and we took off for the Catskills about noon. We stopped in New Paltz for lunch at Neko. Veggie tempura for us both, and then we were out of time.

Neko Sushi in New Paltz

We had planned to stop at the grocery store to get food, but assuming there was a grocery store somewhere nearby, but took off. The road never seemed to stop. It was a really pretty drive, but it never seemed to end. Trees, farms, and small towns, none seeming that different from its neighbor except New Paltz.

As we got further and further from civilization, we chatted about a mass murderer living at the house, and how easy it would be for him to bury people on the property. “Of course,” I said, “that would mean that nobody would notice that people who stay at this particular place are never heard from again.”

“Nobody tells anybody where they’re going. Do mom and dad know where we’re going?”

She was right. Goodness, but she was right. At the end of a gravel road, past a fence with crazed barking rottweilers (4 of them behind iron bars), we found an older yellow Miata convertible with the top down. License plate: PARTYZON. The driver of this vehicle would be somebody I could dig. We walked up the steps, and we saw a chalk board with “Welcome Thomas” written on it. Mike and his assistant greeted us and gave us a 20 minute tour. The place was relatively spartan. The fridge was empty and sparkling clean. The kitchen had 4 each of plates, bowls, wine glasses and beer glasses. A few spices (salt and pepper, garlic bits) and that was it. A dining table with 4 chairs, a couch with TV and DVD player, wood stove, 2 small dressers in the loft with the bed and bathroom. Very simple.

And filled with light – windows almost the entire length of the front door wall, a large sliding glass door, 4 huge skylights, and some more windows scattered around the place. Ceiling fans, open windows, and complete privacy.

No lights are turned on.  And this is almost the entire place.

The owner left, we relaxed for a bit, then headed out for dinner at Friends and Family II. We weren’t in the budget realm for their nicer meals, and it really wasn’t a good fit for us. The food was okay, but it was clear the restaurant was meant for people who want to pay much more for their meals than we wanted to. So Katrina had a cheeseburger and I had a grilled chicken sandwich. Meh. I wouldn’t go back there unless I wanted to spend more. And I’d save room for dessert, because they looked great.

We stopped at a “super market” on the way back. We were able to find some Ben and Jerry’s, milk, and honey-nut Cheerios. It was barely a market, and certainly super was an undeserved superlative.

We made it back home with no problem. It was pretty much dark. The cicadas had turned the volume up to 10, and we left the windows open. And then there was nothing to do. No games to play, no kids to take care of, no unpacking, no chores, nothing. We tried to sleep. And after we figured out that the sounds downstairs were the fridge turning on and off and not an intruder, we both slept.