As I write this first blog of our February trip, Susie and I are drinking our first Sailor Jerry and Coke Zero of the trip in a Comfort Inn in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. We left Ocean City at 9:45 this morning, and arrived at the hotel at 5:30 this evening having driven 422 miles in day one of our trip, traveling from New Jersey, through Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and into North Carolina. Not much to talk about but the Interstate Highway system, so I thought I might give a quick recap of what the past week was like in the “Kenny and Chris to LA Tour”!
Last Sunday night we picked Kenny and Chris up at JFK’s Jet Blue terminal at 10:30 PM and drove home to Mineola where twin sister Krissi and her boyfriend Mike were waiting for them. We’d earlier in the day (per Kenny’s instructions) bought a selection of pizza slices from Angelo’s in Carle Place, and after Christmas #5, it was time for a Twins (and significant others) “Night in the Basement.” If you read my last blog post, you realize this might be the last time this will happen for Kenny and Krissi in Mineola, so there was indeed some added meaning for the two of them!
The next day was President’s Day, so all the working stiffs were off, and the plan was for a Siblings and Significant Others afternoon and evening in Astoria. At one time, a couple of years ago, all three of our kids lived in Astoria (as well as many of their friends, and Billy’s future bride Lori) and now just Krissi and her boyfriend Mike live there. They started doing this Siblings Day Out a couple of years ago, rather than buy each other Christmas presents, and with Kenny on the cruise, this was the perfect opportunity for the six of them to get together. It was also another “last” for them, as Kenny moves to LA, and Billy and Lori move to North Carolina. Susie asked them to take a picture of the three D’Elia siblings so she can get it printed for her Mom, and here is the result.
Kenny and Chris crashed at Krissi’s apartment Monday night, and then Tuesday headed into Manhattan for a day and night of getting together with friends. The boys spent that night in a Manhattan hotel, and had a great time…even though the sun was up before they were in bed!! Ah, to be young again!!
Wednesday was Nail Night, and even though the boys were a wee bit under the weather (not as easy to bounce back as you get into your thirties), it was a great night for all six of us at St. James for drinks and dinner. Because of President’s Week school vacation, the place was a zoo, but that didn’t stop the D’Elias from having a great Super Nail Night!!
On Thursday, Susie and I headed down to Ocean City, followed shortly by Kenny and Chris, for a last goodbye to the shore till next summer for the boys. Thursday night they were honestly still recovering a bit (kids!), but we enjoyed sushi at Tokyo Mandarin, and then an early night!
Friday’s plan was an afternoon and evening at Harrahs in Atlantic City, with Krissi and Mike heading down from NYC via bus in the afternoon, and all six of us having a drink with our good friend, and excellent AC Bartender, Ralph and then dinner and some gambling. We had 3 rooms that night at Harrahs, so there was no issue with drinking and driving, or having to stop before we were ready to stop! In preparation, the boys slept till 10 AM, and then Susie and I headed off with them to Ready’s Coffee Shop on 8th Street in Ocean City, for a hearty breakfast…a base for that evening’s goings on (people have been known to have issues with Ralph’s martinis if you don’t have a substantial base in your body prior to entering Harrah’s Eden Lounge). After a good breakfast, it was back to the house for showers and then we were off to Harrahs!
We lucked out by being called from the Diamond Line to the VIP Check-In area by a very nice lady who put Susie and I and the boys right across the hall from each other, and reserved and pretty much checked Krissi in several hours before she got there! After we dropped off our bags, it was down to the Exhibition Bar so Susie could get an excellent Bloody Mary, and the rest of us more ordinary drinks and start the gambling process! Susie managed to hit Four Deuces and an Ace on a Video Poker machine at the bar for $320 and then we hit a couple of other things, and left with a voucher for $400! Not a bad way to start!! After playing a few more machines, Frank got lucky and hit a machine for $500!!! We headed up to the room and played cards while we waited for Krissi and Mike to arrive.
Once they got all checked in, it was time to go visit Ralph at the bar, and he was thrilled to see Kenny and Krissi, as he always asks about them, because he hasn’t seen them recently! He loved hearing their plans and what was going on in their lives, and took Mike aside before we left the bar and told him what a good girl he had in Krissi! I guess Mike passed the Ralph muster! Here’s some photographic evidence of our time there!
Then it was dinner at the new AC Burger restaurant at Harrahs (good..everybody enjoyed the food), some more gambling, and a lot of family fun, till Mom and Dad decided it was time to leave the night to the young, and head up to bed with more money, I must add, than we came with!
Saturday dawned earlier for Susie and I than the younger D’Elias, and since it was Bagel Saturday, we headed over to Hot Bagels and More in Somers Point armed with orders from all the kids. While they slept in, we followed our usual Saturday morning routine and had bagels as we headed to Hawaii via Hawaii Five-O on the TV!
Saturday night, there was an impromptu gathering of some of our Ocean City Family, as they met Chris and Mike, and said goodbye to Kenny and Chris! As always, a fun time, and the boys enjoyed being with these folks and being able to say Hello and Good-Bye at the same time!
This morning the boys headed out at 9 AM, headed down to Cape May to take the Cape May/Lewes Ferry to start their trip, while Susie and I did the more normal Atlantic City Expressway to Interstate 95. Tonight the boys are in another hotel in Rocky Mount, NC and their plan is to grab Subway or something, and settle in to watch the Oscars. Susie and I are probably going to head across the parking lot of the hotel to the Texas Steakhouse and Saloon, and there you have Day One of our February/March 2017 trip!!
See you tomorrow!!
PS – In the months since we ended our 9 week trip across the country last fall, I have forgotten how much most hotel’s “free Wifi” sucks! IT SUCKS!!
So, those of you who followed this blog during our big 9 week trek across the United States last fall, will recall that two of those weeks were spent aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, where our youngest son Kenny was one of the lead entertainers. Sailing out of Galveston, Texas, we had a great two weeks with Kenny, his boy friend Chris, and his Liberty Family, exploring the ship, attending the shows, and visiting ports. Well, after being on the ship since June, on January 29th their contract ended (one year to the day after his father retired) and Royal shipped him home via Delta Airlines. If you remember back a couple of weeks, January 29th was the Sunday night when Delta’s computers shut down, and it caused Kenny to spend 3+ hours on the tarmac at the Atlanta Airport, and for Mom and Dad to venture to JFK Airport at 4 AM! A little sleepily, we collected our youngest child, and made it to bed just a bit before the sun made a return engagement for the day. We were tired, but happy to have him home, a place he hadn’t been since last April!
Then there were food desires. Twice on the trip, we’d had Chinese..once at PF Changs in El Paso with our friends Mike and Nancy, and a second time in Moab, Utah, at a converted Mexican Restaurant. We were due, so after getting home Saturday, it was Chinese take-out for dinner, along with a bottle of Prosecco! We’d had a lot of pizza on the trip, but not New York Pizza. So Sunday it was time for a Meatball and Mushroom Pizza, Fried Zucchini Sticks, and an Encaldo Salad from Mineola Pizza! Food desires quenched!
Then there was the Sonata. She’d faithfully carried us 9,773 miles without a stumble or a whimper, and she deserved to be taken care of. We’d changed the oil in Las Vegas at Terribles about 5,000 miles ago, but she deserved a visit back to see Mike and Mike at C&S Automotive, and a little pampering! Turned out that all she needed was an oil change, and off we went! Oh, and after 9 weeks, she needed a car wash too. I mean a real car wash, not the kind I’d given her on the road! Of course, after I had that done, it rained!
As the rain seemed to be letting up, we decided that rather than make ourselves comfortable, we’d best unpack the car. We really had no idea what was in some of the dark recesses of the trunk, but we launched into it and in less than 10 minutes had the trunk and the inside pretty empty. After spending 7 weeks in the car (taking out the 14 days on the Liberty), the interior had seen some living, so it will take a little more effort and a professional car wash to erase all traces of our travels!
Of course, what would our first Saturday back at home be without our first real martinis since we left the Liberty of the Seas. There are little or no supplies in the house, and certainly nothing that could help us make a Melvin and R Bar Martini, so it was just Grey Goose with a twist! I did however serve them in well chilled Royal Caribbean glasses, and used the “professional shaker” method, as befitting a graduate of not one, but two, Martini Mixology classes on the Liberty of the Seas! Thanks Melvin!!
Then to wrap up the day, Chinese take-out! I have to say that the take-out from Mr. Chen’s in Carle Place was much better than the Chinese food we had at a converted Mexican restaurant in Moab, Utah, but then having it delivered, and eating it while sitting on our living room couch, drinking Prosecco, and watching TV shows from our DVR might have had something to do with that feeling!
Check out time was 11, and after we slept as long as we desired, and showered this morning (the BEST shower of the trip!), it was very close to 11 when we vacated the room, and went down to the valet to get the car. We had a little trouble finding the beginning of our trek for the day – we think perhaps our GPS girlfriend was a little under the weather this morning, but eventually we were on the right path. With the exception of about the first 10 miles of the 300 we did today, the rest was on Interstates, and this is the first day we’ve done that in some time. We headed north out of Bossier City, and it really wasn’t long before we passed out of Louisiana and into Arkansas, so another state for our list. Susie says Arkansas was state #21 of our trip!
As we didn’t get a “free breakfast” this morning, we decided to do something we rarely had done the past 2 months, and that was stop at a fast food place for lunch. We’d see Whataburger for many days, and even this morning in Louisiana, but they must not cross into Arkansas, so we settled for a Burger King, in of all places, Hope, Arkansas, the birthplace of Bill Clinton! The exit is marked with a huge sign saying, “Hope, Arkansas…the birthplace of President William Jefferson Clinton”. I know they are trying to be respectful, but who ever calls him anything but Bill? Oh well, he is their home town boy!
If you share driving, like Susie and I do, you are rather dependent on rest areas along the highways as an easy, convenient, and safe place to switch drivers. Back in the beginning of this trip, you may remember that Indiana and their “Toll Road” earned bad points from us for having so many closed rest areas. Well, sad to say, but Arkansas is another state that makes you either pull onto the shoulder to stop, or exit the road altogether, as so many of their rest areas were closed.
R New Adventures 