A Trip to Ohio
We’ve been awfully busy since Christmas, and we’re even busier now that it’s Lent! Every other Monday we get together with our church friends for dinner and beer. I agreed to play handbells for Easter, so I have practice on Tuesdays. Dave has Northpaw practice on Tuesdays in Loveland, too, so we’re trading off parenting. Wednesdays are Lenten meals and worship at church. Thursdays are still band. And on Fridays, we’re starting a music listening groups with some friends.
Last weekend, Phoebe and I flew to Ohio to see my best friend Elaina and my parents. We had a 7:10 flight after work on Thursday, which was somewhat delayed because the plane wasn’t there on time and then it had to be de-iced. Phoebe loved watching the crane blowing jets of steam all over the plane! She kept saying “cleaning window.” She stayed awake long enough to score her own chocolate chip cookie (we were flying Frontier) and then fell asleep, scrunching up into the empty middle seat we were lucky to have. I fell asleep too, and it turned out Elaina fell asleep at the airport waiting for us. I guess our glory days are over! (Phoebe’s are yet to begin, I guess.)
Phoebe woke up to do pajamas, books, milk, and toothbrushing. She also met Elaina’s new cat, Toby, before lying down in the guest bed. Elaina and I stayed up talking and watching TV for a while before heading to bed at 2:00 a.m. Ohio time. We all got up around 9:00 a.m. on Friday, which is exactly when Phoebe gets up at home (7:00 a.m. Colorado time). Phoebe had some strawberries, milk, and water, and bossed Toby around for a while while Elaina and I took showers. “No, kitty! Different room! Downstairs, kitty! No bathroom, kitty!” Then we climbed into the car to drop Phoebe off at my mom and dad’s house for the day. We waited around to see Mom, but we weren’t sure when she’d be home, so Elaina and I slipped away while Phoebe talked to Grandpa on the phone. We went to Shaker Heights for lunch at a Cuban restaurant, Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar. My Cubano sandwich was delicious, although I had to ask for mustard.
After lunch we went to the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage to see an exhibit about Jewish Clevelanders playing Mah Jongg. We had no idea it was so popular with Jewish women! The exhibit was interesting, but the best part was the movie about Clevelanders playing the game. A group of ladies watched the movie with us, and every time a new player was introduced, one of the ladies would say, “oh, I know her!” We enjoyed the rest of the museum, too. It was tied closely to Cleveland history, so it was a little different than other museums we’ve visited. We took a quiz to see if we could become citizens, based on the U.S. citizenship test, and were relieved that we both passed with flying colors. We also learned that Superman was invented in Cleveland by two Jewish boys! You’d think we would’ve heard something about that growing up, and sure enough, my dad couldn’t believe we hadn’t.
After the museum, we drove to Trinity Cathedral because Elaina had seen it on a show called Holy Cleveland. It was huge, imposing, and beautiful, with a totally fascinating artistic installation of the stations of the cross. While we looked around, the organist began to practice on the massive old organ. Pretty spectacular. We had two hours before our dinner reservations, so we headed to the Cleveland Art Museum. We looked at the El Grecos—Elaina’s favorite—and then the Rembrandt etchings that were part of their special exhibit. Finally we went through the Roman busts and Egyptian sarcophagi before heading back to the car. Traffic was horrible on the highway, but we got to Bac’s in Tremont just in time for our 6:30 p.m. reservation. Elaina had scallops and I had red curry—delicious!
On our way back to Massillon, we picked up Phoebe and talked to Mom and Dad for an hour or so. There were blocks everywhere and Phoebe had had spaghetti and a cookie for dinner, so I think everyone must have had a great time! She stayed up until 10:00 p.m. again, very obligingly keeping on Colorado time. Elaina and I watched some really terrible, wonderful TV, and went to bed.
On Saturday, we got up around 9:00 a.m. again and bummed around the house until it was time to meet Elaina’s friend Lisa for lunch.
We stopped at a terrific natural grocery store, Mustard Seed, to pick up a few supplies, and then had lunch at Aladdin’s Eatery.
Yum! The chili/lentil soup combination with chicken was delicious. After lunch we headed back to “the kitty’s house” so that Elaina could work on her sermon. In what was the height of luxury, Phoebe took a nap while I read a romance novel on the couch with a little portable heater blowing on me. I drank tea and read happily until I fell asleep for my own nap.
When we both got up, Elaina had finished her sermon, so we spent the rest of the afternoon cooking macrobiotic snacks to eat for dinner with the sushi we’d picked up at Mustard Seed. The rice and nut rolls didn’t take too long, and were delicious. The millet and vegetable croquettes with pesto sauce took forever, but were also really tasty. We left Elaina with food in the fridge and freezer!
On Sunday we had to get up at 7:00 a.m. for church at 9:00.
My dad met us there, which was lovely. I was mostly able to listen to worship and Elaina’s sermon. Phoebe did want me to take her to the potty during the passing of the peace and prayers, and when she got back she announced loudly to Grandpa that she had tooted! But I got to sit in on Pastor Elaina’s Sunday School class on the Revelation of John, which was fascinating. Phoebe was delighted to have more time to play with Grandpa. Afterward we went to 3 Brothers for lunch. My Rueben was very good! Dad came back to Elaina’s with us for a while, but left around 3:00 p.m.
Phoebe didn’t really nap, so she spent a lot of the afternoon saying “vacuum, vroom, vroom” and using Elaina’s little vacuum cleaner. She also took most of the books off the bookshelf in the guest room and piled them up.
She played with dolly until her porcelain head and arms seemed threatened, so we put her (dolly) down for a nap.
When I got stir-crazy, she and I went for a walk in the snow that was drifting down. After a dinner of leftovers at 5:00 p.m., we headed to the airport for our flight home. Phoebe slept almost all the way home and couldn’t wait to see Daddy when she woke up!
It was a very successful and fun weekend. The only bummer is that we didn’t take a single photo of Phoebe with her Auntie Elaina. I’m so glad we took advantage of Phoebe’s last free flight before she turns 2 this month!
