The extraordinary adventure continues in NYC.....

I took turns laughing hard and screaming.

"This is crazy you guys....crazy"

My kids laughed at me.

I clutched at my neck trying to keep the hood of the ultra-thin plastic poncho on my head.

I would laugh when my eyes were shut and scream when they were open.

I'm scared of heights....I get ...the vertigo...the world is spinning.....and you're gonna fall feeling....when I'm someplace high up....especially if I don't have a sense I'm enclosed and on something firm.

Hence....99% of roller coasters are a big no-no (only the Disneyland ones which are in a mountain or inside something are okay) and now add to my list of big NO-No's are double decker tourist buses.....crossing ultra high bridges out of NYC.

Yep....I was sitting next to the rail on top of one of those open air double decker tourist buses.....crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn....when I opened my eyes ...all that I could see were the choppy greenish waves of the bay below me.

Oh....and one more thing.....we were crossing this bridge in the middle of a violent thunderstorm....with strong winds whipping at us.....sheets of rain ...tearing at the ponchos ....and lightening .....white and zig zaggy and dangerously close by.

The kids ...thought the whole scenario was extremely cool and funny....the dangerous weather ..the double decker bus....and their mom....in mortal fear.

We hit Brooklyn.....and it stopped raining.....but within ten minutes or so....started again.....the clouds.... dark gray and low and ominous. Something in the back of my head kept saying.......are these tour bus operators crazy???? There are like 20 of us on top of this bus.....aren't they worried we are going to get struck by lightening?

Apparently not ...cause they were the ones who handed out these flimsy little ponchos.....to keep us on the tour......a two hour tour of NYC.

We arrived in NYC on Saturday after dropping my hub off at the airport. The four of us piled into a cab with enough baggage to look like we were heading off to Europe.....and we had the traditional death defying ride into Midtown Manhattan...with a cab driver who would suddenly lift both hands off of his steering wheel while driving.....a move which frightened me....and made the kids nervous too.

While the luggage was being unloaded out of the taxi....one of the kids spotted those touristy double decker buses go by.....and suggested we do a tour....so we could see good portion of the city in a small amount of time.

We bought tickets...the sky turned a grey..... but.....we were too excited ......to worry about the weather.....until we boarded the double decker bus.......we made it through Times Square and were headed toward the Soho District....when it started to rain.... the skies opened up with a thunderous crack of lightening....and buckets of cold rain pelted us.

The tour bus folks handed out ponchos.....which....(like total tourist boobs) we put on.....the guide kept talking and pointing out things as if nothing unusual was happening.....sometimes it was raining so hard.....I couldn't open my eyes.....they were shut by the huge drops flying into my face.

"This is cool," said one of my sons.

"Can you see anything?"

"No, but its funny."

People huddled under awnings and doorways on the street...thought the same thing....because sometimes....they would look up.....and see us folks in the pelting rain in our ponchos.....and they would cheer.....or give us the thumbs ups sign....cause we....well ....looked so ridiculous.

By the end of the two hours we were drenched......totally....and of course the thunderstorm stopped.....long enough for us to get clean dry clothes go out again.....and get wet again.....

But the kids were good troopers and you do what you have to do.....so we walked around....scuttling from awning to awning.....looking into windows and getting a feel for the city.

By late evening our tummies were rumbling.....the tour guide suggested a diner near our hotel...and though I was leery of taking the advice of the guide.....the diner was close by our hotel.....so we walked there....settled ourselves....and then looked up startled as one of the waitresses jumped up to the ledge between the top of the booths.....and started singing.

I mean not just singing....but belting out a tune......and she was GOOD....really good.....and then another waiter started.....and since they were popular songs....my daughter and I sung along...like most of the patrons....except for a few folks like my sons....who were enjoying the theatrics but wouldn't dare bop along or sing....because that would be uncool.

I was pretty impressed....this is the one of the first tourist touristy places....I was really enjoying and having fun in....and the food was good too.....this was novel for the city.

Sunday we were ready to face another day......we watched weather reports on the TV before heading out to prepare ourselves.... the weather was supposed to be improving throughout the day....the boys had to take a train from Penn Station at 3pm out to the Long Island airport so we didn't have much time to spare and I was hoping we wouldn't spend more time in the rain.

Tour guide Mommy started the ambitious whirl wind tour .....Rockefeller Plaza...the NBC shows....St. Patrick's Cathedral....the Apple Store...and then the subway down to Battery Park to hop on the Statue of Liberty tour.

All was going remarkable well....the kids were loving every minute of it.... I was non-stop talking and telling stories....hand me a microphone and I could have entertained a crowd .....

But oh ho....the process for getting to the Statue of Liberty was messy and long....security....scans.....big crowds.....we got on the boat to the island.....and I got nervous....this was taking too long.....and we still had to get back to the hotel to grab the boys luggage.....

The kids were enjoying the view off the boat....when my son pointed out a wall of gray coming at us from the left side.....what?.....in two minutes.....the boat and the bay were encased in a thick massive rainstorm .....up and down we bobbed with the winds and the rain....slowing our travel time even more.

By the time we got to the island.....we realized we couldn't get off and walk around....because we had to get back to the dock....and on our way....it was already past 1pm and we had less than two hours to get luggage and boys to the train station.

The next hour was like a scene from a crazy movie...we ran to the subway after we exited the boat....the machine was not working for tickets....a Chinese guy crammed us in the revolving turntable two at a time....using his card to swipe us through.....if we gave him the fare....(he made a 50% profit on this illegal activity)...we took the wrong subway....because it was Sunday and there was a schedule change some cards marked north were going south....we jumped on to another subway train at the next stop and asked the crowd where the train was going........we somehow got back to the hotel.....grabbed stuff.....hopped into a cab .....ran through the Penn station....trying to figure out what to do..... which way to go .....got the boys tickets.....and made it....with a few minutes to spare....cause the train....thankfully was running 15 minutes late.

As the train pulled out....my daughter and I almost collapsed....

"I NEED A DRINK ," I announced to the crowd of Long Islanders waiting for their trains.

My nerves were shaking and raw.....but she suggested we catch the subway to the Art Museum....and seeing art would calm me down.

Which it did....and although we only had about an hour in the museum....we both found paintings and work we enjoyed and were new to us......when they shooshed us out at closing time.....we treated ourselves.....to a nice cab ride back to the hotel....no walking ...no subways....just door to door service....without thinking.

We ended the day at a wonderful restaurant......with excellent wine and delicious Italian food.....and New Yorkers....all around us....living and talking about their busy lives.

Today we shop in the city....then head back out to Long Island....she will head home in a day....sooner than our original plans.... she has a interview for a promotion at work....and so must get back to Ohio.

I haven't planned my solo days yet....it's been too hectic moving bodies and being the travel guide....once she leaves ...I'll decide how to tie up this extraordinary adventure.
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The Kids are Here...the Kids are Here.......

I can't tell you how excited I was to see them all get off the plane.....it seems like forever since we were all together.

We hopped in the car ...tossed in duffel bags....and started on our way to our rental house......wait....oops.....what's that.....smoke coming out of our engine!!!!.....really.....an impending radiator blow out....so we turn around ....keep our fingers crossed and smoke on back to the airport.

Of course they didn't have any more mid sized cars....so ....we pulled out of the rental car lot in some type of SUV.....that probably gets 2miles per gallon....and gas ....out here on Montauk Point....is running 5.00 a gallon. Well...it was that or walk....lol

As soon as we arrived we hit the beach......and how fun.....to see the kids running away from cold water waves....looking for shells....and fooling around with each other......and laughing.....that was the best thing.....to here them laughing....

Tomorrow more beaching......more exploring and hiking.....a trip to the light house....and dinner as family again.....how sweet some small simple things are.....

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Out to Sea........

So this is how it’s going to end…..I thought…nibbling on my clam strip.

I ditched tornadoes in Omaha…..Chicago….and the South….only to be swooshed away on a strip of beach on Long Island….How ironic.

I wonder what the folks would say at home.

"Did you hear about Gina and her hub….they got blown away in a lobster roll?"

"What were they doing in a big bun?"

"No no they were in a skimpy fish shack called the Lobster Roll…..and got blown out to sea."

I ate another clam strip (they were too good to leave behind…) and waited for my Dorothy moment.

The wait staff looked pale….they had already battened down the shack….secured the awnings…..locked the windows.

The hostess ….a young pale thing…..maybe 18 years old…..gazed out the doorway saucer-eyed and stood absolutely still……as if somewhere…. in some fish shack manual….it said …..if there’s an impending tornado….stay calm…. gaze out the doorway…..and stand motionless next to your podium.

A few minutes ago…..a woman arrived at the restaurant….dripping wet from the gale outside and announced….there was a tornado reported down the road.

Everyone gasped and looked out the windows…..she sat down….however, and picked up a menu….I guess if you’re at a famous fish shack on the Montauk highway….you might as well place your order…..

it could be….after all…. the ultimate TO GO order.

The lights went out…. came back on….then went out again

The storm….sheets of rain with wind that shook the shack was not letting up. 20 minutes ago we were driving down the highway under overcast skies….where did this monster storm come from?

Since there was no place to run to or hide…..it made sense just to stay put….but as an experienced duck-and-cover-here-comes- a potential-tornado-person…..I knew the thin wooden walls of the old fish shack would probably hold for only a nanosecond or two….if the real thing was bearing down on us.

Still….I asked my husband to sit at the end of the booth seat…..he rolled his eyes….but complied.

“If the place starts to go….we can dive under the table.”

“You’re kidding ...right?.”

“Well it would give us something to do as the place blows away.”

I continued to eat my golden delicious clam strips ...as water dripped from the window next to the table….….leaves and bits of trees flew by outside.

The hostess remained firm at her post.

Gradually….the rain stopped…..and the waiter appeared to remove my plate.

He looked relieved we were still on Terra Firma.

“Would you like dessert?”

“Yes …Please,” I said with true joy....

because you should always celebrate not getting blown out to sea in a flimsy fish shack on your vacation.

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To amuse myself while the storm raged.....I doctored a little sketch the restaurant gave out to kids to color while waiting for their food....

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On to our second casa.....this time on the other side of Long Island

We're at our second casa......the rental house on Montauk....which is at the tip of the ocean side of Long Island. It's quite a cultural jolt....to move from what feels like a quaint town in New England to the"Hampton Scene" on the other side of the island.

I think we were both disoriented by all the bodies and cars.....and the change in attitude......in Orient.....we were the "outsiders".... tolerated guests......but here....this is a tourist culture and although I know there's an "innie" crowd.....the famed Hampton folks.....its much more of a free for all.

Our house is located in "Digger's Ditch"....which is a small cove of beach....known for it's huge waves......and surfers.

Hit the beach yesterday afternoon.....and I could hear Beach Boy music in my head as I watched all those guys and girls in their wet suits on their boogie boards. I actually thought (for just a second) ....hey I bet I can rent a board here.....but then I realized they have to give me ...arm floaties ...those inflatable little tufts they put on the arms of toddlers..........cause I don't think my natural swimming talents are good enough for the tough waves and surf here.

There's another beach down the road....which I call...."the flat beach".....it goes along for miles.....in either direction.....beautiful....fierce waves.....thundering sounds....and all sand.....in fact....you can hardly find a pebble or a shell on this baby...quite a change from the last beach. We walked for miles on this one last night.

A woman on the beach told me yesterday....that it was 100 degrees in New York City....I couldn't believe it....I thought she was joking....as we had temperatures in the 70's on Orient....but sure enough I googled it...and she was right.....this morning....I opened our balcony door.....and whoa....it's feels like its 90 degrees....and its only 9am....

So all I can say is.....it's time to hit the beach!!!

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Sacred Spot along the Sound........

Sometimes in my travels....I come across places that feel sacred.

I'm not sure analytically why a particular spot makes you sense something extraordinary....why it sings to your soul and requests or even demands you consider the bigger picture....but without a doubt these places exist.

In my wanderings up and down this long pebbled beach on "Orient Shoal".....I noticed this outcropping of rocks from a distance. A modest group of gigantic boulders rest on the beach....almost as if someone casually tossed them there to add to the scenery. My scientific husband explains they are the debris left from an ancient glacier with stopped advancing here and created Long Island.

Each rock is different....different markings....different colors. The ice tore them from their original homes in Canada.. Maine....New Hampshire. Some rocks are submerged at high tide...and wear limp brown seaweed during the day....which rejuvenates each night. Other rocks have soft sides of green algae.... some have jagged edges from erosion. Snow white herons and dark black cormorants.....perch on the rocks.

Every day since I have been here....I walk around or sit among them for a while. I feel safe and settled and at peace with them. I smile at their fortitude....no storm....no waves....nothing moves them. They will outlast me and my concerns and my little life by millions of years....it makes everything I am worried about seem very small. I walk away from them each day....and feel like they have realigned something in me during my visit. I like to think they have hidden magnets in them....which straightens out my wayward tendencies. I think I should set up camp and stay with them for a month or two....to gain certainty and fortitude in my thinking.

This evening I walked miles in the opposite direction to visit another grouping of rocks...I thought hey....if there's one sacred spot on this beach....maybe there are others.....it was a tough walk on large wobbly stones.....when I finally reached the rocks....it took me less than a minute to realize......they were duds......they didn't sing.....they had nothing to say....dullards of the boulder and other world....but it did make me appreciate my little spot even more.

Tomorrow is my last day at this house.....and it will be my last day at the sacred spot....I decided to write my wishes and dreams on a little paper tonight and leave it with them in the morning........tuck it in a secret little opening in one of the rocks.....you never know....the weather might be too nice....the sound might be too calm....they may be looking for something to do.....and of course.....it will be nice to know I'll be there too for a little while longer.

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Rain Day...................

It's a big rainy windy day here.....the storm started around 4:30 am....the roof and some of the windows are complaining with extra loud sighs and creaks. I can already feel where the cold drafts are in this hundred year old house....and wish I had some of those long stuffed "draft pillows" to put against some of the doors.

I'm on my second cup of coffee but I am not disappointed by the day.....there's small tasks that need to be done.....dishes ...a bit of laundry....a quick run to the grocery store.....and I'm enjoying the books I brought....I decided today felt like the "right day" to crack opening "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."

In January I stopped writing....ironically a few weeks afterwards....I received second place in a writing contest judged by African journalists and just before I left....my award arrived....the huge two volume set book called "African Ceremonies." I actually met the authors....two intense women....one from the U.S. ...the other from England...who have spent ten years photographing ceremonies. I didn't meet them at a book signing or in a home...but on a back road in Niger....they had called our guide, Alberto, via satellite phone to let him know they would be in the area.....and we were in the area.....and so the arrangement was to look for each other's caravan. Amazing....our drivers found their drivers .....and we spread a blanket on the sand at our rendezvous point...and talked to these women....listening to how they crept across borders without visas...were chased by government officials.....or members of particular tribes who had qualms about being photographed.... some people believe a part of your spirit is attached to your image.

Anyways......I started doodling last month....( stick figure doodling)....and I brought the drawing book along to advance my doodling. I can't figure out if I'm going to write again or when.....I have brought projects along....but I feel like a wine bottle....corked and capped....and I just don't know if I can open up or even if I want to anymore....it is something I hope to figure out while I'm here.

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Beach Life.......

This morning, for the second morning in a row.....the sweet chirps of meadowlarks have been my alarm clock at dawn. The house if full of sunlight .....and I slip out of bed to try and make coffee ....quietly.....which is task....since this house is a hundred years old....and many floor boards has something to say when you put your weight on them.

I love this place....the hamlet of Orient....the old houses.....the small scattered farms.....and the ability to see both the Long Island Sound.....and the Bay which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

I already collected a few real estate magazines for the area.....but owning a home here....would be in the "something to dream" about category....since many of the small historic homes run at least 1 million dollars.

But that didn't stop me from walking around the hamlet....and deciding which one or two I could live in....which garden would be perfect with only a few more flowers or a nip and tuck on an overgrown shrub. One of the historic homes even had an open house on Sunday....priced to sell....at 800K.....it was an odd ..quirky....beautiful old house.....but even I knew that a few of the floorboards felt way too soft (possible joist rot?) and the kitchen was left behind in the 60's......and one bathroom looked like it needed lots of work. Sometimes I watch those stage your home to sell shows on the Home and Garden Channel....and I'm able to pick out suspicious decorating touches. In this house.... a bright new luxurious shower curtain hanging in an out of date bathroom made me suspicious. Pull it aside and uh huh....yes.....the bathtub from hell.

There's lots of wind on this point of land....strong wind....not the kiss of a gentle breeze....so it's interesting to be out and about....walking down the narrow old streets or on the beach. You don't have the pleasure of introspection or getting caught up in your own internal thoughts.....because the wind bats at you....as if to say....think of me think of me....and you do....it's almost like a child tugging on your sleeve for attention. And it's not necessarily a bad thing.....since you feel the sun. ....the smell of water....the constant russle of leaves in thick old trees...and of course the wind....tossing your hair around....making your windbreaker or t-shirt into a sail.

Today we will go into the bigger town of Greenport about 6 miles south of here....to buy groceries....and walk around. I'd like to pop into the library and look at a history book of the area....and there are numerous art galleries along the main drag....which my hub hopes are closed on Mondays...to help me avoid temptation.

I finished one book....from my pile....a book I brought along because it was so small....The Story of My Life....Helen Keller. It's only 75 pages....but I was astonished.

I could not phantom....and still can't.....how a woman who was deaf and blind....and unable to speak well....could acquire the education, sophistication, and communication skills (in writing) which she did. For example...she attended Radcliffe.....and graduated. She studied through people spelling each word into her hand....or reading embossed text books.

Okay...can you imagine someone spelling an entire book into your hands? or touching someone's lips to read what they are saying....at a college level? The woman also mastered French and German....and was fond of German literature. I have all my senses and I can speak "pig" rough French and read enough words to get me down the street and into a coffee shop. Fini. That's it.

Possibilities......we simply limit ourselves and sell ourselves short some times.
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Texture.......

I put this photo on my desk.....to remind myself why we're going to Long Island and NYC this June. This is a picture of my kids about 10 years ago in Florida. My littlest one....who is now 6'3" and a senior in high school is the sand Merman.

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I imagine this will be one of our last family vacations for a while.......my daughter is working with autistic children in Ohio and hopes to get into a behavioral psychology grad school program this year. My oldest son now has a job and little by little is becoming more independent. Mr. Merman....is going off to college....to Iowa this fall.

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It's cliche to say you are startled to discover your kids are growing up....but I feel both startled and proud of them....a few years ago I found myself walking on a beach on Long Island....and I was so taken by the crashing waves, the slant of the sun and the wonder of the place.......that I wanted to share this with the kids.....and create an adventure they would remember ....something they would talk about...at future family gatherings ...."Do you remember the time we went to New York and......."

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As I surf the web till my rump is numb..... trying to figure things out....and gasping at the cost of rental cars and hotels.......I remind myself.....that one of the things I do best....(besides being stubborn) ....is planning....and organizing....(you want to get from A to B....call me)....and this is my opportunity to shine.

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I'm a lousy domestic diva....a stern and sometimes pushy Mom.....and a tireless soap box orator on facing fears....getting out there.....and experiencing people and adventures in your life....so you end up textured.

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It would be easy to go back to Florida....easy to arrange this some place else.....but I wanted all my kids to learn that challenges are okay.....that taking a risk with strange hopes and dreams in your heart is an okay habit to get into...

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I stumbled onto Long Island and found wonder.....

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Now let's see if I can stumble and find a way to get #1 son and #2 son and #2 son's girlfriend out of two different airports on the same day......lol

( I know....mega sentimental idealist....bend me over and spank me.)

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