Heading Home

Obviously we've been home for a little over a week.  We were busy going through 5 months of mail and accumulated duties.  I'm finally getting around to working on the pictures to send with the entries

9373 This is why I really don't like people who use tablets as cameras.  First, they block everyone else's view. Second, since they are hard to operate (the button to take the picture is hard to get at, they're never sure if the picture has been taken, they hold the darn thing up until they inspect the picture they took) and this causes them to hold the thing up forever.  When they take video you will never get to see the event if you're behind them.  It's just plain rude.  Why not just hold up a big cardboard box to block everyone else's view?

9374 Much better!!!

May 10 – QM2, NYC & Bethlehem, PA.  We arrived on time and in the fog at the pier in Red Hook, a part of Brooklyn.  It was an easy morning for us.  We reserved a private car to take us to Manhattan to get our rental.  They gave us Light Blue baggage tags and that's a big deal because the people who travel in suites and eat their meals in the Queens Grille are the only people who get them.  Pretty much allowed us to leave the ship anytime we wanted to.  We had to be out of our rooms at 8:30 and were supposed to leave the ship by 8:50 to get to our car.  When we got to deck 3 we just got in the line and went off immediately.  That meant we were early for our car but it just happened that there was a van there and they put us and another couple in it and off we went.

We weren't due to get our car until Noon and we were at the rental agency by 10am.  They had my car ready and we were off.  I asked for a Chevy Impala because of the great trunk they have.  I got a Ford Taurus and if you load the bags just right they all fit so no big deal.  Plus the Taurus gets better gas mileage than the Impala.

In no time we were in Allentown and after dropping our bags off at the hotel we headed over to see my Aunt Irma.  She's the only one still alive from my Mom's family.  She's my Mom's younger sister.  After Mom died I lived with Irma and my cousin Darrell until I graduated from High School.  I am really grateful for all the things she did for me and I love her dearly.  I don't get to see her as often as I should.

Her son Darrell and his wife Connie were there visiting for Mother's Day so it was a great afternoon of reminiscing and catching up.  Darrell is my double-cousin.  My Dad's brother, Bobby, married my Mom's sister, so Darrell is a cousin on my Mom's side and a cousin on my Dad's side.  Plus we grew up next door to each other and I lived with them for about 18 months.  I see Darrell as more like a brother and since neither he nor I have siblings I guess that's as close as either of us can get.

Well tomorrow I want to look around my old stomping grounds and touch base with my Cousin Freddy.  He's six years older than me so that means he's OLD.