I returned last night from a lovely trip to the States for the big birthday celebration. Despite being a short trip, it was packed with activities.
Will took me to Angouleme last Tues, and my train was on time, which is rare for me. I stayed at a new airport hotel, and liked it much more than the previous one. The flights were on time, and mostly empty, so overall, a very pleasurable travel experience. Mike got me at the airport, and we picked up Dad before heading to Mom’s for dinner. At my request, she made brisket, wild rice and veg – all very delicious. Mike and I paid a visit to our friend Ron that evening.
On Thursday, I went out for all three meals, each one featuring a version of fried potatoes. This is America after all. I met Car for breakfast where I had crab-cake eggs benedict with pan-fried potatoes. I went out to lunch with Dad and had the french dip with a side of fries. The birthday celebration kicked-off that evening, when Mom, Mimi and I took Grammy out to dinner.
We ate at Oceanaire, a fancy fish and seafood restaurant downtown. They have a huge menu, and it was tough deciding what to eat. I started with a vodka martini, followed by shrimp cocktail, seared scallops and blackened salmon that I shared with Mimi. We had asparagus and hashbrowns as sides to complete the fried potato trifecta. It was the actual day of Grammy’s bday, so we had complimentary apple crisp for dessert. Grammy ate well and seemed to enjoy herself. I saw Mike after dinner, but didn’t stay late.
It was unseasonably warm the day I arrived, but turned cold and windy the next day, with high temps around -6C. The forecast was for 6 – 10 inches of snow on Thurs night / Friday, but in the end, the storm passed to the south of the city and we didn’t get any. Mom and I had bagel, lox and cream cheese for brunch. I did my Target run and dropped off my broken suitcase to be repaired in the afternoon. The first big family event was that evening – dinner at Knollwood, where Grammy lives.
There were a number of other out-of-town guests including my aunt and uncles, as well as Grammy’s niece and nephew. Her niece came with her daughter who is around my age. I had only met her once when we were teenagers, so it was good to catch up with her after thirty years. She has a son around the same age as Evie, my niece and all the kids entertained themselves during dinner.
I stayed at Steve and Suzy’s that night and got to spend some time with the girls. The other bonus was meeting their new dog, Ruby. She is a dachshund / beagle mix, and was a rescue dog. As a result, she’s not too fond of men so was very wary of me (and rightly so). She took a few months to warm up to Steve so I didn’t feel bad. We spent the evening playing games including video games, darts and pool. They have an amazing games room in their basement, with the idea that kids will want to play there instead of getting in to trouble elsewhere. We had a few more drinks after the kids went to bed and had a good catch-up.
We had a leisurely morning and then went out for Mexican food at a nearby place that makes their own tortillas. I had a lovely burrito and guacamole, but passed up the chance for a margarita. The younger girls had gymnastics practice that afternoon, and I went along to watch for a bit. Dinner was at Knollwood again that evening, and consisted cold cuts and salads from a nearby deli. There were a few more people there that evening including Bud, Barb and Zoe, so I got to catch-up with them. I also met Addison’s girlfriend Beth who sings and plays guitar, and is in two bands.
Before we had birthday cake, my mom handed out binders to each of the adults. Grammy took a memoir writing course twelve years ago and has been busy working on hers every since. She’s written quite a lot in this time, and Mom made copies for everyone to have. I didn’t realise she’s been doing this, and I’m looking forward to reading them, and having them in my possession. I went over to Mike’s after dinner and we played a few rounds of cribbage, which I lost.
The main celebration was on Sunday when we had brunch at the country club near my mom’s place. There were 42 people, all relatives except for five of them. There were a few cousins and their kids plus a few others that I hadn’t seen yet, so did more catching up. It was a buffet with eggs, quiche, muffins, fruit and waffles, plus mimosas and lots of coffee. We took some family photos at the end of the meal and wrapped up around 1pm. I bought some jeans that afternoon, but struck out on finding shoes.
Mike picked me up that afternoon and brought me back to his place. In addition to Kelly, we were joined by Sam and Aaron, friends of theirs that I’ve known for many years. We had lovely margaritas, and then I had my first taco truck experience. These are becoming more common in the States, but fairly new to Minnesota. They do close for a month or two in the middle of winter, but they were doing a healthy business that late-Feb evening. It’s essentially fast food, but made to order. You get two soft corn tacos with your choice of meat, mostly pork and beef, all with coriander and lime but none of the usual American toppings like cheese and sour cream. We brought a whole load of them back and pigged out. It ended up being a relatively late night since as usual, I had adjusted to the time change the night before going home.
I got up early on Monday to start the readjustment, showered and packed. Mom and I had breakfast that morning at our friend Suzi’s, who lives near downtown. Then we stopped at the lawyer’s for me to sign something, and then Mom left me at Mike’s. I forgot to mention that he and Kelly bought a new place a few month’s back. It’s a cute 3-bed house in SE Minneapolis, not far from where they used to live. They bought it from someone who bought it to do it up and sell it, so it has a new feel to it. I wasn’t that hungry after breakfast, but we eventually built up an appetite and then went downtown for ribs.
We hung out at Mike’s place before he took me to the airport later that afternoon. Although my flights were mostly empty on the way over, they were fully booked for the journey back. I was resolved that I wouldn’t get any sleep but lucked out. The only free row on the whole plane was right across from me and when they closed the doors, I jumped at it. So I ended up with three seats which meant I got a few hours sleep. The flight to Paris wasn’t too crowded either, and both landed ahead of schedule. I got my bag and then took the RER to Montparnasse. The next train from the airport wasn’t till late in the afternoon so I went into Paris instead. I had an hour before my train, but it left on time and Will picked me up from Angouleme around 5:30. We had a pasta meal and watched a Harry Potter film when we got back. It wasn’t the most exciting birthday celebration, but we’re having people over tonight and Friday so it won’t be the last.
In summary, it was a great event and nice to see everyone. Grammy is the first person I got to wish happy 100th birthday to, and I hope she’s not the last.