Before I get started, my mother has requested that I put in writing and in public that I asked her to force me to cull my belongings when I get home and get rid of a lot because I certainly do not want to move it all again!Now, we left off with the packing of the car and sleeping. Tuesday (Aug 17) morning we woke up, ate, got ready, did last minute things... it was sort of emotion on hold... trying not to get emotional because we weren't leaving quite yet but sometimes the tears just spilled over. Both my brother and I had a difficult time with our tummies... nervous stomachs, you know. After breakfast and some ginger tea we made our goodbyes (I won't say final because we will all be together again soon, imertzah Hashem - G-d willing). It was a bit of a flashback for me. I remember being at the wheel of my car, loaded up so high I couldn't see out the back, leaving in the morning for Los Angeles. My family all in their pjs waiving at my from the driveway... same deal here only I wasn't alone. My dear brother was with me. I offered to start the drive (Kansas is a good way to get my mind of the emotion... or so I thought). Hugs were given, last minute bits and bobs shoved through the windows and my collective family "pushed" the minivan down the driveway and off we went.I, being who I am, started chattering away uncontrollably. That is one way I deal with the stress and emotion. My bro was rather silent (his technique). And we were off.We got ourselves into the middle of nowhere Colorado and had to make a pit stop (one of many to come). It was at that point that I realized we were really on this adventure and would not likely see this stretch of road for a long time. But more than anything, I was looking forward to making it through Kansas and into Missouri where we would spend the night. That first day was a very long one of driving. 12 + hours!I didn't know what to expect when my brother and I were locked into a fully jam packed minivan for four days. As children we had been known to bicker and fight but as we grew older we have grown closer. That doesn't mean that we don't still bicker on occasion. We helped each other navigate and kept each other awake. We also let the other sleep when needed. We got drinks and food for the other and changed the CD when necessary. In fact, we had a great time with the audiobooks! We listened to the whole of a really wonderful book called Shibumi by Trevanian. I cannot recommend this book enough! There are some slow parts but over all, it is facinating!Anyway, we finally arrived in our hotel in Columbia, Missouri (we thought that was pretty funny as Ronin was on his way to NYC to start Columbia University) only to find out that Hotels.com screwed up our reservation. This seemed to be a theme of the trip and I will strongly tell anyone who asks and even those who don't, DON'T USE HOTELS.COM! They did not get one single thing right on our trip.
Regardless, our hotel was very nice, if smokey, and we passed out. The next day we were off to Cincinnati to visit some landmarks from our father's side.First we saw our great-grandparent's place of internment. They both were very humble people and chose to be cremated and kept at this location. Here is the only real remnant of these two amazing people.Then, by total accident we ended up on Riddle Lane. That name jogged my memory. Where had I heard that before? Ah, of course, my father spoke of it with such fondness. It was where my great-grandparents had a home. We called our dad and found the address. It was easy to find and we snapped a few shots of the iconic porch... well iconic to our father. He has an image of his grandmother holding him as a baby there, as well, it was where they told her that I was on my way!How does it compare?
It is amazing to think that they lived there 60 years ago! It was quite a nice experience.From there it was a short hop to the Hebrew Union College, American Jewish Archives to see our great-grandfather's papers. What a trip!We were brought into this amazing reading room and a cart was wheeled out with boxes of papers that were saved by or for my great-grandpa. Incredible! There were handwritten bills from when he was living in a boarding house in Germany! It had charges for eggs and bread on them! There were also letters that will help us track some family lost in the Holocaust from his side. Ronin and I had an amazing time searching through the papers!
We had such a delightful time. It was so sad when they had to close. From there, our next stop was Dayton. Ronin had a friend to visit and I had a date with a beer and a bed. Both of us had a lovely time!Thursday we stopped once again in Ohio to check out one more spot and then made the long trek to New Jersey. Whew! That was another long stretch. Another 12 + hour day but Pennsylvania was just beautiful. I would love to spend more time there. My only issue was that the highway was a toll way! How annoying! We arrived at the Weber's house safe, sound, and sleepy. After some lovely catching up (we hadn't seen them since Ronin was a baby), we headed to bed for a short sleep.Friday was NYC day... and boy did we need our rest!Tomorrow's edition - Which bridge is this and why did I just pay a toll?
On the road
My brother and I are on the road to NYC right now... A nice brother/sister road trip before I leave for Israel. Don't have much time or energy to write right now but once we land in NYC, I promise to update. And be ready... there is a special friend joining the adventure!Before I leave you, we stopped in Cincinnati today to visit my great grandparents' internment, their home from 70 years ago (I have a picture of my Nanny (great grandma) holding my dad as a baby on that porch and that is where they told her that my mom was pregnant with me), and the archives of correspondence, pictures, and writing that they donated to the American Jewish Archives at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. It was pretty incredible.Here are some photos we took today -
Family in all it's glory
This past long weekend I visited my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandmother in Kansas with my family. We wanted to squeeze a visit in to my grandmother before both my brother and I go off on our adventures. It was an incredible visit. I enjoyed seeing the younger cousins growing up and, as my aunt pointed out with the older ones, the age difference doesn't see quite so huge as we get older (though 30 and 15 are still quite different!).Seeing grandma was heart-wrenching in the best way possible. In fact, just writing that sentence and I got a lump in my throat and started tearing up. My relationship with my father's mother is fairly unique, even in relation to my brother and cousins. You see, I was the first grandchild and for the first six or so years of my life, we lived in the same house with my grandparents. One of my very first memories in my entire lifetime was being not quite two, in my great grandmother's room with my grandpa, grandma, and father the day she died. From my first breath, we were all a family. No lines were drawn between generations. We were all one. On my hardest days I find myself pulling on the memories of us all in that giant house in White Plains, New York. The deck out back where I would swim in a baby pool, the dining room and dining room table where I stole freshly washed grapes laid out to dry, hitting my head on the marble table my uncle hit his head on when he was little, the double attics where my small part of the family lived, feeding the ants on the sidewalk out front with grandma, getting into trouble with my faux 2 year old boyfriend Ricky, stuffing freshly made meringue cookies in my mouth illicitly, or planting MY garden grandma had made for me where the concrete path had cracked. For me, that time in my life is the touchstone. Nothing else ever lived up to the idyllic days of White Plains.Grandparents (both sides... I was the first grandkid all around) were best friends. So losing them has been some of the hardest moments in my lifetime. I remember each one. I remember losing Nanny too (great grandma). And (shhh don't tell) I still talk to them.So this weekend was pretty hard. I came home feeling brittle. Just talking to me could break me. I am straddling this line of adulthood and adventure with the want and need to crawl into grandma's lap and be 3 again.However, despite the difficulties, there were so many joys. My nephew turning 13, watching Mimi and Jonathan interact as very independent 8 year olds, being the passenger for 15 year old Zahava while she drove, and interacting with everyone as an adult. My Aunt Kay and I discovered we were kindred genealogical souls. We both love genealogy and have joined forces to fill out our family trees. It is all so exciting. We made so many discoveries this weekend and it was twice as good having each other to share it with. We found pictures of great great grandparents and lots of papers. But at this moment, I find myself staring at a ring. It was part of what I was given this weekend. My Nanny's college ring. Rose Hentel Cronbach, class of 1914. I remember the day I said, "She's in my heart, poppa," when she died. She's in my heart and on my hand and always with me.Family is just amazing.