The Great American Road Trip

For years, I fantasized about driving cross country, NJ to California.  The southern route, the northern route.  I followed the blogs of the NY Times writer, Matt Gross, as he drove east to west, often to lesser known spots.  It seemed like such a grand adventure.  I had never gone cross-country in my 20's, but I could do it now that my kids were grown.   Then, the negative thoughts would surface:  sitting for endless hours; the cost; safety issues; the wear and tear on my car; maybe too much time alone. 

In April, I traveled to Colorado with a friend.  We went to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Boulder.  I fell in love with Boulder, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me.  I knew I wanted to return for an extended time.  When I got home, I did some research, weighed out the cost and convenience of flying vs. driving.  I talked with family and friends.  I checked with my mechanic.  Finally, I would take the drive, though ending in Colorado, not California.  Good enough!

Stop #1- Chicago to spend the weekend with my daughter.  Taste of Chicago and the beach (Lake Michigan).  The drive took a bit longer than I thought it would, but overall smooth going.  NJ- Pennsylvania- Ohio- Indiana- Illinois.  Route 80 W. all the Chicago, then route 90 W. into the city.  It's great to be here, for endless reasons.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Of course, I knew that Rocky Mountain National Park would be breath-taking. I've seen pictures; I've flown over the Rockies many times to visit family in California. But, that is nothing compared to the grandeur of seeing the mountains in person. There are tree-covered foothills and smaller mountains in the foreground, with dozens of peaks over 12,000 feet in the background. In the northern part of the mountain chain, the famous snow-covered Longs Peak rises to 14, 259, one of 53 "fourteeners" in the state of Colorado. When my friend and I drove into the park, my only thought was, "Why didn't someone urge me to get to RMNP sooner?"

Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses 415 square miles in the northwestern part of Colorado. The mountain chain itself is 2700 miles long, from Alaska to Mexico. In RMNP, a visitor can travel along the top of the range along the Trail Ridge Road, the highest major highway in North America. However, as you would imagine, the road is not always fully accessible, as was the case for me during spring break. Despite the fact that this winter the mountains had little snowfall overall and guides were already worried about water restrictions this upcoming summer, the highest part of the Trail Ridge Road was closed. While there are limitations to the park in April, the huge plus is the small number of people. Throughout an entire day of driving and walking with a friend, the total number of people we saw did not exceed twenty. I'm sure people hiking into the woods encountered fewer than that.

Shopping in New York?

I needed to get out of the burbs for a few hours, so I planned a Saturday morning of shopping and tango in NYC. Shopping meant: West Elm, City Bakery, Paragon Sports, and the Union Square Greenmarket. Tango: meant the morning practica at Dance Manhattan.

Once I got downtown, I stopped at Pain Quotidien, two doors from the 18th Avenue subway. (Last year when I took a tango class on Saturday mornings, I always went to this same spot, either for an apple muffin to go, or a bowl of steel-cut oats and fruit at the communal table. The woman behind the counter still remembered me. ) Next-- West Elm. As I walked, I noticed a line across the street, women mainly, waiting for a David Yurman sale, "30-60% off original prices". At West Elm, I selected two placemats and paid $3.47. Out of curiosity, I went to the David Yurman sale. There were at least 40 people in the sales area, compared to four or five at West Elm. The least expensive items were "specially priced merchandise", $250-$500. To purchase anything else would have required a small loan.

In the next block, I wandered into Books of Wonder, a fabulous children's bookstore. I happen to be re-reading Charlotte's Web, and noticed a copy in their "old and rare" collection. The book contained an inlaid bookplate signed by the illustrator, Garth Williams. The price: $2500. Another purchase I did not make. I crossed the street to City Bakery to buy their "Baker's Muffins" which are worth the trip into Manhattan even if you do nothing else. They're huge yeast muffins with cinnamon, raisins and apples @$4 each. Yum!

I walked another block to Paragon Sports to use a 20% off coupon I got at the Banff Film Festival. I was not successful there, and that was fine given that the sales tax in NYC would have eaten a significant part of the coupon. I looped through the greenmarket, bought Cameo apples, and admired all the cherry blossom branches (too inconvenient on the bus). On to tango.

At tango, the "shopping" is of a different nature. It's rarely comfortable to be a woman walking into a practica or milonga when you don't know any of the male dancers. Often, and especially in New York, guys want to have a sense of your ability before they ask you to dance. Even though I used to take classes at Dance Manhattan, it's been nearly a year since I went to the practice sessions. I recognized a few faces, all occupied. The best option was to take a seat and wait to be invited on to the dance floor. (Grrrr......no women's lib in tango!)

I wish I could say that my experience at the practica was pleasant and inspiring. But, it was not. The first dancer (whom I had met one other time) began to rub my back and neck while we danced, murmuring "why did we ever get out of bed this morning?" I played along, and we danced two sets together. He was clearly popular, with women circling him throughout the morning. The next guy walked away from me after one song saying that he "had to find someone else to practice with." (It is extremely rude to leave a partner before the tanda or set of songs is over.) Did I already say that egos can get very big on the tango floor? Who expects perfect connection after thirty seconds of dancing? The following partner was ok, though stepped on my toe. I accepted another dance with the back rubber, and kept up my "vamp" tango. At least he was a good dancer. The session wasn't exactly turning out how I had hoped, so during a break I packed up, blew a kiss, and returned home for a cup of tea and a baker's muffin that was worth the bus fare.

http://www.thecitybakery.com/

Tango

On Saturday I tried a new milonga. I had attempted to reach this venue once before, after Hurricane Irene. Roads were closed, and the detours led to more closed roads. After an hour and four phone conversations trying to get directions, I headed back home and stopped in at another friend's birthday party. This time, I wisely planned to meet other dancers at their home, and then ride in the back seat of their car.

With a GPS, the driver found the destination easily. Without a GPS, it would be nearly impossible. The building is in Sugar Loaf, NY, down a dirt road and not visible from the main street. It's a beautiful community/cultural center with artwork on the walls, and one side entirely windows. I was warmly welcomed by the host, and hugged by a dancer I haven't seen in two years. That night there were guest instructors, a well-known female instructor from NJ, Carolina Juarena, and a world champion from Columbia, Carlos Paredes. Now, to the heart of this post.

During the lesson, Carlos emphasized that the leader (usually male) needs to look at the woman (the follower), and make a connection with her. The leader's goal is to be sure the follower is comfortable during the dance. And if there is a mistake, it is not anyone's fault. Try again, keep dancing, have fun. And yet... many leaders do not seem to follow this practice and it seems a shame. I had one dance that night that turned out to be unnecessarily stressful as I attempted to follow leads into tricky steps with a man I did not know while dancing in close embrace. Many tango dancers would blame the leader in this situation, with the argument that if he leads correctly, I will be able to follow. True enough. But why even create a situation where the dance is ruined?

A possible answer may be the marked contrast between the way professionals dance vs. the "average" non-professional dancers (most of us!). In Argentina, my instructor regularly reminded his students that professional stunts belonged on the stage, not on a social dance floor. Maybe it's too difficult to resist the fantasy of looking as good as the pro's.

http://www.carolinadancer.com/
 

Merry Christmas

In the locker room at the Y this morning, another woman and I chatted about how we had to take down our Christmas trees today. She informed me that for many people, January 6, or Three Kings Day, marks the true end of the holiday season. She briefly summarized the story of the kings, and concluded with the warning that it was simply bad luck to take down the tree before the twelve days of Christmas passed. For me, last weekend was filled with holiday activities and there was no time during the week between work and dance, so I planned for today. However, with a day filled with sunshine and the warmth of 60 degrees, my tree remains standing, and still decorated. Sigh.

This holiday marked the return of two past traditions: dinner at Union Square Cafe in NYC, and attending The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. My kids and I managed to time our dinner at Union Square to coincide with an absolute downpour. We planned an easy walk from the Chelsea Market to the restaurant. However, that idea changed when by 5pm, it was pouring. Umbrellas offered no protection from rain coming down sideways, and after two blocks we were soaked! We were lucky to get a cab! I will say that the dinner was worth it, but I won't rush back. Service was as good as ever, the restaurant as beautiful as ever, and the food very good, though somewhat drab on the plates.

My son declined a ticket to the ballet, so it was just "the girls." Of all the Christmas activities, The Nutcracker is arguably the most splendid. The music for this ballet was written by Pyotr Tschaikovsky, and adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman's story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Tschaikovsky wrote three ballet scores: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. The first full-length, two act version of the ballet was presented by the San Francisco Ballet in 1944. (The first time I saw The Nutcracker was, in fact, in San Francisco at the Opera House!) George Balanchine's version premiered in NY in February, 1954. Ten years later, the NYC Ballet moved to its present location and redesigned the ballet. From 1964 till now-- almost a 50 year tradition of The Nutcracker during the holiday season! Jen and I loved every minute of the performance from the "growing" Christmas tree, the battle with the Mouse King, the ribbon dancers, Mother Ginger, and my favorite, the pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince.

By the way-- After the ballet, we ate at Nick and Toni's Cafe on 67th Street. (Same owners as the fancy Nick and Toni's in East Hampton.) Salads, soups, pizza, and full dinners. Since it was late, we had pizza, salad and roasted local vegetables. All wonderful. Beware though- my beer was $9!
http://www.nickandtoniscafe.com/