In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

Preparation

4 Comments

So much to prepare for and the time is passing quickly. The High Holiday season, the Days of Awe, begin tonight and continue until sunset on Saturday the 12th. Holidays continue on the 16th through the 23rd. Carol and I plan to spend the 23rd driving to Cleveland, more preparation. 

After visiting friends from the past in Cleveland we had planned to continue on south to Asheville NC to visit with Leigh and Pat who we have known for more than 24 years.  It appears that Helene has obliterated that plan. Even if they got everything cleaned up and the water supply restored and the campground reopened, I would not want to take our coach on the remnants of the road system in the mountains. This is still subject to change.

This is only one impact of the storm on us directly. Our grandson Corey is a student at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, a tiny mountain town in the heart of the devastated area. He, his girl friend and several other friends got in their cars and somehow managed to get out of the mountains over makeshift bridges and washed out roads to make their way to Dan and Malena’s house to wait to see when the school will be able to reopen. 

That’s about it for the beginning of October. 

Hmm, just noticed that the blog is still on Pacific Time. I will see about changing that.

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

Antisemitism Today

9 Comments

This is a difficult topic both to start writing about and to live with. It has been part of my life since I can remember being part of a mixed community going back to first grade. It was not always blatant and in my face, but it has always been there whether I recognized it or not. My earliest years were on a street in Rochester where three neighbor houses had a total of 21 Catholic children. My best friend from that group started trying to convert me before I was 10. The time period was the mid 40’s to the mid 50’s. I wasn’t bullied any more than anyone, but I found it easier to play with the Jewish children in the neighborhood. We knew who each other were even if our families belonged to different synagogues.

So what is this thing that has a meaningless name? Historically we were a group who refused to accept the common belief structure of the non Jewish people around us as the Christian world developed in the early centuries of the Common Era. The Catholic story convicted us of deicide which set us apart as an evil people. This was consistent until Vatican II when the Pope apologized. By then the idea was well set in people’s mind. Hitler sought to purify the “Aryan Race” and the Jews were the major target of his need to do that. There were other victims, particularly the Romish and Homosexual people. 

We owned a house on Sandringham Road in the town of Brighton. When I read the deed, in 1972, I found that there was a restrictive clause prohibiting the sale of the land to “Negroes and Jews”. This clause was not enforceable by the time we bought, but it was still in the deed. Family members were denied acceptance to UR Medical school in the 40’s because they were Jewish. I remember discussing the quota I faced in applying to Ivy League schools in 1959. The quotas were rising, but they still existed. If you think this is all past history, look at the current debate and Supreme Court ruling regarding admission quotas, Jews may not seem to play in the current rulings, but the very idea of such quotas dates back to the founding of these exclusive schools. Disclosure: I graduated from Brown University with a BA and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business. 

These very schools are facing a significant antisemitic challenge today. The Arab world has refused to give Jews the right to land granted them after World War II by the United Nations. The grant was a division of the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Neither side was happy with the division, but the Jews agreed to make a country in the land they were granted. Within hours the Arabs rose up to drive them out and take all the land. The presence of Jews in “their” land was anathema. Nothing has changed since then. The slaughter of October 7 was a continuation of actions the Arabs have taken against Jews in the land going back in the 1930’s. They are an implacable enemy. 

I feel very sorry for the people dying in Gaza as a result of their leaders refusal to accept the continued existence of the Jewish state. If their leaders want to make it stop, it is within their power to say yes to a cease fire and an exchange of hostages for prisoners. Israel can stop bombing, but that will only encourage Hamas to continue their long game which is nothing less than the destruction of Israel and the massacre of millions of Jews, because once they are “pushed into the sea” they have no place to go. 

The pro Palestinian students either have not followed the logic or they are willing to demand the murder of millions of Jews because “From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be Free” is not just a slogan it is a promise of genocide. In all of this antisemitism flourishes. 

 

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

September – already!

The calendar has been filling to the point that there seems little open time before we load the coach and head west.  We have said repeatedly that Yom Kippur, which falls on October 12 this year, marks the earliest possible start across the country. With no specific dates to be anyplace until a rally in Coachella in December our departure date is still open. We need to plan a stop in Asheville NC which will put a pushpin in our map and calendar. This would most likely be preceded by a stop in Cleveland OH which is just about a five hour drive from Rochester. None of this is in stone – yet.

Our calendar is filled with social engagements, community events and medical appointments. Looking forward to the first two in that group, the last item not so much. Carol has been busy with her “list” trying to make sure we get to see everyone before we get back on the road to California. 

Watch for another post I am working on, contemplating on an altogether different subject.

 

On the Road

Returning from 2 Weeks Travel

Finally a moment to write. We are in a Harvest Host farm in Fort Plain NY somewhere near Utica and close to the Thruway. Out the window there are Alpaca, Sheep and, with a bit of a walk, rabbits and chickens. But this is the last night of the trip. 

We took two nights to drive to Malena and Dan’s place just north of Charlottesville. We set up the coach next to the garage as usual and began 5 nights of feasting. Between caring for the horses, managing the finances of their company she manages to prepare substantial delicious meals. The first full day there we drove out to their new land in the Shenandoah Valley (sort of) to tour the 240 acres of gorgeous  hills and vales and forests and plains they own. Four of us rode in their 2 seat 4×4 Kubota, 3 in front and Malena in the truck bed with cushions. We can’t wait to see how they develop the land as a farm and homestead. 

We spent time with their horses and with them and eventually moved on toward my sister’s home in Vermont. My first route had us passing though DC, Baltimore, and NYC. This was a NO. We routed back up I81 to I84 and stops in Harrisburg PA and the Catskills. The routes in the Catskills were fun to drive if you like rollercoaster travel. 

We had four days with my sister Sandy and her husband David. David was a wonderful tour guide and driver. We toured some special exhibits at the Shelburne Museum where my sister is a board member. Then we drove to Middlebury where there is a synagogue in a house that had been converted by David’s grandparents.  I had to deal with a Jojoba Hills SKP Resort board meeting while we were there. They lent me a room so I could set up my computer for the zoom. Fortunately the meeting  was adjourned in 45 minutes with the work completed. 

We capped off the touring with a stop at the local Conservative synagogue which has a wonderful restored mural that had been “lost” for many years. Then we stopped at Shelbourne Farms for a driving tour of the farm.  After lunch we returned to the coach for some R&R and to begin preparation for the trip home. Dinner that night included Sandys son Steven .

I had let our fuel level get a bit to low for my comfort and I needed a route that would get us to a truck stop that offered our discount program. I found one in Glens Falls NY. On a purchase of 78 gallons the discount was $62. Definitely worth planning a route to make that stop. 

As the sun is starting to set and the breeze is getting cooler we are preparing to eat and get back on the road tomorrow. Although we are within a few miles of the NY Thruway, we are just a few miles further to US 20. It will take an hour longer but there is no hurry so as those of you who have been following us know, we will be running 20 , slower and no tolls, and much prettier than yet another interstate that we know all too well.

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

and Found

When we arrived in Rochester on the coach I wrote this:

Unloading the coach and moving the unloaded stuff into the apartment was time consuming and frustrating. We are prone to loosing things from time to time, but a pound of ground beef? Yup someplace in the coach, the car or the apartment there is a one pound package of ground beef slowly decomposing – gross! 

Today we returned to the coach to run the generator for a while as is necessary to keep things working. As I reached into the Jeep console for the keys I realized the usual keyring was missing. I must have decided they did not need to go to Canada and wait around there for two weeks and taken them into the apartment, Baad Idea. I did have a key to get into the coach, just not to open any of the compartments to turn on the chassis batteries which is necessary to open the slides, and other things.

As soon as I opened the door I knew not everything was wonderful. My nose led me to the refrigerator which stood with doors partially open for storage. Looking inside I found the missing pound of ground beef, or its decomposed remains. I cannot imagine how we left that in the refrigerator after we turned it off, cleaned it and prepared it for storage. I know that I had looked in there several times just to be sure. I have the drawers and shelf in the apartment to clean up. I will plan a return trip in the next day or two to put everything in order. YUCK!

After 24 years of RVing I found a new way to make things miserable in the coach. I do not want to imagine what my next RV problem will be.

UK our 60th

Bookend – Home

1 Comment

Carol and I began our marriage travels with a five week trip to Europe starting in England. After 60 years it doesn’t seem likely that we will be doing any more extended travel overseas. I’m not ruling it out, but there is still plenty to see and do in the US and Canada. We have traveled in 67 countries on six continents. We have been to the top of Tibet, over 12,000 feet, and to the depth of the Dead Sea, about 5,700 feet below sea level, as far north as Fairbanks Alaska and as far south as Cape of Good Hope South Africa. We have driven across the United States more than 24 times in our motorhome and been from the Mexican border to the Canadian Border – and beyond. We are not done, we plan to drive back to California in the Fall and do some other road trips this summer.  

Back to the trip we just completed. We had a day to walk around in Edinburgh and our hotel was just steps away from George IV Bridge which crosses to the area of the Castle. It was a warm sunny day!! and we strolled up toward the Castle area. We never made it since the steps were daunting. We did climb several steps and had two wonderful stops. We found the Writers Museum in Lady Stair’s house (that was her name) in Lady Stairs Close up some steps and it had three main floors covering the lives of Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns.  We spent over an hour there taking in all the information about the writers and the museum. We moved on from there to the National Museum on the way back to our hotel. This may be one of the most confusing museums we have ever been in. The range of material from modern medicine to ancient sculptures with a stop along the way for early steam engines is confusing enough then have more than three interconnected buildings with lifts that go to alternate floors and this tired couple were glad to find our way out after an hour. We concluded the day with dinner at a Spanish Tapas restaurant  before collapsing for a 4:30 AM wake up to be in our taxi at 5:30. 

I will spare you the description of Edinburgh Airport, it may be the worst we have experienced. The flight to Toronto was smooth and comfortable. Our car was immediately available at Park and Fly and we drove to Mitch’s house in the usual Toronto traffic. Carol was adamant we not drive home after the long flight and 5 hour time zone change. Mitch welcomed us to his house, although he was not there when we arrived, it was a work day. We had time with him late afternoon and in the morning – THANK YOU MITCH – before beginning the drive home. 

First stop after Toronto was Hamilton to visit Aunt Dorothy (known as Dodo to us). One does not drive by the home of a centenarian without stopping in. After a brief (30 minute) wait to cross into Lewiston NY we faced a dilemma. Southern route on the Thruway, Middle route on NY 104  or lakeside route, the slowest. After lunch in Lewiston, we opted for the slow route along the lake. Just west of the western end of the Lake Ontario Parkway we found an Amish farm stand we have visited in the past and stop to top up with fresh fruit and vegetables. We arrived at the apartment at 4 PM, a mere six hours for a three hour trip. That would be par for us.

UK our 60th

OMG 5 Days Have Passed

3 Comments

Tony picked us up a the hotel on the 20th to head through the Cotswolds to Lygon Arms in Broadway. I suppose I could recite the names of the towns and villages we passed through and stopped to visit. I am not sure I remember the name of the place we stopped for a pub lunch. It was a glorius day and we settled into Lygon Arms like finding our way home, even though we were only there for a night 60 years ago. Upon taking a look at the rooms we had then we were grateful they were not available. The bathroom was out the door down some steps and back up somemore steps. Our “suite” had a small livingroom a sizeable bathroom and a nice sized bedroom. It is in the sort of old part of the main building – only 200 years old. The adjacent section of the building is about 600 years old. 

We dined in the main dining room where we were to have breakfast for four mornings. The food was very good and we retired to get some rest with no immediate wakeup call since we had nothing planned until 1:30. Yechiel and Miriam Katz arrived just as we were preparing to sit down for High Tea to mark our 60th year. We had a lovely time with champaign and drinks and plenty to eat from the three tiered trays. 

Backtracking: As we walked the town in the morning we heard interesting noises and noted a crowd gathered just down the street from the hotel. A group of Morris Dancers had claimed some space on the green and were dancing.

They really weren’t sideways, but I haven’t yet figured out how to rotate the image – sorry.

We strolled and relaxed and eventually had dinner and prepared for another busy day. We started out going to Stratford-upon-Avon to tour Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Ann Hathaway’s home. After lunch we returned to the hotel for some R&R to return to Stratford-Upon-Avon for dinner and a play at the Royal Globe Theater. The play was Merry Wives of Windsor and a wild bunch they are. The setting was sort of modernized and the dress was mostly modern but the script was pure Shakespeare – well there some modern influences. If you know the play you know it for a very funny story and they played it for all it was worth. We were hysterical much of the time. Yechiel and Miriam Katz were with us in the morning and joined us for theater. 

The following day we set out for The Lakes District with Nicky driving and guiding. We toured and drove and toured and ate and drove until eventually we arrived at Gilpin, a fantastic small hotel in the Lakes District with two superb kitchens. Our room overlooked the front drive and the gardens to the side. Our planned schedule included dinner at “Scene” an Aisan Fusion retaurant with delightful options and wonderful seasoning. The next day included a brief boatride on Lake Windermere to recapture the experience and a driving tour of the Lake District. Nicky is both a wonderful guide and competent driver. We circled the District returning to Gilpin for dinner in “Source” which is their Michelin 1 Star restaurant. We got to the table about 6:30 and were finished at 9, and that was the 6 course meal and only two glasses of wine. I will not bore you with the course by course description (even if I could). Suffice it to say portions were small, spacing was relaxed and flavors and presentation were phenominal. 

I’ll stop here. We are now in Edinburgh having driven all day along Hadrian’s Wall. 

UK our 60th

Who’d Have Thought

2 Comments

When Daniel our guide picked us up at Roseate Hotel, Bath, one of the fist questions he asked was typical “Where are you from?” When we responded, “Rochester”, his immediate response was “Henrietta”!! We were dumfounded! Then he pointed out our hotel is on Henrietta Street and the row of town houses extending up the hill were known as Henrietta with Henrietta Mews extending off through the row. The wife of the family that came into money was named Henietta and apparently she was the strong force. As their wealth grew they invested in land in US and founded the town of Henrietta, just outside Rochester. I will need to look up more details to verify and extend this story, but Daniel’s immediate response to Rochester and the adjacent town of Henrietta sure started out day off in a grand manner. 

He saw to it that we saw most of the sights of Bath from great vantage points and told us the legend of the founding of the town some time in BCE. He left us at lunch and we went on to tour the Roman Baths and make our way around town and back to the hotel. The baths have been the center of the city since its founding well before the Romans appeared. The Romans found the hot water a wonder in the cold wet land. They are the only hot springs in England! They built a complete set of baths with all the typical luxeries found in baths throughout the Empire only here they did not need to bring fuel to boil the water. After the Romans left, the baths were ignored for many years and fell into ruin. People still came to “take the waters” which are said to heal everything, but it wasn’t until the Victorian era that they were rebuilt for the use of the upper classes. Once again they fell into disuse and only recently have new baths been built to take advantage of the hot springs.

Today’s adventure was a tour of 1 Royal Crescent Museum which is located in an end unit of the huge crescent. It is fitted out with furnishing from the 1776 era and the family, represented in audio and videos, are going about living life in Bath. One son is an officer in the British Army on Long Island, the eldest is a wastrel gambling and drinking and the daughters are older teenagers entering society (17 and 19). We were intrigued with this structure since our home in Rochester for 17 years was a much smaller structure built along the same lines as the Royal Crescent including being very tall. This was a bucket list item for us for many years.

More tomorrow as we travel though the Cotswolds ending in Broadway at the Lygon Arms where we stayed 60 years ago on our Honeymoon.

 

UK our 60th

Days 3 & 4 over the top

After breakfast at the Buttery we took an Uber to the Royal Opera House for our back stage tour. It was a grand tour that had us on the green path through the stage area to avoid the moving stage wagons while they were preparing for the afternoon perfomance. We also were taken into the props room, and walked by the wigs, makeup and costume areas. The stage area had enough space for three full sets. By the time we were done the doors were open and the shops were busy.

Rather than fight the lines for food we ventured out into the alternating sun and rain where we found a nice little shop with decent small food to satisfy our need for lunch. 

We went back to our room for some rest in preparation for theater. Dined at Tozi, just a few minutes walk from the theater, excellent foood and service. Then on to Hamilton.

Nobody told us that this was the last performance in a 7 year run! Much of the audience knew and the cast were over the top. We have seen versions of Hamilton, but always on a screen at home and the bigggest audience was with Dan’s family making us a total of 6. The energy of a full house made this a very different experience. We were in tears. Being in a British audience cheering on the Rebels added to the power of the show.  

On to day 4. We went to the Imperial War Museum, Churchills War rooms. These are the rooms where Churchill and his staff retreated to a sub basement that was never intended to be inhabited or to be bomb proof, but from where they fought the war for 4 years. Many of the rooms, especially in the Map Room are just as they were left after Germany’s surrender. The satff walked out, locked the doors and there was no reason to return even to pick up three cubes of sugar secreted in a drawer. We spent a long time there and surfaced for lunch and some rest.

As I write we are packing to be picked up by our driver to visit Stonehenge on our way to Bath.

Paul Goldberg Blog, UK our 60th

London Days 1 and 2

Our flight was uneventful and all the transfers worked as planned. 

The traffic coming in from Heathrow was as expected, hideous. I’ll take LA rush hour – At least you are not driving on the left although what we were doing could hardly be called driving. 

Our check in time was noon and we arrived at the hotel at 9. In a totally zombie state we set off to reconnoiter the area around our hotel – Lime Tree Hotel. Our first objective was to walk to Sloan Square Underground Station as that would be our most likely jumping off place for our tours. Along the way, we passed Victoria Coach Station and found a stand with a young man selling SIM cards so I have a new temporary phone number 07445719345 while in England (and Scotland) or you could send email.

Eventually we got our room and had a chance to clean up and rest a bit before taking a cab to the Shard View. This may be the tallest building in the UK or maybe even Europe at 72 stories. There is an excellent 360 degree view of London, weather permitting. If I show you the pictures you will be none the wiser, its a large city with a large river winding through it. Having had a large breakfast and a reasonable lunch we elected to skip dinner and get some sleep.

Day 2 we had breakfast at the Buttery in our hotel and caught a cab to the Royal Globe Theater for a “Behind the Scenes” Tour. It was more like sitting in the theater while a very talented tour guide tells us the history and stories about the theater and Shakespear. Carol and I got a bit of actual behind the scenes as she elected to get a wheelchair and part of where we went was not accessible and a manager took us very much behind the scenes to access a large elevator intended to move props.

We left the theater (or should that be theatre) for a short walk to the Tate Modern. We spent a couple of hours in the galleries and had lunch in their lovely cafe. From there we set out to take the Underground back to the hotel, but we were both so tired I caught a cab for the return.

Cabs are PRICEY! They seem to be running from 25 to 40 pounds depending on traffic. Meals are pricey. However there are no tips. Restaurants add in from 10% to 15% for service and cabs do not have a means to tip on their epay system. 

The hotel is small. Our room is compact. It is comfortable and if we were not used to our RV I think we might be unhappy. It is clear that at some point they took a nice sized room and built a bathroom into a part of it. It is on the first floor and is the first room one comes to after leaving the lobby, two steps! The staff are very pleasant and helpful. The Buttery is an attached restaurant serving breakfast and lunch. It is not included in the room rate. We are in Belgravia which is adjacent to West End which is a high end part of London the theaters are all nearby.

Today we came back from the gallery and fell asleep for a couple of hours. When we woke it was too late to book a restaurant so we took a walk down Ebury Street to Chucs where had immediate seating and a delightful meal. Carol had a bowl of vegan pea soup and I had a chicken dish. Also some Irish Whisky – West Cork. 

We walked back to the room and are making preparations for tomorrow witha tour of the behind the scenes of the Royal Opera and seeing Hamilton in the Victoria Palace Theatre. We will fill the afternoon with a gallery or museum and maybe a nap.

Seeing the World/Seeing North America