Miles's blog

I finally made it to Florida. I am officially out of Stamford for good.  My landlord was extremely nice to allow me out of my lease without penalty.  I am now in St. Augustine, Florida.  Susan and I drove down here last week.  We saw Meg dance, which was wonderful.  It is so cool that Meg is a member of a major modern dance company (Trisha Brown Dance Company).   They danced at the Park Avenue Armory in New York and received numerous reviews.  Because Trisha Brown is so famous most of the reviews centered on the choreography and the set, which was designed by Robert Rauschenberg.  The dancing itself was almost an afterthought, but was often described with words like “wonderful,” which it was. (This review has a picture of Meg with her last name spelled almost correctly.)

Sometimes I have to remind myself that the terrific dancer I see onstage is my little girl.  Of course, I can see it is Meg, but still, to watch her dance so well with so many other great dancers is a true joy.  Meg invited me to watch one of their rehearsals, which was open to the public.  It was interesting to see professionals at work.  They go about their jobs so, for lack of a better word, professionally.  They work quickly, each one well aware of what the others are doing.  I am really happy that Meg is able to dance at the highest levels.  It means all of her hard work was worth it.  As for me, every parent drives their kids around, waits for hours, and suffers through watching a bunch of other people’s kids just for an opportunity to see their own.  I have watched some truly painful dancing waiting to see Meg perform.  Her success is very gratifying, but I can’t say it made all that driving and waiting “worth it” because I would have happily done it whether or not Meg became a professional dancer.  I am gratified that Meg can pursue the career she desires.

I am hoping to go to Los Angeles next spring to see Meg dance. I think they will be there for a while.

Susan and I made a mini-vacation of our drive from Stamford to St. Augustine.  We lucked out on the weather.  Although it was hot (around 95-100 degrees most of the time), we missed some pretty big storms.  We first went to Baltimore, a city neither of us had been to before.  The hotel was really nice. I think our suite (they upgraded us due to some sort of conflict) was bigger than my Stamford apartment.  It got great reviews on TripAdvisor and for good reason.  Baltimore seemed to have some very interesting sights.  I wish it was cooler. We would have gone to Ft. McHenry and walked around the Inner Harbor area more.  We were only blocks from Camden Yards but without sufficient time to take a tour.  Maybe next time.  The hotel turned us on to a wonderful restaurant.  We started with some exceptional Oysters Rockefeller and Susan ate a really good lobster roll.  My dinner was good, too. 

The next day was a brutal drive in wilting heat to Fayetteville, North Carolina.  There was nothing in Fayetteville, except a place to sleep for the night.  I had stopped there on my previous drive to Florida and I am glad we stopped there again.  Traffic congestion and road construction made this day a brutally long drive.  But we felt lucky.  Although we went slow, we never encountered a major traffic jam.  The opposite direction of the highway had a monumental jam which would have strained the engine’s cooling ability, my stress control skills, and certainly Susan’s patience with me. 

We stopped for two days in Charleston, South Carolina.  I had never been there, and it is a lovely echo of the antebellum South.  Many pre-Civil War homes still stand and quite a few are open to the public.  We did not tour any this trip, but we did take a bus tour of the city. 

Charleston has a historic open market area.  It has been there for hundreds of years.  Every day dozens of vendors display their wares, from jewelry to comic books to clothing to artwork to souvenirs in an open-air market.  The markets sits in the middle of Market Street, which is lined with restaurants, and food emporiums.  There are so many wonderful sweet shops I have no idea why the entire population of Charleston doesn’t weigh 300 pounds.  I could not resist some mouth-watering fudge.  Once they gave me a taste it was all over.  I tried to control my cravings, even leaving the store (called “The Fudgery”) entirely, before succumbing to my sweet tooth.

Susan and I also took a boat to Ft. Sumter.  For those of you historically-challenged, Ft. Sumter is where the Civil War started in April 1861.  South Carolina was the first state to secede, and they fired the first shots.  They took control of Ft. Sumter, and never lost Charleston during the entire war, until near the end.  The Park Service gives a nice tour.  Like many older facilities, Ft. Sumter is notable for how incredibly small it is.  I never cease to be amazed at the privations people tolerated in the past.  A hotel room without cable tv is difficult for me to endure.  Trying to imagine how men fought wars in cramped quarters with no creature comforts at all is mind-blowing. 

Our hotel in Charleston was very nice.  Every morning they served a continental breakfast in the lobby and each evening there was wine and cheese.  Yes, we helped ourselves to all of it.  After all, is there better food than free food?

I will be in Florida for a month or so before returning to Colorado.