Category: Monthly recap

the may cocktail hour: a 40th birthday, a 5th new grandchild, “bonnard’s worlds,” & bleu frog vineyards

wanderessence1025 May 31, 2024

May 31, 2024: Welcome, welcome to our May cocktail hour! I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. It’s the perfect time of year to have drinks on our screened-in porch, although we’ve had a lot of rain in May. Also, the humidity is starting to set in now that we’re reaching into the summer months.

I can offer you some chilled Prosecco or Cava, or any wine of your choice. Mike can make a delicious Hugo or Aperol Spritz. Or we can offer a Michelob Ultra or Hop Slam. I can also offer sodas or seltzer water of various flavors. Salud!

dinner at Cafesano

wine at Cafesano

How is your year going so far? Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any spring getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you enjoyed the simple things in life? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests?

In May, I continued rowing, walking and doing yoga. On one of my walks, I took a nasty fall on the mud-covered paved Glade Trail, where I came down hard on my back and tailbone, both of which have continued to plague me. I was halfway through my walk and people must have wondered what on earth happened to that mud-covered woman trudging through the forest.

We needed to take care of some housekeeping issues, so we had our Oriental carpet cleaned in our family room (finally!). Sadly, we had to fire our housekeeper of 20 years because she had been becoming increasingly undependable and uncommunicative. We hired a new housekeeping service, which at least has given me a day and time slot every two weeks. We started talking to a contractor about renovating our two upstairs bathrooms and had to spend time looking at bathroom cabinets, tile, and fixtures ; none of this is fun as we are doing the renovation for the purpose of selling our house sometime in the next year or two. After a trip to a tile and cabinet store in Alexandria, we ate Mexican food at Los Tios Grill in Del Ray. Again, after another bathroom-shopping expedition in Sterling, we ate dinner at Ariake to reward ourselves for the drudgery of making decisions and looking at bathroom accoutrements.

Mike at Los Tios Grill in Del Ray

dinner at Los Tios Grill

me at Los Tios Grill

Mike at Ariake

me at Ariake

sushi at Ariake

I had lunch at Kalypso with my walking friend Poonam and met Mike at bartaco one evening for margaritas and appetizers.

bartaco

Mike at bartaco

me after we had dinner at bartaco, on our screened porch

I had multiple doctors’ appointments (I don’t know why they’ve now all piled up in May of each year!). This drudgery only added to an already murky and rainy May; the rain is necessary but makes for a rather depressing atmosphere.

Mike and I went to Richmond where we rented an Airbnb and spent the weekend belatedly celebrating my daughter Sarah’s 40th birthday. We all went on a “Sarah shopping spree,” with Mike sitting patiently on a bench and reading the newspaper and Sarah sending me to and fro to fetch outfit options. In the evening, we went out to eat at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen, which we all felt fell short of the gushing recommendations from Sarah’s friends. On Sunday, we went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to see the Japanese woodblocks of Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), strolled up and down in Carytown, and enjoyed lunch at Ginger Thai for Mother’s Day.

Sarah at California Pizza Kitchen for lunch

Sarah and me on her shopping spree

the little princess

Sarah and Mike at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen

me with Sarah at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen

Seared Rockfish at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen – $35 for not much food on the plate!

Sarah at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen

Mike at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen

me at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen

This is a plant (cookie crumble) ice cream

Sarah at the ice cream shop

Sarah and me at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)

Mike and Sarah at VFMA

Sarah and me at VFMA

“Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture,” c. 1939, Watercolor by Kawase Hasui

“Hayama in Iyo, from Japanese Sceneries II, Kansai Series,” Oct. 1934, Woodblock print by Kawase Hasui

“Setakamui Rock, Shiribeshi,” c. 1930, Watercolor by Kawase Hasui

Woodblocks and watercolors at VMFA by Kawase Hasui

“View of Mount Unzen from Amakusa” Nov. 1937 Watercolor by Kawase Hasui

“View of Mount Unzen from Amakusa” Nov. 1937 Woodblock print by Kawase Hasui

outdoors at the VMFA

Mike and me at VMFA

a little church near the VMFA

Sarah and me at the house we lived in when she was 2 years old at 106 Belmont

me on Cary Street

me with Sarah on Mother’s Day at Ginger Thai

We wished Adam and Maria a happy one-year anniversary on the 13th. We were thrilled to welcome another new grandson into the world: little Michael Christopher Dutchak Hernandez was born on Wednesday morning, May 15, at 6:10 a.m. in Nicaragua. We finally chatted with Adam on the 18th; the new family was exhausted and a bit overwhelmed.

Michael Christopher Dutchak Hernandez

Cristy, Mia, Michael Christopher Dutchak Hernandez, and Andrea in Nicaragua

Michael Christopher Dutchak Hernandez

Mikey and Adam

We wished Alex and Jandira a happy anniversary on the 18th. They’ve been sending us pictures of little Allie, who is now 7 months old. Apparently, she’s growing up a storm and is in the 98th percentile in weight and height for her age. We can’t wait to visit them in Atlanta in June.

glimpses of little Allie from afar

We went to see the Japanese movie Evil Does Not Exist at Cinema Arts and we felt baffled and annoyed by the ending. It asks questions of us about how much we can tolerate development at the expense of nature. In the end, we have no answers except violence to both nature and humanity.

We were finally able to see the exhibit “Bonnard’s Worlds” at The Phillips Collection in D.C. We had tried to go on February 24 before our trip to Latin America, but found when we got there it didn’t start until March 2. We loved how Bonnard’s subjects were of his everyday life, but I can’t say I was crazy about the murky figures of his wife, other people and his dog in his paintings. Mike, on the other hand, loved how the artist included the figures of his beloved family in the paintings.

me in front of the Phillips Collection

“Basket of Fruit” c. 1946 Pierre Bonnard

“The Bathroom” 1932 by Pierre Bonnard

passageway with shadows at the Phillips

“Breakfast at Le Cannet (or Breakfasst, Radiator) 1930 by Pierre Bonnard

“Young Women in the Garden” 1921-22/1945-46 by Pierre Bonnard

“Women with a Dog” 1891 by Pierre Bonnard

“Dining Room on the Garden” 1935 by Pierre Bonnard

“Twilight (The Game of Croquet)” 1892 by Pierre Bonnard

“Before Noon” 1940/1946 by Pierre Bonnard

“Steep Path at Le Cannet” 1945 by Pierre Bonnard

“The Palm” 1926 by Pierre Bonnard

“The French Window with a Dog” 1927 by Pierre Bonnard

“The Bowl of Milk” 1919 by Pierre Bonnard

“The Breakfast Room (Dining Room Overlooking the Garden) 1930-31 by Pierre Bonnard

“The French Window (Morning at Le Cannet)” 1932 by Pierre Bonnard

me at “Bonnard’s Worlds” at The Phillips Collection

“Bonnard’s Worlds” at The Phillips Collection

“Studio with Mimosa, Le Cannet” 1939/1946 by Pierre Bonnard

“Bouquet of Mimosas” 1945 by Pierre Bonnard

“Southern Landscape with Two Children” 1916-1918 by Pierre Bonnard

“Bonnard’s Worlds” at The Phillips Collection

“Self-Portrait with Beard” c. 1920 by Pierre Bonnard

“The Lesson” 1926 by Pierre Bonnard

Mike in front of the Phillips

me in front of the Phillips Collection

There was also a much smaller exhibit “Up Close with Paul Cezanne” that we looked at briefly.

“Up Close with Paul Cezanne” at the Phillips Collection

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Rasika, a modern Indian restaurant that is always highly recommended by Tom Sietsema, the food editor at The Washington Post. We sat out on the patio on a lovely and breezy evening.

Rasika

Mike at Rasika

dinner at Rasika

On Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we went with our friends Karen and Michael to Bleu Frog Vineyards, where we shared bottles of wine, ate lunch, listened to music, and caught up on our respective family stories. Karen and Michael always have a lot of tall tales to share about their family and are soon expecting their first granddaughter.

me, Karen, MIchael and Mike at Bleu Frog Vineyards

Michael & Karen, Mike and me at Bleu Frog Vineyards

Karen and MIchael

Karen and me

Mike and me at Bleu Frog Vineyards

On the 30th of the month, Donald Trump was convicted by a New York jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Adding to the twice-impeached, once-defeated, constantly lying, and divisive ex-President’s other long list of “accomplishments,” he is now the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime. His sentencing will be on July 11, but it’s unlikely the convicted felon will see any jail time since he’s a former president. People in power never have real justice served to them.

Sadly, even if Trump is in jail, he can still run for president and can still become president. I can’t even imagine the sh*tload of trouble this country will be in with a convicted felon at its helm, and what kind of havoc this horrible human being will wreak on the world as a whole if he is elected. Something is seriously wrong with both our justice system (with our highly-compromised Supreme Court – the majority of whom were appointed by Trump and other Republicans) and our political system (in which a convicted felon is allowed to run for the highest office in the land). I fear our democratic experiment could very easily come to an end.

The best of news: He’s convicted. The worst of news: He could still become president!

I finished 5 books this month to bring my total to 19/52, my favorites being Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami and Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.

I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the summer.

the april cocktail hour: a week in cartagena, colombia & springtime in virginia

wanderessence1025 April 30, 2024

April 30, 2024: Welcome to our April cocktail hour. I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. It’s the perfect time of year to have drinks on our screened-in porch, with the soft and cool breezes and the trees greening and swirling all around us.

I can offer you some chilled Prosecco or any wine of your choice. Mike can make a delicious jalapeño-cucumber margarita or a great dirty martini. Or we can offer a Michelob Ultra or Hop Slam. I can also offer sodas or seltzer water of various flavors. Salud!

We started our month by finishing our trip in Colombia.

Cartagena, Colombia (April 1-6)

We flew into Cartagena from Medellin on April Fools’ Day; we arrived in Cartagena around 9:00 a.m. and, thinking we wouldn’t be able to check into our room until 3:00, we readied ourselves to leave our luggage and go out to explore. Luckily, our room at Casa Quero Hotel Boutique in the city’s Centro Histórico was ready, so we rested a bit in the air-conditioning since we’d been up since 3:30 a.m. for our flight. We wandered a while in the heat and humidity, admiring the colorful colonial town, and had a superb seafood lunch at Buena Vida before wandering to leafy Parque de Bolivar and admiring the colonial buildings around its perimeter. By then we were sweating up a storm, so we headed to our hotel’s rooftop pool, where we would end up spending nearly every afternoon in the Caribbean heat.

Tuesday morning, we took an hour-long boat ride to Isla Bela, where we lounged in the sun, swam in a clear blue cove, drank coco locos, ate a delicious fish lunch, and took a very choppy (& hilarious) ride back to Cartagena. Wednesday, we took the hop-on hop-off bus, visited the fortress of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, saw the skyscraper hotels of Bocagrande (known as “Little Miami”), and took photos with the palanqueras (women who originally sold fruit from baskets carried on their heads, but now pose for photos for tips). Thursday, I was having terrible stomach problems and didn’t want to venture far from the hotel, so we walked around in an air-conditioned shopping mall and through some parts of our neighborhood. Friday, I finally felt well enough to explore the characterful outer walled town of Getsemaní, with its cute cafes, bars, fruit vendors, umbrellas, flags, and murals everywhere. We spent every afternoon at the hotel rooftop pool, enjoying the afternoon breezes and the tepid but still refreshing water.

Cartagena: pretty in pink

Isla Bela

me at Isla Bela

Mike getting coco locos at Isla Bela

me at our rooftop pool

taking a selfie in the pool where Mike wears a palm tree

Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

view from Castillo San Felipe de Barajas

palanqueras

Cartagena

Mike in Cartagena

Cartagena

Getsemaní

me in Getsemaní

Getsemaní

palanqueras

Getsemaní

Cartagena

The food scene in Cartagena was fabulous. We had excellent meals, and only one was ruined by a too-attentive waiter at Lobo de Mar; he stood looking over us during our entire meal. During our time in Cartagena we ate shrimp on fluffy bao bread, pork belly, camarones, crab meat with rice, pizza, kibbeh and pork wraps, ceviche, whitefish, and sushi. All the food was beautifully presented and delicious.

Cangrejo Buena Vida

me at Lobo de Mar

bao shrimp on fluffy bao bread

pork gyoza at Pezetarian

Restaurante Perú Fusión

Springtime in Virginia

We finished up our trip to Colombia, returning home early in the morning of Sunday, the 7th, after a miserable overnight flight on Avianca. The first week we were home, I felt like a zombie; I took naps several afternoons and felt heavy and sluggish. I don’t know why because there was only an hour time difference between Colombia and Virginia. Now we’re slowly settling in at home, enjoying the near-perfect spring weather. I loved colorful and charming Cartagena, but I was happy to escape the miserable heat and humidity there and return home to cooler climes.

I’m still behind in my reading goals, only finishing 4 books this month, bringing my total to 14/52. I’m having fun immersing myself in books set in Japan as I get in the mindset for our hoped-for trip in September-October to Bali, Indonesia and Japan. I finished A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton (wonderful – about the aftermath of the Nagasaki bombing) and The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns (about all the mixed-race babies born to Japanese women from American servicemen after WWII). I’ve got plenty of others in the pipeline. I’m also in the process of reading Lonely Planet: Bali, Lombok & Nusa Tenggara. I’m busy making lists of places I want to see from blogs and Instagram posts. Luckily I have a lot of time to prepare as we don’t have any big trips planned until then.

We do plan on going to Richmond in May to celebrate, belatedly, my daughter Sarah’s 40th birthday, which was April 26. I can’t believe my oldest daughter turned 40! What that means about me, I prefer not to think about. May should bring a new baby into our family as Adam’s Maria has her son, to be named Michael (not Miguel, as Adam hates that name!). In early June, we hope to go to Atlanta for a week to see Alex and his family, and to hang out with little Allie.

We only saw two movies this month, La Chimera (okay but not great) and The Zone of Interest (which I hated with a passion for too many reasons to count). We don’t binge watch any TV series, but we spread them out over long periods of time. We finally finished up Curb Your Enthusiasm. We love Larry David, but I was a bit disappointed in the finale, which was a kind of repeat of the Seinfeld finale. We’ve been watching a lot of series, but our favorites are Annika, Somebody Somewhere, True Detective: Night Country, Succession, and Better Things. We just started watching Shōgun, Unforgotten, On the Verge, and The Tourist.

I had hoped to visit my sister in Carbondale, Illinois for the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 (Carbondale was in the band of totality), but since we just arrived home from Colombia on the morning of the 7th, I would have had to get in the car and immediately drive 14 hours to get to her house. That wasn’t going to happen. We did have about 85% totality at 3:24 p.m. in northern Virginia and definitely saw the crescent of the sun as the moon moved across it. We saw the overall light dim and we could even see the crescent-shaped shadows under our Japanese maple. The tiny gaps in the leaves acted like multiple pinhole cameras, projecting the sun’s image to the ground.

the dimmed light during the eclipse

us with our eclipse glasses

the shadow box effect

tulips in Vienna

cherry trees in Reston

the cherry blossoms fall

Mike and I officially began collecting Social Security even though Mike is still working. He plans to go hourly in September and be fully retired by the end of 2025. We met with a financial planner who gave us a good idea of where we stand in retirement.

We went to Artie’s for drinks and dinner one night and talked for a long time to a young couple at the bar. We always love the lively atmosphere there.

I was too tired to go to Riverbend Park in time to see the bluebells in bloom, which I do every year around April 7. By the time we finally walked there on the 21st, the blooms were all gone. We met Mike’s sister for Thai food on the 24th at Burapa Thai and Bar, where a woman told me she loved my bag and asked where I got it (I was carrying one of the three mochilas I’d bought from Colombia). I told her I got it in Colombia, and she told me she was Colombian from Bogotá, although she’s been in the U.S. many years. That’s why she’d recognized the bag. It’s such a small world sometimes.

me at Artie’s

what was left of the bluebells at Riverbend

me at Riverbend

Mike at Riverbend

me at Burapa Thai (you can barely see my mochila on the chair)

On Friday, the 27th, we went downtown to see Artomatic, a temporary art installation (closed April 28) that “aims to strengthen the artistic community and build an audience for that community by bringing together artists to temporarily transform available space into a creative place.” I found a lot I liked there, but there was more I didn’t connect with at all. The whole thing occupied an empty 8-floor office space and I’d say I only liked about 20-30% of it. Plus, as it was an unused office space, there were no open windows or air conditioning, so it was stuffy, warm and uncomfortable.

Artomatic: Andreia Gliga “Romanian at Heart”

Artomatic

Artomatic: Laila Kkokabi: Persian Calligrapher

Artomatic

Artomatic: Seinfeld lines

Artomatic

Artomatic: Alexandra Michaels

Artomatic

Artomatic: Bobbi Kittner

me at Artomatic

We went after for a drink at Mercy Me, inside the Yours Truly DC Hotel, and then drove to Falls Church where we finally, after many years, returned to Space Bar, famous for its craft beers and creative grilled cheese sandwiches.

Blossom at Mercy Me

me at Mercy Me

Grilled cheese at Space Bar

Here are a few parting shots from springtime in Virginia. I’m sure summer will be upon us soon enough.

springtime in Virginia

I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for 2024.

a belated march cocktail hour: darina’s surprise visit & diving in to el salvador, nicaragua & colombia

wanderessence1025 April 10, 2024

Welcome to our belated March cocktail hour. We just got home from our trip to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Colombia and we’re slowly settling in at home. I can offer you some chilled Cava or any wine of your choice. Or a Michelob Ultra or Hop Slam. I can also offer sodas or seltzer water of various flavors. Salud!

How is your year going so far? Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or traveled anywhere? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you enjoyed the simple things in life?

We weren’t home for much of March because we were traveling in Central and South America.

I only managed to finish one book this month, Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, putting me at 10/52 for the year. I always get behind on my reading goals when traveling, so I’ll have a lot of catching up to do to reach my reading goals.

On the first day of March, we went to see the fabulous Japanese movie, Perfect Days, which solidified my yearning to visit Japan again; we hope to do so in October of this year. On the second, I met Darina at Washington Dulles International Airport (where she flew in to join a 3-week program of visiting U.S. schools that teach ESL), brought her to my house, drank Mike-prepared Hugos, and ate delicious chicken tortilla soup (also prepared by Mike). After dinner, we drove Darina to the Washington Hilton, where she would begin her program.She was exhausted by a long day of travel and had to get some sleep before a big tour of Washington the following day.

meeting Darina at Dulles

Darina & me at my house

me, Darina, Tatratea and chicken tortilla soup

me, Mike and Darina at the Washington Hilton

On Sunday the 3rd, I met my friend Leah at Joe’s Seafood, where we drank Prosecco, ate a delicious King Crab Louis salad, and talked about travels, Leah’s work, and politics.

Joe’s Seafood

my King Crab Louis salad

Leah and me at Joe’s Seafood in D.C.

a pretty sunset seen out our window

Finally, on Friday night, March 8, I took off for the first leg of my trip to El Salvador. Mike would join me in Nicaragua on March 14. While I was in El Salvador, Alex turned 33; we will go visit his family in Atlanta at the end of May.

El Salvador (March 9-14)

I arrived in San Salvador’s fancy new airport at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 9. After meeting Mario at his sister Sylvia’s house in the city, we drove up San Salvador Volcano to have breakfast in a breezy restaurant. Over coffee and mushroom omelettes, we fell into an easy conversation about our families and politics and reminisced about all the crazy experiences we had in Oman. We then drove to the top of the volcano and climbed endless steps for a view over the huge caldera. We stopped at the city’s Centro Histórico and saw the buildings surrounding Plaza Libertad, including the Catedral Metropolitana and the spectacular new Chinese-financed library, the Binaes, open around the clock every day of the year. The current president, Nayib Bukele, said that these hours of operation were “thanks to the security that now reigns in the country” following the incarceration of nearly 75,000 pandilleros (gang members) in a new high-security prison. I had my first ceviche at the Cuban restaurant, Cha Cha Cha. On the way to Mario’s house northeast of the city, we stopped for views of Lake Ilopango, a crater lake, from the restaurant Ne-Kal.

Mario at Ikatú on San Salvador Volcano

the caldera of San Salvador Volcano

me at Plaza Libertad in San Salvador

Catedral Metropolitana

Plaza Libertad

I stayed two nights at Mario’s house in the small town of Tejutepeque and enjoyed his sprawling and lovingly-tended container gardens, his hammocks and indoor-outdoor living. I gobbled up a delicious appetizer prepared by Mario of cheese cubes, olives and sweet grape tomatoes (poor Mario didn’t get many!); drank a lot of red wine, as we often did in Oman; and enjoyed a continuation of the meandering and interesting conversations that we started over 10 years ago in Oman. After enjoying a stroll around Tejutepeque, we stopped in Cinquera, which suffered much in the Civil War (15 October 1979 to 16 January 1992 – 12 years, 3 months and 1 day). We proceeded to the charming town of Suchitoto, with its cobblestone streets, colonial houses, iconic church and panoramic views of Lake Suchitlan. Back in Tejutepeque, we walked to an expansive overlook over a valley where Mario told me a shocking story of what he found there a couple of years ago. After our day, we enjoyed a delicious shrimp with garlic sauce (prepared by Mario), relaxed in the hammocks, drank wine and talked until the wee hours with Mario’s newphew, Ever.

Mario’s fantastic container gardens at his house in Tejutepeque

Mario with street art in Tejutepeque

Cinquera

Suchitoto

view over Lake Suchitlan

view over valley in Tejutepeque

We visited La Puerta del Diablo, or The Devil’s Gate, in Panchimalco, where we had beautiful views and then visited the old La Iglesia Santa Cruz de Roma, with its ancient statues and elaborately carved altarpieces. We enjoyed “the best pupusas” (according to Mario) at Los Boomwalos and then I stayed in a hotel in San Salvador while Mario stayed with his sister. Tuesday morning, we visited Cihuatán, a major pre-Columbian archaeological site from about 950-1200 AD. We had typical El Salvadoran food at Restaurante Jardin del Sabor. Later, we visited the UNESCO site of Joya de Cerén, which features a pre-Columbian Maya farming village which was established on top of the ash from an eruption of Ilopango Volcano. We had our final dinner at The Green House near my hotel, where again we shared a bottle of wine and chatted and laughed about everything under the sun. We spent our last day at Mario’s favorite beach, Playa Costa del Sol, where we bought a day pass at Hotel Tesero Beach; I mostly cooled off in the pool. Then Mario dropped me at my hotel near the airport for my morning flight to Nicaragua.

me with Mario at La Puerta del Diablo

La Puerta del Diablo

La Iglesia Santa Cruz de Roma in Panchimalco

view of San Salvador from Los Boomwalos

Cihuatán

me at Cihuatán

pyramid at Cihuatán

Mario atop the pyramid at Cihuatán

Mario and me at Joya de Cerén

Joya de Cerén

dinner at The Green House

me at Playa Costa del Sol

the pool at Hotel Tesoro Beach

a painting at the airport that shows El Salvador’s landscape

Nicaragua: Isla de Ometepe (March 14-21)

I arrived at Augusto Cesar Sandino Interacional Aeropuerto in Managua at 9:10 a.m. on Thursday and between waiting for Mike to arrive at 12:45, driving 2 hours to San Jorge port, taking the hour-long ferry to Ometepe and then driving an hour to Balgüe, where Adam lives, we didn’t arrive until 6:00 p.m. After checking in to Totoco Ecolodge, Mike picked up Adam, Maria and the girls — Cristy, Andrea and Mia — and we had a dinner together at the hotel, our first time meeting Adam’s new family. They announced that the baby they are expecting in mid-May will be a boy, and Adam plans to name him Michael Christopher, after his dad (the Michael part).

On Friday, Maria made us a lunch of fresh lake fish which we ate on their front porch. That afternoon, we brought Andrea and Mia to our pool at Totoco and spent the afternoon relaxing and playing with them. Cristy had school and fútbol practice after school so didn’t come along. In the evening, the girls performed a folkloric dance for us with costumes and music and then we all went to dinner at Pizza Mediterránea.

Saturday, we all went together to the Saturday market and in the afternoon Mike went to play poker at Cafe Campestre with Ben (the owner), Adam and another expat guy while I relaxed by the pool for the afternoon.Mike and I had dinner together on our own at Cafe Campestre, where I had a delicious green chicken curry. The girls needed some down time, and of course we respected that the family had their own schedule and obligations.

taking the ferry to Ometepe

L to R: Cristy, Andrea, Maria, Adam & Mia, me, Mike

Totoco Ecolodge (this is our cabin)

lunch at Adam’s: L to R: Maria, Mia, Andrea, me and Adam

Adam’s house (this year he has a new front porch and an outdoor kitchen and bath that is still being constructed) 2024

Andrea and Mia in the pool at Totoco

the girls perform a folkloric dance

dinner at Pizza Mediterranea: Cristy, Adam, me, Mia, Maria, Andrea

Saturday market

Andrea sporting my hat

Volcán Concepcion

We started our Sunday with a lot of weeping as one of the rabbits Adam had bought the girls, Rabbititte, had died. This was their first pet, and they were heartbroken; Adam arranged a little funeral service. Though everyone was heavy-hearted on our way to Ojo de Agua, it wasn’t long before the girls were swimming happily around. We had a big lunch platter and some Coco Locos. The family was tuckered out after the outing, so Mike and I ate dinner at Totoco Lodge on our own.

Ojo de Agua: Adam, me, Cristy & Andrea

Ojo de Agua

Maria and Adam at Ojo de Agua 2024

Mia, Andrea, me and Cristy at Ojo de Agua 2024

Coco Locos at Ojo de Agua

sunset at Totoco Ecolodge 2024

sunset at Totoco Ecolodge

Monday afternoon, we took the girls clothes shopping at a second-hand store and then went to Moyogalpa where Adam and Maria shopped for some housewares. Then we went to Punta de Jesús María, a sandy point that stretches out into Lake Nicaragua. We enjoyed the impressive views of Volcán Concepcion from there, then drove back to Balgüe where we had to wait an hour for dinner at Cafe Campestre, making for some grumpy little girls.

clothes shopping with the girls

me in Moyogalpa

Andrea’s heart of shells

Mia, Maria, Cristy and Mike at Punta de Jesús María

me with Mike at Punta de Jesús María

Mia with her shells at Punta de Jesús María

Andrea, Cristy and Mia, Adam and Maria at Punta de Jesús María

everyone at Punta de Jesús María

Adam and Mike with Volcan Concepcion in the background at Punta de Jesús María 2024

On Tuesday morning, Adam took us to Finca Magdalena, one of the oldest coffee farms in Ometepe. Mike and I took a walk on the beach and had lunch on our own at Büstavö, a Mediterranean Cafe. We spent the afternoon at the pool and were supposed to go to Adam and Maria’s for dinner, but when they cancelled at the last minute, we ate a quiet dinner at Isla Bonita.

On Wednesday, we walked on the beach and relaxed at the pool because the family makes a giant pot of beef stew on Wednesdays that they sell to people in Balgüe. Maria served us some of the stew in the afternoon. We had a farewell dinner together at Pizza Mediterránea.

On Thursday, we drove Adam to Altagracia to pick up two 100 lb. bags of rice to feed the dogs, the pigs and the chickens. After enjoying some coffee at Pan de Mama, we took Adam home and made our way to the ferry in Moyogalpa, where we turned in the rental car and took the ferry back to San Jorge Port. On the mainland, Dani met us and drove us two hours to Managua. We had a 5:25 a.m. flight to San Salvador and then on to Bogotá on Friday morning.

view from Finca Magdalena

Adam and me with mural at Finca Magdalena

a walk on the beach

Büstavö

Maria, Mia, Andrea and Cristy in their dresses

me with Adam in Altagracia

me with Adam having a smoothie in Altagracia

leaving Isla de Ometepe

Bogotá, Colombia (March 22-26)

Our Friday traveling to Bogotá from Managua started at 2:45 a.m. as we had to take a flight from Managua at 5:25 a.m. to San Salvador and then on to Bogotá, where we checked in to BioHotel Organic Suites, a nice hotel in the Usaquén neighborhood, in the northern part of Bogotá. After getting settled in, eating some soup, and getting some groceries at the supermercado, we went to Usaquén Park, where we had a delicious meal at 80 Sillas.

Saturday morning we took a half-hour Uber ride to downtown Bogotá to see the magnificent Museo Botero, primarily housing works by Colombian artist Fernando Botero Angulo (April 19, 1932 – September 15, 2023); it also includes work from Botero’s personal collection. Besides the Botero Museum, housed in beautiful colonial houses with courtyards, other museums are in the complex, including the Colección de Art, which we also perused. We visited the Iglesia de la Candelaria and Plaza de Simón Bolivar (Bolivar was a Venezuelan military and political leader — 1783 to 1830 — who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia to independence from the Spanish Empire). I did a little raw emerald shopping (Colombia is famous for emeralds) and then we returned to Usaquén where we perused the fabulous craft market held in the park and ate sushi at Osaki.

flying to San Salvador at sunrise

Mike at BioHotel Organic Suites

me in the Botero Museum

Botero painting

the courtyard at the Botero Museum

Mike in the courtyard

Botero painting

me with two Botero sculptures

another courtyard at the museum complex

Iglesia de la Candelaria

Plaza de Simón Bolivar

me at Plaza de Simón Bolivar

Plaza de Simón Bolivar

Palm Sunday wasn’t nearly as pleasurable as Saturday because of the huge crowds out and about for the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week). We took a bike tour that was horrible for many reasons, and I wanted out early so we returned the bikes less than halfway through the 4 1/2 hour tour. We perused the fabulous murals at the Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo after returning our bikes. After a delicious but heavy lunch, we went to the Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum), where they were handing out free tickets because it was a Sunday. Thus, it was packed with people, making the visit challenging. It didn’t quite match up to our experience in the Gold Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica last year (a nicer museum and fewer people).

lazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo

me starting with Bogotá Bike Tour

The Bogotá sign

lazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo

me with the little pink VW bug

Museo del Oro

Monday was also a holiday, so we encountered endless snaking lines to get up the teleférico to Monserrate, a mountain that dominates the capital city. Even at the top, there were huge crowds. The priest was giving a sermon in the church which was broadcast loudly on speakers. We had hazy views of Bogotá and its 13 million people (metro area) and did the Stations of the Cross in reverse, by accident. Luckily we topped off our day with scheduled massages at the hotel and a dip in the hot pool on the rooftop. In the pouring rain later, we made it to dinner at Wok, warming ourselves with hot bowls of ramen.

teleférico to Monserrate

Bogotá sign at Monserrate

church at Monserrate

view of Bogotá from Monserrate

me at the Stations of the Cross at Monserrate

the last Station of the Cross

massage beds at BioHotel Organic Suites

Mike in the hot pool after our massages

Medellin, Colombia (March 26-27)

For once, we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn for a flight, as our flight to Medelllin was at 1:30; we arrived shortly after 2:00 on Tuesday. We were dropped by a driver at our apartment in El Poblado, a very upscale part of the city, way more upscale than we expected or are used to. The whole hilly and verdant landscape is dotted with modern high rises where apparently most of the wealthy people live. We went to a fancy restaurant, Niku, for dinner and then took a stroll through the adjacent mall, El Tesoro, where we got lost and couldn’t find our way out for quite some time.

Wednesday morning we took the free highly-rated Real City Walking Tour in Medellin. Julio, a former college professor, was our guide and told us about the history, growth, tragedy and “resurrection” of Medellin. Julio grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, when the Medellin drug cartel under Pablo Escobar wreaked havoc on the city. The tour was excellent not so much for the sights we saw, but for Julio’s informative talk about the city and its struggles. After the tour, we ate at Hacienda Junín to try one of Medellin’s typical dishes of Bandeja Paisa. Then we went back to the Museo de Antioquia, where there was another big collection of Boteros which we weren’t allowed to photograph, and a huge permanent collection, as well as a special exhibit by Dora Ramírez which I loved because of the bold women she depicted in sumptuous fabrics. After our museum visit, I had to search out Janethy Moda, a “tienda de ropa” (clothing store) I’ve been following on Instagram for years. The store was under construction but that didn’t stop Alba from welcoming me in, stuffing me into a hot corner dressing room, and bringing me large handfuls of clothes to try on. I bought five shirts! 🙂

flying into Medellin

Monumento a la Raza

Parque de Las Luces

Palacio Nacional Mall

Iglesia de la Veracruz

Botero Plaza in Medellin

Botero Plaza

view of the Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture from Botero Plaza

Botero Plaza

Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture

park next to main metro station

me, Julio and Mike after our tour

Hacienda Junín

Bandeja Paisa

Museo de Antioquia

Dora Ramírez exhibit

I go shopping at Janethy Moda

Guatapé, Colombia (March 28-29)

We went on an overnight visit to Guatapé, about 2 hours east of Medellin. There are two big attractions in Guatapé: a large rock that visitors can climb, El Peñon de Guatapé (aka La Piedra, or El Peñol); and secondly the famous zócolos (murals) that adorn the colorful buildings in the town. We went to the town first and wandered around being charmed by the colors, the murals and the motochivas (like tuk-tuks but much cuter). We ate lunch at Donde Sam, an Indian restaurant our Belgian driver Peter had recommended. We took a motochiva back to our hotel after a while and lounged by the pool enjoying drinks and a lovely dinner at the hotel.

Guatapé

Mike in Guatapé

Guatapé

me in Guatapé

riding the motochiva

Mike at 1714 Hotel Boutique

1714 Hotel Boutique

Mike and me at dinner at 1714 Hotel Boutique

On Good Friday, we got up early to begin the climb the 720 steps up El Peñol by 8:00, hoping to beat the crowds. For once our strategy worked and we got up there with no lines or hold-ups. The day was overcast and the lakes had been drained visibly from a 6-month bridge repair project, but we still enjoyed the views.

El Peñol

me atop El Peñol

view from El Peñol

Mike atop El Peñol

Then we returned to the town again, soaked up the charm, and happened upon a Good Friday parade with a bloodied Jesus carrying a heavy cross. We had arranged a driver to pick us up from our hotel by 1:30, so we returned by motochiva to the hotel, packed our things and headed back to Medellin.

me in Guatapé

Guatapé

Mike and me in Guatapé

Mike in Guatapé

Guatapé on Good Friday

Guatapé

“our” coffee shop, Folklore

Medellin, Colombia (March 29-31)

Back in Medellin, we had dinner out at an unusual place, La Mayoría Restaurante: Donde Bailan Los Caballos (Where Horses Dance). Cowboys brought around horses to pet, pranced around on them to music, sang songs atop and beside them, and then brought around llamas and cows. The food wasn’t the star attraction although it was pretty good.

La Mayoría Restaurante

Saturday morning, we climbed the hills of El Poblado, straight uphill for a mile to Museo El Castillo, built in 1930 in the Medieval Gothic style. We had to take a crowded 45-minute tour of the house in Spanish; sadly no photos were allowed. On the grounds, people annoyed me with their photo hogging of scenic spots. I quoted Mario to Mike: “People ruin everything!” We visited a little market in El Poblado Park and ate lunch at Tacos el Tigre, then went to the Santa Fe Mall near our apartment, where we bought some things and again got lost in the huge place with its 450 stores spread out over five floors. We had dinner at Saludpan in Laureles, and then beers at BBC (Bogotá Beer Company) where we met three people from Netherlands and had a nice conversation with them.

walking in our El Poblado neighborhood

Museo El Castillo

me at Museo El Castillo

Mike and me at Museo El Castillo

We figured that EARLY on Easter Sunday would be our best bet for visiting Comuna 13, once the most violent city in the world. It was where drug cartels, gangs and paramilitaries operated and killed or displaced thousands of people. Notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar controlled it in the 1980s and 1990s, but even after his death in 1993, drug cartels sought control of the area, leading to more violence. Since 2002, after a military operation, it has gone through a slow rehabilitation and now is an area with colorful murals, graffiti and painted steps as well as escalators to make the climb easier.

Comuna 13

me at Comuna 13

Mike at Comuna 13

Comuna 13

view over Comuna 13

Comuna 13

Thinking we’d like some fresh air after all that intensity, we visited the Jardín Botánico de Medellín, which was okay but nothing exciting. Finally, we had our last dinner in Medellin at an atmospheric restaurant with hints of The White Lotus: Alambique. What a fabulous experience.

Mike at Jardín Botánico de Medellín

Alambique

For some reason, I slept better during our travels than I ever sleep at home. Especially at Totoco Ecolodge on Ometepe, where we were situated high up on the Volcán Maderas and felt fresh breezes under our mosquito netting all night, we slept several nights for 10 hours straight. It gets dark at around 6:30 p.m. every night of the year on Ometepe and the sun rises around 6:30 a.m. leading to 12 hours of darkness and a mesmerizing urge to sleep. I also had more dreams than I ever do.

At this point in our travels, I was bowled over by Colombia’s culinary scene. I would never have imagined such creative approaches to food, presentation and ambiance.

We left Medellin on Monday morning, April 1, for Cartagena.

I hope you’ll share how the new year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for 2024.

the february cocktail hour: good eats, movies, & someone turned 70 (not me!)

wanderessence1025 February 29, 2024

Thursday, February 29, 2024: Welcome to our February cocktail hour, on a leap day! Bienvenidos! Come inside where it’s dry and warm, por favor (I’m trying to practice my Spanish as we prepare to travel to Central and South America). I can offer you some chilled Cava or any wine of your choice. Or a Michelob Ultra or Hop Slam. We are still trying not to drink on any day except Wednesdays and on the weekends, although we haven’t been very successful at keeping to that schedule. I can also offer sodas or seltzer water of various flavors.

Luckily February has been a snow-free month (except for one night where it snowed and never accumulated), but we have had some sub-freezing temperatures. This week we’re having some unseasonably spring-like days, but still with scattered gloomy days. Soon, you’ll hear me complaining of the heat, as we are headed to Central and South America in March. It will be mostly tropical there, with temps in the 90s, although we’ll have some respite in Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia. I’ll write more about that upcoming trip in another post.

Now that we’re firmly into 2024, how is the year treating you? Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you been planning your adventures for the year? Have you had any winter getaways? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines?

At the beginning of the month, Mike and I took a long walk along the C&O Canal in Maryland and enjoyed seeing the churning waters of the Potomac River at Great Falls.

Great Falls, Maryland side

Mike at Great Falls, Maryland side

me at Great Falls, Maryland side

Great Falls, Maryland side

I continued doing yoga once a week, rowing at The RowHouse once a week, and walking the rest of the time (weather permitting). I’m trying my best to stay fit as time marches onward.

LOVE sign in Vienna on one of my walks

I continued my obsession with scanning old family photos and sharing them on Google photos with the kids. I’m also splitting them up between the kids and getting them out of my house. The most surprising (& depressing!) thing was seeing all the horrible hairdos I’ve had over the years. I especially hated the ones of me in super short hair, and weirdly I seemed to have many short hair years. I also made the big mistake of getting a perm in 1989 and had to live with the consequences of having a Brillo-head for nearly a year! Here are a batch of them if you’d like a good laugh.

This is one of my favorites: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 1982

another favorite 1983 Coeur d’Alene

I really hate this haircut

hate this one too, in 1984, with newborn Sarah

me with Sarah in 1984

1984 with Sarah

me with Mike in 1987

me with Sarah in 1987

1989 – the year of the disastrous perm

me with Alex in the hospital 1991

me with Alex in 1991

me pregnant with Adam in 1992

me with Adam in 1992

me at Easter with my friend Julie and the kids in 1993

me in 1993 at Virginia Beach

the family in 1993

me in 1995 at Virginia Beach (Why did I still have short hair?!!)

1997 at Butler’s Orchard with the Beltes

1999 around Easter

1999 with Mike (he still had hair!)

2000 in Virginia Beach

2001 I tried going lighter with streaks

Cape Cod 2000 with the whole family

me in France 2003

2003 on vacation at Cataloochee Ranch in N.C.

2004 in Virginia Beach

2004 at a wedding

2004: The dreaded white stripe down the part line

2004: again, the dreaded white stripe

2005 when I stopped dyeing my hair

2006 in France when I fully went white

I also spent a lot of time this month booking all our accommodations for our trip to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Colombia. After I signed up for the Smart Traveler program, I got a number of warning messages from the U.S. State Department about going to those places. Crime, armed robberies, kidnappings, terrorist attacks: apparently nowhere is safe. I get stressed about traveling under normal circumstances, but I got myself super stressed with all these warnings and then started having mouth pain which I was convinced was a root canal gone bad. I went to see both the dentist and the endodontist, both of whom told me nothing was wrong. They must think I’m crazy as I’ve been to see them numerous times in the past before traveling, and most of the time, it is nothing but stress causing some nerves in my mouth to act up. What is wrong with me?! Yikes.

We went out to eat at some fabulous restaurants: Nanjing Bistro (the first time we’ve eaten Chinese food in ages), Woodlands (our favorite vegetarian Indian restaurant), Ariake Japanese for Valentine’s Day, and Seasons 52 after a shopping trip for Mike’s birthday at Tyson’s Corner.

Nanjing Bistro

me at Nanjing Bistro

Mike at Nanjing Bistro

Woodlands

me at Woodlands

Mike at Woodlands

Mike at Ariake on Valentine’s Day

me at Ariake

sushi at Ariake

Mike’s Ramen at Ariake

Mike at Seasons 52

me at Seasons 52

On Saturday night, February 24, for Mike’s 70th birthday (which was Monday, the 26th), we went downtown to the Phillips Collection. He kept saying that because his 70th was during a leap year, he got to continue being 69 for another year (Sorry honey, but it doesn’t work that way!). We thought we were going to see a special exhibit on Pierre Bonnard, but we found when we got there it didn’t start until March 2. Oh, well, we enjoyed what was there, mostly Impressionist but also other paintings.

Mike at the Phillips Collection

No. 9 by Bradley Walker Tomlin

Red and Red by Sean Scully

The Seer by Adolph Gottlieb

The Repentent St. Peter by El Greco

Afterglow, Galilee by Georges Rouault

Delanta Highlands (from Ethiopia) by Marco Paoli

The Rothko Room

Girlhood by Theresa Bernstein

Hotel Sube by Raoul Dufy

Ginger Pot with Pomegranate and Pears by Paul Cezanne

Mystery by Odilon Redon

Courmayeur et les Dents des Géants by Oskar Kokoschka

Reclining Figure by Pablo Picasso

Autumn by Maurice Prendergast

part of The Immigration Series by Jacob Lawrence

Girl with Plant by Richard Diebenkorn

Portrait of Lotte Franzos by Oskar Kokoschka

Interior with Egyptian Curtain by Henri Matisse

Ponte della Paglia by Maurice Prendergast

Pool by Jennifer Bartlett

Wind by Jennifer Bartlett

sketches by Jennifer Bartlett

After the museum visit, we tried out a contemporary Mexican Restaurant in DuPont Circle that had been written up by The Washington Post, Amparo Fondita. We arrived early, sat at the bar and had drinks and Totopos with three salsas (one a delicious black garlic concoction), and then took our reserved table at 5:00 (I know, early, but it was the only reservation available). There we had delicious tacos and a delicious Tres Leches cake for the birthday boy.

me at Amparo Fondita

our chips and salsas at Amparo Fondita

Mike at Amparo Fondita

me at Amparo Fondita

tacos at Amparo Fondita

Mike and his Tres Leches cake

the birthday boy blows out his candle

On Sunday night, we extended the birthday celebration by going to Mazadar Restaurant with Mike’s older sister Barbara. Then we came home and enjoyed a “chocolate eruption” cake.

Mazadar

Mike at Mazadar

lamb shank at Mazadar

me with Mike at our house

Barbara and Mike

Mike finally applied to Social Security but he forgot to apply on my behalf for half of his income. Thus I had to go sit in the Social Security Administration office for 2 1/2 hours, only to be told I needed to wait until April 9 for my phone interview. Only AFTER the phone interview could I submit the required documentation of my marriage certificate, even though I had it with me at the time I was there. What inefficiency! I was so angry at having to waste so much time all for nothing.

I read 5 books out of my goal of 52 for the year, bringing me to 9/52. The best were An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, a Colombian author. I couldn’t believe how much I loved these two novels, which explored the guilt and moral dilemmas of the Japanese after World War II and the aftermath of the drug wars and cartels of Colombia, respectively.

We also watched some fabulous movies this month, especially the intense German movie, The Teacher’s Lounge, and The Monk and the Gun, which was set in Bhutan. Besides that, we finally finished watching the last of 208 episodes of How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) and the final episodes of The Crown (2016-2023).

Sadly one of our neighbors, Adele, who is only a bit older than we are, passed away unexpectedly. She had been having problems seeing out of the bottom of her eyes since May, and slowly she deteriorated so that she couldn’t walk, was falling down, and finally was on oxygen because she couldn’t get her CO2 levels right. The worst thing was that no one could give her a diagnosis or treatment. It was some kind of mystery illness, which is scary for all of us. We went to her funeral service on the last day of February.

Lucky for me, Darina notified me that she will be flying into the airport near my house, Washington Dulles International, to begin a program through the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia where a group of teachers will visit ESL-teaching schools in the U.S. So I will get a chance to see her on March 2 for a night when we pick her up from the airport, have dinner together, and deliver her to D.C. 🙂

I hope you’ll share how the new year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for 2024.

the january cocktail hour: museum exhibits on the american west, snow days, dining out & movies

wanderessence1025 January 31, 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024: Welcome to our January cocktail hour! I’ve decided to try a revival of my monthly cocktail hour since it is too time consuming for most people to read my year-end recap. I’ll still be doing a shortened version of the year-end recap, with fewer details and photos.

Please come inside where it’s dry and warm. I can offer you a a special cocktail concocted by Mike using Darina’s gift to us of Tatratea, a Slovakian liqueur with 52% alcohol content! (Mike’s cocktail includes coconut water, seltzer, lime juice and mint leaves). We have vowed to have a “damp January,” reducing our drinking nights to Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, although we haven’t been very successful at keeping to that schedule. I can also offer sodas or seltzer water of various flavors.

Winter is here, solidly entrenched, with a few abnormal spring-like days thrown in. We had snow and sub-freezing temperatures the third week in January, which accumulated, stuck around for 4 days, and then vanished with the arrival of oddly spring-like days; this week we’re under drizzle and clouds.

I hope 2024 has started out well for you so far. Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been planning your adventures for the year? Have you had any winter getaways? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines?

I have continued doing yoga once a week, rowing at The RowHouse once a week, and walking the rest of the time (weather permitting). I’m trying my best to stay fit as I get older and approach the big 7-0 in 2025!

I was a bit unsettled as I began the year by reading the book 1968: The Year that Rocked the World. In the first chapter it was mentioned that in 1968, New Year’s Day was a Monday and the year was to be a Leap Year, both of which are true also for 2024. I read about the 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu in Japan and killed at least 64 people. On Tuesday, January 2, I read about the Japan Airlines flight in Tokyo that caught fire on the runway after colliding with a Japanese Coast Guard plane; miraculously all 367 passengers and 12 crew were safely evacuated, although 5 in the Coast Guard plane were killed. I was struck and a somewhat shaken by all of these incidents in the similarity between 1968, a year of upheaval, and in the two incidents in Japan, our hoped-for travel destination in October of this year.

Mike and I went to the National Gallery of Art to see “Dorothea Lange: Seeing People,” mostly black & white photos of people barely surviving the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years. This was fascinating to me as I’d just finished reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah at the end of November. Looking into the faces of people who struggled to survive so long ago, during those awful times, I imagined the characters in the book as those people whose faces were captured in these photos. The exhibit begged for reflection and for gratitude that so far we have been lucky in life.

“Dorothea Lange: Seeing People” at the National Gallery of Art

me in front of the cascading waterfall on the concourse level going from the East Wing to the West Wing of the National Gallery of Art

Christmas trees in the museum gift shop

The other exhibit we saw there was “The Land Carries Our Ancestors,” which compiled works by a group of nearly 50 living Native artists practicing across the United States. Their powerful expressions reflect the diversity of Native American cultural identities and show a deep reverence for the land.

“The Land Carries Our Ancestors” at the National Gallery of Art

We also went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) to see “Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea.” All of this was a throwback to our October trip to Texas and New Mexico, bringing back happy memories of all we experienced out west.

“Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea” at SAAM

me in the courtyard at SAAM

Mike at SAAM

By the way, did you know that almost all the museums in Washington are free? All of the Smithsonian museums and the National Art Gallery are included. Sometimes they will charge for a special exhibit, most mostly they are free. You don’t find that in many cities.

After our museum day, we had dinner at one of Chef José Andrés’ restaurants, Oyamel Cocina Mexicana. The food is always delicious (but pricey), and the atmosphere is fabulous. I have no problem spending money in these restaurants due to Chef Andrés’ involvment with World Central Kitchen, an organization that helps bring food to disaster areas and war zones.

Mike at Oyamel

dinner at Oyamel

Oyamel

We got good news that Alex got a permanent job in Atlanta; he had been working at the company as a temp and his contract ended in January. He begins the new job in on February 5. Alex and Jandira are also moving to an apartment in April that is closer to where they both work in Atlanta. Little Allie is doing great, growing like crazy and wanting badly to sit up and even stand. She will be 4 months old on February 5.

Since we’ve had a lot of miserable weather, we’ve been to several movies this month: The Boys in the Boat, Maestro, Driving Madeleine, and The Holdovers. We enjoyed them all, especially The Boys in the Boat since I’ve been rowing (in a studio on an erg). Also, we enjoyed the limited T.V. series, Lessons in Chemistry, in which the main character Elizabeth Zott also rows, especially to take out her anger over being excluded from the male-dominated scientific community during the 1950s.

We ate out at Artie’s, one of our favorite restaurants, where we like to sit at the bar and chat with Remy, the long-time bartender there. I enjoyed Bibimbap at Maru with Mike, and we had steaming bowls of Ramen with our friends Karen and Michael at Jinya Ramen Bar. The soup hit the spot as the temperature outdoors was about 19°F. Brrr. We also discovered Mazadar Restaurant, about 10 minutes from our house. It features food from seven countries, including Turkey, Greece, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. I can’t believe we have never encountered this delicious restaurant in all the years we’ve lived here.

Artie’s

Mike and me at Artie’s

Artie’s

Oyster salad at Artie’s

Tex-Mex eggrolls at Artie’s

me at Maru

Mike at Maru

bibimbap at Maru

Karen & Michael at Jinya Ramen Bar

Ramen at Jinya Ramen Bar

Mike and me at Jinya Ramen Bar

all of us at Jinya Ramen Bar

me at Mazadar

appetizer meatballs at Mazadar

Mike at Mazadar

lamb shank at Mazadar

Mike finishing up his lamb shank

We took several hikes in the snow, in below-freezing weather, mainly just to get out of the house. We never had any snow to speak of last year, so it was our one opportunity to get out in it since we have no idea if we’ll get any more this year.

First snow January 15

Second snow January 19

Second snow January 21

January 27 Lake Anne (All the snow has melted)

We’ve booked our flights to visit El Salvador, Nicaragua and Colombia in March. I look forward to visiting my friend Mario in El Salvador, Adam and his new family in Nicaragua, and doing the tourist thing in Colombia.

Other than that, I’ve been super busy trying to scan all of our family photos and share them in Google Photo albums with my adult children. I’m then dividing the photos between the three of them and getting them out of our house. It’s time to start decluttering so when Mike finally retires, we will be able to move somewhere smaller in short order.

I read 4 books this month, out of my goal of 52 books this year, my favorites being At the End of the Matinee by Keiichiro Hirano and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

I hope you’ll share how you’ve launched your new year, and what plans you have for 2024. 🙂

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Cartagena, Colombia (April 1-6)

Springtime in Virginia

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El Salvador (March 9-14)

Nicaragua: Isla de Ometepe (March 14-21)

Bogotá, Colombia (March 22-26)

Medellin, Colombia (March 26-27)

Guatapé, Colombia (March 28-29)

Medellin, Colombia (March 29-31)

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