On the Road with Dad to visit the new addition

Andrew and Jennifer's Sawyer Adams Landstrom was born on July 15th, and thankfully everything went as well as hoped, except for the tragedy of the missed final Harry Potter movie. Mom was able to stay in Rochester with the family for a couple days after the birth, then just after she returned to Raleigh, Dad and I decided to drive to Minnesota to have a visit for ourselves. We spent two days in the car, appropriately listening to the audio-book of 'On the Road', and enjoyed the greenery along the way.

I think this was in Kentucky

I couldn't believe my eyes; a Rally's in Indianapolis. I hadn't seen a Rally's since growing up near one in California.

It is nice being in Rochester with the newly enhanced Landstrom clan. I haven't seen them since Grandpa's funeral a year and a half ago in Colorado, so it has been wonderful to visit and spend time with Carter. Carter is such a good kid--leaning towards the mild and sensitive side--and really fun to be with, so I wouldn't mind staying for much longer. Poor baby Sawyer is still too tiny for my comfort level so I am afraid I haven't been much help in that department. Andrew has been on call almost the entire time since we have been here, so Dad and I are happy to lend a hand as we can, so that means lots time with Carter playing frisbee and t-ball, walking the river trail to the grocery store, checking up on his dinosaur, and watching 2-minute monster truck videos!

These could be branches but they are more certainly a dinosaur skeleton. We had the duty of checking up on it twice a day to make sure it was ok, until a lawnmower got hold of it yesterday. A terrible loss indeed, but Carter said he was ok with it.

A rare spotting of Andrew. He was 'allowed' for the first time to skip work and go to Jennifer and Sawyer's doctor appointment.

We had a special dessert one night at a great, local ice cream place. I got a kick out of all the Midwest, Scandinavian (slightly chunky) blondies in the shop! After leaving Italy, one notices these things.

Yesterday was extra special in that we managed to get Jennifer and Sawyer out of the house for a few minutes to join us at the county fair!
This little guy for some reason reminded me of Lorenzo. I don't even know what kind of animal he is.

Pink was Carter's favorite color, until Dad had to go and ask him what color those "scary" pigs were.

I love the giant corn rising above the horizon

Corn dog time!

I had never seen award-winning veggies before

I was pleased to make the acquaintance of the Best in Show

And the prize-winning baked goods :o)A big family dinner!

While at the mall today, once again I had to notice that nearly all the kids were blonde. Silly me for thinking it was a recessive trait!

Chatting with Seth for the last time before he left Florence. His plane should be just about to take off from Milan right now. I can't wait to see him and Lorenzo in Boston tomorrow!

Dog days in Raleigh

The last days in Raleigh were spent catching up with friends, eating BBQ in Chapel Hill, and finding good books to read while I still have the time. There was even a surprise visit by Gina, Adah, and Kate when they passed through NC during their road trip through the south. It was great to spend the afternoon with them, especially since Seth and I didn't get to see them off when they moved from Massachusetts last summer.

Dinner in Chapel Hill to celebrate Christina's birthday

Dad and I spent the day at an auction out in rural Wake Forest. There was lots of good southern culture going on here.

What do you do with Meghan when you have a little time to kill? Hang out at the pet store with the rats.

More rodent spotting. This is raw entertainment.

La Passeggiata

One thing I have sorely missed the past few weeks is walking--whether for pleasure or for necessity. In Italy, as in many countries, in fact, towns and cities are not designed for motorized transportation and walking is still the major form of getting around. It is easy, too--the butcher, baker, market, post office, school, etc. are all within a few minutes away by foot. Owning a car is not necessary and is in fact burdensome. (Where in the world would you park it, anyway?) So for longer distances, bike, motorbike, or public transportation would more than suffice. Sure, there is the downside of walking in poor weather and facing an occasional inconvenience (what to do if you must go across town asap but the bus would take too long?), but this is usually overlooked as a fact of life and quickly ignored.

In Italy, even if someone doesn't have to walk somewhere, they just love strolling for pleasure: what they call una passeggiata. On any given afternoon or early evening nearly the entire city hits the road and walks up and down the main pedestrian-friendly streets (gli strusci), often with gelato in hand. Whole families, people coming home from work, old couples arm-in-arm, kids, everyone is always out walking, often bumping (quite literally) into neighbors and friends and catching up on the latest news. This must serve a huge social function, which I imagine anyone would agree contributes to longevity and overall happiness.

I recently read that the average American walks only 1.4 miles per week. While in Florence I probably walked 3 or 4 miles a day, admittedly because I usually had to, already I miss it. I feel so lazy sitting back all day in a semi-reclined position; I can almost feel my muscles atrophying. I try to think of errands that would involve walking (we live about two blocks from a large shopping center), but I usually feel like a weirdo crossing the large intersection without a car to help. The drivers whizzing past me stare. Dad likes to remind me of the time he and Mom decided to do the unthinkable and walk the 7 minutes to the nearby grocery store and they were discovered by a neighbor driving by in her SUV. She stopped, asked if they were ok, and offered them a lift!

I would just get up and go for a walk but the weather and the UV index are so unfavorable that I wait until after dinner when the sun is nearly gone (the benefit of being in a city like Florence is that the buildings provide a respectable amount of shade). Dusk is a great time to be out; the birds have reappeared briefly for an evening snack, the fireflies begin to light up, and the roads are nearly car-free. However, there is nothing social about this passeggiata. I usually only pass a couple dog walkers, and of course the dogs almost always bark at me. From the road you can see through curtainless windows and it is no secret where everyone is -- after a long day of sitting in a semi-reclined position at their desks, they are in front of their flickering big screen TVs, letting their muscles atrophy.

A different sort of Americana

The days following the wedding were spent with Mom's family, though Dad's family continued to make guest appearances, and we were accompanied all the while with huge amounts of food.

Tasty homemade banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches)

One afternoon Dad had the brilliant idea of going to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Park. It would have been wonderful if it was not 1pm and in the mid 90s. I don't know who was crazier, Dad for suggesting or me for caving in and actually going along with him. The birds and other wildlife knew better than us--they were certainly laying low.

Hot and dry, we didn't see a single piece of fauna

In the other direction we had a perfect view of the Rockies, completely unobstructed by trees and other things of interest

Dad and Uncle Peter carrying Austin. Austin was the only smart one.

At least there was a 'lake'

Back at the house, food was being prepared!

Uncle Mark, Aunt Gayle and Erik were invited for a little cultural lessonTiny quail. I felt bad eating such a little bird, plus there was hardly any meat. One of the tables (there were probably 30 people scattered about the house)

The next morning, July 4th, started off all-American with brunch at Denny's with the Donnellys. Gosh, I sure had been craving pancakes for the past few months!

In the afternoon we went to celebrate the 4th with a sort of cookout. Here is the view of Aunt Nancy's yard from Uncle Tan's balcony. They live next door to each other.

Lynn doing Mom's toes

Remember those quail from last night? Well here are their eggs, wrapped in ground shrimp and deep fried. I couldn't quite get myself to try one.

Uncle Tan and Uncle Kiet putting the finishing touches on Uncle Tan's new smoking lodge.

My youngest cousins on Mom's side. Somehow this reminds me of 15-20 years ago, when I used to play with my cousins on Dad's side.

The ladies of the grill. Aunt Amy and I tried to pick up a few secrets from Aunt Lieu.

Grilled mussels and kababs

The women's table

The men in their cave

From the balconies we could see, just above the highway, a few fireworks

The next and final day, a visit to see Grandpa

The night before we left Colorado we had one final family dinner at a restaurant specializing in Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), and Danielle, who lives only 20min from Aunt Amy's house, joined us. It was nice to see her and to confirm that she survived her trip to Italy.

The next morning I woke up at 1:30am (I probably should have just pulled an all-nighter), reacquainted myself to the treadmill, then headed to the airport at 3am for our 6am flight. Conveniently for us, Uncle Kiet works early mornings at the airport and drove us, along with Uncle Peter, Austin, and Angeline, who were on their way to Virginia that same morning. Mom went her separate way to Minnesota to be with Andrew, Jennifer, and Carter as they await Baby #2. Dad and I took our leave to steamy old Raleigh.