The Curtis Clan - Fall 2016
Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice
October
Bethany and Randy celebrated their 15th Wedding Anniversary by taking an extended weekend trip to Nashville at the beginning of October.
and yes the girls inquired as to why they weren’t going too...
On the way down, we made a side trip to Scratch Brewing in Ava, IL, about ½ hour northwest of Carbondale. Definitely a destination sort of place as it isn't really on the way to somewhere else, despite it being just 10 miles off a straight line between our house and Nashville (and yes Randy’s enough of a Google Earth Nerd bird to have measured it). The organic, locally grown microbrewery / restaurant lies at a dead end, off a side, of a side road in sparsely populated Illinois. We enjoyed the wood fired pesto pizza along with a wide variety of beers from foraged ingredients such as carrots, goose berries, mushrooms. The home grown hops covered up much of it the variety of flavors in the beer (arguably beneficially so) but it offered a fun afternoon destination.
We stayed at the airport Marriott, where we had stayed a time or two with the kids en route to other places. For dinner, we found a good Indian restaurant outside of Vanderbilt University campus area followed by a coffee and a donie at Krispy Kremes. The “muzak” at KK included an eclectic collection of Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne singing Cole Porter tunes, mixed with the Supremes, and Simon and Garfunkel’s Baby Driver, causing us to linger over our coffees instead of just heading out. Returning to the Marriott, we drank White Russians and enjoyed SNL lampooning the Presidential debates.
On Sunday morning, as the Marriott was remodeling their concierge lounge, they comped us buffets at the restaurant for the three days of our visit (Loaded cream cheese and lox bagel…Yummo!). Afterwards, we headed downtown to the Frist Art Museum but arrived a couple hours before it opened. We ended up walking down Broadway to the Nashville River and back through the live music district (including a photo op in front of the USACE Nashville District). Although Sunday morning, the bars were hoping with day drinkers including bachelorette parties on human powered pedal bars down the middle of the street. We thought there may have been a Titan games latter in the day to explain the crowds (the stadium was just across the river) but no it was apparently just another non-eventful fall Sunday in Nashville.
Returning to the Frist, a stranger shared a BOGO for tickets so we got in for half price to see the limited exhibition: Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975. We took the opportunity to choose his and hers dream Ferraris: 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO and a 1961 Ferrari Super American. We also got to see a Newcomb pottery exhibit upstairs, which was pretty cool. Afterwards, we headed to the Greenbrier Whiskey Distillery for the last tour and tasting of the day. Although not typically, whiskey drinkers, we were tempted to purchase some to take home. We capped of the day with a Double Feature at the Regal Multiplex: Bridget Jones 3 and Bad Moms.
| Her Ferrari dream car (1961 Ferrari Super American) |
His Ferrari dream car (1962 Ferrari 250 GTO) |
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At the buffet Monday morning, the spinach, tomato and goat cheese omelet made one forget the joys of mere bagels and lox and ruined regular cheddar as anything but a second choice option in an omelet. After breakfast, we visited the Belle Meade Mansion and had an excellent tour guide who really knew his history and was a bit of a showman as well. Following a soup and salad lunch at Newks, we headed off to the relatively new Lane Motor Museum (getting in for ½ price with our tickets from the Frist and the Italian car exhibit). The LMM is an open showroom of small, foreign cars primarily from the 1940s thru 1970s housed in a former bakery warehouse. The museum exceeded our expectations; particularly their collection of micro-cars and their tiny engines was fascinating (Randy’s 1988 Geo Metro 3 cylinder 1 litre wonder car would have been huge by comparison). They also had an example of the best looking production car ever, the Jaguar XKE, which looked fabulous even painted in Sable brown. An unexpected treat.
We returned back home on Tuesday, recharged for another 15 years of marital bliss…OK so maybe we will need to recharge ourselves again a time or three sans children in the next 15 years. ;)
Annual Fall Camping Trip
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Entering the Pulltite campground
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The next weekend was our annual fall camping trip. We took the girls out of school on Friday and headed south. We decided to skip the Pizza Inn Buffet in Salem for lunch, instead the choosing the Main Street Café and were rewarded with much better food (best fried catfish ever?). This was our 5th year staying at the Pulltite campground along the Current River in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The cast of characters and the itinerary stays generally the same with communal campfire with hollow log fires every night following dinner.
| Hollow logs fires |
Current River paddlers |
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On Saturday, Randy and the girls joined most of the group for a float trip down the Current River from Aker’s Ferry back down to the Pulltite campground with Randy and Cate sharing a canoe and Jane in a kayak. It was a beautiful fall day for a float trip.
| Jane promoting staying hydrated |
Cate in the Legend of the Spooky Spring Cave |
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| Whitewater Jane |
Lunch time antics with Baby Carrie |
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Pulltite group all packed up and ready to go after a group picture
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Saturday, 15 October was a busy day for the Curti clan with Cate going to her second Fortnightly dance
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Cate at 12 (going on 22) heading to Fortnightly
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Bethany going to see Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen live at the Fox
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Bethany, Elisabeth, Grant and Hannah at the Fox
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And Randy being a chaperone for Jane’s Girl Scout overnight at Camp Tuckahoe in Troy, MO. The scouts and women chaperones all got to stay in cute A-frame tree houses while Dad got his 22 year-old tent. Other dad volunteer at Tuckhoe provided instructions to the troop on the archery and canoeing activities and there was lots of free time built into the agenda including a craft project of making spooky, ancient texts from old books, glue guns, decoupage and paint. Jane made one for Cate too.
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Jane with two tomes of terror
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The next evening we gathered for some Sage FFF with a celebratory pizza for the Indy J Sages in town to complete a half marathon at the STL Rock N ‘Roll Marathon.
West Coast
The following week Randy traveled to San Francisco to conduct research at the regional archives, allowing him the evenings to hang out with his college roommate Jake and his wife Andrea. Watching the final Presidential debate with them at the Chapel concert space in Mission District with politically liked minded people was fun. On Friday, Bethany and the girls flew out for a long weekend to go see Randy’s Dad in Monterey/Pacific Grove. Friday night we stayed up at Marriott SFO which pleased the family with its terrific view of the runways and well supplied concierge lounge. As it had been 6 years since they had last been to the area, Randy and the girls did a quickie sightseeing tour of San Francisco at night enjoying Lombard Street; Fisherman’s Wharf, Marina District, Golden Gate Bridge and Mel’s Diner on Lombard and serious amounts of traffic (which had been absent earlier in the week).
| Bethany and the girls connecting thru the Denver Airport |
Randy and the girls at the Golden Gate Bridge (after getting chased off at the 9 pm curfew) |
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On Saturday, we drove to Pacific Grove to visit Randy’s dad. Gaye took Bethany and the girls on a drive down CA Highway 1 towards Big Sur while Randy spent time with his pop.
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Cate and Jane at Rocky Point overlook
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Ron was in the midst of downsizing to a smaller space and was eager to pass on some his prized possessions to the family including his best Wedgewood pieces and examples of his remaining Smith and Wesson (S&W) Model 1s and 2s for the girls to each pick one out (Ron is arguably the leading expert on the S&W Model 2). He’s placed one of his earliest S&Ws and a Model 2 aside for Randy and the girls, which made him very happy (While guns, these historic revolvers are museum pieces that would likely be as dangerous to fire for the shooter as what was being aimed at, if we had any bullets for them). The Wedgewood collection he’s already passed onto the girls is even more impressive. The trip also gave Jane and Cate the chance to talk to their grandfather about their trip to BWCWA, which he did with the Boy Scouts ~65 years ago. It was nice for all of them to get to share their tales. It was a good visit that everyone treasured.
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Curti with Ron
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| Curti with Ron and Gaye |
Three generations of Curti |
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Halloween
On the Saturday before Halloween, Randy spent the day helping the girls make their Halloween costumes: Ghostbusters reboot jumpsuits and a proton pack for Jane (and her friend Ella) and horns for Cate’s interpretation of Maleficent from Angelina’s Jolie’s reboot of the Sleeping Beauty villain (i.e. misunderstood and misrepresented). The girls’ costumes came out better than expected but Randy’s impersonation of hunky but dim Kevin from the Ghostbusters (aka Chris Hemsworth) was less successful as many adults hadn’t’ seen the rebooted Paul Feig film to catch the reference or the Thor length hair had them confused with the Kate McKennon character. Trick or Treating on Monday along with their friends (Ella, Zoe and Sophie) was somewhat limited due to it being a school night.
| Curti in costume |
Ghostbuster Jane wit Proton pack |
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| The girls performing thier Trick or Treat skit. It was quicker than jokes and as Seinfield told them the motto is "Get Candy! Get Candy! Get Candy!" |
Goofing around with a Staypuff Marshmallow Man |
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November
The first Saturday of November, Randy and the girls made a short trip to Six Flags trip to renew their Season Passes as required by the fine print on the marketing deal to get free parking etc on their renewals but they (i.e. Dad) forgot the paper work to actually do it and had to go again on Sunday (NO it couldn’t be done on line as they took finger print scans of each of us). On the bright side, Jane overcame her fear of the next level of roller coasters by riding the American Thunder a few times and taking a ride on the Screamin’ Eagle for the first time in 9+ years.
| Jane with her Screamin'Eagle cone |
Cate and Randy on the Tower of Power |
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Before leaving, we made sure to use the meal plans to get ice cream each day.
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ICE CREAM!
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Election 2016
With the polling data, the Curti looked forward to Election Day Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Randy got up early to vote and was the 27th person in line 20 minutes before the polls opened. Bethany was proud to have the girls with her, as always, and particularly glad for another "first" of voting for a woman to be President. (Next time Jane will be voting too!). Lots of other Democrat’s Facebook posts that day showed other women proudly taking their daughters to the polls, wearing pantsuits in solidarity to vote; or placing their” I Voted” stickers on Susan B Anthony’s or other suffragettes gravestones. Things were very upbeat and we even had an impromptu Election results viewing party with some neighbors that started out well but soon grew dark and depressing as every one of our candidates except the local State Senator and Representative lost. The results were arguably less painful as a group of likeminded people made similar comments and witticisms as it became clear that the Urban Liberal Elites may have won the popular vote but it wasn’t going translate to the Electoral College.
| Jane and Cate on Election Day 2016 |
Jane and Cate on Election Day 2008 |
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The sun did come up the next morning after an unpleasant election evening but this was the start of clear, daily dread and anxiety about the direction the country was headed and profound disbelief at whom the country had chosen as President. As to what comes next, we want to be clear and on record, it wasn’t our doing.
On 10 November, Cate and Jane performed cello in the Hixson Orchestra Concert. The Celtic Fiddle Tune and 1812 Overture were fun if the rest of the arrangements were unfamiliar educational fair.
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Jane and Cate ready for the Orchestra concert
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After the Hi-Pointe classic film in November, we swung by the Muny for a Garage Sale of costumes, props and signage. It was pretty picked over by the time we got there but it was fun to hang out on the stage for a bit and take some pictures out front.
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Cate and Jane share a laugh in front of the Muny
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In mid-November, Randy had a work trip to Fairbanks, Alaska (Fort Wainwright), where it was only mildly cold (mid-20s during the day). On the way back, he stopped in Anchorage for a day at the Alaska District, and enjoyed seeing the wildlife right outside the fence to the front parking lot.
| Randy outside the Alaska District |
Fairbanks Grand Slam - Hell Yeah! |
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The girls with Aunt RoRo on Lucy's 1st Birthday
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On the movie front for the quarter, we took in: Star Trek Beyond (three thumbs up and one down); a screening of Nicole Kidman’s gothic thriller The Others at the WGPL; the dated Tracey & Hepburn political State of Union, directed by Frank Capra at the Hi-Pointe in November with We’re No Angels and White Christmas as the December showings in their classic series; Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children with Randy and Cate taking in Dr. Strange. Hands down the family favorite though was the screening of J.K. Rowling’s latest Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and we look forward to buying the DVD.
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Jane and Cate dressed to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
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Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving Day, a friend invited us (i.e. the girls) to participate in the St. Louis Thanksgiving Day Parade on behalf of the local secret parade organization. Originally on a turkey dinner float, we got the nod to go on the well done sledding down Art Hill float with real live cute kids too (and one balding, overweight guy in a cozy sweater). We got to be on TV which made Cate very happy as it was her 1st time. Our float was in line also behind the Girls Scouts one and we got BOXES of cookies as swag (Mmmm – Thin Mints). We took lasagna dinner to Nana at MG (they had turkey and the fixing for lunch) and got uncomfortably full with a full slice of Pecan Pie. Fortunately, the girls remain too uninvolved socially to care that the local HS sport team lost to the State champion dreaded rivals in the next train stop west.
| "Sleding" down Art Hill |
Striking poses before the parade started |
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| Jane and Cate with the Parade Wave (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist; repeat for the next 1 1/2 hours) |
On KMOV TV outside Union Station |
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The big celebration for the Sages comes on Friday since 2002 when Sage-giving transferred to Friday, allowing everyone to show up with no conflicts with other spousal family commitments and having eaten multiple dinners already (smartest holiday change ever). Randy and Van deep fried turkeys for the 3rd year for the gathering which included most all of the tribe (Randy snuck out in the evening for the 35th WGHS Reunion but it wasn’t much fun without his best friends from school who couldn’t make it).
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Deep frying FFF
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On Saturday, a few of the healthiest Sages ran the 10K along the river in Alton again this year. The less healthy folks saved them a table at Fast Eddie’s for celebratory beers afterwards.
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Sages at Fast Eddie's
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Meanwhile on West Drive, Gral and put the “forced” back in Forced Family Fun by enlisting his grandchildren in raking the leaves in his front yard to the street for leaf vacuuming the next week. Although there were lots of minions, it took them nearly two hours. The girls did gain a better appreciation for their mother’s experiences growing up with the highest expectations of what doing a good job entailed.
| Gral and his minions with their leaf pile |
Afterwards, cousin dog pile on the couch |
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Afterwards, Randy took Jane, Cate and the three oldest Indy Sages (Katie, Lloyd and Justin) to Six Flags for Holiday in the Park courtesy of the free vouchers that came with renewing their Season passes. It’s always great fun going with people on their first time to the park as the excitement and wonder translates to everyone.
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Six Flags - Holiday in the Park with the Indy Sages
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Sagegiving ended with a Sunday before the out of town tribe left to go home. Good FFF times.
The 2nd Sunday in December, the Curti participated in the annual Hot Chocolate 5k and a seasonably warm day. Jane and Cate ran/walked the 5K with Bethany and Rosemary enjoying the healthy morning walk. Rosemary filled in for Randy who ended up having to do a two week stint researching in DC after the family signed up in September.
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Ready for the start of the Hot Chocolate "run"
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| Jane and Cate at the finish |
Rosemary & Bethany finish strong |
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Randy and his research team in front of the National Christmas tree outside the White House
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At the Hi Pointe for White Chirstmas
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Happy Holiday from the Curti
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