Year 2 - Days 127-129 : First Trip Into the Wilds Post-COVID

I've returned from the trip to see my brother, niece, sis-in-law and their cats in the wilds of upstate New York, with mixed feelings.

Basically just three hours away, two and a half into Manhattan or by car - but I don't drive and live in Brooklyn. So it was closer to four hours. Train ride home was for the most part uneventful. Both women who sat next to me on the train, one going up, and one going down, were vaccinated. Everyone wore masks on the train - it's federally mandated. Although we did pull them down to eat.



The new Monihan Train Station (see picture above) is a treat to behold. Quite beautiful. (But the portion belonging to NJ Transit is impossible to find your way around. I got lost in the NJ Transit section - which is oddly were I exited the Amtrak train - and found the restroom. I was hunting the subway home, which was apparently downstairs.) The NJ Transit/Amtrak bathrooms have nothing on the Amtrak/LIRR bathrooms up stairs. They also have a "gender/neutral" bathroom.

( Penn Station Bathroom )

Train ride up was better than the ride home - which got soured by a bit of guilt trip from my brother on why I hadn't visited mother yet. ( Read more... )

The trip in of itself was okay, I guess. About the best one could hope for with me and my brother. We are kind of like oil and water, we don't mix well for long. Hence the three day weekend, not a four or five day weekend. I figured I could handle two days and two nights without too much difficulty. Go further - I over stay my welcome and one of us will be dead. Most likely me. Because unlike me, he has a cheer-leading section. Also my brother has a tendency to reconstruct past history, with himself in the victim or hero role. For example? ( Read more... )

I did however finally find out why my brother can't watch Tom Hiddleston (Loki and The Night Manager) and despises the actor.
( I'm not sure you want to know this information? )

Then we argued about Bill Cosby. According to brother everyone knew about Bill Cosby. (I am sorry he did not know about Bill Cosby back in the 1980s, and not everyone did know. His brain is an interesting place - how he likes to rewrite history to make himself look good.)

It was admittedly my fault - since I made the mistake of stating how I kind of wish I didn't have this information, because now I won't be able to watch Hiddleston either. It does however explain a few things - like why his career hasn't quite taken off - as much as it should.

The other argument we had, was last night - after binge-watching six episodes of Ted Lasso on Apple TV. See niece is off to London soon, so my brother kept making cracks about the British. At one point he told her that from their point of view - we have the accent.
( Read more... )

I had a choice between the Barn and the upstairs bedroom. Either way I had to go down two flights of steps for the bathroom. The bathroom in the house - was nicer, and had toilet paper. Also well, the barn was more cluttered, dusty, and had cobwebs. We did try to watch a movie in the barn one night - Bro chose Egger's The Witch, but the sound wouldn't sync, so instead I got this weird imagery that creeped me out and gave me nightmares.

So, I opted for the room across from niece. ( Read more... )

***



On Saturday, I took a rough hike with bro and niece. They told me it was fifteen minutes, and an easy hike. It was rough, lots of rocks and twigs, also muddy in places - which meant I had to wash my shoes off in the river and with a hose when we got back home. Since of course, being less than nimble on my feet, I slipped into the muddy spots. Being more nimble, they didn't get any mud on their shoes and were wearing shoes that could get muddy. But it was to a lovely high waterfall. So completely worth the trip. We sat in silence watching it for a bit, on a couple of rocks long enough for my butt to grow numb.



The scenery was beautiful up there. The company...awkward with sections of okay. I think we were all a bit cranky, and anxious about things, to be honest. I took pictures of brother and niece and caught my brother in the middle of an eye-roll. I won't post their pictures here. Tempting, But no, probably not a good idea.

( Read more... )

COVID

It was weird up there. I kind of freaked out a little when we left the train station - no one was wearing a mask. And having my mask off in the car with my brother was kind of surreal. Almost as if COVID didn't quite exist any longer.( Read more... )

***

My brother has the perfect little frog pound. With loud bull frogs, dragon flies, cat tails, and lily pods - it's like something out of a story book.



I sat beside it on Friday and chatted with niece. She's become as difficult to talk to as bro. I asked questions, she'd give short answers in a tiny voice that I could barely hear. Half the time I couldn't. Still adore her to pieces. She's considerate, loving, and on some level - I get her.

We both agreed that our family is highly critical, judgemental, stubborn, opinionated, and sarcastic. These are not commendable traits by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyhow, on the last day I was there - a mother deer and baby fawn made an appearance. Bro and sisinlaw were less than impressed.
( Read more... )

( fawn )

And...

( mama deer )

The trip as you can see was a mixed bag. I loved the natural world, the water fall, the frog pound, the flowers, the trees - not wearing a mask, being around people. But I wish I felt more comfortable around the people and less disconnected. It was as if I was an appendage or fourth wheel - invisible for the most part, or a fart that was there but being ignored and/or tolerated. I didn't know the rules, and struggled not to break them.

The problem I have with life sometimes is I can't seem to choose the people I am traveling through it with. Perhaps I'm not supposed to? It feels at times as if all anyone ever does is play-act or pretend. I only get glimpses of what lies beneath.

I leave you with a cat. Possibly the one that my brother wanted me to take home with me - complete with arthritis, and other related health issues. And the threat of more pictures on the morrow...