Sunday 7 June 2009

On the road

Well, ten days since we left Brooklyn and we are still living out of a suitcase. We are supposed to be moving into House 9 this week, and although the last fortnight has been kind of fun, I can't wait.

In the past fortnight, we have stayed in:

A beautiful hilltop house near Charlottesville with The Doctor's Virginian cousins (this, needless to say, was the highlight of the trip)

A mountain lodge motel in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, with unreformed, country-style cooking, eccentric fellow guests and bears in the backyard

Two Holiday Inns, one huge and sumptous and in the middle of nowheresville, New Jersey, one rather downmarket and in the central business district of Long Island. Funny how chains can be so homogenous and yet vary so wildly in quality....

A distinctly grotty motel in Eastern Long Island. This was in a great location, and had the advantage of a fridge and cooker, but was tiny with nowhere to eat in the room. Perhaps the low point was the Littleboys eating their Weetabix (which I have faithfully carried around with me) on the doorstep in the pouring rain, prompting the Doctor to comment that we finally looked like 'poor white trash'.

I am now seriously beginning to tire of washing boys' filthy bibs and milk cups in bathroom sinks, trotting down to the basement of hotels to do laundry (the corridor in this one looks like something out of The Shining), unpacking and repacking suitcases, and going to bed at the same time as the boys (as late as 10pm, which only has the advantage that they sleep in in the morning). And the joys of eating out every night start to pall when one has to find somewhere suitable for two lively boys where they can have something to eat other than chips and ketchup.

On the plus side, we have spent the past two days taking a look at Long Island's glorious beaches, in beautiful summer weather. We had a superb time in Virginia, catching up with relations of The Doctor's we last saw 15 years ago, and easing ourselves into their laid-back, Southern way of living. We have walked in the mountains and woods (I've picked several deer ticks off the Littleboys already...), paddled in the sea, driven on terrifying Interstates, shopped in huge malls and eaten in diners.

Our American experience has truly begun.

10 comments:

Iota said...

You have such a zest for life, and such a spirit of adventure. The Americans will love you. It's what made America.

Dorset Dispatches said...

You will love the States and so will the Little Boys. What an adventure.

I can see why you are looking forward to getting into a house. Living out of a suitcase and in a hotel room with small boys can be exhausting. A whole new routine of life.

Good luck with the move in - hope it all goes smoothl and please don't get as tick obsessed as I am (hate the f***ing critters)

Nota Bene said...

White trash? Cool. You'd better buy a trailer

And in support of your sterling efforts, my word verification is 'Shemax'

Mom/Mum said...

WAHEY!!! she's here! congraulations and already am entralld by your adventure over here so far. Been catching up on our posts and laughing lots.
House 9 sounds perfect,in fact, I want one too and long Island - drool! I would kill to be able to get to Manhattan in 45 mins. if I have any grumbles here, it's being 45 mins from Detroit and and not 45mins from Carrie Bradshaw's city!
Good luck good luck good luck.
Cant wait to seewhat new blog name you go for.
Am sure it will be 'awesome!'

Nicola said...

Good luck with the move! I remember my first few weeks and months in America...and admit that I still find the Interstates (or any highway with lane upon lane upon lane) terrifying, the wide and angled parking spaces a breeze and the instant delivery of iced water anywhere you choose to eat totally brilliant. I fell in love with Brunch and even have developed a taste for pancakes with maple syrup AND bacon and sausage. Thought it was so weird to begin with but now am quite addicted to that sweet/savoury combination. So many things to discover - you're going to have so much fun.

Expat mum said...

Don't worry, Weetabix are widely available here now.
Oh and BTW, the word "homogenous" officially becomes "homogeneous" (sounds like Homo-genius).
Blog fodder - I think you ought to post a "Question of the week" for us to come running to the rescue about (grammar?).

nappy valley girl said...

Iota - thank you. Let's hope they do!

Brit in Bosnia - I can easily see how you could become tick obsessed. Last night I was convinced I had one - it turned out to be a mole.....

NB - well, we're already driving a Dodge with tinted windows....

Mom/Mum - thank you, and any time you fancy a shopping trip to Manhattan, my door is is open.

Nicola - agreed, the parking is brilliant - haven't had to parallel park once. And despite the shocking environmental attitude, am shamefully quite enjoying being able to park everywhere after London...

Expat Mum - that's a really good idea. I'm going to take you up on it - thanks. Yup, I found Weetabix in Brooklyn and I believe there is a Whole Foods where you can get it fairly near our new house. Doesn't seem to be stocked in the local supermarket, though.

mothership said...

Were you in the Shenandoah Valley? I love that area. My dad has a country house there (lives in DC). Husband once tried to run off and leave me to be eaten by a bear in the woods there. Story for another day..
I look forward to tales of you settling in to House Number 9!
Mac n Cheese all the way, sistah!
xo

A Modern Mother said...

Glad to hear you are settling in well.

I was in a petrol station in Cambridge (as in the university) the other day and the shelves were filled with mac and cheese, maple syrup, Oreo cookies, Dunkin Hines cake mixes and cracker jacks. It was really strange. I started pulling things off the shelves (without realising mac and cheese was £2.99 a box!) and had quite a bill. My daughters don't even like mac and cheese (why is it orange mummy?!)

nappy valley girl said...

Mothership - yes, we were just by Shenandoah national park, and we drove on Skyine Drive. Beautiful place, I love it. Mac n cheese - unfortunatley, the boys don't lie it....however, bizarrely I have discoverd that they love teriyaki chicken and rice, which you seem to be able to get in any mall around here. Never would have predicted that.

Susanna - must have seemed like home from home. I made a special trip to Whole Foods yesterday to get more Weetabix and Earl Grey tea!