Backpacking Bill

It’s Saturday and we leave Monday. We had the floors sanded and urethaned, the house is upside down. The furniture getting back into place, which pleases Tina. Dust everywhere from the sanding. The odor of the urethane makes habitation an issue. But, we are starting to prep for the trip.

We have some Euros, tickets and passports. Dog will be groomed and we aresoon to start packing.

We are leaving some great spring weather here. It is said that spring in New England is as near to Eden as you can get.

Sunday evening and we are packed and ready. Well, we say that we are ready. Tina has been working like a Mad Woman getting a handle on the dust from the floor job. Looks great now.

First stop will be Ireland, the Emerald Isle. I have never been to Ireland nor the U.K. Anticipating a lot of green. I recall the only advice that my father’s stepfather gave me. Charlie was a hard man. He had been a teamster in the Klondike during the Gold Rush. The advice was “stay away from the Irish”. Looking back on my life, I should have heeded that pearl of wisdom.

The other thought about Ireland that I recall is a ditty that was taught to me by Ray Rhoades. Ray was a trader on the Navajo reservation. I knew Ray when I was in the Air Force in New Mexico. It goes:

“Ireland was Ireland when England was a pup,

“And, Ireland will be Ireland when England’s time is up

“So, if ya don’t like me Blarney and ya don’t like me sass,

“You can bend down and kiss my wild Irish… Rose”

I don’t think Ray had any other Irish thoughts. He was dyed in the wool Cajan from Louisiana. Ray was also the only white trader on the reservation that I knew who was liked and respected by the native Americans. Maybe because the feeling were mutual.

Well, we are on our way. Julia Sauter gave us a ride to the airport. Hugh lines so it was good that we are early.

Tina and I will be celebrating our anniversary in Dublin. 25 Years.

Our last evening was spent north of Washington DC in Columbia MD. Tina’s cousin lives here and invited us to dinner and stay over. The evening had a number of highlights in addition to seeing Susan and Bruce. Rich and Amanda joined us with their recent addition, Landon. Landon stole the show. We had another treat, a WW II vet, a Marine Colonal who had led his unit ashore during a number of amphibious landings. The colonel had visited Rich’s history class and gave first hand accounts to the class. It turns out that Bruce’s dad was supporting one of the operations at Peleliu Island from his Navy Destroyer.

While in Charlotte we were very fortunate to have been invited to have dinner with recent transplants from West Hartford, Kim and Mike. Tina has known Kim since our daughters were in elementary school. Kim and Mike have built a great life here. Mike left Eversource for a position with Duke Energy, a very large energy production and distribution company. Mike and I have a number of mutual friends and experiences in the power industry. Kim and Mike’s daughters are flurishing in the Charlotte area. Kim and Mike prove that a move to the area can be very positive. We had a delightful evening in their lovely home.

Tina and I stayed in Charlotte and left Sheba in the car. The next morning at breakfast we met a gal who slept in her car with her dog. Although that may have been more due to her traveling companions than the dog; never the less, we felt guilty for leaving our pup alone.

Next, we traveled to the North Carolina coast and stayed in the small town of Edenton. We found a great B + B that consisted of a number of historic buildings. We stayed in a converted tabacco packing building.

Edenton is a real find. It is like a mid twentieth century small town stuck in time. A general store, a theater, a soda fountain, friendly people and a relaxed atmosphere. The few restaurants are good but not West Hartford center good. We decided to spend a second day here. The second night pangs of guilt overtook us and we sneaked Sheba into our room.

Edenton is a very historic place. It had been a major port city during colonial and civil war eras. Having escaped destruction during the Civil War and the Revolutionary War makes it unique in that it retains significant buildings form both those eras.

Edenton is also the location of the Edenton Tea Party. I thought that the Boston Tea Party was the only one. The Edenton Tea Party consisted of a group of some fifty literate women in the area (only a quarter of the population was literate at that time, male and female) that got together in 1774 and sent a letter to England protesting the Tea Tax. They would not drink tea nor purchase English cloth. In England (and in the Colonies) they were ridiculed and characatured. The women were told to tend to their families and stay out of politics. Nevertheless, they were the first women to lead a protest in the new world. The locals are quick to point out that these women did not, like their male counterparts in Boston, dress up in Indian garb to hide their identity. In fact, they signed their letter to England.

A number of the locals told us that there are few bugs here. However, I have heard a couple stories. A Canadian fellow was checking into the B + B and mentioned that he had passed a barn that appeared to have a swarm of something engulfing the building. He was told – wood bees. They are known to infest structures here to the point that they become unusable. I mentioned that I get them on my deck in New England. Bee traps were suggested. I have not heard of them. They look easy to make; I am going to try one at home.

I was also told of an apparition that rises from the water here on some afternoons. A black shape will rise from the water. Shapeless and undulating, this ghostly specter captures the attention of all that notice it as it starts to approach the land – mosquitoes.

I was describing the bees and the mosquitoes to another local. She said that they are not so bad but the Mayflies are. They will cover cars and doorways. They will also cover your feet. They are gross looking but they don’t bite. We can be thankful for that.

In spite of bugs, Edenton stays a possibility.

Tina and I are taking a trip to the southern states. The main purpose of the trip is to scout out places to retire. Secondary purposes are:

1) Celebrate Tina’s retirement from Miss Porter’s School

2) Getting out of the house while the floors are being refinished.

We are also doing a Greek language course while we drive. It could be my age but Greek is really tough.

First night in Harrisonburg, VA, second outside Greenville, SC, third in Greenville, SC, fourth outside Charlotte, NC. Now in Edenton, NC.

So far we have had a great time, some great people and visit some great friends recently transplanted from New England.

I will go into more detail in my next post. And, I apologise for the gap in posts.

Planning is in full swing for the next adventure. Tina has been on line booking planes and lodging. I have been sitting back saying “that sounds great”.

We have long thought that it would be fun and meaningful to spend Easter with Tina’s relatives in Greece. Since Jim is spending his simester abroad in Rome this spring we have two reasons to go to southern Europe. So we will visit Jim at Easter in Rome then jump over to Kalamata for Greek Easter. Two Easters.

I will redo the blog site to reflect the new adventure. I may take away the Camino Portuguese stuff if nobody objects.

The trip is shaping up to be really great. Tina will get closer to her Greek roots and I don a Greek fisherman’s hat and be colorful.

Checked out of the hotel and did some last minute shopping. Going off the grid for lunch. Meeting Emma at Hanoi Taco Bar.

Tacos in Vietnam, it turns out, may have been a bad idea. Experiencing a touch of tourista. Enough said about that.

It was really tough for me to say fair well to Emma. She is truly a remarkable young woman. She seems happy here in Hanoi and appears to have good friends and enjoys the work she is doing. This may not be the life I would choose for myself but I am going on 72 and am from another era. I often say that we raised our children to be capable and independent. Easy to say but the internalizing the reality puts a knot in my stomach worse than the Hanoi taco I ate.

Jim picked up his suit, it looks great on him.

I think Jim is beginning to like to dress well. That would be another characteristic he will have gotten from his grandfather. Dad always dressed well and was never without shined shoes. By the way, it is truly uncanny how much Jim looks like Dad.

We made it to the airport early. There are so few international flights (in USA we are told to get to the airport three hours ahead) that we were not able to check in until a little less than two hours before the flight.

Made it to Korea. Tina saw a gal from Porter’s getting on another flight. There were also some students from Suffield that Jim recognized. That must have been the prep school special.

Twelve hours to Chicago, that says it all.

Layovers in Inchan and Chicago seemed endless. Cab to Grand Central, Metro North to New Haven and Ubered home. Thirty six hours of travel, ugh!

Today we did a tour of Nimh Binh. Ninh Binh is geologically like Halong Bay; except the mountains stand on farmland instead of water. A two hour bus ride gets us to the area. Tina booked the tour yesterday evening. This would not have been an issue except for the fact that it is New Year’s Eve, which is big travel holiday, so many of the tours were booked but tour she got us was great.

The tour guide was named “Hi”. This young gal, like Tony in Halong Bay, was from a rural farm village. She lives in Hanoi while working and going to university full time. She is also supporting her two sisters who live with her, another testimony to the industry of the people here.

There was only one other Western couple on the tour. They were from Reims, France. Their limited English and my lack of any French limited the conversation.

First a visit to Hoa Lu, the first capital of Vietnam. The temples are beautiful and the history is, in Tina’s words, almost old testament.

Next we went off on a river tour through some spectacular scenery and also some river caves. The boatmen often paddle using their feet. I cannot imagine doing this for an hour and a half. I also felt much less than chivalrous letting a Vietnamese gal do this for the three of us, so I was compelled to give a nice tip.

We also had a quick bike ride through the town, which seemed to be an odd time filler in the tour.

Then we had a climb to a shrine at the top of a mountain. 500 treacherous steps. Jim is agile enough for it, I am not.

Then back to Hanoi in the middle of New Year’s Eve traffic.

We went directly to dinner. Jim chose to go to “Chicken” street. He had heard of it from Emma. The food was delicious! Guess what we had… chicken. They must use the white meat for Pho because they only had legs thighs and wings here. And chicken feet, Jim ate a foot.

The traffic back to the hotel was spectacular.

Went to bed before midnight. Happy New year to all.

We are off to the other side of the island today. The hope is that we will not encounter another downpour.

ATM’s are intermittent things here. One will work one day but not the next. I had the guy at the hotel take me to one this morning. There were three in one place. The third one worked on the fourth try. I was getting a little concerned because the restaurant last night didn’t take credit cards due to a power failure earlier. However, it makes me feel like J Paul Getty to pull 1,000,000 out of an ATM machine. Bye the way, there are no coins here.

Opted for a beach on the northwest part of the island at a resort called Gold Coast. We are truly fortunate, the beach is beautiful with white sand and a gentle surf and lined with coconut palms. The mountains of Cambodia can be seen to the northwest.

Emma was weary so she did not join us for dinner. Had pretty much the same fare.

It is easy to see the ugliness here. There is a lot of poverty and squalor. Trash is everywhere. But, there is great beauty as well. The beaches are beautiful the sky is spectacular with cumulus clouds in the distance and the water is clear and blue. The people are friendly happy and hard working.

The wedding next door was still going full blast when we got back to the hotel. Heard that there was a happening regarding the wedding. The music stopped later.

Traveling to Hanoi on another Vietnamese airline. I will be so happy to board a US plane. Boarding a Vietnamese plane is the definition of a cluster. Whats the hurry? the seats are assigned. Have I missed something? Does the first person to reach there seat on each row get a free beer?

Arriving in Hanoi we encountered the coldest weather in ten years. We left 80 degrees in Phu Quoc and landed in 40 degrees in Hanoi.

Jim went for the fitting of his suit when we got back. I think it will really look great on him.

Jim will be able to pick up the suit the day we leave.

Tomorrow we will be taking our last tour. We will go to Nimh Binh.

Tina bought a North Face jacket for the trip, Well, a knockoff like mine. If it lasts the Nimh Binh tour, it will be good. I think it actually looks great.

Put on your leathers and start your Hogs. The Vietnam Hell’s Angels have arrived. Which way to Sturgis?

While the guys are off to explore, Tina and I are going to spend time at the pool, and perhaps back to the beach.

I will have to admit that I am the one that had a crash on my scooter. It’s counterintuitive to me that exceleration is twist down. I was making a turn and wanted to slow. I twisted the wrong way and the scooter came out from under me. No harm but mightily embarrassing.

Jim and Emma ventured out to the center of the island to see some sights

Tina and I stayed by the pool. We met some interesting people pool side from all over the world.

1. Arizona
2. UK
3. Germany
4. Denmark

It was good to have a down day, and it was good that Jim and Emma were able to get away from parents for a while.

On our way to dinner

Made it to dinner OK. Great meal again.

Then the rain started. Had a delay getting the bill. There was a great soaking on the way back to the hotel on scooters.

There is a wedding at the facility next to where we are staying. I was asking the front desk about it. Here, a wedding is a two day event. We are fortunately at the opposite side of the resort, and they appear to be a lively bunch.

At home we sometimes respond to someone’s trivial complaint by responding “well, that is a first world problem”. Here, we have come to appreciate the meaning of that response. We are very blessed people. We can get anything we want when we want it. We have opportunities for education, and we can advance ourselves with hard work, some smarts and a little luck. Here life is hard, and it is a struggle to make a life for yourself and provide an opportunity for your children, unless you are part of the elite. Yes, there is an elite class here in the comunist workers paradise.

How very blessed I am to be able to send my children to elite schools and world class universities, to send them to foreign lands to study what they please. This blessing comes to sharp focus when, here in Vietnam, I see a child acting as a waitress in her family “restaurant” to get a little practice with English. I learned that English is taught here in high school but there is a lack of resources. It is mostly taught at home. It is, I believe, a universal truth that the first principal of being a parent is to do the best one can possibly do for your children.

Speaking of education, I was remarking to a fellow that the penmanship of the locals is very good. He pointed out that the Vietnamese alphabet is so complex with it’s dots, dashes and squiggles that good penmanship is a necessity. It is a complaint of mine that good penmanship is lost in US, and our devices are making it irrelevant.

The policies of the government appear to be bringing opportunity to the struggling proletariat. I am sure that there are some negatives that come along with this expansion. I pray that the decision makers are wise, considering of the less fortunate, and extending some of the largesse to them in ways that will be good for their children’s future.

I encounter few references to the American War. I was talking with a self proclaimed history buff from UK at the pool. (Well, where else do first world people discuss the finer points of the state of the world). Anyway, he pointed out that the American War was just the end of a seventy year struggle. We were just one more comparatively small step in their national history. That was enlightening to me as the Vietnam War looms so very large in my mind and I believe it was so very important in our national development.

I was reading today some old essays by Charles Krauthammer, pool side of course, I was reminded that Vietnam, like Korea, were hot spots in the extended Cold War. Although we eventually won the cold war, these two hot conflicts came to unsettling ends. In the case of Korea, a cease fire at the original boundary and for Vietnam, our pulling out in accordance with the Paris Pease Accords.

Would you believe it, I have a first world problem to deal with, we are low on toilet paper in our room. I do not believe I will complain mightily about this catastrophy.

If we were not remote enough in Hanoi, we are today heading to the island of Phu Quoc. It is off the southern coast of Vietnam, very close to Cambodia. We planned to go to Phu Quoc to get some beach weather. However, the weather here in the north has been really good. I understand that Phu Quoc is developing really fast and prices are rising tremendously. Again, it looks like we will be at the last affordable time. We shall soon see.

We have left a bunch of our gear at Emma’s apartment. We are still, in my opinion, lugging too much stuff.

Before we left, Jim got fitted for a new suit, his first tailor made one. The suits are really affordable in Hanoi. We had measurements today, and a fitting when we get back from Phu Quoc. The suit should be finished the day we leave. It should look pretty good if the display ones we saw are any indication. Jim had fun with the process and plans to wear it home.

We will be taking a local Vietnamese airline. Emma arranged for the tickets. She had to pay for them at the local K Mart. Interesting.

Well, we found that we were unceremoniously pushed to a later flight. No big deal. Boarding was a grand happening. Everyone gets into line then the Germans and the Chinese rush the flanks to get better spots. What a cluster, it was either orchestrated by P T Barnum or the three stooges. We all got on OK, and then the real show started. The flight attendants shunted individuals and groups around the plane. I don’t know what that was all about but fun to watch.

Made it to the resort, seems to be a good place. We are a short walk to a great beach.

We spent most of the day at the beach today. Did not take the phone so I was not able to take photos. Maybe I will be able to get one from Jim or Emma. It’s a typical beach scene, mostly Scandinavians and Russians on the beach. There is great food served from some locals on the beach.

I do not believe that there is a lot of multitasking here. It took an hour to get lunch from the gal on the beach. Emma just ordered a fruit plate when we returned to the pool, twenty minutes. Things are done precisely and one thing at a time. Not a problem if anticipated beforehand.

We went for dinner across the street from the resort. A very small family place. The children were doing homework on the main table when we arrived. The daughter was the waitress, nine years old and in her pajamas. A giant thunderstorm started; we were moved under a shelter. Had a wonderful home cooked meal.

I am truly blessed to be able to bring my family here. What a great experience for me and, I hope something positive for Emma to be able to share the country and people she has come to admire.