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November 11, 2007
Where Were Jon, Megan, And Jonah On September 15th, Through The 18th 2006?
More importantly, the question should be, "Why the heck didn't you post this last September? Good question!
Seven states, 12 hours, two hotels, mounds of road food, and Interstate 95. Mix well with heavy traffic, and you get the classic ingredients for a road trip! You also get three very tired people; two adults and one cranky boy, who, actually did very well for being trapped in a car seat for 14 hours. This past weekend we drove to New York to celebrate a surprise birthday party for my Dad and several of his friends, who all turned (or are about to) turn 70 years old!
Here's how it went down...
My Dad and his friends, Allen, Allan, Howard, Nelly, and Howard all grew up together in the Bronx. Four of the men went to one high school, two of them attended another. They have managed to stay in touch, and remain good friends after all these years. My sisters my brother and I have also gotten to know them and their families, so it was nice to get together, especially if we could pull off the surprise! So, nearly a year ago, I got a call from my sister Gabrielle, who told me that some of my Dad's friend’s wives and family were beginning to plan a surprise party for this group of men. The party took different forms over the year, but finally we settled on a brunch where we would all be gathered, and then the guys would walk in, and be surprised. Did it work? Were they surprised? You'll have to read on for the answer!
There was no hesitation on the part of Megan, Jonah and myself. We had to be there. How could we not go? So we made plans to drive to New York (being that Megan is due in only eight weeks, yay!) to join the party. Usually, we stay at my Dad's apartment in the City, but since he could not know we were "in town" and the party wasn't until Sunday, we had to stay somewhere else. Somewhere else turned out to be Danbury, Connecticut. We decided to stay there for a few reasons. Chief among them was how inexpensive it was. We also wanted to see Megan's cousin Jodi, her daughter Aarika, and Jodi's brand new fiancé, Kevin. Also, my sisters live about ten minutes or so from Danbury, so it would make getting together with them a lot easier! (It also added a lot more miles to the trip, but that is for another blog entry...) So after leaving the Old North State Friday afternoon, we drove to Baltimore, where we stayed the night. We got up the next morning, and completed the journey to Danbury, but only after getting trapped in traffic for what seemed like an eternity. Two hours. Ick. When we finally arrived at our hotel, there were at least four fire trucks in the parking lot, and many people who were once inside the hotel, were now standing outside it for some reason. So, what do a Firefighter and his son do? Gawk at fire trucks, of course! Just a fire alarm, nothing serious, thankfully. But ironically, when we got together with Jodi, Aarika and Kevin for dinner at a nearby mall, we had to wait to be seated thanks to a fire alarm in the mall! (Maybe it's me...)
So before we sat down to eat, Jonah and Arrika played in the mall.
Then, we had to exit the mall. It just meant more time to catch up. (By the way, Josh was with us too, just not with us, if you know what I mean...)
What a ladies man...
What a ladies man...
Now we're (and you) are at the party, at a hotel/golf resort in Connecticut? Or was it New York? No matter. This fine looking young man is my Nephew Ethan. He lives in Los Angeles with his mom, and my brother Ben.
And this is Ben. (The tall one on the right.) After a long journey, Jonah (as you can probably tell by the picture) was not very happy. But who made him happy? Who kept him from melting down? Was it me or Megan? No. It was Ben. Jonah sat with Ben for a really long time, and was the perfect little gentleman. Thanks Ben! You're a lifesaver!
And this is my Dad, Fred. And yes, he was surprised.
And emotional. He always was, and is.
The whole group got together outside the banquet hall to take a group picture. Since I was in the picture, I could not take a picture of the picture taking, so I offer you the following...Here's Jonah waiting for the picture taking to get over with. (We all were, really. It took a super long time to get this picture taken, supposedly by professionals. It was hot, Megan was pregnant, we were on concrete stairs, Jonah was getting testy; it was a bad scene.)
Here's proud Grandpa Fred with his grandson Ethan...
Back inside, Dad gets his turn to make a speech.
Ethan again. What a handsome guy!
I wish I had more pictures like this one, but sadly, time, finances and geography do not allow. Sigh...
Mmmmmmm....Cake...
I miss my brother Ben.
I miss Ethan, too.
Ethan and Jonah play at my Dad's apartment in New York City.
Jonah is waiting for something. What? A hug? A ball? Some food? I can't remember since I am slack and it took me more than a year to post this. I think he was playing with a car that zooms across the floor when you pull it back. Not sure.
Who knows?
Well, we travelled far, saw some family, saw some old friends, so despite the minor hassles and glitches, it was well worth it. And recently, we just learned that Ben will be coming to New York in January, so hopefully I'll get to see him, and he can finally meet Joshua!
(I make no promises, but if that happens, I will put the pictures up right away!)
Posted by Jon at November 11, 2007 08:37 PM