Sumo was originally a prayer ritual for a good harvest. Now, ancient Sumo is a popular sport in Japan. The tournaments last 15 days and are held in a large stadium in Tokyo. We were visiting a few weeks before the tournament, but we had an up-close look at the sport by visiting a sumo stable for an early morning practice.
The stable is a house in a Tokyo neighborhood where the wrestlers live and train. You entered the front door and remove your shoes as if entering someone's living room. We were seated on cushions placed on the hardwood floor, in front of a large living room area used as an arena. The stable that we visited was run by a former grand champion, Mitsuhide Musashsigawa, who is an American Samoan from Hawaii. He was Grand Champion in 2000 and goes by the name Musaashimaru. He has 8 athletes in his stable, and I can attest that these men are athletic.
The morning practice started before 9 a.m. and lasted more than an hour. It consisted of stretching (these men are surprisingly limber), calisthenics, and a series of movement rituals. This was followed by one-on-one bouts in the doyo (ring). Although I did not fully understand the sport, you could tell the ancient rituals in the repetition of the wrestlers. They would throw salt into the ring, bow to one another, take their stance and then begin to wrestle. Unlike American wrestling where you to try to pin your opponent, the object here is to knock the other man out of the circle.
We had an opportunity to speak with the former Grand Champion following the practice. He has been living in Japan for more than 20 years now. He explained that the wrestlers, who were showering and changing clothes after sweeping the dirt floor with an ancient-looking broom, would have a meal and then move on to weight-lifting as part of their training. He encouraged us to return to Tokyo at tournament time and see the full experience.
Not very many people fly through Orlando on their way to Tokyo, but I did. My husband had to make an appearance at the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) which was holding its annual convention at the Marriott World Resort in Orlando. We didn't have time to fly back home, so we packed for Orlando, Tokyo, Taipei, Jakarta, Bali and Cambodia and left home on January 2nd for a month-long trip. If you read my blog about the Suitcase Sheriff, you will know that packing was not easy. Half of those countries will be warm in January and half will be cool….but nothing like Washington, PA.
Since my husband had meetings all day, I considered going to Disney World all by myself. It was bad enough that I didn't have my children with me, but going alone…I wasn't convinced that I could. When I texted my daughter and asked if it sounded sad that I was thinking of going to the park alone, her quick reply was "Of course not, it is the happiest place on earth!"
I ended up waiting until the next day when my husband could spare a few hours. Together we walked around Epcot enjoying the beautiful weather and stopping to watch and listen to live entertainment in each of the countries. We had lunch in Germany where we sat family-style and enjoyed the Bavarian food and music. That evening, our good friends the Devlins traveled from Jacksonville to meet us for dinner at Raglan Road, a wonderful Irish pub in downtown Disney. You just can't help having a good time in Orlando, and Disney sure goes out of its way to make you feel like you are in the happiest place on earth.
Speaking of Disney, we were fortunate to have some time with our former neighbor, Allie, who is an engineer that was recently hired by Disney to work on analytics. She lives in downtown Orlando so we took a drive to that part of town where we walked around the lake filled with swans. I had never been to this neighborhood and enjoyed seeing another part of Orlando. Allie suggested a new restaurant, SoCo, which serves Southern Contemporary Cuisine. She had never been to SoCo either, so we all took our server's suggestions for things like chicken dumplings, fried green tomatoes, deviled duck eggs, etc.
The best part was some unusually warm weather for Florida in January. I have been swimming almost daily and love to dive into an outdoor pool whenever I have the chance. One of my coolest Christmas gifts was a waterproof Ipod with waterproof headphones so I can listen to music while I swim laps. This all makes me one happy lady in The Happiest Place on Earth.
We couldn't pass up an offer from our good friend, Mark, to meet in New York City where he was taking his wife on a surprise anniversary trip. They were traveling by Amtrak on a train from Pittsburgh to Manhattan with a stop in Philadelphia. We had a mere 48 hours allotted for the trip, so we decided to drive thinking it would be faster.
Our plan was to leave home at 6 a.m. on a Thursday morning and return on Saturday afternoon so our daughter could be at work that evening and we could attend a Christmas party that would be too much fun to miss. We had just returned from a week in Texas and had the pleasure of sleeping in our own bed for only one night. Our daughter had complained about being home alone and talked nonsense about hearing strange noises on the third floor. Surprisingly, we were awakened at 3:40 a.m. on that Thursday morning by "strange noises on the third floor".
At first, it sounded like a squirrel….then a mouse. No, not one mouse, it was mice…..and they sounded like they were having a track meet right above our bedroom ceiling. It was hilarious. I started laughing and couldn't stop. It was 3:40 a.m. and we were wide awake so my husband and I decided we might as well get in the car and start driving to New York. Good thing that we did because we ended up needing the extra hours. The trip was uneventful as we climbed the Laurel Mountains up to Somerset, and then down the S curves on the other side. Once we passed Harrisburg, however, we drove right into a blizzard. It was a complete white-out, snowing so hard I could barely see the road. The snow was coming down in record time and the road was covered within minutes. Since driving was slow and slippery, I decided we would exit the turnpike and find someplace to wait it out.
After a leisurely breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we cleaned the snow off the car and headed east into the snowstorm. It eventually tapered off, and by the time we were in New Jersey the roads were dry. We crossed through the Holland tunnel quickly enough, but spent the next hour sitting at traffic lights as we moved through the sluggish Manhattan traffic. We unloaded at our hotel, only to discover they did not have a parking garage which meant another 45 minutes to find a place to leave the car for the next two nights.
By the time we met our friends, it had been eight hours since we left home and taking Amtrak was sounding more and more attractive. (Our friends loved it, but said to make sure you upgrade to business class.) After hearty hellos, we headed off to Bryant Park and its makeshift village of wooden stalls with merchants selling their Christmas wares all around the skating rink. The joy of being in the city at Christmastime is that everywhere you look you see signs of the Christmas. For example, as we exited the park we strolled through the New York Public Library end enjoyed their decorations and appreciated the warmth of being inside.
Our next stop was the September 11 Museum where Mark had scheduled us for a guided tour. We were all amazed by the quality of the museum and the quantity of artifacts from the former World Trade Center. We stood in awe at the expansive wall of blue tiles which our guide explained was the artist's attempt to describe the hue of the sky on that clear September morning with each tile (one for every life that was lost) depicting a slightly different shade of blue. It was a very somber tour. Each of us had our own memories of where we were when the tragedy of that day unfolded and I imagine almost everyone visiting the museum felt the same way.
The rest of our trip we did all the touristy things people like to do in the Big Apple: walking around Times Square at night, window shopping on Fifth Avenue, stopping by Rockefeller Plaza to see the Christmas tree and catching a glimpse of the Today Show anchors, dinner in Little Italy, strolling through Central Park, fighting the crowds to see the Christmas windows at Macy's, brunch at Tavern on the Green. Most of all, we enjoyed the company of good friends and the Christmas spirit all around us.
Well it finally happened…we are now undeniably great at something. We are now a great aunt and uncle. Our niece was the first to bring new life to the Key Family with the birth of her daughter, Meagan Rose. We all gathered in Sarasota, Florida to meet this little angel at a late Christmas/New Year family gathering.
As we all fussed over the little cutie, we couldn't help but reminisce about the times we gathered at my in-laws' home with our own children. It seems like just yesterday the Pennsylvania and Florida cousins were toddling around together. Now, they are all adults and one of them is a mother herself. We couldn't be prouder of all of our kids and we look forward to seeing how their adult lives unfold. But in the meantime, here is the first baby in the next generation of Keys!
I embarked on my sabbatical on August 28, 2014. I have been traveling for almost four months now and enjoyed every minute of it. However, there is no place I would rather be than in my kitchen on Christmas Eve.
First, I love to cook and to set out a feast on my dining room table. I delight in cleaning the house and putting out my collections of Christmas decorations. Next, I can't wait to fill up all the rooms with friends and family and just sit back and watch them enjoy the food and each other's company.
I can't say that we have any traditions, other than attending the early worship service at the Church of the Covenant. After that, the party commences and seems to be a little bit different each year.
One constant is that we always have special guests that are in town for the holidays. Some come from far away, some grew up down the street. Usually, my husband surprises me by inviting someone that I didn't even know was in town. Some years it is snowing, some years it is freezing cold, and then this year it was so warm we had to open the doors to let in some fresh air.
When the kids were little, the party ended pretty early because parents needed to put their children to bed for Santa to arrive. These days, the party lingers on with the college kids taking over. Most of these kids grew up in the neighborhood and despite attending different high schools and colleges…they don't miss a beat when they see each other again.
I always said that Washington, PA was a great place to raise a family, but we wanted our children to know that there was a whole world out there for them to explore. Now that I am the one doing the world travel, I am positive that our town is unique and our friends are special. There is no place like home for the holidays.
We arrived in Austin, Texas the first of December. Since I had never been to San Antonio, we made the most of our trip and made the 1 ½ hour drive south of the Austin airport and spent our first night at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk. This side-trip was also timed to coincide with a trip my sister and her husband were making to San Antonio.
The Riverwalk is an attraction for tourists year round, but is especially charming at Christmas. A narrow river winds through downtown where all the establishments face the water, not the streets. Pedestrians stroll the tree-lined sidewalks on either side of the waterway while water taxis carry more tourists, some wearing Santa hats, beneath colorful twinkle lights strung overhead. Imagine Christmas music playing in the background and it makes a magical image.
After checking into the decked out Hyatt with a stream running through its lobby, we found my sister and her husband who were already settled into town. The four of us hopped from place to place along the Riverwalk taking in our surroundings. We ended up having dinner at Boudro's, after reading their favorable reviews on Urban Spoon. (In every new city that I visit I always go to their site or Yelp to look for restaurant suggestions.)We were seated at a table by the water where each chair had a Mexican poncho draped over the chair in case you got chilly while dining. The temperature did seem cooler down by the water and I draped my poncho over my lap to stay warm.
The next day we walked across the street to tour The Alamo. In my mind, this famous Mission was located in the middle of nowhere along the Mexican border. Turns out, most of the city of San Antonio is built upon former Alamo land. What few buildings of the Alamo compound remain: the chapel, long barracks, etc., are located right in the middle of downtown. Touring the site is free, but we paid to rent audio tours which were well worth the history lesson that we received as we learned of the horrific thirteen day battle between the Texan defenders and the Mexican army. The tragic and heroic fight until death by the Texans inspired so many others to join the Texan army which then defeated the Mexican army a mere six weeks after the battle at the Alamo resulting in an end to the Texas Revolution.
Driving north out of San Antonio is a straight shot up Interstate 35. We passed the premium outlet mall in San Marco on our way south, and I was able to persuade my husband to stop on our way back up to Austin. The premium outlets are adjacent to Tanger Outlets, but are Ina class of their own. The big names are Neiman Marcus, Gucci, Ferragamo, Tory Burch, etc. I had found shopping paradise! But mindful of my limited budget and even more limited carry-on luggage… had to restrain myself.
That same day, we made another detour en route to Austin. Every time my husband attends his South Zone meeting, a group of them head to Salt Lick Barbeque for some of Texas's finest eating. He learned that the original Salt Lick is in Driftwood, Texas and took me on a ride through the Hill Country for a culinary surprise. While I normally try to watch my diet, sabbatical has been all about trying new things and embracing local culture and cuisine. He had planned on taking me there for lunch, but after the stop at the outlet mall, it was closer to dinnertime when we pulled into a parking lot large enough for forty tour buses. Although the Salt Lick property looked like it could hold hundreds (and it probably does at times) we entered the eating hall and joined about a dozen other folks who were there at the same late-lunch early-dinner time.
Our waitress had been working there for decades and was happy to see a rookie and explain the menu to me and point out the family history written on its back. She told me the founder originally started smoking brisket and sausage and the pulled-pork, turkey and chicken were newer additions to the meat choices. Dinners come with potato salad, beans and cole slaw, and you get pickles and onions by request. Of course, you wash it all down with a sweet tea. I gave it my best shot, but couldn't finish my dinner and never looked at the dessert menu… which I am sure was every bit as tempting as the barbeque. We were glad we ate dinner early because we then had all evening to digest the heavy meal.
Austin is a hip
city with an artsy feel and is known for its live music and food trucks. It looks like it is having a growth spurt and is definitely outgrowing its highways as evidenced by all the traffic delays. I couldn't believe all the building construction and overhead cranes. In downtown Austin, Sixth Street is the heart of the city's nightlife. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon to find a sports bar where we could watch the Steelers game. We returned after dark where the street awakens with live music pouring out from all the bars and onto the crowded sidewalks. We stopped at a Sixth Street institution, Maggie Mae's, for some Blues. But, the up-and-coming end of town is East Austin. Be sure to visit the White Horse for their live music. On Sunday night, we heard a famous old time East Austin band and were just as entertained by the patrons' dancing as we were with the sound. I even got asked to dance and stumbled through my version of the two step.
The Texas state capitol building is the largest in the country. We walked right in and joined the free public tour. Stepping into the rotunda, we learned about the six flags of Texas (representing the six countries that ruled the present day territory known as Texas) depicted on the terrazzo floor and lone star on the roof of the dome. The legislature is part-time, meeting only in odd numbered years and for only 140 days. Across the street, we stopped to look at the outside of the Governor's Mansion. The state offices, meanwhile, are hidden underneath the grounds in an engineering marvel of an underground city.
.
