Color My World

Hello World, Happy (belated) Martin Luther King weekend! I sincerely hope that you honored the civil rights leader's legacy by having a dream, that someday your children's children (or their artificial intelligence electronic devices) would not be judged by the color of their protective covers, but by the content of their operating systems, or something like that anyway. Historically we take advantage of the long 3-day holiday weekend to visit our friends around the Albany area for a late mini Christmas, so I was understandably disenchanted to discover that at my temporary job, it turned out that Monday was not considered a holiday, so we didn't have the day off. At least at the hospital, in spite of all of its faults, there was no question of it being a holiday, in fact, it would be safe to say that the multi-cultural campus would have erupted in riots if there had been any suggestion to the contrary. But even without the long weekend, we plunged ahead and hit the ground running on Saturday morning for the long drive to the great white north, as fast as our little pistons would carry us. Well, not quite as fast as usual, since we decided to take my little red hot rod instead, and spare the wear and tear on Bill's workhorse Neon. Since I was driving, I would have expected this hare-brained scheme to provoke the sort of apocalyptic meteorological conditions not seen since the prehistoric era on this planet, and also send blood-thirsty hordes of suicidal maniacs to smash into us at every turn, since everyone knows that red cars are a magnet for accidents, extra police scrutiny, and higher insurance rates. But none of that happened, and we arrived in one piece and none the worse for wear, which is always my favorite way to travel. Even better, I learned how to use the cruise control feature along the way, and how handy is that! We just about had time to greet our hosts and catch our breath, before we hurried out again for lunch at the locally famous 76 Diner in Latham, where the meals are a rousing success on a regular basis. We had no real plans for the weekend, so our time was pleasantly unstructured, and we took advantage of the flexibility in our schedules to do some shopping after lunch. We love going to Hewitts for their after-Christmas discounts, and we always find some special yuletide decorations that would add just the right touch to the old homestead. After that, we ambled over to Big Lots! where we had never been before, and although we didn't find the items that sent us there in the first place, we still managed to pick up some odds and ends, and glad of it. We didn't want to impose on our hosts to provide us with dinner, so we made tracks for Pizzeria Uno, where we had been once before, but that was probably more than 10 years ago. At that time, our rowdy group had caused such a ruckus that they put our pictures up by the door, with express instructions to the staff that if we ever returned, they were to keep us out at all costs - and here I'm thinking, calling up the National Guard was not out of the question. But by now we thought that they had most likely redecorated since then, and our pictures right along with it, so we figured that it was safe to go back and take our chances once more, and hope for the best. For anyone who hasn't been to Pizzeria Uno lately, they feature a new and expanded menu that's not just pizza anymore, but includes wide-ranging options like steak, seafood, pasta, salads, wraps, sandwiches and more, plus a dizzying array of beverages and desserts. Whew! We brought our appetites with us, and pounced on their individual deep-dish pan pizza, lasagna stackers, and patty melts. I zeroed in on their new 2-for-$12 menu, and came up with their deep-dish tortelloni and baked macaroni & cheese that were both so delectable that a person couldn't help but forget their manners, and if someone tried to sample a taste off your plate, you would instinctively stab them with your fork - in spite of being close family, a beloved spouse, or the President of the United States, regardless. They also have a wide variety of drinks, including their signature fruit smoothies, that are simply scrumptious, and it would be impossible to recommend them too highly, try as I might. We were glad that we decided to give them another try, and even better that we didn't have to wear our disguises to get in. And as for the President, I'm sure that fork puncture wound in his hand has probably healed by now. After dinner and some shopping, our friends seemed a bit too alert, but fortunately we had plenty of show-&-tell to bore them with, and they were soon nodding off in their seats, as could only be expected. We bid them sweet dreams and toddled off to bed ourselves, which turned out to be a whole lot closer than it usually is in our travels. Unlike our regular routine of staying in a nearby hotel (anyone familiar with the upstate area can tell you that in these environs, "nearby" refers to anything within a 50-mile radius of your present location, even if it's on the other side of a mountain and takes you 90 minutes to get there) this time our hosts very graciously welcomed us into their home, to spare us the extra cost and inconvenience of a hotel stay, and we jumped at the offer without a second thought. So when bedtime rolled around, we trundled downstairs to sleep in their spiffy new guest room, which used to be the bastion of their elaborate model train layout, and alert readers might recall was its very own Internet sensation (92 views!) with a locomotive-mounted video camera providing a "you-are-there" journey through the exhilarating winter wonderland holiday landscape, with all the sights and sounds which make that time of year so very special. (Please feel free to check it out on YouTube at Jayne and Eddie's Winter Wonderland Train Ride and see for yourself - let's see if we can't break 100 for these nice folks!) Although we missed seeing the extraordinary trains in all their painstaking detail, we found the accommodations very comfy, even with the resident cats wandering through at odd hours - and which, as the computer programmers always say, is a feature and not a bug, and we were just as glad to have them. One good thing about staying over, compared to hotels, is that you don't have to rush and pack so you can check out on time, and you can instead enjoy a leisurely breakfast of muffins, bagels and pastries (still in your pajamas if you want to) with all the relaxation you could hope for, just like civilized people in the real world. We took advantage of the extra time to do more shopping, and snapped up some bargains and souvenirs at Goodwill and Cracker Barrel, where we always enjoy seeing what's new, or what's old, or what's interesting, that we hadn't seen before. Of course, the Governor's economic advisers are always happy to thank us for improving the local economy, I'm sure, and in fact, I'm expecting our commendation to arrive in the mail any day now. We finally had no choice but to pack up and get ready to go, and we left just as it was starting in with freezing rain, and although it got kind of slippery on the roads, it was really not too bad as long as everyone was being careful and attentive to the dangerous conditions. Naturally we stopped at Denny's in Newburgh for dinner, which is always a treat, and our only comfort in having to go back home again after a fun weekend away. This really was the final stop for the long-running Christmas Caravan, so the holly jolly season was well and truly over for real, and nothing left to do but wait for another December to roll around and start it back up again. It would have been nice to have Monday off from work, but even a short weekend with friends is a pleasure worth savoring, and we were glad to share some quality time with them when we had the chance. But I don't mind saying, as for the President, I'm afraid he's on his own. Elle