It was Katy's Bat Mitzvah weekend, so we all piled into the car and
drove to this area
of the garage at Philadelphia airport where the family assembled
to rescue things from the back
of our car
so that we could board the elevator (seemed to become a theme)
and carry our baggage
to the gate
where we were too early for the flight.
So we marched over
to the food court
where Jane talked to Lucy
until her shared sandwich
and cheese fries
arrived. I had a cheese hoagie
and diet snapple
which were sub-par. Benjamin got ready
and took a big bite
as Jane did before
during
and after
eating pictures. After a last bite
and a last sip
we surveyed the rest of the food court
recorded the bill
and headed back to the gate area where Suzanne and Sarah
were finishing their gourmet meal. Once on the plane, we were
divided by an aisle
so Jane read her book
and I read mine
until we landed in Pittsburgh. This gentleman
got in the way but we still ran into Stan
and Ann
making our way to baggage past the Heinz sign
which is as Pittsburgh as it gets.
Eventually the others
made their way down so that we could have this man
rent this car
to us and begin the journey to Oakland where we had these views
of the car ahead of us and this view
into the hotel as we stared at the dash
and waited for the basketball team to check in and the jeep
to stop blocking traffic. After leaving the car
in the garage
for the night, we headed to the room where Norma had left this present
for the adults, this shirt for Sarah,
these books for Ben
and this shirt for Jane.
The opened package revealed these books
for the adults which caused everyone to have a rest
before turning in for the night.
Saturday morning began with a few flash reflection pictures
before I remembered that you only get pictures like these
of the Oakland scene by turning off the flash when shooting through a window.
We went down to the restaurant where this mural
almost woke up Jane
though it didn't keep Sarah's brains
from draining out to make room for new knowledge. Ben's menu
convinced him
that I should have coffee
as the girls had orange juice
and the chef got to work
making the bagel for Jane
the pancakes for Ben
and the oatmeals for Sarah and me
with sizeable brown sugar
that Sarah washed down with her hot chocolate.
Sarah and Jane were ready to go
so we thanked the chef
and the waiter
and headed upstairs where Benjamin tied his shoes
as I recorded the room rates
and the views from across the hall
as Benjamin
and I decided to get the car and pick up the others
by the door so we could drive by the Cathedral
on our way to the synagogue
where Katy was the main event
of the day.
When we returned, Sarah felt that it was important to record
that this was a Holiday Inn Select
and not just a Holiday Inn. Somehow in the process of doing all this,
the P setting on my camera was set causing a lot of photos to
come out Pretty bad. I guess this is what P means. Suzanne
didn't realize that the camera was creating a mess as she also posed
with her girls. The elevator pictures
were especially bad and Stan seemed in a rush
as he took a picture like this one
while Robert arrived.
We made our way through the crowd recording Suzanne
and friends
Sarah
Stan and Ann
someone's wine glass
mother and daughter
and some other blurries
before setting the camera in a happier state to sit down and admire
the table settings and balloon decorations
as Sally offered her toast
and my salad arrived
to the dancing of the Chatham girls
as the photographer
returned to take my picture and my main course
and Suzanne's
arrived.
At this point, it was time to take pictures of people
who went to John Minadeo School
( after all he gave his life so that others might live ) and
Sam
obliging did so as my dessert
arrived so that i could record my table place card
to the sheer terror of Jane
though her spirits were lifted when Benjamin appeared
and they saw the diet coke
I was about to drink. Sam did the T shirt and tie thing
and then joined Jane and Benjamin for a group photo
as the hula hoop contest
continued
while Ben's dessert
didn't get finished because he was watching
and the folks at Sarah's table looked like conversation
was equivalent to torture. All this activity convinced Dick Dunhoff
to train Sam
and set him loose with the camera
to record the event. Not to be outdone, I captured Ben
then Dan and Suzanne
and the dancers
before heading to the bathroom with Ben. Fortunately this sign
told us how to get back so that we didn't have to mail
ourselves back
even over night would have been too slow. We got back in time for the hora
which really amused Suzanne, Sarah and Jane
and brought Benjamin to the floor
to regroup. Suzanne was like a glowing beacon
in the darkness
as the girls talked to relatives
Suzanne and Benjamin had a laugh together
and the crowd
continued to do the Bat Mitzvah thing as yet another dance began
and Dick Dunhoff gathered the crowds to elevate Katy
while Suzanne, Norma and Sally watched
and Sarah and Jane sat on the sidelines
hoping that their matriarchs would enjoy this conversation
to Milt's amusement.
The kids got good seats
Suzanne and Norma were ready
Dolly was talking to her grand daughter and friend
and Katy was having one last dance
as they got ready
for the limbo contest. She made it
to the amusement of George and his brother
and Sarah, Jane and Benjamin
as the line formed
and the contest continued
Next thing, we knew it was the macarena
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the one dance we never miss. This excited Sam who took an arm picture
before we said good bye to him
and headed off from a very successful party.
Next stop was Shadyside to get my new winter coat from these guys
and their friend
who forgot to be in the first picture but was happy
with the way I looked. She
sold us these postcards
so Jane could record vacation memories to send to her friends.
Saturday night, we reassembled at Andy's house where Ben had this sandwich
and Sarah had this one
as Milt and Stan chatted away
and Dolly
pondered her lost ear ring. Norma and Sally
and Ann and Suzanne
were probably wondering why Jane was laughing
as the fire slowed down
and Ben was amused
by his ability to block the photo
but I caught him
on the third try. The women chatted
as we caught this facial closeup
and this blur
before Milt
welcomed Danny
to the room at which point Jane decided to take some
artistic (ie black and white) pictures of the books
and the plant
and the collection of chair pictures
as the fire came back
and Andy did the scraping of cheese
that Karen
claimed was beyond her worldly skills though George
seemed to not believe this. The dark pictures
were illuminated by the host and hostess
and a rejuvenated fire
as the party rolled on
with balloons
and conversation
so we recorded the pony tail
and braid
in Sarah's hair
as Dolly
Milt
and Ann
watched. Needless to say, this amused Sarah
so we took some people pictures of Ann and Suzanne
Robert and Debbie
and David and Norma
while the birds had a moment's peace
and the food remained.
In the back room, Andy and Ben were on the computer
as Milt and Jane watched
and we saved Sam's Nintendo game
to the amusement of the birds
who felt we should take one last frog shirt picture
before calling it a night.
When we got back to the hotel, we needed to record the
Impala taxi
for Claire, so she could know that a job awaited her on graduation.
After the elevator picture
we all called it a day.
Sunday morning began with Ben
Sarah
and Jane
awake as the television rolled
and the fire extinguisher
protected our room so that we could head down to a brunch of drinks
but no coffee, rolls
scrambled eggs
potatoes
and breakfast meats
to be eaten in these nice surroundings.
This was my plate
but before I could eat, I had to give George
his green bag as Katy
Jane
Norma
Sarah
Milt
and Suzanne
ate and Benjamin made designs
with his bagel. Debbie took a picture
but I doubt that she recorded these bottles
even as Lewis arrived a day late
but don't ask why. Ben surveyed the clothing colors
as I built the Honey Nut Cheerio city
and Lewis
wondered if we could add people
to the city. Andy and Danny
watched Lewis
take this picture of Suzanne
and this of Sam
as the city prospered
amidst the artistic photo of the flowers
and the enhanced city in black and white
and color
since Lewis' old batteries moved in. Dan recorded the scene
and Benjamin brought back his bag
and took out the Crunch
and dog with key chain
not to mention the artistic
pose which might be sideways. Ann and Suzanne
were amazed that Jane
would try to huff and puff and blow the city
down especially since Danny had made the sugar packet American flag
and Sam had recorded the utilities
access before taking this picture
of me. Sam stayed in place
the people kept eating
as Sarah brought her woes
to Suzanne's back
to the amazement of Sam
and Jane
while Lewis chatted away
Benjamin
seemed bored until his friends
amused him and Carlos
posed for the camera while Sarah and Suzanne
posed for some mother and daughter pictures as Jane showed
her Raisin Bran
until it was time for us to take the elevator
back to our rooms and gather our possessions so this woman
could check us out.
Our next stop was Norma and Milt's where we parked in a tight fit
and entered the lobby
to call up
and be let in so we could take the elevator
to 6 where we recorded Norma's wonderful New Year's card
collection. Norma, Jane and Milt sat on the couch
as Ben leaned over
and Sarah tried to fix the doll
while the Steelers
had their short moments of glory
and we ate the cookies from the Shadyside Market
before Jane mailed her postcards
as we got ready to drive to the airport. Once at the airport, this
man
took our Hertz car so we could ride the elevator
so this man
could give us our baggage claim checks and we could wait in this line
and look down at this elevator shaft
and up at this hanging plane
as we waited to board the train
with Suzanne
looking out at this
until we got to the other side for the obligatory phone booth
picture
before we got to Mr. Rogers neighborhood
and the view of the gate area.
The delay in takeoff gave Jane and I a chance to meet these girls
(11th and 12th grade at Rochester high)
who made our sandwiches for dinner. Suzanne and Jane started to eat
as Sarah made her fashion statement
and Jane showed the salami
Ben the turkey
and Sarah the chicken salad
that complemented my cheese sandwich
and Echo water
bottle. This sign
warned of serious potential problems as we waited to board
and got seated
in front of the inseat phone
and behind the rest of the cabin
much to Ben's amusement
of the bumpy ride. Once we were in Philadelphia, this woman
sold this watch to Suzanne
so that we could record the dangers
and put our baggage
into the car
for the ride back to Princeton.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. For those who like motion,
here are some short pieces of the action (with sound).
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of the garage at Philadelphia airport where the family assembled
to rescue things from the back
of our car
so that we could board the elevator (seemed to become a theme)
and carry our baggage
to the gate
where we were too early for the flight.
So we marched over
to the food court
where Jane talked to Lucy
until her shared sandwich
and cheese fries
arrived. I had a cheese hoagie
and diet snapple
which were sub-par. Benjamin got ready
and took a big bite
as Jane did before
during
and after
eating pictures. After a last bite
and a last sip
we surveyed the rest of the food court
recorded the bill
and headed back to the gate area where Suzanne and Sarah
were finishing their gourmet meal. Once on the plane, we were
divided by an aisle
so Jane read her book
and I read mine
until we landed in Pittsburgh. This gentleman
got in the way but we still ran into Stan
and Ann
making our way to baggage past the Heinz sign
which is as Pittsburgh as it gets.
Eventually the others
made their way down so that we could have this man
rent this car
to us and begin the journey to Oakland where we had these views
of the car ahead of us and this view
into the hotel as we stared at the dash
and waited for the basketball team to check in and the jeep
to stop blocking traffic. After leaving the car
in the garage
for the night, we headed to the room where Norma had left this present
for the adults, this shirt for Sarah,
these books for Ben
and this shirt for Jane.
The opened package revealed these books
for the adults which caused everyone to have a rest
before turning in for the night.
