Go North, Find Leaves

The Turk and I have been planning our escape for the past month. My client gave me the first 2 weeks of October to not be at work.  So...where to go?

The Turk's extended Turkey visit countered any thoughts of going overseas this year...and besides, he hasnt seen much of the east coast yet. So, Smokey Mountains it is!  And, its FALL. I had  no idea that this was considered high season in the mountains.  Apparently people plan their year around when they estimate the leaves will 'change'. So, we are now part of that crowd.

Off we go from Dunedin, with a quick stop to pick up cables for my iPod...and what parked next to us? This amazing 1960 Chevy Impala convertible.  A great start. To contrast with this siting, at a gas station we found a miniature van  underneath a lawn tractor.  No idea why.

We arrived in Atlanta for a couple days with Dave, Judy and Kati. Important stop to catch up, drink wine and shop at Trader Joe's.  We also stretched our legs along the Chattahoochee River. Beautiful way to start the day.

After more festing, the next day were were onto our mountain adventure...ah...the mysteries of the Smokeys await!

The Turk Hits New York

Checking out the food in Chinatown..CRABS!

Checking out the food in Little Italy..Sausages!

 The Turk joined me for a week during my NYC stint for my client project.  Because I needed to be there 2 weeks, I rented an apartment.  A months rental was cheaper than 2 weeks in a hotel!  We 'lived' in Chinatown, with a landlord who greeted us carrying a bottle of chianti and beer.  We liked him immediately.

A knitted tricycle - a must have in NYC

9/11 homage to first responder fire fighters

 Being in NYC for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 was interesting.  First, the flight was empty. Second, the traffic entering the city was at a halt as all trucks were being searched - so we took a train in from Newark airport. And, being blocks from ground zero, we saw firemen and police officers in dress blues all day Sunday, 11th.  The first responder firehouses were open and filled with visitors.  The beautiful day was being enjoyed by sightseers, locals and visitors.  And it seemed everyone was connected to the reason for the date.

Our Kitchen, complete with wine and flowers!

Our roof deck, right off the kitchen

Food is always interesting in NYC and the Turk and I were ready.      
An Austrian restaurant - in chinatown! - was the size of a hallway.  The best thing I found was fresh pretzel bread from the oven, spaetzle, sausages and goulash.
We had to try some Chinese food - so off we went to Vanessa's Dumplings which are really pot stickers. Another very small space, but you could see the back room where several potsticker experts were rolling out and filling the dough about as quickly as they were being cooked. We ordered several servings of potstickers, a large sweet and sour soup filled with mushrooms and sesame roll (also made there) filled with sliced duck.  The cost of this feast?  $12.50  wow
There was the mandatory brick oven pizza in Little Italy, complete with accordion player, for a huge price.  But it was fun and delicious.
While I was working, the Turk and the Landlord went to Dim Sum in nod to the landlord, and to a turkish restaurant to have it validated by the Turk.
Wanting to try out the kitchen, the Turk fixed lamb stew for my team one evening.  A fun evening on the roof deck!

We even got to have dinner with our friend Blake from Austin who was in town for work. We had just seen him in Tampa. Small world.

Then, before we knew it, the Turk was heading home. :'(
And I stayed for another week.  While work took up most of my time, I did get to have some fun.
 I saw the sold out Broadway show - the Book of Mormon.    I laughed so hard, sang along with the tunes and thoroughly enjoyed it.  

He was calling to me in the Village

Enjoying his NYC adventure

Man camping in a parking spot - pinecones, tree, sleeping bag

Sitting at outdoor cafe for some wine

Finally a walk on the High Line over the Meatpacking district - old elevated railway tracks. Now a park above the streets.

Pirates on the subway. Must have come up from Tampa

Art in the Meat Packing neighborhood outside the Standard Hotel

Menu for bubble tea/jelly tea shop....don't ask!

Birds, Sand, More Birds- Caledesi Island

A perfect August morning is sunny and warm, light breeze and not too humid.  Mornings and evenings are special at the beach as acknowledged by the wildlife more than the humans.  We joined nature's morning activities by setting out in kayaks this morning.

Our destination was Caledesi Island, reachable only by boat.  This island is really the south side of Honeymoon Island that split off in a hurricane in 1921.  The pass between the islands is aptly called Hurricane Pass. Because the current in the Pass is so strong, we headed out a bit east from the causeway between Dunedin and Honeymoon Island.

 We kayaked some 'bumpy' waters from the wake of boats heading out for the day. Once we passed the channel (highway for the boats going to the gulf), the water calmed down and we made it to Caledesi beach.

We pulled our kayaks to shore and hiked the island a bit.  Very few humans and very many birds.  These birds clearly owned the island but were not too concerned with us walking around.  The water was great to cool us down and get us ready for more kayaking.

seeking shade in the mangroves

We headed over to the east side of the island - the mangrove side - that is full of fish and osprey.  I guess that is a perfect match!  The water is so calm and there are no motor boats allowed so this is the peaceful side of the island.  We hid in the mangroves for a  while to cool down and have lunch.  Then, with the August heat starting to bear down, we headed back. 

A great way to start a Sunday!

Farkel Time

It's hot, it's muggy, it must be farkel gathering time. Farkels converged to Dunedin from Orlando, Winter Park, and Winter Springs.  Frozen watermelon mojitos were waiting and set the scene for the weekend of talking, eating, drinking, talking, shopping, sunset, talking, more eating and talking!

Our weekend to catch up, share stories, enjoy everyone's eccentricities. After all, we've known one another for 35 years and those little oddities have become even more interesting .  Back then, we were so young and had no idea what life had in store. Still the case as far as seeing the future, but now we have some experience to help the journey.  The advantage to aging methinks.  The only advantage?!

 Another stunning sunset on Honeymoon Island.

Our in-house chef!

The Turk Comes Home

Working all day, trying to concentrate... the Turk is coming home tonight! The meetings seem to last forever.  He calls when he gets into the country...almost but not quite home.  Get into the car to drive to the airport... traffic everywhere....breathe and focus....you'll get there.  Plane has arrived...now waiting for the tram to arrive.  Nope, not that one.  He needs time to get off the plane.   Nope, not that one either..probably not enough time.   Lots of people getting off this one...wait, I think I see...yes!  There he is with a great big smile.
Arms outstretched we grab each other and hug tightly.  Its been a long 6 weeks and now I can finally see that he looks great.  Tired from the trip of course, but great.  Now its time to bring him back home where I can keep an eye on him.  That crazy Turk - what will I do with him!

That Turk - What Am I Going to Do With Him?!

Taken from Skype call

Mark left for his annual 3 week visit home, called when he got there, all was good.  I received a phone call 8 hours later from a very frightened Mark who was calling me from the health clinic.  A few hours after telling me he had arrived, he suffered severe chest pressure and tingling.  He wisely took an aspirin and his brother took him to the clinic where an ultrascan told them he had 2 blocked arteries and was not suffering a heart attack. (later it was confirmed that he DID have a heart attack).   But he needed to go immediately to the cardiac hospital in Izmir, nearby city, for an angioplasty.   He told them he needed to call his wife first - and this was this phone call.

I assured him, but more likely myself, that he would be ok and this was a normal procedure to do.  He said it would cost $1500, so I told him that was a deal - get 2 (which ironically he did). He said they were waiting for him to stop talking with me to put him in the ambulance for the trip to Izmir.  Our goodbyes were tentative.

After about 4 hours, I started wondering how I would find out the results. His family doesnt speak english, and I dont speak turkish. hmmm...   I remembered that nephew  Ali in Istanbul knows some english from working at a tourist hotel, and is on facebook alot.  To facebook I went!  Ali was online and when i asked him how uncle was doing, he said - I'll call my dad because he is with uncle.  His facebook update was: uncle is good. aunt should not worry. uncle is in intensive care for 3 days.

yikes!  At that point, I didnt know the results of the procedure, but now knew that Mark was out and recovering.  I told Ali - I need to talk with uncle as soon as possible.   The following day I got a phone call, and there was the Turk telling me he was fine.  He was plugged in from everywhere, but felt fine and would talk with me again when he got released and was home.  He depended on his brother to visit during visiting time with his cell phone.  So we had a window of about 15 minutes to talk

Only in subsequent phone calls have I learned what was done and the details that help the story become real for me.  The staff in ICU made fun of Mark's odd turkish accent (odd because of all the time he spent in Germany growing up) so he told them he was American.  To them, this now made sense.  He tells of the ambulance ride with his brother, the immediate admission to surgery when they arrived and the first class care he felt he received.  In fact, he got a CD of his procedure.

And then he told me what  the doctor said -  no flying home for 6 weeks. The long term pressure of the flight over had caused the reaction, tho his arteries were already closed. With the angioplasty, they needed the arteries to settle after the stents were inserted, before they would be ready for the long term pressure of flying home.

Today, we had our first Skype call - so I finally got to see him since he left 2 1/2 weeks ago.  My turk looks great and sound great.  His latest doctor visit was good, but reinforced the 6 weeks no fly zone.  He is taking advantage of the longer time to visit more people. He will go to Istanbul this week to visit nephew Ali.  He is helping the family with their vegetable farming - peppers, tomatoes, eggplants.  So, he is now enjoying his visit and it seems they are now enjoying it too.  Me - the next 3 1/2 weeks will be long.

A Kayaking We Go!

Tulin and the turk - ready to go!

Sandbars were the biggest threat

 The Turk and I took Tulin out for a day of kayaking down the Little Manatee River.  By going during the week while school is still in session, we managed to get the river to ourselves.  Well, us and the wildlife had the river.   

 The first part of the river was really shallow, so we dragged off of sandbars and dodged fallen trees to start our trip.  Finally the water got a bit deeper and the wildlife got more interesting.

 I turned a bend in the river and heard a strange bird call.  I looked toward the sound, through the tree branches, and found 2 very large owls with very dark and well defined eyes. They were impressive.

We started finding turtles sunning themselves on the fallen trees sticking up in the water  - more hazards for us to avoid.  The turk was excited about seeing so many good sized mullet but then got frustrated that he wasnt going to be able to catch them.

The turk saw the first alligator, a mere child at about 18 inches long. Tulin thought it looked really interesting until I mentioned that where there is a baby, there is a mother.  Then every floating branch or sunken tree limb was a potential momma alligator. When the second siting took place, she was ready for the trip to end.

Stoic turtle poses for us

In several spots we were 'welcomed' by vultures who had clearly staked their territory based on a delicious rotting carcass.  We speeded up our paddling around those guys - they are just ugly!

My foot makes an appearance during a drift break

Lunch always seems yummier after being outside and on the water and our eclectic lunch was no exception - mangoes, borek (filo, feta, spinach), nuts and hard boiled eggs.  The turk was the only casualty when he ran his face into a wood fence while climbing the sandy bank to get to lunch. The turk was not happy about that!!!

But all in all, a beautiful warm day on a quiet river that gave us a sneak peak into its daily routine.