Where I Want to Go on Vacation

Yoshida Village, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

They have a vacation package where you spend a couple of days smelt steel, specifically tamahagane, the steel that is traditionally used in their swords.

I also want to hit Sri Lankha to participate in a wind driven "monsoon" furnaces recreation.

I am the dullest man on the face of the earth.

Nice Lazy Day Today

Went to the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Ma, pictures to follow, had lunch with a family friend, Lisa, and had dinner with my niece Eugenia. (Youee)

And there was much rejoicing.

Then we were forced to eat Robin's minstrels , and there was much rejoicing.

A Correction

Our Airbnb is on the banks of the Chicopee river, a tributary of the Connecticut river.

Here are some pictures:

Nice view. ,

Deep Thought

I was looking at taking a vacation on Viking River Cruises.

Their website looked nice, but then I realized that the allegedly "All-Inclusive" vacation would not provide us the opportunity to sack any monasteries.*

Bummer.

^*The Viking raid on Lindesfarne, 793 CE. It is generally considered the start of the viking age in Europe. Read a book, why don't ya'?

Back Home

Fairly easy drive.

Posting frequency should be back to normal in tomorrow.

Another Vacation Post

First a bit more detail on yesterday, we went to New York City, took the PATH train in from New Jersey, because we are staying at an AirBnB in Teaneck, and driving into New York is just kind of nuts.

We hit the Drama Book Shop and The Strand Bookstore and then went to meet up with a friend of Nat's in the West Village.

Along the way, we were walking down the street, and I glanced over, and saw that I was right in front of The Stonewall Inn which got Nat's LGBTQ history geek on.

We also had some exquisite Thai cuisine at Tue Thai. (New York has the most consistently good food scene in the nation)

Today, we were celebrating the wedding of my niece Zahava Gersten to Binyamin Majowka.  (No pictures, you can probably find some of Facebook)

The bride was beautiful, and the groom was handsome, and they adore each other.

The fact that we were at their wedding means that they were not following my first piece of advice on weddings and marriage, which is that one should elope.

I did give them another piece of advice, something that I give to every bride and groom, which is to understand that the first year is about them as a couple, before children, or career, or anything else, and they need to treasure this time.

It was a bit weird though, they got married in the same event hall as Sharon^* and I, and Zahava was in attendance at our wedding, albeit in her mom's (Sharon's^* sister) womb.

The passage of time is weird.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Hit the City Today

I mean New York City.

My niece is getting married in New Rochelle on Sunday, so we drive up Friday, and hot the City today.

No details now, I'm bushed.

(Posting from my phone)