Plan B

We are a little behind again. This post covers last weekend, We will catch up soon! 

Another three day weekend was upon us! We have been trying to extend one weekend a month and the one for July was approaching. Monday, July 21st was a vacation day and we were very excited about it. We live pretty close to New York City (Manhattan, as outsiders would call it) but neither of us had gone to the city in years and we decided, a few weeks ago, that Sunday would be the day. We had a restaurant picked out for dinner and we would walk around the city the remainder of the day and just simply enjoy the beautiful weather. Then, through circumstances beyond our control, the plans looked to be in serious danger!

The Long Island Railroad had called for a strike and set their walk off time as 12:01 am on July 20th...that would be Sunday! We needed to take the railroad! Driving in the city is tough when parking spaces are at a premium. We wanted to make this day stress free and finding a parking spot every time we made a move just would not work. We prepared Plan B in case the strike could not be averted. We would have fun regardless! 

On Thursday, the announcement was made that a settlement had been reached and there would be no strike! Sunday would be our trip to the city! With one uncertainty removed from our lives, we turned our attention to Saturday saling. There were a lot of choices this week though none were clear cut so we made a big list of potential stops...eleven in all. We knew we would never make them all due to distance and time constraints but we would do our best. We chose the stop we liked best, headed in that direction and our saling adventures had begun.

On the way to our first stop, we got the call. Monica's sister let us know that Monica's mom was going by ambulance to the hospital. She had a leg infection that was not responding entirely to the medication that the doctor had prescribed a few weeks earlier and she had fallen twice within the last week. Monica's dad made the right decision...get better treatment. As it turned out, she was on the way to the hospital located in the same town as our first sale. Monica's sister suggested that we go to the sale first and then the hospital where she would be settled in by the time we arrived...and so we did.

Our first stop was a pretty easy choice. The sale was run by one of our favorite tag sale companies and, since no one sale showed us a whole lot of anything, this sale was as good a place to start as any.

There were plenty of rooms to search and there was an old pencil sharpener (always, a good sign!) but we did not find a lot here. We left with a record case, one record, a few charms and a few cookbooks. 

By the time, we got to the hospital, Monica's mom was comfortably set up in the emergency room and was in good spirits. She was weak but not in any danger and, after a couple of hours, we left her in Monica's father's care and made plans to return in the evening when she would have a room. There was nothing left to do except continue on with the day's journey...and we did.

We narrowed our list down to the ones located between the hospital and our house so we could maximize our time. Luckily, there were several that fit this criteria and we had our course set. We expected to be able to make five more stops. We arrived at stop #2 which was a house most recently owned by a 94 year old attorney. Monica was ready! 

There was a great old screen door located inside the house. At one time, this was probably the entrance to the house but an extension was added and now it was the gateway between the house and a garage.

The kitchen had been modernized at some point and new appliances lined the kitchen walls...except for this oven which was probably the only evidence of an old kitchen that was now just a memory.

This bedroom had not been updated since inspired by The Brady Bunch. Groovy! It was an interesting house but we did not find much to take home. We took home four  cookbooks for a $1 

Stop #3 was a sale run by one of the biggest tag sale companies in our area...and one we really like. 

We loved the great metal awning above the side door

The basement floor was great too!

Rob explored the bar area in the basement

The bar counter top was green and speckly!

We found a pair of elf blow molds in the basement but one was broken and both had price tags above what we were willing to pay. We did find a few things worthwhile...a pair of old Christmas stockings and a Santa blow mold cookie jar. They would join us on our car ride home.

Stop #4 was listed as having "50 years of accumulation". There really was some great old furniture on the lawn but nothing that really fit our decor (nor did we have room for it) and there was nothing inside. Stop #5 was "grandma's attic". It was also just outside and nothing seemed to belong to Grandma at all (unless Grandma loved playing Nintendo). Neither sale found us opening our wallets.

Our sixth and final stop of the day was pretty close to our house and was run by a tag sale company who we have not visited in quite some time. We like them and it was good seeing them. 

The house had many cool rooms and definitely had a lot of older things. A collector of ceramic pigs would have gone hog wild here! None of the pigs said "buy me" to us. We did find an old plastic Santa candy holder, a glass and a couple of stirrers and they became ours.

As we drove home, we spoke about what we knew was running through both of our minds...Plan B. It just wasn't a great idea to spend Sunday in the city when Monica's mom was in the hospital. The city would still be there later in the year. We would still have fun on Sunday. We had Plan B.

Here are some of the things we got on Saturday:

A couple of records

Some books

Some Christmas things

A record holder for 7 inch records and an old pink elephant glass

A "Powerful Magnet" still in its package (made in Japan), two cocktail stirrers, an Archie Andrews button and a couple of old charms (a clown and a harMONICA)

We were back at the hospital Saturday night and, again, late Sunday afternoon. Monica's mom has a bacterial infection of her legs which is especially of concern since she has diabetes. She also had a slight heart arrhythmia (later determined to be caused by the stress of her situation and it will go away). Our earlier trip to the hospital on Sunday was so we could put Plan B into effect...and we did.

Just down the road from the hospital was one of our favorite restaurants...Palace Of Wong. It has been around since 1969 and remains pretty much unchanged since then. It has great neon lights outside...

...many great neon lights!

The menu offers many exotic drinks...

...served in Tiki mugs and enhanced with tiny umbrellas. Rob had a Mai Tai. Monica had a Zombie. 

In truth, we shared them both together

The food was great, as always. It was a great dinner out.

Although we did not get to take the Tiki mugs home with us (though we did take the little umbrellas), they were glad we came and smiled at us as we left.

After dinner, we took a drive just a few miles south to Long Beach. The docks were completely destroyed during Hurricane Sandy and were not rebuilt until last summer. It was our first look at the new boardwalk.

We had a great walk to help digest our food along the beach

It was a beautiful summer evening spent together. Plan B was a success

Monday was our day off and we spent it catching up on errands and visiting some thrift shops

These were some of the thrift shops we visited. We went to many and had a great time even if we did not find much. Thrift shops are not what they used to be and we did not expect to find too much. We did find a few things though.

Our thrift shop finds...one record and one doll from the early 1960's for Monica

Evening hospital visits became our every night routine during the week except for Tuesday night. Little Anthony and The Imperials were playing a free outdoor concert Tuesday evening and Monica's dad really wanted us to take him...and so we did. He spent the entire day at the hospital and, during the evening, Monica's dad, Monica's sister, Monica's brother-in law and our niece and nephew went to see the concert. They did not disappoint and it was a nice show outdoors on a beautiful, cool summer evening.

It has been a very busy week. Monica's mom had minor surgery on Friday to remove a small piece of her heel and she is doing well. We expect her to be in the hospital for another week or so and then onto a brief stint in rehab before going home. She will be okay, though, and that's all that counts. Everything will be fine. We have each other's hand and that will keep us moving along steadily on the path that has become our adventures amongst the ducks.