It's the start of one week of family time in the Big Apple. Once again I am staying with my big sister Dolores, whom I miss so much between visits. She has again, generously let me commandeer her bedroom in her Harlem Condo. Today I left the apartment early, taking my first ever Uber ride to Grand Central Station.
As planned I arrived at the station quite early. After roaming the massive station - which these days has zero seating in most of its spaces (!) I had bought myself breakfast, which tasted of decadence; an iced Rubbarb & Elderberry cake with iced espresso coffee.
Soon it was time to meet up with my Michigan Cousin Yvonne (we share the same birth month and year) and our 'newest' cousin David and Cousin-in-Law Tom. We met up near the information booth and it felt like forever since we last got together.
Tom was our acting transportation guide. He shuttled us onto a train headed north to Woodland Cemetery, which is located in the Bronx, near Van Cortland Park.
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| Tom, David and Yvonne on our Train ride to Woodland Cemetery |
Arriving at our station, Tom and David headed off to a local florist, there to purchase flowers for the gravesites we will visit today. Meanwhile, Yvonne and I meandered over to Woodlawn and chatted a bit until David and Tom caught up with us again.
Woodlawn Cemetery must be the size of Wisconsin! We all enjoyed the interesting flora and trees, as well as the various elaborate burial vaults we passed along the route to the family gravesite. Though we were glad we did the walk, Yvonne and I were feeling our Baby Boomer years. But we made the half mile (ten miles?) to the our goal nevertheless. We were at Woodlawn because it is the final resting spot of David's grandfather William Cuthbert White, and of his grandmother Catherine White. William Cuthbert is the Great Uncle of Yvonne and myself. Cuthbert is the half brother of Adele Cordel Carter, grandmother to Yvonne and myself.
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| David, Yvonne and Tom |
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| My Great Uncle William Cuthbert & Great Aunt Catherine |
Both my Grandmother Adele and William Cuthbert immigrated from Barbados to the United States. On arriving in America, Cuthbert passed himself off as entirely white, marrying Catherine who was a German immigrant. And therein rests a thousand and one family stories and mysteries. It was quite emotional finally seeing where the long spoke of Uncle Cuthbert rests. David and Tom did some maintenance on the gravestone and flowers were left in remembrance.
We took Uber for a ride to our next stop, north, to Fern Cliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, NY. We started off visiting the Mausoleum - quite impressive.
We meandered over the vast grounds of Fern Cliff, discovering the cemetery doesn't have gravestones. Gravesites are marked with plaques and with a little sleuthing, we soon found the very one we searched for. It wasn't easy finding the spot because grass had grown over the plaque and the colorful autumn leaves made a beautiful red and russet blanket covering over the marker.
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| One of the many ways to 'dig into' one's family history |
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| Charles Lomax Carter & Adele Irene Cordel Carter |
Adele Irene Cordel Carter is the grandmother of Yvonne and myself, and she is the Great Aunt of David. David's aunt Anne, daughter of William Cuthbert had 'Adele' as a middle name, and David named his own daughter Adele. At the time he was unaware the source of his aunt's name was his grandfather's sister, my grandmother.
Clever David & Tom knew the little round knobby thing at the top of the grave plaque twisted and lifted up to reveal a vase for the flowers they brought.
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| The clever little vase rose up out of the plaque when twisted |
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| Yvonne |
We each meditated on our personal thoughts on visiting this important family location, then it was time to leave. We took another Uber to Half Moon Restaurant at Dobb's Ferry on the Hudson. Tom had earlier investigated the area and chose it for our luncheon and meet-up.
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| Just outside of Half Moon Restaurant at Dobb's Ferry |
There our meet-up was with David's sister and her husband so we enjoyed yet another little reunion. The restaurant is beautiful, airy and had wonderful views of the Hudson River.
Sometimes the ancestors tweak the earth magic's for you, and we had some of that magic today. Today is a part of Restaurant Week! The others were familiar with 'Restaurant Week' from other areas of the country but it was all new to me.
During Restaurant Week, restaurants show you their specialities, by offering special picks of their menu at a v. reasonable prices. So, for our lunch, a mere $23 each, that got us a gourmet meal complete with one's choice from a list of starters, entrees and desserts.
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| The Surf n' Turf |
Took forever to make up my mind, but eventually I went for the classic, 'Surf & Turf' BBQ braised short ribs, grilled shrimp, sweet potato puree & braised red cabbage.
I was however, mesmerized by the buttery bowl of mussels that David dug into: Mussels Pot of grilled pan de casa with a choice of chipotle tomato broth or white wine, bacon, parsley broth.
I suspect there was no way to make a wrong choice for what to try out. We feasted like royalty while visiting with each other.
Too soon we were lolling over our empty dessert bowls and putting on our coats to head back to our hotels and such. We braved it through the cold eastern winds to the train station. There we waited in a warm room until our train back to Manhattan rattled along.
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| Staying toasty in the train station warming room |
I bid my cousins farewell on the train and departed their company in Manhattan, where I ordered up an Uber ride back to my beautiful sister's home.
We bustled on south to Baltimore, where we popped in on Kirk, Nicole and their kids. My grand-niece & nephew are really into the theater arts these days. Sydney was off watching a friend of hers in a high school production - I can't believe she is in high school. And James-Allen and his dad were off buy a half ton of food for the Baltimore branch of the Leyba-Millers. My niece Bea, her hubby Avon and daughter Ain came on over too and we feasted everyone's favorite chow from local restaurant establishments.
