Mom and Dad!

My weekend with my parents didn’t start off so great. In fact, it was pretty awful. It started on their end, in Florida, when the real estate agent called three hours before the closing on the Michigan house telling them that the event was going to be delayed two weeks (i.e. two more weeks before they have enough money to pay for the moving costs they already charged to their cards). Then, their flight to Long Island was delayed. Meanwhile, plans for our upcoming worry-free weekend swirled through my head. I did a little last-minute cleaning and walked out to my parking lot a bit early so I could pick up a pizza on the way to the airport. One problem: for the first time in its life, my car decided not to start. Perfect timing. 11 p.m. With my parents touching down within a half hour. My knowledge of cars is pretty much inexistent. So car troubles probably rank in my top five reasons for crying, which is exactly what I did after turning the key in the ignition at least another six times. Well, I think I held my composure during my first few phone calls, the first being Abbey…don’t ask me why. After no pickup from my neighbor, and a blubbery voicemail to my dad, Pete came to the rescue. Except we really couldn’t figure out what was wrong, even with some over-the-phone coaching from my car-friendly brother. Pete ended up picking up my parents, for which I owe him lunch for at least the next week. That night, stranded in my apartment with my parents, our weekend plans seemed ruined. However, by 11 a.m. the next morning, I was $700 poorer, Firestone was $700 richer and my car was awake again. And although our weekend fun was delayed, our bad luck was pretty much over.

We spent the rest of the day giving my car a workout as we drove out to Greenport for lunch and then visited a series of wineries on the way back. For dinner, we ate the pizza we never got the night before.

We spent Sunday in the city. Our train in and out was delayed, but we still managed to squeeze in a three-hour boat tour that circled the island, a walk through Central Park, sightseeing down Fifth Avenue, and eating at two of my favorites: Burritoville and Carmines.

I took Monday off of work and we drove out to Westhampton for some beach time. It really is pretty out there, and much more comfortable than the rocky beaches on the north shore. But it’s kind of a long drive. We rushed back to Port Jeff for some lunch and Italian ice and then it was already time to drop them back at the airport.

Oh, and dad gave my car the royal treatment on Monday morning, including a full wash, vacuuming and interior shinning. Maybe that will keep it happy for a while.