Welcome to the next post in the series Letters from America 1985 -1987 that I wrote home to my parents in the UK. My father kept them all in a folder and on his death they came back to me with a note to publish them.
29th September 1987
Dear M & D,
I hope you are well and my long missive about our trip to Hawaii has arrived safely. We are more or less back to normal, although it has taken a little while to come down from the high of our holiday. We have had a lot of visitors since we came back all wanting to find out how we got on, and most of our friends have never visited the Islands but I think they will go now. We brought back a fabulous post of Hanauma Bay and have just had it framed. It is in pride of place in our dining area. We have collected a number of these posters to add colour to the apartment and will bring them home as a reminder of the places we have been.
There are hardly any Indian restaurants here in our part of Texas, and to be honest we have not found many on our travels except in Las Vegas. However, David has got out his famous curry recipe and it has become a hit. We are off to a party tonight with a giant pot full and a large container of rice for about 20 people. I have spent all afternoon chopping tomatoes, onion, and hard boiling egg to go with the other bits as garnish. It was almost impossible to find mango chutney so have had to substitute with some pickle. Dessicated coconut is available and I will chop the bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice last thing. Some of the guest have not tried curry before, but if they have eaten spicy Mexican food they should be fine.. if not… then tomorrow will be interesting.
To dampen the fires, we are also taking along a gallon bucket of Mai Tai. Rum, Rum and more Rum with a sniff of pineapple juice! We may end up sleeping on their floor rather than driving home.
I start French, Spanish and shorthand revision on Monday so that should we come back in the New Year, I am employable. I love the leisure time and the chance to travel around the States, swim and play tennis but I don’t want to get too mentally lazy. I am writing short stories and articles about our trips and that is keeping me occupied.
David’s proposed trip last week was cancelled, but next week he is going to Seattle and I am going with him. Due to all the mileage he has clocked up with one of the airlines, he has been awarded a companion ticket. Seattle is the furthest north point in the USA and it is $500 dollars return so we would not afford for me to go normally. We leave on the 7 a.m. flight which will give us most of the day sight seeing before David’s meeting the next morning. The temperature in Washington State is already 40 degrees, so it will mean getting out my tights and winter clothes for the first time in 7 months.
Yesterday we went and bought all the booze for your stay. I am not implying that you drink a great deal, but we are planning on several parties while you are with us. The prices go up here by 15% from Tuesday so a good time to buy. We bought the fixings for all kinds of exotic cocktails including margaritas and Chi Chis… more about those when you arrive. I hope you enjoy Canadian whisky Mollie since they don’t have much Scotch in the store, and we did get 3 litres!
Today we are going to the cinema with one of our friends and his girlfriend and then tomorrow we have a water volleyball game. However, it has been raining and it is only 75 degrees….brrrrrrr.
It is only five weeks until you arrive and getting very excited.. some road trips are booked and our friends are really looking forward to seeing you.
lots of love Sally and David.
©Sally Cronin 2018
I hope you have enjoyed this letter from our adventures in America and will join me next week for our trip to Seattle.. thanks Sally.
Always guaranteed to put a big smile on my face! Keep them comin’ Sally!
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Great to hear thanks Elizabeth…hugs ♥
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As entertaining as always, Sally. I hadn’t realised Seattle was so north (my knowledge of American geography not being what it should be) – you would certainly feel a big difference in temperature. Your ‘only 75 degrees’ made me smile rather ruefully.
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Lol.. and it has almost as much rain as we do hear.. but spectacular forestation and coastline.. xx
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I hope chopping onions and other things has changed over the years. Now its no longer a “women work”. 😉 Michael
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Definitely not just ‘women’s work’ Michael.. we can now all have a good cry when we chop onions…xxx
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:-)) Yes! Fully agree, Sally!
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Sounds like good times, Sally, with all those nice drinks. I had to laugh about Indian restaurants – we have them everywhere here, though far outnumbered by all manner of Asian ones. Can’t wait to read the next instalment. Toni x
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Thanks Toni.. how times have changed.. and we do love our Indian takeaways.. although David’s curries are still the best…hugsx
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I also like Indian food, Sally. I haven’t had it for ages because of C-19. I think catering for 20 is a great achievement but you did do that catering for a school so maybe it wasn’t as hard for you as it would be for me. I look forward to reading about Seattle.
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My biggest problem was scaling down recipes from 120 to 20.. for ages after I stopped cooking for work I would always produce too much…hugsx
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😊
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LOL “I am not implying that you drink a great deal…” That cracked me up, Sally. I always enjoy these letters. Thanks for sharing them. Hugs on the wing!
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Thanks Teagan.. glad you are enjoying..hugsx
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I’ll be interested to hear how you found Seattle as I lived there for 6 years. Enjoying your impressions of America!
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Thanks Sharon…we seemed to have followed in your footsteps… xx
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I enjoyed this latest installment of your American adventure! I’m really looking forward to the account of your parents’ visit.
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Thanks Liz.. it was lovely to have them for an extended visit..hugsxx
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As usual, your “Letters from America“ are excellent and I enjoy each and every one. Thanks for sharing. Hugs
Reblogged on Improvisation – “The Art of Living”
https://williampriceking.tumblr.com/
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Thank you William…delighted you are entertained..hugsxx
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I really enjoy your “Letters from America”. They are such a fun time capsule.
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Thank you Julia..glad you are enjoying.
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Excellent, Sally. I guess we will find out how the Canadian Whiskey went down later.
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We will John..hugsx
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No doubt your parents had the time of their lives Sal. Lol Canadian whiskey, it is pretty popular here, especially the higher end – Crown Royal. Also, we have many Indian restaurants in Toronto and throughout most of Canada. Toronto has a huge Indian population here, therefore, some great Indian eats. We are a multi-cultural city. And come to think of it. I nary can recall seeing an Indian restaurant in many of the places I’ve been in various states, many times. I would have loved to be at some of your parties! 🙂 ❤ xx
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We would have loved to have had you there Debby.. at that time we had to go to Las Vegas to find a decent Indian restaurant, I think in Texas particularly there was more than enough delicious spicy Mexican foods to enjoy. We ate in an Indian restaurant in Toronto but cannot for the life of me remember its name. Loved our week there and would be very happy to visit again one day…♥♥
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Yes, You had thought you may have been coming here this year – BC (before Covid) 😦 When this thing goes away, I’m going to begin my bucket list. ❤
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Me too…will make it happen..♥
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That’s a fact! ❤
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I’m glad these were kept, Sally.
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Thanks Cynthia.. it is lovely revisiting a very happy time. x
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Do the two of you socialize and travel as much now as you did in those days? You never seemed to have issues finding things to do.
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We were quite adventurous until our 50s and then different commitments were more important, and we also lived in a sunny climate with a pool and it seemed daft to spend a lot of money travelling when we had a great set up where we were. Much of the excitement and pleasure was getting to those places and in recent years it has become too much of a hassle. xxx
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It all sounded a dream, Sally. The time to go – when you’re young or younger…Sadly, while we have our fab. memories, travelling does get harder at the years pass. But so grateful for those wonderful memories, eh? Hugs xx
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It was an amazing time Joy and because we knew it would come to an end we made the most of it… David had to work very hard but that was right up his street..hugsx
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I wish I could have been there too! You had such a great time and made the most of all your opportunities. Looking forward to the next instalment! xx
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Thanks Alex… a time of our lives that we both remember vividly and so pleased we experienced together..hugsx
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Another great letter, Sally. Where did we get all that energy back in the day?
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Not sure Jennie but I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I should have lol..hugsx
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I feel the same way!
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