Visit to Elmira

In May we made a trip to Upstate New York to rendezvous with Oma and Opa in Elmira. Opa immigrated there in the ’50s, with his father Josef and sister Lotte.  Being so far away, we don’t get to visit Tante Lotte and Onkel Hans very often (as in once every 10 years if we’re lucky!) so we took advantage of the fact that Josef can still fly for free.

Thankfully, the flight there could hardly have gone any smoother, seeing as how that was pretty much such a daunting prospect that it nearly inhibited us making the trip.  Josef was very well behaved and cheerful, and we kept him plied with a steady stream of treats and snacks.  The whole family was waiting for us at the tiny airport in Elmira, and it was a very heartwarming welcome.

The next 4 days were spent very easily, visiting and taking in a few sights.  We got a tour of Opa’s old stomping grounds, and spent hours playing in a park watching Josef grow more bold in his exploration of tall play structures.  We visited an incredibly quaint, volunteer-operated amusement park on a huge pond, where Josef took his first carousel ride, and also a trip around the mini golf course on an even tinier train.  It was such a splendid and wholesome little park, it felt like we’d slipped back 60 years in time.  We also drove up to check out the view from Harris Hill and inspect their playground facilities, which Josef proclaimed satisfactory.

We made sure to pay our respects to Opa Josef, who is buried in the same cemetery as Mark Twain.  His grave is in a very peaceful location under a big tree.

Every morning Opa and I would venture out to make a survey of the local doughnut offerings, which I proclaimed unsatisfactory.  Perhaps the maple bar innovation has not made it that far east of the Mississippi.  Tante Lotte made us several tasty home-cooked suppers, and we also went out for a fancy Italian feast and a fish fry.

Onkel Hans and Tante Lotte were incredibly gracious hosts, telling tales of the old country and doting on little Josef.  I was unable to get a private accordion recital out of Onkel Hans, but he did send me home with some homemade paprika and a bag of magic beans, which Josef and I summarily planted in our garden.

We stayed in a charming little motor inn (owned by one of Onkel Hans’ former boy scouts) in a room right next to Oma and Opa.  This was really nice, because it afforded us lots of really good quality time visiting and just lounging about.  It’s hard to have them so far away from us.

The trip home was uneventful, assuming of course you don’t count the part where United changed our flight and gave us a 30 minute layover in O’Hare, necessitating an all-out sprint (with Rachael’s fractured ankle) across a half mile of concourses.  Other than that it was awesome.  I’m so glad we made the trip; it was really special to get to spend so much time with my distant family.