heroes—and yes, going shopping.
On our last day in London, Aaron noted: “Went to Jacobs and bought two automobiles.”
It’s not what it sounds like. Yes, we bought a London checker cab and a red Ferrari, but they weren’t for us. The Jacobs showroom with the miniature motorized cars in the window was near our hotel, the Dorchester, and no matter where we were walking, the kids steered us toward the showroom. Tori begged for one, then two, cars. Randy joined in. No matter where we were, the kids wanted to go back and look at the cars. Tori agonized over whether she wanted the Ferrari or the Mercedes more. Randy wanted the yellow checkered cab with black writing.
Aaron’s journal revealed the bottom line: We weren’t good at saying “no” to Randy and Tori. We bought them the cars and arranged for them to be shipped home. They took months to get to California, as Tori and Randy reminded us almost every day when one of them would say something like, “I feel like taking a drive today.” They did enjoy them, and we did enjoy watching them driving around our property in their European imports.
Aaron’s Post-it notes ended, and the rest of his parchment pages remained empty, except for one last one:
Bought great crystal cabinet at Goode’s.
Bought piece of luggage to add to our other 49
pieces.
Tori and Randy went to Windsor Castle to see the
Queen’s Doll Castle.
Candy packed the rest of the day.
Then, we took the
Orient Express
back to France.
As I write this, it’s still hard to believe. We visited the Louvre; toured Versailles as a guest of the Duc d’Orleans; went to Chanel, where Aaron picked out beautiful outfits for me; bought clothes for Randy and Tori at La Foyette; splurged on matching Vacheron Constantin watches (and now I wear his, which has a bigger face), and I hoped we could return there one day. We also bought a Cartier mystery clock, which we decided would always remind us of the wonderful vacation our family enjoyed.
The trip continued for two more weeks as we reversed our elegant trip across the Atlantic and boarded our train car and returned home. We had almost forgotten about the wood smell, but the first night on our
Cannonball
, it returned.
In a life of biggers and betters, excesses and too muches, our family trip to Europe stands out as one of the highlights of any life. It wasn’t about just the best hotels, limos, and yachts, the finest food and VIP tours. It was about sharing that month together, as a family; and in our kids’ frame of reference, the trip was like the rest of their lives: with only the biggest and the best. It was difficult to make them understand that big-city mayors don’t wave to everyone frompolice boats, and that most families are not welcomed with helicopters trailing banners or greeted by the First Lady in the private White House quarters. They knew their father worked in television and was important, but none of us could have conceived of how many people tried so hard to “VIP” us.
Aaron was wrong, by the way. As good a correspondent as he was, it was the fifty-third piece of luggage that we bought in England. Think about it. When you’re dressing your kids as wizards and showgirls for dinners at sea, you really have to pack a lot.
I still have that luggage in my attic, and I never walk by it without smiling as I think of the happy memories of our family vacation in Europe. We never did take another family train trip. How could we top the first?
Chapter 10
1984 Was a Very Good Year, After All
I love horror movies.
The first one I remember was
House of Wax
, which came out when I was seven. I knew something was up when my brother, who was well on his way to teenage mischief by then, told my parents that the movie was a love story. Even then I wondered why he wanted us to go see a love story when there were a lot of Westerns out. It was even stranger when they handed out 3D glasses, but I put mine on to see love up
On our last day in London, Aaron noted: “Went to Jacobs and bought two automobiles.”
It’s not what it sounds like. Yes, we bought a London checker cab and a red Ferrari, but they weren’t for us. The Jacobs showroom with the miniature motorized cars in the window was near our hotel, the Dorchester, and no matter where we were walking, the kids steered us toward the showroom. Tori begged for one, then two, cars. Randy joined in. No matter where we were, the kids wanted to go back and look at the cars. Tori agonized over whether she wanted the Ferrari or the Mercedes more. Randy wanted the yellow checkered cab with black writing.
Aaron’s journal revealed the bottom line: We weren’t good at saying “no” to Randy and Tori. We bought them the cars and arranged for them to be shipped home. They took months to get to California, as Tori and Randy reminded us almost every day when one of them would say something like, “I feel like taking a drive today.” They did enjoy them, and we did enjoy watching them driving around our property in their European imports.
Aaron’s Post-it notes ended, and the rest of his parchment pages remained empty, except for one last one:
Bought great crystal cabinet at Goode’s.
Bought piece of luggage to add to our other 49
pieces.
Tori and Randy went to Windsor Castle to see the
Queen’s Doll Castle.
Candy packed the rest of the day.
Then, we took the
Orient Express
back to France.
As I write this, it’s still hard to believe. We visited the Louvre; toured Versailles as a guest of the Duc d’Orleans; went to Chanel, where Aaron picked out beautiful outfits for me; bought clothes for Randy and Tori at La Foyette; splurged on matching Vacheron Constantin watches (and now I wear his, which has a bigger face), and I hoped we could return there one day. We also bought a Cartier mystery clock, which we decided would always remind us of the wonderful vacation our family enjoyed.
The trip continued for two more weeks as we reversed our elegant trip across the Atlantic and boarded our train car and returned home. We had almost forgotten about the wood smell, but the first night on our
Cannonball
, it returned.
In a life of biggers and betters, excesses and too muches, our family trip to Europe stands out as one of the highlights of any life. It wasn’t about just the best hotels, limos, and yachts, the finest food and VIP tours. It was about sharing that month together, as a family; and in our kids’ frame of reference, the trip was like the rest of their lives: with only the biggest and the best. It was difficult to make them understand that big-city mayors don’t wave to everyone frompolice boats, and that most families are not welcomed with helicopters trailing banners or greeted by the First Lady in the private White House quarters. They knew their father worked in television and was important, but none of us could have conceived of how many people tried so hard to “VIP” us.
Aaron was wrong, by the way. As good a correspondent as he was, it was the fifty-third piece of luggage that we bought in England. Think about it. When you’re dressing your kids as wizards and showgirls for dinners at sea, you really have to pack a lot.
I still have that luggage in my attic, and I never walk by it without smiling as I think of the happy memories of our family vacation in Europe. We never did take another family train trip. How could we top the first?
Chapter 10
1984 Was a Very Good Year, After All
I love horror movies.
The first one I remember was
House of Wax
, which came out when I was seven. I knew something was up when my brother, who was well on his way to teenage mischief by then, told my parents that the movie was a love story. Even then I wondered why he wanted us to go see a love story when there were a lot of Westerns out. It was even stranger when they handed out 3D glasses, but I put mine on to see love up
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