The Two Fools are back on the road! We will be spending the next two months in Sicily – back to visit family.  We are staying in some of the same apartments as last year, so it is a bit like going home.

But first – we have to get there. We are trying something new (for us) and taking a daytime flight to Europe, instead of an overnight flight, and extending our trip so we don’t fly all legs at once.  It will take a few days, but hopefully will be more enjoyable and less tiring for us as we adjust to the time change.

Update:

We are super happy we tried this plan! We are now in London so part-way to Sicily.  We LOVED flying in the daytime, rather than overnight.  I find it hard to sleep on the plane, so daytime flying was so much better.  We left at 8 am and arrived in London at 8 pm (3 pm EST).  And there were ZERO people in the customs and immigration line.  That has never happened when I’ve flown into Heathrow.

We were so proud of ourselves that we decided to really go all out and try Uber! I just signed up for it and have used it twice at home.  It was Frank’s first time.  We figured we had all night and could always get a taxi if we couldn’t figure it out.  But we did – and Shafi picked us up at a pre-determined spot.  Our only downside was that I am apparently not all that good with London geography, and we are staying more than an hour from the airport.  So it was a long ride.  But we got a grand tour of central London on the way – we even drove by Harrod’s.  And since by then it was 10:30 at night, no traffic.

We have settled into our temporary London home, which (believe it or not) is a yacht! More on that next time.

Ciao!

Toasting London with our first Aperol Spritz of the season- after a long day of travel

This is my last blog entry from our trip down South. It took me awhile to update all the fun we had down there because we were so busy socializing.  Thank you to everyone who helped make our trip so special.

Janine & John

A special shout-out to my parent’s neighbors, Janine and John, who made a special trip to visit us. Janine even baked a fruit cobbler and brought it over warm with ice cream!  They have a wonderful story.  Janine is from Paris and once upon a time was living in Spain.  John is American and was working in Spain.  They met and fell in love, but he didn’t speak French, and she didn’t speak English.  So they had to speak Spanish!  They got married, lived all over Europe, and finally settled in the United States (now they both speak each other’s languages).  They retired to Aiken and moved in across the street from my parents on Hartwell Drive.  They have become very special friends, and I’m so glad we got a chance to see them.  They are big followers of Two Fools In Love, so I told them I would put them on the blog!  We had a fun time with both of you, Janine & John –thank you for visiting us!

Up Next

Frank and I are heading back to Sicily for the summer! We are visiting family and staying in many of the same apartments from last year.  We are super excited.  We leave tomorrow!  So stay tuned to Two Fools In Love.  We are back on the road.

The Street Where I Grew Up

Hartwell Drive – Home

Today was one of the highlights of our South Carolina trip – lunch with the Puppet Ladies! Who you may ask?!  Well, let me take you back . . . many of you may not know this about me!

Small World Puppets

Once upon a time, there was a puppet troupe at First Baptist Church in Aiken, South Carolina called Small World Puppets. My whole family was involved.  My mom was the co-director, my dad was a soundman, and Cindy and I were both puppeteers.

These were Muppet-type puppets of all shapes and sizes. We did shows all over the country about sharing God’s love – we even dressed in matching costumes with our puppets.

We took the church van with a trailer full of puppets hitched behind it and traveled all across South Carolina and beyond – all the way west to Texas and north to West Virginia. We put on elaborate shows with singing, dancing, characters (even a ventriloquist!) at churches, military bases, schools, festivals, you name it.  We were like a mini-Broadway musical.  We even did a couple of water parks and the 1982 World’s Fair.  We were pretty good!

And Today . . .

Well – the puppeteers grew up and eventually Small World ended. But there were a core group of ladies that had really been behind it all – the Puppet Ladies (not the girls above – we are the daughters – I will get the Ladies themselves to send a picture of their next soiree – we were so busy talking we forgot to take pictures!).

They wrote the shows, dressed the puppets, managed the stage and scripts, chaperoned our trips, and were the main performers.  They have all stayed in touch and have lunch together a few times a year – a Puppet Ladies Lunch.

Since Frank and I were coming to town, they decided to have a Puppet Ladies Lunch in our honor and invited some of the local, old puppeteers back. The event grew to include my parent’s square dance crew as well.  What a lively group!  We had a ton of fun catching up with everyone, sharing memories, and laughing.  (That’s Frank below talking to the ventriloquist and her mother – who also happened to be my sister, Cindy’s, fabulous wedding planner – a small world indeed!)

It felt like no time had passed at all, and I was so happy to introduce Frank to this part of my family history. Here’s to Small World Puppets!

Our two most famous characters – Miss Missy (played by Beth Daniel) and Miss Prissy (my Mom!)