You Can't Wear a Monkey Shirt to a Cemetery

We leave the hotel in Charleston with little fanfare except for an American flag that someone placed on the back of our car. We are not sure who did it, but we were told Brooks and Dunn were in own, so maybe a happy concert goer decided to share the American love.

Although the drive to Wheeling is a shorter drive than the others we have taken, Luke is a little bothered, and it is not as smooth as the day before but still really smooth for traveling with a nine month old.

We get to the hotel, which is on top of a mountain (everything in Wheeling is on top of a mountain), and it is really nice. Brad has hooked us up with rooms for this entire trip, and he has really not disappointed. The hotel is new, and we have two beds and a sitting area with a pull out couch. Erin is already saying she is not sure what her plans are, but she is hoping they involve an evening with her cousin Ashley.

The first order of business is a visit to the cemetery to visit Grandma and Grandpa Biega, my Mom's parents. Luke is wearing a Small Paul monkey shirt, and I decide to change him into a seersucker outfit his GeGe bought for him. He looks super cute. After all, you can't wear a monkey shirt to a cemetery.

We drive to the the cemetery, all the way Mom is narrating what has change in Wheeling. We pul in through the gates, and we are met by a casket in the middle of the drive! No one is around it, and we immediately burst into laughter and scream at Mom not hit the body. This is not appropriate humor for visiting the dead, but sometimes these things call for a little comedic break.

The mausoleum where my Grandparent's are buried is just as I remember, and it smells the same also. I don't think any of us were really in the mood for a long visit, so Mom placed the flowers Brad gave her by the crypt and we were off. We pass the casket in the road again, and Mom says, "My Grandmother is buried under the Ukrainian cross over there."

Erin and I jump out of the car to get a shot of the gravestone, and Mom yells out the window, "Not that one the other Ukranian cross." As we scan the cemetery, we see many crosses like the one we are standing in front of. She yells, "The pink one. Panko. Her name was Panko!." Erin and I find the cross, get the tombstone on video, and jump back in the car. We were like a comedy troupe. So much for austerity.

We drive around town taking videos of my Grandparent's old home, my Grandfather's childhood home and all sorts of old haunts from my Mother's childhood. Luke is sleeping, so when he wakes up we head to Coleman's for a fish sandwich. In a town of Catholics, this place has a line out the door during Lent. As it is on a Friday afternoon, there is a huge line, and the lady who takes our order is a little put out that we have questions about the menu. Everyone comments on Luke, and we get our sandwiches and eat in the marketplace.

Coleman's is as good as I remember, but Erin was not a huge fan of the sandwich. I think it is one of those things you are either nostalgic for or not ad apparently that sandwich is not part of her memory of visits to Wheeling. I on the other hand and remembering the last time I had one and wishing that my Dad could be there with us.

After Coleman's, we head to my Aunt and Uncle's house, and we spend the afternoon with them and my cousin Audrey. Their house is exactly as I remember it except that they have added a room off their old living room and kitchen, extended their deck, and built this incredible garden out back. It is amazing!

My Aunt has always been one of those women I really admire. She makes everything from scratch. I practically grew up on her pies. She cans, gardens, and knows everything about plants. I say she is superwoman, and she says no because she hates to keep house. I still think she is pretty amazing. My uncle is one of those guys who can carry three times his weight and works really hard. Everything around their house from the brick patio to the walkways to to the brick on their addition he salvaged from projects and buildings where the material would have just been thrown away. It is really a neat place, and I am glad to have the opportunity to visit what I think of when I think of my childhood summers.

Luke loves the visit, but he is completely off schedule, and Mom and I head back to the hotel leaving Erin behind to wait for my cousins Ashley and Frankie to arrive. As I type this, Mom is wandering the hotel with Luke to give me a break, so I am going to sign off without video, but I promise to have some tomorrow. I will definitely shoot some of my Aunt's garden (You would love it Elaine!).

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