Pre-Trip #42:
The Silver Lining
Several weeks ago, I received a call from my sister, Eileen, asking if I would like to buy tickets to a charity event that would benefit Special Olympics-New Jersey. This fundraiser was right up our alley… an
American Girl fashion show! Of course, I had immediately said yes, only to discover at a later date that there would be a conflict with Tricia’s soccer schedule and we would not be able to attend after all.
I was rather disappointed; the same gang who went with us to American Girl Place for Tricia’s birthday (
Grandma,
Aunt Eileen, her cousin
Caity) would be going, plus my other sister,
Marilyn and her daughter,
Emily (this is the sister whose family will be in WDW with us next week.) My 6-year old niece was just beginning to show an interest in AG dolls, and Marilyn thought she would enjoy going to the event with her older cousins.
So, when Friday night’s weather report called for continued rain on Saturday, I called my sister and asked if she had been able to find some other folks to use the two extra tickets. Fortunately, she hadn’t! I cautioned her that we still weren’t 100% sure if the soccer games would be cancelled. We decided that, if we did wind up going that we would meet at the show, since it was centrally located. Now it was up to Mother Nature to decide the outcome…
When I awoke to hear that pouring rain, I knew Tricia would be miffed.
She did not like the idea of missing the make-up games the following week. But, here we were and I figured that if she had to miss the games, she would at least get the consolation prize of getting to go to the fashion show. I finished getting ready and woke her with the bad news. As expected, there was much wailing and moaning about the rain,
but when I reminded her that now we could go to the show, she quickly set about getting showered and dressed. Now, all I had to was figure out what to do with Billy.
Fortunately, that wasn’t difficult. Aunt Rae had been very upset that she had been unable to watch Billy last week when I needed a last-minute babysitter. (Her ankle was still on the mend, and I didn’t want her to overexert herself.) She gave me heck about it when I dropped by her place the day before to pick up some of her gluten-free cereals and snacks to mail down to the VWL for next week.
“Look, my foot is fine now!” she exclaimed, showing off her normal-sized ankles. She practically did a little jig.
“Only two more days of prednisone to go!” Aunt Rae was pleased, not only that she was pain-free, but that she would not have to take an additional medication while on vacation. One less thing to worry about was a very good thing, indeed!
I called her, apologizing for the early hour. (Although why, I really don’t know.) Here it was 7:30 and I knew darn well she had already been up for at least an hour and a half.
She jumped at the chance to have Billy over for the morning.
“Oh, yes!” she said, after hearing about our change of plans. “I got cheated out of a visit last week…you bring him right on over!”
She is so sweet, really.
I went upstairs to wake Billy while Tricia was blow-drying her hair. “Billy, wake up! Do you want to go to Aunt Rae’s house?” His eyes popped open and he sat up quickly.
“Yes, go to Aunt Rae’s house, go to Aunt Rae’s house, please, Mommy!”
You see, Aunt Rae possesses quite a collection of Disney videos herself, including some that Billy doesn’t have. Going over to her house is just as good as going to the Library! He was off like a shot down those stairs and had his pajamas off before he even reached the bathroom!
“First, take shower, then go to Aunt Rae’s house with Melody Time… and Peter Pan… and Pinocchio… and The Aristocats and…..” Billy had his play list already figured out.
The event was being held at a country club in central Jersey, about an hour or so down the Turnpike, and the doors opened at 9:45 for breakfast. The fashion show began at 10:30. I wanted to give us at least an hour and a half to get there because of the bad weather, so I was feeling just a bit of a time pinch as I dropped Billy off at 8:30. I kissed him and he hopped out of that van with nary a look back! I’m glad Aunt Rae loves Disney… she’s going to be watching a lot of it this morning!
Well, we set off and, let me tell you, it was raining
buckets!! 
Rain, rain, go away!
Kathy and Jessica talk excitedly about the show...
Definitely no soccer today!!
The girls help out by holding onto the ticket. This is their first trip down the scenic NJ Turnpike....
It was about five minutes to ten when we pulled into the entrance and inched our way down a winding drive through manicured greens toward the clubhouse, a large, white, Greek Revival-style building. Sheets of rain were falling and the wind was lifting the umbrellas of a half-dozen or so groups of women and girls, all wearing their Sunday best and clutching their dolls close to them so they would not get wet.
I turned into the parking lot and crept to the end of the first line of parked cars. When I got to the last vehicle, another mommy-van, I was amazed to discover that it was my sister’s!! The rest of our group had just arrived and were gathering up their things to go inside. Eileen was just pulling out her cell phone, I’m sure to call me, when I flashed my lights and eased into the space next to hers.
“Are you trying to reach me?” I asked as I opened my door and my umbrella at the same time. Everyone laughed and hugged and started talking together at the same time, the way woman usually do, marveling at the coincidence of our perfectly timed arrivals as we moved en mass toward the clubhouse entrance. The three girl cousins walked quickly ahead, cradling their dolls and admiring their outfits. We all crowded through the front door, not unlike a bunch of wet hens running after their chicks, all clucking at them to slow down and stay together as we shook the rain off our feathers and looked around to get our bearings.
As befitting any of such venerable and exclusive institutions, the aging country club reeked of tradition and old money. And golf. Lots of golf. A hostess behind a podium directed us through a dark walnut-paneled sitting room filled with red leather wing chairs gathered together in tight little groups. There was the faintest lingering odor of long-smoked cigars and a fireplace on one end of the room, which held an arrangement of resin pumpkins and artificial blooms of red, orange, and gold.
“Through that door and around the corner, then down the stairs,” the hostess chirped.
We made our way across the slightly faded oriental rug and passed through a sort of central hall, the walls of which were covered with various plaques, trophies, and portraits of the men who had served as Chairman of the club’s Board of Directors over the years. The chairmen smiled benevolently, if not a bit smugly, at us as we approached a wide staircase and took hold of the massive banister. Spiraling down the wall were more photographs, some quite old, of members in golf attire in various groups and poses. There were some intriguing shadow-boxes filled with golf-related memorabilia; I would have liked to have stopped to give the items in this mini-museum a closer inspection, but the girls were skipping down the stairs ahead of us and I didn’t want to lose sight of them. Besides, I really needed a hot cup of tea!
When we arrived at the bottom of the staircase, there was a short walk through a glass-walled breezeway to an obviously newer addition to the club. Here, where the older money met the new, we found two large ballrooms and a several smaller meeting rooms. Tables that held a tempting array of American Girl dolls and baskets of doll clothes and accessories, as well as other AG themed items such as books and sets of perfumes and body lotions encircled one of the smaller rooms. These were the items being raffled off as part of the fundraiser. The girls threw their coats at us and dashed inside to ogle the prizes. Having caught sight of the coffee and “continental breakfast” offerings set up just outside in the next corridor, we nevertheless hung up our things and followed them in. The girls were just too excited. *Sigh* I would need to wait a bit more for my caffeine fix.
We adults stood on short lines to purchase raffle tickets and then cruised the room with the girls, helping them decide which prizes they wanted most and how many raffle tickets to “spend” on each one.
Tricia and Caity plot their attack while Aunt Eileen fills out raffle tickets just behind them.
One prize Caity hopes to win is a Joesefina doll
Tricia prefers the American Girls of Today dolls....
6yr old Emily (who borrowed one of Caity's AG dolls for the occasion) hopes to win a Bitty Baby basket of goodies!
I pose with Tricia and her doll friends.... (okay, enough pictures, where's the food?)
Only after all the girls’ tickets were deposited in front of the desired prizes were the three moms and grandma finally able to persuade the children to move toward the seating area. We needed to hurry if we wanted to eat… according to the program, guests were asked to refrain from getting up from their tables during the show so that no one’s view of the show would be obstructed.
As soon as we entered the ballroom, junior ambassadors for Special Olympics-New Jersey handed the girls their favor bags.
Each girl received a picture frame, a beaded bracelet, and a small bottle of AG "perfume".
We decided to find our table and let the girls deposit their dolls and little pocketbooks (so cute!) before they went up to the buffet. We went up for the food in shifts and soon were settled at the table. It was almost 10:30 and I hadn’t had anything to eat that morning. I told you about another one of my grandmother’s sayings in the last report, remember? “Hunger makes the best sauce!”
Fresh fruit, bagels, muffins, coffee, and Halleluja! Hot tea!
Kathy and Jessica pose with Emily and Marisol. Don't fall in the fruit, girls!!
The fashion show program.
We settled in at our table just as the show was about to begin....
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And here, regrettably, is where I must leave off. Sorry Guys! It was at this exact moment that the battery in my camera decided to expire
and so I am awaiting additional pix from my sister so that I may continue with the story.
Next chapter: Pictures from the catwalk!
Kathy
) I haven't actually "packed" anything yet... just have lots of stuff laid out....
How long can you hold your breath?
I haven't visited your TR in a long time... will catch up before I leave. Pinky Promise!!
However, there was still the fight for the coveted Carpini Cup remaining. But it would not be fought today.
Drink some coffee woman. It's American! 
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rats.........would love to have met u.
<--tea
