Kratzke: Tu Reunion

This entry is going to be boring, but such are the nature of memoirs (and my entire blog, for that matter). Family reunions don't happen all the time, and it's nice to remember them. My mom, all four of her siblings, all their kids, and Bà were there.

Siblings: Bác Thuần, Cô Mai, Mom, Cậu Tùng, and Cậu Hiệp

Anyway, I wanted to be topless at Barton Springs at least once before I turned 30, so there I was on Friday night. George and I left Austin on Saturday August 11th at 5:15 in the morning and arrived in Virginia eight hours later. Almost immediately, we were on our way to visit my good friends Jenny & Jason and their two daughters. Mackenzie is two years old, Brigitte is two months old, and the sisters share the same birthday. George and I headed back to eat at Pho New with 17 relatives: Bà, Mom, Dad, Thal, Bác Thuần, Bác Hương, Nicholas, Eastlyn, Nathan, Cậu Hiệp, Cô Mai, Alli, Karen, Matt, Cậu Tùng, Cô Trinh, and Annie. I also ordered a childhood favorite, sương xa hột lựu (the pink drink), and it was the best one I ever had.

Sunday and Monday were wonderful. Mom rented lodgings at Skyland Resort in Shenandoah National Park so we could hike all day and stay the night there. Cô Mai, Alli, Karen, Matt, Bác Hương, and Eastlyn came along. I think they had fun, even if hiking isn't their favorite activity. George, Mom, Dad, and I went on three beautiful hikes, and the weather couldn't have been better. I got pretty nostalgic when I ordered blackberry ice cream; Liên knows what I'm talking about.

Nobody else's mom is this cute. I should get some sort of award.

If the "dirty thirty" thing starts with waking up to clean crisp mountain air in the middle of August surrounded by the people you love, I'm all for it. We ate peaches and apples from a fruit stand on the way back and stopped again for lunch. Sitting across from my little cousin Eastlyn made me realize how wonderful she is. When we got home, Alli (just 21), Matt (almost 18), and I (30 since 11:43 am Pacific Time) got kicked out of the house and stayed at the pool for three hours while George and Mom made a dinner for all the August birthdays. George made one of my favorite dishes, caramel fish in a clay pot, or cá kho tộ. He served it in a very pretty clay pot he bought for me. Mom made fish soup, and together, the two of them used ten pounds of trout. When everybody was too full to move, we started in on the birthday cake.

Tuesday was fun. In the morning, George and I walked to Frying Pan Park and saw a bunch of farm animals. Everybody but Karen, George, and I went to visit Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. The three of us had Milwaukee's Frozen Custard for breakfast, which means chocolate dipped waffle cones with cheesecake cookies 'n' cream vanilla frozen custard. It held us over just fine. We walked around Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, and the 250 air-conditioned shops of Tysons Corner. We also cleaned mom's very dirty car and taught Karen how to drive stick. She's a natural. George and I picked up Mom and Thal's Girlfriend Hannah before the whole gang met for dinner at Viet Royale in the Eden Center. Everybody had the "Seven Course Beef," which is exactly what it sounds like but with an extra course for dessert. Amazing.

Food is a big deal. Eight hours of Wednesday was dedicated to Cậu Tùng's magnificent barbecue. He served lobster, marinated chicken, baby back ribs, red snapper, tilapia, grilled veggies, fresh jackfruit, fresh lychee, cantaloupe, a giant watermelon, beer, wine coolers, and limeade. Cậu Tùng is a fantastic cook, and it was quite the feast. In the morning, George and I visited my high school piano teacher Betty Reed and a refreshing swim. After the barbecue, Alli and little Nathan stayed up with us to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The hat reads, "Happy 50th, King of the Grill." I hope I get these aging genes.

On Thursday, Bác Thuần, Bác Hương, Nicholas, Eastlyn, Nathan, Alli, Karen, Matt, George, and I had a Panera Bread picnic at Riverbend Park and walked from there to Great Falls Park. In the evening, everybody but Bác Thuần's family went to see Cirque du Soleil's Totem at the National Harbor in DC. Mom bought tickets for George and me for my birthday! What a terrific and memorable present. Other birthday presents included a Shenandoah Park onesie from Cô Mai, a Gap gift certificate from Bác Hương, a nice card with cash from Cậu Hiệp, and a beautiful Kitchen Aid standmixer from my prince charming. I am seriously spoiled.

Nicholas, Eastlyn, and Nathan at Riverbend

Friday morning was the first time I felt our baby kick me. George and I celebrated by picking up colossal donuts and world famous apple fritters from Shoppers Food Warehouse. A Starbucks apple fritter has about 800 calories, and I'm willing to bet they're lightweight compared to Shoppers. Their apple fritters are something amazing; they are better tasting and worse for you than carnival food.
After a swim, Bà, Mom, Hannah, Bác Thuần, Bác Hương, Nicholas, Eastlyn, Nathan, Alli, Karen, Matt, George, and I went out for Pho and then Fountainhead Regional Park, to rent boats on the Occoquan Reservoir. Bà, Mom, George and I went on a hike in the shade instead. We were about a mile in when we realized we were stuck on a mountain bike trail and we weren't supposed to be there. A few bicyclists came through, but we were able to get off the trail before getting run over. It was a little disconcerting, and Bà was a trooper. Mom, George, and I returned home and met up with Dad and my high school friend Tina to see a Nationals baseball game against the Mets. Even though we only watched innings 3-7, we saw Morse hit a grand slam. My mom cheered enthusiastically throughout the game, and we all had a great time.

Nicholas and Bác Thuần at Fountainhead

At home, my awesome baby brother bought ingredients to make one of my favorite treats: the beer float. He picked the Oak Barrel Stout brewed by Old Dominion, and it was perfect. We had to stay up packing to catch our 6:55 am flight the next morning.

The trip was great. I missed my little sister a lot, but it was wonderful to see everybody else. I especially adore all my girl cousins, whom I don't get to see very often. They're great people.