On The Run

Oh, the sights you see when you're cruising the back country roads around Nashville. 

This beautiful little bird - the Guineafowl or Guinea Hen as it's known - was cruising down the side of the road with a bunch of his other friends when we drove by.  I was immediately intrigued when I saw him and asked Ed to go back because I wanted to see what it was.  When the car creeped closer to him he darted under the fence and back into the field so I had to snap this photo while he was moving. 

I'd never seen this kind of bird before.  I thought it was a ptarmigan because of the spots, Ed pegged it correctly as a guinea.

"Look!  A ptarmigan."

"Guinea."

"Who are you calling a guinea??"

"No, the bird."

"Oh."

Then I Googled for more info.  Apparently, they're easy to raise and they're delicious.

My kind of bird.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: The Town Under The Giant Oak Tree
2011: Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
2010: Yeah, Cause Heidi Klum Is So Easy To NOT Notice
2009: Busy Week
2008: Small, Yet Mighty
2007: Zen
2006: Riding The Rusty Rails
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

House For Sale: Goats Included

At one of the properties we looked at this week in Nashville, we found these guys.  They were apparently very excited to see us because they got real close to talk to Ed.  When I got near them,  they posed for a picture.  Isn't it great how all of them are looking directly at the camera?

I can't even get my three nephews to stand still, look straight at the camera and let me get a picture of them all together like this.

The big difference between my nephews and these guys?  My nephews smell waaaaay better.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Hanging On By A Thread
2011: Does A Bear Have A Diner In The Woods?
2010: Would You Rather Sit On Your Ass All Day Eating Cheetos And Watching TV, Or Would You Rather See?
2009: The First Bit Of Spring
2008: Pop Secret
2007: The Kind Of Shopping That Makes Me Want To Commit Suicide, Right There In The Middle Of Macy’s
2006: The Benefits Of Memory Loss
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Clowns Looking For A Place To Live

This week we were in Nashville doing a little property hunting. Since that's nearly impossible to do in an 18-wheeler, we rented a car. This is what they gave us - the Fiat 500:

We drove a car this small a few years ago when we were waiting on a load up in New York, but we didn't have to rent that one, it belonged to my cousin.

I was kind of excited that we got the Fiat because ever since I'd seen the commercials for it (as if J.Lo actually drives this thing!), I've wanted to drive one.  It was totally cute, I loved the color, it drove like a little racecar and actually worked out very well, since most of the places we looked were on winding back country roads. It felt like being in Italy all over again, when Ed was cruising through the Tuscan hills in our minivan, with nary a shoulder on either side and people flying up behind you in a big rush to go nowhere.  It hugged the curves and if needed, and the turning radius is so tight, you're able to turn around in a parking space.

We knocked about twenty properties off our list and found one that I'm completely in love with and would buy tomorrow. Ed's not completely sold on it so we have more looking to do which we will happen in the coming months.

I think next time though, we might go for not only a bigger vehicle, but one that has a little more ground clearance, as there were a few properties we couldn't even venture to because the grass country lane or dirt road leading to it was a little too challenging for such a tiny vehicle to clear.

Oh, and also because we felt like two circus clowns getting out of it every time we stopped somewhere. I found myself looking back as I closed the door, to see if there were any others climbing out behind me.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: My Early Version Of Google
2011: Food With Integrity That Fuels Creativity
2010: If Only It Were Dollars Instead Of Miles
2009: The Last Bit Of Winter
2008: Eddie Fr-Eye-Day
2007: Authorized Personnel Only
2006: Stolen Zillow
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Seriously Up To Our Ass In Alligators

Ed and I have never driven across southern Florida crosswise - we're always going up and down, north to south, south to north - but this past week had the opportunity to cross the Everglades on our way from Miami to Fort Myers.  I was totally excited. 

If you're doing it on the Everglades Parkway, fondly known as Alligator Alley, you're trip shouldn't take too long since most of that road is four-lane interstate.  But since we weren't in a rush, didn't want to pay any tolls, and thought a two-lane road would be more scenic than the interstate, we took U.S. Highway 41, the Tamiami Trail. 

The first ten miles or so we were crawling along in construction and I was concerned that we made the wrong decision, but eventually the construction ended and the road opened up.  We drove along, seeing signs for the Everglades National Park, Shark Valley, and a casino operated by the Miccosukee Indians.  We saw a tiny post office in Ochopee, and a crab shack nearby that I'm pretty sure was closed.  But we didn't see any alligators.

I was getting concerned that by listening to Ed, who wanted to take this route, I was going to make my first trip across the Everglades - a scary, swampish wasteland which according to the many episodes of CSI Miami I've watched with my mother, is always the perfect body dump - without seeing one reptilian creature.

And then he saw one.  But I didn't.  I was looking elsewhere and we were driving too fast for me to see it after he pointed it out.  I was crushed.

And then I saw one!

And another. 

And another. 

And another.

And another.

And another.  Once I started seeing them, it didn't stop.  They were everywhere.  Swimming in the water, lying on the shore, sunning on a pipe culvert.  Two, three and four in a grouping.  Baby ones.  Medium sized ones.  Huge ones.  I'd never seen so many alligators in all of my life.  Ever.  It was magnificent.  And unsettling.  And surreal.

Holy shit.  I'm serious, I was freaking out.  "There's one!  There's one!  There's another!  And ohmygod, there's two more!"  I was pointing and shouting as Ed drove.  The road is two lanes, there weren't any places to pull over, and I had to wait for the road behind us to be clear so Ed could slow down long enough for me to snap pictures. 

Look at this guy, eyeballing me like I was a fat, tasty treat.  Which I am, by the way.  That's right, both fat and tasty.  All Italians are.

We finally came upon a rest area to stop at, parked the truck and walked down the highway to see them a little closer.  And you can get as close as you dare.  There are no signs warning you to stay away, keep a certain distance, not to feed them. 

There are no barriers keeping them from coming up on the bank of the river, under the guardrail, and onto the road.  They actually cross the roads!  This is not a place I'd get out at night, for any reason.  It is a place I'd dump a body if I were looking to get rid of someone - alligators aren't discriminating, they'll eat anyone.

Look at this lizard-like body - a species that's more than 150 million years old.  The bumps look like molded bone.  It looks like thick leathered armor.  Or a really dirty purse. 

There was an area by the parking lot that was fenced on one side, but completely open on the other.  That, I don't get.  These reptiles are not stupid.  They were swimming through concrete culverts, from one area of water to the other.  They've had 150 million years to figure out how to travel quickly from one place to another.   

They look serene and I suppose for the most part when it comes to humans they generally are.  Since 1948, according to Wikipedia, there have been 275 documented attacks on humans in Florida, seventeen of them fatal.  But that's just in Florida. 

They're just creepy.  And they move a lot faster than you think (video coming soon). 

To leave you with a few words of wisdom, in case you find yourself anywhere near a place like this, teeming with alligators, there's a quote which has several variations, but generally goes like this...

"Never insult an alligator until you cross the river."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Such A Fragrant Sprig!
2011: Coast To Coast
2010: The Joke’s On Us
2009: Eddie Monsignor Starbucks Friday
2008: All The Better To Smell You With, My Dear
2007: Neon Railroad
2006: I Left My Heart…
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo

My mother has gotten pretty good with the whole texting thing.  Too good, in fact.  She has entire conversations with her sisters via texts that scroll into four and five inches of screen space on her iPhone.  I've tried to tell her that texting is not a subsitute for email, that it's for short burts of conversation and information.  She doesn't care.  She does what she wants.

Sometimes I think she'd even rather text than talk to me, especially when she has something to say that she knows I'm not going to be too thrilled about.  With texting, she doesn't have to a) argue with me about it or b) hang up if she doesn't like my opinions about absolutely everything.  Or, she just ignores my text and later claims she "didn't hear it".  Can't really argue that point with a person who actually doesn't hear.

We were talking on the phone this week and she was telling me about a text exchange she had with a friend of hers.  "I was texting, but I was using my fuck-you finger, because that's the easiest for me, especially when my hands hurt and my fingers are swollen."  She has rheumatoid arthritis and when she's in a flare, her thumbs are useless. 

"You mean your middle finger?" I said.

"Yeah.  That's what I said."

"No.  What you said was, 'my fuck-you finger'."

"Well, you know what I meant." she said.

Of course I knew what she meant, because she uses that finger for everything - dialing the phone, pushing her glasses up on her nose, turning pages of a magazine, pointing. 

And she doesn't use it in the way you might think, with the other fingers next to it in their natural position.  Oh no, she actually holds her other four fingers back, isolating the middle finger so there's no mistaking that it's the one prominent finger on her hand.   

Ironically, she never uses it to give someone the finger.

I suppose I should be thankful for that because I don't know how I'd explain why my seventy-year-old mother is cruising around town flipping everyone the bird.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Honing Her Skills For The Nursing Home
2011: Fire Up The Grill
2010: The Voice Of Tucson Speaks
2009: Crossing Over To The White Side
2008: Eddie Voyager Of The Seas Friday
2007: Indiscriminate Discrimination
2006: Dancing Queen
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

River Of Grass

The Everglades National Park has 1.5 million acres of swamp, saw-grass prairies and sub-tropical jungles.  Oh yeah, and alligators. 

More on them in a few days.


** Post title taken from Marjory Stoneman Douglas' book, The Everglades:  River of Grass

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Stupid Rock
2011: Crab Rangoon Makes Me Swoon
2010: Bonnie And Clyde Meet Toni And Frank
2009: Finally…A Bib That Is Both Functional And Accurate
2008: Trickling Down
2007: Anonymously Yours,
2006: Over 7,000 Feet Of Pristine Beauty
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Astonished That Anyone Could Schedule All Those Things

I saw this wall hanging at the Meijer store in Fort Wayne, Indiana where we stopped to buy a stash of my favorite cottage cheese and it made me think.

Who the hell has time to do all the things we're capable of doing??


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: A World Of Imagination Left Behind
2011: Betty’s Got It Going On
2010: Don’t Miss The Latest On TDR. Today At Eight, Noon, Six, And Midnight
2009: No Hothouse In Sight
2008: ’Till The Cows Come Home
2007: Salt Lake City Special
2006: It’s More Expensive To Say No
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Need I Say More?

I was on my way to Miami this week and passed this sign on I-75 in Georgia.

The club is located in Byron, GA - ironically at the same exit, and just on the other side of the interstate from Warner Robins, the city that banned trucks from parking within their city limits because Councilman Mike Brashear and his cohorts thought truckers parking in an abandoned Winn-Dixie lot were an "eyesore and created problems".

That's a problem in itself, the trucking ban thing (which was actually lifted less than two weeks later) and has nothing to do with the stripper sign, but I find it laughable that a place that won't let tired truckers park in their city, doesn't mind that there are numerous billboards advertising strippers at the very same exit they share with a neighboring town. 

Ed despises these types of signs - the ones that advertise strip clubs, Asian Spas, massage parlors, sex toy megastores - specifically because they often target truckers.  It's not uncommon to see the words  "Truck Parking Available" and "Truckers Welcome" and "Trucker's Special" somewhere on the sign.  He also always points out that no one is getting a massage at an Asian "spa" at three in the morning.  He's insulted by the insinuation of these places being in business to service the trucking community.

What I find amusing, is that almost all of these billboards are present in the bibliest of bible towns, littering the highways in conservative states like tobacco spit.  Oh sure, you'll find them in big cities but honestly there aren't as many.  They have real products to advertise to their residents; like beer, cars, jewelry and Lotto.  

But on long stretches of highways through the South?  Or geez, in Missouri?  Tons of billboards advertising naked or nearly naked women.   And before and after these billboards, you'll often find another billboard spewing a bible quote or something to do with Jesus - with "Jesus" being in gigantic letters, of course.  I guess that's their way of countering the "filth" in the area.  Gee, if you wanted to get rid of the riffraff, wouldn't it have just been easier to ban truckers like Warner Robins tried to do?

But it's not truckers keeping these places in business.  We've passed hundreds of these establishments thousands of times and I'll tell you right now, the parking lot isn't packed with big rigs.  So who in these two-churches-every-three-miles towns are going to strip clubs?  It's gotta be the locals, right?  Doesn't really matter though, does it?  The people who live there know. 

What would be nice is if they had parking for us in places where it matters.  If they didn't close rest areas.  If they didn't keep us out of Walmart - where in the middle of the night, there's usually acres of parking.  If they didn't ban us from malls, and movie theaters, and cities where we spend money.  If they didn't chain up empty lots and abandoned grocery stores.  If they didn't make it difficult for us to stop to rest or sleep in locations where we NEED parking to stop and rest.  They should have billboards directing us to those places.

Because if we really want to go to a strip club, any trucker worth his salt can figure out how to navigate the parking lot. 

And don't you worry, we'll leave room for the guys from the local church congregation to park right beside us. 


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Despite The Name, This Might Not Be Your Place If You’re Truly Bashful
2011: Then Someone Lit The Flame And Plain Rode Away On Lion’s Mane
2010: It Once Had A Life
2009: Life’s A Planet Beach
2008: I Wasn’t Even Fishing, But I Certainly Got A Great Catch
2007: Royal Air Force Typhoon Blows Into Nellis
2006: This Dandelion Needs Rogaine
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Trucking Like We're On Fire

We've spent the last few days staying very busy.  We're not running hard, just steady, creeping down the highways like this fire is creeping down the track.  What the hell are these guys doing anyway?? 

Ed likes staying busy because if the wheels are rolling, we're making money.  I like that we're not killing ourselves.  It also means that over the weekend we'll be able to meet up with our friends in Florida who are back from their six-week vacation in Asia.  I can't wait to hear about their trip - even though I've been in regular contact with Marlaina the entire time they were gone - and see what kind of goodies they've brought back for me!

I've been just busy enough to get a little behind here on the blog, but I'll catch up in the next few days, so make sure you come back!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2012: Looking For A Coffee Fix
2011: Container Port, You Are No Friend Of Mine
2010: Encased In Plastic
2009: No Lifeguard On Duty
2008: Palm Sketches
2007: You Know Who You Are
2006: I Fear The Family
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

A Mountain City Fit For A Queen

Here's another photo of Western Maryland - this is the town of Cumberland, as seen from the window of a moving truck on Interstate-68.  I love when I'm not driving because I get to peer down into the town, and every single time I say, "I want to visit this place someday."

According to Wikipedia:

Cumberland is named after the son of King George II, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. It is built on the site of the old Fort Cumberland, the starting point for British General Edward Braddock's ill-fated attack on the French stronghold of Fort Duquesne (located on the site of present-day Pittsburgh) during the French and Indian War.

Cumberland was also an outpost of Colonel George Washington during the French and Indian War and his first military headquarters was built here. Washington later returned to Cumberland as President in 1794 to review troops that had been assembled to thwart the Whiskey Rebellion.

Cumberland was a key road, railroad and canal junction - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) - during the 19th century and the surrounding hillsides provided coal, iron ore, and timber that helped supply the industrial revolution.

In addition, the city was a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics, and tinplate.  At one time it was the second largest city in Maryland - second to the port city of Baltimore — hence its nickname "The Queen City".

It's got some great history, wonderful architecture, and from the photos I've seen, a quaint little downtown.  And it's gorgeous in the fall - the burst of color as you come over the hill and around the bend is fantastic - I've seen it from my windshield many times.

Fall - the perfect time to visit a city in the mountains.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Sprinkle Of Seaweed, Anyone?
2011: Shopping To The Maxx
2010: Ed Unloads An Oil Platform
2009: You Never Know When You Might Need It
2008: Eddie Climbs A Wall Friday
2007: What Showing Off For Your Kids Looks Like
2006: What’s It All About?
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Bright Spot On The Mountain

Whew!  Only half way through the week and we've already passed this barn in Finzel, Maryland twice.  Back and forth along the same route, two great paying loads taking us through the snowy mountains of Western Maryland and West Virginia. 

After we deliver this load, we have to get our generator fixed.  Again.  Our fuel pump, the one we just had worked on in Florida not two weeks ago, has taken a crap.  This is the third one we've put in.  Apparently, there's been a manufacturing glitch on a whole bunch of fuel pumps and we were lucky enough to get four of them - the one the new generator came with, and the three replacements.  Hopefully this fourth one will last longer than a month.

We've been staying on the eastern side of the country, which I've been loving.  Not much to write about, but I've gotten to see some snow and the weather hasn't been too frigid. 

Looking forward to getting out more this weekend - don't know where we'll be yet, but I'll be sure to post something about what we've been up to!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Thinking About Adding A Few More Wheels To The Rig
2011: Cooled By The Ocean
2010: Oh, Mother!
2009: Eddie Adds Culture To His Day
2008: One Armed Bandit
2007: 614
2006: Having A Good Reason
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Don't Even Ask

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Click Mouse, Make Money
2011: Buttons Beware. There’s Someone Cuter In Town!
2010: Eddie Dials Up The Lunch Order
2009: Trucking Superhere And Sidekick
2008: I’m Just A Goy In Love With A Boy
2007: When Pork Goes Pornographic
2006: Now Where Did I Put Those Underwear??
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

They Never Ask If You Have Invisible Ink

Some of the places we go to require us not only to check in with security, but to give up all of our electronics - phones, computers, iPads, cameras, etc.

I hate having to do this.  I not only hate being without my computer, but I really hate being without my phone. 

The spiel is usually the same.  "Any cell phones?"  Yes.  "Any computers?"  Yes.  "Any Kindles, tablets, etc.?"  Yes.  And then one guy said,  "Any information-transmitting devices?"

What??  You mean like my brain?  Or a pen and piece of paper?

Oh, I understand their concern, because I'm sure there are dumbasses out there that probably post photos on Facebook, exposing information that's not supposed to be public.  Kinda like the photos of the new Jeep that got out, only on a much bigger scale.

But I'm still always amused that these places don't want you to take pictures, because almost all of the things we've hauled in or out of these facilities - the ones that don't allow photos - can be found online, generally via Google Earth, and in great detail.  That freight Ed spends hours tarping to keep it from prying eyes?  It can be found online with the click of a mouse and the zoom feature.

If one were truly nefarious wouldn't they just write down the stuff they see on a piece of paper?  And include sketches?  I suppose the people making the rules have forgotten that back in the day spies took down entire countries without a cell phone, camera, or iPad to their names. 

All I want to do is text my best friend and watch the latest episode of Modern Family. 

I'll leave the espionage to the pros.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: I Didn’t Break A Leg, So I Guess I Can’t Regret Doing It
2011: Why Couldn’t It Have Been The Canola??
2010: I Like To Call Him The Kite Master
2009: Talk About Making Good Use Of Your Time
2008: Don’t Three Feet Equal One Yard?
2007: New And Improved
2006: Maybe I Don’t Need To Know Everything
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

The Wegmans Cheese Tour

Wegmans grocery store on a weekend is crazy.  So crazy, I almost can't shop there - I've decided I really don't like crowded places, with people bumping into me and blocking the aisles - but this is a place I'd shelve all my annoyances to shop in. 

Finding a Wegmans is like striking gold, and when we find one, I beg Ed to move Heaven and Earth to figure out how to park a truck in their lot.  This one was challenging because the parking lot was so busy, but as usual, Ed came through.

Which was a good thing, because they were hawking cheese samples like drug dealers.  And if there's any drug in the world I'd do on a regular, over-indulgent basis, it would be cheese.

Among the many samples I had, I tried this amazing concoction - the Saga Blue Torte - Saga Blue cheese, layered with Mascarpone, Caramel, Pecans, Dried Apples and Craisins.  It was amazing.  Sweet, as you might imagine, but it's only to be tasted in small bites.

We had lunch at their Market Cafe, shopped for some necessary fruits and vegetables, bought a small tub of Fromage Blanc, and left happy. 

This store is my second favorite place to be, and was the perfect way to  end the weekend.

Tomorrow, we go back to work.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Balls In The Air
2011: Branded
2010: Don’t Lose The Fun
2009: I’ll Get To It As Soon As I’m Done Churning The Butter, Dear.
2008: Trees At Sunset
2007: Giving Directions To This Place Is Easy
2006: A Cloud Of Words
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Watch Closely Now

Last night I watched A Star Is Born, the 1976 movie with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.  It's probably my favorite Streisand movie ever, I've seen it more times than I can coun, and I love Kris Kristofferson in it.  He's broken, but beautiful.  

This is the third remake of this story, and its most sucessful one.  Streisand and Kristofferson have incredible chemistry, and you can feel they have love for each other but their relationship, although sexy and passionate, is volatile and sad and heartwrenching.  And the end of the movie makes me cry every time.  The song stays with me for days.

It was filmed in Arizona - Downtown Tucson, the Tucson Community Center, Sonoita, and the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe for the big concert scene.  Seeing landmarks in Tucson, filmed over thirty-five years ago is really cool.  And the landscape in Sonoita hasn't changed at all. 

I can't count how many times over the years I've seen this movie.  I've owned the soundtrack for years and I know every word to every song on it.  In fact, in 1977 when my family was vacationing in the Adirondacks, I sang several of the songs on talent night.  I was 10 years old.

I've loved Barbra for as long as I can remember.  The first songs I memorized and sang were hers.  And I've seen every movie she's ever made.  These are some of my other favorites:

Yentl

The Main Event

Funny Girl

The Mirror Has Two Faces

The Prince of Tides

Nuts

Hello, Dolly!

It's no wonder why she's "one of the most commercially and critically successful entertainers in modern entertainment history". 


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Mission Of The Sacred Heart
2011: Vintage Photo And Clothing
2010: Just How I Like It…Cold And Colder
2009: Snagged
2008: The Writing Is On The Wall
2007: Eddie Waits For A Ride
2006: Truckers And Travelers Know Good Food
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

A Barn Serving Steak Good Enough To Eat

When we're in Norfolk, Portsmouth, or Virginia Beach, Virginia, the place we usually park is at Big Charlie's Truck Plaza.  The place is a shit hole.  The surrounding area isn't much better.

It's right near the airport, the convenience store up the block is sketchy, there's a cab company next door, and if you get there too late, you have to park in the very back lot, where the potholes are so big, they'd swallow a VW Bug.  And you have to pay to park there.  Gee, thanks Charlie.

There's a Wendy's adjacent to the parking lot, and across the street is a place called Aberdeen Barn Steakhouse.  We've seen it many times, but have never been.  It's always busy, but from the outside looks like a place that would be a country honkeytonk serving beer and steak.  We never really had any desire to try it.

Well, we couldn't have been more wrong.  We walked in and were not only greeted by one of the owners, who was wearing a suit and eager to seat us, but we were taken to this sort of fancy dining room.

Excuse the photos - I only had my iPhone and the lighting was low - but damn, I didn't expect mood lighting, candles on the tables, and white tablecloths.  Good thing I made Ed change from his t-shirt and sweatpants into a nice crisp pair of jeans and a button down, collared shirt. The menu had a great selection of steaks, seafood, chops, pasta. 

I had the Broiled Sea Scallops lsited in the appetizer section, but had them make it as an entree.  They were amaaaaaazing.  The portion was much bigger than I expected and the baked potato took up half the plate.  The scallops were cooked perfectly and the flavor was outstanding.

Ed had Gus' Extra Cut Charcoal Broiled 20 oz. Delmonico.  I haven't tasted a Delmonico - a cut made famous in New York City - for over 20 years.  We used to serve a Delmonico steak at our family's steakhouse in the Catskills.  The name alone brought back memories.  It had a little more fat than the ribeye or Porterhouse Ed usually gets, but the marbling is what made it so moist and flavorful.  Next time, I might have to do a surf and turf thing - either lobster and steak or even scallops and steak.

The best part?  This guy was playing the guitar one table away from us.  It's as if we were being personally serendaded with classic guitar tunes.  It felt like I was sitting in the living room of my parent's house in 1973.  It was great.

It might be a bit expensive for truckers - it's definitely not the Denny's in the Flying J - but we will definitely be back.  Especially since we know there's truck parking right across the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: A Quick Update
2011: It Takes Nothing To Win A Contest
2010: Sorry, no post for this day.
2009: The Hags Hit The Big Time
2008: One Thing At A Time
2007: Snaking Across Broadway
2006: Psssst! Wanna Buy A Hot Dog Truck?
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

The Young Never Have Trouble Screwing

My brother has been doing some work at my mother’s house this past month. It started with fixing the door in the washer and dryer area and wound up turning into new sliding doors and shelving in the laundry area, and a new pantry configuration - same pantry, just a relocation of the doors making it easier to access.  He tore everything out and started from the studs.

My brother had one of his employees, Jonathan, helping him on the job – a young kid who was going to primarily handle all the painting, in addition to some other little tasks.

Like helping my mother hang the quilt she made.

Jonathan was mid-brush in his painting when my mother approached with the quilt in one hand, a screwdriver in the other, held the quilt out to him and said, “I can’t screw anymore.”

He must not have seen the screwdriver in her other hand because my brother said Jonathan stopped and looked at her with an expression that said, I really hope there’s more to that sentence.

But he must have looked, to her, as if he were waiting for her to go on. So she did. “You’re young. I’m sure you don’t have any trouble screwing.”

That’s when my brother piped in and said, “What did you say, Ma?”

“Well, I was just telling Jonathan how I don’t screw anymore. Oh, I used to screw all the time when I was young, but at my age, I can’t do it anymore.  And my hands hurt. Don’t your hands hurt, Michael? Probably not, huh? You can probably still screw.”

“Oh yeah, I still screw. All the time.” He said sarcastically.

And then….this is our favorite moment with our mother.

She got it.

“Michael! That’s not what I meant. Oh my God.” She was flustered. “Oh no. I didn’t mean that. I meant…”

“Yesss?” my brother said.

“Well, what I meant was…”

“What did you mean, Mom?” Michael said, as Jonathan turned to finish his painting.

“You know what I mean, Michael. Now stop it.”

In the end, it was Michael who went to his toolbox, got his electric screwdriver and went to work.

And my mother’s quilt is hanging for all to see.

Proof that someone in the house knows how to screw.  


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2012: Making Tracks Across The Country
2011: Eddie Is The King Of The Dome
2010: Do It For Half An Hour A Day
2009: Sipping In Nyack
2008: The Tink Tink Tinkle Of Recycling
2007: Ralph’s Service Station
2006: The Isle Of Capri
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!