OK. We are back online.
As you might have guessed, it just seemed a little improper to blog while we were visiting. So, I just posted the pictures and wrote today. Actually, this is really Day5. We were visiting yesterday also. But more about that later.
Day3 we left late. I mean really late. It was a nice motel. The Ramada right on the water. (no, our window faced the traffic, but the price was a little stiffer on the other side.)
When we arrived, on night of Day2, we were pooped. I may have said this already, but we decided to eat cheap. We slept like babes. We got up and worked on email and the blog. Took a real long shower and slowly packed.
When you go into a nice motel, they have a cart that you can use to move your baggage. Since we packed a number of things, I got the cart. What was really cool, was to see others packing their bags. Here we were packing a motorcycle. But in the baggage cart competition, we won. Our cart was much fuller than theirs. Heh, heh!
I know that I commented about the continental breakfast at Super8. Perhaps I should say the skimpyness of the continental breakfast. Well, you should see the spread that the Ramada Inn put out. Wait, you can’t see the spread, because they didn’t offer a continental breakfast. They offered a complemental coffee in the lounge, but no breakfast. Yes, even though the cost of the Ramada was almost twice the Super8, no breakfast. Now, in their defense, they did have a 4 star restaurant next door that we could have gotten an omelet for about $9….
So, about 5 miles down the road we are looking for the local Friendly’s or Perkins for breakfast when we pass a diner whose parking lot is jammed. Now, everyone knows that a restaurant with a full parking lot is either the only one in town, or they serve great food. We made the U turn.
When we got inside, the place was called Connie’s Diner. Now we know that it was the right place to go. The place is decorated like the 50’s. It has pictures and 45’s plastered all over the walls. (For those of you that are not 55 years old yet, a 45 is a round disk about the size of a CD with a hole in the middle about the size of a silver dollar. This record would sit on a platter and play sound. It spun at a speed of 45 revolutions per minute, hence the name 45.) The restaurant had great food, great service, great atmosphere, and really friendly people. The only bad thing was when we found out the name of the Place was Connie’s, I told the waitress that my wife’s name was Connie, but she wasn’t the owner. She did not laugh. I thought it was funny.
We got some great pictures. The one that was taken in the store had bad lighting, so I will have to edit it when I get home. I will include on this post the pictures that are viewable. The outside shot is pretty good and clearly shows it belongs to Connie. The menu and history are good too.
Well, we told MAPI to direct us to Neen’s . Told it to not take highways. No sweat, should be there about 2:30pm. Well, the back roads were pretty, but they kept getting slower and slower. No problem. We just called Neen and said we would get there a little later, perhaps 3:30. Then the rain came, so we stopped at a local McD’s and had a fry. Better call Neen and tell her 4:00 pm. Then we got back on the road and it really looked bad. Better hit another McD’s and eat lunch. Oh, and we called Neen again to tell her, maybe 4:30pm.
Well, the storm didn’t let up that fast, so we called again. It started looking like an ETA (estimated time of arrival) of about 5 pm. So, the weather let up and we were back on our way. Then, out in the middle of the booney’s, I am running low on gas. Better stop and get gas and call Neen. Told her I think the ETA will be about 5:30pm.
Then MAPI turns us onto this tiny, wini, little road. I am not going to play the 25mph game again. I can get us there faster than that. (Did I mention that I was once a navigator?). So, I found an east-west road that led to a major north-south road that would take us to her city. But, the east-west road led us into downtown Saratoga Springs at the height of rush hour. So our speed dropped to an average of 2 mph. The motorcycle is now constantly kicking on its auxiliary fan to keep from overheating. Unfortunately, I don’t have one.
Finally, the traffic breaks and I am to start picking up speed, only to miss my turn to the north. So, I make a U turn barely missing a Toyota. Now the speed is getting up to 50 mph and we are finally making headway to their city. Wait, what is that sound? It is a siren from an emergency vehicle. No sweat, he passes and goes way past me.
Just as we enter the southernmost portion of the city that Neen and Gordon live in, we cross the very freeway that I have tried so hard to stay off. Only to face the traffic coming to a standstill. Everyone is braking and I can see way up the road that very same emergency vehicle at the scene of an accident. NOOOOOOO. I crank the wheel to the left, spin tires, throw stones and enter the freeway. 15 minutes later we are driving into their driveway. Only another 45 minutes late.
Neen and Gordon are a cool couple. They very patiently waited for our arrival and graciously accepted us. Gordon is a carpenter and very proud of his work. He has done some amazing things and kept us in stitches with tales of his job. The next morning he showed me his work shop and made me envious of his tools.
Neen is a lawyer lady. She does the research and preparation for the lawyers that she works for. She has three grandchildren which she is very proud and loves to “Grandma” them. I watched her put away the dishes and cooking utensils. Each had its special spot and direction in the drawer. That exactness is exactly what her lawyers need and I can see how important she would be to their success.
Their house is an antique show place. The furniture was special and well cared for by carpenter’s hand. It made me think of our savior, the carpenter, and his care he has for his creation.
As you might have guessed, it just seemed a little improper to blog while we were visiting. So, I just posted the pictures and wrote today. Actually, this is really Day5. We were visiting yesterday also. But more about that later.
Day3 we left late. I mean really late. It was a nice motel. The Ramada right on the water. (no, our window faced the traffic, but the price was a little stiffer on the other side.)
When we arrived, on night of Day2, we were pooped. I may have said this already, but we decided to eat cheap. We slept like babes. We got up and worked on email and the blog. Took a real long shower and slowly packed.
When you go into a nice motel, they have a cart that you can use to move your baggage. Since we packed a number of things, I got the cart. What was really cool, was to see others packing their bags. Here we were packing a motorcycle. But in the baggage cart competition, we won. Our cart was much fuller than theirs. Heh, heh!
I know that I commented about the continental breakfast at Super8. Perhaps I should say the skimpyness of the continental breakfast. Well, you should see the spread that the Ramada Inn put out. Wait, you can’t see the spread, because they didn’t offer a continental breakfast. They offered a complemental coffee in the lounge, but no breakfast. Yes, even though the cost of the Ramada was almost twice the Super8, no breakfast. Now, in their defense, they did have a 4 star restaurant next door that we could have gotten an omelet for about $9….
So, about 5 miles down the road we are looking for the local Friendly’s or Perkins for breakfast when we pass a diner whose parking lot is jammed. Now, everyone knows that a restaurant with a full parking lot is either the only one in town, or they serve great food. We made the U turn.
When we got inside, the place was called Connie’s Diner. Now we know that it was the right place to go. The place is decorated like the 50’s. It has pictures and 45’s plastered all over the walls. (For those of you that are not 55 years old yet, a 45 is a round disk about the size of a CD with a hole in the middle about the size of a silver dollar. This record would sit on a platter and play sound. It spun at a speed of 45 revolutions per minute, hence the name 45.) The restaurant had great food, great service, great atmosphere, and really friendly people. The only bad thing was when we found out the name of the Place was Connie’s, I told the waitress that my wife’s name was Connie, but she wasn’t the owner. She did not laugh. I thought it was funny.
We got some great pictures. The one that was taken in the store had bad lighting, so I will have to edit it when I get home. I will include on this post the pictures that are viewable. The outside shot is pretty good and clearly shows it belongs to Connie. The menu and history are good too.
Well, we told MAPI to direct us to Neen’s . Told it to not take highways. No sweat, should be there about 2:30pm. Well, the back roads were pretty, but they kept getting slower and slower. No problem. We just called Neen and said we would get there a little later, perhaps 3:30. Then the rain came, so we stopped at a local McD’s and had a fry. Better call Neen and tell her 4:00 pm. Then we got back on the road and it really looked bad. Better hit another McD’s and eat lunch. Oh, and we called Neen again to tell her, maybe 4:30pm.
Well, the storm didn’t let up that fast, so we called again. It started looking like an ETA (estimated time of arrival) of about 5 pm. So, the weather let up and we were back on our way. Then, out in the middle of the booney’s, I am running low on gas. Better stop and get gas and call Neen. Told her I think the ETA will be about 5:30pm.
Then MAPI turns us onto this tiny, wini, little road. I am not going to play the 25mph game again. I can get us there faster than that. (Did I mention that I was once a navigator?). So, I found an east-west road that led to a major north-south road that would take us to her city. But, the east-west road led us into downtown Saratoga Springs at the height of rush hour. So our speed dropped to an average of 2 mph. The motorcycle is now constantly kicking on its auxiliary fan to keep from overheating. Unfortunately, I don’t have one.
Finally, the traffic breaks and I am to start picking up speed, only to miss my turn to the north. So, I make a U turn barely missing a Toyota. Now the speed is getting up to 50 mph and we are finally making headway to their city. Wait, what is that sound? It is a siren from an emergency vehicle. No sweat, he passes and goes way past me.
Just as we enter the southernmost portion of the city that Neen and Gordon live in, we cross the very freeway that I have tried so hard to stay off. Only to face the traffic coming to a standstill. Everyone is braking and I can see way up the road that very same emergency vehicle at the scene of an accident. NOOOOOOO. I crank the wheel to the left, spin tires, throw stones and enter the freeway. 15 minutes later we are driving into their driveway. Only another 45 minutes late.
Neen and Gordon are a cool couple. They very patiently waited for our arrival and graciously accepted us. Gordon is a carpenter and very proud of his work. He has done some amazing things and kept us in stitches with tales of his job. The next morning he showed me his work shop and made me envious of his tools.
Neen is a lawyer lady. She does the research and preparation for the lawyers that she works for. She has three grandchildren which she is very proud and loves to “Grandma” them. I watched her put away the dishes and cooking utensils. Each had its special spot and direction in the drawer. That exactness is exactly what her lawyers need and I can see how important she would be to their success.
Their house is an antique show place. The furniture was special and well cared for by carpenter’s hand. It made me think of our savior, the carpenter, and his care he has for his creation.
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