The only things on our agenda today was to mail a couple of boxes of stuff home, call Dann on the phone (who's our ride home from the Long Beach, California airport) and to gas up the Mustang in order to deliver it with a full tank (seeing as we're kind of classy that way).
Cousin Tommy came over to the Super 8 where we've been staying in Pulaski for the past week in order to fit the convertible with its new New York license plates. (Gotta say, it was a much cooler car with California plates.)
After the Dr. Phil show and an episode of Bar Rescue, we headed over to Eddy's Place for a final meal in New York 'til the next time.
Tomorrow night we'll be sleeping in our own beds, pooch by our side.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Winding it down
Couldn't go to Eddy's Place for dinner last night, because they're closed on Mondays, so we ended up again at LD's Alehouse. This time we sat at the bar to ensure our drinks were made correctly this time.
When we parked the convertible, the weather was a little threatening, so we put the top up and closed the windows, but we did not latch the top down, leaving about a one inch gap. Had our meal, and just as we were winding it down, Tom got this feeling that he ought to check to see if it was raining. It was. "Check, please!"
We hurried to the car, then had to dry off the dashboard and console somewhat, but it was no worse off for wear.
Got a late start today, but did manage to go out for ice cream cones after the Dr. Phil show ended at 4:00. By then the weather which was overcast and raining off and on all morning, had now given way to sunshine. We took a short drive before heading over to cousin Tom and Bev's where we had been invited for dinner.
We sat and visited for some time when the weather again began to threaten, so my Tom went out and put the top up and latched it on the Mustang. About five minutes later it started to gently rain, and then it started to pour, and then it started to hail. Didn't expect that, since it was about 80 degrees out.
After dinner we went through all the paperwork necessary for the transfer of our vehicle to my cousin and his wife who are now the proud new owners, and who admitted being in a bit of a state of disbelief.
From there we called it an evening and headed back to the Super 8 in Pulaski.
When we parked the convertible, the weather was a little threatening, so we put the top up and closed the windows, but we did not latch the top down, leaving about a one inch gap. Had our meal, and just as we were winding it down, Tom got this feeling that he ought to check to see if it was raining. It was. "Check, please!"
We hurried to the car, then had to dry off the dashboard and console somewhat, but it was no worse off for wear.
Got a late start today, but did manage to go out for ice cream cones after the Dr. Phil show ended at 4:00. By then the weather which was overcast and raining off and on all morning, had now given way to sunshine. We took a short drive before heading over to cousin Tom and Bev's where we had been invited for dinner.
We sat and visited for some time when the weather again began to threaten, so my Tom went out and put the top up and latched it on the Mustang. About five minutes later it started to gently rain, and then it started to pour, and then it started to hail. Didn't expect that, since it was about 80 degrees out.
After dinner we went through all the paperwork necessary for the transfer of our vehicle to my cousin and his wife who are now the proud new owners, and who admitted being in a bit of a state of disbelief.
From there we called it an evening and headed back to the Super 8 in Pulaski.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Camden, New York
Today it was supposed to rain, but the forecast changed to partly cloudy and a high of eighty. It ended up climbing to 92 degrees. The beautiful day beckoned, and since we're not really sure when we're going to drive another convertible, we were compelled to take another drive in the country with the top down (like that ever gets old). Tomorrow there's supposed to be thundershowers.
Went to Salmon River Falls, then ended up in Camden, New York for lunch at Avicolli's Pizza. After eats we wandered across the street to the Good Life Tavern for happy hour before circling back to Pulaski and visiting awhile with cousin Tommy and Bev Filkins.
It's Monday today, and since she had the weekend off, we're going back to Eddy's Place tonight to find out if the bartender, Tee's Dad had gone to school with my Dad.
Went to Salmon River Falls, then ended up in Camden, New York for lunch at Avicolli's Pizza. After eats we wandered across the street to the Good Life Tavern for happy hour before circling back to Pulaski and visiting awhile with cousin Tommy and Bev Filkins.
It's Monday today, and since she had the weekend off, we're going back to Eddy's Place tonight to find out if the bartender, Tee's Dad had gone to school with my Dad.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Ride in the country, anyone?
Today was drop-dead gorgeous. Once we glued the few things back onto the shadowbox that had shaken loose, then reassembled it, there was little left to do but take a ride with the top down on the convertible.
Drove down country roads past farm after farm, then quaint village after quaint village, ending up for a late lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant nestled next to Lake Ontario, in a town I failed to take specific note of, but it was quite picturesque. It was Something Landing or Landing Something.
We pretty much called it a day after that, heading back to the Super 8 in Pulaski, NY to forage on snacks and leftovers for the evening.
Drove down country roads past farm after farm, then quaint village after quaint village, ending up for a late lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant nestled next to Lake Ontario, in a town I failed to take specific note of, but it was quite picturesque. It was Something Landing or Landing Something.
We pretty much called it a day after that, heading back to the Super 8 in Pulaski, NY to forage on snacks and leftovers for the evening.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
YOU get a car!
Our nine o'clock appointment to have our ride detailed got pushed back to one o'clock, but there was still plenty of daylight left at 5:00 when the car was ready for us to spring upon my second cousin and his wife (Tom and Bev Filkins) with a couple of surprises, not the least of which was the keys to the convertible. Cousin Tommy got a bit more emotional than I had expected, but I mean who does that? Gives away a perfectly good 2005 Mustang convertible six cylinder with a manual transmission? Who does that? Well, in our case we were just paying it forward from about nine years ago when we were given a perfectly good 1962 Ford Galaxie convertible with a little over thirty thousand on the odometer.
The shadowbox that had traveled mostly back roads from coast to coast fared much better than I had feared, and tomorrow we'll disassemble it in order to glue the few loose bits back.
Tom and Bev treated us to dinner at Eddy's Place, which has become our Stox of choice in a foreign place [which is a totally inside reference].
The shadowbox that had traveled mostly back roads from coast to coast fared much better than I had feared, and tomorrow we'll disassemble it in order to glue the few loose bits back.
Tom and Bev treated us to dinner at Eddy's Place, which has become our Stox of choice in a foreign place [which is a totally inside reference].
Friday, May 30, 2014
Still Pulaski
For dinner last night we ate at Eddy's Place in Pulaski, New York. It was refreshing to be able to order a Manhattan and a gin Martini, where I knew they could prepare them correctly without having to look up how to make them.
Today marked the first day in over three weeks where we stayed more than one night in any establishment. The Super 8 that we're staying at offers breakfast, but since we didn't have to move along, we just slept through the nine o'clock deadline. Rather, I made Starbucks coffee for us using the microwave to heat the water, and a disposable cup with holes poked into the bottom and filter paper.
Somewhere after noon we got it together enough to venture out and run a few errands. First on the agenda was to buy some flowers to lay on the graves of my grandparents, and to sprinkle some of my dad's ashes over their plots in the Richland cemetery.
We drove past what used to be the "Hotel" my grandparents once owned (that had long since morphed into a bar once the train no longer stopped in Richland). We discovered that the Hotel was no longer a place of business, but a private residence, and I noticed new siding over the entire building. The structure in front of the "Hotel" that was once my Dad's barbershop when he was a lad, still stands.
We circled back to Pulaski in order to tend to laundry, then we headed off to a car dealership where we arranged to have the Mustang detailed first thing tomorrow morning.
We nibbled on snacks and leftovers for lunch, then went to LD's Alehouse for supper. Thinking we could again order our grownup Manhattan and Martini drinks was a misstep. You know you have an issue when the help comes back and asks what kind of Vermouth should be used. Plus it took forever for the drinks to come. Turns out they used sweet Vermouth in both drinks, making Tom's Bombay Sapphire Martini quite different. They offered to do it again, but Tom said it was okay, and nursed it until he finally finished it. We were not charged for Tom's Martini.
For a nightcap we circled back to Eddy's Place where we ate the night before, and where we knew they could make our beverages without having to ask for advice in how to make them.
We have a nine o'clock appointment in the morning for car servicing, so if we we're smart, we'll make it an early night tonight.
Today marked the first day in over three weeks where we stayed more than one night in any establishment. The Super 8 that we're staying at offers breakfast, but since we didn't have to move along, we just slept through the nine o'clock deadline. Rather, I made Starbucks coffee for us using the microwave to heat the water, and a disposable cup with holes poked into the bottom and filter paper.
Somewhere after noon we got it together enough to venture out and run a few errands. First on the agenda was to buy some flowers to lay on the graves of my grandparents, and to sprinkle some of my dad's ashes over their plots in the Richland cemetery.
We drove past what used to be the "Hotel" my grandparents once owned (that had long since morphed into a bar once the train no longer stopped in Richland). We discovered that the Hotel was no longer a place of business, but a private residence, and I noticed new siding over the entire building. The structure in front of the "Hotel" that was once my Dad's barbershop when he was a lad, still stands.
We circled back to Pulaski in order to tend to laundry, then we headed off to a car dealership where we arranged to have the Mustang detailed first thing tomorrow morning.
We nibbled on snacks and leftovers for lunch, then went to LD's Alehouse for supper. Thinking we could again order our grownup Manhattan and Martini drinks was a misstep. You know you have an issue when the help comes back and asks what kind of Vermouth should be used. Plus it took forever for the drinks to come. Turns out they used sweet Vermouth in both drinks, making Tom's Bombay Sapphire Martini quite different. They offered to do it again, but Tom said it was okay, and nursed it until he finally finished it. We were not charged for Tom's Martini.
For a nightcap we circled back to Eddy's Place where we ate the night before, and where we knew they could make our beverages without having to ask for advice in how to make them.
We have a nine o'clock appointment in the morning for car servicing, so if we we're smart, we'll make it an early night tonight.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Warsaw and Pulaski New York
Try as we might last night, the internet was simply not available to us at the East Hill Motel in Warsaw, New York where we stayed, so I have two days worth to catch up with.
The Something Special Suites where we stayed in Corry, Pennsylvania the night before last didn't offer breakfast (why should they, since they provide a full kitchen?) So we just made coffee for ourselves and headed as far as Frewsburg, New York before stopping under a shade tree by the side of the road to finish our leftovers from Willa's Pizzeria from the night before.
Then we continued to Randolph where we stopped for a drink at Pete's Place, and so we could use the facilities. From there we drove to East Aurora where we had lunch at The Ice House and Pete's Pub.
We then made it as far as Warsaw for the night. Since neither my smart phone, nor the internet was of use, I resorted to using my navigation device to try and find a place to eat. The most interesting sounding thing to me was a restaurant called Tim Hortons, which turned out to be a kind of Starbucks that also offered donuts, as well as selections from their modest menu.
Tom had noticed a DiMartino's Italian Restaurant and Sports Bar maybe three blocks before we got to Tim Hortons, that our Magellan device seemed not to be aware of. Still, we ate at Tim Hortons, but I told Tom that if we circled back to the Sports Bar, and they have better looking food coming out of the kitchen, we're going to feel really dumb. Which is exactly what happened. To add insult to injury, the bartender did not know how to make a Long Island or Martini.
Our room at the East Hill had no coffee maker or microwave, nor did they provide coffee in the lobby, so we headed to Lantz's Bulk Foods and Coffee Shop, just in time to miss breakfast, but they did offer a great cup o' Joe. The business appeared to be run by religious types.
All-in-all, the East Hill Motel was reminiscent to me of the fictitious Bates motel from "Psycho" (and that's all I'm gonna say.)
Today was overcast and cool, but just as we were leaving Lantz's, we saw a guy in a yellow convertible late model Thunderbird with the top down, and we thought, "If that guy can do it, so can we". We had to wear jackets and run the heater almost the entire day, and so it didn't take us that long to admit to ourselves that if we were at home in California, we would not be driving top down in such dreary weather. We ultimately concluded that maybe the yellow T-bird's top didn't work, so the guy may not have had any choice in the matter when he drove it. Still, by the middle of the afternoon, the clouds stubbornly gave way.
Relying again on the Magellan for a place to stop and eat, we headed toward The Lighthouse Tavern in Oswego (thinking that Tavern was sort of code for a place that serves food). Had to use the rest rooms, so we sat down for drinks, then headed off to the Super 8 in Pulaski, New York which is our ultimate destination where we will deliver the shadow box that has been taking up most of the back seat since we left. We've yet to see how well it fared over the few thousand miles. We'll either be pleased, disappointed or something in between.
Today marks us three weeks out, and our plane tickets home are for a week from today. We plan on having the Mustang detailed hopefully tomorrow, since this was always going to be a one-way trip for the car. I'll miss it somewhat, 'cuz it is a fun ride (being manual transmission and all).
The Something Special Suites where we stayed in Corry, Pennsylvania the night before last didn't offer breakfast (why should they, since they provide a full kitchen?) So we just made coffee for ourselves and headed as far as Frewsburg, New York before stopping under a shade tree by the side of the road to finish our leftovers from Willa's Pizzeria from the night before.
Then we continued to Randolph where we stopped for a drink at Pete's Place, and so we could use the facilities. From there we drove to East Aurora where we had lunch at The Ice House and Pete's Pub.
We then made it as far as Warsaw for the night. Since neither my smart phone, nor the internet was of use, I resorted to using my navigation device to try and find a place to eat. The most interesting sounding thing to me was a restaurant called Tim Hortons, which turned out to be a kind of Starbucks that also offered donuts, as well as selections from their modest menu.
Tom had noticed a DiMartino's Italian Restaurant and Sports Bar maybe three blocks before we got to Tim Hortons, that our Magellan device seemed not to be aware of. Still, we ate at Tim Hortons, but I told Tom that if we circled back to the Sports Bar, and they have better looking food coming out of the kitchen, we're going to feel really dumb. Which is exactly what happened. To add insult to injury, the bartender did not know how to make a Long Island or Martini.
Our room at the East Hill had no coffee maker or microwave, nor did they provide coffee in the lobby, so we headed to Lantz's Bulk Foods and Coffee Shop, just in time to miss breakfast, but they did offer a great cup o' Joe. The business appeared to be run by religious types.
All-in-all, the East Hill Motel was reminiscent to me of the fictitious Bates motel from "Psycho" (and that's all I'm gonna say.)
Today was overcast and cool, but just as we were leaving Lantz's, we saw a guy in a yellow convertible late model Thunderbird with the top down, and we thought, "If that guy can do it, so can we". We had to wear jackets and run the heater almost the entire day, and so it didn't take us that long to admit to ourselves that if we were at home in California, we would not be driving top down in such dreary weather. We ultimately concluded that maybe the yellow T-bird's top didn't work, so the guy may not have had any choice in the matter when he drove it. Still, by the middle of the afternoon, the clouds stubbornly gave way.
Relying again on the Magellan for a place to stop and eat, we headed toward The Lighthouse Tavern in Oswego (thinking that Tavern was sort of code for a place that serves food). Had to use the rest rooms, so we sat down for drinks, then headed off to the Super 8 in Pulaski, New York which is our ultimate destination where we will deliver the shadow box that has been taking up most of the back seat since we left. We've yet to see how well it fared over the few thousand miles. We'll either be pleased, disappointed or something in between.
Today marks us three weeks out, and our plane tickets home are for a week from today. We plan on having the Mustang detailed hopefully tomorrow, since this was always going to be a one-way trip for the car. I'll miss it somewhat, 'cuz it is a fun ride (being manual transmission and all).
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