You are using an insecure version of your web browser. Please update your browser!
Using an outdated browser makes your computer unsafe. For a safer, faster, more enjoyable user experience, please update your browser today or try a newer browser.
326 miles via I-90, I-471 (around Cleveland), I-71, I-80, OH 53, OH 2, OH 579, I-280, I-75, I-475, US 20, US 127 and Territorial Rd (which became IN 120 when it crossed into Indiana), with refueling and lunch stops. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 851. Cumulative car miles: 907. Miles since the end of Hop 2: 333. The few extra miles were due to my wine cellar visit.
TS8 Hop 3
This hop was every bit as difficult as it sounds, given the long list of roads traveled. This was not my original plan. My first mistake was entering the wrong address for my destination in my GPS – the Comfort Inn in Fremont OH instead of Fremont IN. I did not realize my mistake until I got onto the Ohio Turnpike, which was a near-disaster: the EZ Pass lane had a gate – the first gate I had ever encountered in hundreds of EZ Pass tolls. I nearly took it off when it came down in front of me – landing on my windshield. But no damage.
When I got off, to find some lunch, the EZ Pass did not work at all. I had to back up (fortunately there was little traffic) and go to a booth with an attendant. Where I learned that the MA EZ Pass transponder does not work on the Ohio Turnpike! I didn’t have a ticket either, so I had to negotiate with the attendant what my toll would be. A very frustrating, annoying and thoroughly unpleasant experience. I resolved to not re-enter the turnpike after lunch, so I got to the destination via Toledo and a little piece of Michigan. Ooma hated it though it was only about 20 minutes longer than the turnpike route.
Our home for three nights in North East PA was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. We would have preferred a 2-night stay, but it was Labor Day weekend and we really didn’t want to be on the road on Labor Day, so we opted for the extra day. We are glad we did.
This is a very clean hotel with a beautiful indoor pool with water slides which young children would love (and about 100 of them were loving it when we arrived). There is also a second, smaller pool for people who would like to avoid the pandemonium of the big pool.
Overall, a very nice hotel. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom was large, the cable TV had about 50 channels and there was a one-cup Keurig coffeemaker in the room. The WiFi was adequate.
We met up the night we arrived with Jimmy and Michelle, two long-term friends of Ooma’s. They are much younger (they refer to Kate as “grandmother”). They gave us a tour of Erie PA and environs, including Presque Isle State Park, a lovely park on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Erie. I got some nice sunset photos before we stopped for a hot dog dinner at Sara’s, a seasonal Erie favorite outdoor dining spot. We were also impressed by the 20-or-so houseboats that anchor there. It looks like a very cool place to hang out in the summer.
HouseboatSara’sLake Erie sunset
On Saturday we were on our own. Ooma cooled her heels most of the day but I went out to sample some local wines. We had no idea, before we arrived, that North East PA is a major grape-growing and wine-producing region. I went first to Driftwood Wine Cellars, tasted 4 red wines (2 local, 2 imported from Chile) and purchased a bottle of Black Widow(er), a smoky, full-bodied wine that will be excellent with cheese. Then I crossed the street to Yori Wine Cellars to taste 4 more reds. They, too, had a very interesting smoky one, but I opted for the Chambourcin which will be a fine dinner wine. I was very impressed with the quality of wines produced in this area.
For dinner we walked about 70 feet to the New Harvest Restaurant and Pub. It didn’t look very appealing, but it was convenient. We weren’t impressed when we walked in, either – your basic low-rent pub. The server started off by apologizing that the kitchen was behind and it would be at least 30 minutes to get our entree. But we ordered drinks – excellent – and then ordered dinner – broiled walleye for me (a first!) and liver and onions for Ooma. They were delivered in about 15 minutes and they were both excellent. So our first impressions were wrong – this is a very fine dining establishment.
Liver and onionsBroiled walleye
On Monday (a dreary, cool Labor Day) we met up with Jimmy and Michelle again. We thought we were going for drinks and appetizers at the Skunk and Goat Tavern, but it was closed. And so were the next 10 places we called. We finally landed at the U Pick 6 Public House. Then we drove to the Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. Jimmy and Michelle had celebrated their 5th anniversary on Sunday (Ooma had been at their wedding) so we treated them to dinner. Ooma and I shared a ribeye steak. Delicious.
We had the desk clerk take a commemorative photo before we parted company. They are a lovely couple who helped make it a very good weekend.
202 miles via I-86 and PA 89, with a lunch stop in Falconer NY. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 532. Cumulative car miles: 574. Miles since the end of Hop 1: 246. The 44 extra miles were due to the trip to the Corning Museum of Glass.
The day was cloudy but the traffic was light (which is a bit surprising as it was the Saturday of Labor Day weekend). Easy trip of just over 3 hours.
Our home in Elmira was the Clarion Inn. This is a large hotel (about 350 rooms) on the river (though you can’t see it due to an earthen berm along the banks). It is also in an uninteresting area (a housing project is across the street). i found it to be a bit of a puzzle. Some hotel corporation decided that this was a good location. Probably Holiday Inn as the WiFi password was “HolidayInn” (though it changed on the day we arrived). The room was comfortable, the pool was nice and the staff was exceptionally good, but the decor was dated, the hallway carpet was worn and dirty and the key cards barely worked (I often had to try 5 times or more before the door opened). And, despite it being the start of a holiday weekend, the place had an empty feel – no one in the restaurant. It seemed to us that a lot of money would have to be poured into the place to make it the kind of hotel one would expect from the Clarion brand.
Nice poolEmpty restaurant
We ate in the empty hotel restaurant the second night and it was quite good. The first night we dined out at Taste of Asia which was exceptionally good. It was mostly a takeout place and we pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves, but the service was excellent and we liked the food very much.
Corning NY is home to both Corning, Inc, a major manufacturer of glass, and the Museum of Glass, an institution that pays tribute to all things glass. We spent a better part of the day visiting the museum and Ooma’s assessment – echoed by me – was “one of the best museums ever.” High praise and well-deserved.
Glass blowing demo
We divided our time pretty equally between the displays of glass art and the demonstrations. The demos – glass blowing and glass breaking, were interesting, but the real star of the show were the thousands of pieces of glass art.
323 miles via I-90, I-87, I-88 and I-86 with a breakfast stop in West Springfield MA. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 323.
This was an easy trip to navigate, which is good as my cell phone GPS froze before getting to Albany. The weather was good and the traffic was light, so it was mostly an easy hop. Except for the miserable hour we spent trapped behind a “wide load” truck (with 38 tires!) hauling a very large shrouded object down I-88 at 30mph. Most of that trip was on sections of I-88 that were reduced to a single westbound lane by construction, The backup was massive. I was near the front so I can’t say how long the backup was, but judging by how quickly it built up behind the caravan (the massive truck and 6 escort vehicles) after it rejoined I-88 following a rest area break, it had to be at least 3 miles. And how did I know that? Because we pulled into that rest area after being trapped in the backup for 25 minutes and were not quick enough to get out before it. So we were the only vehicle that got trapped both before and after their break. Lucky us.
I didn’t think getting out in front was all that urgent as I knew the one-lane stretch that the rest area was on lasted just another mile. I figured I would be able to pass when the construction zone ended. But – surprise! – the state troopers escorting the truck blocked both lanes until another long construction zone started. So another maddening 30-minute delay on a 12-mile one-lane construction zone.
Well, we had some quiet days at “home” (the house loaned to us for the month by Jett’s brother, Ray, and his lovely and talented wife, Kim) which involved a lot of reading and Facebook time. Ooma did get out twice to get her hair and nails done. I did a solo trip to visit Jett’s grave in Rockport MA and 2 visits each with my son and my granddaughter. But we also did some fine dining:
Peppercorn’s Grille & Tavern. This was a random choice when we were out one day and needed a place for lunch. This turned out to be a fine choice: really tasty sandwiches and a large selection of craft beers.
Siam 9 Thai Cuisine. Ooma wanted scallion pancakes and this place has them. Very good ones, in Ooma’s opinion. This was a dinner out with Ray and Kim. Very good Thai food.
The menu board at Kimball Farm
The Sole Proprietor. This may be Worcester’s best restaurant. We dined out with Ray and Kim and Ooma and I agreed that it was some of the best seafood we have ever had.
John Brewer’s Tavern. This is a place for basic pub fare but is a convenient place to meet up with my son, Frank.
Kimball Farm. This was just for ice cream, but they make the best ice cream anywhere, IMHO.
Dinner at Ray and Kim’s cabin in New Salem MA. Kim is a fantasic cook and her meals are every bit as good as those served at 4-star restaurants. She served “lamburgers” – hamburgers made from chopped lamb. Delicious!
Our own cookouts. We are no slouches when it comes to grilling. We had at least 4 steak dinners, plus a ham steak cookout.
Kim and Ray and Ooma and Sparky at the Sole Proprietor
I had the honor of getting granddaughter Liliani’s ears re-pierced. She was a trouper and the new studs look very nice.
Liliani, getting her ears re-pierced
Bottom line: we were very busy during our month in Worcester. But none of it would have been possible without the generous assistance of Ray and Kim. Thank you!
The subtitle is “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.” That is a good capsule summary. Did you wonder what Christ did in those years between his appearance at the temple at 12 and the start of his ministry around age 30? There is no mention of those years in the Bible. Moore has filled the gap with a fanciful tale made up of whole cloth (including the cloth of the Shroud of Turin). In case you were wondering, he spent years traveling to Syria, Afghanistan, China and India in search of the three wise men and their wisdom (because he needs to learn how to be The Messiah). Along the way he learns to heal the sick, raise the dead and talk to the Abominable Snowman. Really. You have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy this, but if you do you will have a lovely time, thanks to his wise-cracking buddy, Biff, who has been brought back to life after being dead for 2,000 years, to write another Gospel, just so the record of Christ’s life can be complete.
The Shround of Turin episode is a good example. Christ is beaten up and his wounds are tended to by a couple of merchants from Turin. They are amused by the perfect image of his countenance that is left on the cloth that they use to dry the blood on his face and decide to take the cloth with them rather than discarding it. The rest, as they say, is history.
It is deeply irreverent, frequently scatological and thoroughly funny.
Ooma and I did a lot of traveling this week (what else is new?) to visit family in NH, CT and MA. First, on Friday, a trip to NH to visit Chuck, Ooma’s brother. The two highlights were lunch at the Mountainview Station Restaurant in Center Ossipee and meeting his hilariously entertaining kitten, Brody. The seafood at Mountainview Station is terrific – highly recommended! They also have some interesting T-shirts for sale that reek of double entendre.
Next, on Saturday, a second trip to CT to visit Ooma’s son and family. Wonderful people and always a joy. We did takeout from Pho Delight Thai Restaurant in Willimantic CT and it, too, was terrific. I can’t say I haven’t been eating well. Before dinner the kids had fun painting stuff. Nothing like paint to work up an appetite.
Dining on ThaiSophia painting a chairFarren painting herselfSophia painting a moose
The matriarch at rest
Then on Sunday, a trip to Wilmington MA to see Jett’s sister, Sybil, and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was a beautiful, sunny day and catching up with all was a lot of fun.
Three trips in three days, all more than an hour’s drive away. Good food, good conversation, good times. But I think I will rest up now for the journey west which will begin Thursday.
Four geeks and their lovely ladies (the 5th geek took the photo)
In our continuing effort to take vacations-within-our-vacation, Ooma and I traveled to the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts this past weekend to stay with my college roommate, Hutch (the guy with the trees sprouting from his left ear in the photo), and his wife Linda. They also invited 3 other couples, all of the men being fraternity brothers from college, including the other roommate from my sophomore year. So a mini-reunion of sorts. And as all of the men were engineers of various sorts there was plenty of geek talk. But the women tempered the talk and made it seem like a group of nearly normal people.
On the dog walk
One highlight of the trip was the house and cabin where we all stayed. Not many people can accommodate 8 overnight guests, but Hutch and Linda made it look easy – two couples with them in their lovely new 3-bedroom house and the other two in the adjacent 2-bedroom “cabin” (which most people would be happy to call home). Ooma gushed over the kitchen in the new house, saying that it was her “dream kitchen.”
On the lawn, enjoying the concert
The buildings are situated on 48 wooded acres, which I had a chance to explore on the 8am dog walk Sunday morning. The land is steeply sloped, so there is no thought of doing much with the space. But it is a lovely plot of land that both people and dog enjoyed.
Dining al fresco at Tanglewood
The main event of the weekend was an afternoon at Tanglewood to hear some classical music from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and guest violinist Itzhak Perlman. We sat on the lawn under perfect blue skies and enjoyed some sandwiches and wine while listening to some lovely music. If you have never been to Tanglewood, you are missing a treat. We couldn’t actually see the musicians as they were in the concert shed, but it didin’t matter as we could hear them just fine. And, unlike the patrons in the high-priced seats in the shed, we could enjoy the perfect weather.
Another feature of the weekend was food. Good food and lots of it. A cookout Saturday night, bagel sandwiches at the concert (with potato chips and cookies), pasta (stuffed shells and lasagna) Sunday night and breakfast with homemade granola and breads both Sunday and Monday. My attempt to lose weight had to be temporarily abandoned.
The final – and most important – feature of the weekend was social discourse. We talked about everything – family, health, work, retirement, current events. But, thankfully, hardly any political talk. We were good friends 55 years ago and we remain good friends today.
We are now less than 2 weeks away from our planned departure from Worcester. That would be the start of my 8th trip south which I will designate ‘TS8’. This will be longer and more complex than the trip north (TN8) as it includes a trip west to Wisconsin before heading back to Florida. So I have broken the trip into two segments – TS8-1 (the trip to Wisconsin) and TS8-2 (the trip to Florida).
TS8-1
This segment is planned out in considerable detail and the hotels have already been booked. Here is the route:
TS8-1 plan
This is a trip of over 1,100 miles in 4 segments:
Elmira NY: a 2-night stop where the main event will be a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass. Ooma is a big fan of glass art and I am intrigued by the technology of glassmaking, so there should be enough there to interest both of us.
Erie PA: a 3-day Labor Day weekend stay in a city that I have passed through but have never toured. We will visit some long-term friends of Ooma’s and take a look at the western end of the Erie Canal.
Fremont IN: an overnight stop. There is nothing in Fremont that interests me, but we do plan to stop in Port Clinton OH on our way there to have lunch with my Ft Myers neighbors.
Madison WI: the city where I was born and raised and, yes, went to high school. We will attend my 55th(!) high school reunion, visit with long-term friends and go to Circus World in Baraboo WI which is a Ringling Brothers museum. We will be in Madison for a full week. We might also take a trip to see Taliesin East, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin home.
TS8-2
TS8-2 plan
The trip from Wisconsin to Florida is not completely planned. No hotels have been booked, so there is still considerable uncertainty in this plan. Nevertheless, we are pretty certain which cities we will visit. This will be a trip of over 1,500 miles in 6 hops:
Chicago IL (or a western suburb thereof): a 3-night stay which gives us 2 full days to visit the city (which Ooma has never visited). One day will be devoted to the Chicago Institute of Art. We also hope to catch some music at a blues club, but haven’t decided how to spend the other day. Lots of options.
Louisville KY: an overnight stay with my cousin Keith and his wife Debbie.
Asheville NC: 3 nights. One day will be devoted entirely to seeing the Biltmore mansion and gardens. The other day will likely feature a drive along a segment of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Savannah GA: 2 nights. We will simply enjoy the ambiance of one of my favorite southern cities.
Lakeland FL: one night. Lakeland is home to the University of South Florida which has many buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright. We thought this might be a nice complement to our possible visit to Taliesin East.
Fort Myers FL. Home at last. Collect Rusty (and see if he remembers me), put our feet up and rest.
