Rt 66 trip

Day 9 – Rt. 66 trip

I have not been sleeping well, but then again, I often don’t at home either. So this morning, Bob got up before me and went to the Branson Tourism Center to get back the deposit we paid to hold our seats for the time-share sales pitch. I thought they had said it was non-refundable so I was happy to be wrong. They didn’t give him a hassle so they got some points back if anyone is keeping score. The hotel recommendation was top notch, so we left town with another belly full of Clocker’s Café food and coffee.

It was already 83 degrees at 10:30 am so we deemed it a top-up, air conditioning day. It was nice to not have the sun beat down on me all day. We drove back up to Springfield to pick up Rt 66 and head west. Bob filled the gas tank at $2.79 for 91% octane. The little Mini does not like regular gas. We have not noticed much change from what we see at home in the trees, flowers and weeds so far. Our big lesson of the day was most attractions along Rt. 66 in small towns in South West Missouri, South East Kansas and North East Oklahoma are NOT open on Monday. When you plan your trip try to be in a large tourist area on Monday.

That being said, I will continue with photos and captions. Lucky you.

A tribute to the individuals that lost their lives storming Normandy. On the Branson Strip, Rt. 76, Branson, MO

Multi-branches of service memorial in Branson, MO

Long, straight road over hill and dale between Branson, MO, and Springfield, MO

1940’s era stone building Phillips 66 station. Many similar stone buildings in the area.

Above, war memorial in front of Tendercare lawn care company in Carterville, MO.

Below, the sign to go with the memorial

I liked the name so it rated a picture. Unfortunately not open.

Above. There is only 13 miles of Rt. 66 in Kansas so it was a photo stop.

Below. The retro station was not open.

A nice mural to prove we were in Kansas.

We hit the jackpot. The pharmacy was open. Kristal made our ice cream lunch for us.

We made about six attempts to find the Vintage Iron Motorcycle museum in Miami, OK, only to find it not open, but gone. Our EZ66 book let us down today. The website for this place looked great and said it was open all year.

Above, world’s largest totem pole near Foyil, OK.

Below, also at the totem pole site. Gift shop closed.

Aha, a necessity room near the totem poles. I love the name. It was clean and stocked.

Love the turtle. He was about four feet tall and seven feet long. Just sitting on a corner a few miles from the totem poles.

We are staying in downtown Tulsa, OK tonight. Across the street from our hotel is a four story medical center (hospital) with a nearly empty parking lot. Sure doesn’t look like home and we haven’t heard a siren yet. Let’s hope they have a quiet night.

We had dinner next door at Baxter’s. My Southwestern Cobb salad was above par and Bob’s Cajun Alfredo chicken and penne pasta was yummy. I stole a bite. I try to remember to do a check-in on Facebook when we eat so you can keep track of how far we have traveled and where we end up at the end of the day. That page is under Sue Carmichael Spitulnik. See you there.

09/09/2019 0

Day 7 – Rt 66 trip

We got around slowly this morning. It is always hard to leave family when you know you won’t see them in person for at least six months or more. Thank you, Larry and Lisa, for everything. Your home is welcoming and comfortable.

It took us a half hour to find our way out of Rolla in the right direction because the signs for Historic Rt. 66 are not on every corner. It doesn’t help when sometimes the old route just stops and you are expected to know you have to take the highway, in this case Rt. 44 west. I know, just drive 44, but that isn’t the point. Then again, the speed limit is often 45mph on Rt. 66 and it isn’t prudent to stay on it if you are on a time schedule. This brings me to my first suggestion for the day. If you sometime do this trip, try not to have any specific time tables on any given day other than getting to the hotel. As we left town, we noticed the gas price was $2.199 for regular.

Between Hooker, MO, and Morgan Heights, MO, there is a section of the original four lane Rt. 66 which doesn’t exist anymore in very many places. (See picture at the top.) A side road off that section is known as Devil’s Elbow. We did find and drive that road. It’s probably one of the most scenic parts of Rt. 66 in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. We hadn’t had breakfast yet and just as we came off the end of the old road, we found the Country Cafe in the town of St. Roberts. There is actually a smoking room with a closed door and a non-smoking area too. The locale is very close to the Army post, Ft. Leonard Wood, so there are many active duty Army, disabled vets, and retired military in the area. While we ate, we listened to one young man talking to his table-mates, he said, “I’m glad I came home with a bad knee instead of a prosthetic leg.” He is a good example of “Freedom isn’t Free.”

Bob had corn beef hash and I had a veggie omelet. We both liked our grits.

Around the bend from that parking lot is the tourist attraction, Uranus Fudge Factory and general store. There is a dinner-house/bar, some circus side show booths, an ice cream stand, and other oddities to look at while you are there. I found a couple more funny signs, and of course we got some fudge packed in Uranus. We laughed a lot while we visited, and afterwards too. We also saw our second Alaska license plate.

Not really a town, just a tourist attraction (that does very well.)

Adult humor (The fudge is very good.)

More adult humor.

Another bathroom sign.

After Uranus, we got on Rt. 44 to make some time and drove on to Marshfield, MO, about 45 miles, and went into that town to view the 1200 pound, quarter scale Hubble Telescope. It is there because that is where Dr. Edwin Hubble is from. It didn’t look like much just sitting on its stand. If you don’t know its importance, I’ll suggest using Google to read about it.

Replica of Hubble Telescope

We got back on the highway and made good time getting to Springfield where we stopped at Merrily We Quilt Along quilt shop. I’ve been in a lot of shops and this one was top rate because of its very good lighting, excellent selection, and friendly, knowledgeable staff. I found the perfect background fabric for the necktie quilt I will be making in the near future.

Merrily We Quilt Along was open in Springfield, MO

Next we got on Highway 65 south to drop down to Branson, MO., the country music entertainment capital of the US. There are 200 hotels in the area, a 5-mile-long entertainment strip with multiple theaters, restaurants, novelty stores, amusement rides, and other things to do. The area covers four or five different hills and you have to drive to get from one place to another because it is so spread out. There is ample parking, but traffic is slow. I purchased our two different show tickets and made our hotel reservation through Branson Tourism Center. That was a mistake. They have an excellent web-site and I found all the information I wanted on it. I fell for their come-on that they could save me money if I booked through them. I didn’t. So, suggestion number two for the day. Use any site you can to find the information you want about any trip, then book directly with the theater, hotel, or paddle boat you want to enjoy. You will end up with tickets instead of vouchers you have to exchange for tickets and won’t be talked in to sitting through a time-share presentation when you pick up your reservation packet on your way into town. More about that after we leave Branson.

Our hotel, Lodge of the Ozarks is beautiful. The décor makes me think of the cottage I spent my childhood summers in. The young ladies at the desk were friendly but couldn’t believe we had driven all the way from New York state. We guessed they hadn’t traveled much. We arrived at 4:15 pm in 92-degree sunshine.

For supper we went down the street to Starvin’ Marvin’s. Bob had some yummy ribs and I ate salad and cold shrimp off the buffet. Our server, Kelly W. made sure we had anything and everything we needed to make our meal enjoyable.

Those Cajun know how to do things up right.

Our theater show this evening was “The Haygood’s.” Six family members, five brothers and one sister, all talented musicians and singers performed rock, country, tap dancing, Over the Rainbow (with a harp as the lead instrument) and finished with a patriotic song. The pyro techniques were great, the light show awesome and their harmonies even better. What a talented family. They have been performing together for over 25 years, change their show on a regular basis and also have a Christmas show during November and December. At one point a lot of shiny silver ribbon was dispensed over the first few rows of audience. The lady in front of us was collecting it afterward and told us she uses it on her Christmas presents each year. I have some in my purse, just because. I can give this show a high recommendation as long as you expect a true variety and not all country music.

Four members of the Haygood’s. Yes, he’s playing banjo while standing in a recliner.

09/08/2019 5

Day 6 – Rt. 66 trip

Staying with family in a private home certainly has its perks. I made my own coffee this morning and added 2% milk bought especially for my visit. The rest of the day I have been pampered, to the point Lisa did our laundry. Thank you!

For four months after we started planning our trip, Bob was adamant he would do no work while traveling. Two weeks before we left, he told me he would be bringing his computer. This morning he spent about an hour on a conference call with other members of the construction team at Home Leasing and a client, mostly listening to the others, but then making an informed comment. The client’s response was, “Give us a minute.” Silence ensued for about five minutes. When they came back on the line, they agreed his idea was an out-of-the-box excellent suggestion. He claimed later this wasn’t a vacation day for him, except he’s been pampered the rest of the day too.

With Larry driving, we finally went to breakfast at County Bob’s in St. James, MO. We had a chuckle about the name. I put that photo on my Facebook page under the name Sue Carmichael Spitulnik. I had pork chop and eggs again. I have been trying to remember the first time I had that combination and why I like it so well. Haven’t come up with the memory yet.

From there we went further north to Meramec Caverns in Stanton, MO. The Land the caverns are on has been privately owned through four generations. Neither Bob nor I had ever been in a cave before. We got our feet wet spelunking in a well-lit, very safe, cave that has a 50 feet wide and 20 feet tall opening and is over 16 miles long in its entirety. We went in about half a mile, down 332 feet and had our mouths open in awe the whole time. The cave was used by the Union forces during the Civil War as an ammunition factory because they could extract salt-peter, potassium nitrate, from the dolomite stone to make gunpowder. The Confederate soldiers, Jesse James among them, destroyed the factory during the war. Ten years later, in 1874, he and Frank used the cave as a hide-out after robbing a train because it is large enough to hide a whole gang, their horses, and supplies completely from view. It also has a river for water and “side rooms” for privacy or storage. The stalactites (hanging from the top of the cave) and stalagmites (sticking up from the mud) were beautiful as they had such varied shapes and sizes, and some were millions of years old. The experience was well worth the money and they give a military and veterans discount if you can prove your status.

Frank and Jesse James statues outside Meramec Caverns

Stalactites in Meramec Cavern

On the way to the Caverns we saw a license plate that said Cherokee Nation. Where we are from in New York state we have Native American reservations who belong to the Iroquois Nation, but we have never heard of a special plate for them. We are speculating the car belonged to a political representative of the nation and has a special plate like members of the House of Representatives and Congress have. But, that is only a guess.

Larry drove Rt. 66 on the way back to Rolla and made tourist stops for us. We drove through Cuba that has lots of murals on the outside of buildings, then on to Fanning to stop at The US 66 Outpost to see the Giant Rocking Chair. The gift shop there is a must. There were hundreds of flavors of pop; we call it soda in New York. Some of the flavors were Barf, Dog Drool, Birthday Cake, and normal ones like cherry cream, grape, and different colas. We bought some socks with silly sayings to give as gifts. Many other things caught our eye, but we resisted knowing we still have 19 more days of travel.

Mural on side of Fanning Outpost in Cuba, MO. Murals line the route.

At Fanning Outpost

Merchandise bag worth keeping

Another funny bathroom sign. Expect to see more.

Our “lunch” stop was at Soda & Scoops in Rolla. This home-made ice cream shop was opened by a couple so their daughter who has Downs Syndrome would have a pleasant place to work. We met the daughter and saw the Mom. I will be talking about the bourbon spiked espresso ice cream with chocolate chunks for a long time. Its name was Exhausted Parent. To keep the ice cream from dripping out of the bottom of the waffle cone, a Hershey’s Kiss was put upside down in the point. The ice cream is made in Madison, Wisconsin. It will be my goal to find another store that carries it.

Soda and Scoops menu in the store. Below – a unique table for children.

We spent the early evening looking at before and after pictures of the house Larry and Lisa have been remodeling for the last three years and then Larry cooked steaks outside for us for dinner. It was a very relaxing day.

09/07/2019 5

Day 4 – Rt. 66 trip

I guess there is anger no matter where you go. We were unwilling listeners to a screaming match outside our hotel window this morning at 6 am. If I had a nickel for every time the F word was used, I could have paid for breakfast. It seemed to be between a boss and employee that work for a pilot/escort car company and Bob heard the employee get fired. We saw three enormous “tubes” come through the area today that were being escorted by what I grew up calling “chase cars.” There is a huge, extends for miles two ways, wind turbine farm off Rt 55 (66’s replacement road) between Odell and Pontiac, IL. We think the tubes are the bases of the windmills.

We used a book called EZ66 Guide for Travelers, 4^th edition, to plan our trip. Thank you again, Rhonda, for telling us about it. We also have an Illinois Rt. 66 visitors guide magazine. Both of these aids have interesting stops pinpointed, good restaurants listed, and loads of museums and other 66 memorabilia described so travelers like us don’t miss anything. The guide even shows where the original road still exists and where it doesn’t and what roads to use from Chicago to LA. Our breakfast choice, The Old Log Cabin, was listed in both. We can agree it should be. Shannon was our bubbly, informative, attentive server. I had a potato casserole with my omelet and when Bob asked for a bite, I told him he only got one. Shannon brought us their visitor register book to sign. It was actually a large accounting book and our first introduction to how many people from other countries come to experience Rt. 66. We had no idea it was such a big deal all over the world. We figure about 50% of the travelers are not Americans. Some speak English and some don’t. The accents are interesting to listen to. The Old Log Cabin had a wooden quilt block on the outside of the building and inside there was a whole trail shown if you wanted to go exploring. Shannon gave us printed directions to get into Pontiac proper and two pens advertising the restaurant.

Great restaurant in Pontiac, IL. Make sure you order the potato casserole.

We went into town and found the Livingston County War Museum. (It’s interesting to see the same names repeated in each county and state. I wonder if it will still be happening by the time we get to the west coast.) This museum was like nothing I had ever experienced. They have over 200 mannequins dressed in military uniform with all the rank and ribbons earned of local deceased vets, and a few really famous ones. It was like standing among live troops. I was in awe. The education director of the museum, David Estes, and I had quite the conversation. I told him about the Rochester Veterans Writing Group I belong to and the anthology project we are working on. He wants to do a Skype session with us and buy some of our books once they are published. It was all I could do to keep my emotions in check while we were there. Each soldier has his/her picture attached to the uniform with information about where he/she served. Soldiers and memorabilia are on display representing WWI to the present. I wish every locale in the US would do this to honor their vets. We also talked to a Vietnam era sub mariner who had come from Chicago with two other Navy vets to donate some of his personal items to the museum. This experience will live long in my memory. We also visited the Rt.66 museum and the Pontiac-Oakland (car) museum.

IMG_0924 (1)

A room full of local veterans and their memorabilia. That’s Audie Murphy on the right in the sand color uniform.

Lady veterans from the Pontiac, IL area.

A Vietnam Veteran

And guys in their BDU’s.

A general observation has been, once we got to Cleveland the license plate holders changed as to which sports-teams they advertise support for. Now we are in Illinois they have changed again. We have spotted 38 different US license plates. Tonight we have to do an inventory to see which ones we are missing. We aren’t paying as close attention now we are just doing short jaunts in the car.

This afternoon we drove north on the old 66 to a town called Odell. There is a 1932 filling station there. The gas pump doesn’t work anymore, but it’s one of those that the gas bubbled up into the top receptacle then was hosed into the car via gravity. They also sold Licks66 homemade ice cream. Bob had strawberry and I had butter pecan. Both were very good. That was lunch.

1932 gas pump and station in Odell, IL. Bob with our red “baby.”

The people who visited the station today. Notice all the foreign countries represented. It’s fun to talk to them.

Next we went a bit further north to a town called Dwight. There is a bank there in a building that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Between the one-way streets and lack of easy to spot signage we couldn’t find it so stopped at the local fire station where some firemen were sitting on their truck out in the sunshine. They gave us more directions we had trouble following. In the end, we found the building. Get this, the back of it was directly across the street from the fire station and there was a big sign stating the fact painted on the side of the building facing the one we were looking for. It gave us a good chuckle and we got to see the beautiful Dwight train station.

Dwight Train Station

We had supper at DeLong’s. A local café with good food. The prices here are about two-thirds what we pay in Rochester. I had as good a taco salad as ever and Bob had chicken pot pie which was more like a stew in a bowl with a biscuit. The serving was huge and he had trouble finishing the beef sandwich he ordered thinking the bowl would be a cup.

It’s an earlier night tonight. That’s good. Maybe we will get going in a timelier manner tomorrow.

09/04/2019 4

Day 3 – Rt. 66 trip

Well, that nice quiet hotel without hot water on Day 2, was not quiet last night. We heard slamming doors, yelling, and crying. At 1:00 am a woman decided it was worth it to scream shut-up in the hallway. We agreed with the sentiment, but not the delivery. We heard more human noises but finally went to sleep about 2 am. You ask, why didn’t you vacate that dump? Well, we didn’t want to pack up and move out of a non-refundable spot. We’re lazy and it was so close to the kids. We did give the guy at the front desk this morning a list of “problems.” He said he was the night auditor and would pass them on to the manager. What hotel manager isn’t at work at 9 am? My brother-in-law told me not to skimp on hotel rooms. Now I get it.

Today was a travel day. It was odd to travel west instead of towards home. Regular gas at the Sunoco was $2.259 but in the Mini we use high test which was $3.399. We left Lakewood, Oh, at 9 am with an odometer reading of 61,262. We passed the Duck Tape World Headquarters. Had no idea it was made in Ohio. In Ohio we added four more license plates to our US list and three more in Indiana. Now, it’s a game of what don’t we have. We saw lots of semi’s pulling three trailers. We both thought NY outlawed that, but aren’t sure. The terrain was boringly flat, and the fields were HUGE compared to New York farm fields.

We had dressed for the weather report; mid 80’s, humid and sunny. We got dreary, low 70’s, and on and off rain. So, the top was down and then up. I’m including a very unflattering picture because if you can’t laugh at yourself you might as well hang it up. When we got in the car, I thought my coat would be too warm, but just a denim shirt wouldn’t be enough, so I added my sweater. I felt like a little kid dressed to combat the snow, but had shorts on. Like I said, unflattering, but worth sharing. I was never too warm.

Too warm with a coat, too cold with just a denim shirt……no comments needed. Village Kitchen in Angola, IN, where we had lunch.

On one of our rest stops we saw one of those machines that flattens a penny for a keepsake. One penny now costs One Dollar! Bob and I both remember when it cost a nickel. I would call that major inflation. If you have money to invest, buy a few of those machines and set them around your work area and home. It’s worth the investment for the current return.

Penny press now costs ONE DOLLAR

A Mini the size of ours. Can’t imagine pulling that load, nor staying in it.

So, what does one talk about on a travel day? The people you meet of course. The ones we will remember who probably don’t even know they impacted our life. We found our first “Americana” lunch spot in Angola, IN. The name was Village Kitchen, shown in my unflattering picture. We sat at the counter as we like to do, to enjoy the “floor show,” and because all the tables were full. Siri picked the restaurant for us. Lisa was one of the servers that kept filling my coffee. A good-looking guy came in and sat beside me. Lisa took his order and said she made sure there was some of the lunch special saved for his supper. Another guy asked how she knew he would like it. She responded, “It has spinach in it.” We quickly figured out all the people in the conversation already knew each other. As the guy got up to leave Lisa leaned over the counter and pecked him on the lips. Bob asked if she did that to all her customers. She said, “Only my boyfriend or my husband.” I said, “Do you have both?” She laughed and said, yes, but they both look exactly the same. We had a good laugh and the other guy sitting there told us it depended on how they were getting along on any given day which one she considered him. That opened the door to more conversations with people we will never see again.

During the same meal a workmate/friend of Bob’s texted about work and added to keep me out of the quilt shops. They hadn’t even been on my mind but with another question to Siri I found out there was one four doors away. Off I went. A few months ago, my quilting group called the Clydettes gave me an excellent idea of how to design a Rt. 66 memory quilt. I will be buying fat quarters (an 18 by 22-inch piece of fabric) depicting the locales we visit. Today I got Indy cars and farm fields. Bob joined me and we had a great chat with the owner of the Angola Quilt Shop. She is soon going to celebrate her first year in business. If you travel through Angola, Indiana, it’s worth a stop. After we left the shop, Bob’s friend Mike texted the name to a national book listing all the quilt shops that pay to have their name included. I laughed because he said he was just doing a good friend a big favor. You can guess Bob’s return comment.

From Angola, we drove some more to get to Joliet, Illinois to start the actual Rt. 66 escapades. We took a couple of pictures, then a guy on the street took one for us, to show we had found our destination. It is set as our title image today. We are guessing a lot of people take pictures for other people on Rt. 66.

We got back in the car and drove the fastest route to Pontiac, Illinois, arriving just after 6 pm. Our Best Western hotel room is a palace compared to the last two nights. It’s amazing how long one can spend in a hot shower just to enjoy the experience. I feel like a new person. We took the front desk clerk’s, Karen, advice and went to supper at Baby Bull’s just down the street. We had a very unique beer menu which I remembered to take a picture of. Our server, Debbie, was the best. We told her about my blog and then promised to send this write-up to the restaurant, plus go on their Facebook page and leave a nice comment. They deserve it. My liver and onions were cooked the way I like and the home-made bread and butter were more than yummy. Bob had meatloaf that came with lots of gravy and the side salads gave us our vegetables. We had a couple of celebratory drinks to mark the beginning of our real bucket list journey.

Baby Bull’s food menu and unique beer menu.

09/03/2019 3

Day 2 – Rt. 66 trip

I started the day with a cold-pond temperature shower in the Days Inn in Lakewood, Ohio. I have to say the bed was wonderful, the halls were quiet, but the room cleanliness and repair were the worst ever in our travels. I’ve never felt uncomfortable walking barefooted in a hotel room before. When I called the front desk about the water temperature, they said let it run longer. By the end of Bob’s shower, the water was lukewarm. The refrigerator and air conditioner are both very quiet. A big plus for me. I won’t bother with the details about the condition of the room. Believe me when I say we won’t be staying here again even though it is only five minutes from the kids. I would also advise others to avoid the place. We thought about raising a ruckus and checking out, but didn’t want the hassle of moving. We left the do not disturb sign in the door all day and came back to the room the way we left it.

We had coffee and a pastry at the Blackbird Baking Company for breakfast. The pastries were so good we bought two to have in the morning before we get on the road.

two unknowns purchasing pastries

When we finished, we went to the kids where I was reprimanded (in a loving way) for not telling you yesterday that I made the fabric passage picture that was behind Jon’s Emmy. I must be getting old. I remember Jon coming to the house one day while he was working at 13WHAM and asking for help making the gift for his then fiancé, Dung Tran. She is Vietnamese by birth, but a US citizen since her teen years. Her name is pronounced like the word young. I don’t remember tracing, cutting and then stitching all the letters onto the grey back ground but both Jon and Dung said I did. I wouldn’t mind being reminded of doing more nice things like that.

We met Dung about the same time we met Jon when they were boyfriend and girlfriend. We have enjoyed our part in their long-distance relationship, then marriage, when Jon worked in Rochester and Dung taught school outside of San Francisco. When Jon left Channel 13 for a job in Bakersfield, CA, they finally got to live together and start their family. Then he was offered the job in Cleveland a year and a half ago, so here we are.

While Dung was still in the Bay Area, she got more education and received a national teaching certificate so she could get a teaching job anyplace in the US without having to be certified in the individual state. She has just been hired full time to teach kindergarten in Cleveland. I understand not a lot of teachers go the trouble of getting the certification. It’s a lot of work, and not very easy to accomplish. We are proud of our “bonus kids” just like we are of our own for their accomplishments.

There was an air show along the Lake Erie waterfront today. I can’t guess at the number of people that filled the parks, streets, condo balconies and restaurant patios. We were among them. We came into downtown Cleveland about 11:15 to get a good parking place in one of the garages then walked into city center for lunch at the Winking Lizard. I had green siracha coated chicken wings that were cooked perfectly. Bob had a burger whose “bun” was a filled quesadilla. On top was a bacon wrapped fire roasted jalapeno pepper with cream cheese inside. He said it was very good. I helped him eat his fries and shared some with the sparrows that lined the next table waiting for a handout.

Jon Doss – WEWS Channel 5 sportscaster, Theo Tran-Doss, Dung Tran-Doss

I don’t know if you know any TV personalities personally like I do so I will tell what it is like to be seen with them in public. If you are any kind of sports fan you know about the Cleveland Cavaliers (pro basketball), The Cleveland Indians (pro baseball), and Cleveland Browns (pro football). This year the Browns are expected to be very good. Walking with the local sportscaster in crowds is an experience. At one traffic light a man driving a van honked and waved, then yelled out the window, “Channel 5 Weather?” Jon responded with a big smile and wave, “Sports!” The next guy a few streets later got the job description right with a shared grin. Another hundred people and a guy said, “Jon Doss!” and kept walking. He was recognized again and I was able to say to that man, “Seeing this as a parent makes me proud.” Jon and Dung call us their Rochester parents. Jon said someone calling him by name is not very common. It was entertaining to watch people try to figure out where they knew him from without being intrusive. And lots of people were looking at Bob’s handlebar mustache too. I blend into the crowd which is fine with me. We left the air show about 2:00 to take Theo home for his nap. Bob and I took one too. The weather couldn’t have been any better; sunny and in the mid 70’s.

About 5:15 pm we went to Crocker Park, a shopping area like none I have ever seen, west of Cleveland. It’s not a mall per say, but a retail village that spreads four blocks by two blocks with 123 restaurants and stores that have deluxe condos on the higher floors. It is not uncommon to see Porches, Maseratis, Bentleys and other exotic vehicles parked along the streets. Jon says the professional sports players hang out at one particular steak house and some live in the condos. There are expensive, comfy lounge chairs on the sidewalks and beautiful planters full of colorful flowers. The chairs were occupied by people drinking Starbucks. I think I need to bring my daughter and grandson next time we visit. Molly would love the shopping and William could check out the cars and tell me all about them.

We ate supper at Alladin’s, which is much like the one in Rochester. For you out-of-towners it is a middle eastern restaurant. I’ve never had such good humus and my lamb was yummy too. I forgot to take a picture. Afterwards, we went for ice cream at Graeter’s. I am a sucker for good home-made ice cream. Mitchell’s has the corner on ice cream in Cleveland, but I liked what I had tonight. By the time we got back to the Doss’s we all had in over eleven thousand steps. That includes 2 ½ year old Theo. He eats well, loves to run and sleeps better than any of us.

Back home, Jon and I shared a nightcap then we said our goodbyes. Theo will not be happy when he gets up in the morning and Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sue don’t show up. Maybe we should do face time with the little guy more often.

09/02/2019 2

Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

Category