Food

Weekend Wrap

Burning TreeOn the way home from Saturday’s lunch at the Stoplight Deli and much to the chagrin of my wife I drove onto the median in the historic district to take a picture of the car near this small bright red tree. I have had my eye a one with bright yellow leaves, but someone was thoughtlessly holding some sort of party or wedding reception at the house on the corner nearest the tree and there were all kinds of cars and such in the way. A backup was spotted a block away and Donna was only mildly uneasy until I got back in the car and moved it a few feet to try a different angle, then, well…

Driving Miss Daisy Later that afternoon was the MMC‘s semi-annual Elmcroft Senior Drive where we go over to a local Assisted Living, don’t call me a nursing home, Center and take some of the residents for a little drive. We had 7 cars and seven riders, so we took a nice 35 mile drive up to and over the dam at Lake Thurmond. We had one Miata with a Porsche Boxster kit and a rep from the local dealer brought a 3rd gen Miata (unfortunately not the retractable hard top version) for us to use if we needed.

NBRIEDLater that evening was another MMC event, Game Night. A dozen of us gathered at the Butler’s to played games and eat finger foods. Four of us played a game of Scrabble while the other eight, in 2 groups of four, played dominoes. After a few games or so, a call went up to play something that all of us could partake in together. A couple people voted for charades, but two people, one of which was me, vowed to go stand outside in the rain rather than play that. We ended up playing Trivial Pursuit, the original Genus Edition which caused quite a few of us to have to relive the 80’s.

Yellow TreeToday we started our day with a leisurely breakfast of bagels at the Atlanta Bread Company followed by grocery shopping. We then drove over to Augusta because you can buy stuff earlier there than you can here on Sundays. We bought a wedding gift, some Christmas gifts for siblings that need to be tweaked and mailed around the country later and just shopped, not bought, gifts for a 3-year old who will be spending the holidays in a family shelter. He is one of several kids that people from ASCO are going to help out this year as we usually do. We then got a chicken salad sandwich to go from the Atlanta Bread Company that we ate overlooking the same dam I passed over yesterday. On the way home I passed by my yellow tree and the photos I took were kind of disappointing, not at all like I envisioned them. For the record we ate dinner at home, not the Atlanta Bread Company.

Started up, went down, back up, down again, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 460

48,000 Leaves

OverlookThat is the average leaf count on a mature maple tree* and coincidentally, the mileage the Emperor passed on the way to to meet the participants of the MMC Leaf Peeping Expedition. Over 400 miles and 11 hours later we are home and just a little tuckered out.

We had pretty much the average turn out for our club on an event recently, 3 cars. I threatened to cancel if at least 4 cars didn’t show up, but that was an empty boast as my navigator told me that even if we were the only car we we going on the run. The six of us devoured enough breakfast at the Cracker Barrel to sustain us for a week in the Amazon before setting out in search of chlorophyll challenged leaves. The first 11 miles were Interstate, but after we got to two-lane blacktop 2/3 of the tops folded down. The sun was just beginning to peek over the tree tops and the temps were in the low 60’s so the windows and wind blockers were still up.

After our first pit stop and because one couple had yet to experience them, we made a stop at the Georgia Guidestones, AKA the American Stonehenge. The journey then continued up the eastern edge of Georgia. A quick dip into SC before ending up at Black Mountain State Park back in north Georgia. Two years ago when we did this trip with the Club we were about two weeks late and the vistas were of a uniform brown. This time we hit at just about peak and the mountains were very colorful.

Lunch was at the renown Dillard House just up the road from the state park. The six of us devoured enough food at lunch to sustain us on a circumnavigation of the globe. After eating we took a winding road to Highlands, NC where we lost one car to shopping in the downtown. Donna and I, along with, the appropriately named Autumn and Dave, gassed up and headed down the mountain and back into SC.

Highway 28 from Highlands back to the flatlands is a great Miata road full of twists and turns and all manner of decreasing radius bends. I won’t mention any names, but one of this crew really regretted the amount of food they consumed at lunch. About halfway through the good stuff we came up on a Mazda Tribute (the mini-SUV) who obliviously didn’t get zoom-zoom memo. He was going around the turns so slow we could have passed him on a skateboard. With no place to really pass and with two cars to boot we played whip with him for about 20 miles, alternately slowing way down letting him get a “big” head start and then charging back at a more appropriate Miata speed.

Awesome trip, but a long day, so I’m glad we only do it once a year.

* Oh yeah, I made that leaf count statistic up so it would fit the car’s mileage.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 436

Being On Vacation Is Hard Work

Room With A ViewThis the view out of our window tonight in the Silver Cloud Inn Tacoma. We almost stayed at the one in Mukilteo, but opted for the B & B instead. Tonight was the Inn’s weekly hosted wine & cheese reception, so Donna and I went down and noshed with some other guests before walking over to the Harbor Lights restaurant for dinner. If you ever find yourself in Tacoma’s Old Town section don’t bother eating there. Service was not that good and the food was just OK, definitely not worth what we paid.

The drive up from Cannon Beach was not as interesting as the drive down, even though we managed to get on a dead end road and had to back track again. It was a cloud and misty day, so when we stopped at the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center I didn’t even take a picture of the famous volcano as it looked a lot like any other mountain off in the mist. Getting just about tired of driving, we also opted out of driving the 47 miles (one way) to get to a closer vantage point.

Tomorrow, the thought is to try and see the Museum of Glass on the way to the airport, but they don’t open until 10:00 AM and with our flight leaving at 1:00 PM it might be cutting it close. We may just drive to the airport and wait on a plane and that would be a shame, but missing the flight would be a bigger one (unless the Oregon or Washington lottery tickets hit on Wednesday night.)

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 18

Title With A Four In It

Ocean LodgeI just noticed I inadvertently had a streak going and in a lame attempt to keep it going…

Nice drive from Mukilteo to Cannon Beach. We took a side trip that resulted in running into a sign that said “No Outlet” on the Kitsap Peninsula, but did result in a great breakfast at Auntie Barb’s Cafe in Seabeck. I didn’t get to further test out my Moon=Good Food theory in Astoria, OR because the Wombat Moon Cafe was closed on Sunday. We ended up at the Silver Salmon instead and while it was not bad, it isn’t worth a special trip. After lunch we climbed the 164 spiral steps of the Astoria Column for great views of the mouth of the Columbia River area.

We actually made it to our home for the next two days, The Ocean Lodge (the photo above), in time for an afternoon nap. We did manage to wake up in time for a nice little sunset behind Haystack Rock and “The Needles.”

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down again, up again, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 14

Two Lunch Day

Hogland HouseOur home for the next two nights, the Hogland House B & B built in 1906. Off the back porch we can watch the Whidbey Island Ferry running back and forth across Pugent Sound.

All righty then, it is around 10:30 PM here in Multikeo, WA and that is around 1:30 AM by my Aiken internal clock. Since we landed and picked up the car we have been driving around, back and forth, both on purpose and accidentally, all over north of Seattle. I’ve got lots of stories to tell, but I’m too tuckered out to type them.

You can’t complain about the airline food in steerage on US Air, ’cause there ain’t any (unless you want to pay five dollars for it. Donna and I bought a Quizno’s sub at the terminal for our lunch. We ate it after the movie, about halfway through the flight and approximately noon EDT. When we landed we set our clocks back three hours, so that after about an hour after landing it was 1:00 PM PDT and time for lunch again. We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint and each ordered a slice and a small garden salad.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 4

Going To Puerto Rico?

Donna spent 2 years in Puerto Rico as a kid and has fond memories of that time. Going back there to visit has always been thought in her mind.

Well, a couple days ago her friend Sally (of State Department fame) emailed to say that once she is done with her tour of duty in Namibia next February she was going to be in the states for a few months before heading off to her next assignment. First she will be spending some time in Louisiana with family and then a fellow embassy friend was lending her their condo in Puerto Rico for a week. A plan was hatched to kill two birds with one stone, a visit to PR and get to see Sally at the same time.

We weren’t planning on spending a whole week with Sally just maybe an afternoon and an evening meal. Sally was going to be spending time with her mom and her daughter. Donna and I would spend a couple days in Fajardo were she spent her early teens when her father was a sea plane pilot flying a Gumann Goose for Antilles Air Boats. Donna actually studied Algebra in Spanish, which explains why she asks me to solve all the quadratic equations we run into in our daily lives. A visit to the only rainforest in the National Park system and a bioluminescent bay were also on the schedule. The next three or four days would be spent exploring the central mountains and the quieter south & west of the island. Saturday while out shopping we bought a book called “Let’s Go Puerto Rico on a Budget.”

That $15 may save us a lot of money.
Driving:

Traffic is heavy; many people disregard speed limits, neglect to use turn signals, and cut off other cars. Markers such as stop signs are treated more like suggestions than rules. – Carjackings are common in Puerto Rico, especially in big cities. To avoid nighttime carjackings they have passed a law that drivers do not have to stop at red lights from midnight to 6AM. Central mountain roads tend to be narrow with sharp curves, poor visibility and frequent one lane washouts. The greatest danger is not the roads, but rather the local drivers who often use the whole road in narrow spots and drive at high speeds around sharp turns.

Health:

There are no required inoculations to visti Puerto Rico, but travelers should have the following vacines up to date; MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), DTaP or Td (diphtheria, tetnus and pertussis), IPV (polio), Hib (haemophilus influenza B), HepB (hepatitis B). Make sure the food you eat is fully cooked and the water is clean for drinking.

Time:

Puerto Ricans have a much more laid back sense of time than most Europeans and North Americans. Things get done when they get done. Restaurants do not maintain strict closing hours and will stay open as long as people are still around. If an establishment is empty, it will likely close early. Museums and stores frequently change opening hours and will close if someone who is supposed to work happens to be sick or unavailable.

After reading all that and reading a bunch of web reviews of tours, tourist spots and accomodations we have pretty much talked ourselves out of going.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 390

Automobile Enabled Insect Extermination

Bug Splat Line UpWe had a great turn out for last night’s MMC Bug Splat Rally. Nine cars and eighteen people. When we all gathered at the Mexican restaurant for the pre-drive meal we exceeded the number we had called in for, so he nice folks there just added another table.

When Donna and I arrived at the eatery we parked in the back row. The one car that was already there backed out of his spot and came over and parked next to me. The four of us went inside to make sure our table was ready. As the rest of the folks showed up, they, in typical Club fashion, parked one after another in the back row creating a long line of Miatas. Unbeknownst to me about halfway down they left one spot open because there was some glass in it.

After eating and before the drive I always go out with my Meguiar’s Quik Detailer and clean off the noses of the cars, so I could tell the new from the old bug splats. Some folks even go so far as to not wash off their cars just to have a little fun with me. Last year’s “winner” pointed out the mark that was still left on the nose of his car that no amount of bug remover or cleaning could completely erase. I started with my car, hey it was right there after I got the Detailer and towel out of the trunk. As I worked my way down the line of cars I came to a green ’99 with a lip spoiler, hmmmm, I don’t recognize this car. By now most everyone was done inside and was out standing around chatting. I finished the green car and moved on to the next and then the next. It was about then that two fellows walked out of the restaurant and wandered over to our group, seems that they had just come out to get some Mexican food. Seeing the line of Miatas with one open spot in the line was too tempting to pass up, so they parked right in the middle. In spite of our best efforts, they wouldn’t join us on the rally, some sort of work conflict, but we did give them an old newsletter as a Club come-on. Plus they did get a cleaner nose out of it.

Even though we had a good amount of people come out, too bad the bugs didn’t cooperate. The Biggest Bug trophy was won by Dave & Bobbie Winkler for a moth with a 3/4″ wingspan. John & Carol Haff were almost the winners, but when we pulled the remnants of a decent sized dragon fly out of the mouth of their car it was too badly dessicated to have been recent. But they did take home a prize for Closest To The Dot with what is a Bug Splat first by having a spot right dead center of their green one inch diameter Avery dot. The Nicholls won for the most bugs, although most of them may have been on there from the beginning because their nose was the dirtiest to begin with. Rudy & Patti had the cleanest nose to begin with and finished the same way, the front of their car marred only by a long narrow string of insect “blood.” Everyone who participated was awarded a prize of their choosing from a selection Mazda/Miata goodies supplied by Mazda.

We then literally took over the Sweet Cow Creamery in downtown Aiken for dessert and post drive storytelling.