KC Bird goes Visiting Julie

Before we started our trip I took KC to Julies. She takes care of the little guy when I travel. This time he was really lucky. He had lots of company. There were 5 other cockateils there...he should be having a ball



This guy here always gives me the ogle eye whenI stop by...I think he wants to come home with me!
Here's KC...is that a smile I see?
Here are 2 of the 5 other cockatiels he will be visiting with.

Something New at Olive Garden

You know how those really great experiences you had lots of years ago stay with you? Well, we had dinner at the Olive Garden here in Cleveland and I noticed that they have a new dessert on the menu called Zeppolies. Ahhhh. Such memories. When I lived in the New York area I always attended the San Gennaro festival that was being held anywhere in the immediate area. Why? Well for the great Italian street food! Sausage and Pepper sandwiches, Pizza, Calimari and of course Zeppolies. These are little "half-finger" sized pinched off (donut) dough that are deep fried, quickly drained and then dumped into a brown paper bag, sprinkled with powdered sugar and eaten while they are still hot. Oh my! The taste is one that stays with you for a long time.

Anyway, Olive Garden now has Zeppolies so of course, I had to order them even though I was already stuffed. Chuck was happy to share them with me (after I told him the above story...he is so cautious with new food (?) ) While they were a LOT bigger than they should have been the taste was the same and I was in heaven. Oh I should add that Olive Garden has added something to the dish...warm melted chocolate for dipping. While you may think this is good; I didn't care for it. Our waiter, Cory, added his own little touch...raspberry sauce. NOW THAT was spectacular! Oh my...Oh my. you absolutely MUST TRY THIS!!




Please forgive the picture of only one and a quarter of the six that they actually served us....I was lost in nirvana before I realized that I forgot to take a picture.

North Coast Inland Trail in Oberlin, Ohio

We are making our way east to New Jersey and points beyond but today we found ourselves in Oberlin, Ohio riding the North Coast Inland Trail. This is a fully paved trail that goes through Oberlin and points south and west including cornfields and lovely treed canopies and northeast to Elyria. Lots of flowering plants and shrubs. It was a very nice find, the weather was perfect and the ride flat; we easily did 22 miles and would do it again on our next time through. Here are some shots I took on the trail


Blackberries in the making

Not sure what these are but they look great

Do you think Chuck is having fun?

You gotta love those sanitation guys!

A "Sign" of the Times?

There I was munching on my taco and I noticed a new drive-thru wash-up combination. Too bad I was in a rush...no time to actually see it in action. I am envisioning a huge dog in the back of a pick-up truck though...

Wonderful World

Nothing to do but enjoy...

Kc Bird Makes Friends

For the last almost eight years my pet bird has been pretty much a one person pet; not very friendly to others who may be sharing space for a while. When it comes to shoulders it was usually only mine that he wanted to be on.

My latest trip to Missouri gave him an opportunity to widen his horizons a little, here he has made two new friends in a very short time. I guess he is learning to overcome his fears of strangers!



He is adopting my cousin here
Bobbi Jo is really happy that he has chosen her shoulder to stand on for a while


Aw....mom, can I stay here?

The Stuff You Pick Up on the Road

I was driving from Ste Genevieve, Missouri north towards Chicago last week. After being on the road for an hour or so I heard a weird but forceful thud. Since there was no one in the immediate area, I knew it was not an accident but it was definitely something serious.

I tried the remotely moving my side view mirrors to see if there were any dents on the car but they showed nothing. Occasionally when I crossed the reflectors that are embedded in the road surface I would hear another odd sound, as if a part of the car had come loose and was moving. Still I saw nothing. There was too much traffic to pull over, so I decided that unless it interfered with my driving, I would check it out when I stopped.

So, just over the state line into Illinois I pulled into a rest stop, for, well, a rest. I almost forgot about looking for the damage when I returned but fortunately as I approached the car I looked at the painted surfaces and a little of the undercarriage. There it was. A mangled piece of metal that seemed to be originally about a foot long; now in a tangled mess jammed up in between the frame of the car and the back wheel well.






If this thing had hit tire instead of the frame I think I would have had some serious trouble!