Monday, July 29, 2019

Day 20: Home


Date:  July 28, 2019

A quick synopsis of our final day ...

Sorry for the lateness of this blog entry; we are safely resting at home!

Yesterday, we started out with an amazing breakfast at a local diner in Allentown.  The best of the dishes is featured here below!

Michelle's Almond Peach Raspberry French Toast
The rest of the dishes were not so amazing compared to Michelle's.  They were tasty and certainly hit the spot, but really undeserving of a close-up.
New City View Diner
It was a 5 hour ride home including all the stops.  We drove home via the Tappan Zee bridge. It took almost 5 years to build the new bridge. It was a great experience to ride across it!

New Tappan Zee Bridge
We took our friends home at around 4:00p.  We were so happy they came our to spend time with us in Pittsburgh.  If it wasn't for Michelle we wouldn't have known of the Pickle Festival! :))  

We then dropped off the rental car at Hertz and then rushed home to get ready for the show.  We had Hamilton tickets for the 7:00p show at PPAC waiting for us!  



The show was brilliant!   Wonderful acting and beautiful voices.  All the hype for this show is true!  It is a wonderful story and great performances!

That's all for now, and until the next trip. 

Thanks for reading and all the support, and to Michelle and Brian - thanks again for coming out and for all the great laughs!





Sunday, July 28, 2019

Day 19: Allentown, PA

Date: July 27, 2019

Today was a travel day. Its a long drive back to Rhode Island, so Di, Michelle, Brian and I had decided when planning this trip that we would take two days to get home.  We met in the hotel restaurant at 8:45 to get a quick breakfast so we could be on the road by 10am.  I forgot to take any pictures of our breakfast.  Not only that, after breakfast I just walked away and left the camera behind on the table.  Luckily, Michelle was far more awake and alert than I and grabbed the camera.  She let me know I had forgotten it by calling my name and snapping a picture of me with my own camera when I turned around.

The moment I realized Michelle has my camera

Di got the car from the parking garage and we set about installing packing the car and putting our bikes on the bike rack.  Brian had carried the bike rack in his luggage from Rhode Island to Pittsburgh, so thank you Brian!

Packing the car

We are ready to go

It was a bit of a pain to get the bike rack situated just right, and even then we didn't have 100 percent confidence it was installed properly.   We were on the road by 11am with Di driving.  We drove for about two hours before stopping to satisfy our coffee needs.
Di getting ready for some coffee

Even Michelle and Brian patronize the Starbucks

After picking up some drinks and snacks at the service stop, we returned to the car and realized the bike rack had dropped significantly from its original position. We all agreed something had to be done, but we were not in agreement as to what it was we had to do.  Michelle thought the side straps should be moved to be in a more upward angle.  Di thought the rack should be angled so it was positioned farther from the car.  I thought we should take the wheels off and place them in the trunk to lighten the load on the rack.  After much discussion (during which Brian proved his wisdom be refusing to comment on any of our suggestions), we decided to implement Di's and Michelle's ideas immediately and implement my plan of removing the wheels only if we still had a problem.  So, in the hot and sunny parking lot of the service area, we unloaded the bikes, adjusted the bike rack, and then reloaded the bikes.  We resumed the drive and the bike rack looked even less stable than it did before our adjustments, so we were more than a little concerned.  I read the manual for the bike rack online and found the section that describes how to attach the rack to an SUV.  We had done it incorrectly.  We decided that we would leave it as it was for now, mainly because we weren't enthused about the idea of going back out in the heat and sun to work on that bike rack anymore. Our plan was to keep an eye on the bike rack and if there was a problem, we would pull off the road and set it up correctly.  If the rack held up, then we would adjust it when we arrived at the hotel this evening.

We continued on and arrived in Hershey around 4pm.  We wanted to stop off at the Hershey factory for a little tour and a visit to the Hershey candy store.

A clue that you are getting close to the Hershey plant

The excitement is mounting

When you enter the Hershey candy store, you get the feeling you have just entered the Willy and the Chocolate Factory story.  I mean, this is a huge candy store. It has tall ceilings and bright colors everywhere and tons of people with one thing on their minds: candy.  To put this in perspective for Rhode Islanders: imagine a hurricane is coming and there is only one store that is open and selling bread and milk. Yes, it is that crazy here.
Di in the candy store

Di, Michelle and Brian heading towards the candy (like moths to the flame)

Imagine if you gave these out for Halloween

Below, Di is holding Mounds and Almond Joy.  These candies always remind me of the time someone brought my dad a Mounds bar.  After eating it, he said it was very good but wasn't as good as the Mounds bars he used to eat years ago.  "Back then", he said, "they used to put almonds in them.  Now that was a good candy bar."  The next day he got a bunch of Almond Joy bars and he was very happy.
Mounds vs Almond Joy (I like them both)

Twizzlers! (I like them, too)

We bought these (and more)

We are starting to get carried away (like kids in a candy shop)

Chocolate as big as your head is a good thing

I bought some Twizzlers so we could have a tasting at Mom's




That's a happy couple!

Yeah, sometimes we're about ten years old




We left Hershey around 5pm with a bunch of candy and started driving towards Intercourse.  We wanted to have dinner in an Amish restaurant and Intercourse is the center of Amish country.  Even before we arrived in Intercourse, we could see Amish farms and their buggies on the roads of Lancaster County.
Some hard work going on there
 
Common sight in this area

We arrive in Intercourse

Di asking for a restaurant recommendation




Farmers at work

Buggies co-existing with cars (as a cyclist, I feel their pain)

Di had stopped to ask for a recommendation for an Amish restaurant and the gentleman suggested Katie's  Kitchen. 
Monument outside Katie's Kitchen
There was a 45 minute wait at Katie's Kitchen, which was longer than we expected, but some patrons who had eaten there before convinced us that it was well worth waiting for.  And they were right, the food was tremendous.
Di had the chicken, potatoes and baked beans

Brian had the open faced sandwich with mashed potatoes and baked beans and Michelle the chicken cordon bleu.

Me photo bombing my chicken cordon bleu portrait

Our faces show we are pleased with our food

We finally arrived in Allentown around 9:30pm after an hour and a half ride and a bunch of candy that Michelle kept feeding us (the best was the Twizzlers black licorice). We assessed the bike rack situation and decided not to make any adjustments.  The current configuration had held up just fine and we didn't want to rock the boat.  Also, we were tired.  We plan on leaving the hotel by 8am tomorrow and heading up the street to a cool looking diner that was definitely calling to us.  If all goes well, we will be back in Rhode Island in time to see Hamilton tomorrow night.

This towel sculpture was on the bed of our room and I'm not sure what it is

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Day 18: Pittsburgh, PA


July 26, 2019

Since I got a late start on writing the blog tonight, and since tomorrow we have an early morning, tonight's blog is going to be short and sweet (with a little bit of sour), but will follow with many pictures to tell the story of today.

Our first adventure was to go to the Pickle Festival. Yes, a pickle festival. Who doesn't like pickles?  Well, Brian doesn't like pickles and Steve only likes the sweet ones.  Both Michelle and I like dill best, the more sour the better. Apparently, this Pickle Festival is the largest and best festival in the nation featuring a single food type.  Just a little trivia for you.

Ready to go in

A flying pickle. Oh, Michelle and Brian too!

Pickle wrapped in bacon

Hot dog wrapped in pickle

Steve sampling pickle relish

Me sampling pickle and mustard dip

Lunch:  Burger for Brian and both Michelle and I pulled pork bowl.  Steve a pulled pork sandwich.

Street Corn
I never had Street Corn, but Michelle did once before in Texas. It is grilled corn on the cob coated with a mixture of cotija cheese, mayo, sour cream, chile powder and lime topped with more cheese and fresh cilantro.

Definitely worth it!

Steve to the rescue with water

He's cute!

The set up for the pickle juice contest - who can drink the most.  We didn't sign up.

After the Pickle Festival we visited Rock & Joe's coffee shop. 

Coffee break
We then went to The Strip. Basically, a street market with lots of shops of all types.  We came across a place that sold pink grapefruit sorbet!  Both Michelle and I got one; Brian cookie dough ice cream. Steve searched for more coffee.

I really like this!
Enjoying a sweet and sour treat.
Steve treated himself to another coffee.

Coffee found ...
... at a place called Leaf and Bean. So many people enjoying themselves on a Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh.  Hmmm. Doesn't anyone work on Friday ?!<":)


A glimpse inside Leaf and Bean
Sidewalk meeting
Steve sneaking a peek at the fudge counter

Brian decided the trip wouldn't be complete without trying the ketchup soda.  I tried it - not good!

Italian food picky options
After The Strip, we went back to the Hotel to cool off.

They didn't want me to take this picture, but I did.

Then we went to a place called Eddie & Merlot's for dinner.   Basically, the menu was rich with different steak and seafood choices, and a very long wine list.  It was unanimous - a wonderful choice!


Dinner with friends
Ooops, Steve had a little too much wine.

Steve's choice

Diane's choice

Michelle's choice

Brian's choice

We leave Pittsburgh in the morning by vehicle.  We rented an SUV to carry the four of us, our luggage and the two bikes.  

Tomorrow we head to Allentown, PA for a stopover before we head home on Sunday!