Bloggers and Fishes and Bear(Hugs), Oh My!

I woke this morning to snow, wind and temps hovering at around 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Northeast PA.
Not the best of weather in which to travel by Slugmobile.

So I waited until the sun came out and then went forth......with trepidation in my heart....

Driving the PA Turnpike is a thrill a minute.   Between the road construction, oversized tractor trailers exceeding the speed limit and tailgating you in the left lane and the high winds that were glorious today(ha!) it's better than any amusement park thrill ride.
Really.

And by 10:30 am I hit the Turnpike Tunnel.

This is the tunnel through a mountain and Allentown is on the other side.
The longstanding joke in our family is that it can be blizzarding on the northern side of this tunnel but as soon as you come out the southern end, the sun is shining and grass is sprouting.
Yep, the weather had a bipolar moment the second I came out of that tunnel on the southern end.

As soon as I got down into the King of Prussia/Philly section I started to enjoy the drive much more.
I unclenched my jaw  and I stopped grinding my teeth.

By Noon I passed into Wilmington Delaware.  I decided not to hit the TOTAL WINE store since I got such a late start.

The weather got a tad warmer and the traffic thinned out by the time I hit the St. George's bridge.....

I quick stop for a lunch sandwich and before you know it I start seeing signs......

 

Heck, even every duck in the state was along Route 1 to welcome me into town.....

They must have heard about the Bloggerpalooza and wanted an invite too!

I got to town too early to check-in so some shopping was in order.
I hit a couple select clothing outlets nearby to get duds for #2 Son, the Mart for some bottle water for me and a liquor store for......*ahem*.......liquid provisions......

A short while after checking into my motel and letting a few folks know I had arrived safely, I heard someone thumping on my door.
It was Jay in VA and Randy in NEB come to chauffeur me to the Inn to meet up with some of the others who had arrived already.
Jay and Randy scooped me up on their way to the Inn to check in so I got to hang out in their room.

I took in the canal view from the balcony ......

I got back in and of course they are messing with the electronics and the wifi like a couple of proper technogeeks. lol

What do you do in an elevator?
Why, you take a selfie......

Ignore that women's rather large nostrils in your face please......

I think Jay liked my "stop by Burley Oak Brewing and drink a bit on the way to Lewes" suggestion, don't you? ;-)

Java appeared, as did Ron and Pat and we had hugs all round.

Note to self--next year, remember to bring a step stool when it's "hug time", as all these folks make me look like a Hobbit in comparison!

We commandeered the front desk clerk who was subbing for Ron T.'s shift to take our photo so we could preserve this moment for posterity.....about 5 shots on 5 different camera/phones....

     (l to r-Pat from Toronto, Randy in NEB, Java Jones, Ron T., Sluggy & Jay in VA)

We hiked en masse over to Striper Bites for an evening of food, libation(some of us)and camaraderie.
When in a place with art like this on the walls, it would behoove one to eat fish tacos and crab bisque soup....and that just what I did.

Ron T. and Randy in NEB checking the latest Round Robin of photos.....

Speaking of photos, did I mention that we pestered the waitress to take our photo with multiple cameras/phones?

 

 

After an evening of good food and good conversation(and me spilling half my meal down my shirt), we started the task of splitting and paying our bills. 

I'll just let you make up your own scenario for this shot.  Is Jay in pain, falling asleep on his feet or doing his Godfather impersonation?

Marlon or Jay?......you decide.....

Another brisk walk in the brisk night air back to the Inn and one more photo op before Jay drove me back to the motel.....

More arrivees on the morrow and more good times on the horizon.

My bed is calling me.
I am wiped.

Sluggy

Summer Road Trip of 2013....Day Four-We Aren't in PA(or For That Matter Chicago Land)Anymore Dorothy!

Here's my Holiday Treat for y'all.....another installment of my Road Trip of 2013.
Y'all must have all been very good this year to deserve this.  ;-)

**********************************************

We left Sonya Ann's house on Friday morning around 10am.  At least that's when I recall being able to focus again after the previous night's adventures.  *snort*

On the way out of town, Hubs and I stopped at the local liquor store to check out what goodies we could find that we can't find around home, as far as "adult beverages" go.

I was browsing over by the regional wines when I heard a loud voice say, "Will ya look at all these alcoholics in the liquor store first thing in the morning!??, or something to that effect.
I spun around and it was Sonya Ann!

Evidently I had forgotten to pack the present she gave me when we were loading the car up so she jumped in the car to try to catch us before we left town.....she knew we were making this stop before hitting the road to southern IL.
At least that's what Sonya said. ;-)
I think SA just couldn't bear the thought of me leaving and was getting all stalker-ish on us.

You decide which..... ;-)

Anyway, we hugged again and she was gone in a flash and I was holding a basket of homemade beauty products she had made just for little ol' me.

I lost the basket she presented these to me in somewhere before I got home......no, rather I gave it away to a hotel maid who had admired it and we had NO room in the trunk for anything at that point, so I gave it to the maid along with her tip.  It made her day. 8-)

Anyway, back to my presents--Sonya Ann made this stuff.......

From bottom to top, there is a wet body scrub(smells like vanilla), a dry white scrub(for my face?  Hope so cuz that's where it went. lol), a lotion with some kind of butter(coconut or shea or ?), and the top is a tiny container of lip stuff.

Yes, I am such a "girlie girl" indeed that I probably got this wrong and don't know what to call some of it.
But I DO know that the yellow tub of stuff had some kind of organic/natural oil or butter in it because when it got left in a car trunk when we got to the South in AUGUST, it turned to organic/natural oil DRINK.  8-)
Yes, I am very bright that way......

And I love this little pot/container she put handmade chap stick in!  It's on a chain that you can put on your key ring or hook to something else so you don't LOSE IT.
Ask me how I know that.

Now back to the narrative......
After an HOUR! lol in the liquor store, we paid and proceeded to cram all our liquid goodies into the trunk of the rental car and then we were outta there!
Hey, I was buying Christmas gifts among all that booze so don't judge me.  ;-)

We had a couple of hours drive through mostly tiny towns on back roads until we hit Rockford.

Here's one high point of this part of the drive......

The flag obscured the "V" and part of the "A" in the sign for the town of HARVARD.

Embiggen this photo to see the road sign.

 

Now I can tell people that yes, I went to Harvard.  ;-)

Then we stopped for gas before we left that town and I snapped this photo of the convenience store window.  We are DEFINITELY not out East anymore.......look at what they call soda here.......

And then we drove and drove and drove down through the middle of Illinois basically.  So flat and being August, the scenery didn't change much.   Lot of shots of fields of corn(plus a few more crops)out my window, until we were about an hour away from our stop for the day.
Then the view changed a bit.......

Crops of giant windmills amidst the corn!  I guess it makes sense though if you have a flat topographical area and strong winds come whipping through at various times of the year, you try to harness that energy by building windmill farms.

 

It was just freaky for me to see this multitude of mills.  The only other mills I've ever seen at home are ones up on a mountain ridge, viewed from a distance.  I've never seen any so close to the highway.  You'd come around a bend and Bingo!.....there would be a windmill right near the road and it would seem as if you were going to drive right up to it's base on a few of them.
Just a bit freaky to me.

Sometime after 1pm, we made it to our first destination of the day, a small town in central Illinois called Mendota. 
Another water tower for my collection.......

The meeting place was a local restaurant.
And I snapped this photo as 2 friends walked into my trap, er......the building......

We were here in Mendota, IL to meet two online friends, whom I have known since we were all members of an online Beanie Babies/Attic Treasures group.

Here's my short video while we dined on the restaurant's Friday Special, FISH SANDWICHES.

 

I have a fish sandwich phobia ever since about 2005 and a fateful lunch while on the way to take the kids to Summer camp.

I can't remember what type of white fish these were, do you recall Robin & Pam?, but they were most excellent!  This lunch special was such a deal too, it even came with a bowl of clam chowder.
And we all ordered it.
Update....Robin informed me that it was Walleye.  Hey, somebody actual READS this stuff! lol

And yes, I actually took pictures of everyone's plate for posterity.  ;-)

Dan's plate......

My plate.....

Robin's plate......

Pam's plate......hey!, it looks like she got a bigger piece than the rest of us........where do I complain the management??.........

It was a real nice visit.  We just sort of started talking and didn't stop, like we were old friends....which is what we were/are.....only online.

It was so nice to meet them both and just the tonic I needed before heading to the Hubs sister's town to go to a wedding  & reception where I knew exactly 2 people and I was married to one of those. ;-)

Robin, who is always doing nice things for people, had presents for me.
I "heart" presents.
Hey!, who doesn't like presents, right?

You might say I am a "presents 'ho"......at least it seemed like it on this trip! lol

And here is what I "gots".....

A very cool crocheted hat.
Yes, I am now the proud owner of my very own MINION HAT!
And don't even THINK, now that the weather is cold, I don't wear this out in public.
Yes, I am a 54 year old women......what of it?
So eat your heart out you don't have one Holly Arcure.

It even matched my dress.
I am such an attention 'ho too evidently.......

Robin makes and sells these hats. 
I don't even think she uses a pattern.  She thinks of something or sees a picture and comes up with designs in her head and just starts making them. 
She posted lots of different ones on Facebook last year.....Angry Birds, Nightmare Before Christmas, Sports Team colors and I can't remember any others right now, but she's done lots of different ones.

If anyone needs a hat, drop me a line and I'll direct you to the Hat Master herself, Robin.

Robin also gave me a big bag of this......

It's something she called "Puffcorn".  Ok, so I am NOT from a corn producing state so had NO CLUE what this was.  Now I can tell you it's a popcorn that has had the hulls removed.  It just about melts in your mouth and barely resembles popcorn to me.  You can buy it plain or butter flavored or even with a caramel coating.
But Robin makes her own caramel variety from the plain stuff, and she presented me with a bag of puffcorn she made.

Well I'll tell you what.......Robin may call this Puff Corn but I call it PUFF CRACK!
O.
M.
G.

I resisted trying it until we got home to PA from our adventures. 
And it's a good thing I did.
Because if I had tried it while still in the Midwest(since I couldn't find anywhere to buy this near home and no one here has even heard about it!)I might have thrown out all the adult beverages we had collected in the car's trunk so far into our trip and refilled the trunk with bags of this stuff(the plain variety)so I could have made my own.

Let's just say that once I opened this bag and tried it, it wasn't very long before it was empty.
Really, it was THAT good.
You may have heard me whimpering a little in PA from wherever you are when I finished that Puff Crack back in August.
And I didn't even share it with anyone.......bad, bad Sluggy.......

But I digress......

We posed for a quick photo before goodbye hugs were exchanged and Hubs and I hit the road again.
Thanks for the fun lunch Pam and Robin!  It was great to finally meet the both of you.

Then it was back onto the Highway.....

Sometimes you just know you are in farm country. lol

At least no old spinster woman on a bicycle passed my window.....

A rest stop break to use the facilities and check the big map in the lobby and a gratuitous posed shot of Hubs with said map......

Then back on the road.
We passed this town near our destination.
Geez, I live near a large Amish community in PA and here they are in IL.....are the Amish stalking me?

Soon after this we pulled into the Sister in-law's town and checked into the hotel.
After freshening up, we met Hub's sister and her fiancée for dinner at a local steak place.
Hub's sister is the one without the beard.......

And I didn't take kindly to not being able to wear the big Foam Ten Gallon Hat(you only get it if it's your birthday and Hubs wouldn't let me lie about that), so I posed under it before we left the building.....I'm on my tippy toes but still not quite tall enough there, am I?

I bet you never would have guessed that I am silly this way?
If I can wear a Minion hat, I certainly can pretend to wear a big foam cowboy hat.

And after dinner we went back to our room and conked out because there were big plans for the following day.
Thus ends Day 4 of the Great Summer Road Trip of 2013.

To be continued.......

Sluggy

 

Day Four "On The Road Again" of the Summer Road Trip of 2013 Teaser

Another real quick post from me today.
Today is a busy one with the wedding happening and all.

So I'll just post another quick video from yesterday.

We stopped en route to our Day Four destination to meet and have lunch with a couple of online friends I've known for 14 years but have never actually met in real life.

After the hugs and giggles upon meeting finally, we settled in to the important stuff.....eating lunch! lol
The waitress told us about the specials, and since it was Friday most if not all of them revolved around seafood.
After she rattled off the list of fish and shellfish goodies available on that day and left, I looked at Hubs and said, "Should we dare even think about having the FISH SANDWICH??!".

Ya see......oh lord, sit down and get a drink, this will be anything BUT brief.....

a few years back when we use to drive our kids to summer camp on Lake Erie, we stopped one year for lunch before the drop-off at a place called KING'S RESTAURANT.  It's a local chain-type family restaurant place with modest prices and home cooking.
My hubs ordered the fish sandwich and when they brought it to the table, it was a regular sized sub roll with a piece of fried fish 3 TIMES the length of the roll.  Honestly, it was like a ginormous filet off of a whole 8 lb. fish!

Not having much of a censor between my brain & what I am thinking and what comes out my mouth, I half yelled, for the whole room to hear, "Holy crap!  That fish is HUGE!"
At that, Hubs, shot me a look that would kill, which just made me bust out laughing.....which in turn, made all 3 of our kids fall into hysterics.....which in turn made Hubs face go red and piss the heck out of him......which in turn made me NOT be able to stop laughing.  Hubs would glare at the kids and they would quiet but then he'd try to take a bite of that sandwich(wrestle with it really!).....and that would make me start up laughing again, which would cause the kids to begin snickering once more.
After about 15 minutes of this, we finally settled down and could eat without going into spasms.

So ever since that day we've had a 'thing' about fish sandwiches and the ordering of them, when we see that item on a menu.

But on Friday, Hubs dared the gods and ordered the fried Walleye fish sandwich at Cindy's Home Cooking Restaurant in Mendota, Illinois.

Sorry for the somewhat lengthy explanation but I needed to share that(if you haven't read about that story on the blog)before you watched this quick video......so you know why I took this video.  ;-)

 

Sluggy