Thursday, September 30, 2010
OMG…I’m still in shock.
Why you ask…’cause El Weatherman was R-I-G-H-T.
He forecast rain and “rain” it did. In fact it’s now a bit
after 4 p.m. and it’s still raining. So…even though I
usually put the poor weatherman down…I must
“commend” him today…even if it’s the only day in
recent memory that he or she…happened
(by accident ?) to be right. ‘Nuff said!
FYI…it’s now 9:30 p.m. and YES…it’s still raining.
The rain however did not stop us from getting’ out and
into a local restaurant for dinner.
The restaurant had a wide variety of foods…but guess
who could not pass up the Cheeseburger Platter
(a serious platter that is)…go on guess J. Oh yes…
we can’t forget the very large Vodka ‘n Tonic too.
In addition to this news…it should be noted that
“this guy” is still full about 2 hours later.
Do I hear the word “DIET” in my very near future?
Other than the above…I guess one can say…
We…Wuz Rained Out today.
Now "de Weather Guy"…feeling that he’s on a roll…
is calling for “about” (I love that word) an 80% chance
of the wet stuff. Guess we’ll all have to wait ‘n see!
More Earth-shaking news to come J
Friday, Octubre, 1, 2010
OK…
today definitely falls under the “mixed-bag” category.
The rain was still in evidence well into the early
afternoon hours. I will say however…that it was
nowhere close to the type of rain that had inundated
this region for the past 36+ hours. And then all at once
the rain was gone and the sun came out to say “hola” J.
Now with 90% of the clouds on the run to places
unknown…we are finally free to get out of the house…
sans umbrella’s etc.
Anyway…with El Sun sort of hinting that it may actually
stay awhile…we all piled into my brothers’ car and off
we went to find a pumpkin patch. Find it we did…however
do to all the rain (I think this was the reason) the “patch”
wasn’t ready to receive visitors as yet. So…the car trip
continued along the winding roads of the Catskill
mountains…until we found ourselves at...
“The Inn at Saint Joseph” in Forestburgh, NY.
If I got the story correctly…the Inn was originally a
Catholic Church Retreat…which later turned into its
present state…as in a hotel (or an Inn as they prefer to
call it). Bottom-line…the Inn has an air of an extremely
comfortable and welcoming “retreat” in which…one
might use as a wonderful week-end escape from
so-called civilization.
While there…we were invited to roam the grounds and
hotel freely at our leisure…which we did…but not
before I sampled some of the free varieties of cakes.
There were also teas...coffee...fruits etc. …all for the
taking but…El Pig-o here… decided…NO…
as that would be pushin’ it J
Back to the roaming part.
We continued to explore the grounds…but not all of the
One Thousand Acres. I’ll let my Bro and Sis-in-law have
that honor. Seriously though…the grounds include a
beautiful lake complete with canoes, hammocks
(scattered throughout the property) and many more
things that I’m sure we missed in our quick self-tour.
By-the-way…inside the Main House held a full usable
library complete with plush furniture to relax in while
reading…a small working kitchen (that’s where I found
the cakes and coffee) J …a full dining room…with
some really great staid furniture and…well I could keep
going but I think you probably get the picture.
From there it was back into the car and we were off to
more country road driving and finally returned back at
Allen & Linda’s place.
Now at this point you might be figuring that I’m going
to tell you that this is the end of the day…”NOT” J
This was just a “catch ones breath” interlude!
During this timely interlude…Linda made a great and
much appreciated dinner of Baked Chicken Breasts
topped with home-made spiced apple compote…
Sweat Potato Pie and Tossed Salad.
Note: For all those that personally know Linda
(I did promise her this)…Yes…Linda actually cooked
dinner with her own two hands. Yes…I actually
witnessed this rare phenomenon…with my own two
eyes of this never before "now revealed" event.
To top off the day…we then went to the Rivoli Theatre
in S. Fallsburg, N.Y. to see a show called Bathroom
Humor. I’m not a theatre critic however...but I must say
it was an enjoyable and humorous play that topped the
day perfectly. My thanks to Allen…Linda and Scott
(my nephew) for a wonderful day.
Tomorrow Linda has planned a big and…full day of
which I’m not exactly sure what to expect…so more
on these upcoming events as they materialize.
‘till then…ciao for now
Saturday, Octubre 2, 2010
Well…my on again off again traveling day is fast
approaching and being that I bought more than a few
needed personal items…I need to get “crackin” so that
I can transport said items. What this means in plain
language is that…I need to re-arrange all my things
that I originally brought with me and co-mingle
them with the new.
To help accomplish this I picked up a “cheap-o” duffle-
like bag and hopefully everything will actually fit into my
now two (2) carry-ons…and my one “checked” bag
(original luggage). Why I did this is beyond me and I
truly do not know why I do this to myself.
Well…here goes nothin’ J
I’ll report back at the end of our traveling …to parts
unknown day J
OK…I have to be truthful here. By that I mean it is now
12:22 a.m. (yes…you read that right)...22 minutes after
midnight and I am currently sitting in Guayaquil Airport
after my flight back to Ecuador.
Get this… I “only” have 5 & ½ hours until the check-in
desk for TAME Airlines opens and I can tell them that
this “muchacho” has been waiting all night in order to
catch the first flight to Cuenca and home!
All of the above followed a 3 ½ hour flight from
Ft. Lauderdale to Bogota, Columbia…where I had a
wonderful 1½ hour layover… followed by another
1½ flight to Guayaquil (my current looong lay-over
location)!
I do have to say however… that the flight on Avianca
Airlines was very nice as was the flight crew and
attendants. The down side to all this was the habitual
security checks along the way.
Just to give you an idea…
Ft. Lauderdale Airport…one (1) security check but...
extremely thorough.
Bogota, Columbia (remember this is a flight transfer
within the same airline)…one (1) security check.
and the winner is…
Guayaquil ...where…I processing through and was
“LEAVING” the arrivals area. This entailed going the
Passport Control and these days…and as you
probably know...“this” is a lot of fun and then once
again another full baggage check.
This mi amigos y amigas...is a grand total of three (3)
security checks in total elapsed times…equaling some
9 hours (so far), ARRGGGGG!!!!!!!
So…now I sit here trying to recall what…I and my
upstate family crew did on Sunday…from memory
(uh-oh) J.
So let’s see…
Sunday Octubre 3, 2010
The first thing to report on was the weather which
surprise of all surprises…El Weatherman was once
again (Yes…I know this is UN-BELEIVABLE)…but he
or she was right-on. He called for clear skies and
sunshine…and that was EXACTLY what we got.
Hey…
what’s this world coming too when El Weatherman
is right so many times? What’s wrong with this picture
anyway? All kidding aside my hat’s off to him or her…
well that is if I actually owned a hat! J
OK…enough stalling.
As you all know I am blessed with “total recall”.
Did I hear someone say “no” you don‘t.
OK…OK…I don’t. But what if I really did?
Now tell me that’s not scary ;)
Anyway…I do actually recall…well some stuff. This is…
after all (early on what is now) Tuesday morning (11/5).
So…now I digress!
Anyway…we went to…
what I am going to name and use as a sub-title…
CIDER HOUSE RULES…cool huh?
The reason for this title (other than the fact that it once
was a highly popular movie)…is the fact that it is the
actual name of a place that produces Organic Cider.
The actual name is really Cider Mills & Country Market.
This was a definitely different learning experience and
quite enjoyable. The grounds and buildings…although
not yet completely finished (Cider Mills has only in
business about a year) is a converted farm area.
However…besides the “converted and upgraded
farmhouse…the Mill for making the actual cider..a
stable…what-ever…there is a country store and small
ice ream parlor / eatery with “really” good foodstuffs J.
While on the grounds and taking advantage of the
beautiful day and scenery…we also got to go on a
real horse-pulled "hay ride"…one in which by the
way was decorated for Halloween Season.
Incidentally "the hay-ride" also took us to a “brand-
new” horse stable and not fully completed as
evidenced by the still new wood aroma.
Talk about some beautiful animals…WOW!
Anyway...after roaming around the grounds…taking
fotos and sampling a bit of lunch at the ice-cream parlor
(I had some really great chili)…we were once again on
the road and heading for a country-fair (I think Bro &
Sis-in-law were trying to "contrify" this city boy).
The fair itself was somewhat small and being late in the
day already…well it was a bit uninteresting. That said
though…I gotta tell ye’’…for a city-boy…and this was a
bit foreign to me...yet nether-the-less…
I did have fun.
The day ended with us doing some country style sight
seeing. This included various small towns…farms…
extremely secluded homes etc. I know it sounds like
I’m “putting this down”…but I’m not at all. It was just a
pleasant drive through the mountainous roads of
upstate New York on a gorgeous day.
Monday, Octubre 4, 2010
My travel day started with an unconventional side-trip.
Here’s the story…
There is a Bas-Mitzvah that my Bro and Sis-in-law…
plus…plus… plus…etc…are going to. So…we stopped
off at the place where the party is going to be held
(they are very close with Doc & Millie…the father and
daughter i.e Bas-Mitvah-ette). I’m guessing the catering
establishment was someone’s home a very long time
ago and was converted to it’s present state.
The Catering Establishment is situated on a mountain-
top over-looking some of the most stunning green
forest-clad mountains that I’ve ever had the privilege of
seeing…and for as far as the eye can see…well it can
be humbling…besides leaving one speechless. I’m sure
that Millie is going to have a party she will never forget.
She has my personal good wishes and congratulations.
From there it was on to Newburgh International Airport.
Incidentally…as the airport is not at all large at all…its
really hard for me to swallow the “International”
designation. Anyway…this was the start of my trip
(odyssey ?) back to Ecuador.
Part “Uno” landed me back in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and
another stay (overnight) with Ellie & Wally. However…
before we actually arrived at their abode…we made a
“pit-stop” at Piranha Pats. The restaurant is widely
known for and…has superb Rib Platters along with
many other great dishes.
Now it was late and I wasn’t exactly starving…but
yours truly…before whatever meal I ultimately decided
on…needed a good and large…kickin’ drink. Well the
drink in question ended up being a LARGE ...
"Long Island Iced Tea" and …it hit the spot J.
That then led to my order of “hot ‘n spicy” chicken
fingers…a baked potato with a side of delicious cole
slaw (hey...I had to finish my vacation with a “BANG”)J.
But wait…the foodie inside me said…the vacations still
on and there’s one more day in which to add to the
already ridiculous amount of food I’ve inhaled
(I’m gonna suffer for this…like dieting).
Anyway Tuesday morning (but late) we were off again…
this time to a diner very near the beach. Ohhh…I can
still taste the French Toast…REALLY WELL DONE
bacon (just how I like ‘em) and good bottom-less mugs
of coffee…hmmmm J J
OK…
end of party time and the warning flags are now...
flying strong!
I won’t go into any detail as to the flight(s) to Cuenca
but I will say that the “lay-over” in Guayaquil was
ridiculous! The lay-over lasted from about 11:30 p.m.
Tuesday the 5th…through Wednesday 6 a.m. as this
was the boarding time for the scheduled 7 a.m. take-off.
Thankfully all the flights were uneventful (the best kind)
and I am now home in Cuenca and…“running on empty”
(as far as sleep goes) L. It seems that I’m just one of
those people that hit a plateau for sleep and once said
plateau is breached…well things just feel as though I’ve
slept 8 hours. Weird huh?
I think tomorrow I just might be sleeping a little later than
normal…ye think?
So mi amigos…all I now need to do…is proof read and
publish for (hopefully) your enjoyment my jaw-dropping
adventures J
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment