The 3 BD’s

It was tempting to just turn around and get back on the plane back to Hawaii when I landed in Providence Saturday night. It was dark and cold. Snow was piled everywhere. I had heard about the 14 – 18 inch snow storm while I was in Maui but I was a long way away from it.

I was wearing my Aloha shirt and digging through my pocket book for my claim ticket for my car when 2 airport police approached.

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They were wearing ski masks and bundled up big time. They stopped by to tease me about my shirt and we chatted about the snow and ice and COLD…brrr.

Eventually I was home greeted by my little fur baby.  Sunday was just time to relax, unpack and get ready to return to the real world. I had a birthday on Wednesday. I haven’t paid much attention to birthdays in a long time so I was surprised when one of my co- workers brought me flowers, another left me a message wishing me a happy birthday and then sent more flowers! The office paid for lunch. They even bought a birthday cake!

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Nancy’s kids, Dawn and Alex both have birthdays in February too. For years, since they were just toddlers, we have made it a tradition to get together for a breakfast or brunch to celebrate out 3 birthdays. In the beginning we did it because how do you explain to little kids that one kid gets presents but the other one has to wait? It turned into a tradition to just celebrate them all together.

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This year Nancy & I were both watching our pennies so Nancy suggested we go to Braintree to a place called Kristin’s. Nancy said it had a great reputation.

It’s a little hole in the wall at 349 Washington St, Braintree. Parking is a real problem but eventually we found a spot about a block away. It was a nice day, fairly mild and sunny so walking back wasn’t too bad.

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We opened the door on chaos! It was loud and the place was packed. If busy-ness is any indication, this was going to be good. Eventually we were offered seats at the counter. The portion sizes were huge! Nancy, Dawn and Alex all had pancakes. One each was ample. Alex chose the most exotic. He had a Boston Cream Pancake.

This is 1 pancake. Can you actually imagine eating 3?

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Nancy was more traditional with a Blueberry pancake and Dawn had an M & M pancake.Sides of bacon and juice were added to round out the meals. I strayed from convention with a plate of Texas Toast French toast. It tasted a lot like the french toast I make with lots of cinnamon but I don’t have those lovely thick slices of bread.

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It was really good and the best part was the bill came to under  $10.00 per person. Can’t beat that! We had a good time, exchanged gifts and the tradition continues!

The Great Whale Photo Search

I’m starting to get excited for my trip back to Maui. My timeshare called me. They tried to hook me up for a Luau and a special evening of wine and food put on by the executive chef. I said no to both. I’ve done enough Luau’s now that the thrill is gone. They are enjoyable but my mouth doesn’t hang open in wonder any more, not even for the fire dancers. As for a special culinary evening, I don’t drink and I’m not an adventurous  eater. Probably the most exotic thing I like is escargot. Calamari? Not a fan, salmon? Nope. Even with dessert I prefer plain and simple. Flans and crème brulee? Not interested. I’ll take a dish of chocolate ice cream, a slice of apple pie or a strawberry shortcake. A foodie vacation would not interest me.

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 What does interest me are animals. I’ve chased Elk all over from South Dakota

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(where I struck out) to Tennessee (where I finally caught up with them)

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So this trip to Maui is all about the whales and the posts on Facebook are really getting me in the right frame of mind. Just look at this photo taken by Anna Smith on a sunrise Whale Watch out of Lahaina. What an awesome shot!

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 Then there is this one from the same place  captured by naturalist Jackson Kowalski. Hats off to this photographer too.

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I want to capture my own version of this behavior. I’m ready. I can’t wait!

Slappy Cakes

One of the things I didn’t mention about our search for the resort was that what finally turned the tide was when one of the people I spoke with told me to turn at the corner where Slappy Cakes was located.

Now that might not have been such a significant suggestion except I’d just heard about Slappy Cakes from, of all people, my dentist! Yes, my dentist goes to Maui frequently. He said we HAD to go to Slappy Cakes but he wouldn’t tell me any more than that.

Of course that got me curious and with the miracle of the internet I quickly learned that Slappy Cakes was a breakfast venue specializing in pancakes. What makes it special is that you get to cook your pancakes yourself. Now this might not sound like fun but the way its done changes everything.

When I first told my sister about it she was less than enthusiastic (she didn’t think cooking her own breakfast was a fun way to spend the morning)  but being the good sport she is, she gave in and agreed to give it a try. It wasn’t what she expected. In fact it turned into one of her favorite places for breakfast.

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Slappycakes is like the pancake version of a Japanese steak house. You have a heated grill in the middle of the table. You order the batter (we liked the buttermilk) and any add in’s. We were partial to the blueberries. Sandy thought they tasted like the wild blueberries we used to pick as kids.

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The waiter brings out the fixings and gives each person a spatula.slappy-cakes3 minutes a side and you have yummy pancakes. Kids like it because they can get creative with the batter then eat their creations.

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The bacon was good too. Nice and crisp. We went back 2 more times before our visit was over.

 

3:30 am is sooo early!

Thursday morning it was time to rock and roll. Get out of bed, get moving. It was time to head to Marshfield MA where I would meet up with the Audubon Society for a tour of Maine’s Peatlands culminating in the PUFFINS of Machias Seal Island!

By  5 AM we were loaded into the Audubon van and headed to Ipswich River Sanctuary where we hooked up with another van. Altogether there were two leaders, Scott and Sue and 12 participants.

For the most part these are hard core Birders so I was about to be introduced to a whole new way of looking at birds. We were still on the road at lunchtime so when a Subway came up we pulled in and made the clerk’s day. The poor girl was faced with 14 hungry travelers and she was working all alone.

After lunch we all piled back into the vans and soon we were entering blueberry country. Our Birding stop was the Blueberry Barrens.

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The birders were looking for Upland Sandpiper, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow to name just a few species.

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We traveled on another long dirt road. It made me think of the time Sandy and I got twisted around on an Indian Reservation. We called it the “Longest dirt road  in the world”. This one was a close 2nd.

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The scenery was beautiful. The day had turned cool  and damp and eventually it started to rain.

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We stopped to check out a marsh with a beaver dam. The birders used powerful spotting scopes and saw all kinds of birds.

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We finally arrived at our home away from home at about 5 pm. For the next 4 days we’d be staying at the Machias River Inn.Machias River Inn

Dinner was at 6:30 at Helen’s Restaurant and then we wrapped up our day. We’d be up bright and early the next day. Breakfast was at 6 am!

Las Vegas by Time Share

When you own a time share they always want to give you updates. It’s a chance for them to try to sell you something more. A plain old update, no sale, is about 55 minutes and you get neat gifts for your time. Sometimes show tickets, sometimes amusement park tickets, it all depends on where you are and what attractions are in the area. I knew in advance that I would get a $100.00 Visa card to use toward a show so I agreed to “have breakfast on Diamond”.

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Things didn’t go quite as I planned so suffice it to say I succumbed to an offer I couldn’t refuse. My 55 minutes was more like 5 hours but in the end I was happy and I have reached the level of membership that I was striving for. I will never have to do another purchase again! From now on it will be 55 minute updates.

We were given the VIP treatment from that point on and showered with candy and huge discounts on show tickets and dinners. We ate at Pampas one night. Our bill was $70.00 but we only had to pay $10.00! It’s nice to be a VIP (Gold level owner).

Heavy duty negotiations can really build up your appetite so as soon as we could break free we headed out for lunch. Since we were doing a lot of walking I had brought along a cane “just in case”. Sandy thought that sounded like a good idea as the walking was bothering her back so we headed for the CVS across the street.

One thing about Vegas …it gives new meaning to the phrase  “can’t get there from here”. Most intersections won’t let you cross. You have to walk several blocks, cross a pedestrian bridge and then come back to where you wanted to be in the first place.

On the way to CVS we had to pass Bobby’s Burger Palace one of Bobby Flay’s Restaurants.

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That was a good place to stop for lunch.

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The burgers were excellent. I had a side of onion rings. All I can say is WOW and Bobby Flay is not one of my favorite  Celebrity Chefs but now I know why he’s considered to be so good.

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After lunch and cane shopping we walked the strip.

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We visited the Hershey store, (Yum) chocolate.

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And a chocolate Statue of Liberty.

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We lingered in New York. Lady Liberty is reinforced Styrofoam.

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Leo the MGM Lion on the other hand was hollow but real bronze.  The statue weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall, on a 25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S.

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