There’s Something about a Classic Diner

Posted on August 30, 2015August 30, 2015 by Dusty Roads

The last time I caught up with my cousin Kathy it was at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale, FL. At the time I thought, such a fun atmosphere, just like something out of the 50’s. I didn’t give it much more thought after that.

Of course Johnny Rockets seems to have a huge following but it isn’t really a diner. It’s a fast food restaurant found in malls where it pretends to be a diner.

So when I saw an article in the AAA South Eastern Massachusetts magazine about diners in Massachusetts I decided to check one of them out.

I picked Dave’s Diner in Middleboro because it isn’t that far from me and convenience in an eating place is important. Who wants to drive for 2 hours for a 30 minute lunch? I’d say only food critics or reviewers.

So anyway on a nice, sunny Sunday afternoon I headed out to locate Dave’s. My neighbor told me to be prepared to find it very busy and she was right but even with a full parking lot, I was seated right away. I was given a choice of indoor or outdoor seating.

Outdoor was tempting as the outside seating season in Mass is short but it was pretty hot and humid so I stayed inside in the air conditioning.

The menus were on the table. There was an impressive list of specials clipped to the front. My waitress came right over to take my drink order while I waded through the menu. One thing that impressed me is that they had a section of smaller meals for people with a “smaller appetite”. That was in addition to a kid’s menu. I like that!

I had my eye out for a open faced turkey sandwich. I haven’t found a good one in Massachusetts in all the years I’ve lived here. Every time I visit my sister I insist that we have at least one meal at a restaurant called the Peppermill. They have the best open faced Turkey sandwich so I get my “fix” there.

But diner food should include an open faced sandwich and sure enough Dave’s had Grandma Elsie’s Hot Turkey Sandwich.

It was huge, way more food than I need for lunch but it looked great. I dug in and it was pretty tasty. Using Texas Toast for the bread was a great touch. My only complaint was that it needed more gravy. I’m sure they would have brought more if I’d asked but it was pretty clear that I wasn’t going to be able to finish everything so why waste more food.

Bottom line, the Peppermill’s open faced sandwich is still better than Dave’s but there is no shame in placing 2nd. And Dave’s is much closer than South Glens Falls, NY! The meal is more than enough food for an average size appetite and probably plenty for the big appetite too. I would recommend it and will be going back.

If you are looking for the Diner it’s right on RT 28 in Middleboro. The official address for GPS is 390 W. Grove St, Middleboro, MA 02346

About San Antonio

Posted on August 23, 2015August 23, 2015 by Dusty Roads

It always seems that after I make a vacation plan I start to see the location everywhere. Sure enough, I was cleaning out a pile of magazines that have accumulated over the spring and summer and there, staring me in the face was “Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in San Antonio”. Well, obviously we missed Cinco De Mayo But that’s ok. There’s still lots to see.

According to the magazine article San Antonio is often called “the northernmost city in Mexico”.The city proudly embraces its Hispanic traditions both cultural and culinary.

The River walk, a main point of interest in our trip, is described as al fesco cafes and lively galleries on the 2.5 mile heart of downtown.

Item 2 on our planned trip is the Alamo and the article touches on that too. Imagine “visiting the Alamo, site of an 1836 battle that made Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie heroes.”

I think I’ll want to be sure to have plenty of room on the old credit card too. Especially if we have time to explore the stalls in Market Square where they are selling Brightly colored blankets, turquoise jewelry and other handcrafts.

Other side trips and highlights are The Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a 400 acre drive through safari park.

The San Antonio Zoo with more than 9000 animals…lions and tigers and bears OH MY!

and the San Antonio Botanical Garden, a traditional Japanese garden designed to fill the senses.

Since our trip is an “Escorted Tour” I don’t know how much we’ll get to explore but there is some down time when we’re on our own. It’s nice to have some suggestions for things to see and do.

Perhaps we’ll even get brave and try a San Antonio Cocktail.

Whatever we do you can be sure you’ll be along for the ride right here on this page.

In Sickness and in Health

Posted on August 11, 2015August 11, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Hi Everyone: Just a quick update. Buddy is on the mend I think. I was amazed at the number of people who reached out to me about Buddy. He’s certainly been going through his health challenges. At his annual physical the Vet detected a fairly prominent heart murmur so we ran a series of blood tests to see if the problem could be isolated. The last test was a cardiac series and we wanted to avoid that if possible as it was expensive. The first panels showed an elevated thyroid so we started Bud-man on .3 ML of methimazole with monthly follow ups. It seemed that each month we got closer but not close enough so up went the dosage. By the time I took him in Thursday for his follow up we were at .7 ML but this time the result was different. The heart murmur was gone and his thyroid numbers were in the low normal range. That bought us a reprieve of sorts. Instead of following up in 30 days we could wait for 60! That’s when Buddy decided to upset the plan. By Saturday he was throwing up clear fluid every 30 minutes. The poor thing was shaking. I know cats throw up everything from hairballs to half digested food from eating too fast but this was nothing like I’d ever seen. Of course this all took place after my Vet closed at noon. I considered taking him to an emergency vet but then he seemed to get a bit better. He ate some chicken broth and kept it down and even went to sleep. Sunday morning he ate his breakfast and I thought we’d gotten over the worse but then in the afternoon it all started again. My pet sitter recommended Pepcid AC but I hated to try to “pill him”. I tried hairball remedy and more broth but he had no interest. I was really getting concerned but Monday morning he was up bright and early and teasing for breakfast. Again things seemed good until Monday evening. Right after dinner Buddy delivered his half digested food right back up. Tuesday morning Buddy seemed fine but he only picked at breakfast. He didn’t gobble it down like he usually did. I had to go to work so I crossed my fingers and left some dry food out for him to nibble on and lots of fresh water. On my way home I stopped at the Vet’s office and picked up some pill pockets. As soon as I came in both Rocky and Buddy met me at the door. I slipped 1/4 tab of pepcid AC into a pill pocket and offered it to Buddy. Gone in 2 seconds flat! Success! And so far it’s worked.

He ate his dinner with some of his old appetite and so far it has stayed inside , not outside his little cat body. I’m really hoping we’ve turned the corner!

Anticipation

Posted on August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 by Dusty Roads

In the words of Carly Simon

Anticipation, Anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting

And that’s where I am with travel right now.

It looks like work has really slowed back to a manageable/ normal pace. I even have another weekend off! But this time I have a sick kitty so I’m sticking close to home to keep an eye on him. It’s Buddy and he woke me up this morning vomiting. Cats throw up but this is different. He’s not barfing hairballs but just clear bubbly fluid. Fingers crossed he’ll bounce back quick.

So I took the time to get my travel plans pinned down and submit my time off requests at work.

The first trip planned is late fall and it’s an Amtrak vacation. Sandy & I will fly into San Antonio for 3 days. We’ll get to experience the river walk

and see the Alamo.Then it’s onto the train for a day on the rails traveling to New Orleans.

I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say on this trip and lots of pictures to share. Something to look forward to…Like I said…Anticipation!

A Whale’s Tail

Posted on August 3, 2015August 3, 2015 by Dusty Roads

As fast as the Real Estate rush began it stopped. I went from working every waking moment to suddenly having time on my hands. I keep thinking there’s something I’ve forgotten to do. There was no gradual slowing down…just slammed one minute and then nothing the next! So with a quiet Sunday staring me in the face I thought a whale watching trip might be in order.

I ordered my ticket online and headed to Plymouth at 11:30. I figured I’d get there early, have some lunch and then line up for boarding. It was a beautiful day, close to 90 degrees and sunny.

A perfect day to be on the water.

The activity at Plymouth Harbor proved my assumption. Traffic was brutal and parking nonexistent. I was very glad I gave myself extra time. I finally parked in the Citizens Bank lot which had been opened up for a fee of $10.00 for the day.

But once underway the hassle was all worthwhile.

We passed Bug light and then Gurnet Point Lighthouse which marks the end of the harbor. We headed out to Stellwagon Bank which is an underwater plateau. These plateaus cause “upwelling” which stirs up the nutrients and makes for rich feeding grounds. It’s also a protected marine sanctuary. One corner of the plateau comes quite close to Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. It was my guess that this was where we were headed.

The Pilgrim Tower in Provincetown hadn’t quite come into view when I saw something breach and splash. Then others saw it when it happened again. It was so quick none of us knew what we were seeing. Finally the naturalist on board got on the PA and told us we’d just witnessed some tuna jumping! Tuna, I never would have guessed!

A few minutes later we entered the Marine sanctuary and immediate spotted 4 humpback whales . They were an Association not a Pod as Pods are families and these were 4 unrelated whales.

It was the day of the tails.

They’d cruise along on the surface for a bit then dive and all of them liked getting their tail flukes out of the water.

2 of the Whales came right up next to our boat. Of course, I was on the wrong side. Just my luck!

No breaching or flipper slapping today but we got great looks at the tails. The tails besides being so very photogenic are also like fingerprints. Each whale has a different pattern and the scientists have thousands of tail flukes cataloged. I’m sure the photographer on board is sending all of her photos out for identification.