The 3 BD’s

Posted on February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 by Dusty Roads

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.

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!

Slappy Cakes

Posted on November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 by Dusty Roads

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-cakes 3 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.

Final Hours in Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 10, 2013March 10, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My Mexico cruise/ Fort Lauderdale adventure is winding down. I have one last thing to squeeze in and that is a visit to family.

I met my cousin at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed a real good old-fashioned breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The diner is like a blast from the past, an authentic 50′s style restaurant and home to the infamous 14oz coffee cup. This signature landmark has been a family owned and operated business in South Florida for over 43 years.

My cousin told me she used to work there and met her husband there. Another old-fashioned touch. She was a waitress, he was a trucker. Sounds like the basis for a romantic movie. 🙂

My cousin is the outgoing one and she seemed to know everyone as we made out way to our booth.

After breakfast we headed to my aunt’s home which turned out to be literally around the corner from the Diner and after a short visit there we went on to the airport also just “around the corner.”

That should have been the end of the story. Drop off rental car, get on plane , arrive home but it turned out it wasn’t quite that easy. I dropped off the rental and grabbed the shuttle to the terminal. I checked my bags curbside and headed into the security line. It was huge. As I stood there looking around I realized I didn’t have my coat! It was still in the rental car. I tried calling the lost and found but kept getting lost in the IVR prompts so back to the shuttle to reverse my previous trip.

At the Hertz counter they directed me to lost & found and there was my coat. Yay! Now back on the shuttle again to the terminal and back on the line. It hadn’t moved much. I was in the same place as when I left. Slowly , very slowly the line began to creep forward.

In the Fort Lauderdale airport the security is on a slightly lower level from the check in counters. As the line crept forward I eventually reach a point where there was a ramp that led down to the TSA agent and security scanners. I wish the TSA had allowed pictures because at that point I could look out over all the travelers and it was a wall to wall sea of people all jostling and pushing for position! It was an amazing sight and I had lots of time to watch as I waited for my line to move forward again.

Once at the scanners the routine was the same…shoes off, lap top out of the luggage, walk through scanner, retrieve, put shoes back on and find the gate. Whew! from the time I got back on line the 2nd time until I made it to my gate it was over 1 hour! So glad I went early. My cousin had suggested I chat a little longer saying I’d be through security in 10 minutes. Maybe if I was on an early flight but apparently not if you are flying mid-day!

The rest of my flights were uneventful. I offered to be “bumped” in exchange for a $400 voucher but I would have to fly out the next day, not just a later flight on the same day so I passed it up.

My flight finally landed around 8:30 pm amid snow and sleet. The parking valet had my car warmed up and cleaned off when I got off the shuttle. The drive home was not too bad in spite of the weather and there they were. 2 little furry faces meeting me at the door.

I love travel but I love coming home too.

A Rainy Morning at Sea

Posted on February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We awoke to clouds and fog and rain but we were still a way out to sea. We were hoping the weather would clear before we reached Cozumel.

Our morning had fallen into a pattern. We got up, dressed and went to the Lido deck for the breakfast buffet usually a starch like pancakes, waffles or French toast. There were the eggs too, Scrambled, hard boiled, Benedict or an omelet station where you could have them prepared to order.

Of course there was the meat: bacon, sausage, ham and turkey bacon. Grits and home fries pretty much round out the standard fare. Move on to the fruit bar and there were oranges, bananas, melon wedges, fruit salad and more! Another station was set up for the continental breakfast. Yogurt, bagels and toast, muffins and corn bread. I think I also saw cereal boxes and milk on that table.

You’d think that’s be enough for anyone but they even had a dessert table groaning with cookies, Jell-O, cakes, brownies, cheesecake and chocolate pudding. You could even make yourself a bowl of frozen yogurt or soft ice cream.

Beverages include coffee or tea, orange juice, apple juice, orange~promegranate and lemonade.

No wonder people say they over-eat on cruises! All of this food is included with your cruise!

Bt the time we finished breakfast the ship had pulled into Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico. We were directed to go to the Xanadu lounge just one of the many lounge and stage areas on the ship. Shortly after we reached the lounge one of the cruise people came around with stickers with the number 20 to put on our shirts. There was no explanation but we would soon find out the reason.

It was still raining but pretty soon they confirmed that the excursion was still a go and called for us to line up in twos. Like funeral procession we were being led off the ship as a group and our numbers identified us as an excursion group and therefore entitled to priority disembarkation.

Getting off the ship was easy. We just had to give security our room key which was scanned to show that we had left the ship.

Now began the half walk half run down the long pier into Cozumel but we didn’t even slow down as they hurried us around a corner and onto another long pier. At the end of the pier was the ferry to the mainland. As we boarded little did we know this innocent looking boat would soon become an instrument of torture for about half the group.