Tag Archives: restaurants

What’s a Mangy Moose

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Mangy Moose LogoBreakfast At The Mangy Moose

Mangy Moose

The Mangy Moose is casual dining at its finest. Grab a booth, mosey up to the counter and place your order. The staff will bring it out when its ready.  I ordered the French toast. The portion was huge!French Toast At the Mangy Moose It didn’t cost an arm and a leg either! Service was quick. I was happy for that because I was late for my Gaperguide appointment.

 

I’m Late, I’m Late, for a very important date!

Gaperguide

I found Gaperguide online when I was planning my trip. It’s kind of a backward GPS. Instead of  you getting directions to something it tells you what you are seeing when  you get there. It’s perfect for Grand Teton and Yellowstone. It’s definitely a step up from those DVD/tape road trips where you have to stick to their route or it doesn’t match. I figured it was worth a try. I was about an hour late getting to the store but the owner was waiting for me with his dog Indy.

Along with the electronic gadget I got a map of the area. It was pretty clear that the GPS I had rented would not be needed.  There are only a few roads in the area so you really can’t get lost. With my new electronic BFF I would always know where I was.  I couldn’t wait to try it out but with the storm increasing I put my exploring on hold. Instead I continued  to the airport  where I returned my GPS.  They were very gracious about it. They probably knew it was stupid to rent it to me anyway.

Storm on the way to the airport

I’ll tell you more about the Gaperguide when I start exploring. I kept the unit for 3 days. By that time I was pretty familiar with Grand Teton National Park and the Lower Loop of Yellowstone. Once I turned it in the car felt empty. I missed my electronic companion with all its tips, stories and details. I would rent it again and highly recommend it to anyone exploring the area.

 

Airport Cowboy

Downtown Rangeley and the Red Onion

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Downtown Rangeley and the Red Onion

Main St Rangeley Downtown Rangeley is a little, tiny downtown. When I was growing up we used to say our town was so small that if you blinked you’d miss it. That’s Rangeley.   Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a resort area. Surrounded by lakes, woods and streams, the emphasis here is on outdoor activities all year round. Gives new meaning to neither rain nor snow, well you know the rest.

Small but Varied

The Red OnionIn spite of it’s small size, Rangeley has  a variety of shops. There’s an outdoor clothing store, the mandatory antique shop, a Real Estate office, a snack bar and ice cream stand and several restaurants. I parked in front of a photo gallery but it was closed. No worries, I was more interested in food at that point than pictures. The local eating establishments have a varied schedule according to the hand out I received  at the resort, but the Red Onion was definitely open.

Outdoor Seating at the Red Onion

 

The Red OnionRed Onion Swashirt

The Red Onion seems to be a landmark in the area.

It’s advertised as a pizza restaurant but I didn’t see anyone eating pizza when I was there. They have really cute t shirts and sweat shirts so of course I had to get one. My one and only souvenir from my trip.

My lunch was a buffalo chicken salad. It was made with a lots of different greens, onions and tomatoes and really spicy buffalo chicken. It was quite yummy and really hit the spot.

The interior of the restaurant is simple but nice with booths and tables and a rustic feel. They also have outdoor seating but it was a little cool so I stayed inside. There’s an upstairs too but the waitress said they didn’t use that since it was hard to regulate the temperature up there with the sun coming in through the windows.

They had a large dessert menu and even though I shouldn’t I had to try the strawberry rhubarb pie. It was worth the sugar and calories. I have to give the Red Onion a 5 star rating.Tables in the Red Onion

booths in the Red Onion

 

 

Island Princess Revealed

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Like all of the other cruise ships I have ever been on, the Island Princess was huge.

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From Bow to stern the Island Princess measures 964.3 Ft.  Walk the halls back and forth just 3 times and you’ll almost have a mile! The ship is 105.6 ft. wide. She can carry a maximum of 2368 passengers and 810 crew members. The Island Princess first set sail in June of 2003.

The Island Princess has swimming pools. One is covered  but the other is in the open and eventually was drained as we cruised north and it got colder and colder.

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There is a small casino.

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A spa and beauty salon.

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Multiple entertainment venues.

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Movies under the stars (Even when it rain or so they claimed)

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Restaurants

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Open decks

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An internet café…unfortunately because of the mountains the service was spotty and slow. I have an issue with paying for “minutes” when the service takes forever to connect. If the internet was fast I’d be the first to sign up. But I had to use it one day to answer just one work related email and it took 12 minutes of my 15 minute package to connect.

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I remember my first cruise. I spent most of my cruise lost. The 2nd cruise was easier and I found this one easier still but Sandy was on her first cruise and the size of the ship and all it’s decks was like a maze to her. It all takes time. By the end of the cruise she’ll be an old hand at getting around.

On the Road to New York

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It was time to hit the road to upstate New York. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a year, ever since my niece-in-law posted a picture on Facebook. This event is the 40th Anniversary Adirondack Balloon Festival. 40 years tells me it will be a BIG DEAl.

I’ve never been to a hot air balloon festival. I’ve seen hot air balloons, even rode in a tethered one in Atlanta, Ga. and I saw hot air balloons on one of my trips to Sedona, AZ. as they drifted over the high desert.

Drfting over the high desert. AZ 2008

Now I was heading to my old stomping grounds in Upstate New York for the biggest Hot Air Balloon Festival on the East Coast. To give you a timeline it’s Thursday, September 20 and the opening ceremonies are tonight at 5pm at Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY.

I got a late start. It seemed like every time I turned around I spotted something that needed doing before I could leave so instead of a 10 am start I didn’t get on the road until almost 12:00.

I was making pretty good time until I got to the halfway point, Springfield Ma. The Big E is in town. The Big E stands for Eastern States Exposition and is the biggest fair in Massachusetts. To add to the traffic going to the Big E there was road work. Only one lane of traffic was moving. It was close to 45 minutes just getting through that section. ETA for Albany was now 4:30…rush hour. Making the opening ceremony was not looking good.

I put the time issue on the back burner and just settled in for the drive. It was pretty uneventful. Even the traffic in Albany was light for a rush hour. I did miss the opening ceremony at Crandall Park. I arrived at my sister’s house in Gansevoort, NY at about 5:30. Once the car was unloaded we dealt with the question of dinner.

The Peppermill Restaurant in South Glens Falls was the winner and we headed over there for open-faced Roast Turkey sandwiches…yummm .

Open Faced Turkey and Gravy Sandwich

Back at the house we reviewed the Balloon festival schedule. Usually there are early morning launches and then again in the afternoon. To our surprise there was no morning launch on Friday. That means we don’t have to get up early and will have the morning and afternoon to do whatever we come up with! Nice.

A Poor People’s Lunch

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The taxi tour of Block Island covered a lot of the same ground I’d walked the night before so once I got to the 2nd lighthouse I was happy.

 Mission accomplished. Once we left the lighthouse it was just a short drive back to town and the taxi stop by the ferry terminal.

On the way back  Jim told me about a book he’s written about living the Christian life. He said it was called “Overcoming” and it was geared toward people who were already active in their church. It is non-denominational so any one can read it and enjoy it. He was very low-key about his accomplishment. Since he said it was his first book I asked him how he got published. I’d heard so many times about rejection slips for new authors that it seemed amazing to me that he got a publisher first try. He admitted it was tough so he had finally gone the “self-publish” route. Even so, I found the book listed on Amazon.com.

Back at the terminal I asked him where he would suggest I go for lunch. He gave me the same suggestion as the “Jim” from the day before…”The Poor People’s Pub“.

Unlike the Mohegan Cafe where I had dinner. The Poor People’s Pub was supposed to be more reasonable and where the “locals” went to eat. To get to the Poor People’s Pub I started back down Water St in the direction we’d just come. I can’t get over what a beautiful day it turned out to be.

As I meandered along Water St I admired the little park that ran between the street and the water. There are benches where you can sit and watch the ocean. Folks were walking dogs. It was just lovely.

At the end of Water St. I turned left, passed through a 4 way intersection and walked about 2 more blocks before I spotted the pub on the right.

I went inside to be seated. The interior was dark and cool but I asked if I could sit outside. It was too nice a day to waste inside. A wrap around porch held additional seating and there were quite a few patrons there already.

The menu was typical pub food..French Fries, Onion Rings, Burgers but they also offer French Onion Soup, sandwiches, pizza, salad and a kid’s menu. I actually ordered from the kid’s menu because the portions were gigantic from what I could see at the other tables. A kid’s hamburger and a soft drink was just enough for me for lunch.

While I was eating the signature car arrived. That was when I remembered someone telling me I would know I was in the right place when I saw a car with steer horns on it. Sure enough, a set of long horn steer horns were mounted on the hood of the car. Now that was a sight.

After lunch I returned to the Harborside Inn and their lovely porch to just kick back and relax. I decided I would take the 3pm ferry back.

My bags were in lockers by the ferry terminal so everything was set for my departure. This was just enough of a break… like a “nugget” of vacation …but it was time to return to real life.