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Fun

Easin’ Along Goes to America’s Heartland

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Easin' Along

This week’s activity involved planning more activity.

Readers may remember that we launched Easin’ Along last August as we hit the road for an extended trip along the East Coast (see August and September 2015 posts of Easin’ Along). Well, that trip was so much fun we decided that we would venture out on another trip this August – this time to the Heartland of America.

America’s Heartland logo

In earlier times, we had passed through St. Louis and Kansas City, but did not have the time to explore either one. I drove through Iowa and Nebraska once on my way to Jackson Hole where I spent a fascinating evening at a truck stop in Ogallala, NE but, once again, I was just passing through. I have never been to Minnesota, Wisconsin or the Dakotas and it was time to do something about that.

Taking that trip last summer taught us a lot about how to prepare for extensive travel by car. Without a doubt, the most important thing we learned is that you can’t do it all. When we were in the early portion of our trip we would try to take in every attraction we passed and punctuate those events with food and drink at every pub or restaurant that looked interesting. By the fourth day of a five week trip we had reached a saturation point. Nevertheless, America is a place of staggering beauty with a multitude of must see places along the back roads and byways so we knew we had to change our approach if we were going to make it to the end of the trail.

We decided somewhere between Beaufort, NC and Norfolk, VA that the best way to attack the problem was to study ahead of reaching the next stop and to pick out one attraction and one good spot for food and drink for each day. That plan got us into a rhythm that carried us successfully through an incredible experience. Helen (adorable wife in charge of research) would read the travel books while I drove. She would pick out the activities for the next stop and then go to Trip Advisor for the restaurants. It worked like a charm. With that plan in mind she made a visit to the AAA Travel Office earlier this week and stocked up on all the books and maps she could carry.

Our plan for this year is to take off sometime in the middle of August and point Heidi (adorable wife’s car) in the direction of St. Louis, MO and work our way north from there. Stops include Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Grand Forks, ND, and points in between all of those. Once we reach Grand Forks the plan is to go to Winnipeg then work our way back east along the lakes of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. We will make our way through International Falls, Duluth, and Green Bay before we arrive at a destination we’re really excited about.

As stated before, I am a retired Army officer and we have the wonderful opportunity to stay at guest lodging on military bases as we travel. This year we have booked two nights at an inn operated by the United States Coast Guard on Lake Michigan known as Rawley Point at Two Rivers, MI. There is a lighthouse adjacent to the inn and both sit a few hundred yards off the shore. I have placed a picture below. The setting looks very cozy and inviting. This stop should give us the opportunity to explore Green Bay and travel through Door County, WI where we expect to fill up on a bowl of whitefish stew.

After Rawley Point we need to be in Chicago where our home away from home will be the Great Lakes Naval Training Center for several days. As luck would have it, the Cubs will be in town for a series with the Giants and we were able to secure two tickets in the upper deck of historic Wrigley Field. Talk about excited…

So far we have nailed down most of the plan but we still have a way to go to get in final format. Hopefully we will be able to work our way up to Mackinaw City, and over to Mackinac Island, but that portion of the trip is still a work in progress.

I have placed a picture of the map showing the details of the trip we have worked out up until now. That route is highlighted in yellow on the map. As is evident, there are a few breaks in the yellow line and this is where we need help from Easin’ Along readers. We would love to have your suggestions for places to visit and places to eat along the entire route and especially along the upper portion of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinaw City. We know there are some well seasoned travelers out there and we would be forever grateful for your input. I hope you will share your advice with us in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

We’re counting the days until once again…we’re Easin’ Along.

Fundamentals

Here’s to Your Health…Green Jell-O Every Five Years!

Posted on June 24, 2016June 24, 2016 by Easin' Along

There are two things about getting older that ring true with every year. The first is that time really does fly by, and the second is that taking care of one’s health is crucial.

I had my annual physical last month and came through it with no red flags or warning signs. So far God has seen fit to bless me with good health and, for that, I’m extremely grateful. In the process of completing the physical my doctor reminded me that it was time for another colonoscopy.

“Surely not” I said. “It’s been five years since the last one? Check that again…please.”

He assured me that his records were correct and after thinking about it, I knew he was right. My last colonoscopy was in 2011. It was the day after a massive hail and rainstorm in our city and a tree had fallen across our driveway preventing me from getting my car out. After going through what one has to endure to prepare for this procedure, I was not going to reschedule no matter what. So, I walked up to our neighbor’s house, borrowed his car and kept moving. That day is such a vivid memory that it probably explains why I doubted that five years had passed.

My family physician scheduled the procedure for me and the next day I received a call from the office of the physician who would be attending to me. This person gave me some instructions on when to arrive and what (or what not) to eat and drink the day before, then ordered a prescription that I would pick up from the drug store.

As most people over age fifty know, there really is nothing to dread about a colonoscopy. Other than a small needle stuck in a vein for an IV, it’s pretty painless. For most of the time, the patient is asleep…no big deal.

As for the preparation, that’s another matter entirely.

The day before the procedure is an all-liquid day. No solid food. No red or purple drinks. For someone like me, who LOVES to eat, this is a supreme hardship. I finally convinced myself that I could handle it for one day and paid a visit to the local Kroger. The objective was to assemble a collection of liquids that might actually taste good enough to get me through an entire day. Here’s a picture of a few of the things I came up with.

In addition to the broths, I picked up a box of Lime Jell-O. It has been five years since I made Lime Jell-O…same reason as this year. It came out well. I have posted a picture of a plateful that accompanied my beef broth lunch. This meal was repeated for dinner except that chicken broth was a substitute for beef. I floated through this by telling myself that there was a BIG hamburger and platter of fries in my future.

After dinner it was time for phase two.

Phase two consists of drinking 16 ounces of a liquid and two 16 ounce cups of water within the period of an hour. I don’t care what anybody says, this is not fun. The liquid prep tastes like stale, semi-sweet lemon juice that is thicker than cough syrup. I placed the bottles in the bathroom and stared at them for about five minutes before I opened them. Once the bottle was opened I poured the contents in the cup that came with the prescription and slammed it down. Just as quickly, I filled the cup with water and slammed it down as well. I had an hour to drink the second cup of water, but I wanted to get this over, so I only waited about ten minutes and consumed the second cup in one draught. Done…now the wait begins.

The instructions that came with the prep mixture explained that the quality of a colonoscopy requires a clean colon. OK…I’m working on it. It took about two hours for the beef broth, chicken broth and Jell-O to head south.

Next comes phase three, the tough phase.

I was instructed to repeat phase two beginning at 2:00 am the following morning. The alarm was set, and when it went off I knew that I was through sleeping for the night. I swallowed everything down and went to the man cave to watch a television show on my DVR that I had saved for occasions like this. The television show was a three hour documentary on the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Watching brave men face Nazi gunfire while attacking Omaha Beach helped reassure me that, while colonoscopy prep is bad, things could be worse. March on.

Helen (adorable wife) drove me to the hospital and we arrived at exactly 8:00 am as instructed. Registration was completed quickly and a hospital volunteer named Andy escorted me to the waiting room where I was met by a very pleasant nurse. She gave me a gown and a pair of surgical socks and left as I changed clothes.

I was visited next by the anesthesiologist. He was equally pleasant and seemed very young, but at my age, everybody who is still working seems young to me. We had a nice conversation and went through a list of routine questions. When he wrapped up, the nice nurse came back to insert the port for the IV. This was the only uncomfortable part of the entire morning, but I’m such a wimp when it comes to needles. I asked her if she had ever done this before. She smiled broadly before she demonstrated her skills and inserted the needle. I concluded that this was not her first rodeo.

After that, I was placed on a hospital bed, covered with a warm sheet and waited to be rolled into the room where I would receive the scope. While waiting, I heard a female voice calling my name. This person was lying on the bed immediately behind me and I couldn’t see her face. When I asked her to tell me who she was, I learned that it was one of my friends who having the same procedure. She was waiting to be rolled into the room next to mine. I told her we had to stop meeting like this.

Once I was in the room, I was greeted by several nurses who couldn’t have been more accommodating and comforting. These people were great. The doctor also came in. It had been five years since I had seen him. He said it was good to see me again, but I’m not sure if he really remembered me. Nevertheless, he was good to spend some time with me before the anesthesia hit. It hit quickly…lights out.

The next thing I knew, it was about forty minutes later and I was coming to in a recovery room. Another nurse, just as pleasant and professional as the others, was making sure I was in good shape. She let me know that I passed the test with flying colors, but that the doctor would be in to go over the results of the procedure. I asked for a cheeseburger. She gave me a Sprite.

The doctor told me that he found nothing but a clean colon. He also told me that I didn’t need to come back for another round of this for ten years. That was the best news of the day. We chatted for a few more minutes. I asked him if he would be doing the next procedure ten years from now. He assured me he had other plans.

I dressed and was escorted to a wheelchair and rolled out to the discharge area and waited for Helen to bring the car around.

Next stop, Waffle House! Order up one All-Star Special…hold the Jell-O!

Time to be Easin’ Along!

Fun

Farmer’s Market – And a Big Splash of Good Luck

Posted on June 17, 2016April 18, 2018 by Easin' Along

It’s been one of those weeks. I had to prepare for some meetings at the church. Helen (adorable wife) had been in Charleston with the grandchildren and left me with all the housework (just kidding). Other than that there wasn’t a lot happening and I needed some activity to report to the thousands of Easin’ Along readers eagerly anticipating this week’s post.

On Wednesday there was a report that a movie that is currently being filmed in Knoxville was planning to film a few scenes in Market Square downtown. The movie is titled “Dog Years” and stars Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, and Chevy Chase. As anyone could imagine our Scruffy Little City is all atwitter about this, so I thought I would drift up to Market Square to see if I could spot a few stars.

As a side note, there was a casting call for this movie several weeks ago and anyone interested in being an extra was invited to come to a shopping mall on a Sunday afternoon and apply. Well, I couldn’t resist an opportunity for my big show biz break so I went. I was certain that they would pick me out of the crowd as a perfect stand-in for Burt. The line was three hours long. When I got to the end of the line, the production crew took my picture and my phone number. They smiled and said “Don’t call us. We’ll call you.” They must have lost my number.

Back at Market Square, the movie crew had moved on and the stars were somewhere else doing star stuff. I was disappointed to be sure, but I was also hit with a blast of blogger’s good luck. Today was the day for the Farmer’s Market on Market Square and the vendors were setting up for a big day. It was a little early, but I thought I would hang around and see what would be in the offing. That decision produced a lot of fun.

There are three basic types of vendors at the Market. There are the produce farmers who bring in the fruits of their labor from the farms in the area. There are vendors who bring in food products to sell like baked goods, honey, sauces, and salsa are a few examples. Then there are the retail vendors (jewelry, clothing, art) who always have interesting wares. Each vendor has a space that is approximately 10’ by 10’ or multiples of that as one bakery there did on this day.

It was a bit early so I walked through the middle of the market to see what looked interesting. I made a note of the large cookies being offered by one of the bakeries, and some great looking bread by another. I also noticed some beautiful beets and onions on display by a vegetable farmer. Later, when I looked at the picture taken I noticed that “beets” was misspelled on his sign. Oh well, bloggers need to spell beets not farmers, and I can assure this farmer that growing them pays better.

I took a seat at an iron picnic table at one end of the market and waited for the crowd to gather. A couple of street musicians that went by the name “Outlaw Ritual” were warming up nearby. The tip jar was empty, but the music was good. The tall tattooed lady playing the bass was really getting into her art. I gave her the name Tallulah…

My seat gave me a front row view of all the action going on at the fountain between Tallulah and me. Things were slow at first, but not long after I sat down, two little boys walked cautiously up to the fountain. Their Mom was standing to the side in rapt attention and very quickly, with no prompting; one of the boys ran headlong through the fountain – clothes and all. His brother followed. It was such a joy. I took pictures as quickly as I could focus the camera and one of them is featured at the top of this post. The Mom was good enough to give me the boy’s names so, to Trip and Raylin, thanks for the show…I loved every minute.

By now the office workers and downtown residents were filling the market so I decided to walk through the crowd to see what was selling. Tallulah and her Outlaw were being splashed by a couple of energetic youngsters the fountain. They decided to go make music somewhere else.

I walked slowly back toward the other end of the market. Cookies seemed to be selling well and I decided that I better dive in before they were all gone. I bought two large chocolate chip and two chewy ginger cookies. The ginger cookies smelled great and I couldn’t resist. I got Bob the Baker to pose for the camera. He was kind enough to permit me, but he was being swamped.

Dogs aren’t allowed in the market unless they are marked as service animals or are small enough to be carried by their owners. Several service animals were around and well behaved but, there was one small Pomeranian that captivated everyone. I got his young owner to calm “Foxy” long enough to have his picture taken. It seemed that Foxy would have preferred an air-conditioned kennel over the hubbub, but his owner wasn’t ready to forgo the attention.

I arrived at the other end of the market. Tallulah and company had set up there and brought in another Outlaw to play the fiddle. Casting a quick glance at the tip jar, I determined that it would be a while before they took a lunch break.

The crowd was getting large and I wanted to make one more pass before heading down to the Tourist Bureau and the WDVX Blue Plate Special (featured in an earlier post). Passing by the bread vendor, I was eager to learn about a variety named German Lager Bread. I asked the pretty lady about it and she explained that it was a combination of wheat and rye which gave it a little firmer texture than sandwich bread. She spoke with a European accent that sounded German though I couldn’t be sure. However, I was sure that she knew how to bake bread and picked up a loaf. She was a little reluctant to have her picture taken, but in the end she was a good sport. The bread was delicious.

Back at the fountain, the kids in bathing suits had taken over and were having a grand time, and I was sweating enough to consider joining them, but common sense prevailed. Besides, I wasn’t wearing my best boxers on this day.

On either side of the Square the pubs, cafes, taverns, and craft breweries were opening (if anyone knows the difference, please tell me in the comments section below) and beer and burgers were being consumed en masse. I love a good brew, but never before five o’clock and that was still five hours away. Nevertheless, I noticed at least one rather large gentleman who may be on a schedule different from mine. I grabbed a quick snap of his T-shirt. You can be the judge.

It was time to go. I hustled down to the Blue Plate Special in time to catch the second act and what a treat it was. Normally, the Blue Plate Special features what is called “roots” music, meaning the music that is so prevalent in our area…country, folk, bluegrass, and southern gospel. On this day we would be treated to a group named the Anderson String Quartet who would open with a classical piece by Haydn. It was beautiful. The group consisted of the Anderson Family. There was Mom (Lisa) who played violin. Mom was joined by violinists Lydia 15, Garren 14, and cellist Anna 11. Their music was outstanding and I captured a short video which I posted on the Easin’ Along Facebook page. Please take a minute and check it out.

Well, I didn’t get to meet Burt or Chevy, but hopefully they put on some dark glasses and came through the crowd at the Market. If so, their day would end up being as lucky as mine was.

I’ll be Easin’ Along.