2014 MICHIGAN Battle Creek - Foodie Trip

Last week we went to Battle Creek, Michigan. That is the home of Kellogg cereals--Kellogg's Cornflakes probably being the most famous. This town's nickname is Cereal City, USA. We didn't go on the cereal factory tour or see the world's longest breakfast table or be amazed by the Hot Air Balloon festival (all events that happen at B.C.), but we did go to Malia's and Horrock's. The trip is about 27 miles and 38 minutes from home, but worth it to either of our destination places today.

We started at Malia's for lunch. Figured we better eat first before our next stop or we would be buying out the market. It is right downtown and is the best restaurant as far as we are concerned in B.C.

It serves an eclectic menu but leans to  Mediterranean. Mike and I shared their famous wild mushroom soup--not to thin or to creamy and lots of mushrooms. A splash of sherry would have made it perfecto. Then I had Florida sweet white shrimp on a quinoa salad. For diet purposes I only ate half (hard to do) and saved the rest for dinner. Mike had a BLT-S (S for salmon). It was messy to eat but way worth that mess he said. Both too full for dessert, a rarity. See www.maliafoods.com







Next stop is a bit out of the heart of downtown. Horrock's is a store with everything food and food-related. This place is packed. As you enter the market, there is a wonderful nursery with starter plants, roses, fruit trees, and more and more. This time of year there is also display after display of food and flower seed packets and garden supplies. We picked up a few of those.

They have a deli counter to buy soups, salads, and sandwiches to eat on the run. They have a huge beer and wine selection and a tasting counter, so you can sip before you select. Good thing we ate first! They have a huge cheese department and olive / relish bar. They have a florist section to buy fresh flowers or order arrangements. And there is a book nook with a wide selection of books including but not limited to cook books, cooking-related, interior decorating, nature, and children's.

They have a walk-in refrigerator room that accommodates a wide rarity of meat and dairy products. The canned and bottled food area accommodates any condiment you can imagine and many some you can't imagine. This includes a lot of imported foods from Mexico and Europe. They have a frozen seafood selection. Among choices there are huge shrimp, scallop and crab legs.

The produce section in our favorite. It is probably the biggest I have ever seen outside of a farmer's market. They have so many things there that you can't find elsewhere--tamarind seedpods, fava beans, huge papaya, fresh herbs, bulk tea, cactus, Asian veggies including bok choi and lemon grass, bulk frozen raspberries, red AND green tomatoes, as well as the common supermarket fruits and veggies like apricots, several types or oranges, a variety of lettuces, etc, etc, etc. I just cannot begin to list all the healthy treats here.

Also, they have probably 50 whole coffee beans to choose from. They have so many dehydrated fruits and vegetables, and nut and candies in bulk. They have a bakery stocked with homemade style breads, etc. We bought a garlic infused loaf today.

We try to keep our purchases under $100 when we go there, but usually go over. Today we spent $100.05. Not too bad for a lot of good and healthy food.

As I re-read this I see I keep saying "huge," but that is the best adjective for this establishment. It does everything in a HUGE, but unpretentious way. The building is basic no frills though, so that keeps the prices down. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable.

We LOVE this place and shop here about once a month to stock up on things we cannot easily find in Kalamazoo. See their website at: www.HorrocksMarket.com

2014 OHIO Put-in-Bay 3 - Island Days

For "lunch" we stopped at a little place (Wharfside, I think, was the name) overlooking the marina. It was a store/bar/tackle shop combo business. Dollar bills were plastered all over the walls with names of people written on them. Besides that the most memorable thing was their Brandy Alexanders, a pretty sophisticated drink for a "dive" bar. And it was good!

Next we went to two wineries on the island. The first was PIB Winery at the Doller House Estate. I don't think we are wine snobs, but we do have some experience drinking wine. This winery may have potential, but has not come into its own yet. Although we are mostly red winers, their best was a Moscato. We would have liked to tour the house, but they did not offer this up front. (We figured it was "off season" again because we did not see any signs.) After paying for tasting they advised we could have a tour for $10 which included another tasting. We passed.

Heineman's Winery was our next stop. It was established over 100 years ago by an immigrant from Baden-Baden, Germany. I am sorry to say we have no good words for this one in regard to the wine. The tour was nice though.

In conjunction with this winery was one really cool attraction though. Per their literature Crystal Cave is the largest known Celestite geode in the world. While digging a well in 1897, Mr. Heineman discovered the cave 40 feet below the earth's surface.

Within its walls are crystals from 8-18 inches long. The crystals had a vague blue tint, but looked more green from the algae growing on them. It is 50 degrees year round in the cave-like geode. I asked what the diameter of the geode was and our guide said about 40 feet. The gift shop sold geode slices of baseball size in many colors--not from the cave, but beautiful.

Back to our rooms to freshen up and meet for a couple of pre-dinner cocktails. We had dinner at Tipper's Seafood. "Veggie" that I am, I had loaded potato skins and the others had really tasty ribs. They all oohed and aahed and just about sucked the bones dry. The place itself looked like an old 1950's nightclub. A bit out dated, but the food was good.

5/9/2014 - T & N had a longer drive and slipped out before we did, so not able to hug good-bye. Probably better as I am not good at good-byes. I get too sentimental, shall we say. They caught the 8am ferry.

We caught the 9am and the cruise this morning was thankfully on calm seas. Mike and I just sat in the car with windows open. On shore, we leisurely traveled home with a great breakfast stop at Dianna's in Port Clinton. The drive was uneventful. We arrived home at 1:30pm. Bella came running to the door to meet us like a galloping horse. We laughed and loved that she was happy to see us.

Things we missed on this trip were taking the elevator to the top of the Perry memorial, touring the fish hatchery, visiting the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society museum, and tipping one at the Put-In-Bay Brewery. All closed because of off season (except the Brewery where we were unable to find an entrance  and it looked empty through the windows). We enjoyed our stay, but not sure that we will be back again to see the attractions we missed.

Another thing we discovered was that this is Birder Week in the northwest area of Ohio. It is the Biggest Week in American Birding. I have been getting into birding a little through my friend Anne's beautiful bird photography. Birders, go to: www.BiggestWeekInAmericanBirding.com

Here's a red-winged blackbird photo I took on the trip. Love his little feet.

For more information on Put-In-Bay, go to: www.putinbay.com/IslandGuide.pdf

As always, our adventure with T & N was wonderful and we look forward next year to a new place to explore.

2014 OHIO Put-in-Bay 2 - Island Days

Wikipedia says the village of Put-In-Bay's 2010 year-round population census was 138. It swells to much more than that in the summer. Heck, our hotel alone has 50 units (more than 1/3 of the residents) and there were many more accommodations.

PIB is located on South Bass Island which is 3.7 by 1.5 miles in size and is about 3 miles off the mainland of Ohio at Port Clinton. The PIB name comes from the the time when sailing schooners would "put in" to the bay to shelter from bad weather. 

We were all up and rolling by 8:30am. Breakfast was at Frosty's (breakfast joint by day; bar and pizza joint by night). We could have ordered mimosas, but were still a little fuzzy from the night before.

After breakie we walked the quaint-but-touristy downtown. This is early in the season, so half of the businesses were open and half closed.

We made one stop to buy t-shirts and nail polish. Both change colors when hit by sunlight. I got an icy blue color polish that should change to lime green. We'll see. We checked into the island Visitors' Center to learn about all the attractions. We were spending only one full day here and hoped to make the most of it.

We noticed a small granite monument that was dedicated to the historic road races on PIB. This marker was on Turn One. Later we saw another marker at "Cemetery Curve." Races were run on the 3.1 mile course during 1952-1959 and reprised in 1963. "Reunion" races occur to this day. For more info, go to the Race Heritage Society website at: www.pibroadrace.com/history.html






A big attraction on the island is the third tallest U.S. monument at 352 feet (behind the Washington Monument in Washington DC and the Golden Arch-Gateway to the West in St. Louis, Missouri). It is dedicated to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. His naval knowledge and strategy were key in the U.S. winning the War of 1812 over a much larger British Navy.

The monument was prepping to open for the season and a gift shop employee was accepting a Coke delivery. He said even though they were closed we could pop our heads in the Visitors' Center. He ended up giving us a great lecture on the history of Perry, the war, and the monument. Perry's most famous quote is "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." Grounds around the monument are lovely and an annual Boy Scout Camporee is held here. To find out more, go to: www.nps.gov/pevi/index.htm

From there we hopped in the car to tour the outer areas of the island. We came across this most unusual house which we had actually seen recently on TV. It was originally a ship built in 1924 for use by the Ford Motor Company. In 1986, after many years of service, The Benson Ford was scheduled to be scrapped. A couple rescued it, cut off the crew quarters of the front bow, and relocated it here atop an 18-foot cliff. It is used now as a private home. We did not get to look inside, but it was impressive just to see the outside. For more info, see: https://roadtrippers.com/us/put-in-bay-oh/points-of-interest/the-benson-ford-shiphouse

Next stop was the South Bass Island lighthouse on the most southwest tip of the island. It was built 1897 and glowed until 1962. At that time automation took over and the steel tower and light you seen in the background replaced the old-fashioned light to the right.

In 1967, Ohio State University took over the facility in collaboration with its Stone Laboratory which is located on nearby Gibraltar Island. It is also a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorological station, transmitting weather statistics from the island by satellite. Again, we were too early in the season for a tour. Read more at:

www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=276

We didn't go there, but the OSU Stone Laboratory was established in 1895 and is the oldest freshwater biological field station in the U.S. To read more, go to: www.stonelab.osu.edu/about/

I must add, en route we saw our blooming lilac bush of the year. It was a deep purple and I could smell its lovely aroma front the car.

2014 OHIO Put-in-Bay 1 - Puttin' In

This week we are meeting friends Tim (who worked with Mike at Northwest Airlines in San Francisco) and his wife Nancy. They both live in the Chicago burbs now and we usually meet up with them in May (their anniversary month) somewhere near "big water." It is usually Lake Michigan but this time it is Put-In-Bay Village on an island in Lake Erie off Ohio.

We departed Kalamazoo at 9:20am. Weather was 48 degrees, windy, but sunshiny. Along the freeway, signs of spring were finally quite apparent. The grass was intense green. The trees were various saturations of iridescent green. Makes us happy to finally see 50 shades of green. Lots of white and purplish wildflowers, too.

We hit one Michigan rest stop on the way. We were quite impressed by the huge row of solar panels which generates most of the electricity for the stop. There was also a pond with four heron-like birds wading around the edges. Long legs and necks  with pure white feathers stalking the minnows.

First real stop en route was Ann Arbor for some treats. Mike ran into the store while I waited in the passenger seat. I was peacefully in my thoughts when all of the sudden I am jolted back into reality. A red SUV had backed into our bumper and rear driver side panel. It was a small lot and the gal shimmied her way back and forth to get out of her tight parking spot. I got out and waited for her to stop and trade info, but when she finally was on the main exit path, she bolted. I could not believe it. It was a hit and run right before my very eyes!! How rude and irresponsible. I got her license though and a witness graciously  offered his info.

It turns out in private parking lots, police do not come to take reports. We had to go to the AA police station which was just a few blocks away. Thank goodness the car was still drivable. The process of reporting was quite easy and, with just a 50 minute delay, we were back on the road. It certainly could have been worse, so we are thankful.

Next was a lunch stop in Perrysburg, Ohio, just southwest of Toledo. It was a bit out of our way, but we had been there before and it was memorable, so we stopped again. We originally were here a couple of years ago just by chance. Later we found the place was a favorite of one of my best girlfriends and co-worker from United Airlines in San Francisco. Many years ago she lived in Toledo and this was her old hangout.

As we arrived, I called Suzi to tell her where we were headed. She got a big giggle out of that and said to have a martini in her honor.

I did have a martini, but one on the rocks rather than straight up. That was a happy medium in the event that I had to take over driving. Here's to you, Suzi! I had a quinoa and spinach salad and a wonderful lobster tart with perfect crust. Mike had a Stella burger and a Stella Artois beer.  We were not disappointed.

Next memorable area was Oak Harbor, OH. A very nice, quaint, and rich little town along the Portage River. Maybe check it out on the way home. Last stop on the "mainland" was the gas station for gas and grocery store for adult beverages and snack supplies (because we had no idea what might be on the island). In Ohio you can only buy alcohol at state run liquor stores and they are few and far between. This one was inside a very nice grocery store named Bassett's. Would love to shop there on a regular basis. I was a bit surprised to see so many folks of every age wearing camo. Seemed like the uniform of the day and it is not even hunting season. I guess this was patriotic camo.

Then on to the Miller Ferry. It was $58 RT for us and the car. The ferry ride was about 20 minutes in very rough water. Mike handled it well, but had to hang in the open air facing the horizon with the wind in his face. We were both glad to touch land on the island.

Our hotel was a two mile drive from there and we arrived a little after 2pm. Tim and Nancy met us at the front desk with hearty hugs. (It had been a year since we last met.) At the Bay Lodging Resort you cannot bring alcohol because they have their own bar. BUT the bar was not open for the season, so we discreetly carried our recently purchased refresher beverages to our room.

T & N had a suite so we spent most of our visiting time there. This hotel is the only one on the island with Lake Erie views from every room. The rooms have large screened in balconies. The weather was cool, but it was so wonderful to see big water again. (We sure miss the Pacific Ocean in Half Moon Bay.) We did a big catch up chit-chat and then walked the two blocks into town.

Put-In-Bay is pretty touristy. We're all glad to be here before the summer crowd overruns the place though. Sidewalks were empty for the most part and not all the restaurants or stores were open yet. The front desk recommended Mossbacks for dinner. It was a good choice. I ordered deep-fried sauerkraut balls for an appetizer. Everyone else thought they were so-so, but I loved them. For the main course Mike and Nancy had fish, I had a grilled veggie sandwich, and Tim had beef tips with noodles. Beer and wine all around. For dessert we had Key Lime pie and it was one of the best versions ever outside of Key West, Florida.

We were all a little pooped from the drive. So after a brief visit back at the resort, we parted ways for some couples quiet time. It was wonderful hearing the sound of the Lake Erie waves in the background as we drifted off to sleep.

Apr 2014 MICHGIAN Kalamazoo - CARES about AIDS

CARES (Community AIDS Resource and Education Services) is an organization in Kalamazoo that assists people that are HIV+ and educates about the disease. This year 38 restaurants in the area participated. Each restaurant donates up to 25% of your bill to the organization. And, of course, you may personally contribute an additional amount.

We chose The Wine Loft for dinner this year. Mike had a wonderful salmon filet with smashed potatoes and perfectly cooked veggies. I had a beet green salad with candied walnuts and Gruyere cheese and a wild mushroom flatbread. Of course, we had wine. We were, after all, at The Wine Loft. I had a flight of reds and Mike had Pinot Noir. For desert Mike had tiramisu and I had a glass of Prosecco. All was delish.

Mike and I lived in San Francisco in the early 80's at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic there. We knew of many people that died of that horrible disease before any ideas of how to cure or at least slow its progress had been discovered. Nearly 200,000 Californians have contracted HIV/AIDS and nearly 90,000 have died since the epidemic began. We still remember those sad times.

Two very close friends of ours met that awful fate. The first was Jack Skaggs. He was one of those slight and spindly guys who had the biggest heart and biggest sense of humor ever. When I first started with the airlines, he was one of the trainers and we ended up on the Help Desk together.

One of the funniest situations I encountered with him was the time a Baggage Service agent called and referred to us a person who had lost their bag. They said under no circumstances should we open the bag because there were live snakes inside. Jack acted like it was a normal situation and really talked up the customer with a bunch of baloney about being a hobby herpetologist himself and on and on. The guy called back several times and always asked for Jack. We ended up calling the Agriculture Department, but never heard the result. We figured there were really drugs, not snakes, in the bag.

The last time I saw Jack, was at James and Suzi's wedding at the Marriott hotel in San Francisco. His body was quite wasted away at that point, but his heart was still as big as ever. He wouldn't have missed that event for anything and I think it was the reason he hung on so long. He danced one dance with his partner and some short time later faded into the hereafter. Tears in my eyes thinking about him now. His celebration of life was at the Neptune Society Columbarium in SF. It is a special place for a special person.

Suzi (one of my very best friends in SF and THE best home "chef" we know) always makes soup from scratch for her ill friends. She must have made a hundred gallons and other delights for Jack to feast on. I got some on several occasions. She made veggie, special for me. Dear Suzi, I miss you being so many miles away (and Jack, too).

The other was Peter Dorian. I was probably closer to him as we were both instructors at the airport and worked together side-by-side for several years. He was a bit more abrupt and explosive in emotion than Jack ever was, but still a good hearted soul.

The day I found out about his AIDS, I kind of knew, but it was still a shock to hear him say it. I tried to be a brave soul and act like things were normal, but I teared up just about every time I saw him after that. We attended his last good-bye. His wish was to have his ashes distributed into San Francisco Bay off a hiking trail along a cliff at the Presideo. It was a beautiful and meaningful spot as it was the spot where he had met his partner. It was so sad, but yet a relief to have his suffering end.

You don't hear much about it these days or at least not in Michigan, but the Training Department participated in the giant AIDS Memorial Quilt. We made a square for Peter. It depicted all the drama and dreams that were his life.

Another place important to the AIDS community is the AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. It is a beautiful area to contemplate the lives of those sadly lost before their time. 

Read more about CARES at:   www.caresswm.org/‎

Read about The Wine Loft at: www.kalamazoowineloft.com/‎

Read about the Neptune Society at: www.neptunesanfrancisco.com

Read more about the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Names Project at:
www.aidsquilt.org

2014 MICHIGAN Grand Rapids - Foodie Trip

Recently went to Grand Rapids, Michigan (about an hour drive north from home) to handle some business with our Apple iPad. While we were at the shopping center we stopped by William-Sonoma. 

W-S has a wide variety of specialty spices, beaded honey and infused salts. Porcini mushroom infused salt is my fave so we replenished our supply. I love it on pasta, mashed potatoes, veggies, veggie burgers, popcorn and the like. See that empty spot on the shelf? Well, we got the last jar...again!

While we were at the mall, we also noticed an olive oil store that was going out of business. Peeked in there. Nothing really seemed that on-sale even though the sign said 70% off. But we did buy a sun-dried tomato infused olive oil and a jar of pesto sauce.

We've been hearing about a new downtown Grand Rapids market. It is not a grocery store, but small vendors who have come together to form a co-op style market under one roof. As we were so close we decided to check it out. The facility is brand new and includes a large open building and a covered sidewalk area where in warmer weather farmers will sell their produce. It is fabulous, even without the outdoor market area operating. 

The inside has many vendors that sell mostly food but also kitchenware or kitchen-related items. The first place we stopped was a cheese and wine shop. They have all kinds of cheeses, a cheese oriented lunch bar (great grill cheese sandwiches on the menu), and they offer cheese classes and tastings.

Recently we attended a wine event at Zazio's at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo and purchased a vermouth from La Spinetta Winery (in the Piedmont area of Italy). It is called Contratto Vermouth Bianco and tastes more like a liquor than something to combine with another alcohol to make a cocktail. Silly us, we originally bought it for the label but loved it so much, we were wondering where to buy it in the future. THIS is the place. They have a lot of unusual and new-to-us liquor choices.

Next on the "tour" was a coffee vendor, a produce stand with fresh and organic items, a fish monger with an excellent variety of fresh fish, and a meat market with fresh and frozen options. Here there were some of unusual choices like bison, frog legs, and venison that you don't usually see at the big grocery stores.

At the end of the aisle was a bread baker. They also have a traditional style pizza oven. Not a lot of sweets here, but really great looking breads. Sweets came later in our tour. On the other side of the aisle was a fresh pasta market with spaghetti sauces and other pasta related items. See the fresh pasta drying here.

Next stop was the spice store. We bought another Porcini mushroom infused salt, so we could do a taste test later. Turns out we liked the W-S version better, but both were good. We also bought some chives and Vietnamese cinnamon. They had a nice variety of teas and tea utensils here, too.

Around the corner was a Thai take-out food stand (will go there next time), a florist, and an oil vendor. Mike bought some Mandarin orange infused oil, which he uses in Brownies. At the end of that aisle was a prepared meal store. They had all kinds of pick-up-and-go meals to take home to heat-and-eat. Lots of comfort food type stuff.

Next to that was a Grocer's Daughter chocolate shop. If you recall, we talked about the original location for this store up in Leelanau, Michigan, at the top of the lower peninsula. We discovered this place years ago and always go out of our way to stop there to pick up truffles and dark chocolate bark seasoned with sea salt. We were happy to see a branch here, so close to home. Of course, we bought a bit of chocolate for later.

By that time we were pretty hungry after looking at all the great food options. We decided to have lunch at the next stop, which was a Mexican take-out stand. We both got burritos and rate them one of the best we have had in Michigan. The facility has an area set up with tables and chairs and lots of windows. We enjoyed our hearty lunch there in this warm spot looking out at the freezing cold piles of snow.

We continued down the last few vendors, past a popcorn place with many flavors to choose from. But we opted for the sweet shop next door. Lots of homemade style cookies and pies and other bakery delights. Loved their giant pink mix master. Can't tell by the photo, but it was almost a yard high. And the gals dress in pink aprons. Very cute. We bought Snickerdoodle cookies for our dessert (sugar cookies mostly, but with cinnamon).

On the second level were cooking classrooms, including a miniature sized one for kids. Also, a greenhouse area. It is not fully underway yet, but will be a community garden come spring. In the photo in the background you can see downtown Grand Rapids. So refreshing to have this type of endeavor in the heart of the city.

We really enjoyed our afternoon. Highly recommend it. And we'll be back when the weather gets warmer and the outdoor vendors are in full operation.

2014 OHIO East Liberty 3 - Orchids and Pearl for K's BD

Woke up to birthday mimosas and coffee and leftover quiche. Still good the second time around. Then headed  southeast for a birthday day in the city of Columbus, Ohio.

Luckily we had another day of good traveling weather. First stop was the Franklin Park Conservatory. To get there the route took us through downtown and we admired the old and new buildings along the way.

From the outside the conservatory does not impress, but inside was warm and wonderful. Today an orchid exhibition was the highlight. So many color combinations and shapes and sizes of orchids. Colors from pale yellow to brilliant pinks and purples. Sizes from thumbnail to clenched fist. Single plants overflowing with hundreds of blossoms. This display was a feast for our winter eyes.

We wandered through the Himalayan Mountain display with its cool atmosphere. Then worked our way to the Palm House which was almost sweaty tropical. There was a Pacific Island Water Garden, warm and lush and included a lovely Chihuly red/orange/yellow glass sculpture. There was a sculpture garden and desert room with many species of cactus.

A Bruce Munro glass and light show was also showcased, but most effective in the evening with lights aglow. Another trip. In the daylight hour, I especially liked the clear glass "flowers" amongst the snow in an outdoor display.

Another display was that of a miniature hamlet with railroad. We recently viewed a TV special on the mastermind, Paul Busse, of these museum quality villages and we were excited to see one in person. We were not let down. All the buildings and landscape are made from natural materials--each so unique. That, intertwined with fern and flowers and greenery, was lovely. One could observe and see something new for hours. Hard to take in every detail and hard to walk away from this one. To read more about this artist, go to:  www.gardendesign.com/ideas/art-botany-Paul-Busse .

We finished browsing and headed to our next stop. We planned a late birthday lunch at the "The Pearl." This was recently rated the best new restaurant in Columbus. And, again, we were not disappointed. We arrived early, so decided to start at the bar.

This is no ordinary bar. Our mixologist was Carly. She said she did not think of herself as a bartender, but more as a alcohol chef. We agree.

First, they serve many classic drinks--Box Car, Grasshopper, Manhattan, several Southern punches, etc. They also make their own specialty mixes in house in an infusion locker, such as their Bloody Mary tomato juice. That's what Mike and Jim ordered. Along with this drink (served in a  mason jar) came a short bottle beer. "Delish," they said.

I ordered a classic ramos fizz. We used to drink these at Sunday brunch at the Moss Beach Distillery near our home in Half Moon Bay, California. Fond memories there. We would sit outside on deck chairs overlooking the blue Pacific. It was often quite breezy and they supplied blankets if you were too cold.

This drink today was made to perfection (raw egg white and all). Carly saw that I really enjoyed it and volunteered to make a new drink she was experimenting with that also included egg white. It was wonderful (and gratis). Citrus inspired and a refreshing treat on a cold winter day. Then came a gratis appetizer of Jalapeno corn spoon bread served in a small cast iron fry pan. It was warm and fluffy light and not too spicy from my "delicate" palate. 

The bar set-up itself is so interesting. Bitters and flavor additives are stored in small medicine type bottles and delivered to drinks with eyedroppers. The place looks more like an chemistry lab than a typical bar. So fun and fascinating to see the various alcoholic concoctions constructed and developed.

Four o'clock rolled around and we were escorted to late lunch. I have been on a weight loss regimen, but not today. It was a tough decision on what to order. Mike and I first thought we would share a Shellfish Tower which included a tall mound of oysters, clams, and shrimp, but came to our senses!!! He ended up with a dozen raw oysters on the half shell and I got a pound of peel-and-eat gulf shrimp (shades of Key West and Charleston).
I also had a spinach salad to be on the healthy side. I think J & K got catch of the day.

My shrimp were the largest I have ever had. Absolutely stupendous in size and taste. The only thing that might have made it better would have been some cheesy grits. It was hard to finish my plate, but the others helped out a bit. Mike was in heaven also with three types of fresh oyster. He slurped those babies down in a frenzy.

For birthday desert we had their fresh pies made daily--cherry and house special brown sugar pie. I don't have such a sweet tooth (salty is usually more my style), but I could have eaten a whole brown sugar pie all by myself. SOOOOOO good! This was a fabulous gastropub and we definitely recommend it. To read more, go to: www.thepearlcolumbus.com .

We finally could not fit in another bite, so we waddled to our car and back to East Liberty. The rest of the evening was pleasantly spent remembering the "old days" backed up with a few more celebration cocktails.

2/17/2014 - To home. Nothing special. Dry roads til about the Ohio-Michigan border. Then the rain-sleet-snow started. Roads slick, so we took our time from there. No ice slip-and-slide til we were a block from home on a side street. Back to reality and back to our sweetie cat Bella.

2014 OHIO East Liberty 2 - Gone Froggin'

As you read in December, Kathy invited us down to Ohio to join her in purchasing some exotic frogs. On that trip she got four Dendrobates leucomelas or "lucs" for short. At the time they were no bigger than a thumb nail and now are about the size of a quarter. They are black and yellow and have a pleasant chirp as they mature. K says they are starting to chirp now, but very quietly.

Well, K is an "enthusiast" and whatever her current interest is, she dives in with an ardent passion. After breaking into the frog world with the above, she soon found that she had to have some more--this time a species of blue ones called Dendrobates azureus. So today we journeyed to Springfield, Ohio to see a different breeder.

He did not have the huge operation that we saw last time, maybe seven terrariums, but he had some colorful frogs that we had not seen to date. K had her heart set on the blue-ies and bought four.

We spent an hour talking frog diseases, terrarium styles, sources of frogs, pet shop horrors, reptile shows, Hank Molt, species of frog, and stages of frog development from polliwog to full-fledged frog. To demonstrate this last topic, the frog breeder had a plastic tub with many smaller sized containers. Each had live specimens at different stages in the maturity process. Very interesting.

Then the question of diet came up. They talked flightless fruit flies which had been K's frog's main diet up til now. The breeder suggested orange isopods, which look like orange sherbet colored roly-poly bugs with lots of legs. He says the frogs eat isopod eggs and isopods eat the frog poop for a "nice" symbiotic relationship. This may be too much info for some (including me), but fascinating food chain facts. K bought a container of isopods!!!

From there we went to the Micro Center. A huge all tech related store. As we walked in the door they had a display of 3-D printers for as low as $400. We want one, but not ready yet. What we were in the market for today was a webcam set up so we can watch K's frogs from our home in Michigan. We purchased that and a few other goodies. Really fun shopping here!!

Next was lunch at the place we enjoyed so much on our last trip--Cafe Paradisio in Urbana. The panini sandwiches were not quite as good as our last meal, a little dry. Definitely will go back, but order pasta next time.

Then hurried home to set up the new terrarium and webcam. Didn't want the froggies out in the cold for too long.


Traveling back we saw three covered bridges (even though we were in Logan, not Madison, County). We crossed one which is very cool. K&J say they have a bridge party every year where they close off the bridge to traffic and have a white tablecloth picnic. Might try to fit that in this summer.

Back home we introduced the new blue frogs to their environment. They seemed a little less shy about coming out for us to see them. The webcam process was a bit slow on the learning curve. (It took a few days, but we are able to some them from Michigan now...in color. Yay!)

K made wonderful shrimp and smoked Gouda cheese quiche for dinner and toast from her homemade bread. We washed them down with mimosas. For dessert we attacked the treat basket. It is going down fast.