ALBANY AND COOPERSTOWN

Eunice and I haven't gone away for awhile as we have been spending a lot of time with Marilyn and Minerva.  We decided to take a break, hoping that Marilyn won't steal any of our plastic corn, and go to Albany and Cooperstown.

We took Amtrak to Albany.  When we arrived this guy Schuyler Bull picked us up.  We wanted to drive but realized that it would be difficult due to our legs being too short.  Oh well...we tried.

Schuyler took us to a few sights in Albany including the Albany Institute of History and Art and the New York State Museum.  We saw a lot of stuff.  Eunice wanted to take a tour of the Capitol building  but it was too much for the day.  Eating was more important.  A sandwich sufficed for lunch. 

We had dinner at this really great restaurant called Yono's and sat with Michelle and her husband.  Some folks at the next table wanted us to get a photo with them.  I think we have becomes celebrities!!!!

The next day was spent in Cooperstown as the National Hall of Fame was having their annual inductions.  There we met up with Deb Taylor after a quick tour of the HOF.  

Lunch on the lake and few sights.  Being a bit thirsty we checked out Fly Creek Cider Mill.  At one point we needed to use the restroom....we needed to rest.  Boy were we lucky.  There was a couch in the bathroom.  Back on Main Street in Cooperstown, we stopped at a shop that Deb's daughter owned.

All in all we had a fabulous time. 

FINAL DAY IN LONG BEAK

It was such a gorgeous day in Long Beak and having taken care of the ghost situation on the Queen Mary, Esther and I were off to the Aquarium of the Pacific. We had a behind the scene tour and saw lots of fishies.

Then we went into one part of the outside places to check out some lorakeet as we heard that they might be related in some way. We hung out in Merle Exit's bag while she was feeding them. Our friend Barbara happened to be there and tried to tell Merle that we were hungry too. She just kept feeding them.

QUEEN MARY

Esther and I wanted to take a cruise aboard the Queen Mary, which was docked in Long Beach. It all sounded great until we got to sea and something happened with the electricity and the engines. There we were for four days and ghosts. We could see land out our window. So near and yet so far. Planes and boats seemed to be approaching to rescue us and deliver food...what the hell is this Spam crap?!

At least during the day we could find our way around the ship. Esther thought that it was ghosts that did this. Thank goodness we happened to have a ghost detector.









I think there might have been ghosts in the room as it got really cold. We even tried closing the vents but it didn't help, so we stuck ourselves in there. The room might have warmed up but our tushies got cold!

We suddenly noticed that the other side of the ship was facing the dock. We were docked the whole time and able to simply walk off the ship!

BACK TO CALIFOWLNIA

Eunice and I wanted to complete our Irvine trip as well as seeing another area of California, Long Beach. The only part of Long Beach that we had seen in September was the docks when we went to Catalina Island.

After experiencing Columbus Day noting that this guy came here to discover a place where people were already living, we made up our minds to discover everywhere we went because we did not see any groups of rubber chickens. So, now we return to change the name to Califowlnia. If we ever get back to Catalina Island, we will rename it Cacklina Island.

We first wanted to make sure that we were in shape to go so we went to our chiropractor to get adjusted.

Air Tran and Jet Blue are our favorite airlines because they have such comfortable seats, great snacks and nice pilots. Since Jet Blue was going non-stop to Long Beach we chose that one. The pilots brought us into the cockpit for photos as well as giving us a quick lesson on how to fly...especially since we can't.

While waiting at the gate, we met Capt. Ron Horetski of the Los Angeles Fire Department with his dog, Pearl. We noticed that he was a rescue dog. As it turns out, they were just on television that morning because the ASPCA Search and Rescue dog, Pearl, was honored the day before (November 11th) as the ASPCA's 2010 Dog of the Year at The Annual Humane Awards Luncheon in York City. Pearl, herself was rescued from an animal shelter and Ron adopted her. That makes Pearl a rescue dog that's been rescued. We wanted to pose with Pearl, but I think she would have thought we were toys, so we got Merle to just take a photo of Ron and Pearl.

We checked into the Avia Hotel in downtown Long Beach near the ocean. Our robe and slippers (we share) were laid out for us on the bed. That was great, but we still wanted to inspect for bed bugs as it's been a big problem these days. None found.

I had suggested that we go to an Italian restaurant since our itinerary also had us taking a gondola ride. We went to La Traviata where we met the owner, Mario Nasab. We dined on lobster ravioli, a cleansing of sorbet and a vanilla creme brulee, while Sheryl Smith was singing opera.

WE HAVE NOW RENAMED THIS PART OF CALIFOWLNIA AS LONG BEAK.

QUAD CITIES, THE FINAL DAY

We had such a nice final day here in the Quad Cities. Esther and I first got to go to this place call the Country Corner Farm Market in Alpha, Illinois. Aside from being a farm with loads of different corn, there were animals that people were petting and some just near their house.



we went for lunch at a restaurant called Exotic Thai in Moline. Good food. Then we took a ride on the Channel Cat Water Taxi, which has nothing to do with a cat. It goes to four places along the Mississippi.

Time to go home!

QUAD CITIES, THE HOTEL

Eunice told me that we didn't tell you about the hotel we stayed at. Residence Inn in Moline. The room was big and had a kitchen, too...although we don't cook.

QUAD CITIES RULE!

Eunice and I went to an area called the Quad Cities. It's two cities in Iowa...but really three: Davenport, Bettendorf and LeClaire; Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. The cities are located along the Mississippi River at the one place that spans East-West. We first met the pilots on Air Tran. One of us was taught to fly while the other was looking in the window.

We were going to have lunch at a restaurant in Moline called Cafe Fresh but it appeared that chicken salad was ordered by mistake. One particular item on the menu that they are known for is when they take a kosher pickle spear and wrap it in cream cheese and ham.

After checking out information on Iowa's same sex marriage ceremonies and receptions, we were off to dinner at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, also in Moline. It was near the John Deere Pavilion...vs the Dear John Pavilion...ha ha.

We got to meet the chef. No chicken for us here! We had this brochetta appetizer with goat cheese and shrimp. For dessert there was this delicious chocolate mousse!

FINALE IN SYRACUSE

Esther and I stayed over at the Jefferson Clinton Hotel in the Presidential Suite. Way cool, huh? We were going to get room service but decided to eat at a place with a sushi bar where you get your food from a conveyor belt.

It was then time to go home on Jet Blue.