JETBLUEING TO ROCHESTER

Eunice and I took a trip to Rochester, New York via Jet Blue Airlines. Although we landed in Rochester, the first place that we visited was a suburb called Pittsford where we had lunch at a restaurant called Coal Tower located on one part of the Erie Canal. The Sam Patch was docked there and we were hoping to get a ride.

We were both fascinated by these cute ducks and Merle had to hold us back from jumping into the water to pet them.

Off to nearby Fairport for another part of the canal. There were lots of boats docked there including the Ladyhawke owned by Lynne and Dick Davenport. No relation to the city in Iowa.

Eunice and I dined on Shepard's Pie at Mulconry's Irish Pub where we met Damien Mulconry, the owner.

THE STONE TURTLE

Eunice and I went to this great restaurant in Island Park on Long Island called The Stone Turtle. We not only got to meet Gregory Baumel, the Executive Chef, but also got a tour of the kitchen. We tasted some of the food. Needless to say, we were a bit upset about seeing some relative in the Paella. We took a photo with Sinead Duell, who runs this cute restaurant.

GELATO AT LA DOLCE VIA

Eunice and I went to this new gelato cafe in the Whitestone section of Queens. The cafe is called La Dolce Via. Now we don't have to go to Provincetown, Ma or Winnipeg in Canada to get authentic gelato. We hopped on a motor scooter and checked out both the inside and garden. John and his family allowed us to taste their gelato and boy was it good! We'll be back for more. That's for sure!

5 Napkin Burger Oozes With Taste

Eunice and I were invite to a restaurant called 5 Napkin Burger located in Astoria, a section of Queens here in New York City. There are other 5 Napkin Burger restaurants in Manhattan that we heard are pretty much the same except for a few specials that the chef concocts. Now, aside from burgers, they also feature seafood that includes some goodies on their Sushi Menu. There was a special sushi roll made with soft shell crab and we also had a California Rainbow roll with king crab, mango and cucumber on the inside, tuna, salmon, yellow tail and avocado on the outside.

Then there was this way cool appetizer of deep fried pickles and pastrami sitting atop sauerkraut with a mustard oil. Wow was that good!

Where most places have sliders of chopped meat, this one had lobster instead. The lobster was mixed with their specially made mayo, scallions and cucumbers. Of course we had to have their signature 5 Napkin Burger, of 10-oz. of fresh ground chuck, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, and rosemary aioli on a bun. I love their buns! Because we got this we were able to taste 5 Napkin Burger's house made pickles.

Merle happened to be there and shared her black and white shake with us. Delicious!

Unbelievably Poor Service (UPS) Does It Again

It's only a week later that UPS (Unbelievably Poor Service) does it again. Yes, another crushed box was delivered and a box inside, no matter how much "stuffing" was crushed as well. This time driver Fernando Ortiz said that UPS just piles the boxes on the trucks without thinking about whether a heavy box is crushing a smaller one. We looked at the boxes and were appalled, once more.

GOING SHOPPING AND UPS

Eunice and I needed to do some shopping. We first went to Staples because the printer that we are using said that the ink had to be changed and we certainly wanted to be able to print out a photo of Rowena's rabbit, Carrot Jam, who we met in Norfolk. It gets difficult traveling without Merle sometimes, because we don't have any money. We were considering taking a job at Trader Joe's.

As we are hanging out in Merle's office, we could faintly see a UPS (Unbelievably Poor Service) guy approaching the door. Merle got up as she heard the doorbell, but by the time she opened the door, the guy left and Merle could see the truck just down the street. The box, however, was crushed. She waited to see if the schmuck would get out of the truck to perhaps acknowledge this. Nothing. Merle called UPS and the rest is on her blog. We were shocked to see not only that the box was crushed but that the two cakes sent to us by Rowena were crushed as well. Thank goodness the books were okay. Rowena sent Eunice and I one of her books that she wrote herself and even signed it.

COULD IT BE?

Eunice and I were pecking on the computer when we found a photo on Facebook. OMG I think that if she wasn't our mother she sure looks like she is. We were really startled enough to make our jaws drop.