Earl and I went to Pinnacle State Park today. We played around with the movie feature on the digital camera, click the picture below to download the 34MB file. You probably need Quicktime.
April 21, 2007
A Proper Spring Meal.
With spring in full bloom in Upstate New York, Earl and I decided we needed to put the top down on the Jeep and go for a ride to enjoy the weather.
For those not aware of proper etiquette, it is very important to kick off roadwarrior season with a stop at A&W for curbside service. While we once had a wide selection of A&W restaurants to choose from, today we have only one in Upstate New York and that is in the fine city of Cortland. I think one of the reasons that I love the midwest so much is due to the fact that this type of A&W seem to have withstood the test of time in that area, where here many of these fine restaurants were ripped down and replaced with an indigestable Taco Bell.
For those of you unfamiliar with A&W, here’s a quick refresher: A&W is a fast food restaurant chain and some of them still offer curb side service. (We don’t consider the A&Ws that are mashed in with KFC or Taco Bell ‘real’ A&Ws, though they do serve the wonderful root beer.) They serve burgers, hot dogs, chicken dinners and have the usual assortment of fries and onion rings. They also have wonderful root beer and drinks come in a glass mug that you better not steal (it’s not nice). You park the car under the canopy alongside the other cars but be sure to stay in it. Then make your selection from the menu next to your car, press the button and then, with the utmost courtesy reminiscent of days gone by, you place your order over an intercom speaker to the friendly clerk in the restaurant, who then sends a car hop out to the car with a tray full of your food. (By the way, they’re open in the winter, where there’s a year ’round dining room – to order inside, you park at a booth, make your selection, then lift the phone and place your order to the same clerk.) They usually hang the tray on your car window so that you can dispense the food to the proper people in the car. When you’re done with your meal, you press the little “I’m done” button on the menu board and a car hop comes out and takes the tray away. You then say “Thank you” and they say “Thank you” too.
A&W is the bees knees of fast food and that’s all there is to it. Sonic may try to come close, but they really don’t. They’re too modern.
I really want to build an A&W in our area. Actually, I’d like to build several of them. We just have to win the lottery to do it.
The Second Day.
They say the second day of exercise is the hardest. The first day you’re all jazzed up and ready to go, lofty goals and big dreams first and foremost in your thoughts.
The second day, however, you’re flooded with the soreness of your muscles, the lingering memories of yesterday’s sweat and a small sense of “why am I doing this again?”
I consider the second day of cycling the hardest to conquer, and I am pleased to say that I did so with ease today. I took a 40 minute ride through several of the local villages, clocking in around 11 miles on this ride.
I’m happy with my progress and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s journey.
