The most requested thing for dinner around here? Noodles. With butter.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Our town.

Last summer was all about travel and learning and Anne of Green Gables (see any post titled "THE TRIP"), but this summer was all about staying close to home and just enjoying our town.

We joined an athletic club and logged many hours in the pool and the sun, traveled to a few regional places of interest, and cleaned out and re-did the laundry room.  Rather a productive summer, if you ask me!

One thing we both like about our town is the local burger chain.  They serve very fresh food- all from nearby ranchers and farmers.  It costs a bit more than Mickey D's, but it is so worth it.  Every season they showcase a different fruit or veggie- sometimes they have asparagus (which I hate, but I am using as an example of their creativity), or fresh blackberry shakes, or, my very favorite of all, onion rings made with Walla Walla Sweets.  Every July and August they bring out this amazing snack, complete with a variety of dipping sauces for our dining pleasure.  Every year I tell myself that I am only going to enjoy one order for the season.  But then, I tell myself that it's vegetables...  I wouldn't want to keep myself from vegetables, would I?


This is an order of three rings.  They are amazingly hot and crispy and sweet and oh so huge!  We always have to share- even when there are only three!  The ranch dipping sauce is good, but not quite as good as the parmesan garlic sauce they used to offer a few years ago.  That was straight from sauce heaven!

And then there is a little manufacturing plant/retail store that sells outrageously good hot chocolate mixes.  They have about 16 kinds of hot drinks for you to sample as you wander through the shop and try to decide on the many flavors to purchase.  You can sample mint hot cocoa, toffee hot cocoa, coffee hot cocoa, raspberry hot cocoa, bacon hot cocoa (yeah, you read that correctly, BACON.  It's not bad- kind of smokey...), and even white hot cocoa which is kiddo's all-time fave.  

Their reader board outside has a daily winner announcement with a different name flashed up there every day.  One day when we drove by, we noticed that we had hit the jackpot!
On the screen before this, it read, "Today's Winner"


And on the next screen it told the winner to come inside to claim their prize.  
She got two free packs of hot cocoa mix.  Her choice?  Belgian White.

We hope you had a relaxing and interesting summer, too!  
Tell us, what do you like about YOUR town?


Monday, September 10, 2012

THE TRIP- leaving PEI

Our last day on PEI.  My friend and I snuck out in the morning and visited the graves of L.M. Montgomery, her mother, and her grandparents.  

Then the cars got packed and we hit the road for the drive to the Confederation bridge.  It was overcast and rainy, but we still got some good shots of the landscape (and some churches) of the island.
L.M. Montgomery grave.
Maud's Mother (left) and Grandparents (right).
Canola fields
Church
Church
Church
Church
Rolling hills
Cows.
The bridge.  Look at that sign.  It is free to cross onto the island, but it costs $43.25 to cross back to the mainland.
$43.25!!!!! 
I call PEI the "Hotel California" of islands, because you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave. (unless you have a credit card!!!)
The Confederation Bridge.

Bye bye, PEI!   Someday, I will return.  And, I might not bring enough money to ever leave...