Dinner at Tappo

Last night we met Karen, Dave and Donna for dinner at Tappo Restaurant downtown. Our reservation was for 5:30. Since it was a Friday evening at rush hour we left our house a few minutes after 5 pm. The traffic was very crowded on the way downtown. We walked into the restaurant at exactly 5:30. The others were already sitting there waiting for us and had ordered wine. The waitress asked me and Becky what we wanted. She got an NA and I asked for a Tuscan style red wine. The waitress offered me a montepulciano house wine and said the bottle was a better deal... only $18. Dave decided he wanted the red instead of the bottle of white Donna and Karen insisted on so me and Dave split the bottle of red.

We were squeezed around a small table for five. It was actually a comfortable table for four. I felt a little out of place and seemingly closer to the people at the next table than to most of our table. Oh well, the food was good. Not great. We've had better meals at Tappo but lately they have not been up to past meals but this is where Dave and Donna wanted to take Karen. There are many other restaurants we would have gone for instead and especially on a Friday evening.

I had the chicken milanese which included a salad but it was almost all arugula because of the lettuce scare. The meal was OK but not great. I took a little of the chicken home in a box for some lunch. I also took home the bottle of red although there was only enough left for one glass. Becky had the shrimp risotto. Dave had the spaghetti meatball dinner and Donna also had the chicken milanese. Karen had a vegetarian dish. At the end of the dinner Karen grabbed the check for the table.

Overall we enjoyed the meal and the company. We were there for about an hour and a half. The restaurant was really crowded and more people were coming in all evening. 

When we were done then it was off to Hallwalls for the Member's Show reception.

Last Day... grandkids selfie

We had a great family time in the Adirondacks this past week and of course on our last night together I had to take my usual grandkids selfie pic.

Earlier in the week I did some selfies with Henry, Clara and Violet. Andrew and Autumn were with us toward the end of the week but I'll get some individual selfies with them next week when they are in Buffalo.

Wonderful Sunsets

We had amazing weather this week and some spectacular sunsets.

We enjoyed them almost every evening as we sat by the fireplace near our cabins.

Dinner @ The Adirondack Hotel

Dinner at the Adirondack Hotel... a table for 13. It was a Thursday evening and we got there about 5:30 pm. The big tables in the back were already in use so we had to have two tables toward the front of the room that could not be moved together. That was OK, we still were part of a big group.

At the table on the left was Sean, Ashely, Todd, Autumn, Violet, Clara and Karen. At the table on the left was Katie, Davo, Henry, Andrew, Becky and me. It all worked out and we enjoyed our meal where we have been going for dinner as a group for many, many years.

The food was terrific as usual. Becky had a Everything Bagel pizza and I had their nice haddock fish sandwich. Some nice chips too and a wonderful salad. I don't know what everyone else had but they sure liked it. We had some nice leftovers too.

Earlier in the day we went on a hike to Rich Lake and then spent the afternoon on the beach working up an appetite. 

Rich Lake Hike

We do this hike every year when we visit the Adirondack Interpretive Center at Rich Lake down the Newcomb road from Long Lake. We always hike the Peninsula Trail. We were all very impressed on how great the kids did on the trail.

This time, however, something was different. The trail itself was different and a little confusing. It didn't seem right, something was off and we had to double back on the trail back the way we came in. We could not hike all the way around the peninsula as we usually did. When we got back to the AIC building I talked with one of the staff and found out this past year a nearby dam had collapsed and a large section of the trail including the bridge along the marsh was wiped out. The trail had to be reconfigured to loop back to the AIC building. The map below is the new temporary trail configuration. They have plans to rebuild the trails this year.

Lunch @ Long Lake Diner

We went down to the town and had lunch at the Long Lake Diner today. We were celebrating Henry's 10th birthday too. He likes ordering off the adult menu now too and had a nice large turkey BLT sandwich. I had a tasty chicken parm sandwich. We got a table for 7 no problem and the kids loved the food.

Becky and I had not been to the diner in many years and definitely not since it's been renovated. We almost didn't recognize the place when we went in and they still call it Owl's Head Pub too. They got rid of all the tightly packed booths and put in nicely spaced tables. They also moved the bar to the front of the restaurant and actually added a Buffalo Bills theme. The old bar pub area is still in the back of the restaurant but looks like it's not used much. There is also a nicely renovated outside patio area. Overall a very nice place now and I'm sure we will be going there more often over the coming years.

Dinner @ Coles then Sudden Rainstorm

Becky and I went down to Coles tonight. We needed a little break from all the packing and getting reading for our Adirondack vacation with the kids. It has also been very hot and humid this week. We had some days in the 90's. So we decided to go out and get some dinner and a nice draft beer.

We had our usual nice dinner including a beef on weck for me. When we had finished we headed out the door and as we were walking down Elmwood Avenue we noticed a large cloud and a deep haze down the street heading towards us. We also started feeling some rain in the air. It was an incredible storm heading our way and it hit us just as we were getting into the car with some rain. Then as we drove away it came down harder... then much harder. It was a very intense rainstorm. As we were driving past Delaware Park we saw lots of people scrambling across the soccer fields heading for their cars. It was a wild rainstorm including thunder and lightning. 

We got home and got soaked just getting out of the car and into the house. Then a few minutes later it stopped. It was all done. Very weird. Well, it cooled us off for a little bit but stayed hot throughout the evening.

The weather says it's not supposed to rain anymore this week. It will be hot for our drive up to Long Lake but there should be no more rain and the weather forecast looks good for the Adirondacks although it may be hot.

Lunch @ Kayuta on the Road

We stopped for lunch on the way to Long Lake at the Kayuta Drive In at the foot of the Adirondacks. It's mostly known as an ice cream place but we discovered recently that the food is good too.

Last year was the first time we stopped for lunch there after many, many years of driving by and ogling the ice cream signs. I had their pulled pork BBQ sandwich which is the same thing I had last year. Really liked it. Becky had a turkey sandwich. Lots of fries for both of us too which made some nice leftovers for the kids. We were full from the sandwiches so no ice cream cones this time.

Tougher Than The Rest - Songs 1987 FV

The 12th and final mix of my Songs 1987 set of songs from albums in my collection released in 1987 and part of my Final Version series. I really enjoyed putting these mixes together and I'm looking forward to starting on my revised versions of Songs 1988.

Bruce Springsteen in the pic.

Tougher Than The Rest - Songs 1987 FV

1. Tougher Than The Rest - Bruce Springsteen
2. Just Like Us - The Connells
3. Did I Tell You - Yo La Tengo
4. Rebel - Blue Rodeo
5. A Letter From St. Paul - The Silencers
6. Silver and Gold - U2
7. Little Johnny Jewel - Siouxsie & The Banshees
8. Soul Kitchen - Echo & The Bunnymen
9. Learning To Fly - Pink Floyd
10. Happy Nightmare Baby - Opal
11. Tango in the Night - Fleetwood Mac
12. Kicking Clouds Across the Sky - Balancing Act
13. Long Story Short - The Long Ryders
14. Nothing Comes Close - Bill Lloyd
15. Under the Sun - Paul Kelly & The Messengers
16. Nowhere Road - Steve Earle
17. Lord of the Highway - Joe Ely
18. Memphis in the Meantime - John Hiatt
19. Long White Cadillac - Dave Alvin
20. I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried - Rodney Crowell
21. Lone Star State of Mind - Nanci Griffith
22. 'Til That Moment - Marshall Crenshaw
23. Johnny B - The Hooters
24. We Never Danced - Neil Young

Another Wedding Anniversary

Today Becky and I are celebrating another wedding anniversary... #46. Katie & Todd and the kids were in town last week and we had a wonderful time. They just had a wedding anniversary too... #14. Next week we will be vacationing together in the Adirondacks. We are looking forward to spending time there with both Katie and Sean and all five grandchildren. Becky's sister too. We had a lot of fun with our three Philly grandkids last week including a walk over to the zoo with dinos, pizza & wings, a strawberry festival around the corner, evening walk in the neighborhood counting bunnies... 22 this time, lunch at Kostas and of course my regular selfies with the kids. Now we're getting ready for Long Lake.