Lambert's Cafe

 Two blog entries about food, back to back.

My friend, Paulette, emailed me about a restaurant in Branson, Missouri, where they "throw the rolls." I made a mental note to stop in at Lambert's Cafe when next we hit Branson.  As we were traveling to visit the USS Alabama on Mobile Bay, I spied a billboard - while taking a break from helping Dave drive - "home of throwed rolls." So, on Sunday afternoon following church in Gulf Breeze, Florida, there we were in Foley, Alabama, and I was catching a throwed roll!  It was a wonderfully southern meal which included boiled cabbage, black-eyed peas and fried okra - at Lambert's they call these the pass-arounds - all this topped off with a pulled-pork sandwich and slaw, plus throwed rolls.
(pictured is one of our servers with rolls at the ready!)
Lambert's Cafe  Thanks Paulette.

Waffle House

 When visiting a Waffle House, you will be greeted enthusiastically by every employee who is able and you will be served very good coffee (that is my opinion). 
If you order hashbrowns - and who wouldn't? - you can order them plain OR you can choose from the menu pictured on the left. 

I like my hashbrowns smothered, covered, diced, and capped.  Believe me when I say the first time you hear a server yell across the counter, "smothered, covered, diced and capped, " you will just laugh out loud.  How can you have a bad day when it starts of with coffee and smothered,covered, diced, and capped?

You may have guessed that Waffle House also serves waffles, I have not tried them - yet. Dave thinks they are wonderful with pecans. 
http://www.wafflehouse.com/welcome

Small World

Dave and I sang for an Advent service in Stockbridge, Georgia, this past week.  As I was greeting folks at the CD table, I met Marlen Baerenwald.  When he said his name, I automatically said the name of the only Baerenwald I know... "As in Darla Baerenwald?" He said, "Darla is my niece!"  Darla and I met in 1977 when we were college roommates at Concordia, St. Paul. Darla lives in Texas, Marlen lives in Georgia, and I live on the road.   Hey Darla, I met your uncle!
Additional note: Marlen grew up in Worthington, Minnesota, near Dave's boyhood home.  I love it when God gives us reminders of the connection we have to each other and to Him.

The Packer/Vikings game in Atlanta

On Sunday afternoon, we stopped on our way home at Hudson Grille in downtown Atlanta after checking online to find out who would even show Packers/Vikings in Georgia. As you know Dave and I have a mixed marriage - I am from Wisconsin, he is from Minnesota.  November 21, was the second meeting of these rivals - who won the first game this season? Oh, yeah, that would be the Packers!  Who won the second round? Oh, yeah, that would be the Packers, again.

I thought it was a great game.  Dave, not so much; and as our nephew said, "For argument's sake, let's just say Minnesota does not have a professional football team.." 
(In the photo below we see Dave covering his eyes in embarrassment at his team's performance.)

Fun Tak

In our house we use Fun Tak for nearly everything for which tape or glue will not do the trick.

It holds Dave's song sheets as he records; it holds my junk organizer on my desk; it holds the Wii sensor bar; it holds the TV speaker; and it also serves as a leg on our electric hot plate. It holds everything on Dave's desk - pencil holder, router, speakers, his desk junk box - except the computer screen.

This great stuff adheres to nearly everything and can withstand a haRVey move intact.
Fun Tak, not just for the classroom anymore.

Chief Ladiga Bike Trail

After consulting the map about 10 miles into our ride on the Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet Bike Trail, we decided to add the extra 5 miles so we could say we rode to Georgia and completed a 28 miles ride! Here we are with our feet in different states and by the end of the our ride the butts were in agreement, there is nothing more comfortable than anything that is not a bike seat. It was a fine day for state hopping.
We are in Talladega, Alabama until Tuesday.

Mammoth Cave National Park

Hi, my name is Sabra and I am claustrophobic. ("Hello, Sabra!")
Intentionally going into a cave required a stern talking to myself,
"If you do not try this, you will really, really, regret it." Ranger Joe was well-versed on all things cave related and assured all seventeen of us that we would probably not have a huge boulder fall on us.
Do you see me going down the VERY small staircase? Well, I did. Breathe, Sabra, breathe.

The "Historic" tour begins with a display of the apparatus used during the War of 1812 to extract Saltpeter from the dirt in the cave in order to supply the fledgling U.S. with gunpower, seeing that all of our foreign sources were cut off by the British blockade. There was some ingenious hydro-engineering involved, getting water into the cave by means of augered-out logs tapered at the ends like pencils and then stuck together to form a pipeline. Amazing. And all figured out by the slaves working on the project.

If ever you should find yourself in Western Kentucky, make time for Mammoth Cave National Park. And don't forget to breathe.

New Bike

Today we celebrated our first excursion with our NEW BIKES! (a gift from Dave's parents). We took the the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which you can begin with a train ride up the valley! That means the return trip is all downhill. We rode the train for two bucks each from Brecksville Station to Botzum Station, where they unloaded our bikes for a 14 mile ride back to our point of origin. Along the way we visited historic Botzum Farm site and Szally's Farmers Market (pictured above). The apples were delicious - well, actually Granny Smith and Jonagold. It was a glorious day for a ride and I must have thanked God 100 times for such a day as this. How often do we get to wallow around in perfect contentment?

As a side note, I did see someone on the trail with my exact bike and I thought, "don't these brakes work well."

Old Bike

I have had my bike for thirty years. After my Peninsula State Park experience and learning the cost of fixing up our bikes - Dave's has been pretty rickety for some time - would get us more than halfway to new bikes, Dave and I decided to donate both of our bikes to Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op,
an organization that is all about bikes and getting them into the hands of people who cannot afford them on their own.

We were quite apologetic about the foibles of our old friends, but the energetic guys who accepted our donations were happy to get two venerable fixer-uppers. Now I have a bike that looks like all the others on the trail, is a bit conventional-looking, but the brakes work and I can ride on gravel - no problem.

Big Plans for an upgrade

Sometimes it would be nice to have cell phone/internet no matter where we are parked. We make due with our Verizon air card, but if only we could...

When we are boondocking, (no water or electric hook ups and generator use only) it would be nice to have unlimited water, if only we could... bridges could be a problem.

In this photo we are parked in a back lot - boondocking.

Door County, Wisconsin to Cleveland, Ohio

When planning our schedule, we try to spend at least a week in one area. This past week has been a dismal failure in that regard. Tuesday morning we left Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and on Friday evening we were setting up in Streetsboro, Ohio, with stops at Delavan, WI; Munster, IN; and Pioneer, OH, inbetween. Dave was a under the weather most of the week, and still his wife would not drive while hauling the house - chicken that I am. So I helped him drive as much as I could from the passenger's side.

During the course of our travels this week we sang at two schools, traveled 686 miles, and suffered only a few of our household items trying to make a break for it. The dishes only made it to the kitchen floor (velcro strap left hanging), so too for the bag of frozen corn, ejected by the unlatched freezer during some hard left turn.
Events like this - which is nothing compared to the Great Exploding Correlleware Escape - make us say again, "Man, we should have a checklist."

Biking at Peninsula State Park

Like the Fish Boil, biking in the park has also been on my list of "gotta do." Since the movie Bucket List, I could change the name of my list, but I won't because that would be caving.
So, on a beautiful sunny day I biked 10 miles through the park. Did I mention that my bike is 30 years old? Did I mention that my front brakes fell apart while going down a hill? Did I mention that my bike keeps slipping gears? In spite of all that, it was a sweet ride and a check mark on my list.

Door County Fish Boil

A Wisconsin Fish Boil is one of the things on my list of " gotta do." It was a rainy night, but the boil over was still pretty cool. I will be posting a video on You Tube - uh.... soon.

No Pillow For You

I thought this sign was a hoot! I have included a photo of the "pillow" as well. It is actually a lot of fun. There are also a few rules about back flips and somersaults - like I could do that.

Singing in St. Cloud

During our school concerts, Dave likes to have teachers "volunteer" to help teach the kids an original song entitled, "Fix Our Eyes." The kids enjoy watching their teachers do the actions.

School concerts give us an opportunity to be perfectly silly to get the point across. In the photo Dave is wearing a wolf hat with a bit of sheep's clothing as a disguise. We love to hear the laughter of the children as he puts on the wolf.

Jim Pingel

It is always a treat to see folks we know while on the road. We sang for the students of Lutheran High School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where Jim serves as Executive Director. I worked with Jim years ago at Lutheran High School in Mayer, Minnesota. He has the same great laugh and deadpan humor. I did not ask if he still speed walks the halls.

Spa Day

What a treat for me! My sister gave me the gift of hours all about me. It is hard to take time for ourselves without guilt - I should not speak for you, but for me - it is. The guilt lasted about two minutes into the 90 minute massage. Wow.
My spa meal was great, I did not prepare it.
After four hours of all about me, I was ready to get back to my real life again.
Thank you Jane you are my favorite sister. Attention all sisters: this honor can be bought.

This Makes Minnesota Great

Apart from seeing all of our family at our son's wedding, we were able to see Dave's cousin Tracy and her husband, Bruce in Owatonna.

We were also able to celebrate the birthday of our goddaughter, Shannon, and hand deliver the card. It was a wonderful treat to sing happy birthday - in person!

Two of my dear friends live in Minnesota, and I have been able to spend time with each of them.


Our son and our new daughter also live in Minnesota, another thing that makes Minnesota great.

Next week we take to the road and head East - towards Ohio. Dave and I would not change much about our evangelist-missionary lifestyle of singing about and sharing Jesus across the country, and living full-time on the road, but it would be nice to take a few of these folks along for the ride.

My Sisters

How cool is this? All of my sisters together in one place. My son's wedding was a wonderful, family-filled, joyous occasion.

A Wedding!

We have another daughter! Amber is a joy to us and we love her dearly. Thank you, Travis, for having made such a lovely choice.

As I continue to blog this next week, my entries will be random... family, friends, a wedding, and the blessings of having them all.