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WV - More photos - John Gets His Meatloaf

After the smelly ham episode in New Market, Virginia it was time to clear the nose and head back to our hotel because a quick decision was made to spend another night.

Please note, don't let my spoiled eating experience in New Market scare you. The whole town is fairly neat and a great walk through with lots to see and other places to eat. The coffee at Jackson's Corner Cafe & Coffee House was terrific, the Home Store is well worth a browse so is Jon Henry General

Store.

Cynthia relaxing and dreaming how do I get this couch home

John gets his meatloaf.

Ever have a hankering for something? Well John wanted meatloaf and no matter where we went it seemed they either didn't serve it or it was yesterdays special. But John wanted meatloaf and we were finally about to get it and we did.

The best place we ate at was the last place we ate at and was the first place the hotel suggested we eat at and John wanted to eat at. Glad you followed that. It turned out for the better because we had the bad meals out of the way and saved the best meal for last and John got his meatloaf.

The place was the Cider Press of Inwood, West Virginia.

The prime rib was beyond filling and tasty

 The food and service were top notch. And the market attached to it had some tasty goods like cherry donuts that were fab. Its worth a 300 mile journey just to eat and of course get those cherry donuts.

After this had a good night's sleep, this time the fridge just chilled and didn't talk, not a whimper or bang.

Here are a few more photos of Broadway and New Market, Virginia

WV - Continuing On

So where was I? Oh yeah in the town of Broadway. 

After looking at the driving turd we found our way to Broadway, no Carey didn't get lost and end up in NY city, this Broadway is a little art town in Virginia. Broadway is one of the top ten places to live in Virginia.  

 What a neat visit. Some really old relics and some antique stores. The best one was The Cat's Meow Boutique. This is a place to visit, I mentioned it in my last blog posting. The antiques and collectibles were mostly real and real affordable.

The owner Ronnie Dove is some character. If you go in to just buy merchandise you're missing half the experience. Ronnie is some story teller and so funny. 

                                                 Here's  Ronnie Dove and below his card.

Ronnie told us in his store are certain items marked with a fish. When those items sell 100% of it goes to missions. Ronnie also told us he made a promise to God that the first sale of each day goes to Him. Now that is dedication. I could have sat there for a whole lot longer listening to his stories and jokes but with little time we had to move on.

 

Next stop was New Market. Historic but sadly it has somewhat withered since the last time I wandered into town back in 2000. However it still does have charm and things to look at.

After walking this way and that way through New Market  hunger set in. Two ladies recommended an old '50's style diner. Down the street we marched looking forward to eating at a place the locals loved and was featured in numerous TV shows. And lo and behold as we approached it I had a flashback - I remembered this place! I ate here way back. This place brought a laughter back to me recalling an event that happened with a waitress but won't write about that here, it will make my fourth book.

Sadly my memory of great food was spoiled by what they  served me which was - spoiled. Yes places do serve green ham and well... I don't know about the eggs. 

The waitress insisted that's the way ham is suppose to smell, like stinky feet. Gee she made it sound so appetizing I almost wanted to sprinkle it with Dr. Scholls. No matter how much she insisted that foot odor signaled it was fine I couldn't do it, to me it was rotten and it was.

The one thing Southern Kitchen is still cooking is the peanut soup that is quite unique and if they served it to the Confederacy maybe that's why they lost the war. Our waitress remarked people buy it by the buckets. Maybe they have pet elephants. You try it and tell me your thoughts. I mean it wasn't bad, definitely different but not for me.

Two meals and two meals that left me hungry so far the food was a no go on this trip. Well I shouldn't say that, it made me go in more ways than one.

That's all for this posting.

Gotta Go-Go!

Carey 

WV part 2 - The Talking Fridge

 OK Its always something. Today - day 2 - was a good day but wow what a rough time sleeping. That dang fridge in my room it kept me up until I decided to unplug it.

Three times I woke up with banging and a vibrating noise. The third time it was so creepy sounding I turned on the all the lights in the room to make sure no one was in here. Not that all the lights were needed, a single match could have illuminated the entire room. So, it had to be the fridge, I pulled it out, unplugged it and immediately my sleep/sound machine died. 

See I work third shift and got use to sleeping with white noise, not the kind from a KKK rally, I think you know what I mean. It was odd, unplug fridge my battery-operated machine dies! Years ago, when I forgot to bring my sleep contraption, I would unplug the cable or antennae from the TV turn it on, and raise the volume. I tried that and all I got was silence. Digitals TVs are not the same. So, I slept with no shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhshhhhhhhhhhh.

In the morning I explained to the lady hey, I had a talking fridge and had to shut it up, its pulled out of the cabinet and unplugged, I wasn't trying to steal it, I was trying to shut it up. By the way, after unplugging it, the room did get quiet. 

Today was Johns turn to look at a car, this time in VA. Off we went. The Taurus billed as nice was um not so nice, actually it was junk. One quick look and um no thanks you. Why do people lie? Tell me it's a driving turd and I may consider, but don't say it's nice and then it ends up being a turd. 

Since we drove all that way to VA John was a good sport, so we walked through the town of Broadway and met an interesting gentleman who runs an antique shop. He told me the story of why Mennonites have long ear lobes and high foreheads, but you need to ask him, I won't tell you. I'll post his name and photo another time.

Why Carey is in WV - Another Astro

 

I hate everything about today! But will get back to that statement.

In ’88 I bought a ’85 Astro in ‘93 bought a ’94 Astro in ’05 bought a ’97 Astro in ’15 bought a ’92 Astro in ’22 bought a ’97 Astro and today ’23 bought a 2000 Astro which brings us to the reason why Carey is in WV. They stopped making the workhorse Astro in 2005 and the pickings are getting slim so here I am buying another.

I rented a new Hyundai Elantra – I HATE IT! The dashboard cartoon graphics for gauges are hard to read, the stupid center display is distracting, safer to use a cell phone in my opinion, the seats are stiff built for a fast take off. Then it came to me, again in my opinion, foreign cars are built to drive American cars are built to travel in. OH and the stupid no key. I don’t know how many times I accidently started the car while trying to open the trunk. DUMB!

We got to our Astro destination on time. Then we had a major panic, right before our eyes her child disappeared. Everyone was frantic, except me I stood there. A good ten minutes before the lady looked in her van and there was her three old year old playing a game. DUH!

I took the Astro to a garage she knew and they were dumber than a Hillbilly in the big city for the first time. Yeah it sure do have a exhaust leak but where, and yeah I see the oil leak but that’s an old oil leak, I don’t see no oil dripping on my shoe, the idler arm and pitman arm are good, no that’s the pitman arm and that’s the idler arm yeah they good.

I told her these people are stupid I have to tell them what to do, lets go get another opinion. At least their opinion was free but our time wasn’t so I should have charged them.

Next garage gave me a list of things needing done. But now don’t go saying I said its safe to go all the way back to Cleveland. I applaud their disclaimer, even out here there is a lawyer waiting for a buck to be made.

I bought it.

Then we went out to eat, after three attempts of ordering food that they suddenly ran out of I settled on something. She came by the table I said don’t tell me you are out again, I am going to kill you. Did I just say that? My Italian mother crept out of me, oh boy. In the end she thanked me for being so pleasant and understanding and laughing at the ordeal, she said the meal and the onion rings were free. Now that’s class. I left her a very generous tip, so it all worked out.

In the restaurant met an interesting man whose name will remain anonymous. He was a cop, then turned sheriff for the county and actually took down two corrupt FBI agents. When he retired, he told me, I can tell you, I won the Power Ball.

At the hotel now. I repeat – I HATE EVERYTHING OF TODAY. There is no alarm clock, since everyone has smart phones, Hampton Inn got rid of theirs. What about people like me, or people who forget their charges. I said soon a white round room won’t be far off and pleasant to stay in.

OH and those tiny little bottles of shampoo and hand crème, no more.

I hate today….

 

Till tomorrow – Gotta GoGo!

                             Carey

Good-by '22 and Hello '23!

   Goodby 2022, and welcome 2023!

2022 in many ways, was worse than the covid years, yikes!

And in other ways was much better, but overall it's still a year to remember as thank goodness I made it through that mess. 

  2022 started off badly with getting a nasty case of the covid-blues New Year's Eve 2021; that bout of illness lasted till almost the first of February.

Hmm, thinking about it, guess it was another covid year.

Then I got whammied again with round two of being sick from the tail-end of July till the start of September.

  The annual Winter Cookout/Freeze Fest commenced once again. Every year I think its the last, but it proceeded. Though instead of being held on the last Saturday in February, a change was made, and it was held on the first Saturday in March, and it was a warm one, the warmest WC on record. 

  Work, work, work, and more work. Work was steady throughout the year and, at times, was beyond hectic. Food was always on the table, bills paid, and I was blessed.

 Even more hectic and insanely bizarre was the revolving door of whacked out - crazed - mentally unstable - drug induced (I guess?) - psychotic behavior of the people (can I call them people?)  I tried to employ. If I was the only one who was on a search for employees, I would hide my head in shame, but you gotta take what's out there, and these people were OUT THERE!

 A whole book could be written on the great employment debacle of '22.

Five marched in, and five either stormed out screaming or went missing like I sent them on a mission to the Bermuda Triangle. If you are one of these when you land back to earth or gather your brain, please return my work shirts. 

 Since we are on the topic of the mentally unstable and backstabbing deviants, a tenant walked out, that's another insanely funny story, and someone I've known since school paid by check for work I did in her house only to stop payment on that check. Hey, if this is a sort of play-by-play of my year, I gotta include these things.

 I politic'd a little. Blystone for governor fell flat, but my early pick of Vance for Senate was correct. So it was a 50/50 year.

  Sport-wise, my prediction was correct, cutting Mayfield was bad, and the Browns would be even badder. Yes, I know I just wrote a word that doesn't exist, but the Browns are also a nonexistent team. 

 Travel was little to no traveling, just some day trips and Sunday drives.

 The highlights were meeting three interesting gentlemen. Don, owner of Market Square in Kinsman, Ohio, Robert "Quiet Wolf" Thompson of the Lenape Nation at a Powwow, and Bill, a 98-year-old WWII veteran.

 So how did '22 wrap up?.... with a death threat followed by a crash bang boom accident. In other words, it ended in a typical Carey fashion, unpredictable, and now what!

This is an older photo but the expression says it all....

So 2023 now what! What ya have in store for me? 

Lastly, in conclusion I like to thank the new friends and acquaintances I met in '22 and a heartfelt thank you to those who stuck by me, you are never overlooked. 

Carey On....

5 am Snow report for December 23, 2022

Well my slumber head friends yours truly was out n about and watched the transition of Mother Nature.

Quiet 42 and light rain when I started the night at work but now the streets look like a Zamboni was laying and smoothing the frozen H20 with heavy dose of gusts that make you want to grab hold of the first frozen thing that's anchored.

Snow business is in full affect with Frosty clapping his hands in glee that everything's white instead of green.

The blinding white ride on the freeway to home-base in my lil' Korean roller skate slid along at a constant 40 with sway to the left and sway to the right that would make any square dance caller upset that he wasn't there to call the moves.

Some sped at 55 while others used their blinking red and hugged the slow shoulder not wanting to become an immobilized snow mound.

If you venture out carry a large St. Bernard with you or at least enough extra clothes and some 151 to warm you in case you trapeze off the road while waiting for a hooker to come get you out.

And that's the 5 am report

Carey On...