Since I last posted, Fall has come on hard and fast here in Indiana. The trees are dropping their green to show their colors before shedding their leaves. Temperatures have dropped, but not into the freezing range. Those things I like and kind of enjoy. What I don’t like is the loss of light. Now, it’s dark when I go to bed and dark when I wake up. I like this not. And it’s only going to get worse for a couple months.
We’ve been travelling a bit since I last posted. I just can’t find the time to write when I’m traveling. I guess because if I’m writing, I’m not doing something else. When I’m visiting some place, I want to spend every minute enjoying that place. Not typing.
One trip was meeting up with our friend Joanna at Limberlost Lodge north of Thessalon, Ontario. That was mid-September and Fall was already moving in. Weather was cool and rainy, with dragonflies pretty much done for the year and a lot of bird species already heading south. We got in some kayaking, hiking, and birding, and a fair bit of just sitting back and relaxing with an old friend. Not a bad thing and time well spent.
View across Chub Lake.
Rapids on the Mississagi River.
White-faced meadowhawk. One of the few remaining dragonflies.
Going back to Indiana we took an hour and a half detour to Plath’s Smoked Meats in Rogers City, Michigan. A smokehouse that has been in business since 1913. We loaded up on smoked sausages, fish, chops, and bacon. Plath’s bacon isn’t as good as Weaver’s from Easter Petersburg, PA, but it’s still right up there. If you’re a carnivore and passing through Rogers City, Michigan, Plath’s is well worth a stop.
My other big trip was a jaunt back east. Unlike the laid-back trip to Canada, this one was a tad more hectic. I had two main reasons for going. One to do a fundraising walk with my brother Snapper in Washington DC, and the other to deliver a car to Molly and Mitchell in Philly. I also figured I would do a couple days at our trailer in Delaware. To add to the driving fun, Molly and Mitchell were returning from London, so I had to pick them up at the Baltimore Airport and drive them to Philly.
On the way back east, I spent the night at my sister Lynn’s house in Jonestown, PA. Before heading down to Delaware, I met my brother for breakfast at a local diner named Heisey’s. I think Heisey’s is older than I am. I can remember it from when I was a kid. I’m not so sure the frying grease has been changed since then. To fuel me up for the four-hour trip to Lewes, Delaware, I loaded up on hunky eggs. Hunky eggs are a staple in the Lebanon-Lancaster County area. Every diner makes them. Fried peppers, onions, and potatoes mixed in with the eggs. Plus, whatever the cook wants to add. My Dad always finely chopped up bacon to include. To really make sure they reside in your aorta you can add cheese. White American of course.
Hunky eggs.
The fundraiser walk with my brother Snap was for pulmonary fibrosis, a disease he has. Essentially his lungs are slowly turning to leather. The average post-diagnosis lifespan is five years, which he has beaten. In addition to me, he was joined in the walk by his wife Kathy and his daughter Katie. It wasn’t easy but he did the mile in under 40 minutes, stopping three times. With almost no lung capacity this was like a marathon for him.
Snap and Katie.
The walk was at National Harbor in DC. An interesting place with a very bizarre bit of artwork. In the harbor there is a large statue of a drowning man. As the tide comes in you can watch the water swallow the poor blighter up. In my book that’s kind of weird, bordering on sick.
Drowning guy statue.
I needed the couple days spent at the trailer in Lewes, Delaware. We have not been there for months. Did some work in the trailer and got out for a little birding. One warm idyllic afternoon I was in an observation tower in the coastal marshes at Prime Hook while kettles of vultures and hawks would slowly circle overhead and drift southward.
Coastal marshes.
That area has developed tremendously the past twenty years. I can remember when most businesses in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach shuttered for the winter. It was nicknamed Lower Slower Delaware (LSD) for a reason. Now the coastal highway between Lewes and Rehoboth is jammed with strip malls and outlet stores. The area is overrun with soulless subdivisions packed with condos, McMansions and starter castles. To alleviate traffic issues on the coastal highway the powers that be keep adding lanes. Which only seems to encourage more development. I’m not opposed to change. Change is inevitable and controlled growth is good. A rising tide floats everyone’s boat. But there’s a name for uncontrolled growth – cancer. That’s what is happening there.
But there is still the ocean and Delaware Bay, beaches, coastal marshes, and enough protected areas that make it worth going there. And some great food. Like Thrasher’s french-fries in Rehoboth. A small French-fry stand since 1929. These are the best fries you will eat. Fried in peanut oil and no ketchup allowed. The only condiments they will supply are salt and vinegar. Get a bucket of fries and sit on the boardwalk to watch the tourists or gaze at the ocean.
Thrasher’s fries, a must try.
And there’s some cool places to hang out, like Crooked Hammock Brewery. In their yard they have a bunch of games and activities for the kids. As the name implies, they also have hammocks where you can get a great beer and laze away the afternoon. A fun place to chill.
Crooked Hammock Brewery.
Then there was Philly. If you can’t find good food in Philly there is something seriously wrong with you. None of it will be very healthy but you will die happy. Two quick examples. I read an article where a food critic said the two best places in the country for fried chicken is a place in Texas and Federal Donut in Philly. There’s a Federal Donut about a block from Molly’s apartment so I gave it a try. This was a life changing experience. I don’t think I can ever eat fried chicken anywhere else. Any others will pale in comparison. And the donuts are good too. They include one with the chicken.
Federal Donut.
The second is a Termini Brothers cannoli. Termini Brothers has been in business since 1921. They still use some of the original equipment. These cannoli are divine. Five bites of heaven. Molly’s friend said it was the best thing she ever put in her mouth. We ate them for breakfast.
Termini Brothers.
So, all good things must end. Coming back from Philly I flew American Airlines chattel class. Which means the last to board the plane and the last to disembark. Indianapolis does not connect directly to any major airline hub. To get here from Philly I had to fly to Charlotte, NC, and get a connection to Indy. It took the same amount of time to fly from Charlotte to Indy as it took from when we touched down in Indy, the plane taxied around Marian County, we finally docked at the terminal, I disembarked, and I got my checked baggage. I spent as much time on the ground in Indy as it took to fly to Indy from Charlotte. Something seems wrong with that.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 