Question Quest?

Have you been to Wilmington, New York before? Have you seen this sculpture along the Ausable river? Do you know where in Wilmington it is? Who is the artist?

I know where it is, do you? Which business with a "?" sign do you think can answer my question? If anyone will know it will be someone at Wilmington Visitor Information, don't you think that's a good place to start?

That's funny they are usually open Monday - Friday from 8 - 3:30 pm, I wonder why they would be closed on a Tuesday at 1:30 pm? Maybe I'll walk across the street, do you think the pizza man will know?

What did he say? Turns out Bob said, "I've lived here my whole life and I've never seen that, do you want to go for a walk and show me?" Who else would know? Do you think that T & T will know the answer?

Wait, what? Why is T & T closed on Tuesdays and Sundays? Okay, where is the next question mark? I thought I remembered seeing a ? sign at the Adirondack Holiday Lodge, did I imagine it there?

Here it goes, Have you seen this sculpture before? "No, where is it? Is that something to put the chairlift on?" Do you think the motel across the street will know?

They might know, but why is Mel's Diner closed and why is there a sign at the Green Mountain Lodge saying that they are closed for the winter season 2011/2012?

There is only one more ? sign left in all of Wilmington to ask, will the Little Supermarket have the answer to my question?

I showed a picture and asked Jami the pizza and deli goddess, do you know where this is? She asked me, "Is it at the beach or is it near the lift chair near the bridge?"

Wait, is that customer the manager of the Candy Man looking it up on her smart phone? Did she discover anything on google? No she didn't, but that makes me question why the Candy Man Store doesn't have a ? sign, why don't they? I wonder if the 90 year old that just came in to buy her 2% milk and newspaper that has had a home in Wilmington since 1945 will know? What was her response? "Oh my heaven! I have no idea, I've never seen it before, what is it?"

I think I got the Little Supermarket ladies on the case, will they be able to come up with the answer? Wait, what was my question again?

Up A Creek

Just out of curiosity, if you were opening a restaurant in a building known for a recent wave of temporary businesses, would you dare name it Up A Creek?

Me? Not so much. According to the Urban Dictionary, "up a creek" an adjective "is the same as up shit creek, which means to be in trouble with no solution." For example, I was up a creek when the bill collector came.

I hope the owner's didn't jinx themselves when they named their restaurant. Best of luck to Up a Creek, may there be nothing behind the name and your business will last longer than the ones that came before you.

Phone Booth Saved

When I had Drew turn the car around in the A&W driveway this afternoon, I wanted to inspect a wooden kiosk structure that I thought I had seen a phone inside at the North Pole Campground. I was thinking maybe I should be easier on other structures that could be defined as a booth for using a phone. I shouldn't be so strict about my idea of a phone booth, I mean it could include other kiosks, stalls, or cubicles.

Right when I was about to adjust my expectations, there 50 feet away of the questionable phone kiosk, I spotted an actual phone booth! Do you see it? It's right next to the garage in the background. I felt like I was having an out of body experience seeing it. It was hiding from me all this time.

How could it be that I've driven this road a couple thousand times and have never seen this phone booth just off the road? I know for a fact that even on one occasion I ran by it while exploring the campground.

It is a very well maintained phone booth and has been painted a nice shade of green to match the trim of the buildings in the resort. To top it off, it works. I heard a dial tone. Did I call anyone from it? No, I was caught up in the excitement of finding a phone booth I never even knew about and didn't even think about making a call at the time. As any modern lady would do, I used my cell phone to take a picture of it and then sent it to my email address.

I talked to the owner of the campground and told him to never let anyone take it away from him. He said, "Don't worry, I own it. The company that installed the phones let me buy it from them and now they're bankrupt. No one will take it from me." That is wonderful news, one more phone booth saved from extinction.

At The River's Edge Emporium

I heard a rumor that Wilmington had opened a health food store located at the Wellness Center. I had no idea where this Wellness Center was, so I went to the Health Center on Springfield Road. The woman there in her scrubs had no idea what I was talking about and then the nurse practitioner came out and we decided that it must be the new place on Haselton Road. You know, the end of Haselton that is across from the gas station.

Having finally located it from the "Open" flag that was hanging outside, I wandered in and was directed down to the basement. As I descended the stairs, I could smell the homemade soup and there it was, At the River's Edge Emporium, an actual back to basics store with natural and organic foods.

The owner, Arlie Adams, prepares daily sandwiches, soups and salads, and fresh baked goods. There are a few seats to eat at and soon you can eat outside along the Ausable. I was eyeing the blueberry scones that she had made in the morning, but walked away from the temptation and bought some local produce that was on my grocery list.

I found that having only been open for a few weeks, River's Edge had a great selection and was reasonably priced. Best of luck to Arlie and I can't wait to try some of her baked goods!

Through the Ausable

When I saw the one lane road sign ahead, I was prepared to see some water on the road. I never imagined it meant I would be driving through the Ausable River as opposed to along the Ausable.

Yikes!

Ausable Beach Vacation

Schools in the area are delayed and closed because of the nasty weather conditions today. Right about now you might be looking out your window through a thin sheet of ice and day dreaming about a southern getaway. Is this the location of the beach vacation you are imagining?

No? Well, maybe if you squint, you can change the snowy river into white waves and those snow banks, turn them into white sand dunes.

If this dreamy, beach location on "Lake Everest" is for you, you are in luck! The Owaissa Club, the future home of an Ausable beach front community is busy building you that townhouse just a quick walk from the shores of the West Branch of the Ausable River.

If you are so inclined to invest in this opportunity, please let me know. I'll bring over my bathing suit and a pitcher of margaritas!

Little Supermarket Pizza Tasting

The display of ready-to-go pizza slices at the Little Supermarket taunted me recently whispering, "Take me home, I dare you."

I have always been a skeptic about Convenience Store pizza. It rarely looks appetizing sitting next to the corn dogs and chicken wings that have been baking in the faux warmer all day long. We all know The Little Supermarket ranks way above the category of gross Convenience Store food and makes awesome made-to-order deli sandwiches, but what about their pizza?

Last Friday, we had plans to go to our friend's house for pizza and a movie. I suggested we phone in an order with the Little Supermarket and give it a try since they make pizza on Fridays and Saturdays from 3:30 - 7:00 pm. The phone order and pick up transaction went smoothly, but we were all anxious to know how the pizza was going to taste. We took a peek at it even before we left the store and all thought it looked good.

The six year old in the group was the first to dig in and even before we had tried a bite, she was half way through her first slice and said, "I think the cheese is the best part."

We were all very surprised at how good the pizza tasted. There were no issues with the sauce and agreed that what makes the pizza is the flavor of the crust. The 5th grader that took part in our Little Supermarket pizza tasting thought, "The cheese and crust mix well together. This pizza is my 2nd top favorite pizza place in Essex County." He also noted, "The crust is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside." His mother remarked that she couldn't believe that his sister "ate her crust because she doesn't always do that and the fact that she went through almost two pieces is really good."

Unfortunately, we all liked the pizza so much that there weren't any leftovers for their Dad when he got home late that night from a business trip. Looks like we'll just have to try it again, but next time we will have to order two.

Which Way for Wood?

Let's pretend that you are a tourist in Wilmington staying at one of the campgrounds and you want to build your family a fire and cook up some s'mores. You head into the center of town and at the four corners you are faced with making the difficult decision of turning left or right for camp wood.

I'm guessing you choose right because it takes less effort to make a right hand turn than a left hand turn because it doesn't involve crossing the yellow line. Right? Right.

Wrong! You are a failure. You reach the matching camp wood sign .5 miles later and see that there is no wood.

You make a gesture with your arms questioning the sign to the man driving out of his driveway and he shakes his head, NO.

You drive back to the four corners and head only .2 of a mile up the hill and see an amazing display of Camp Wood. Score! Here they have nice cubbies of about 20 pieces of camp wood for $5 and also starter wood to get you going for $2.

They even demonstrate on site how wood burns and creates smoke. The sign also reminds you that fire can be "Danger Hot" and you feel like this camp wood seller cares about their customer's fire safety.

Before picking out the camp wood that you were trying to buy you check out the rustic chainsaw carvings. Out of the corner of your eye you see a sign, "Take Your Picture with Dad Wilminon NY" Yup, right there in "Wilminon" you start acting like a true tourist and get camera happy.

Big Al with "DAD"

Drew, aka Fred Flintstone

After all the fun, you get back into your real car and head back to camp and discover you never even bought any Camp Wood.

Largest Beer Selection?

Wilmington's North Pole Camping Resort has a new sign out front announcing that they have the "Largest Selection of Micros & Craft Beers In Town!"

Knowing that they have two major competitors in town, the gas station and the Little Supermarket, we were curious to see their beer selection.

The five shelves probably shouldn't be described as large, but then again, I guess it's all relative, especially in Wilmington. We were happy to see that they did carry a few hard to find varieties of beer. They let you mix and match and put together your own six pack which is always fun.

Drew ended up with a six pack of Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Otter Creek Copper Ale, Negra Modelo, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Smithwick's Irish Ale, and a Hoegaarden White Ale. He quickly cooled them off after the car ride home in his "dorm room fridge" in the garage.

We also walked away with a bottle of Samuel Smith India Ale. Sammy Smith beers are my favorite and being able to buy them in Wilmington makes my life even better. Now, I think I'll go find myself a cold beer...

Mulvey's Adirondack Farm Market

I love summer. I love farmstands. I love vegetables on the side of road. I love not having to go to the grocery store for just one ingredient. Sometimes I just need lettuce, other times it's onions, today it was the tomato.

I knew I could rely on Mulvey's Adirondack Farm Market after work today to grab that one tomato. Mulvey's is so convenient, it's on the way home and all I have to do is pull over, I don't even need a quarter for a cart or fight for a basket.

Right away, I found the tomato I wanted, but then I grabbed two ears of corn. I love corn. Favorite summer food ever! It didn't stop at just the tomato and corn.

All of a sudden, I needed creamed honey. Oh, and then I was talked into a purple tomato because it was ready to use tonight in my zucchini pie. I didn't think I was stopping by for a purple tomato. A purple tomato, huh? I guess it's just a fancy heirloom tomato that Jessica said, "looks like an ugly tomato, but it's purple." Another shopper, Cal, told me it probably tasted old since it was an heirloom. "Silent Cal" is just so funny.

So, remember how I thought I was going in for just one tomato? I ended up with with two tomatoes, two ears of corn, a jar of creamed honey and a finger trap.

Yes, I said finger trap. Otherwise known as "Chinese finger cuffs". Mulvey's has more than just fresh veggies and berries. They sell locally made jewelry and other Adirondack crafts.

Mulvey's is open Thursday - Sunday from 10 - 5 pm. It is definitely worth the stop between Wilmington and Jay, but be prepared that just like in big grocery stores, you might not walk out with just one tomato.

Trail Running Adventures

I know it has been awhile since my last post and before any rumors start, I need to tell you that I have not been in rehab. I'd like to say that I have been on a glorious summer vacation far far away, but I've been along the Ausable this whole time.

Honestly, sometimes life here does feel like a vacation. My early morning trail runs have all the elements of a great getaway: beauty, laughter and wildlife.

I see the same landscape everyday and it never gets old. I could run up the Lake Road from Ausable Club to Indian Head a billion times and I think the view would take my breath away each and every time.

Ausable Lakes from Indian Head

Some mornings aren't as peaceful as a running break on top of Indian Head. On Tuesday morning, Drew and I headed over to the trails in Ausable Acres and in the first mile, I tripped on a rock. I flew through the air and fell flat on my stomach in the dirt. Within seconds of landing on the ground and realizing I hadn't broken anything, I began laughing hysterically.

Drew stood over my body on the ground and said, "Wow! That was impressive. You're laughing, so I guess you're okay. I really wish I had a camera right now!"

I stood up with tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard and discovered that the entire front side of me was covered in dirt. He now refers to me as Pete Rose.

The rocks and roots brought me down that day, but it wasn't enough to keep me away from the trails this morning with my friend Amy, who was visiting from Lake Tahoe.

As we were gabbing away on the Wilmington Flume Trails, we heard something in the woods off to our right. This was not the sound of a pine cone falling to the forest floor. We stopped dead in our tracks when we saw a black animal running away from us. At first I thought, "How rare, I've never seen a black fox before." But then we saw a better view of the animal and knew for sure it was a black bear cub.

No, this picture did not come from my camera. The picture I took was a blurry mess. I spent half the day obsessing over images of Black Bear Cubs because it was so darn cute.

As we slowly walked backwards, our eyes scanned the forest around us. We were nervous that we were on the trail between Mama and Baby Bear. A couple minutes passed and we felt safe enough to continue running forward while the cub scurried up the mountain. Amy and I picked up the pace for that section of the trail and made it back to the car without seeing the mother.

I wonder what might happen during tomorrow's run?

90 Degree What?!

What does one do when family comes to town during a heat wave?

1. Take turns hugging the icy North Pole.

2. Drive 1000 feet from the house in an air conditioned vehicle to the famous swimming hole and submerse your body into the refreshing Au Sable River.

3. Decide you are not leaving "Heaven on Earth" anytime soon and finally turn into a swimmer after 32 years.

4. Don't cook, go to A&W for dinner and drink Root Beer Floats.

5. Repeat step 3, walk down to the river for a quick dip before bed and wait for the sun to go down.

Signs at Stein O' Hoff's

Thinking about all the signs outside of Steinhoff's has taken up a tremendous amount of my mental energy driving to and from work recently.

The main sign for Steinhoff's stands proudly on Rt. 86 just as you enter Wilmington. The sign screams, "Stop, you're done with work, come on in for a stein of German beer!"

The sign for Stein's Wines & Spirits is a little more discreet for those of you that just want to paper bag it.

You know, "Stein's" for short because it's only a short visit when buying alcohol as opposed to nursing a beer all night long. Oh, but wait...maybe it is Steinhoffs Liquor Store.

Are you confused? Do you need a shot of the infamous German, Jagermeister? Yes? Well, make your way to Hoff's Irish Pub. Wait. Irish?

My friend Jenny was visiting from Montana and she was the lucky gal that participated in my questioning of Steinhoff's employees. I mean, Hoff's. Whatever.

Ben proved to be the World's best bartender last night and didn't even get annoyed with my chatter. I don't think he looks German or Irish.

The new co-owner Jason, calls himself Irish, but we were in a bar and he might have been pulling my leg. Jason did talk with an Irish accent though. When asking him about Steinhoff's German-Irish partnership, he said, "Germany and Ireland are the combined forces of the alcoholic world." And with just that sentence, I understood.

Jason also informed me that he recently ordered an "O" to go in front of the Hoff's Irish Pub sign and also two leprechauns holding beers that will also be placed on the sign out front.

So, if you find yourself sitting on a rustic creation in wood (chair) on the new deck, wondering about all those signs, you might just want to go on in and ask. You are guaranteed a good time, no matter what nation you prefer.

Ms. Jenny, Montana is treating you well,

but never forget your wing lady.

Black Diamond Burrito Bar

Whiteface Mountain added the Black Diamond Burrito Bar this year and let me tell you this is a huge step up from the usual cafeteria offerings. I ordered up a Vegetarian Burrito that came with cilantro lime rice, black beans, and all the fixings you want including guacamole.

This was way better than frozen chicken tenders and fries. Way to go Centerplate for making my belly very happy!

All at T & T

Okay, so maybe I didn't start the new year exercise thing two weeks ago, but I did finally get a membership to the gym yesterday. Where you ask? At T&T Tanning!

It's right next to the post office in Wilmington in that new little building. When you see the structure from the road, you probably wonder like I did, how there could possibly be a gym inside.After finally checking it out, I was surprised to see that there is a lot to be offered at T&T. Besides the two tanning beds, they can ship your UPS packages, have a jewelry counter and sell many other gifts for purchase.

The gym is set up for circuit training and they recently added a treadmill. I tend to be a big wimp when the temperature outside dips below 10 degrees. Who am I kidding? My exercise regime came to a screeching halt some time in November when I left work and it was dark outside. So, I like the comfort of the indoors and this treadmill will do the trick for a couple months.

As I was running on it yesterday, I was warmer than usual and looked down to notice that the heater was right next to me, turned on high. Luckily, the owner told me I had control of everything including the heat, music, and as many cups of Keurig beverages I would like! I think next time I'll ask if we can turn the treadmill around facing into the room rather than the wall so I can feel less like a caged gerbil running on a wheel.

I'm pretty sure T & T will get me to March and have me looking like this lady I met when I was changing in one of the tanning rooms.

I'll just have to see if Keurig makes a drink that will grow my hair out and color it, get breast surgery, and really hit the T & T tanning beds for the next two months.

Heaven at the Little Supermarket!

Can I just tell you that I discovered that the Little Supermarket in Wilmington carries the ice cream sandwich of my dreams?

The Andes Ice Cream Sandwich! I never knew such a treat existed and am so glad I stumbled upon it so close to home. I think I mentioned before my love of chocolate and mint, the best pairing of two ingredients that found each other in this world.

My love of the ice cream sandwich started in middle school. I think from 7th grade until high school graduation I had an ice cream sandwich every day with lunch, along with a bagel of some sort and chocolate milk. Turns out my future husband's lunch consisted of the same. We love ice cream sandwiches and are known to have them in our freezer in the summer. But, now it will be this heavenly dessert I found at the Little Supermarket!

I love you so much Andes Ice Cream Sandwich, it's a shame I'm already married.