RIP Rosa

It has been an emotional week. My beloved car Rosa's little body couldn't take it any longer and was put out to pasture. On her final journey along the Ausable this morning, we shared one last song on the radio together, Bust A Move.



I don't think there could ever be a better farewell song for a car like Rosa. She moved all the way to her final resting place.

I leave you with the last picture from our final photo shoot today next to a phone booth in Keeseville.

R.I.P. Rosa, Honda Civic LX, 1997 - 2011

Auto Repair Sign

Imagine for a moment that your nickname is Al or to some, Big Al and then picture yourself in a happy mood listening to music at the Recovery Lounge and having a slight buzz. Now keeping all of this in mind, you notice a sign in a corner of the basement that says, "Cal's Auto Repair." You inquire about the sign and someone tells you that you can take it. For free.

Jump ahead a few months, the monstrous sign is in your garage and you start thinking winter is around the corner and it would be nice to park your car inside. So, you drag the giant sign outside and clean it and ponder the name Cal. Cal not Al.

Next thing you know, you see your husband getting out the blow torch and a razor blade and starts focusing his energy on the letter, C. After only a few minutes, the C is gone. You now have a white spot in front of Al's. Then, as any Fine Arts major would do, you get out the art supplies.

You discover the best way to blend the white into the aged sign is by using a combination of colored pencils and the Milk Yellow and Golden Ochre oil pastels with a paper towel. Your neighbor stands above you shaking her head and you find yourself taking pride in your work.

Then, the moment you had been waiting for arrives and you are standing inside your garage with your husband admiring your new sign, Al's Auto Repair.

After all that, you can finally pull your car into the garage. It's just too bad there's no Al that can actually do any auto repair that lives there.

The Breakfast Club

Last week we had friends come to visit. Since they used to live here and are familiar with all the restaurant choices, we decided to try a place that none of us had been to before and dined at the Breakfast Club in Lake Placid.

All I knew about this place was that they served more than just breakfast despite the name and they had a large selection of Bloody Mary's to choose from. We went for lunch after going for a hike so we were hungry.

Amy and I ordered a couple of drinks, while the boys decided to rehydrate with water.

Amy described her Raspberry Blush Mimosa as "a tangy, bubbly fruit drink." I had the BC Bloody Mary and was impressed with the pickle, olive and celery stick it was served with. I liked it, but thought it had too much worcestershire and spiciness in it for my tastes. Amy liked the Bloody Mary a lot and said, "I love salt and I love pickle juice, why wouldn't I like this drink?" I found this surprising because she usually doesn't like spicy, but this had a kick to it that she thought was delicious.

Drew ordered the Maple Balsamic Chicken salad and Chris had the Crab Cake sandwich.

Either they were too busy cleaning their plates or they just don't think they could get a word in with Amy and I, because when I asked them how they liked their meals, they simply said, "It's good."

I ordered the Turkey, Apple and Brie French Toast Sandwich. I thought the sandwich had a nice, mellow taste and probably should have paired it with a mimosa rather than a spicy Bloody Mary.

Amy had the Smoked Salmon Bene and thought that it was "easy to eat and the flavors blended well."

We were all members of the Clean Plate Club at the Breakfast Club and we all said we would come back, so I think that's the best way to sum it up.

I know I'd like to go back some time this fall for one of their Wednesday 80's movie nights. Tasty drinks and an old flick like Goonies or Weird Science, yes please! Now, if I can just get Amy to fly back to join me. I'm pretty sure my sister, a total 80's fan, would like this place too!

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.

Where Have I Been?

Exploring new slides.

Where is this one you ask? I'm afraid I can't tell you because my husband barely told me.

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.

Falling Sidewalk Update

Last week I managed to make the sidewalk fall. The town was quick to respond and is giving pedestrians plenty of warning about the safety of the sidewalk.