Monday, June 30, 2014

Day 9 and 10 The Gee Brief: Nice People and Nice People

STATS

Day 9
Miles today: 75
Total so far: 581
Miles to go: 2689

Weather: HOT around 90. Sprinkled a few times

Road: More berms and swales, mostly flat

Physical: My whole body hurt toward the end. This was the first day that I truly felt physically exhausted. It happened in the last 27 miles. The wall hit and wouldn't go away. I slowed down to a crawl, which made it bearable to go on, but I was literally WIPED by the end of the journey.

Day 10
Miles today: 75
Total so far: 656
Miles to go: 2633

Weather: 80's, no rain. A few times of nice over-cast shade.

Road: Mostly flat. I went up one minor incline and at the top, met a jogger who smiled and said,"Those hills will kill ya!". I felt it would be rude to stop and giver her the true definition of "hill that will kill you", so I smiled, and moved on.

Physical: For the second day in a row, my whole body was exhausted in the last quarter of the ride. I will be changing the seat angle tomorrow. I know I previously said that my new seat angle created a whole new relationship between my butt and the seat. The relationship, however, only benefited my reproductive area. It did this by making it almost impossible to actually SIT on the seat. So... for the past two days, I've been more LEANING against the back of the seat, as if I was sort of RUNNING rather than biking. Again, my gentle area appreciated this a lot, but the rest of my body is rather pissed.

So tomorrow, I'll be riding Rootbeer, whose seat angle is a bit less severe. If this works out, then Jenard's seat will be changed to resemble Rootbeer's.

Ok, enough of that, let's catch up to the nice people.
The first pic is a nice Biology teacher from Attica, NY that I met on Day 8. She was training for a ride across New York that would travel along the Erie canal. My story inspired her to try an actual cross country trip with her husband driving the support vehicle. Her name is Melanie. Go for it Melanie!

My second nice person was an AWESOME cashier at a mini-mart in Lutz Mobil in the Hamlet of Hamburg. In any event, if you happen to be travelling through Hamburg on route 20 west, you will find the most FRIENDLY people on the face of this earth. My wife claims that I'm a social butterfly, but I SWEAR all I did this day was buy the blueberry version of my Tuesday Burger and a chicken salad sandwich. I was sitting there, eating my snack, minding my own business, when Kathy started asking ME questions. "Where you going? You're going WHERE???" "Wow, that's GREAT!!!" And all of a sudden, Kathy's enthusiasm for my journey had spread to other people in the store. Enter Nick from stage right.

So as I sat there, simply answering Kathy's questions, Nick sits down next to me and says, "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing that you're going to Portland, Oregon. Exactly how are you going?" I pointed to Jenard, and he said, "You're going on a Pedal Bike???!"
As the conversation ensured, I found out that Nick is an aspiring teacher who put off his aspirations temporarily to raise his child. In the brief time that I met him, it seems that Nick would make an AWESOME teacher, so, Nick if you're reading this right now, do whatever you can to go back to school and follow your dream!

Finally I have to mention Josh and his girlfriend who talked to me OUTSIDE the Lutz Mobil. I had no idea that they were even aware of me, and they started asking questions and showing an interest that I would never have expected from complete strangers at a mini-mart in Hamburg, New York!

Josh, Nick and Kathy inspired me as much as I apparently inspired them. We all have our daily lives to deal with, but to actually take time out of our own life, and pay attention to someone ELSE is a gift. I have seen this gift demonstrated over and over again from Fulton through Ohio.

Next folks on my list are Barb, Josh and Stacey from the Country Fair store in....NY?  Pennsylvania? (again, if you send me the location I'll post it. The card you guys gave me just says, "Country Fair" and there's a MILLION of them!) Anyway, I was on the phone with the love of my life, trying to arrange a motel that was withing bicycling distance when Barbara come up to me and helps me find a spot exactly where I wanted to end for the night. Again, I didn't ASK for this help, she just came out and gave it. Thank you soo much!

Other nice folks from Day 9 were Tom and Doreen who are Alpaca farmers in Eden, NY.  There website is www.edenvalleyalpacas.com..  We talked about my trip and Alpacas for a while. They seemed like very sweet people, so if you're ever in the market for Alpaca products, give them a call!

 


Another nice person: above, you see Emmett.
Emmett loves his name because it is NOT common, like Bill or George or John. Emmett also seems to love life, and at the age of 80, it looks as if he's got another several decades to continue enjoying life! He explained to me, that the plants which I had been wondering about were actually grape vines, and that the sign which you see above was advertising a local author who also owns the vineyards surrounding the area of the sign. I haven't read the book but the title seems interesting. Emmett has been having some knee problems, so I encouraged him to do more of my favorite physical exercise, which is WONDERFUL for you knees: CYCLE ON EMMETT!!








Lastly, I can't help but mentioning the absolutely sweetest person I have EVER met.  She listens to you, cares about what you think and is the most thoughtful human being I know.  So I                                                 married her.





Here's some extra pics from day 9 and 10
Typical view through upstate NY

A lone tree greets the lone cyclist.
The lone tree close up.
A lone tree visits lake Cayuga.
Spam Cakes???? AWESOME!


Back off dude, we bite.
Ancient Greek Philosophers Welcome!



A slice of amber waves of grain.

No idea. But my brother in law's name is Dave. 

Day 10 Road Pic 5

Back at ya Ohio!

Day 10 Road Pic 4

Mid morning snack from a road side farm stand

Day 9: Depew, NY to Ripley, NY and early Day 10 Eerie, PA (J's Version)

Morning!( Notice the lack of "good"?) This is the first time in roughly 600+ miles that...(Nice hook. huh?)

Let me back track and catch everyone up on yesterday before I get to the present. I left Depew and
Lake Erie Selfie
eventually hit Lake Erie territory. Naturally, I wanted to see it up close, but I didn't want to get arrested for trespassing on private property! (Super fancy pants houses were blocking the view.) A few miles down, I saw an entrance to a beach/park area, and low and behold an up front view.(G's got a really good view of the Lake that he posted yesterday) Surprisingly, it wasn't as scary as I originally thought. hehe "Eerie"

I chilled by the beach for half an hour or so then had a pit stop at Tim Horton's. I calculated the time, and I figured that G would be passing me soon, so I texted him saying I had half a sandwich for him. He didn't see the text, and I watch him go right by the place. I run outside yelling, "G! G!" but it was too late. He was far off in the distance with a cloud of dust in my face.

Unfortunately, the heat was brutal yesterday. It was tough on G. The hardest day so far on this trip. He really wanted to blog last night because he met SO many awesome people, but I advised him to just relax and sleep. I think tonight he's planning on combining yesterday's events with today's.

All throughout yesterday's trek, we kept seeing pro-cyclist looking people on our route. Usually they were in groups, but they were all decked out in their sponsored gear. It was slightly refreshing only because we've encountered very few cyclists on the trip. Being in the truck I have a disadvantage with meeting people, but since G's on the bike (and a social butterfly anyways), he meets more people. I KNEW he'd get the low down on the cyclist groups. It turns out they are riding for a non profit organization Bike & Build. Every summer BB enlists people ages 18-25 (anyone over 25 is too high maintenance haha jk but probably true) and they bike from New Hampshire to VANCOUVER, Canada!

Talk about trying to show G up. Geez. lol It's hilarious because where we were yesterday wasn't too far from Canada's border, and when the girls told G they were going to Vancouver he was NOT that impressed because he figured, "Oh big deal. Canada is right down the road." I am no geographic expert by any means, and when he told me this last night I said, "But, isn't Vancouver on the OTHER side of Canada? Like above Seattle, Washington?"

He felt super bad that he didn't realize this when he was talking with the Bike & Build people (every time I type that I want to type Build a Bear) because obviously NH to Vancouver IS a big deal. 3800 miles but each rider has to raise $4500 and half of that goes to their expenses (they only stay at campgrounds and hostels, no Jacuzzi rooms for them) and the other half goes to the charity. It's kind of like a Habitat for Humanity cause. They only ride 70 miles a day which lasts for 10 weeks.

One of the major cycling corporations DOES sponsor a Portland to Portland trip, too but it's like a gazillion dollars, and you stay at fancy hotels and bike like 50 miles a day for 3 months or something. It would be something to possssssibly consider but it lasts through September, and the kiddies gots to learn. Plus, we both are not fond of organized rides because G likes to stop and smell the roses when he rides (can't really do that in organized rides), and I'm just slow and cannot deal with the pressure of keeping up with everyone. There's nothing worse than the SAG wagon guy driving slowly next to you trying to give you tips. That's what my husband is for.

Another thing we noticed as of yesterday as we are approaching the Midwest is a change in words. For instance, people say, "Pedal Bike" instead of "Bicycle." Let me give you an example. G was in a gas station and told the lady he was going cross country on his bike, and she goes, "A pedal bike?" Apparently, this is to make the distinction from a bicycle and motorcycle. Also, we are in the land of "Pop." The waiter yesterday asked if we wanted "Pop." We talked about it in length, and he said if someone told him that he/she wanted "soda," he'd give him/her club soda.

We ate an amazing little place in the middle of nowhere last night. The Plummer's Tavern. If you are ever in

Grilled Smith's Bologna. Smith is the Oscar Mayer
of this region.
Ripley, NY driving through Route 5 please stop there. The owner Keith was great. He not only is a waiter, host, bartender, BUT the chef as well. He was the only one working yesterday. He even gave us a few free delicious garlic wings. Just don't order soda thinking you'll get a Dr. Pepper. I felt like a big city girl when I asked him if he knew about Yelp. According to Yelp the establishment was closed for the day. He said he never heard of it, but kindly asked what it was. I showed him (even posted a picture of his amazing grilled bologna sandwich) and explained how Yelp helps businesses and as owner he could use it to his benefit by adding in special deals if you find the place using Yelp. He was so appreciative and thankful that he even downloaded Yelp on his phone right there. He's been working at Plummer's since he was 19 and now 12 years later bought the place himself and is revamping it.

Now, onto this morning. G was on the road at...6:50 am!! SO COOL! He figured the earlier he started the earlier he could finish before the weather gets too too hot. I went ahead and drove through miles and miles of
Acres of vineyards
gorgeous vineyards. Then, after about 17 miles....I hit what looked to be an unsafe area.

This is the first time in 600+ miles that we've hit a rough and tough area. We are not in cow country anymore. Stupid me turned on Route 5 West-Alternate not Route 5 West. It was not a very friendly looking neighborhood at all. I was about 2 miles off the route, and I went back and found Route 5 West which was not any better. I saw the golden arches of Mecca at one point and pulled in thinking, "YES!" but I used my judgement after scanning the place and opted to keep on driving not only for me, but this is also the first time that I did not feel comfortable leaving the Rootbeer alone even with it being seen in the distance.

I texted G giving him a warning that once the vineyards are gone to be careful. I hate thinking about him riding his bike through this area. It's probably a good hour (10 miles) on the bike for him. I kept on driving, and i'm currently at a Burger King which is at a little area better than before. I'm hoping he stops here soon. By my calculations he should be riding by within the half hour.

In any case, we are in PA now. Eerie , PA. About 20 miles away from the border of Ohio!!! One of my best friends and her husband moved to Ohio, and I'm hoping we get to at least meet up for lunch or dinner or something in the next few days.

Have a good one!!

Day 10 Road Pic 3

huh? wwhhhattt? How did i end up back in new hampshire???!!!

Day 10 Road Pic 2

This is my first pit stop for the day. It's a county fair gas station in erie, pa. The goodwill and sweet people  we have encountered since Fulton just keep on coming! I was just sitting out here on their sidewalk resting for a bit and the store manager comes out gives me this milk crate to sit on. She says " that will feel better than sitting on the ground." I can't stand it this is just incredible! So far the cliche of people for the midwest being really nice has proven true. And as far as I can tell midwest starts in fulton. Thank you Brenda, Sherry and the other nice lady at the county fair gas station in Erie!

Day 10 Road Pics

Ohhhh yyyeah!

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Day 9 Pics from the Road #2

My first view of lake erie

Day 8: Canandaigua, NY to Depew, NY (J's Version)

You can see me in the mirror waving
Good morning!! G's been on the road since 8 am, but I decided to stay at the hotel until check out. I usually start out on the road with him and find a coffee shop (as our devoted readers all know) to settle in for a few hours. What makes today different is that our hotel, Salvatore's Grand Hotel, is totally bangin'! It has a classy Vegas feel to it. The other hotels we've stayed at were okay, but I never really felt completely 100% safe once G left, so that's why I would just go elsewhere. Yesterday, I called MANY hotels in the area, and all were completely booked except SGH, which only had one room left, a Jacuzzi room. Got to do what you got to do. (Sidenote: Jacuzzi is the name of a corporation that specializes in hot tubs/whirl pools. The founders were the Jacuzzi brothers. Thanks to The Big Bang Theory for opening my eyes to that fact. Also, did you know that the word "leotard" was coined from French Acrobat Jules Leotard?)


John Green
I picked G up yesterday at the Depew Mcd's, but the hotel is 3 miles down the road in Buffalo. I think all the hotels were booked because it was a Saturday, and everyone is venturing out to Niagara since it's pretty close. If we didn't already take a day off a few days ago, today would have been perfect. We went to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (Totally worth it. Pictures do NOT do the falls justice) for our honeymoon, but we've never been to the American side.

It's funny because despite Depew being relatively unknown, I mention Depew every year when I teach John Green's  Looking for Alaska. The novel is contemporary and somewhat controversial (Green only writes Young Adult Lit), and years ago the Depew school board made a big stink about teaching the book, and John Green made a video acknowledging Depew and defended his reasoning for including the edgy scene. I think it's pretty darn cool that with technology a writer can post a video letting YOU know why he included something especially something that it causing such chaos. Honestly, before his video Here it is I thought the scene was gratuitous, but after he explained his rationale, it opened my eyes.


So after I left the SB yesterday, I did explore the Canadaigua Lake for about half an hour. Absolutely
beautiful views. It would have been nice to have G along beside me, but it's okay. He has to conserve his feet anyways. I noticed the further north we get in New York the more Tim Horton's chains we see. Tim
The real Tim Horton, hockey player  and founder
Horton's is a Dunkin' Donuts type of sandwich/coffee/doughnut shop. I, personally think they are better than D&D. More variety. Connecticut used to have a few but then they all closed. Two years ago, one of my English professors who is Canadian told us that in Canada Tim Horton's shops are everywhere. Apparently, the founder, Tim Horton, was a SUPER famous hockey player in Canada back in the day. I had no idea.

In another one of my quickie stops yesterday, I came across a Mcd's dinner box. $9.99 and you get 4 small fries, 2 big macs, 2 cheeseburgers, and 10 piece mcnugget. I've never seen that offered at any other Mcd's before. Pretty good deal, too! Speaking of food...

Yesterday, after I left the lake area, I did pass G on the road. We said hi, and he said drive up ahead and stop at the first restaurant  you find, and we'll meet for lunch. 25 miles later....OMG. This stretch was one of the longest, if not the longest stretch yet with NOTHING. We did not meet the for lunch. 25 miles might not seem too long, but on a bike that's at least 2 hours.

I'm excited because I "think" we might be done with New York by this
afternoon. The route for today has us going along Lake Eerie, so I'm hoping that's pretty. We are both still confused if the route goes to PA or Ohio.

Thanks, again to all of our readers. All of your kind words mean so much to us :o)

Here are two video links from our Wegman's experience. The first video highlights the olive bar lady, and the second video highlights the kabob guy. Both videos were not planned ahead of time. What you're seeing is real, authentic Wegman workers.

Super cool olive bar lady

Kabob guy

Enjoy!


Day 9 Pics from the Road #1

My new Tuesday burger comes in Blueberry!

Day 8: The Gee Brief - Tributes, Signs From God , and Strangely Parked Bikes

Today's Stats

Miles today: 73
Total so far: 506
Miles to go: 2768

Weather: HOT around 90. Rained at the end as I was getting into the
truck.
Road: The locals call them hills, but being from CT these seem more like
minor berms and swales
Physical: My right side tush hurts.

Tribute to Pudge

So, the day begins just fine. Jenard is behaving, the weather is great, the road is complying and I am confidently on my way. Then it started. A feeling from deep inside my soul boils up to my face and I begin to sob...big healthy "I'm feeling really BAD" sobs. My thoughts have wandered over to Pudge.

Pudge was my nephew, Charlie's dog.

Two days ago, Charlie and his wife Arianne made the difficult but loving decision to help Pudge pass on to the other side. I am fighting back sobs right now as I type this.

The reason I was sobbing this morning and I'm sobbing now (I love the word "sobbing" it completely captures the action) is not because I am sympathetic or empathetic to Charlie's feelings. It is because I am feeling EXACTLY the same thing that Charlie is feeling. It even goes beyond that. When I think of my little Birnie Bear and my Rosco Moose, I feel as if I AM every true pet-human.

Pet humans don't lose their best friend. They lose their right arm, or the right ventricle to their heart. The pet's absence creates a whole in their soul. But as I described it to Charlie, there really isn't a hole at all.

In actuality the animals we love fill in the missing parts of our human-ness. Temple Grandin said it right when she claimed, "Animals MAKE us human." The place in our hearts and souls that animals fill doesn't empty out when our loved ones move on. Our hearts are still full of their love, and our souls sing with their joy.

All of the above is absolutely true, however it is also true that our arms ache forever to actually physically HOLD them again. Until that moment when we can once again embrace them, hugs from the loved ones who are still with you help. LOT'S of them. I thank God every day for my wife, the love of my life.

So, Charlie, here's to Pudge and to the spot he will ALWAYS occupy in your heart. I give you the one and only poem that has ever consoled me when one of my babies passes on. I hope it works for you too.

In God we live and move and have our being.--Acts 17:28
Thank you, God,
for lending him to me.
Because of him I learned
a little more about loving,
a little more about taking care,
a little more about letting things be.
Thank you, God.
He is one of the nicest ways
that I have ever met you.
I really miss him.
But I'm looking
for some new sign of you.
Please help me find it.
Amen.

Signs from God

This one is not about pets.  It's about Methodist Ministers. In the past three days, I have met TWO Methodist ministers and had in depth conversations with them about God and bicycling. We agreed on the cycling, but as far as God goes....well I haven't completely figured out yet why God keeps throwing me into the path of Methodist ministers. I'm sure I'll figure it out at some point.

The first Minister's name was Dean. He's a friend of my cousin Leah. I don't have a picture of him, but I DO have a picture of the second one. His name is Dan.  I encountered him at a gas station outside of Canandaigua. I was sitting there by the gas station wall airing out my feet, socks off, just letting the doggies breathe. Dan mistook the look on my face for distress and cycled by to ask if everything was OK. I said things were awesome, and he attempted to cycle away. But right at that moment two cars converged on Dan's path and almost sent him to Methodist heaven. 

It was not Dan's time, but I felt the need to find out more about this nice gentleman who had just risked his life to make sure that I was OK. So we talked about bicycles and NY hills. When he told me that he is a Methodist minster, I told him that he was the second one of his kind I had met in the past few days. To his credit, he kept the conversation on bikes and didn't try to discuss God's motives for throwing so many Methodist ministers my way. 

Dan called the low rolling hills of NY duggels. At least I THINK that's what he said. He said they resembled upside down dugout canoes. He then said that I probably wouldn't encounter any serious mountain type hills until the Rocky Mountains.  I hope he's right.  I LOVE hills, but it would be nice to start logging some century rides.

More Tributes

This one is a mystery to me. I'm tooling along route 20 west, which is almost entirely made up of good smelling farms (see, "The Straight Poop on Smells") and I see this white bicycle that's leaning against a farm fence. This seemed like an odd place to park a bike, so as I got closer, I had a better look. What I found was what you see in the picture below.


I have no idea who this is for but a great deal of care was put into its creation. The bike is evened chained to the post as if it's waiting for it's master to return and take it on a new journey.
After doing a little research, I found out this is called a "Ghost Bike", and that white bikes like this have been placed in locations all over the world. Their purpose is to commemorate a cyclist who was killed or severely injured near their location.


If anyone seeing this pic has the back story to it I'd appreciate hearing from you. I know it's not poetic, but the only thing I can think of saying when I look at this pic is...wow. The moment was far more intense than "wow", but that's all I got for now.

There's a lot more for me to post, but I'm tired and would seriously like to bust a century tomorrow. So wish me luck. I know this is a somber topic to end on, but trust me, I have no intention of leaving this realm until I reach 113. But whether it happens tomorrow, or 57 years from now, I think the ghost bike thing would be a pretty cool tribute.

Still feeling somber?  How about I leave you with a song?   The Singing Cyclist: America is Beautiful!

One more thought: Remember, no matter WHAT path you are on, always take time to pause ans smell the cows. Saying Hello To Two Cows






Saturday, June 28, 2014

Day 8 My new Tuesday Burger

Route 20 through these parts is very beautiful but there's a whole lot of nothing. Finally on the yellow goose Sunoco at the intersection of Route 20 and 63. I bought what I thought was a pomegranate ice tea concoction. Turns out its a beverage that might just convert me completely the Starbucks listen to this as I read directly off the label: " with just a sparkling pick me up contains a blend of real fruit juice, vitamins, ginseng and natural caffeine from green coffee extract that will help you conquer your afternoon lull."

Holy Cow! How can I resist that!

Day 7: LaFayette, NY to Canandaigua, NY (J's Version)

Good morning! I'm classing it up today at a Starbucks. Canandaigua is pretty cool. I'm in a little shopping area, and the town is on one of the finger lakes. I'm going to check out the lake after I'm done blogging. It's right down the road. Today was our earliest start. 7:40 am! Time seriously goes by very fast. It's already been a week since we left Portland, ME. We have about 2800 miles left which is awesome considering we started at like 3300.

After I left the Lafayette Mcds yesterday (The law quiz took me forever, but I think I did fine, and I never did get my McNugget) I met up with G for lunch at a Chili's in Auburn. It was supposed to be a light lunch, but it wasn't, and I felt gross after. He was in super good spirits and put some more air in the tires and went on his way. Before he got to Chili's though, he stopped at a Little Caesar's and took a video with the sign flipping guy. It's in his Day 7 entry incase you missed it. G has taken a few really entertaining videos, but it's such a pain to put them on the computer/website. They seem to load forever. He has a droid (I have an IPhone), so I'm not that familiar with the operating system.


Wrong bike!
On the way to Canandaigua, I went through Seneca Falls, which was pretty awesome. Lots of history of women's suffrage. The best part about yesterday was exploring Canandaigua after G was done with his ride. We went downtown and thanks to Yelp found a crepe restaurant. I'm a sucker for crepe, dim sum, and noodle house places. Simply Crepes was simply amazing. I've never seen such a vast variety of crepes. I got a multi cheese stuffed tomato crepe, and G got a California Benedict crepe. THEN, for dessert you could get a Petite crepe which was your choice of 3 mini
Mini Crepes
crepes. I got chocolate mousse, oreo, and cream brule. OMG amazing. They were bite sized desserts just slightly larger than a quarter each. To label them "crepe" though is misleading. It was more like a burst of happiness in an edible graham cup. When G ordered his though, there was a slight miscommunication with the waitress, and she brought out the FULL size order of his 2 mini crepes. Well, you got to do what you got to do. Yes, he ate all them. (I did have a few bites.) The waitress batted her eye lashes in admiration and with a sly smile said in awe, "I'm quite impressed."

Go there!
Then, she proceeded to stand way too close to him and told us about Wegman's grocery store. He had asked her where we could get olive juice (I wonder why). She looked directly into his eyes and sighed, "That's my favorite part of Wegman's. All the way in the back right corner of the store is the olive bar." I, oh so subtly flashed my wedding ring in her face, and we said thanks and goodbye.

But, man, oh man. She was right about Wegman's. Picture if Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Price Chopper/Stop & Shop, and your favorite bar that has live music had a baby. Wegman's shouldn't even be called a grocery store. That's a complete insult. It's Disney. We never would consider going to a supermarket for a date night, but if there was a Wegman's near us, we'd be there on a Saturday night.

Apparently, it's a chain that originated
Candy Section
in Rochester, NY. There's a bunch near here, PA, NJ, and two in Boston I think. If you ever come in contact with a Wegman's please do yourself a favor and go in. The meat guy said the Pittsburg one is 3 times of the Canandaigua size, and let me tell you, this store was enormous. The olive bar lady said, they looked into coming to West Hartford, but the real estate was too expensive. Big surprise there.

We must have looked like complete newbies when we were walking around with our jaws open and stars in our eyes. Our first foray was in the bathroom as soon as we got in the store. When G came out he said, "If the bathroom is any indication of this place then I can't wait to see the rest." There was a massive buffet of pretty much every food you could think of in the middle of the store.
Outdoor café at Wegmen's
The quality looked impressive, too. Not only did they have a nice café area, but they had an outside café area complete with Chef's cooking burgers and other things right outside for you, and a BAR. Yup. A bartender and everything. Comfy couches and tables AND a local musician rocking on his guitar singing cover songs. The song he was singing when we entered that area
was one of OUR songs. Marry Me by the Goo Goo Dolls. How apropos is that?

As we continued our journey through Wegmen's, we found a sushi bar, a mega pick your own candy section, a HUGE meat, and prepared foods section. The olive bar section was equally
Panoramic view of the olive bar.
as impressive. G interviewed the lady who is in charge of the olive bar area. Hopefully, he can get the video up later She was MAD COOL. Totally okay with being on camera and walked us through the process of her job of taking care of the olives. So much pride and dedication. Then, he interviewed the meat kabob guy. Once again, mad chill!
Yes,  I will marry you!

The night ended with me wanting to stay up to watch the premiere of Girl Meets World. Corey and Topanga are all grown up with a 12 yr. old daughter. Corey and Topanga are only a few years older than me and don't seem old enough (nor look old enough) to have a kid in middle school. Granted it was only the first episode, but the show did not have the heart as Boy Meets World had. Although, William Daniels, (FEENY!!!) did have a cameo.

Have a great day :o)