I have been so busy that I have not had a chance to highlight my Mother's Day brunch.
I was going to have something more "normal", but when I saw lobster tail on a biscuit, I went for it.
The lobster tail was a bit dry, but all in all, it was good.
It was interesting in that they used a bisque, rather than country gravy on it.
Here is their online MENU, which does not include the special I had.
I was glad I recommended it.
We came home from our trip to a backyard just full of plants in full bloom.
This is my ketchup and mustard rose, and next to it is my small bottlebrush plants.
The hummingbirds love it, and that makes me so happy that I planted them.
We are in the midst of May gray/June gloom weather, so our plants are very happy right now.
It makes me happy to see them all thriving right now.
Summer will be here soon enough.
I finally updated the map of all 50 states. You can see it HERE.
My Water Post For Today.
My Son took us to Belle Island, in the river just north of Downtown Detroit.
It was very easy to get to, we just crossed a small bridge.
We parked, and over on the left was this beautiful fountain.
I took photos, and enjoyed it for a moment or two.
As you can see, the people around it did too.
When we were having our biscuit breakfast in Kentucky, I saw small bottles of maple syrup.
One of them was Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup.
My Husband is a big bourbon fan, and so I got it as my Kentucky souvenir.
I felt that it was appropriate for a dinner, and so we made pancakes and sausages.
It was excellent! I highly recommend it. Here is the webpage for the company that makes it...Bissell's Maple Syrup out of Ohio. I would buy it again.
On the final day of our trip, our Son drove us to downtown Detroit.
After we did what we had come there to do, he said that he would drive through downtown.
Downtown has, of course, his employer.
It was interesting to see the Ren Cen once again.
What we ended up on, was part of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Indycar race course.
It was pretty cool to see something that will be on tv in just a weeks time.
This was Cajon Pass on May 17, 2023 of this year.
We were coming back to LA after visiting our Son.
A normal commute day and time.
Every road was packed with commuters, even the on-ramps.
I was shocked it was that full, but traveling in Los Angeles, I should not have been.
Glad we were on the train.
Somewhere in the neighborhood that my Son lives, is a house with one of those Little Free Library boxes.
That is not unusual, I have one right down the street.
What is unusual is the fact that it has a Snoopy Dog House with it.
It also has a bench for the little ones to sit on, when they check out the books.
I am just so impressed with the neighborhood in general, and this Little Free Library, in particular.
You did well, my Son.
On the subject of things I have never seen on the Southwest Chief...
I knew that somewhere there was a bus that took people over to Williams, Arizona, to take the train to the Grand Canyon.
I have never seen it, in all the trips I had taken.
Well, check off another thing I now know. There, on the other side of the station, is the Williams bus!
I enjoyed the trip, driving from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, but lots of people enjoy taking another train to get there.
I definitely feel they get a "Grand" experience.
This is our 7th journey on The Southwest Chief.
You would think that we have seen it all, by this time.
Well, you would be wrong.
Look what my Husband saw! The Wigwam Motel along Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona.
There are 15 teepees there, for you to sleep in, according to the National Park Service webpage.
What's nice about the NPS site is that it gives you some history of the motel, and why it is still around today.
I would seriously like to stop there someday, but being it is between Gallup, NM, and Winslow, AZ, I think it is a hard pass.
Cute though.
My Water Post For Today.
Chicago never fails to entertain me.
Especially since the river is just a few feet from Chicago Union Station.
What were the chances that the river tour boat that passed under us would be the Lucia?
I am sure my great niece would have been happy to see it.
No matter what, I love a fast visit to Chicago.
I hope you enjoy.
Before the train trip ends up in too far into the rearview mirror, I wanted to post the two pictures I managed to screen capture, of our journey.
The first one is us at Barstow, standing by the camera and waving.
It was a little late, but not too late and so we could climb out of the train for a minute or so. If it had been much later, we would have gone to bed.
The second one was much harder to capture. Hesperia is in a dead zone, Internet-wise.
I did manage to screen capture the lead engine's number, and that was important to me. We did not have much luck getting to the front of the engine to take photos.
We were a bit late at that point, due to rail congestion in the Needles area. We got much later, before Riverside, due to a trespasser incident.
Such is life on the rails.
My sister and her husband sent word on Friday that their cat, Clarice, had to be put to sleep.
When I heard what the vet said about her, I was worried that this was going to be the outcome.
She had been hiding, not eating, and throwing up.
All bad signs and the vet kept her overnight, to see the results of the blood work.
I am so sorry this was the outcome.
She was such a silly cat. Not letting anyone hold her, or play with her, but she brought cat love to their home.
Clarice, you will be missed, and say Hi to your sister, Cat Levy.
You can both wait at the rainbow bridge, for your mama.
Last year, La Plata station had a major makeover, as I mentioned HERE.
I could not get photos of the station on the way up to Chicago, but I managed quite a few good ones on the way back.
That was because we came in on track 2, which is much trickier, and slower, than the normal track 1.
As you can see, the station shines now. It is Art Deco and so very beautiful.
Plus, you can get a glimpse of the inside of the station, through the door.
P.S. I just love the Coke machine. :-)
We made it home, just 2 hours later than we expected. It was a good trip, all in all.
We had many errands to run, and the final one was picking up Makenna from the vet.
We got a report card from them.
Overall Appetite was good.
Since she had just had her teeth removed, I was worried about that.
They say she drank water.
She didn't always hit the litter box (not surprising, since that is her way to telling us she is really mad).
She spent the majority of her time there "relaxing" and sleeping.
Her last report was the saddest. She was NOT HAPPY and showed it.
We expect her to misbehave tonight, but hope she gets more acclimated tomorrow.
With luck, our train should pull into the station today.
Back to our trip. We had a late lunch on Saturday, so after we did the laundry, I suggested Dairy Twist.
It was crowded, but the choices were excellent.
I ended up getting a vanilla custard in a small cup.
My guys both got a medium.
It was wonderful, and worth the pain caused by my lactose intolerance.
I will be back someday, and probably dream about it.
