Time Flies When We Are Having So Much Fun...

After leaving Cleveland we headed to Dayton for our next event and stopped in Mansfield for a moment to check out the Ohio StateReformatory, it was the prison featured in the Shawshank Redemption movie many years ago.

Unfortunately, the tours were not happening at this time so we just peeked over the fence and tried to get some photos, not the best but they will have to do. Even from far away, it was very creepy, almost like the feel we got when we visited Alcatraz. If you plan to visit, be sure to check out the website for the tour times since they do vary a lot.

We also stopped at the National Museum of the US Air Force while we were in Dayton and if you plan to check it out, give yourself a few hours at least. 

They now have 4 buildings of planes and loads of other memorabilia to view and the absolutely best part about it is it is FREE. That’s right no charge but they do take donations and they have a gift shop. We also used a scooter since it is a lot of walking and that too is free…no charge but we only got one and we swapped off of it. That works better for us since we get too cramped sitting the entire time but we need to rest our knees and backs more often than just sitting for a little while so having that scooter helped us immensely. Oh what fun it is getting old, but the alternative is even worse so we will do the best we can with what the Universe is giving us for today.

Eating out every night has its advantages but not all of them are blog worthy, but this week again we did try several different ones and are sharing the blog worthy ones.

Max & Erma’s

6930 Miller Lane

Dayton, OH 45414

(937) 454-1800

Started with a refreshing Sangria drink that was perfectly blended with all the best ingredients...

Then a spicy but well rounded flavor of Buffalo Chicken Dip with Chips...

I had the Mushroom Swiss Burger that was juicy and succulent, and the French Fries were just the way mom use to make for us kids. Really loving the tastes here in the East, reminding me of all the flavors of my childhood...

Jerry had the Garbage Burger and it had everything on it, Bacon, Mushrooms, Cheddar, award-winning Guggisberg Swiss, American & Mozzarella with Guacamole and Marinara and in his opinion all the different flavors complimented each other and was the best tasting burger he has ever had in his life and that is saying a mouthful since he is a burger king...

This week the event was totally successful...not only did we make our goal, we surpassed it by a bunch. Our helpers were fantastic, we had several that stayed with us the entire day but again like last year, there were just not enough of them but because these guys were so experienced they made up for the lack of them. And, even though they put us outside this year it went well because the weather was fantastic, nothing like the all day rain that we had last year.

When we leave Dayton, we will be heading only to Toledo so we will have a few days of downtime on the water. Lake Erie here we come...

Cleveland Area Visit

The event in Monroeville, PA was over so we headed to our next event but since we had under 300 miles to travel to Dayton we decided to take the roundabout way through Cleveland. Neither of us realized but we had never been to Cleveland, either in our travels together for the past 12 years or separately when we were younger and we were indeed impressed to say the least.

We chose to stay about 10 miles south of the city in Independence and we were pleased we chose that particular area. We stayed at La Quinta and it was a good choice for the price, the staff was wonderful but the breakfast lacked meat and the showers are terrible, the tub has a slant on the sides that is hard to balance yourself and we noticed the tubs are all the same at La Quinta's.

One day we drove into Cleveland to check out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was a fun place and as you can see with the photo, we were rocking it! We also took many more photos, so check out our photo albums for all of them.

Located right on Lake Erie with great scenery...

We ate at the Melt Bar & Grilled located in Independence, a place we both had on our list for some time and the food was fantastic. The menu's were so unique.

We started with the Pierogi's, then Jerry had the Cuban Pig Sandwich and I had the Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon Sandwich and they were both delicious. Food in the east is so much tastier and reminds me so much of my childhood.

One of the days we also ate at the Winking Lizard in Independence that was located right next to the hotel and had a real lizard and some unique menu's...

Because we didn't have to drive we began with Blue Moon and Raspberry Margarita's...

Then had some Spinach Dip & Chips...

It was the most amazing Rueben and I have eaten plenty of them in my lifetime...the corned beef was homemade and you can taste the deliciousness with every bite.

Jerry had the Quesadilla Burger which was so full of so much stuff...southwestern spices, jalapenos, sour cream, cheese, bacon, black bean & corn salsa and so much more!

We LOVE Cleveland and plan to revisit again and see a lot more!

On The Road Again…Our First Week on the BOA Adventure!

Our visit in Cedar Hill came to an end, all meetings are over and we have the truck and the trailer and are once again on the road. This first part of our journey is the longest of all of them, a total of 1300 miles but this year we arranged to have 5 days to get there instead of the 3 they gave us last year.

The Courtyard Marriot in Midlothian, Texas was a fantastic place to stay and we would highly recommend it. The rooms are fabulous, the bed was so comfortable, the shower was amazing and the price was outstanding.

Sunday’s drive was over 350 miles, we made it to Little Rock, Arkansas where we stayed at a Comfort Inn by the airport. It wasn’t too bad but in comparison to our first stay it’s small and cramped and it’s priced much higher…go figure. But, the staff is very accommodating and not too much awful noise from the planes.

We say that finding hotels even with the extensive research we do is like “A box of chocolates”, you never know what you’re going to get until you get there and our second day on the road was a perfect example.

The plan was to visit Graceland and then stay at a nearby hotel, but when we arrived at 9:30am at Graceland there was a 3 hour wait so we were just going to see if we could check in early but the neighborhood was awful, so we chose to move on and make it a longer driving day instead.

We drove a total of over 360 miles and made it to Goodlettsville, Tennessee to a very comfortable Country Inn. It was nice and roomy, a bit on the worn side, old carpet and upholstery but the staff was great and so were the free cookies that Jerry took full advantage of and had more than his share.

Next day was an easier drive, only 130 miles since we had a few errands to run and clean up a few things on the truck and trailer. We stayed at the Baymont Inn in Elizabethtown, Kentucky which was not the best choice either, a bit on the worn side, the staff was accommodating but the air conditioner was a joke and so was the shower. The air would not turn off and the shower was so small but it was for only one night so we muddled through.

Next day we did 250 miles and stayed at the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Cross Lanes, WV and had a play day. They were very accommodating and allowed us to check in early without any whining. Too many times when we show up around 1pm they whine and make it as if it’s such a nuisance since check in time is not usually until 3pm, but if they have an available clean room what is the big deal? We loved that the entire facility was NO smoking, including the casino. We played a little and unfortunately most of the restaurants were closed or did not open until much later in the evening so we instead got some sandwiches from the Deli and went back to our room to eat them.

Our next day drive was only 170 miles to Morgantown, WV at Candlewood Suites. Now this is the type of place we love staying at and hoped there were more like this in our travels, especially the weekend stays. This hotel is very new, the rooms are huge and well planned for convenience with ALL the amenities, full fridge, sink, microwave, stove top, extra comfortable chair, large shower and bathroom area, and of course a wonderful bed and ALL of this for only $79 per night…OMG!

Then on Friday just a little under 100 miles we arrived and dropped off the trailer, got our hotel and got some rest. The hotel was good this year and was only about 3 miles from the event. We stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton and they upgraded us to a King instead of the Queen that was originally booked. The room was huge with a LOT of wasted space, the shower area lacked the space that was wasted elsewhere. There were no extras, no fridge, no microwave, but we did have a coffee pot, a couch and 3 chairs and a LOT of open space.

Our first show in Monroeville, Pennsylvania was a success, sort of. What we mean by that is even though we did not make our goal there were circumstances behind it that were out of our control but we did not have terrible weather as we did last year and the workers were fantastic.

Sunday was spent mostly relaxing and unwinding from the 18-hour work day on Saturday and just a few hours of paperwork.

Now the good news is for the next few weeks we do not have many miles to put on in between events so we can take our time in areas and do some fun things while we travel to our next location. 

More Eats Along the Way!

Red Lobster

1002 University Towne Center Drive

Morgantown, WV 26501

We both had the "Endless Shrimp" and agree that the newest flavor, Garlic Sriracha-Grilled Shrimp was the BEST!!! 

A Few Eateries On Our Travels

Razzoo's

Cedar Hill, Texas

What a great and unique place...the menu's were so much fun to read and the ambiance felt as if we were in the Bayou but we were definitely in the middle of Texas...

We both LOVE Cajun style food and this place knows how to do it right...Jerry had the Fried Shrimp Platter Mo'Better and it was certainly mo' better than most...the shrimp had the perfect amount of coating on it and the hush puppies had the right amount of Jalapeno to be hot but still very tasty and no real burn.

I had the Cajun Combo Skillet which had a little bit of everything and then some. There were different sauces on the rice and each one had a unique flavor with a bite to them but not too much of a burn, just enough to make us want more and more. The garlic toast was crispy but soft, the best we have both tasted in a long while. The corn on both were mushy, so neither of us ate ours, we are spoiled by the way Jerry makes ours on a grill...

We would highly recommend this place and plan to visit again when we are back in the area.

Longhorn

Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Another place we would highly recommend would be here in Elizabethtown, Kentucky...We both ordered the Steak Dinner which included it all and more...

The honey bread was warm and so soft and tasted like home made...

These Portobello Mushrooms may not look good, but they sure tasted great and the sauce was smooth and just the right amount of spice to leave you wanting more...

We both got a salad...

And for the main course, Jerry opted for a baked potato and I chose the broccoli...

We both shared the Turtle Cheesecake which was a perfect end to a perfect meal...how can you go wrong with the perfect dessert, turtle and cheesecake...the best!