We LOVE small towns. We stumbled onto Sycamore, Illinois several years ago, and we were anxious to go back. We pulled into town and were sad to see parking meters everywhere…but our sadness turned to laughter when Peepaw dropped in a DIME and got TWO HOURS of parking! The Cheapest Meters In The Midwest! The […]
The Blue Bird Diner – Iowa City, Iowa
As many of you know, we are searching for a local diner to take the place of our Sunday breakfast spot at The Wedge in downtown Iowa City. (A sad story of a SUCCESSFUL restaurant closing for reasons not yet made public. Really too bad for the MANY patrons who love the place…and for the […]
Zaza’s Pasta Shop and Italian Market – Iowa City, Iowa
While driving through a residential neighborhood on the East side of Iowa City, I passed by a shop I’ve been meaning to check out. Zaza’s is located in a cute little bungalow on Bowery Street that has been home to many businesses through the years, and I was surprised and happy to see it has […]
Vines and Wines – Oregon Wine Country Tour
Rick and Candy escorted us on an AMAZING tour of the countryside during our trip to McMinnville, Oregon. The vineyards, wineries, olive trees, foothills and scenery left me nearly speechless…and that says a lot for me! So here are some highlights of our tour that beautiful day…settle in for a photo fest! So MANY choices! (And […]
Dragging The Gut – McMinnville, Oregon
If you’ve been following along on our Oregon adventures, you know we headed to McMinnville Oregon to meet some old friends and to see their annual Dragging the Gut Festival. We’re Dragging The Gut…With ROYALTY! Mayor Rick Olson and First Lady Candy of McMinnville And these photos speak for themselves… […]
On the Way Cafe – Lafayette, Oregon
Saturday morning dawned…and once again, the weather was PERFECT. We threw the top down on the car and headed several miles away to Lafayette for breakfast… At a cute little cafe called… After a chat with the waitress/owner, and a delicious breakfast, we headed out for some sight-seeing and a short drive to […]
Los Molcajetes – McMinnville, Oregon
We planned to meet Rick’s wife Candy for the first time at dinner downtown. But before we met them, we got a phone call from Steve and Lucy in Portland. They surprised us by driving out to meet us for dinner and a Friday night gut-drag too! So off we went to snag a table […]
Tommy’s Restaurant – McMinnville, Oregon
After a great night’s sleep at the McMinnville Inn, we headed to a local spot for breakfast…one that scored high marks online as being a sure winner. And the online information was correct. Tommy’s was a GREAT place…with DELICIOUS food… The walls at Tommy’s are FILLED with memorabilia from […]
Best Main Street in America – McMinnville, Oregon
During our stay in McMinnville, Mayor Rick walked us past many of the beautiful shops, restaurants, wine tasting rooms, and flats/condos on 3rd Street. (He should be VERY proud of his accomplishments as Mayor of this amazing and beautiful town. It’s no wonder it is considered one of the Best Main Streets in America!) […]
McMenamins – McMinnville, Oregon
From the moment our old friend Rick stepped out of his truck, the years simply melted away. And since Rick’s wife, Candy, was out of town until Saturday, it was just the three of us who piled into his big truck and headed to downtown McMinnville together. And the stories and laughter began. Having been […]