Celebrating Our Thirty-Sixth Anniversary at Canali's Restaurant in Rotterdam, New York

Eric made reservations at
Canali's Restaurant.







We've been celebrating our anniversaries (first date anniversary too) and Valentines Days at Canali's since 1985.  Last year we waited until September to celebrate our anniversary at our favorite Italian restaurant.

Jerry, Eric's Mom, gave us a Canali's Gift Certificate for our anniversary.
Thank you, Jerry!

Eric peruses the menu.

Tonight we'll start our dinner with a small Antipasto appetizer.  Our waitress, JoAnn, brought us a carafe of Chianti.  We toast our thirty-six years of marriage. 

Our small table, tucked into
a corner of the restaurant,
is the perfect spot for an
intimate dinner.

JoAnn waited to place our entree orders so we could enjoy a long, conversation-filled dinner.

This is the small Antipasto.

Add a basket of bread, and suddenly, I'm not so hungry.

Eric's Brasciola & Ziti

There are two Pork Loins under

the mushrooms & creamy gravy.

I ordered a side of Ziti

to bring home.

Dinner was oh, so good.  Our conversation was full of laughter.  Eric and I passed on dessert.  

An important part of our Canali's dining experience is enjoying their delicious foods the next day.  We each left with containers of food for tomorrow's lunch.

A Late Lunch at Ali Baba Express in Lake George, New York

Eric & I were in the area &

stopped at Ali Baba Express in

Lake George for a late lunch.

Others had the same idea.

The restaurant was busy.

I love the walls decorated

with rugs, shawls.

Eric took a tiny piece of
fresh baked Lavash.

Eric ordered Chicken Curry

Kebob with Rice, Green Beans

& Pickled  Red Cabbage.

I ordered Chicken Shish
Kebob with Rice, Green Beans
& Pickled Red Cabbage.






Lunch was great!  Eric and I love Mediterranean food and don't have it often enough.

Erie Boulevard Between State Street & the General Electric Campus in Schenectady Is All New

I took this picture on
November 3, 2012.





The project was already underway.  Erie Boulevard from State Street to the Interstate 890 on ramps near the General Electric campus was being torn up. New water, sewer and electric lines were run. The road was repaved with a new traffic configuration. Federal funding is paying for the majority of the funding for this project.

This section of Erie Boulevard, once part of the Erie Canal,  was at least six lanes wide for many years. There was so much room that driving the minimally marked road was a bit confusing.  Drivers could turn anywhere, at almost any time.  With few crosswalks for pedestrians to use, Erie Boulevard was considered hazardous for people on foot.

Now Erie Boulevard is four

lanes wide with a median.

Clearly marked crosswalks and a sheltered median help pedestrians navigate this busy road.

Parking is parallel in this
section, instead of diagonal.

Just up the boulevard, there is

 diagonal parking with a curb

to separate parked cars

from the roadway.

Decorative lighting, new sidewalks
new pavement & streetscaping
improves Erie Boulevard's look.

There is now a clearly defined

turning lane.

Eric crossed State Street.

Erie Boulevard is "narrow" here
with just four lanes.

An Update on Water Woes in Detroit, Michigan

Last August Eric and I toured Detroit, Michigan.  We found a vibrant downtown, abandoned homes and businesses and acres of urban meadows.  Fascinated by the conditions in Detroit, I started following news stories on this troubled city.  

Detroit's image was tarnished earlier this summer when media reports of residents with delinquent water bills as small as $100.00 had their water service turned off.  Businesses that owe Detroit thousands of dollars for non payment of water bills continue to operate with running water.

Detroit stepped up pursuit of overdue water payments as the city faces Chapter 9 Bankruptcy proceedings.  The water shut offs prompted protests.  The City's Water and Sewage Department found itself under siege.

Photo from rt.com

Picked up by national news outlets, people came to the aid of beleaguered Detroiters.  A website was set up to accept donations to pay off these small delinquent water bills.  Canadians brought bottled water to Detroit to assist residents without water service.

The City of Detroit has stepped up to assist taxpayers with delinquent water bills.  Over a thousand residents who have received warnings of water shut offs and those whose water has been turned off came to Cobo Center to sign up for payment plans.  

Being able to pay ten percent of a $220.00 water bill and budgeting to make payments over twenty-four months is a great help to Ralph Hill.

The Detroit Water and Sewage Department added more payment options.  Residents and businesses can now pay water bills online with a credit card. 

Are We Going to Upgrade Our Resorts of Distinction Membership?

Eric & I are going to our home

campground, Schroon River-
Adirondack Adventure Resort,

today.

We will have photos taken for our new Resorts of Distinction membership cards.

We will also sit through a sales pitch to upgrade our Resorts of Distinction membership to include two week stays at member campgrounds.  What will the additional cost be? Will the extra cost be easily recouped?

As is our way, we arrived early and had time to walk around Schroon River-Adirondack Adventure Resort.








The Office

A rack with brochures of

local attractions.

The Campground Store.....

.... has a good selection of

camper's necessities.

The resort's library

The Pool & Club House

The resort is located in

the woods.

Most of the sites are right now.

I wonder how many people are

here for track season

at Saratoga.

Mark filled us in on the details of upgrading from one week to two free weeks at Resorts of Distinction campgrounds.  The fee of $1,995.00 was within the price range we decided we could spend for this enhancement.

Eric and I want to slow our travels and spend more time when we stop to camp. Spending two weeks at Resorts of  Distinction campgrounds will be used as we
sloooow down.

Everybody Comes to Jerry's House

My mother-in-law, Jerry,
sister-in-law, Doreen &
great niece, Chloe

Eric & our nephew, Jason

Doreen & big brother, Eric

Jerry & Doreen

Chloe & Great Grandma

Our nephews, Anthony & Josh

Our niece, Maria & Aunt Doreen

Chloe found a small bird feather.

And now for the group shot...

Rich, sister-in-law, Karen, Me, Anthony, Eric acting badly (sigh...),

Jerry, Chloe, Jason, Maria, Doreen & Josh

A big thank you to Karen for setting up and photographing this group shot.

Our Warm Welcome Home in Rotterdam, New York

Eric's Mom's house looks
great!

After moving Jerry's car,

Eric was ready to back

into her driveway.

Our nephew, Anthony directs
Eric as he backs up.

Jerry & I hug & talk while

our son, Adam, looks on.

Eric & Anthony hug.

Eric hugs a very happy Jerry

as Anthony looks on.

We left Jerry's on October 5, 2013.  Our travels took us to the US/Mexican Border, Napa Valley and a lot of other places before we started our drive up the west coast.  We entered Canada on May 8, 2014 and started our drive north to Alaska.

Eric, Jerry & Eric's sister, Doreen
are laughing.






While backing up to get a shot of the three of them, I fell over one of Jerry's ornamental bushes.

The "Quick Stop" at Camping World in Bath, New York

Eric was needs a few items that are available at Camping World.  I'm looking for a decal map of Canada. This stop at Camping World won't take long.

The Camping World in Bath is
at the top of a hill.






Eric picked up a can of Boeshield T-9 Rust and Corrosion Protection  that he's been looking for.  I got the Canada decal map that I want.  So what's the hold up?

I had to go out to the motorhome

to measure our retractable steps.

The covers on our retractable steps are getting worn.  It's getting harder to scrape dirt off our shoes as we enter our motorhome.

The Camping World step covers wrap around the motorhome's steps.  Eric and I got into a discussion about the steps ability to close with new covers.  I'm not so sure that the steps will fully retract.  Eric's sure that the steps will be fine with new step covers.

Eric's right.

He installed the step covers
at Camping World & the
steps retract.

After tossing out the step cover packing material in Camping World's dumpster, we continued our drive east.

The Last Leg of Our Drive East to Rotterdam, New York

Our drive starts on
 Interstate 86 East.

We're driving 60 miles per hour
 in the slow lane.

The speed limit 65 & most vehicles
are passing us.

152 miles to Binghamton

Text Stop signs were being
designed when Eric retired from
the Signs & Signals Section of the
NYS Department of Transportation.

Rest Area signs in New York

now include Text Stop.

Our quick stop at Camping World

in Bath lasted about 45 minutes.

Tioga Downs Casino & Racing

 is located in Nichols.

Driving through Binghamton was a challenge.  There were detours due to major roadwork.  After a lot of turns, we eventually made our way to Interstate 88.

We are now about two and a half

hours from Rotterdam.

The lighting makes the picture.

I like the sharp contrasts
in colors.

Howe Caverns is a popular

attraction in this section

of New York.

We're getting closer..

We stop at Pilot to top off

our diesel tank in the

motorhome.

Eric put some additive in the

tank because we will be

sitting still for longer than usual.

We're home!








Eric will park the motorhome and then we can start the hugs.