More Snow, More Shoveling

8:19

It's 9:00 as I start this and I have been up for an hour, sleeping close to nine hours, a record. I was awakened by duck hunters, one group at the tip of Long Point, the other just beyond the reeds. The lake is beginning to freeze, at least along the shoreline and we received five or six more inches of snow overnight. 

Lake Begins To Freeze

Duck Hunters Off Of Long Point

Yesterday was cold, with snow showers on and off during the day. I was up at 7:00, took some of photos, had my coffee and wrote the blog, no kayaking, unfortunately. We were unsure what to do with our day but needed some essentials so by 10:30, I had shoveled the snow off the car and the driveway and left for Wegmans. My timing was poor because I had to drive through a brief blizzard most of the way at a safe 30 mph. Wegmans was crowded and most carts were heavy with groceries. I, too, filled my cart and was relieved to see the snow had abated some when I left. Once the groceries were put away, I went out and shoveled the parking area, then came in and had lunch, the leftover chili with rice, and watched the last episode of Season One of The Lincoln Lawyer.  

Side Yard

Icesickles

It was 1:30 by the time I finished, so I grabbed my book, read some, and took a nap. Meanwhile, Evie was busy organizing her recipes, a gargantuan task, and by 4:00, she had a pot of cauliflower soup made for our lunches. I went out and shoveled for the third time around 4:30, walked down to our mailboxes, and picked up a couple of weeks worth of mail. 

Flurries At 5:00

We had our happy hour at 5:00 and were treated to flurries, but by 6:00, we were both in the kitchen making pork fried rice with lots of vegetables like bok choy, onions, mushrooms, bean sprouts and tomatoes. It tasted great and we both had two helpings while watching another couple of episodes of House Of Cards. We hoped to follow our niece's daughter, Shea's volleyball team in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Arizona. We were unable to watch because we did not have ESPN+. Unfortunately, they lost but had a great season. 

Snowed In Day Three

7:17

7:18

8:36

As I woke this morning, not much had changed. The snow is still piled high, in some areas three to four feet. The ducks are feeding in front of our house, the lake's calm and it's a chilly 16º. Fortunately, it did not snow much overnight, so I don't think I will need to shovel the parking area. And obviously, I will not be kayaking this morning because my kayak is hidden under the snow.

Tundra Swans

Thursday was a typical day here at the lake for the past week. Lots of snow and being housebound because of the snow and treacherous roads. Neighbors canceled Thanksgiving and weekend trips because ot the heavy snow. We lucked out on Wednesday because the roads through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York were fine, at least before noon. So we hunkered down most of the day, enjoying being surrounded by white everywhere we looked and a lake filled with waterfowl, at least 20 tundra swans, numerous mallards, and Canadian geese as well as a swarm of hundreds of seagulls. 

Seagulls Floating By

Twice I went out to shovel, the first time was five or six inches from overnight, As I  was finishing, the snowplow guys did our road and also cleared out our parking areas so we now have room for both cars. When I came in, Evie made me some hot chocolate and we both relaxed the rest of the morning, listening to Michael Smerconish, our usual. For lunch, Evie made me some rice to go with the leftover chili and I watched my show, The Lincoln Lawyer. I then read some, napped briefly, and came downstairs to the aroma of pork and sauerkraut, baking in the oven, our dinner. Besides dinner, Evie got caught up on washing, before watching some TV. Around 4:00, I went outside to get our mail but when talking to a neighbor, I found it had not been delivered for three or four days. I walked back to our house, cleaned the snow off the car, and shoveled the parking area again although it was only a couple of inches. 

We had our wine time at 5:00, listening to CNN, and by 6:15, we were enjoying our pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes, another one of my major dinners. We watched House Of Cards until 9:00 when Evie went up to bed and I watched the first half of the Lions/Packers game, which was eventually won by the Lions on a field goal. It was good to be home, comfy and warm, despite being snow-bound. I may venture out on the roads today to get our mail, maybe go to the store.

Snowed In

7:12

This Morning

Front Windows

Next Door Neighbors

We are back at the lake, warm and comfy in our house. Evie has always dreamed of a heavy snowfall and she got it. We received another six inches last night, close to two feet covering the ground with more to come. It's a white yard as I look out on the gray sky and lake and numerous tundra swans are swimming as we listen to their cries. It's 8:20, and the wind has picked up, and it has begun to snow, almost like a blizzard. I am going to have fun shoveling on and off during the day. 

This Morning At 9:00

Swans Dunking For Weeds

Tundra Swans

A Bevy Of Ducks

Ducks

Wednesday went about as well as we could have asked for. The roads to Cleveland, Erie, and the lake were clear, with hardly any snow falling. It was windy, however, with snow often blowing across the road. We left around 8:00, stopped once at Love's on the Ohio border, and arrived at the lake around 11:30. 

RT 86 Blowing Snow

The best part, however, was our neighbors shoveled our walk from our parking area so we could get in the house. How lucky we are. We spent a good half hour unpacking the car, then putting stuff away but by noon, we were sitting on our couches, with our devices, looking out at the snow piles on our rhododendrons, yard and lake.

Night Time

I was happy to be back in a routine and took a short nap, read, watched some TV and had a piece of pizza for lunch. By 5:00, we were celebrating our arrival with a Manhattan, cheese, and crackers, listening to the news. We had chili which Evie had pulled out of the freezer for dinner and watched House Of Cards until Evie went up to bed then I watched some college basketball until 9:30 and went up and read and slept. 

Photo From Our Back Porch Last Night

Once More To The Lake

Tennessee

 It's 6:46 and I am watching Fox News, what else, on a cold morning here in a Hampton Inn in Ashland, Ohio, three hours from the lake in the summer, who knows how long today. 

Kentucky

Yesterday was another uneventful day as we mostly thought about our drive today, the snow, the roads, wind, and our home. We left Goodlettsville around 8:00 Central Time and made good time through the rest of Tennessee. Kentucky was fine with its fir trees dotted along the highway until the road got busy in Louisville. We stopped for gas just before leaving Kentucky and crossing the Ohio River to Cincinnati, again, a maze of highways in the city until we hit #71 which would take us to Columbus, eventually Cleveland. 

Ohio

After six hours of driving, we had had enough and decided to stop at Ashland and relax in the Hampton Inn. I left to get our car gassed up and picked up some dinner, such as salad, chips, and cookies, to go along with the leftover pizza, as we decided to stay in rather than go out to eat. We binge-watched House of Cards until 9:00, when we decided we had enough and read for a bit before going to bed, anxious about today's drive to the lake. 

The snow may hold off until tonight and the roads are clear but there will be heavy winds. 

Heading Somewhere In Ohio

 It's 6:40, soon to be 7:40 when we head north into Ohio. We are staying at a Hampton Inn in Goodlettsville, TN, about 20 miles north of Nashville. We have another five of six hour drive today, then hope the weather and roads are decent enough to head to the lake on Wednesday

We left Little Rock around 9 00, in no hurry to get on the road. The ride was nondescript. It was mostly vast fields that seemed to stretch forever, flat as a pan, with occasional farm houses, towns, and, at times, trees still covered with leaves of changing colors. We had two stops again, once for breakfast at Mc Donalds and a few hours later for lunch and gas. Traffic was heavy, lots of trucks but we were able to stay around 70mph most of the way until we arrived in Nashville and then things slowed down for the next half hour as we made our way around it and headed north on 65 to Goodlettsville. 

We arrived at the Hampton at 3:30, a six-hour drive as we expected. It felt delicious to sink into a bed after the drive and enjoy some TV, book, nap or shower. We are used to driving eight or nine hours in the past but now, six seems just about right. We were lucky with our dinner choices because a highly recommended restaurant, Long Hollow Pizza And Pub was a short walk away. We walked over in light snow at 6:00 and found a seat at the bar in front of a galley of TVs, ten total. We ordered beers for me, a micro beer called Pub Cerveza, from Nashville, and Evie had wine. We ordered our usual, pizza with mushrooms and pepperoni, an 18inch pizza special on Tuesdays, five bucks off, a deal. 

Yum

We watched the Browns game along with a couple of Denver Bronco fans, then walked home in the light snow. We were both tired so we watched only the first half of the game before turning off the lights and reading some before sleep. 

A Great Bar 

On The Road Again

Kansas City

Dallas

Well, I am sitting in a Tru Hilton Hotel in Little Rock, and it's a sunny but cold morning. The hotel tries to be hip, with a lounge, pool table, outdoor seating, and things like that. We stayed in it a couple of years ago. 

I don't have much to say about our six-hour drive yesterday other than it was sad to leave the Albarrans. We left around 10:00 and the roads were already busy. Our goal was to first Texarkana, for a couple of hours, then hit Arkansas and Little Rock, for another three hours. It was a sunny day so we passed numerous vast ranches mostly in Texas and tree-lined roads in Arkansas. We made one stop for lunch, at a Burger King for a whopper and gas but that was it. We hit two work areas where we had to wait for 15 minutes, as traffic moved slowly if at all. 

We were happy to reach our hotel at 3:30 and relax for a couple of hours watching football, what else. Waldo's Chicken And Beer was recommended and it was less than five minutes away so we ate there. It was a pleasant place, with a nice bar and numerous TVs. Evie ordered a chicken salad and I had a chicken sandwich but their cheddar biscuits with honey butter were to die for. We should have just ordered them. 

We were back at our room by 7:15 when the Bills game started. We stayed up and watched it through three quarters when they seemed to have clinched a victory in the snow. We couldn't believe that 70,000 fans had braved the snow, the dangerous roads and cold to see the game, only in Buffalo. 

We are trying to keep our daily driving down to five or six hours, so tonight we will be staying at a Hampton Inn in Goodlettsville, TN, and on Tuesday, we will stay at a Hampton Inn outside of Columbus, Ohio. We hope to drive home on Wednesday but the weather and roads don't look promising. 

Off To Little Rock For The Night

Milena And Mitch

Tyler And Renee

Beth And Marisa

It's early in the morning, 7:15 on another stellar day in Dallas. By 8:00, five of us were up, on our devices, of course, planning the day. For us, it's a five hour drive to Little Rock, two more five hour drives after that and we hope to arrive home, weather permitting on Wednesday afternoon.

The Family

With Grandchildren And Grand Dog

Yesterday was the Ohio State/ Michigan Saturday, Ramiro and I were the only ones who cared. I was up at 7:15 the only one up for quite a while.  We were in no hurry again, enjoying coffee and our devices. Around 9:30, Milena took orders for late breakfast from Shugs, a very popular breakfast spot about 15 minutes away. Mitch, Milena, and I drove to the deli and it was packed, tables inside, people waiting for their orders, and people waiting to have their orders taken. I guess it's a popular spot! Even though we ordered a good forty-five minutes before arriving, we still waited ten minutes for our nine orders. 

Shugs

It was worth the wait because they were great breakfast sandwiches, either on a bagel or bun. By the time we were done, the Ohio State/Michigan game started. It was a boring game, probably because Ohio State was not playing well and eventually lost.  The kids wanted to go to the Mall, North Park Center, and it was an experience. It's huge, with immense parking lots, one five stories and yet we had difficulty finding a place to park. The Mall contains 200 seemingly thriving stores and it was packed with shoppers. I couldn't believe it, a Mall with stores and shoppers! We spent an hour in an upscale clothing store called Madewell and the kids found something to like. We then went to Design Within Reach because Rami was buying a Herman Miller chair for himself and his two sons. We sat around testing various chairs for a good forty-five minutes before deciding on three tres comfortable chairs. 

It was 5:00 by the time we left and decided to go out for dinner at our favorite taco place, El Come Taco, about a twenty-minute drive. We go there every time we visit Dallas and this was probably our third time. We were literally the only customers so we stood in line giving our orders. They gave us chips and guacamole and we ordered a couple of dishes of elote, corn with sour cream and cheese. Yum. Everyone ordered a variety of tacos and Tyler's girlfriend, Renne, ordered hers with tongue. The guy behind the counter had to ask her twice if she meant tongue.  A couple of us had margaritas but most ordered a beer. The tacos were great, and worth the drive. 

Taco Saturday

Tin Tin

Mitch

Since we ate so early we were home by 6:15, in time for the Texas/Texas Tech game, more interesting because both Mitchell and Milena went to Texas in Austin and Marisa will probably go there for med school this summer. Around 7:00, Tyler and Renee left via Uber for the airport and their flight back to Atlanta at 8:50. Around 8:00, Beth pulled out the pies for dessert and everyone was happy to partake, despite having filled up on tacos. We spent most of the evening watching Texas defeat Texas A &M, 17-7, making Mitch and Milena happy. We went to bed happy.