Costa Rica - Day 1

Our flight was at 6am so we had to awaken at some ungodly hour. I think the only other time I had to get up that early was when we delivered papers. My body does not like me at that hour.
We got all our stuff together, fed the child and were on our way. Now, normally I am the one who gets hung up at security check points, but not this time! Yay me! It was finally Greg who loads up his bag with every electronic device invented. This time, it seems it was an issue with the camera, but after a LONG time, it was resolved and we were on our way.
We arrived at the gate very near the end of boarding, so little time to spare and I think my parents thought for a moment they may not see us.
The flight was fine (about an hour?) and we landed in Atlanta safe and sound to catch our next plane c-l-e-a-r across the airport. Why does it always work out that way? The gate was originally in the terminal in which we landed, but they changed it last minute according to Greg and his iPhone app. These things are ridiculously handy.
The next leg took about 4+ hours. It was quite bumpy! I left my seatbelt on for fear of getting knocked out into the aisle! Lucky me got stuck behind a man who immediately reclined his seat and left it that was the entire flight. This makes everything challenging. I got to read my People magazine VERY closely - literally. I made sure to bump inti the seat appropriately so he wouldn't remain too comfortable.
Finally we arrive in Costa Rica. Wow. Now I'm completely in a different country and I can tell. Everything looks different an I can't read anymore.
We get our bags and as we're leaving the airport and there are lots of men pressed up against the window with signs and such. Looked like drivers, but also looked like a place you wouldn't want to get stuck in. We went across the street to the predetermined pick up spot but didn't see our driver. I offered to go look for our driver and dad came with me. Somehow we ended up with like 5 guys pulling our bags. Apparently these guys just wait for tourists and have a smooth way of acting like they are the person you need. One guy even wrote our B&B's name on a paper and came at us acting like our driver. Then you have to tip them all.
Finally we made it to our bed & breakfast Casa Bella Rita. Note: the driving down here is harrowing to say the least. Crazy drivers and no rules! Anyway, the B&b was beautiful! In our room Addison had her own bed in a little nook in the room. It was awesome. Not much longer and the rest of our crew joined us.
The time difference is 2 hours. I think it's the first time (besides being sick) that I went to bed at 7:30!













-- Post From My iPhone

3 restaurant reviews all at once.

I’m so behind on restaurant reviews! I need to catch up.

So, a few weeks ago my mom and I went to Oregon Express. There was a band playing downstairs and it was quite loud, so we decided to go upstairs to the patio because it was much quieter. Normally, on a cooler day I imagine the patio wouldn’t be so bad, but it was warm and it had been raining all day, so the bugs were out in full force. It took quite a while for the waitress to come and acknowledge us and give us menus and all that jazz. It seems they are more used to the seasoned customer who knows where to get things, not newbies like us. We finally got to order and we went with the pepperoni pizza since they claim to have the best pizza in Dayton. Drinks were not filled as often as I would have liked. I can’t even remember if I got a refill at all…granted it’s been about 4 weeks. I just remember very slow service.



The pizza was good. I’m not sure it’s the best in Dayton, but it was good and I would gladly eat it again. It IS pizza afterall. How bad could it be, really? Oregon Express isn’t a place I’d crave to go – though I might crave the pizza and would be likely to get it to-go, but it’s not a place I’d choose to go to sit down and eat. I’d rather get the pizza and sit somewhere else to eat it. I’d go again, but as my mom says “only if someone suggested it first”.

Blind Bob’s. Oh, Blind Bob’s. I’m so confused by your door! When approaching Blind Bob’s there are two doors. Which one to pick? Which one? Oh, I’ll pick the WRONG one. Luckily (or not) our future waitress was right behind us as I picked the wrong door and directed us to the right one. Seriously. Is this a test? I get it. Blindly try doors until you find one that opens. It was pretty empty so we had our choice of tables. It’s a seat yourself kind of joint. So we picked close to the door so we could find it again.  No, really it was close to a big window and I preferred that to the dark bar-ish feel of the rest of the place. They had a pretty big stage, so I imagine it gets loud in there too with a live band.



We ordered the fried pickles to share and the ¼ pound burger. The pickles were soooo yummy. I had a taste for them for weeks afterward. Not as good as the ones you get at The Pub, but it is a very close second. The burger was not much. I mean, literally it was small compared to the giant bun they put it on. I was definitely eating more bread than burger. It might have been a 1:4 ratio of meat to bread. I’d try something else before I got that again. They did however have tasty looking “stuffed” burgers on the menu that I might try if I had a little extra time (they required more cooking time). Anyway, we both got the homemade chips on the side and a special dip – which was a sour cream and onion kind of dip. YUMMO! Just give me a plate of that and the pickles and roll me out ‘cause that’s all I needed. This is a menu that needs further exploration for sure…if not just to get the pickles again.



Last week we went to Franco’s. This is an Italian restaurant just across from the library and across the street from the Oregon District, but I think it’s still considered O.D. I occasion Franco’s. Like, I think I’ve been there 4 times in my life so I think that speaks of my opinion of it. I forget that I’m never blown away by it. I had the pizza (surprise, surprise) and my mom had spaghetti. We shared garlic bread. Nothing was spectacular. The spaghetti was just spaghetti, the garlic bread was just garlic bread and my pizza – while good and probably had more flavor than the spaghetti – wasn’t amazing. I remember now why Franco’s isn’t my first place to go. We did arrive late, but the check took way too long to get back and nearly made us late to the movie even after we asked for it. The staff was very prompt at taking our plates away though, which I appreciated. Nothing like a plate of uneaten food staring you in the face and tempting you to eat more. In my opinion, Franco’s is way overpriced for what you get.

It'll be a few weeks before the next installment of restaurant reviews because we won't be going to the movies for a few weeks...so until next time...(I'm not going to say bon appetit 'cause that'd be cheezy).

What's that smell?

So I'm talking with a co-worker about my frustration over the copy machine not working. Suddenly she's holding her nose and says "Oh my God. Do you smell that? It's so strong it's making me nauseous. I feel like I want to throw up!". This is pretty much verbatim. A little nervously (since we're the only two in the area) I say "No, I don't think so...what do you smell?". Still pinching her nostrils she says, "that cologne! The copy guy that just left had way too much on and I can't get it out of my nose! It's making me sick.". I say, "Huh. I don't smell anything." as I discreetly step back. She says, "Seriously, you don't smell anything? Must be my allergies making me sensitive.". "Maybe that's it.", I reply. Then I give her a sympathetic look, act busy and back away trying not to blush. I quickly slink to the bathroom to wash my hands because I realized she was talking about ME! I had just put on some hand lotion which apparently has a very strong cologne smell.
I wish that were the end of the tale, but it's not. She comes to my office a little while later and almost immediately pinches her nose again. Christ, I can't get this crap off my hands!! It's like friggin glue. My scarlet letter. "Oh wow. It's over here too. You really can't smell it? It's everywhere!". Now you might think at this point she might be obviously sending me a message, but she's not the type. She would be as mortified as I was if she knew I was the one carrying the offensive odor. But geez, let it go already. I moved out of the line of my desk fan so as not to blow the stench further in her direction. I'm dying partly of embarrassment and partly of laughter because an officemate of mine to whom I had revealed my mortification was snickering as she walked by when I was talking to the offended. I just sat there and giggled inappropriately to my co-workers odiferous woes and vowed to get rid of the lotion that has caused me so much grief. All this over some dry hands. I'd rather have cracked knuckles than go through that horror again.
In case you're wondering, it's B&BW's Breathe/Energy, Exhilarating Ginger Verbena. Ironic, wouldn't you say? I still think it smells good, just be warned you should only wear it in a breezy open field about 10 miles away from humans.

-- Post From My iPhone

Restaurant Review - Boulevard Haus, Oregon District

My mother and I decided that we were going to eat “around the Oregon District” this summer before our weekly movie night. We’ve also decided to not go to every Victoria Theatre movie this summer because some just really didn’t interest us at all, so we won’t be going out to eat each week…so this is a some-Fridays restaurant review.

The first place we ate was Boulevard Haus. This restaurant was formerly the Café Boulevard, which was a French restaurant. I had been there and the décor has not changed a great deal from the original place except I think the patio may have been expanded, German decorations and there is a little bit of a clearer view of the kitchen which I always appreciate. I think I like a view of the kitchen because it shows they really have nothing to hide…with the exception of Submarine House on Brown St…I’d rather I didn’t see that mess. Anyway, the menu has changed from French to German. You will find things like brats, sauerkraut, wienerschnitzel and cabbage rolls. And burgers. YES, burgers. They advertise traditional and contemporary German food, which I interpret to mean American Fare with a German influence. I thought a lot of things probably wouldn’t be found in a traditional German restaurant (which was fine with me), and they’ve even carried over a popular French dish from Café Boulevard onto their menu. Galettes – which they claim is made with a French/German buckwheat pancake. French/German? Oh, kay.  Must have been harvested right at the border.

Mom ordered sauerkraut balls for an appetizer and I will admit they weren’t bad. Quite rich, but not bad. Then she ordered some kind of bratwurst something or other. Basically grilled brats with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Just what you’d expect (from a German place, not from my mother).

I decided to go in a completely different direction and ordered the Pretzel Burger. Not to be confused with the very American Americano Burger which was probably pretty traditionally a typical American Burger. The Pretzel Burger on the other hand had crispy German onions, sweet German mustard mayo and served on a German pretzel bun. Delish. Of course, complimented by very tasty German Pommes Frites.

This is definitely a place I’d go back to. Perhaps explore more on the menu – although that burger was very good.  :)  The staff was very friendly, it's relatively quiet (inside anyway), and I never felt rushed.  Rating: A+.