Dining On The Road

I have had some wonderful meals on this trip, most memorable in Boulder and Moab. Not to say I haven't enjoyed my meals in Davenport, Lincoln, Ontario, and Redmond. In fact, today was one of those high points with a vanilla porter and fried onion rings at Smith Rock Brewing in Redmond.

And, let's not forget Gobble, Gobble Balls that I made on Monday night in Redmond. Follow the link and find the recipe on Saveur. I made a fetticini carbonara without bacon or pancetta to go with the meatballs. This was a winner.

In Boulder, Ella's is not to be missed. This southern diner Hungarian fusion restaurant provided me with the best chicken fried steak I have had in twenty five years. And finished off with a Dobos torte as seen below. Sharon found this restaurant and it is on her regular schedule now.

Moab was home to the Desert Bistro. This was quite a surprise even though Jim at the bar at Bistro Monet told me it was good and the Trip Advisor reviews were positive. The dishes were beautifully prepared and presented and delicious. The service was great. The only downside was the pricing. They were not cheap but they were serving prime ingredients in a place you do not expect them, especially Hawaian fish.

 

 

 

Phobias

Ever dealt with a phobia? I have a long standing one that was always in the background since I was in high school. Now it has become more pronounced and I am wondering how best to deal with it. I have a fear of heights, especially when I am driving a mountain road on the outside edge. This started when I was a teenager driving to Surfside, Texas over the bridge over the Intercoastal Canal. It hit me big time this trip when I drove the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. I dealt with it also at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and even today driving to Cove Palisades State Park in Central Oregon.
As I was driving the Trail Ridge Road my phobia was a real problem for me. And, as much as I tried to reason my fear away it remained. I am a good driver. I know how to control my vehicle. The road is plenty wide. I am not going to fall off. There are a lot of other people on the road in both bigger and smaller vehicles. They are not falling off the road. Many of them are probably horrible drives and they are not running off the road. All of these thoughts and more ran through my head but the fear remained. It is unreasonable fear. It is fear that cannot be reasoned away. It is real.
How to people overcome phobias such as this? I'm going to do some reading because I am determined to understand and overcome this. So that I can stand on the edge of the canyon, as I couldn't today.

2610

Since my last blog post I've driven 2610 miles and I am now sitting at John and Kristie's house in Redmond Oregon. I've been to and stayed in Lincoln Nebraska and Estes Park Colorado Boulder Colorado and Moab Utah and Ontario Oregon and Redmond Oregon. Along the way I have hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park and biked in Boulder Colorado and driven through and hiked Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Details to follow!

The photos below were all taken in Canyonlands and Arches. Wow.

 

Marc Vetri

A well written piece on "G.I." - "I'm Gluten Intolerant...Intolerant"

 

What No Pictures?

The blog has been lacking in photographs lately. Here are some from my ride today.

 

Adjustments

Tomorrow willl mark one week since my final cataract surgery. I am still adjusting to life without glasses and contacts. Most evening I have an urge to remove my contact lenses and then realize I don't have contacts.in my eyes. When I wake during the middle of the night before I get up I reach for the night table for my glasses and then realize they are no longer there.

I am seeing better and more confidently each day post surgery. An example, I am writing this on my iPad on my portable keyboard. I can clearly read the text on the iPad screen and clearly see the keys on the keyboard without reading glasses. Oh, I do find myself putting on reading glasses when I do not need to. A habit I will need to break. I don't want my eyes to get lazy.

Tomorrow I see Dr. Sarkos and hopefully she will tell me I do not need to wear the eye shield at night and I can cut back on the three eye drops I am using. I also will ask for a recommentation on a eye drop for lubrication. My left eye sometimes feels as if I have something in it, though Dr. Lindenmuth says there is nothing there. Perhaps just a lubricating drop from time to time will make that feeling go away.

Yesterday I was back on my bike on both the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail. Glen Ellyn to Elmhurst on the Prairie Path then up to the Great Western Trail from Villa Park to Lombard, then back to the Prairie Path to Glen Ellyn. Just under 14 miles. Next step 20. I did create bicycle problems for myself yesterday. I decided to "Slime" my tubes to prevent flats. The front tire went well but not the back. The tire valve remover tool that came with the Slime broke in the valve of the back tube and I could not get it out. I finally had to pay a visit to the downtown Glen Ellyn bike shop for a replacment tube. I now have a Slimed tube in the front tire and a new tube in the back tire and half a bottle of leftover Slime. I suppose the experience was good for me in several ways. It is possible that the stubborn valve was defective and would have failed wile I was riding and I would have been walking. I found my old tire levers in one of my tool boxes and got to use them to replace a tube. And, I got practice in repairing bicycle tires!

Last night I considered my route on this year's road trip. After spending the weekend with Lee and Peg and Sharon in Estes Park and then two more nights with Sharon in Boulder I head to Redmond. I decided to visit Moab, Utah and Arches National Park on the way. I will have one day to beautiful scenery and mountain driving from Boulder to Moab on Interstate 70. That will give me an afternoon and evening at Arches. Then the next day will be all driving with a target of Ontario, Oregon. I'll to a little sight seeing on the way as I will pass by the Great Salt Lake. From Ontario to Redmond will be an easy half day of driving.

Cataract Surgery II

Yesterday was cataract surgery - this time on my right eye. The procedure seemed routine since I had my left eye done last month. This time though, I told the anesthesiologist That it seemed the last time I was too aware of the procedure near the end and wanted a bit more anesthesia. He told me he would, but even though I believe he did, I was aware through the entire procedure. That was freaky! However, I was not concerned, just aware. I could hear everyone in the room talking, I could hear instruments I could see light and things going on around me eye. I wanted to ask for music but had been told not to move or talk - so I behaved. It seems it took longer for the anesthesia to wear off this time, likely because I got a bit more. I was pretty much out of it on the drive home and then took a nap shortly after arriving home. I wasn't really functional until around 5:00 p.m and then I was in bed before 9:00 p.m. with lights out shortly after.
Today, my vision is amazing. Everything is crisp and clear and bright, perhaps a bit too bright. I am seeing with both eyes uncorrected by glasses or contacts for the first time since I was two years old and it is quite amazing. Naturally I am pleased. I will probably need to continue to use reading glasses but I do not mind that at all. Being able to wake up at night or in the morning and be able to see is a wonderful gift.
My brain has some adjusting to do - colors and clarity and balancing my eyes, but I suspect that within a week or so I will be adapted to this new life. Thank you Medicare and United Healthcare and Dr. Sophia Sarkos!

 好吃多吃 (hao chi duo chi)