Julia’s House,

   Thanks for all the birthday wishes.  I had a lovely day!  Randal and I are visiting our friend Julia whom we met years ago when we all belonged to the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club.  We went out and about along the Cape and had lots of fun visiting local crafts venues, stopping for lunch at Jack’s Outback II, walking the beach at Sandy Neck in Brewster and then stopping at  Momo’s  Food Emporium http://www.momosfoodemporium.com/  for coffee and one piece of pecan pie served with 3 forks.  From there it was off to Shaw’s / Star Market for dinner provisions.  Julia’s pals MJ and Vinney would join us for dinner.  It was a wonderful dinner with lots of great conversation.  A lovely Birthday Day!  And I’ll write about it soon.  This email is about yesterday and our visit with the 3 Grumpy Men of Yarmouthport, MA.

Ru

Parnassus Books, Jack’s Outback II and Edward Gorey : The 3 Grumpy Old Men of Yarmouthport

  Research is amazing and so is serendipity.  While researching the three places we stopped while in Yarmouthport, I realized we had encountered the famous “3 Grumpy Old Men of Yarmouthport.”   Though none was alive in fact, they were all alive in spirit. 

    Every visit Randal and I make to the Cape includes a visit to The Parnassus Book Shop. http://www.parnassusbooks.com/     “We’re just a book shop by the side of the road,” Muse said in a Register story on the store’s 50th anniversary in 2007. He never knew how many books were in his shop and didn’t care.”  We’d met the owner, and, I think his son-in-law, heard some stories of books that had passed their way, bought some books.   This year we met the other family members as Ben Muse died this past summer. 

One for the books: Ben Muse, Renaissance man, dies at 85 – – The Register

“Muse was a character, known for his humor and his decency. He and his close friend, the late Jack Braginton-Smith, one of the grumpy old men, had pie-eating competitions at Braginton-Smith’s restaurant, Jack’s Outback.  Ben Muse III said, “They kept them going as long as they could.  No winner was ever announced.”

Another friend was the late artist and author Edward Gorey, confirmed as the third “grumpy old man” by Muse’s daughter Mary. Gorey would sit for hours on the floor of Muse’s store surrounded by books, according to Rick Jones, director and curator of the Edward Gorey House in Yarmouth Port. Ben is a fictitious character named Boose in one of Gorey’s stories, Jones said.”

According to Ben Muse   (From a Feb. 7, 2007, article in The Register about the 50th anniversary of Parnassus Book Service)

     On reading to children: “The children don’t understand what you’re reading but they feel the warmth of your body and the music of your voice.”

      On paying for books stacked outside the store year-round: “Just leave the money in the door. They’re all honest.”

      On why reading was integral to his life: “To me, it’s a great adventure. My mind just gets carried away into the books I like.”

      On his customers: “There’s going to be that customer who’s looking for that [hard-to-find] book and he’s going to be happy as a lark.”

      On buying books: “I don’t like to buy by the pound. I’m looking for something that will pique my interest  http://www.wickedlocal.com/yarmouth/news/x1798690129/PHOTO-GALLERY-One-for-the-books-Ben-Muse-Renaissance-man-dies-at-85#ixzz24OqIpHD3

One of my Parnassus purchases.

I like memoirs, cookbooks, chocolate, and women authors from Massachusetts….all in one book

In Parnassus we asked for lunch suggestions.  “Fancy or café food?” we were asked.  A resounding, “not fancy,” was our answer.  Good choice as the café was Jack’s Outback.  A bit tricky to find the first time; but we’ve been there twice now so are “regulars” who know where to turn to find it.

Don’t let the dogs in! But you do have to step over him as he doesn’t move.

Randal reading one of his Parnassus purchases while waiting for his roast beef on whole wheat. I had a BLT with avocado on toasted pumpernickel.  Yum!

Women friends talking…..one of life’s absolute  essentials!

About Jack’s……

  “Along Route 6a in Yarmouthport, hidden behind buildings and a parking lot sits an eerie Cape Cod eatery known to locals as Jack’s Outback II.  Several years ago, it was simply called Jack’s Outback. 

Jacks back then was a good wake-up call to those with delusions of grandeur who needed a slice of humble pie.  Come to think of it, humble pie might have been on their menu. 

First off, the place is hard find unless you are a local and if you blink, you might miss it.   The restaurant is set in a large white house typically found on the Cape and honestly, the best breakfast food you will ever get.  I am talking about food you would eat at grandma’s home on a Sunday morning, and that would fatten you up in a New York minute. 

Yet the real appeal for visitors and one not understood by the local diners, is the odd restaurant rules set up by onetime proprietor, Jack Bragington.  These rules are so eccentric that an unaware tourist might think they may have somehow stepped into the twilight zone.

Here is what you could expect on any given day; celebratory hooting and hollering by the staff over tips and confused tourists waiting for someone to take their orders, at Jacks you write your own food ticket and place it on the wheel.  You also get your own coffee and silverware and if you do not pick up your food fast enough, expect the wrath of Jack.  You were also expected to wipe down your own table and pay with cash, no credit cards allowed. 

Think Mayberry in New England where everyone has gone crazy and you will have a feel for the place.  Honestly, it is all in good fun and no one took Jack seriously.

That was then.  Jack has since passed away, God rest his soul.  Also gone are the crazy antics of the staff.  Visitors now place orders the conventional way.  It is a more restrained restaurant but what has not changed is the awesome food.

The lobster omelets are still top notch, as are their famous popovers, home fries; prime rib and delectable pies.  I would advise trying everything on the menu. You will not be disappointed and the portions are huge as well.

Therefore, if you are ever on the Cape and looking for a restaurant with a homey feel, try Jack’s Outback II, and bring your appetite.”

Jack’s Outback II

161 Route 6A

Yarmouth Port, MA. 02675

(508) 362-6690  http://thepreppytimes.blogspot.com/2011/06/good-eats-at-jacks-outback-ii.html

From Jack’s we drove down 6a to The Edward Gorey House.  Years ago, and I’m talking back when dates started with 199, my friend Martha ( and I think maybe Sarah,  but I’m not sure cause we’re talking many years ago) and I went to see Edward Gorey’s House.  We were in Yarmouthport to have lunch with a friend of Martha’s parents.  Just near the restaurant was Edward Gorey’s home, which at that time was still his home and not a museum.  We parked the car and shortly thereafter a man walked out of the house, got into his Volkswagen bug and drove away.  It was Edward Gorey. 

   “A truly prodigious and original artist, Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000), gave to the world over one hundred works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest and The Wuggly Ump; prize-winning set and costume designs for innumerable theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway; a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times, and in books by a wide array of authors from Charles Dickens to Edward Lear, Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, H.G. Wells, Florence Heide and many others. His well-known animated credits for the PBS Mystery series have introduced him to millions of television viewers. Gorey’s masterful pen and ink illustrations and his ironic, offbeat humor have brought him critical acclaim and an avid following throughout the world.”  http://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/

Edward Gorey Museum

If you ever watched Mystery! on PBS you saw Edward Gorey’s illustrations introducing the program.

Vincent Price was the first host and then it was Diana Riggs.

I heard someone say the giant bear was from FAO Schwartz.

“Edward bought the above bear at FAO Schwartz. He’s HUGE. Unfortunately, the bear had to live with Edward’s cousin as Edward was afraid that he would receive too much "love" from his beloved cats.”

http://kellykilmer.blogspot.com/2007/08/guess-where-i-went-today-ill-give-you.html

Edward Gorey loved his cats…….

The Doubtful Guest and Lizzie Borden…

His wonderful kitchen which also has a huge fireplace.

He had a barn full of books behind the house…one can never have too many read a t-shirt for sale.

Edward Gorey’s receipts from Jack’s Outback

Best Western Annapolis Riva Rd

Randal and I spent the day strolling around Annapolis.  We had no particular plan other than to visit the Annapolis Book Store, walk around, eat some lunch, walk around and that’s about it.  We’d done the walking tour in past visits and we were between boat shows so there was no place we had to be or see or do.  Just strolling around Annapolis on a beautiful October day was enough.

Ru

How could anyone not like Annapolis?  There’s history, bookstores, lots of places to eat, cute little shops for window shopping or buying if you can’t resist.  (We resisted, because even though I really liked the $35 floppy felt hat, I know it would be lost in no time flat. The lovely $200 version wasn’t ever a consideration!)  During past visits we’d done the walking tour so skipped it this visit and just went out wandering.  It was such a lovely day just to be outside. http://www.annapolis.com/?ref=visitannapolis.com

The Maryland State House can be seen from anywhere so it’s pretty hard to get lost.

Leaving the parking garage and Visitor Center and heading down towards the waterfront.

Walking along funky Main Street where you always know where you are because the State House is always there as a landmark.

You can also take the trolley though we have always just parked at the visitor center and then walked.

Shops across from the waterfront.

Lots of ice cream, fudge, souvenirs, restaurants and fun in every direction.

Alex Haley reading Roots. Boat show banners block the entire waterfront which is really not so very attractive.

“City Docks has been the center of Annapolis’ maritime life for more than 300 years.  At the head of the Dock, a memorial commemorates the 1767 arrival of Kunta Kinte, and African slave immortalized by descendant Alex Haley in the book and television series Roots.”  from the Annapolis Magazine.

Randal and I have been to both the sailboat and powerboat shows when we were deciding what type of boat we wanted.   The 2012 sailboat show was last weekend and the powerboat show is next weekend.

The Annapolis Bookstore  www.annapolisbookstore.com

Every time we come to Annapolis we visit this wonderful bookstore.  Now it includes a coffee area and tables where locals meet for knitting, discussions, classwork, etc.  It’s great and I want that bookstore near where I finally live.  Saint John’s College, where the entire curriculum is based on the Great Books and discussions from the readings, is based just down the street.

I really want to read The End of Your Life Book Club which my library at home owns.  I just read the few pages available on Amazon’s site which led me to Diana Athill’s book  Instead of a Letter which I also want to read and I think is available at the Salem Public Library.  If not I’ll buy them before we leave for Turkey.  There is a branch of the Anne Arundel Public Library in Annapolis but not in the historic area so we’ve not been there any time in all of our visits.

More proof that the book format isn’t dead or even dying.

Row houses mix with small shops:  Capital Teas http://www.capitalteas.com/default.asp

I love these row houses and narrow streets and the feeling of neighborhood they must foster.

Building being renovated across from Waterfront  Dock: notice  Capital Tea s off to the left in the photo.

Chick and Ruth’s Delly on Main Street.

Our usual lunch spot where a booth is saved for the Governor when the legislator is in session.  One year during the boat show Randal and I stayed in the Scotlaur Inn.  www.ChickandRuths.com and www.Scotlaurinn.com

VIN909 – http://www.vin909.com/ “Just in case you get this while you’re still in Annapolis! You need to get Vin 909 – a great casual restaurant with delicious food -great ”gourmet’ pizza.”   This is from my friend Joesephine.  We didn’t make it there, but maybe next time or if you go…..

Annapolis is home to the United States Naval Academy and tours are available and worth taking.

The pedestrian entrance to the Naval Academy.

http://www.annapoliscollection.com/greg-harlin.cfm#

The Navy rules in Annapolis.

But there’s lots of other “stuff” too.  Lots of upscale shops.  Everything Irish is big in Annapolis too.

Fun window displays.   Marmaris has lots of rain in the winter; wouldn’t these boots be fun!

Lots of inspiration along the way; but I can’t remember seeing any political posters or yard signs, kind of a relief.

I know it’s tilted but my goal was to read the banner.

Curious and even more curious!

Front doors and front porches made me envious for life on land.

Lovely.

Tomorrow we head on up towards Massachusetts but not sure where we’ll spend the night.  Someplace new!

Best Western Riva Rd.

We left Chincoteague this morning and drove through the drizzle to Maryland where is stopped raining.  Tomorrow we’ll spend the day in historic Annapolis which is between weekends of the Sailboat and Powerboat shows.  I’m not so interested in the boat shows, but love to visit the bookstores.  No surprise there.

Ru

Chincoteague for the billionth time….

Randal and I have been to Chincoteague many times.  It’s a great place for lots of things, bike riding,  bird watching, beaches, sea food,  used books…etc.  This year the weather didn’t cooperate for our visit to the Assateague National Wildlife Area, but our walk through town and visit to the Sun Dial Bookstore was what we had come for.  www.sundialbooks.net is just a great place where locals and tourist meet about books.  It’s light and sunny and is a compliment to the great newly renovated Chincoteague Public Library which is also sunny and light and wonderful.  I’d visited the library many other times but this trip it was closed for Columbus Day Monday.   Sundial had lots of interesting books so, of course, I couldn’t leave without one. Kaddish by Leon Wieseltier was my purchase.  The author having spent many months saying the 3 times daily Jewish prayer for the dead for his father decides to examine why he does that and what is the prayer ‘s meaning.

After  the Sundial we went for lunch at Bill’s our favorite restaurant in Chincoteague. http://www.billsseafoodrestaurant.com/ Randal and I split a fried grouper sandwich with granny smith apple slaw and there was plenty for both of us.  I wish I’d asked them to toast the baguette which is how I remembered it from last year.   Then we strolled back to our motel with a stop at the ABC Store for some Glenfiddich for Randal and then the ATM to replenish our supply of $$$$$.  Late in the afternoon we did a drive around Assateague Island but that’s no so fun in the rain.  I did buy a post card at the visitor center to send off to our friends Heidi and Kalle in North Cyprus.  In the “latest adventures” link on her website www.heiditrautmann.com Heidi  wasn’t on the list so I sent off a post card from the post office in Chincoteague.  But North Cyprus isn’t on the list of countries given to US post offices. So I added Turkey to the address as most everything has to go through there first.  Interestingly the post office in Israel could deal with it.  So Heidi, we’ll see what happens!

Our old GPS had no clue this new bridge into Chincteague exists so our map showed us driving across water.

The new bridge skips the main road through “downtown” so I sign points the way.  And how to get out if there’s a hurricane.  We only had annoying drizzle.

Images of Chincoteague, great for birding and home the discendents of “Misty of Chincoteague.”

Horse With No Name Gallery…. It was the owner’s mom who was the “little girl in the Misty story.”

Actually, I’m not sure if this woman is the owner, Zebie Zay , but I am sure it was her mom who was in the Misty of Chincoteague story.

Randal and friend on the gallery’s great purple couch that had been a freebie as was most of the store’s furniture.

Guess these folks watch “Once Upon A Time” too.

The “trick is to….” I can’t read it or remember so you can make up your own answer.

http://chincoteagueislandlibrary.org/

Originally a barbershop, the Chincoteague Public Library renovated with the new addition. Years ago when we visited Chincoteague the library was just the tiny old barbershop building but still a vibrant part of the community.  They consider themselves “the little library that could.”   http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?cat=138 shows the photos I took last year which show the inside.

http://sundial.indiebound.com/ is the website for Sundial Books which was closed last year ( on Tuesdays they close)  when we were here.  When you read about Jonathan and Jane  Richstein, you want them to open a book store where you live.    So good that we were in Chincoteague on a Monday though too bad it was Columbus Day Monday.  Being around books is how Randal and I spend a lot of our free time when we travel.

The pony round up and sale helps to support the Chincoteague Fire Department.

Bill’s Seafood Restaurant on Main Street is a favorite..but Moller’s Ice Cream Parlor is always closed in the fall.

Lots of Victorian homes with bright colors and gingerbread trim.

Lots of election signs and lots of ducks and other migrating birds.

So, we didn’t get the weather we’d hoped for, but we enjoyed our time visiting the shops along the main street and chatting with folks who now had the time after the busy summer season had past.  Then it was off to Annapolis…another favorite place with a really great bookstore I really like.

It is raining here in Chincoteague. . again.

From mid-April until September 18^th Randal and I have had only sunshine. ( No rain in Israel and no rain in Turkey until a sprinkle just the day before we left for the US.  Good thing we got our doses of Vitamin D before we came home as it’s been pretty dreary for the most part. )  Yesterday we did manage a fun morning walk here in Chincoteague and I went out again in the afternoon, but since then, just drizzle.  Good for farmers; not so great for travelers.  Last night found me sitting here in our room  typing this email while I enjoyed a glass of milbrandt vineyards 2009 Merlot that Sheila sent along with us.  One glass of wine and I don’t notice the rain or have a clue what they’re talking about on the PBS New Hour.  Actually I think they’re talking about the Nobel Prize winners for some achievement in Science;  DNA or whatever.   While walking through town we met a woman whose mom was the real  little girl in the Marguerite Henry story about Misty of Chincoteague.  More about the daughter when I write about Chincoteague.  This email is about Sheila and David.

In September 1968 I went off to UMass.  It wasn’t long after that when I met Sheila who lived a few floors above me in the John Quincy Adams tower.  Sheila and I are still friends!  Other things have changed in our lives, but not that.  Sheila and her husband live in a great house in a great location in Ashland, VA.  Walk out the door and hike through the woods….

I have just a few pictures as it’s hard to talk, talk, talk and take photos at the same time!  But I did manage to snap a few very early Sunday morning before David had to head off to work.

David and Sheila

David fixing coffee early Sunday morning before he had to head off to work.

David and Randal

Sheila and Randal

Nute relaxing

David painted this based on the painting of (I can’t remember.)  David is a wonderful artist and photographer!  He can fix most problems that befall their cars and can do lots of whatever the house might need too.

Again, all too quickly it was time for Randal and me to hit the road…off to Chincoteague.

Ru

Rodeway Inn

Hi All,

We left Roanoke Friday October 5^th and headed east.  Today, Monday, October 8^th we are in Chincoteague, VA hoping the sun really will keep shining for a bit.  No wifi as I type this but later today I’ll take my computer to the lobby and send this off.

Ru

Our Road Trip Starts…..

Friday afternoon Randal and I set off on our road trip to visit family and some old friends.  We stopped off for a quick visit with Randal’s brother Don and nephew Donald Ray to say hello.  Then it was off to Big Island, just past Bedford,  to spend the night with Linda and Ken Burger, Randal’s sister and brother-in-law.  I love them and their home is just the neatest place nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the requisite bubbling stream running alongside the house that sang me to sleep.   We talked and ate and walked and ate and went off to visit an exhibit of Sustainable Living at the Sedalia Center and then to the old Otter Mill which is in the process of being restored.

Linda and Ken’s place

Sit on the front porch and listen to the stream that runs by the side of the house.

Lots of history and family treasures.

Lots of good talk and good food!

Getting ready for dinner.

Reverend Ken giving thanks and sharing bread.

Randal tuning Linda’s guitar and Linda relaxing and enjoying the time with us.

We spent lots of great time in this corner talking, looking at old family photos and applauding Randal while he sang the country songs he’d written

Saturday morning after a great breakfast that included some of Linda’s homemade, from scratch, biscuits we went off to the Sedalia Center just down the road.   http://www.sedaliacenter.org/

The Gathering at Sedalia – For Sustainability and the Art of Mindful Living

Learning about electric cars.

This man’s copper work caught our eye.  Randy Cox I believe.  He also builds race cars!

Talking about the old smithy equipment.

Once upon a time Linda and Randal’s dad had owned and used similar smithy tools and furnace.

I call it “smithy” because there are silversmiths and coppersmiths and blacksmiths and all of the tools are similar though the products are quite different.

Molds for different sized pieces and some of the beautiful finished products.

Ken saw me admiring this copper leaf and treated me to it.  I will get some beautiful satin cord and wear it and look quite lovely!

Then we hopped back into the car and drove down  Rt. 122 to the” old red mill” I’d always admired when we’d passed it going to see Linda and Ken.  We thought it was the Saturday there were to be tours but we were a week early.

http://www.bigottermill.com/ Rt. 122 Big Island Highway

Big Otter Mill is situated on the bank of the Big Otter River, a few miles north of the City of Bedford, Virginia on Route 122 North, south of Big Island.

The site of this mill has been used for grist and sawmills for more than two hundred years

.

A very animated discussion about how the mill must have once operated.

A very lovely setting.

A very wonderful visit that sped by all too fast.  From Big Island we were heading to Ashland, Virginia to visit my college buddy Sheila and her husband David, their dog Nute and cat Casey.

Ru

Hi Y’All,

And hopefully all Y’all will get this.  My computer was totally upgraded and that’s great but it didn’t save the groups I’d created to send out these blog mails.  So if you don’t get this let me know.  Actually I figure if someone has fallen off the list and misses my mailings they’ll let me know.  If not, I won’t be offended and hopefully they won’t either.

So since we’ve been home we’ve spent more time with medical professionals than with family or friends.  I’ve had one of about everything as it was time for my “once every 10 years colonoscopy.”  If you have to do it, go with the blue Gatorade.

Friday we’re heading off to visit friends family and friends in other parts of Virginia and “up north” though we still haven’t actually made a real plan yet.  No way can you wing it in a boat as you need to know weather and anchorages and marina availability.  Every other year  we’ve had plans made even before we got home.  Not sure what happened this year……

So that’s what’s happening.  Just to let you know.

Ru