PLAYING TOURIST ... SO MUCH TO SEE AND DO!

Our last day in Huron, Ohio Phil had to take our wonderful and dependable Lone Ranger into the shop. Turns out, he needed new ball joints on the driver’s side, the wheel bearings needed to be repacked and then a front end alignment. Fortunately, we have a maintenance Kitty for this sort of unforeseen expense (a little over $500.00 which was a bit higher than anticipated). However, since we really depend on our little truck to transport us safely in our sight seeing, it was a necessary fix.

Last Wednesday we arrived in western New York State. Our home for this week is Three Valley Resort, a Coast-to-Coast Park that is off the beaten path on NY State hiway 16 near Holland, NY. The sites for C-to-C patrons are grassy, large and almost level with water and 30-amp (50-amp for seasonals only) electric. C-to-C members haven’t been singled out; there is no sewer available anywhere in the park as the Internet web site advertises. We pointed that out to the office and they said they would take care of the error. Lots of trees around the perimeter but no problem finding our satellites for Internet and TV. Lots of seasonals with permanent decks and adornment. It is very handy to the attractions we were planning to see in this area so it serves our purpose and the price is right!

Family and friends know this bit of trivia but many readers might wonder about what appears to be my eagerness to review restaurants we find along our route as we travel. Well, you can take Joy and Phil out of the restaurant business but you can’t take the restaurant business out of them! I worked the food and beverage business for 35 years and was in management for the last ten years making lots of money for others before I took a desk job for the state of WA. Phil owned his own restaurant for several years. We just can’t help ourselves and when we stumble across an outstanding eatery, we have to share the pleasure with our readers. Likewise, if it is less than wonderful, it does not even get an honorable mention in Backroad Chronicles. Well, I am happy to report we got lucky and found a jewel just down the road from our park this week! Then to top it off, we found a second place winner on the way back from our day trip to see Lake Ontario last night! Wow! Two winners in one week … now that’s really wonderful!

It is called “Zider Zee Restaurant” and is named after a song that references an ancient and long since vanished “South Sea” near Amsterdam in the small country of Holland. Holland, NY … get it? What makes this place so special is the manager, Sally. In her six years on the job, she has been the driving force of this small but professional operation. The mother of three sons (the youngest is 17) she just became a Grandma when little Alexia Dawn was born a couple months ago. Her energy and smiling face greets everyone who comes through the door with a friendly hello and … come through the door they do … by the dozens every day! Sally does it all. You might find her waiting tables, then hopping over to the exhibition grill where you can watch her cook your order. She comes in at 4:30 AM every day but Wednesday (her one day off) to make the soups, mix the "to die for" sausage (her own secret formula) and bake all the pies, pastries and breads for the restaurant and they are very, very good. Sally says she has her mother to thank for her expertise in the kitchen. The Zider Zee has been written up in Fortune Magazine and the local paper with kudos by a resident radio personality on a regular basis. Sally loves her job and gives much credit for her success to her employees and fellow workers who are good friends as well as hard working and dependable. We heartily recommend this rare find in the world of restaurants if you are in the area. Bon appetite!

We had a wonderful day to visit Niagara Falls and see all the sights. It was my second visit and Phil’s first. Then the next day we drove north to Lockport to take a well-narrated cruise on the famous Erie Canal that we also enjoyed very much. After our canal ride we drove north to get our first look (and possibly last) of Lake Ontario and although the sky was overcast the weather was near perfect. It started to sprinkle as we came back to the dock and on our way home it began to rain in earnest but it was only rain … no thunder or lightening. We are from Washington … we know about that kind of rain! No problem. After we arrived home, the cloud cover really socked us in and we lost our Internet signal and then our TV signal for an hour or so and I gave up trying to schedule the pictures for the blog and went to bed. The rain seems to be abating for now so I think we will try to go to the local rodeo in Attica today.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time …