Amy and Nan in PCB

Oldest and dearest Ohio childhood friend flew into PCB a couple of weeks ago.  The timing was both GOOD and BAD.

Hurricane Gordon mucked up the water, but it eventually cleared up.

Luckily we got out of town just in the nick of time.  Red Tide appeared the day after we left.

Dead fish, everybody coughing and spitting.  We dodged that bullet, happily.

I lost all of my pictures but this one:

We had a blast.  Did our beach daily, then The LIQ across the street for Happy Hour.

September is glorious.  The kids are all in school.  Nothing but playful adults!

We ate out all but 1 night.  Went to Dee's Hangout, Saltwater Grill, Firefly, and H20 downstairs for Buffalo Wings.

A Visit From Amy

Amy and I grew up in Newbury, OH.  (suburb East of Cleveland).  Much to her delight, she and her husband bought her family home.

She drove down to Rick's, picked me up, and we ventured over to the Red Roof Inn, just a couple miles away, for 2 fun-filled nights.

To our delight, there was an adjacent restaurant/bar....  FLIPDADDY'S.  What great fun we had!

Spent two afternoons there.  Happy Hour from 2-7 pm!  $1.50 pint drafts.  Excellent food.

We were in heaven here.  Bartender, Cathy was a living doll.

This is one of our new favorite places....  Amy and I are going to try to make this an annual thing.

Next Stop..... Niagara Falls, Ontario! (such a blast from the past!)

As a child, mom would take us every summer to the “Sheraton Foxhead Inn”.  I grew up admiring both Canadian and American falls.  “Playing” on Clifton Hill which was primarily “Madame Toussad’s Wax Museum” and arcades.

My, how things have changed in 40+ years!  Imagine my surprise to find that the old “Foxhead” has been completely redone.  It is now “Sheraton on the Falls” which is the anchor of a HUGE complex, “The Falls Avenue Resort”.  The property consists of the Sheraton, the Crowne Plaza, restaurants, an indoor water park and the Niagara Casino.

We booked a lovely “Deluxe Fallsview” room for 2 nights.  Two queen beds, fireplace.... top notch!  Room 1564.  Juliette balcony, wonderful view and brand new beds, bedding and bathroom.  Sparkling property.

As usual, Amy and I had BIG FUN!

Balcony View

Balcony

Balcony

Deluxe Fallsview

Great Fireplace

Balcony

Night Balcony

Rainbow Bridge from Room

Fury of the Horseshoe Falls

Night from Balcony

Balcony view of Skylon Tower

Easter Weekend

On Good Friday, Amy's brother Archie and his lady friend Rosemary met us at Maple City Taps for a nice fish fry.

On Saturday, Kirk cooked a whole beef tenderloin.  AB FAB!

Easter Sunday was very nice.  I attended church with the family, and then we had a nice dinner with Amy's brother Archie, Rosemary, Amy's sister Andrea and her husband Scott and her brother David.  It was plentiful and very enjoyable.  Beer, wine, bubbly, Port.  Just great!

The weather was lovely.  Enjoyed time on Amy's huge wrap-around porch, basking in the sun.  Amy and Kirk bought her folks Century Home that she had grown up in.   (the weather was to change dramatically the following weekend!)

Amy's Festive Table

Scott and Andrea

Two-Fisted Drinkers

Kirk and Scott

Archie, Rosemary and Nan

The Gang on a Warm Easter Day

My Lovely Greeting

 I just returned from a WHIRLWIND couple of weeks to visit childhood best friend Amy and her family in my hometown of Newbury, Ohio.  (East of Cleveland in Geauga County).

Non-Stop Fun!

When I walked in the house, I was tickled with a "Welcome" banner from her girls.

On the door of my bedroom was a cute letter explaining that they'd "try not to be too annoying"   LOL   No promises there!

On my bed,  I found an ice cold beer and some chocolate.

Amy put together a great lasagna the day before.  Put it in the oven, drank beer and played Yahtzee.  Big fun!

My Elsa

My Ursula

The Fun Continued with Amy

A few days after Vickie went home, Amy flew in.  Amy is my oldest and dearest friend.  We grew up together, and have remained as close as ever.

Had big fun with the gang across the street.  They're like family to me now.

Of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at Dee's Hangout and Los Rancheros!

The water was pristine, as well as the weather.  We didn't have a bit of rain.

   We celebrated Amy's birthday at The Firefly.  Outstanding!

And finally, one night we had a brilliant idea.  Use your imagination.....it seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time.  We went into full NINJA MODE.  Alas, our mission failed..... but it'll be a lifetime memory!