Spring Break 2021: It's Been Awhile

Daphne and I had decided to make last year's Spring Break low key because we were planning to travel to Nova Scotia in June. We had no idea how low our keys were going to go...

While waiting for a vaccine to be developed, we have played it as safe as we could: no restaurants, no arcades, no car trips, no hotels, and no movies. We haven't left the state since last April, and we haven't been out of town in months

Daphne and I have been vaccinated, and this Spring Break might be a bit different. We won't be taking a cruise, but we might venture further out than the garage this time. 

It's been said, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” So, I have no predictions to make. I'll just update this post as the days pass. 

Friday: 

(I have a friend at work who thinks that taking pictures of food is the dumbest thing ever. To each his own. I think these pictures are pretty exciting. I've been waiting a year to take them.)

Daphne's chose Gusto Pizza for our first restaurant to return to.

For a pizza joint, Gusto sure has great soup. I have never been disappoined with their soup offerings.

We both went with the Italian Meatball soup. We both agreed that it was great. 

Char went with her favorite: kids' pizza with no sauce. That is quite a stretch.

We often order whatever the pizza feature is, and so we went with the Wild Bill.

In my excitement of actually eating somewhere that wasn't at school or at home, I glossed over the fact that the Wild Bill had blue cheese in it. So, I'll just say that Daphne enjoyed this pizza quite a bit.

Next on our to-visit list was the Operating Room in Ankeny. I warned Char that the arcade might not have the same games that they did last year, but that concern was unfounded. The ball drop game was right where we left it.

So were the motorcycle games.

I wasn't uncomfortable, but there were more kids with their parents in there than I expected. We wore our masks and it was all good. Overall, Friday was a successful first day outside of our bubble. 

Saturday:

When I started restoring pinball machines, I let the my VW Beetle sit. Currently, the Bug isn't in running condition. I need to replace a brake cylinder and fix an electrical problem. Also, the tires were all but flat. This morning I jacked up the car, removed the wheels, and aired them up at a gas station. While each end was in the air, I slid vehicle dollies under the tires. I can now move the Bug to make working on and around it easier. 

It's a bit of relief to get this part of the job done. I've been dreading it for months. I must be out of "garage shape," because I'm pretty sore after rolling around on the concrete floor for a couple of hours.

Lunch was at Ted's Coney Island. I had a Coney Island dog basket (natch), and Daphne had a Greek Salad with chicken. I threw in a beef burger (think loose meat on a hot dog bun) for fun.

I'll sound like a broken record by the end of this post, so sorry: it's been over a year since I have had a Coney Dog at Ted's, and it was sooo good. I couldn't stop smiling while I was eating it. 

Chart wore the "vintage" rock tee that I bought her on eBay. It's "Ellie Approved."

Friday and Saturday nights are our "movie, meat and cheese" nights. It's a tradition. Tonight we watched Yes Day. 

Sunday:

It was cold and rainy day that was perfect for a late lunch at Hessen Haus. The place wasn't very busy, but it did seem like it took a long time for our food to arrive. I think I'm just too used to the immediacy of a fast food drive-thru. Daphne reminded me, "Real food takes time to prepare."

My goal is to order food we couldn't or wouldn't make at home. Daphne ordered a Rouladen Entree.

I had an open-faced Bier Cheese Burger with a side cup of Jäger Chili. 

Char was happy with her chicken strips and fries. 

Char and Daphne played Rock, Paper, Scissors while we were waiting for our food.

I enjoyed a Spaten lager. 

These lunches are much bigger than we are used to eating. We had meat and cheese again for dinner, and that will probably a trend for the whole week. We watched We Can Be Heroes on Netflix. It's a solid family film that reminded me of Sky High. 

Monday:

Last summer Daphne and I watched most of the Marvel movies in order. There's a scene in Iron Man 3 where Don Cheadle and Robert Downey Jr. are having dinner in a bar. I was so jealous. Fried food served in a plastic basket never looked so good to me.

 I remembered that scene when we had lunch at the Brick Street Market and Cafe. 

I had a pork tenderloin sandwich with cheese balls. Hello, checkered paper and food basket! I have so missed you!

Daphne makes better choices than I do, and she had pork tenderloin strips with a side salad.

Char ordered mac and cheese with fries. We had no idea that kids eat free on Mondays, or that for a limited time kids get free Play-Doh with their order. Win. Win. Win.

We had meat and cheese for dinner while watching Stardust on Netflix. 

Tuesday:

We had lunch at BeerStyles. It wasn't busy when we got there.

We used to go here for Sunday brunch, but since it was a weekday, we went with their pizza. 

The top pizza is the Burrata (burrata, speck, arugula, mozzarella, and tomato), and the bottom is a Garlic Sausage (red wine, garlic sausage with rosso sauce, onion and mushrooms). Char had one of their Bavarian Pretzels.

The pizzas were as good as expected, but the pretzels were a buttery surprise. There's another Operating Room arcade almost next door to Beerstyles. It didn't take much to get Char to go in.

Wednesday:

Tasty Tacos! 

Need I say more? No, I don't. But I will.

I am very confident that I have taken more pictures of Tasty Tacos than of any other food. 

Don't care. 

Daphne and I each had an original taco, and we split the orginal enchilada. I've been over eating during these lunches, and splitting hit the sweet spot.

A cheese quesadilla with fries hit the spot for Char. 

Dinner was poutine, made from left over Char-fries from the past few days, and leftover pizza. Then we binge watched Julie and the Phantoms on Netflix. 

Thursday:

We kept the Mexican food-theme rolling with a visit to Fuzzy's Taco Shop in Ankeny. I keep taking pics of the inside of restaurants because I have missed these interiors so much.

The kid making Char's nachos was new, and he only covered the chips with Mexican cheese. He was corrected by the shift manager and added the needed queso.  

Daphne had a salad, and I had a steak and a spicy pork taco. 

Dinner was again meat and cheese while we watched Feel the Beat on Netflix. 

Friday:

We headed back to Ankeny for another of our favotite lunches - the pizza buffet at the Uptown Food & Beverage Co.

One of Daphne's favorite types of pizzas is Hawaiian, and that was one of the available choices. This is my first of several plates of pizza. Thin crust thins my guilt.

Char approved of her mac-n-cheese with fries basket. (I am still pumped about checkered paper.)

Dinner was meat and cheese again. We watched Camp Rock on DVD in an effort to keep the Julie and the Phantoms vibe going. Char gave the film 8 out of ten. I'd go with a 3. 

Saturday:

Fong's Pizza! 

On top is their Street Taco pizza: Mojo marinated beef, red onion, jalapeño, cajun corn and black bean blend, mozzarella, cheddar, and Pepper Jack topped with fresh lettuce, pico de gallo, and cilantro lime sour cream. On the bottom is their Egg Roll pizza: tangy sweet and sour sauce, pulled pork, chicken, mirepoix, cabbage, and mozzarella topped with crispy wontons and a sweet chili lattice.

Chicken strips, fries and that same hoodie? Yep. (The hoodie does get washed, BTW)

We watched What a Girl Wants during dinner. 

Sunday:

If you don't count the seating area at Flix, then one of last resturants that we visited in 2020 was the Royal Mile in March. So, it felt fitting to end our Spring Break there.

They serve breakfast from 10-2 on the weekends, and Daphne and I both ordered the English Breakfast.

You get two eggs, two strips of bacon, marinated tomatoes and mushrooms, a banger sausage, baked beans and toast. The baked beans add a suprising sweetness to the plate. 

Char had bacon and eggs and her parents' toast.

I took pictures of our Royal Mile brunch last year, but then everything got crazy, and I was too depressed to put the pictures on the blog. Here's Char in 2020:

Here she is today. Looks like she grew about half of a telephone box window.

Whew. We accomplished our Spring Break goal of having lunch at ten different locations. One of the hardest parts was choosing the places to visit. We really had to think because we had forgotten about some of our favorite restaurants. I know that seems hard to believe, but after 12 months things can get a bit blurry. 

I was also not used to driving so much. And things have changed in once familiar areas. Several times I would see a business building and say to myself, Hey, didn't that used to be a..., and now it's a ... That was weird. It was like we had time-traveled.

No, we didn't go anywhere exotic for our vacation, but if I'm asked at work tomorrow if I went anywhere for Spring Break, I can enthusiastically reply, "Yes! We went out for lunch!"

A Family Visit

Daphne's grandpa passed away last September. We went to his funeral in Ottumwa, Iowa, but we hadn't been back to see his headstone at the cemetery. We didn't have any plans yesterday, so we took a car trip. We listened to Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race on CD along the way. 

We usually head straight to Grandpa Howard's house when we get to town. It felt strange to not have that priority. His house is sold, and the new "Beware of Dog" sign in its front window punctuates the fact that Howard really is gone. 

It wasn't a day to mourn, though. We told family stories that made us laugh, and we did a couple of Howard's favorite things. Our first stop was to at the Canteen Lunch. We have had lunch there before with Daphne's grandparents, Howard and Patty, and Daphne's mom, Deb.

The first Canteen Lunch opened in 1927, and it moved to this location in 1936 (according to Wikipedia).

In 2000, the city wanted to build a parking ramp in the Canteen's place, but protest against moving the Canteen was so strong that the city built a parking ramp above the Canteen by buying the rights to the air above the building. Sometimes tradition triumps over progress, and that makes me happy.

Here's the back of the tiny Canteen.  You can see how it fits under the ramp.

 Here's the front.

A Canteen employee spotted me taking the above picture, and she offered to take a picture of all three of us. 

The Des Moines Register reported in 2013 that, "New York Magazine’s online food page “Grub Street New York” put the Canteen’s loose-meat sandwiches on their list,“50 State Dinners, 2012: Food Pilgrimages You Must Make This Summer.” 

You don't stay in business for 82 years if you don't know what you are doing. These sandwiches are totally worth the trip. 

There are 16 stools that surround the horseshoe shaped counter. We got there about 11:15, so we didn't have to wait. But we would have waited if we had to.

I think the steaming process is what sets these sandwiches apart. The steamer sits in the middle of the room, and you can watch the ladies prepare the loose meat. 

I also got a sandwich to go and a window sticker for the RAV.

We headed to the cemetery after lunch. Daphne's grandma and mother's remains were cremated. Patty and Deb's ashes were interred along with Howard's body.

All three Cudworths enjoyed gardening. Daph picked up the rules and regulations about what you can and cannot plant at the cemetery's main office. She'll come back in the fall and plant some bulbs for next year. One of Howard's favorite jokes was to ask you, "Would you be offended by seeing some naked ladies?" He would then take you to his garden and show you the flowers he called "Naked Ladies". Daphne says that Grandpa would think it would be funny if she planed some of those for him.

Howard would always tell us about the new book he was reading when we visited. He loved nonfiction, and the librarians would pick out books for him to read. The man personified the phrase "life long learner".

Charlotte surprised me by asking if we could go to the Ottumwa Public Library instead of the park we usually play at. I suppose she was inspired by the audio book we were listening to in the car. After thinking about it, a library visit made perfect sense.

Daphne lived in Ottumwa until she was ten. This was her first public library.

Following Daphne's lead, we headed downstairs to the children's department.

During the drive down, Charlotte mentioned that she has read every book in the Babymouse series except book #1. She found #1 and promptly sat down to read it. I believe that Grandpa Howard approves. 

A Babymouse graphic novel takes Char about 20 minutes to read, so Daphne and I explored the library for a bit. Daphne found this shelf of books. She knows that some of these mystery books are the same ones she checked out back in the 80's. 

Char had time to make me a Father's Day gift, but that's a picture for later.

We stopped at Pella on the way home. Daphne and Char love the bakeries, and I love the meat shops. Howard always enjoyed the tins of cookies that Daphne brought him. This stop seemed appropriate, too.

Five years ago we had J&M Displays launch much of Daphne's mother's remains in a funeral shell at the National Balloon Classic in Indianola. That was per Deb's wishes. 

I passed a semi truck with this logo on the door while driving back to Des Moines.

It felt like someone had sent us a note of approval.