Here are Lucy and Matt crossing a Ford.
After the walk Matt and I headed into downtown Cleveland for lunch to try.... you guessed it, a Vietnamese restaurant. We had some baked salted squid as an appetizer. It was soooooo good, the seasoning was pitch perfect. The veggies were cooked to perfection and the squid had a little bit of a crunch on the very outside, but was nice and succulent on the inside. I also had a papaya bubble tea.
After the walk Matt and I headed into downtown Cleveland for lunch to try.... you guessed it, a Vietnamese restaurant. We had some baked salted squid as an appetizer. It was soooooo good, the seasoning was pitch perfect. The veggies were cooked to perfection and the squid had a little bit of a crunch on the very outside, but was nice and succulent on the inside. I also had a papaya bubble tea.
I had ordered some Pho and after the quality of the appetizer I was anxiously hopeful that the quality of the Pho would be the same. I was not disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!
The broth was darker and more fragrant than the others I have had here. It still isn't on par with Gold Mountain but it was far beyond any of the others so far and I gobbled it up :D I was soooo happy to have found it, I shall definitely be heading back there SOON.
Here is me very happy with a great Pho! I couldn't stop grinning and giggling!
Here is the outside of the restaurant. Right next door to it we saw another Pho restaurant and joked that we should go there for dinner later on in the day.
For the afternoon we went paddling at Bedford reservation
And then when it came to dinner time, WE HEADED BACK TO THAT RESTAURANT NEXT DOOR!
We had some salted fried shrimp for starters and then I had Pho and matt had something else. I don't remember what it was because I was so taken with having my second bowl of great Pho in a day. It too was more dark and fragrant. The other Pho have reminded me of the Pho that I made when my sister sent some Pho cubes over from Vietnam. They just weren't as good as the Pho that she had sent another time. The two Pho I had this day were not as sweet as the others, and more savory.
There was a little shrine for something or other in the doorway into the restaurant.
After dinner we walked around downtown and came across a scene of The Avengers movie that is being filmed in cleveland. Those are New York police cars and taxis. Even the posters on the road work are from New York.
Sunday morning, after a bad night of very loud thunderstorms, we headed out for a bike ride. The bike trail is about a 5 minute bike ride from our house and once onto the trail you will often see deer crossing back and forth. It's really so nice to be able to be so close to nature.
We cycled to Brandywine waterfall.
And then we packed up to take the dogs for a walk and have a picnic. But the heavens opened and so we had to eat in the car. We did take the dogs for a little walk in the rain but we turned around when we couldn't see a clear outline of Lucy, she was shivering so much.
Now we are sitting in a Starbucks, drinking hot coffee and watching the rain pour down.
We had some salted fried shrimp for starters and then I had Pho and matt had something else. I don't remember what it was because I was so taken with having my second bowl of great Pho in a day. It too was more dark and fragrant. The other Pho have reminded me of the Pho that I made when my sister sent some Pho cubes over from Vietnam. They just weren't as good as the Pho that she had sent another time. The two Pho I had this day were not as sweet as the others, and more savory.
There was a little shrine for something or other in the doorway into the restaurant.
After dinner we walked around downtown and came across a scene of The Avengers movie that is being filmed in cleveland. Those are New York police cars and taxis. Even the posters on the road work are from New York.
Sunday morning, after a bad night of very loud thunderstorms, we headed out for a bike ride. The bike trail is about a 5 minute bike ride from our house and once onto the trail you will often see deer crossing back and forth. It's really so nice to be able to be so close to nature.
We cycled to Brandywine waterfall.
And then we packed up to take the dogs for a walk and have a picnic. But the heavens opened and so we had to eat in the car. We did take the dogs for a little walk in the rain but we turned around when we couldn't see a clear outline of Lucy, she was shivering so much.
Now we are sitting in a Starbucks, drinking hot coffee and watching the rain pour down.I have done some thinking about Omaha. I don't have any issues with the city itself, it has great shops, restaurants etc. My problem is what is (or more to point what isn't) outside of the city. I am a country girl and so if I have to live in a city I need to be able to 'escape' into the countryside where I feel more in the presence of God than anywhere else. I was not able to find that in Omaha's surrounding 'country side'. I shall look forward to returning to see friends when we are done here in 2 1/2 months, but I could never EVER live there again. This is not a dig to anyone who DOES live in Omaha, different strokes for different folks, I just realize now just how much more than good restaurants, shops etc I need.
It's been nice to also see that I do like this kind of stuff as much as I thought I did. I had been somewhat worried that I was suffering from some 'the grass is always greener' and that it was possible that when we moved I'd still not be happy. But I am, and I shall cherish every single wrinkle I get from all this smiling :)
I would recommend Cleveland to anyone who wants a holiday of trail walking, picnics, bike rides as an alternative to someplace like Estes Park which gets VERY overcrowded during the summer. Granted, you don't get the mountain views, but the trails here are awesome!!!! Don't forget there is also Lake Erie for swimming etc. And the townships help create a feeling that you are not as close to as big a city as Cleveland.
If Matt decides that he needs to stay in Cleveland area he will not get any tears from me. BUT I am looking forward to trying Maine still :)
Life is an adventure!! This week we are hoping to explore the shores of Lake Erie.
Enjoy what you can when you can.
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