Adventures at Eagle's Aerie: Getting Together

When we unpacked from Aldi, Eagle and i both freshened up a bit and made a shopping list. Then we headed for Bigger Town where the health food store and larger grocery are.

The health food place reminds me of Everman's in Pensacola. Arranged like a small mom and pop grocery with a place for ordering fresh food and juices, it had a wonderful selection. We got some fresh fruit and for the first time i was able to buy and try sprouted almonds. They were delicious.

At the grocery, there were specials i would have taken advantage of had i been at home -- isn't that always the way. We were in and out quickly, then went to the restaurant to meet up with Grace, Ninja, and Script.

Grace was there and it was fabulous to see her again. We talked and caught up and waited, and poor Script and Ninja got lost. The restaurant is in a strip mall, and they passed it a couple of times.

When we did finally all get there, we hugged and talked and ate family style and had a great evening. These things never last long enough, but since we closed the rather small restaurant, i can guarantee the people were glad when we did have to finally head out.

Ninja and Script went back to their hotel while Eagle, Grace and i went to the airport to pick up Westie.

Eagle told me it was a small airport, and it is. She also said it was never very crowded, but since i was there, something had to be different that day. There was a record crowd, there to meet some returning veterans. Flags everywhere, and enough people to line the corridors as they deplaned. It took the people on the other plane that had landed a long time to get through, but we were finally able to see the person with a blue jacket and blue carry on we were looking for.

Talking a mile a minute, we left the crowd welcoming the veterans and took Grace back to the restaurant parking lot and her car. Then Eagle drove her two foster eaglets back to her house.

The next morning, i got up, dressed, and went downstairs to go to McDonald's for coffee and internet. Mr. Eagle was up and told me not to expect a typical McD's experience. When i asked why, he told me that is where his father and all the men of that generation meet for coffee every morning.

In fact, they don't just meet there, taking up a good 1/3 of the restaurant, the employees circle with the pots to give them refills. Smalltown. Wow.

Internet done and coffee cup empty, i went back to the Aerie to start the roux, chop vegetables, and get the vegetable stock cooking. Eagle and i worked in the kitchen and talked to Mr. Eagle, then woke Westie so we could walk to a local grill for breakfast.

It's a nice place, with Swedish pancakes and lingonberries that impressed even Script, World Traveler. The waitress was a bit surprised when i asked for nothing but the veggies they put in the omelet, grilled, but told me the chef didn't even bat an eye at it.

Since the restaurant is right in the business district, we wandered and went in a few of the shops. Eagle told us a few things about Smalltown, which is where Mr. Eagle grew up. Apparently everyone waves at you, and you are supposed to wave back, it might be a relative. One stop was the bakery for the cake Eagle had ordered.

Back at the Aerie, we spent the rest of the day cooking, dancing to the music Ninja so carefully put on her playlist for her Karaoke machine, eating shrimp etouffee and salad and cake, and waiting for SleepyMom. Altogether a lovely day



Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Mozambique

Fukuro Matsuri -- Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan (a fun-for-tourists way to learn about Japanese culture, through tomorrow)

Gold Star Mother's Day -- US; remembering those mother's who have lost a child in military service

Join a Cabal of International Bankers Today Day -- internet generated, and only for people without a conscience

Kamarampaka Day -- Rwanda (Republic Day)

National Comic Book Day -- internet generated, but go read one, they are fun

National Crabmeat Newberg Day

National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims -- US

National One-Hit Wonder Day -- US, remembering those who had only one hit on the rock charts

St. Cadoc's Day

St. Finbarr's Day

Toad Tempting Day -- Fairy Calendar

World Ataxia Awareness Day


Birthdays Today:

Catherine Zeta-Jones, 1969
Will Smith, 1968
Scottie Pippen, 1965
Aida Turturro, 1962
Heather Locklear, 1961
Christopher Reeve, 1952
Mark Hamill, 1951
Cheryl Tiegs, 1947
Michael Douglas, 1944
Juliet Prowse, 1936
Glenn Gould, 1932
Barbara Walters, 1931
Shel Silverstein, 1930
Phil Rizzuto, 1918
Dmitri Shostakovich, 1906
William Faulkner, 1897
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1358 (Japanese Shogun)


Today in History:

St. Ferment is beheaded in Amiens, France, after voyaging there to preach the gospel, 303
The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, 1066
Columbus begins his second voyage, with 17 ships, 1493
Vasco Nunez de Balboa becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the Americas, 1513
The first printing press in the Americas begins operations, 1639
Old Style date; two very accurate clocks are set in motion at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, the start of Greenwich Mean Time, 1676
Ethan Allan, American Revolutionary War hero, is captured, 1775
Benedict Arnold joins the British, 1780
The first all-black university in the US, Howard University, is created by Congress, 1867
Yosemite National Park is established by Congress, 1890
Charles Follis becomes the first black to play professional American football, 1904
Birth of the remote control -- Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the invention of the "Telekino" and guides a boat from the shore in the port of Bilbao, 1906
Jimmy Doolittle performs the first blind flight from Mitchel Field proving that full instrument flying from take off to landing is possible, 1929*
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is integrated by the use of United States Army troops, 1957
In a referendum, the people of Norway reject membership of the European Community, 1972
Belize joins the United Nations, 1981
The last of the Magdalene Asylums closes in Ireland, 1996
The Vitim event, a possible bolide (comet nucleus) impact in Siberia, Russia, 2002
China launches the spacecraft Shenzhou 7, 2008

*Personal family history: He was a great man, and taught my brothers to hunt dove.