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Lied Lodge in Nebraska City

We spent the past weekend at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. My side of the family had our family reunion there, and I have to say we’ll be back!

The lodge itself is beautiful, well maintained and well staffed. Natural timbers are used throughout, and the huge lobby and quiet veranda are a couple of very relaxing spaces to sit and read, talk with family and friends, play cards or whatever. We also spent some time wandering through some of the many trails, visiting the Morton house and carriage house, playing some games on the lawn, etc.

The restaurant puts on a pretty good buffet for breakfast. In fact, after a large, late breakfast we skipped lunch both days. I don’t think we ever had dinner at the hotel restaurant. We wanted to do the free wine tasting (Sat & Sun. nights) but the timing didn’t work out right either evening.

All in all, it’s a beautiful place and one we’ll visit again. I could see an annual stay there, in fact.

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Are we having fun yet?

Oh, how I do love remodeling…  we’ve got the downstairs bathroom torn pretty much apart, working on getting the last of it ripped out now.  When it’s done it will be all new from the drywall inward.  New vanity, counter, sink, mirror, lights, fan, toilet, the works.  It’s not without challenges, from the inadequate (for what we wanted to do, anyway) wiring to the lack of water shutoff valves under the sink.  Seriously, who does that??

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Good work, Supremes!

Today the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the DC v. Heller case. What we now have, for the first time, is agreement by the Supreme Court that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution protects each individual’s right to keep and bear arms, not just the government.

This is truly good news. While the Court didn’t go any further than striking down DC’s complete ban on handguns, nor did I expect it to, at least there is a decision that makes sense. I can foresee a long path of suits to nudge our rights back into existence in other areas like Chicago, where bans like DC’s have created what amount to safe free-fire zones for criminals and gangs.

I think I’ll go to the range this week and celebrate.

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The French Cafe

Lisa & I had dinner at The French Cafe last night. It was our 29th anniversary, and it had been far too long since we visited my friend Tony Abbott’s place.

The food and service were, as always, above and beyond wonderful. The French onion soup and escargot have not varied from perfection in all the years we have gone there. The Chateaubriand was outstanding, accompanied by Brie-stuffed tomatoes that were simply unforgettable. The cherries jubilee topped it off perfectly.

The French Cafe has had a reputation as a pretty expensive place to eat, but quite frankly I think it is less expensive now than ever. We spent only slightly more on dinner last night than we did at a good-but-not-great place in Charlotte we tried last week. The atmosphere, service, and food at French Cafe are in a completely different class.

I feel sorry for those poor suburban slobs who think that abomination known as Mahogany Prime is what a good restaurant is about.

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The power is out again.

We had a pretty good storm move through here tonight, and the power is out.  Of course we’ve still got Internet connectivity, though I did power off the server to keep the UPS from dying too early.  Got to get some more emergency lighting, and maybe a small generator might not be too terrible of an idea.  Overall, we’re OK…  some LED lights, candles, cell phones, laptops on battery power.  We’ll survive until OPPD gets around to us.  We’re just hoping the Scouts hit by a tornado at Little Sioux aren’t hurt badly.

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Things We Learned On The Road

After riding over 2600 miles over the course of our 10-day road trip to Charlotte and Charleston, there are a number of lessons we learned.

Double-check the mileage between your hotels.  Nothing sucks quite like having reservations 50 miles past where you planned to make them, and 45 miles past your comfortable riding limit.

GPS is nice, but it’s also a good idea to print out or write down directions just in case.

When your route takes you through a major city, allow some extra time (and hassle) for detours.  Try to avoid arriving right at rush hour, it sucks. Continue reading “Things We Learned On The Road”

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Saw an interesting wreck tonight.

Lisa & I were out in front of our hotel in Charlotte while I was cleaning up the poor, abused, filthy Ultra. We saw some twit trying to figure out how to do a wheelie in the street out front. About 10 minutes later, there’s a big noise from the parking lot of the TGI Friday’s next door, engine screaming followed by the sight of something on the far end of the parking lot rocketing along and slamming into something. Hard. Lisa and I went to see what happened, since we’re both over 40 and first aid trained.

The poor bastard had somehow managed to low-side across the parking lot Continue reading “Saw an interesting wreck tonight.”

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Devil May Care

Devil May Care is the latest attempt at a James Bond novel. Ian Fleming died in 1964, and so far no one has been able to successfully resurrect either him or his writing style. Sadly, the latest attempt by Sebastian Faulks is no exception. It’s a good book, and a decent Bond, but Faulks is no Fleming no matter how hard he may try.

In fact, trying too hard seems to be why this effort falls a little short of the mark. One of the most common (and most aggravating) mistakes
I’ve seen made in the newer attempts has been a lack of subtlety. Yes, Fleming would mention Bond’s choice of specific brands from time to time, but didn’t club you over the head with them. Faulks seems at times to be name-dropping in an attempt to get the reader to more closely identify with the “old” Bond. Many references are made to earlier Bond novels, and character names are dredged up in ways that seem to be a little overkill.

Then there is the story itself. Because we’re in the present decade, naturally it has to be set in the Middle East, with short stints in 1960s London. Faulks works in numerous historical references to Vietnam, 60s drug culture and other foreshadowing elements, but it feels a little hollow at times. The whole Scarlet/Poppy thing is more than a little transparent as well, and I find it difficult to imagine M would have ever even considered a female Double-0 during that or the following decade to begin with.

All in all I enjoyed the read, but as a Bond novel it’s not all that close to Fleming’s quality of work. Having the whole “writing as Ian Fleming” thing, I think, does this book as well as Fleming’s memory a disservice.