An Adventure For Us

The folks were supposed to go to Starved Rock State Park on Saturday, but Mama hasn't been feeling well.  She has endometriosis and it flared up a few weeks ago.  We think it peaked this weekend because she was very cranky.  They decided to stay closer to home and just do the Route 66 thing on Saturday.

Sunday, Dad decided that we should all go all on adventure. Bunny had invited us to go on a boat ride but certain cranky people said that I couldn't handle it. Cranky Mama said that I whine too much when I see other dogs. Dad thought I might jump ship or Mama might throw me overboard. Just kidding....I think.

We loaded into the Jeep and off we went.  We stopped at McDonalds for a chicken sandwich and fries. Fun!

I'm a happy boy!

 Dad took us to Matthiessen State Park.  Oh, boy!  We get to hike!  Unfortunately, we had to go down steps.  There were lots of steps.  Scout does not do steps.  She goes down, but doesn't come back up. She immediately wanted to turn around when she reached the bottom of the steps.  I think she worried the entire time about the steps.  They were pretty steep.

We walked a little while and then we saw more steps.  People told us it wasn't worth going down into the canyon because the waterfall wasn't "working".  We decided to go on the path, but it turns out it wasn't really a trail.  We should have gone down the steps because that is where we needed to go.  We walked and walked and walked.

Pretty view.

Me and Dad - I walk fast!

Scout wanting to go home.

Scout saying she is not stepping over a tree.

Scout getting halfway over and refusing to go the rest of the way.

 

Scout slowly moving along wishing she was on a boat with Bunny instead of hiking with us.

 Mama kept saying that she thought we were going the wrong way.  Dad finally agreed when we reached a sign that said we had to stop because it was a hunting area.  We turned around and Scout was very happy.  She was able to climb over all but one tree on the way back.  We finally reached the area with more steps and we decided to go down them.  Dad said he would carry Scout if he had to. There ended up being way too many steps for us, so Dad went on alone.

This is what Dad saw:

 This is what Scout did.  Several people thought she needed help.  One lady gave her water.  People asked how old she was and when Mama said "six", they laughed.

"Hiking is not for me."

I was on alert, of course.

 When Dad came back, we had to do the steps. Scout started out great and then stopped.  Mama had to boost her up one step at a time, but Scout kept pushing her butt into Mama and Mama thought she might fall backwards. They finally made it up that set of steps.  Then we had to do another one. Dad tried to get Scout to do the steps and she refused.  He carried her.  I think Scout was embarrassed because she did the next flight by herself.  Mama was so happy!  We walked and walked and walked until we came to the steps that lead to the parking lot.  Scout looked very worried.  She refused to do anything.  Dad carried her. People were laughing.  Mama saw there was a path next to the steps. It was steep, but we decided we needed to do it instead of Dad carrying "big-boned" Scout. Finally, we made it to the parking lot. We were all huffing and puffing.

I was so tired that I laid down.  This is rare for me when I am outside.

Thank goodness, we are near the Jeep!

Resting in the Jeep

It was a fun day!

I had the best time!  I would love to do that every day.  We walk around the 24 acre lake three times a day, but I could do it all day and never get tired, I think.  I love to walk. It's hard to believe that last year at this time I was in a cast.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Still Upset With His Sister For Peeing On His Face

Paula Deen's Restaurant

Last week when Mama was at the train station, she saw a billboard for Paula Deen's Restaurant.  She was quite surprised that she had a restaurant here. I guess it pays to advertise. The restaurant is actually located inside Harrah's Casino.  She read the reviews and most of them were not very good.  The restaurant was not  listed on Urbanspoon, but Mama found reviews elsewhere.(Mama requested it to be added to Urbanspoon and now she is the first one to rate it!) Dad said that we have to try it, so they did.  Mama decided she wanted to try everything, so she ordered the buffet.  It was just a few dollars more than the regular menu.  Well, it's a few dollars more if you eat the lunch buffet. If you eat the dinner buffet, then it is several dollars more.  The folks arrived at 3:45 p.m. which was still lunch but they were charged for dinner since they left at 4:30 p.m.  Yep, those restaurant people know how people come in early to get the cheaper price and stay late. It's the first time the folks have tried it and it didn't work for them.  LOL   They learned that only a few extra things were put out at dinner and if they ever eat there again, they would go for the lunch buffet.

Mama said the food was really good.  Do you want to hear everything she ate?

• Meatloaf - it was good. It had peppers in it which gave it a nice flavor
• Fried Chicken - it was really good
• Corned Beef Hash - It may have been out of a can, not sure, but it was really good.
• Green Beans - very good!
• Mashed Potatoes - these were great!  Very creamy.
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes - made with pineapple - different, but good
• BBQ Spare Ribs - not good - too greasy
• Onion Rings - very good
• Ribeye - came out at dinner time - very thin - not good
• Cheese Garlic Biscuit - good, but it was cold

Fried Chicken, Green Beans, Corned Beef Hash, Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes

Cheese Garlic Biscuit

BBQ Spareribs

Sweet Potatoes, Onion Rings

Ribeye with mushrooms - They serve full size, but Mama only wanted a little to try

There was a lot of seafood items and clam pastas.  Mama couldn't sample those. There was also a salad bar. There were desserts, but Mama couldn't even sample one.  She was stuffed.  She had hoped for cheesecake, but there wasn't any.  There were also other meats that she didn't sample because she was so full. 

Interior photo

View of restaurant with buffet

Mama is so glad that they tried this restaurant.  She definitely recommends the buffet because you can try so many things.  Unfortunately, she couldn't bring us home any samples.



Tomorrow, I will tell you all about our adventure on Sunday.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Along With His Mama Is Thinking About the 9/11 Victims Today

Exploring Route 66

The folks set out on Saturday to explore Route 66 here.  Route 66 actually runs near our home in Missouri and we have traveled it many times.  Mama loves getting off the interstate and driving down Route 66.   She would love to take it from Chicago to California someday.

Scout and I stayed at home and rested.  We had a big adventure on Sunday that we will tell you about later this week.  Oh, we did meet some nice people on Friday night.  One of them worked at Southland Race Track.  That is where I raced.  We talked to them for a while and Scout said the one guy really knows how to give a good face rub. 

The folks stopped at a restaurant called the Polk-A-Dot Drive In.  It is a 50's themed restaurant.  The reviews were not that good, but they wanted to see it for themselves.  They went in not expecting the food to be very good, but it turned out to be a nice place.

 

Outside the restaurant

Inside - each table had a jukebox.

Cheeseburger, fries and coleslaw - 1/4 pound of mushrooms in the background which was six.

Cheeseburger

The food was actually pretty good.  Mama has definitely had worse and spent a lot more money at other places.  The prices really were not bad.  Her meal with soda was about $5.  At first she regretted not getting a double cheeseburger, but then she couldn't even finish the fries, so a double burger was not necessary.  The staff was very nice and the tables were clean.  She had read reviews that the place was dirty, but it was not when they were there.

Mama was very surprised when she walked into the ladies' restaurant.  It is covered in Elvis' photos.  She felt like he was watching her.  LOL

Elvis in his underwear.  She had not seen that photo before.

More photos of celebrities in the restaurant.

Elvis is everywhere!

Gumball machine.

The folks would definitely eat here again.  It looked like it is a favorite of the locals.  The place was crowded when they left.



The next stop was Walgreens. Dad needed to get his photo taken for his passport.  Mission accomplished. They then started looking around Route 66.

Blues Brothers on top of ice cream stand.

Old gas pump

Car on top of gas station says "California or Bust".

Route 66- This is the section that we travel at home.

The entire Route 66.

Guess where the folks ate Saturday night?  Paula Deen's Restaurant!  Yep, she has a place here in Joliet. We will tell you about that tomorrow.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Starting To Make Friends Here