Yesterday was my birthday. We didn't do much other than drive, but I got to have TWO local treats that I have been looking forward to trying! The first is called Poutine, and it's a dish famous in Canada, and it's very popular. It is NOT VERY NUTRITOUS, since all it is is french fries with gravy and cheese on top. I thought it was a special kind of cheese called cheese curds, but the one I had didn't have any of those.
After driving from Niagara Falls, NY to the Canada side, and being a tourist there for a while, we drove to Parry Sound, Ontario. We drove through Toronto, which looks a lot like NYC but we didn't stop in an interesting part. There was a REALLY tall tower that you could take an elevator to the top of but it was more than 20 dollars to go up per person so we decided not to. I got a sausage from a hot dog cart, which also sold VEGGIE dogs! I was really impressed. Pictures to follow.
After stopping at Tim Hortons (which is like Dunkin Donuts, but better donuts and worse coffee) we got on our way.
We camped for the night at a place called Four Mile Creek, and went to put up the tent for the first time. After practicing this amazing new tent a million times before the trip, sure enough, we opened the tent and it was BROKEN!!!!!!!!
We rigged it up the best we could, and went to sleep. The next day we went to The Bad Place, and bought a new, small easy tent. ****art was starting to eat my brain so we had to leave. I think they put secret messages in the music in that store so you feel like a zombie and buy more things.
We stayed that night at a campground called Six Mile Lake. They aren't very creative with their names for campgrounds around here!
The new tent is kinda small and if you don't know, you can't have anything touching the inside of a tent when it rains or all the rain will come through to inside the tent. So that worries me just a little.
The next day was yesterday and that was my birthday. We decided to drive until we couldn't drive any longer!
After we crossed from Canada into Michigan, I was excited for my next Local Treat. In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, people call it the U P, or Yoopie. People from there are YOOPERS. A long time ago, people from Cornwall, England settled there, and brought their recipe for PASTYS (pronounced PAST-EEE). They are dough pockets with meat and potatoes and vegetables in them. I had them when I was in England and was looking forward to trying Michigan's version! Also, I had read about them in a book about this area.
The first one I had was AWFUL. I made sure to have another before I left the area and it was everything I hoped it would be. Tender, flaky crust, with tiny cubes of potatoes and carrots and whatever vegetables they were, with bits of ground meat.
Now I am in a place in Eagle River, Wisconsin (Yeahhh!!! We made it as far as Wisconsin!) having a coffee and a cream puff. All the junk food is past me. I am ready for some good VEGETABLES and salad and stuff. Well, maybe a steak when I get to Nebraska.
I didn't expect this place to be as good as it is. It looks very unassuming. But not only was the cream puff AMAZING but they have free WiFi!
8 comments:
Hey Ms. A -
Next time you pass through the U.P. ask me for a recommendation on where to stop for pasties. Sue is always amazed that I can forget everything, but remember the best places to eat (anywhere) and the names of the waiters. LOL
BTW, the mystery ingredient in pasties is rutabaga.
For a number of years now, I have been ordering pasties by mail from a place that started out totally unknown except to U.P. locals. A friend told me about them and I ordered a few to try.
"Pasty Central" operates a pasty kitchen in Kearsarge, Michigan, just north of Calumet. Their products are available for purchase both online and in-person at a pasty drive-through window.
Pasty Central is an employee-owned company in Calumet, Michigan. The employees bought the company in 2001 from Still Waters Assisted Living Community in Calumet, where the pasty project started. The purchase provided much-needed capital for the assisted living home. Unfortunately, Still Waters closed its doors October 1, 2006. Pasty Central remains committed to supporting programs that assist the elderly throughout the U.P..
For many years Still Waters residents peeled the veggies for their pasties as a regular activity. Over the years, a small number of pasties were sold locally as a fund raiser, always receiving praise for the quality and taste. In 1995, Still Waters first appeared on the Internet, and in '96 was granted the domain name "pasty.com".
On The Tonight Show, Jay Leno occasionally features signs from around the country which have some humorous double meaning or misspelling. Last month Leno unwittingly gave an economic boost to Michigan's Upper Peninsula when he poked fun at a U.P. sign which read "My Mom's Pasties".
It's not uncommon for the uninitiated to assume that someone simply misspelled "pastries" - and Leno fell into this trap. While the brief spot on the June 11th Tonight Show brought laughter of the 'wardrobe mishap' variety from the audience, it also struck a chord with dozens of viewers who turned to the web to to find 'pasty.com'.
Overnight Pasty Central received several thousand dollars in orders from customers who cited the Tonight Show for triggering long-forgotten memories about their favorite Michigan dish. Occurring during the peak of the Father's Day rush of orders, Leno's antics resulted in one of the best months in the history of Pasty Central.
WOW - Wisconsin in just three days! Not stopping in all the small towns (like Chicago)? Probably better that way. Once you've seen one, the rest are pretty much the same.
Sorry to hear about the tent.
I love you both!
- Dad
BTW - I sent you a birthday card, but it was bounced.....
Still using the wga @ GM address?
I think I screwed up. I'll check, but I think Blue Mountain still has your verizon address.
Dagnabbit! OK - so it will arrive VERY late. Sorry.
- Dad
Grandpa and I first had "pasties" when we went to visit Uncle Ken who was at Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan. That's a LONG time ago and there wasn't any special company selling those delicious dough sandwiches then. It seemed to be a product only known (and sold) in a very small area of the state.
Glad you're managing so well, but really sorry to hear about the small tent problem. Happy Birthday, by the way. I didn't know I could reach you. Let me know how to contact you other than by this method. Love to you both. Grandma A
Pastys make me think of Harry Potter.
I LOVE poutine. You can get fries with cheese and gravy here, too, of course, but it is *not* the same.
They have The Bad Place in Canada?? I am sorry to hear that. Also sorry about your tent.
I, too, am sorry to hear about the tent. That sucks!!!
Glad the local treat finding is going well and that you two are making good time. And I am learning new stuff from reading this blog. I remember being excited to introduce Lo to sweet tea when we went to North Carolina.
-Co
Four days and no blog entry. Glad to hear you're busy. (LOL)
So, since there was nothing to read, I went BACK and read LAST month's entries. Good thing you don't teach math..... (check this out):
(A) "In 1930's South Dakota, Ted Hustead's wife had an idea"
(B) "What we DIDN"T KNOW was that this year is the 100th birthday!"
- Dad
I guess what I meant was "What I didn't realize was that there would be celebrations.
That is where we were TODAY! It was crazy. We countered all the commercialism by driving through the Badlands at sunset.
It was the 100th birthday of the city of Wall. Hustead started the ice water sensation that led to the massive tourist attraction in the 1930s.
--JMA
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