Hello Cleveland!

So, we've basically come to the conclusion that if we're LUCKY, we may be able to make it to our beach house on Tuesday or Wednesday -- but maybe not. Until then, we're just going to make things up as we go! We've settled down for the night in Cleveland, Ohio, with the intention of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow! Probably won't "wow" us in the same way as the RV and Motor Home Museum we passed earlier today, but we'll give it a shot. And HEY - after taking crap about my Cleveland Indians hat every single day for a year (Look - it was free. I don't even like them!), I'd just like to ask all of the Cubs and Sox fans out there where THEIR mascot's crispy chocolate bar is! For the record, Chief Wahoo was choc-full of native-americany goodness...

 

M.O.A.D.

With the weather in the Outer Banks getting worse, we decided to take our time and stop at Tony Packo's in Toledo, Ohio - - a place made famous by Jamie Farr's M.A.S.H character Klinger - who talked about it all the time. Pictured here is the M.O.A.D. - the "Mother Of All Dogs". It's huge. Under that mountain of cheese is Packo's famous chili. Freaking de-lish...but will probably take a couple of days to finish. 

 

The cold front moves in....

After just a couple of hours of driving we run right into the massive cold front moving toward the Atlantic and bound to collide with Sandy - creating even more problems.

Leaving HQ..

Tina and Brawley leave WTW headquarters with the intention of driving directly into the path of Hurricane Sandy! That's right -- what's being called a "FRANKENSTORM" of monumental proportions may just put a quick end to our long-planned vacation! But we're going to get close and wait it out if we have to! Wish us luck!

The last morning....

Didn't see THAT coming....

Out driving around and happened upon an abandoned UFO-shaped former restaurant by the side of the road. There's definitely an unexpected weirdness factor around here, including a torpedo on stilts painted to look like a shark, and some highly inappropriately-named restaurants.

The Brawley Twist

No, this isn't a shot thru a funhouse mirror -- it's Brawley twisting in the wind - - literally. Big clouds and MAJOR winds all day today, so we went down to the beach and Brawley was a bit weirded-out by the feel of the strong winds pushing his hair up in all directions! He kept trying to shake it off to no avail!

View from the Avon Pier

Top Dog

Today we ate at the Top Dog Cafe in Avon!

As part of our vacation "Burgerpalooza", Tina got the "Big Kahoona" (1/2 a pound) and I got the "Tidal Wave" (1 pound). Here's a look at the Tidal Wave - -and yes -- that's two HUGE patties....

Crazy, right? That's NOTHING. Next to where we were sitting, there was a sign with pictures of the all-time record holder for downing these burgers. Except that this guy had the "Tsunami", which is DOUBLE the size of the one shown here. Not only that, he had TWO of them!!!! That's 8 giant patties and 2 buns, not to mention fries and FOUR large drinks. Yes, he's still alive as far as anyone can tell, but our waitress did say that she hasn't seen him for a while...

Eye cart

This poor abandoned food cart is still there on the side of the road, waiting for it's customers to come back....

Old, wrecked, and broken down..

Today we found an old/broken down/partially destroyed water park and go cart track while driving thru a town called Waves. Couldn't resists taking some pics....

Major wall of sand

When hurricane Irene hit a couple of months ago, it pushed a ton of the sand back from the water and greatly shortened the beach. Now, when you want to get down to the water, you have to navigate your way down this wall of sand.

What ever happened to a good old staring contest??

 

Although we're here to relax, Tina and Brawley decided to have a screaming contest. And in a screaming contest, there really are no winners, are there? :)

Thursday morning....

Wednesday sunrise

Tempting....

The Ferry trip back....

We just made it back to the ferry in time for sunset! Nice!

Yee-haw!

Can't leave without getting a picture at the Pony Island Motel!

Howard's Pub

Last time we were here we ate at Howard's and we couldn't resist this time either. 

Tuna bites appetizer! FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! Sesame ginger and southwestern ranch sauces. Tender, juicy, and really delicious. By the time the shutter closed on this picture, the bites were gone!

Cajun burger (yes, another burger). THICK, juicy, and the sauce had a potent kick that was just on this side of requiring an extra glass of water. Perfect. Tina had fried oysters, which she said were amazing, but I can't show it to you because she ate them at light speed before I could get the camera ready to take a picture.