I have been waiting for this soup!!

We took a little drive for lunch..like about 140 miles! Two years ago, we stopped in a cute little old schoolhouse that was turned into a restaurant. We just happened to be there when they had made split pea and ham soup. It was so good, that for two years we have talked about this darn soup. Well, we called a few days ago to find out what soup they were serving on Tuesday. They said, "what do you want?" The Trout said, "how about split pea and ham?"

We arrived for lunch at this darling little restaurant in Dell, Montana, and coyly asked, "what soup are you serving today?" Well, they did it for us!! Split pea and ham, with so much ham that you almost need a heavy-duty spoon. And, check out the size of the homemade dinner roll. So tall and good, warm, with butter. Just as good as we remembered two years ago!!

I am a reader of all road signs, billboards and personalized license plates. I can't stop myself; it is just something I do, even when I am driving.

A few weeks ago, we were driving along miles and miles of electric fence that housed quite a large herd of buffalo. We knew whose land we were driving by, but it still always amazes me, the wealth that some people have. This sign below was spotted frequently along the electric fence.





Yes, you guessed it. The land belongs to the Ted Turner. Nothing more needs to be said.

Then this morning driving home, we drove past a community dumping area. The sign made me laugh. This is Montana, and they just do things differently than in big towns and cities. You gotta love it!!

Florida + California = Montana!!

So, when a blogger from Florida (me), meets two bloggers from California, bring along the husbands to celebrate Chris and Pat's 26th anniversary, the fun and laughing never stops.

This is Chris, above picture, from Knitting Mania.

We are eating dinner at a great restaurant in Philipsburg, Montana, The Philipsburg Cafe.

Chris and Pat are slowly building their retirement home in Philipsburg. They come out a couple of months every summer to continue the work. I would guess we'll see a lot of each other each summer. So great getting to know you, Chris.

This is another blogger friend from California, Dustye from Dustye's Kitchen.

Dustye and her husband, Ed, have been friends of Chris and Pat's for quite some time. It's been fun getting to know them as they are spending some time out here in Montana helping Chris and Pat with their new home.

Dustye, I'm sure we'll connect and I am thrilled to have a new friend to place FARKLE with on Facebook.

As you can see, I did not give the guys much of a chance to look up. They were very busy eating this wonderful meal set before us.



So, here we have the three bloggers. Isn't it amazing how the Internet has brought us together? We look forward to getting to know each other better in the future.

A very good repast

Saturday evening, we drove into the neighboring town of Philipsburg, Montana, for an early anniversary dinner. The Philipsburg Cafe has been a favorite spot of ours since we discovered it three years ago. Mike and Meredith left Boston and moved to Montana where he has put his fantastic cooking expertise to bring a fine dining experience to little P-burg.


You would have to travel many miles to get a meal of duck confit with polenta, sauteed squash and an orchid on the side. The Trout loved the duck, and I can attest it was very delicious. I had to try Mike's horseradish crusted prime rib, rare to medium rare --the only way to eat it :)--also with the polenta and squash. It was fantastic.

We had a beautiful salad before this entree, of fresh greens, blue cheese, carmelized walnuts, green apple slices, champagne vinaigrette and a good sprinkling of freshly ground pepper. Outstanding!
We normally don't order dessert, but it comes with the fixed price of $25. This was triple delight chocolate cake which was outstanding! Mike came out as we were eating dessert and we praised his efforts. He had to apologize for the dessert. He had wanted to make a raspberry coulis with it, but could not get to the store for the raspberries because he is also a volunteer fireman and duty called. What else can I say? I love this small town stuff. The coffee was freshly ground and we brought our own bottle of wine along. This turned out to be an excellent choice; Horse Heaven Hills Merlot, 2006. We will definitely be back this summer for his excellent dinners.

Another good and beautiful day

Last evening at dinner, we met a young man who was hiking the Appalacian trail. He needed a day or two off, so he came into town for a nice dinner. He is doing half of the trail, 1000 miles. It is a much easier task now with cell phones than in the past. Anyone want to try this nice, long walk?

Today we headed east toward Woodstock, Vermont. This is not the August, 1969, Woodstock, NY. This is a lovely town with cute shops and these beautiful homes in the saltbox style, clapboard siding, and very, very large. Some are of brick with black shutters or the white clapboard. Very pretty. And of course, another cute covered bridge. This is a privately owned one going to a farm house.

Isn't this church magnificent? This is the First Universalist Church and Society. The building is dated 1844 and it is located in Barnard, Vermont. It is so well cared for, you would never imagine it to be 165 years old.

We had a lovely dinner this evening at "The Prince and the Pauper." I had black and white sesame crusted salmon and the Trout had lobster and crab cakes. Just enough with a beautiful pate' we shared as an appetizer. This was served with pickled red onions, cornichons, grainy mustard and lingonberries. Very, very perfect.

Tomorrow is my day to go exploring after I drop the Trout off to go fly fishing with his guide. By the way, we hit it pretty good this morning at the Orvis tent sale. I know they were just waiting for us to show up.

We went Spanish today!

We took a road trip today for lunch and took our friends Gary and Sue along. We went to a favorite restaurant of ours, Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. It is located just at the outskirts of Tampa and is a fairly quick drive from home. There are six locations of this Spanish restaurant in Florida and we have eaten at three of them. This one, in Ybor City, is the original, started in 1905.

I usually have the same lunch each time because it is so very good. They have a "1905 Salad" that they mix at the table. Lettuce, smoked ham, swiss cheese, tomatoes, lots of Spanish olives, Romano cheese and a wonderful dressing made with garlic, olive oil, vinegar, oregano and lots of Worcestershire sauce. It is so good and addictive. Along with this comes a hunk of warm Cuban bread. I always opt for the Cuban Black Bean soup topped with chopped raw onion. As if this is not enough, we all wanted a pitcher of Sangria that they mixed right at the table also. They add their fruit juice mix, orange and lime slices and Spanish red wine, a small amount of brandy and ice. Needless to say, we emptied the pitcher.

This original restaurant is very beautiful. Lots of Spanish tiles and Moorish influence in the decoration of the inside, especially the ornate doorways and a fountain in one of the courtyard rooms. A very delightful restaurant and usually very busy. It is only in the last 10 years that the restaurant has relented to let women also be waiters. The men are dressing very formally and they are very professional.