Lunch with RO

 

Somehow, I always seem to find good restaurants in the most unusual places. Qin Dynasty, of Parsippany, NJ is an example of one of these finds.  This restaurant is attached to a Red Roof Inn, and nothing special would catch the eye of most people. But something about this place caught my eye (maybe the words "Dim Sum"?) and I put it on my list of places to try out - and RO and I did so shortly before one of my Autumn cruises.

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Recently, RO and I found the time to get together again, and we chose this place because it was halfway between our two houses.  We were both glad we did so, as we had a very tasty and filling meal for a very reasonable price.  While eating, we caught up on what was going on with each others' lives, with me running on and on about my December cruise. It's nice to know that both of us went into dating to find friends first, and then a mate.  Her body is starting that slow path to breaking down, as she can no longer walk moderate distances anymore.  I'm glad that I didn't choose her for a girlfriend, or I might have ended up like Ex-GF-M.  Luckily, RO has become a good friend, and accepts me as Marian.

When RO and I left the restaurant, we each went our own ways.  I left to see if the Lane Bryant store in Paramus had a double breasted coat I was interested in.  The first thing I did upon entering the store was to look for the coat and try it on.  Although it had a good feel, I decided to pass on it, because of how the buttons worked.  (I didn't like how the inside button was placed.)  At this point, rush hour was starting, so I drove home to spend the rest of the evening.

Hawaii Vacation - Day 06: Haleakala Crater

Today, I could have gotten out of bed an hour later than I did.  Most of the excursions I'm scheduled to take occur sometime between 7:00 am and 7:30 am.  Today's excursion was scheduled for 8:15 am.  At least, I had the time to relax after breakfast and get things done.

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Around 8:00, I went down to the gangway and it started to drizzle.  I waited a while before heading towards the queuing area for the Kaleakala Crater excursion.  When the tour guide arrived, he told us that the weather at the top of Kaleakala crater is unpredictable and that we might not be able to see anything due to the clouds. 

We then started our trek from sea level to 9727 feet above sea level on a road with many switchbacks.  It was hard to remain seated through those switchbacks with no arm rest, and it was a miracle that I didn't get sick.  Rising from sea level, we encountered a cloud bank around 6000 feet above sea level, and it got worse as we continued up to the top.  At the bottom of the mountain, the temperature was in the 80's.  At the top, it was in the low 30's, and I was glad that I brought my winter coat that I knew I'd need when I returned to New York.  This coat almost got left in my car, in order to lessen the weight of the luggage that was going to Honolulu.

 

None of the pictures I took today are much worth posting, so I put an image from the Park Service at the top of this entry to provide an idea of what I was hoping to see.  The image above is what I did see.  Hardly worth the effort to go to the crater, isn't it?  Maybe next time, assuming there is one, I'll get a good picture.  Since we had time to kill before the driver's next tour from the ship, we stopped by a souvenir shop and at the local Safeway.  If I had been thinking, I would have picked up another roll of clear adhesive tape.  But I can't think of everything when on vacation....