Trip to Cleveland to Visit Grandma Ross

Kathleen, Uncle Larry, Grandma Ross, Uncle David and Uncle Richard

We finally made it to Cleveland to visit Grandma Ross and many other of Barbara's Ohio relatives. This was my first time to Cleveland and my first time to meet Grandma Ross (Barbara mother's mother.)

We flew up on Thursday 9/14 and stayed through Sunday 9/17. We spent 2 nights at Grandma Ross' house in North Royalton. Uncles Larry and Richard live there also.

We first had lunch at the Rock Bottom Brewery in the Flats, and then headed to Grandma Ross'. After visiting for a while, we visited the nearby Mill Stream Run Reservation, part of Cleveland MetroParks. Metroparks was created in 1917 when Cleveland was the 6th biggest city in the U.S. and is a huge park system ringing Cleveland.


Greenhouse with Snapdragons

Barbara's grandfather, after retiring from being a typesetter, start L Ross Greenhouses. It is operated to this day by Larry and Richard.

Friday we went to the Akron area and visited with Ted's sister Frances, her husband Bill and their two daughters, Liz and Anne. We had lunch at the Hartville Kitchen, an interesting diner and collectible sales place with roots going back to 1939.

Saturday Uncle Richard's twin brother David came over with his wife and youngest daughter, Emilee.

Saturday afternoon, as Ted and Kathleen headed to Ted's 50th high school reunion, Barbara and I headed to Lakeside. Ted and Kathleen both went to camps in Lakeside, on the shore of lake Erie, as kids and then Ted's parents retired there. Lakeside is a community started by Methodist preachers in 1873 and evolved into a chautauqua development - a religous based summer camp. Interestingly, during the summer visitors have to pay a fee to enter the village. Once one pays to get in they are treated to free swimming, shuffle board, mini-golf, plays and religious programs and speakers.


Pregnant Barbara on the Lake Erie Shore



Ted's Parent's Lakeside House



The Main Dock Facility at Lakeside

Homeless Donations

Today, after being approached by a panhandler at a gas station for money I was then approached by a fellow gas pumper who asked how I morally deal with that type of situation. He said he usually just brushed them off, but had recently become a preacher, and so gave the guy money.

My strategy? Every time I am approached for money on the street we donate to HomelessHouston

A&M v The Citadel

Last weekend (yes we are behind here) we spent Saturday night in College Station and watched the Fightin' Ags take on The Citadel - PastaNoodle's first Aggie game.




Barbara demonstrates a symbol from the Aggie Senior right of passage -The whoop














The Aggies, as expected beat the heck out of The Citadel 35-3. The Aggies also showed off their new end zone high-def 12th Man TV video screen - the 2nd largest in collegiate sports. It weighs in at 3,954 square feet and 110 feet tall. The new video ribbon board also debuted - 1,130 feet long along the perimeter of the first deck, the longest in college sports and the 2nd longest in the U.S.








I, of course, would be remiss if I did not also mention that the largest video screen in college sports and the largest high-def screen in the Western Hemisphere also debuted that Saturday at UT. Godzillatron is 7,370 square feet, about 86% larger than the 2nd biggest collegiate screen. Its electronics are kept cool by 40 5-ton a/c units.





The largest HDTV video screen in the world is at a horse track in Japan. It measures in at 8,000 square feet.









Ok, back to the weekend. In what is apparently an Aggie tradition, we took PastaNoodle's first annual picture in front of the statue of Sul Ross at the age of minus 4-months. Sul Ross, former Texas Governor and President of A&M.











Dave made his first, and Barb her 2nd, visit to the Bonfire Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to the 12 students who died when the 1999 bonfire collapsed while under construction. The portals, shown in the photo, each represent a student and face in the direction of that student's home town. The 1999 tragedy brought on increased camaraderie between UT and A&M and maybe even softened Barbara up enough to eventually marry a T-Sip. Dave attended the last bonfire in 1998.






We then visited the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. It was rather interesting and we only made it through the 1st half before having to hit the road. The most interesting thing to me was that Bush never held down a job for longer than he was Vice President or longer than I have been at ISP. From oil field salesman, executive, Harris County GOP head, UN ambassador, ambassador to China, GOP head, CIA leader to president he never had a job for longer than 8 years!

Elissa Video

Late last month the gang got together for Heather's birthday. Pastalaniec experimental video was shot of Elissa. Click here