Driving East

We left Cincinnati at 7:45 AM Wed. Sept. 24 on our planed 10 to 12 days along the East Coast. We drove, approximately 3000 miles but knew that it would be easier than flying to many spots with luggage, rental cars and baggage for some of our destinations.
The, ostensible, reason for the first leg was to deliver winter gear, ski's etc to our Granddaughter who is a freshman at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Our first nights goal was Syracuse NY, 600 miles from Cincinnati.
After a pit stop in Columbus, we went on to Cleveland for lunch with some good friends at "Corky&Lenny's" a true delicatessen in the old fashion mould. I could hardly wait for the cabbage soup and a Sable Platter which is my usual on a first delicatessen visit after a considerable absence. Marilyn goes for the standard "Corned Beef on Rye". I was not disappointed although there are several spots in the mid-west with better cabbage soup and who have more calls for Sable so that it has been out of the cooler for a longer time. Compared to Cincinnati, with no real "deli" it was great. Some of Marilyn's sandwich went in the cooler for lunch the next day.
Back in the car we finished Ohio, went thru a small portion of Penn. and hit the NY Thruway, which skirted Buffalo. I must admit that I had not considered the tolls we paid for the whole trip and although they did mount up they were not onerous.
We arrived at our Hampton Inn on the east side of Syracuse around 6:45PM. There was a unanimous recommendation, room clerk and people in the lobby, that the only place to eat was The "Dinosaur Bar-B-Que" located at 246 Willow St. in Downtown. The phone number is 315-476-4937, but it is only useful if you want "carry out" as they take no reservations. Being up for anything the "Dinosaur" is where we went.
When we arrived, parking a block away, we were greeting by a large corner location, with many customers in the "beer garden" and the street full of motorcycles. The place is a "scene". We forged on, and after walking thru several room sighted the receptionist booth under it's neon sign. The women on duty was closer to our age than that of most of the customers and so after a mention that we had come from Cincinnati she told us to take a table for 2 wedged against the wall and and next to what eventually becomes a stage for late night Blues.
Our waitress was great, and fairly indistinguishable from many of the others in her tight Jeans and somewhat revealing top, but "hay" the tighter the Jeans the bigger the tips. She was very professional knowing the menu, which is fairly large and good with bar service and food.
Marilyn and I settled for the "Sweetheart Deal for Two", a full rack, 12-13 fair sized ribs, 4 homemade sides, in our case cole slaw, Bar-B-Que Beans, fresh salad with house dressing and mac and cheese. Along with this comes corn bread and 4 or five different sauces, from sweet to very hot. "The Deal" goes for a total of $24.95. Our total bill, including drinks and over a 20% tip was $51.50. I should do so well in NYC.
We found our way back to the motel, after one or two wrong turns, took showers, always good after Bar-B-Que and hit the sack. A very fulfilling first day, in more ways than one.