Mattie's Adventure in the City

 I crashed hard (quite) last night, which was unfortunate, as I had planned to post.  I took Tuesday to do some errands and cut the grass, which left the rest of the day for fun.  Which, it was. First, I went here:

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2021/07/b-29-doc-superfortress-one-of-only-2-airworthy-ones-to-land-in-cleveland-for-tours-flights.html

This was pretty cool; I would have liked to have spent more time on the plane, but then again I could have spent $600 on the flight.  Which, I did consider, but given my fear of flying on a modern plane...well, discretion is a better part of valor. Anyways, it was pretty interesting -- I rather enjoyed the chitchat before you went on the plane -- a couple of plane guys, as well as veterans discussing their service, and then you got in through the bomb bay, where they discussed aspects of the plane, then you went into the navigator's section, where you could see the cockpit.  Not a lot of space, and it was certainly not built for older people and those well-fed types nowadays, if you get my drift.  But it was interesting, hearing about the primitive computers used for the aiming system of the machine guns, the pressurized interior, the 14-hour flights, the oil leaks of the engine, that sort of thing.

Side note:  Burke is a beautiful airport, but I can see why they want to get rid of it; not a lot of flights there.  So in that way, it's a waste of space (not that the city could develop the site properly). It would be interesting to me if someone could figure out a way to get more traffic to the place...

Then, after some meandering around the IWASM (also interesting), it was off to Alley Cat for some restaurant tourism.  I hadn't been to the part of the city in a long time; it's certainly built up now. The site itself is quite beautiful; along the lake and the river, gorgeous view.  As for the place...I went with the salmon and ordered some Happy Hour oysters (which arrived the same time as the salmon, oi).  Never had oysters before, so... they were ok?  I mean, I liked them, not too slimy, but a bit salty.  Might try them again, might not.

The salmon was, bar none, the best salmon I have ever tasted.  Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned.  The rest...the sides were just meh...maybe I expected more for the money (imagine that). Jicama-pineapple slaw was just that -- needed something seasoned to bring it together.  Ditto for the quinoa tartare; even with the accompaniment on top, it was a little...underwhelming.  Service was ok; they have a multi-server approach, which I don't like as it leads to hit-or-miss issues... and, of course, it was pricey.  I would go back and try something else, but there are other places to hit...