Blimping along.....

With Hangar 1 Vodka at Cape Cod Airfield.......

As my regular readers know I often spend some of my down time at Cape Cod Airfield in Marstons Mills.  I love flying and love that airfield more then I can say.  And the motor heads that run the place are really nice guys.  When Chris told me that a blimp was coming in to the airfield for a few days, I told him I was getting a ride in it, somehow, some way.  They told me that when the Hood Milk blimp use to summer at the airfield you couldn't even get near it.  Hmmm.....

So when the blimp landed I ran up to the pilot who flew it, introduced myself, and welcomed him to Cape Cod.  His name is Bret Viets and what a nice guy.  I immediately asked about a ride and he said we could probably arrange it.  So the next day I turned up at the airfield and spoke to the Hangar 1 Vodka people and got on the ride list.  Most of the others on the ride list were news people (tv, newspapers) and a couple that won their ride through a radio call in.

It was a cloudy, hazy day and that effects the lift of the helium in the blimp so they were only taking 2 riders at a time which slowed things down considerably.  But they had the bar and grills going so you could eat and drink while you waited (I didn't do either but I did get a t-shirt).  Finally the crew chief came up to me and said "we can get you on the next ride if you don't mind sitting in the co-pilot seat."  Huh?  Honey I'd fly the thing if you asked me!   So in I go and sitting right next to my New Best Friend, Bret the pilot.  I'm flying with the people that won their trip on the radio call in (nice people, Renee and Tom).

I'm sort of a science nut and I peppered Bret with a bazillion questions about how a blimp works, how they manage the helium, where they get the helium, top altitude, airspeed, engine size, etc.  I also found out (while I was over the ocean) that helium is a smaller molecule then the fabric the blimp is made out of and constantly leaks out (which is why your helium balloons are flat after a day).  And since I do have a fair amount of flying experience I'll tell you, in my opinion, flying a blimp in nice calm sunny weather isn't that difficult.  But you have to constantly manage the helium and that takes experience. And in difficult weather forget about it, I'm staying on the ground.

I found it interesting that the reporter from the Cape Cod Times who got a ride in it and wrote about it on Wednesday was a bit nervous about it (he should try flying upside down or in a huge DC-3 taking off from a short grass runway).  I found the entire ride to be like sitting in my living room.  Bret is a very experienced pilot and such a nice guy.  It is a very slow, relaxing ride and the views are great.   Over the water we came down lower to look for whales (didn't see any but how cool is that).

I did find out I'm in a very elite group, there are only 12 blimps flying world wide right now and the company that owns the Hangar 1 Vodka blimp, Lightship, owns more then half of the blimps flying today. (Hangar 1 leases the blimp from Lightship).  Lightship also owns the Snoopy blimps too. (my readers and friends know how much I LOVE Snoopy).  Most of those blimps in the air don't give rides so I was really lucky (not to mention how charming I was, seriously I charmed my way on this ride).

I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Bret my pilot was so nice and the Hanger 1 Vodka group was delightful and a lot of fun.  What a great experience!  I never would have had it if it wasn't for my association with Cape Cod Airfield, Chris Siderwicz Sr and Chris Siderwicz Jr, so I thank them sincerely.  If you have not been to Cape Cod Airfield and had a biplane ride, you should try it, its equally as fun, has the same views as I had in the blimp - just a little bit faster.

FYI, I found out that the term "blimp" is for laypeople, those of us in the know say airship.  And now I'm an experienced airship flyer!
(ya gotta click on the pictures for a larger view they are fantastic!)
See my Blimping Over Cape Cod video on YouTube.

Human Nature or....

I had a yard sale a few weeks back, it was a resounding success.  My main goal was to get rid of as much "junque" as I possibly could.   By then end of the day I had a few hundred dollars in my pocket and had reduced my clutter pile by 3/4.

All of my items were priced and they were giveaways even at the marked price.  I fully expected that everyone would bargain with me.... they did, it's part of the fun of a yard sale.  However; by 2 pm we wanted more product to leave the driveway (less stuff I have to drag to the swap shop) so we told our customers that everything was free and to make a donation if they felt so moved.  Interestingly, I made more money after 2 pm then before.

Did people feel guilty just taking my bric-a-brac or were they so grateful not to have to haggle?  Either way, I made far more money.  People are generous.  American's are one of the most giving nations on earth.  Give us a sad story or natural disaster and we will donate.  Or a yard sale.  The next yard sale I have I'm going to start the morning off the way I ended my last yard sale.  Everything is there for the taking, make a donation on what you think it's worth.  I'll move more odds and ends and make more money. Clearly a win-win.

On the other hand, I do this blog (occasionally and lord only knows why) and along with the blog I keep a list of gluten free places on Cape Cod.  For years now I've given that list out for free.  I guess because with research, phone calls, and Google the information is out there for everyone.  There is also another list that you can get from someone else; however, it is much smaller then mine.  I not only try and eat/shop at all the places on my list but I also call the owners and speak to the chef's.  When a bad report comes in I research what happened and why.  I've just spent 2 weeks working with one restaurant owner to get as many GF ingredients on their menu as possible.  I'm also in the process of putting clickable links to the individual restaurant websites in the 14 page "Gluten Free on Cape Cod" list.  Did I mention that the restaurants don't pay me either?

Although I send out a form letter with each request, 95% of the time I end up personalizing the form letter because the requester has also asked specific questions along with their request for the list.  At least 75% of the time I end up sending a few emails back and forth with each requester.  At best (meaning the quickest turnaround and follow up) I spend 5 minutes on each request for the list. This week was a slow week with only 35 requests for the GF list.   Which adds up to just under 3 hours of my time spent on just sending out a free list (that does not include my visits and phone calls to the various restaurants or the constant list updates).  The week before 4th of July, I had over 125 requests in a 7 day period.  That's a lot of time on my part... I work a full time job, I'm a single mom of a teenager, and I have a dog that I walk 4 miles a day.  For me, time is of the essence.

So a few weeks ago I decided that I'd add a Pal Pal button and ask for a donation to get the list.  There was no suggested amount to donate, just like at my yard sale, I left it up to the "buyer".  Well, 41 requests later and guess how much I've gotten from my Pay Pal button?  $0.  That's right, not a red cent.  I'm trying to figure out why that is?   Maybe people don't really realize how much time and money this takes me and maybe they don't care.  Perhaps they are just use to this type of list being free because in some larger cities GF lists are kept up by numerous people in the local Celiac group but that isn't the case here.  I'm the only one working on this list.

I'd be interested in your thoughts and ideas on this one, it astounds me that no one has thought of sending me a single dollar thru Pay Pal.  I guess if someone couldn't afford it I'd certainly give it to them for free but quite a few people tell me where they are staying (rented house, Chatham Bars Inn, Daniel Webster Inn, etc.) and surely they can afford a buck.  Right now I'm debating canceling the list completely, it really does take a lot of time or charging for it.  What do you think?'

Well here is the sad news... since I wrote this post I've spent over 5 hours updating the list so that the restaurants have clickable links to their websites.  I've also had numerous people ask for the list and even after they read this post, they didn't donate.  So now I'm charging $3.00 for the list. It's worth it and I spend so much time on it.  I've just sent out over 100 emails to restaurants that are NOT on the list asking how they handle gluten free requests so I expect soon I'll be updating with new additions!

Idgy's is ALL gluten free.

Idgy's opened a couple of months ago and I've tried really hard to like it.  As a matter of fact... I do like it.... but (yes Virginia there is a "but") they still have a few kinks to work out.   It's in Union Station Plaza (Rt. 6 at exit 8) next do Domino's Pizza.  There is always plenty of parking.  The interior is cute.  They use chalkboards for the menu and they are all done in bright colors adding to the decor.  The fabric on the chairs is adorable.  The restaurant is always clean and bright.  The outside has lovely window boxes with herbs and flowers in them and I think there is an outdoor table or two (don't quote me on that one).

Like the title of this post, Idgy's is ALL gluten free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination or "mistakes".  I don't think owners Erika Berg and Deb Collins have gluten issues themselves but they have been in the restaurant business a long time and know good food.  I've spoken to one of them every time I've gone in there and they seem like dedicated professionals.

They have an interesting and varied menu:  breakfast - eggs, french toast, waffle's, quiche, english muffins, sausage, scones, and even a breakfast burrito.  I have to be honest and say I've never had breakfast there.... I get up really early every morning but I don't get going early.  One of these days I'll get up and get moving in time for breakfast.

On the lunch/dinner menu: Panini's, regular sandwiches, salads, appetizers, pizza, entrees, sides, a kids menu, a few vegan dishes, and even desserts.  They have a lot of healthy drinks, juice, coconut water, Holistic Herbal Elixirs, and smoothies.  So they cover all the bases.

I've had a couple of Panini's and they were good.  Certainly it is the first time I've had a Panini in 9 years.  The bread they use (I'm not sure if they make it but I'm guessing they do) is thin and doesn't taste or feel like a GF bread product.  I've had the Chicken Parm and the Roasted Portabella panini's and both were tasty but I'd like the Chicken Parm one a bit wetter (more red sauce and more cheese).   Both plates came with roasted beets which I ate but my daughter turned her nose up at.  I've asked about the beets, it is an unusual side dish, and they said people love them.  I happen to love beets but honestly I don't know anyone else who does.  I've had the Terriyaki Chicken Wings too and they were excellent.  On my next trip I'm going to try the Quesidilla appetizer.

On another visit I had a regular turkey and cheese sandwich which was excellent.  I asked for all the stuff that can go on it, mustard, mayo, lettuce -  the works.  It was big, hearty, and juicy - exactly the way I order it and the way I like it.   An excellent sandwich I've ordered a few times and it's been perfect each time.

The other evening my daughter and I had an early dinner there.  She loves spaghetti and meatballs and was anxious to try them.  I had trouble deciding what to order but finally settled on Chicken Marsala which came with mashed potatoes.  The spaghetti and meatballs were excellent, Cay loved them (she loves meatballs and I don't cook as much as I use too).  My meal looked a little pale... beige chicken, beige potatoes and although the flavor of marsala wasn't as strong as I would have liked, it tasted great, the chicken was done perfectly - tender and flavorful.  We really enjoyed our meals.

On to desserts.... they do them very well.  We've had brownies, cheesecake, cookies, and carrot cake. All have been excellent, the chocolate chip cookies are the best GF cookies I've ever had, really they are just great cookies, gluten free or not.  Lots of chips, nice big cookies, great flavor, crispy on the outside softer on the inside.  I think their desserts are responsible for the few pounds I've gained because I've never gone to Idgy's and NOT gotten a dessert.

So what are the kinks you might be asking?  Some of them are personal and may not be an issue to you... the tables are too small for 2 people, 2 dinners and 2 drinks.  When we had an appetizer we had to use the table next to us.   Slightly larger tables would make it feel more like a restaurant and less like a take out place.

The two owners have their act totally together but the rest of the help are in need of more training.  One time it took the woman behind the counter 10 minutes to figure out how to run my credit card (and this was a month after they opened), I stood there while she played with it and she didn't turn in the order while she was having trouble.  So we had a long wait to pay and get our food.

This last time the girl behind the counter was cleaning up (we got there about 30 minutes before they officially closed) and had on big blue rubber gloves to clean with.  Sadly she delivered dinners with the gloves still on!!!  A huge ewwwwww.

I find the menu board a bit difficult to read.  There are arrows all over which I find hard to figure out and all the item headings are called xxxxIdgy.  Appetizers are appetidgy's, panini's are panidgys, sandwich's are samidgys.  It's a little too cutesy and hard to read for me but as I said some of this is just my personal taste.

Let me say upfront I like a lot of flavor, spice, and even heat in my food.  Some of Idgy's food is just a shade not flavored enough for me.  For example I put salt on virtually every entree I order there.  I'd like them to punch it up a tiny bit more.  Lastly, I've emailed them with a GF suggestion... french fries.  It is very difficult for us GF people to get french fries (or fried anything) anywhere because in most restaurants they use the same fryolator for gluten items (like flour battered fish) to fry the french fries in.  So the french fries end up containing gluten.   I think a lot of Idgy's menu is "healthy food" so maybe they don't want to add something "unhealthy" like french fries (it's a veggie, right?) but I'd love them and I'd go there more often if they had them.

All in all, I like Idgy's a lot and I recommend it on my Gluten Free on Cape Cod list, which you can get, free of charge, just by emailing me.  I think they are off to a good start, I certainly hope if you are GF you will try it, it is SO nice not to have to worry at all about getting "glutened".  And your friends that don't have to be gluten free will enjoy it too.  Be sure to try their excellent desserts!

Idgy's  (click to see their website)
23 S. White's Path
S. Yarmouth, MA 02664
508-694-7451