Another Day in Vestal, NY, and I Learned about Spiedies!

I spent another day in Vestal -- mostly in the library. Vestal has a great library with friendly librarians. The library has quiet study areas, but it also is set up for human interaction.

For example, there are small tables with 4 chairs, where I saw people talking and working together. At one table, it looked like a man was tutoring a student earlier in the day. At another, a couple of people had been collaborating. The atmosphere seemed relaxed.

A long table shaped like a bar table had barstool height chairs and a half completed jigsaw puzzle laid out on top. I saw various people working on the puzzle during the day.

I also noticed some jigsaw puzzle boxes on one of the library shelves, with a sign allowing patrons to take a puzzle home to complete, or bring in one of their own to add to the collection. I'm guessing that's where the puzzle laid out on the table came from.

I could swear I saw one of those jump the peg games on one of the tables, too. The children's area is equipped with some small beanbag chairs.

I finished catching up on my blog today. I also looked through some travel books for ideas of places to stop in Pennsylvania on my way to Pittsburgh. I came to the conclusion that there isn't much besides a few small towns in the north central part of the state. I'm not sure if the area is mostly forest or farmland. It will be interesting to see what it is like.

For my lunch break, I went to the Moon Star restaurant in Endicott and ordered their ginger stir fry with vegetables. Just like yesterday, I was craving vegetables today.

Midday, the library hosted some activities for kids. One of the librarians came around and warned me there would be some noise during the activity, but I didn’t mind. I was happy the library is welcoming to everyone and trying to satisfy needs.

I took some editorial liberties in yesterday's blog post. I actually met Becky the librarian today, not yesterday. Since we talked about IBM and Endicott-Johnson leaving the area, and yesterday's blog post was already about IBM leaving, I went back and added Becky's comments to yesterday's post instead of today's!

Becky also introduced me to her husband Brian. Brian interviewed with IBM in 1984, just like I did, and Brian got hired at IBM's Oswego site. I really enjoyed talking with Becky and Brian. They make two more nice, friendly people I have met on this trip!

I told Becky and Brian about my blog, and in exchange for giving them my blog address, they agreed to let me add their photo to my blog!

Becky and Brian also told me about a regional food I hadn't heard about... Spiedies! A spiedie is a marinated meat sandwich on a bun. They can be made with various types of meat. Now that I heard about them, I had to try one tonight!

I went to Lupo's Char Pit in Endicott. One of the Google reviews said, "There's no other place to get spiedies than the birthplace of spiedies. Excellent every time."

Lupo's makes Spiedies with Chicken or pork -- takeout only. I asked the girl behind the counter which was the most popular, and she said chicken, so that's what I ordered.

Closeup photo of the meat... the marinade was really good. I don't know how to describe it, but the flavor paired well with the sesame seed bun. I really liked it, and if I'm still here at lunchtime tomorrow I'll have another, and maybe try a different meat.

It's been a good non-travel day, and now I'm off to settle into what has become my usual sleeping spot for the night.