Relishing life's little surprises...

Life is full of surprises.  Sometimes they are big, bad surprises like the tornadoes that ripped through our area earlier this month.  Sometimes they are small and pleasant.  My daughter Carrie and I encountered one of the latter on our recent trip to Ohio.

For many years now, we have been breaking up our trips to Ohio into two days.  We just can’t drive the fifteen hours or so in one fell swoop anymore.  Greg did some research for us and because of where we were going in Ohio, our break came in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which is someplace we had never been.

Altoona is a great town.  Who knew??  Our first impression wasn’t so great because we drove into town near where all the shopping, motels and chain restaurants are located, but once we were into our room and started searching for a place for dinner, we knew we landed in the right place.

I joked with Carrie saying I bet there was no Indian restaurant in Altoona.  Out came my phone and my Urban Spoon app.  To our surprise, there is a good Indian restaurant in Altoona called “Tandoor King.”  I recommend it to anyone who is rolling through there.    On our trip through town to get to the Tandoor King, I knew that we couldn’t leave the next day unless we took a photo tour.  Here are some of the results from that.

You may have noticed by now that I don’t necessarily go for the “pretty” parts of town in my photography.  I much prefer the “interesting” parts.  So my suggestion is that you stop in Altoona if you are ever in the area and go to Tandoor King for dinner and Tom & Joe’s for breakfast.  After that, check out the outlet store at BoyerCandy, home of the famous Mallo Cup.  And see if you can find Hedda Hopper’s grave in the Rose Hill Cemetery.  We couldn’t.  Before you know it, you will be heading out late for your next destination and won’t have any idea where all the time went.

I am already planning my next trip to Altoona.  That trip will include taking in a ballgame at Blair County Stadium to see the Altoona Curve, a stop in the RailroadersMemorial Museum and the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark and more.  I’m looking forward to it.

At Tom & Joe's.

In Rose Hill Cemetery