Riding the Anniversary Express

July 12, 2012

As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife and I alternate planning surprise weekend trips for our anniversary. With the exception of our 10^th and now 20^th, it has been up to one or the other of us to plan the location, the lodging, activities and often meals.

One anniversary we were saving for a trip that we were taking several months later to Europe. Not wanting to spend too much, my wife planned our anniversary for home, but included one very interesting activity – a ride in the Goodyear blimp!

Goodyear had donated a ride for two to a charity auction that was held at my wife’s work and she decided that the unique experience would be just the thing to make the weekend (I guess beyond the thrill of being married to me for another year!!!). We hopped into the car and drove south from Cleveland. My multiple guesses were either ignored or quickly dissolved as each mile took us further from some of them. Once we hit Akron, we turned east and were shortly at the hangar.

That day the blimp was taking up riders every hour or so and after checking in we went out to the field to watch it come in for a landing. Up in the sky, the blimp looks big. Down on the ground, as it is diving down to meet you, it is enormous! The cabin that the pilots (and visitors sit in) is actually rather small. It sat about 8 and did not contain anything but seats, pilot controls and very little storage.

The blimp launched up and rose quickly through the air. It was an amazing feeling. After we were at altitude, one of the pilots stepped aside and each passenger got a few minutes to drive. The view was amazing and wholly different than being in an airplane.

The most interesting part was the decent. In order to go down, the blimp points to the ground and accelerates down. When the nose first pointed at the ground, it was so unusual. In a plane (and I’ve been in a small two-seater) whenever you are looking at the ground, you have a feeling of acceleration. The same is with a roller coaster coming over a large hill – acceleration. With the blimp? There was no feeling of that at all until they turned on the fan engines to start the slow push downward. Truly a memorable experience.

While we have never had this recipe for our anniversary, it is titled Anniversary Chicken.

Anything with bacon and cheese can’t be wrong.

Just a handful of ingredients.

Fry up the chicken.

Brush with teriyaki

And Ranch dressing.

Cheese, bacon and green onions.

Anniversary Chicken

Prep Time: 30 Min | Cook Time: 35 Min | Servings: 6 servings | Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup teriyaki basting sauce
1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 (3 ounce) can bacon bits
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.

Place browned chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve.