And Puppies Make Three

2016 Recap

2017-01-10T17:17:00.002-08:00

I'm not sure where 2016 went or why it brought so much ...stuff. What happened?

Well.
I revisited San Diego and regretted not moving there years ago.
Revisited Peter Luger. It's the same; Keen's is better.
Fell in love with the Ritz Carlton.
Fell in love with Portland, ME for the millionth time.
Watched a billion musicals.
Won a burger cooking contest. WOOT.
I visited South Korea for the first time. And ate some live octopus.
Drank at the world's tallest outdoor bar in Hong Kong.
"Ended" my dream renovation.
Celebrated some doggie birthdays.
Did some DIY legal work. 2/2. littlewoot.
Got creamed in a car accident.
...and got a new car.
John Oliver's worst nightmare happened.
Took my first solo trip. To Hawaii. For a second.

Updates

2016-08-28T08:59:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated. The house is trudging along slowly, Zippy got totaled and I've taken a few small trips here and there.

Looking forward to a break so I can post a few pictures.

Peru Part IV: Thanksgiving in Lima

2015-12-31T12:20:00.002-08:00

After three days in the country, it was time to return to Lima to explore what some call Peru's "ugly" city. The drive from the airport to our Airbnb in the lovely Miraflores neighborhood was quite nice, and reminded me a bit of Chicago. Seeing beaches at the edge of a city always throws me for a loop though.

While Lima may have the (undeserved) title of being an ugly city, it is home to many of the best restaurants in South America. J succeeded in convincing/ coercing/ guilting me into parting with some dough to accompany him to a few, so our time in Lima was somewhat dictated by our restaurant reservations to Central and Astrid y Gaston.

Between reservations, we managed to squeeze in some sight seeing in our Miraflores neighborhood, neighboring Barranco, and the historical downtown.

Thanksgiving morning yoga at Lima Yoga.
Yoga in Spanish was challenging.

After my yoga sesh (yeah, I said sesh), we walked down to Hijo de Oyala for some outstanding ceviche. Hijo's not fancy, but one of the hottest ceviche joints in Lima at the moment, and I was eager to compare it to J's fancy schmancy La Mar.

Unassuming and unmatched.

Breakfast of champions: ceviche de pescado y pulpo.

A stroll between meals.

We then headed to the wonderfully decorated Astrid y Gaston for lunch. J got pooped on after lunch, which was revolting and hilarious at once. The rest of Thursday afternoon was spent wandering, then waiting for J to process his photos. He was on his third week of travel, but I was still ready to go. I was not a happy camper, but J made it up to me with a Thanksgiving guinea pig outing to Panchita.

Something something food salty. Astrid y Gaston.

Anticuchos and cuy at Panchita.
One of the best Thanksgiving meals ever.

With a Thanksgiving pisco sour, of course.

Friday was spent exploring the artsy-bohemian neighborhood of Barranco, and eating at La Mar and Central.

So many strays. :(

Chocomuseo

Huaca Pucllana, pre-Incan ruins preserved in the middle of Lima.
This society developed between 200 A.D. to 700 A.D.

Trumpet flower hat. Not pictured: the car that stopped
when they saw what I was trying to do, despite my
embarrassed protestations.
(Or who stopped to laugh at the silly tourist.)

Tiradito at La Mar.

Black conch ceviche.
I could have ordered three of these.

Ceviche mixto.

Art.

Museo de la Electricidad. Looks like my old stove.

No pictures of Central. I didn't like it. So there.

Peru Part III: Cusco again and the Sky Lodge

2015-12-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Warrior III over the valley, on top of our pod at the Sky Lodge

After narrowly surviving Montana, we took the bus back to Aguas Calientes for lunch, souvenir shopping, and a massage before catching a different train back to Cusco. Ok, I got a massage while J went shopping. We took a train from Machu Picchu to Poroy, this time on Peru Rail. Slightly more expensive, but with a fair amount of 'entertainment'. Most of the pictures were taken by J. He's got the fancier camera.

Baila conmigo!

In any event, Peru Rail provides a nice little meal, a fashion show, and an appearance by a costumed creature. The gentleman in the costume ran up and down the aisles, occasionally sticking his mask in passengers' faces and violently rolling his Rs at anyone who failed to pay attention. There was no explanation of its cultural significance, so I can only assume the costumed creature brings good luck. Especially since he singled me out for a public dance-off.

After four hours of dancing, fashion shows, and chatting with our very entertaining passengers, we finally arrived in Cusco, where we took a pair of much-needed showers. Then we checked out Pisco de Museo, a Pisco joint in town that happens to be owned by one of J's foodie buddies. J got drunk. I was entertained by some dreamy musicians.

Ready with the riot gear.

Can you hear the people sing, singing the song
of angry men?

The next day, we witnessed dueling protests in the Plaza de Armas and enjoyed a tasty breakfast and lunch at Cicciolina.

That's the stuff.

My breakfast.

And back for lunch.

After lunch our Sky Lodge guide came to pick us up at our hotel. After a thirty minute drive where I was cruelly deprived of air conditioning, we arrived at the base of our climb. Accompanying us for the climb and the night would be two guides and a lovely couple from NC (Kourtney and Jose).

Your room will be on the second floor. See the three pods at
the top? Ours was the highest one in the middle.

The via ferrata climb up to the pods took about an hour and change. The sun was brutal, and I'm pretty sure I would have succumbed to dehydration without multiple water breaks. Apparently everyone else was secretly a camel, because I was the only one with the hydration issue.

Climbing and climbing...

and climbing.

Success! Entering the pod.

Room for four, but just for us.

Bathroom with a view

My view at dawn the next morning.

A magnificent spread (and view) for breakfast

Gotta get down somehow, right? A series of 6 ziplines spanning 2,000 meters took us back to the base.

Wheeeeee!

Peru Part II: Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu

2015-12-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

Sweaty, from the top of Montana.

From Cusco, we took a cab to the Inca Rail train station in Ollantaytambo that would take us into Aguas Calientes. Sunday might as well have been designated Transport Day, as we made our way towards Machu Picchu via plane(s), taxi cab and train.

Our chariot awaits.

After a somewhat bumpy train ride, we arrived at Aguas Calientes. I enjoyed my first shower in at least two days before we headed out to look for food. If you've ever been to Little Italy on a slow day, you'll understand our frustration at being hard sold time after time into empty restaurant after empty restaurant. Finally, one lucky lad wore us down and we settled in for some mediocre tourist food. At least we had our first piscos of the trip though.

First piscos in Peru. Not the last appearance
of the giant camera.

Sopa a la minute. I've had worse.
But not on purpose.

At the crack of dawn the next day, we set off for Machu Picchu. In addition to viewing the ruins, we planned to hike up Machu Picchu Montana, a hike that would take us over 10,000 feet above sea level, and provide us with wonderful views of the Machu Picchu citadel. There are actually two main hikes at MP, Montana and Huayna Picchu. Huayna Picchu is the more popular hike, and probably more technical, but Montana is the longer hike and takes hikers higher above the ruins. Only a few hundred are allowed to hike either trail each day, so we booked our tickets well in advance of the trip.

5 am breakfast. I would
later regret not eating more.

In order to avoid crowds and the strong Andean sun, we booked tickets for the first bus to MP. Although Aguas Calientes is only a short bus ride from MP, we still needed to be up by 5 am for breakfast.

Aguas Calientes. Reminded me a lot of
a town in Norway along the Flam railway. And Andorra.

Once we got to Machu Picchu, bypassed the crowds meandering through the ruins and found our way to the trailhead. The first 20 feet of 'bypassing the crowds' nearly had me throwing in the towel. The altitude, combined with my complete lack of fitness and the nearly 2 feet rise of each stone step knocked me on my out-of-shape behind. But, I'd prepaid my hike entry fee and I wasn't about to waste it.

There's MORE of this?

J and I hiked together for about two minutes before he booked it on ahead of me. The steps were unrelenting: sometimes cobblestones, and other times uneven blocks, but seemingly endless. As I huffed and puffed and contemplated my life as I labored solo, I wondered if I'd ever see the top of this mountain. While I stopped at least 10 times to drink water, snack, and curse my lack of preparation, I found my way to the top 85 minutes after my start time.

85 minutes after my start.

Who says clip-on aviators aren't cool?

After we summited, we began the descent, which took me almost as long as the ascent. My back and knees were not happy, and the sun was now beating down on us with no mercy. Also merciless were the tour groups milling around the ruins. J managed to get in a few shots, and I free-vesdropped on a few tour guides, but I was ready to be out of the sun and out of my hiking boots.

Machu Picchu ruins with Huayna Picchu in the background.

Peru Part I: Cusco

2015-12-21T02:52:00.000-08:00

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

About a year ago, my traveling buddy (and annoying brother from another mother) J asked me if I wanted to go to Peru over Thanksgiving. I replied, "maybe," and the rest is history.

Inka Kola.
Banana haters beware:
banana soda exists.

This was a trip full of firsts: my first trip to South America, my first 6 hour, middle-of-the-night wait in an unfamiliar airport in South America, my first cuy experience, and my first time sleeping in a capsule bolted to the side of a mountain.

Some wares at the Central Market

Just getting to Peru was an ordeal. J's tickets had already been purchased and he'd be arriving in Lima at 8 am. The plan was to fly straight from Lima to Cusco upon arrival. Because I wanted to use frequent flyer miles, my flight times were even more limited, and the only flight that fit within the timeline had be landing in Lima at 1:45am, well before J's flight arrived at 8am. This meant that I'd be waiting in the airport for hours until he got there.

A little fish roe. Refrigeration optional.

No problem, until I started reading the State Department's warnings about the horrors that could befall me. However, it turns out that the Lima arrivals area is full of other exhausted people waiting for their loved ones, and I had a pretty good sleep on a bench, and a pretty delicious $0.70 machine-dispensed cappuccino when I woke up.

Once J arrived, we found the luggage storage area to stow his ski gear and set off for our respective flights to Cusco. Due to an unhelpful security guard, I nearly missed my flight. I think J had a nailbiter of a flight, wondering if I'd be at the Cusco airport waiting for him when he landed.

After we arrived in Cusco, we found our hotel to drop off our luggage before heading towards Cusco's Central Market (open on Sundays only). On the way there, we cautiously avoided a food festival at the Plaza de San Francisco, which we later learned a was a major gastronomic failure and missed opportunity.

Comida Turistica. No seriously, this was not a good
way to start the trip. I was very worried.

After picking up a few souvenirs at the Market, we returned to the Plaza de Armas to grab some lunch and retrieve our train tickets for our ride to the town of Aguas Calientes later that afternoon.

Panama and the Panama Canal

2015-12-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

Plane selfie? Coolest picture I've ever taken!

On November 28th, I visited the Panama Canal, one of the "seven wonders of the modern world." Connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean, the 48-mile long waterway took 10 years and $345 million to complete.

The end result? A 8,000 mile shortcut that over 15,000 ships will wait up to 24 hours to take!

While the French started the project in 1881, it was the US effort under the direction of President Roosevelt in 1904 that got the project finished. The first ship crossed the canal in 1914.

How does the canal work? The Atlantic and the Pacific are connected by a 48-mile long waterway, but it's a series of three locks that connect the higher elevation Pacific with the lower elevation Atlantic Ocean.

Three ships patiently waiting their turn.

Like ships passing in the night

Casco Viejo waterfront (Old Panama)

Ship passing through the canal
(with an unironic Panama hat in the foreground)

Some modern buildings on the
way to the airport

Barbados in September

2015-12-01T06:21:00.002-08:00

Late September found us in Barbados, home of flying fish, $2 buses and gorgeous beaches. As with last year's trip to Bermuda, Barbados was chosen based on availability rather than any burning desire to visit the island. That's where the similarities between the islands ended.

The south end of the island is must rustic (as rustic as a Sandals resort will allow for, anyway), while the western side is more coiffed.

[Updates and additional pictures to come!]

Well hello, Barbados!

Jet Blue for the win.

The view from Turtle Bay. Apparently we were trespassing.

Dover Beach.

Rum raisin and vanilla cherry ice cream at Chefette.
In Barbados, vanilla means butterscotch and cherries
mean 'the colored things you find in fruit cake'.

A New York Summer Wedding...

2015-11-30T17:33:00.001-08:00

If you're going to have a razzle dazzle wedding, where better to do it than New York City?

Rehearsal dinner: Lobster & Burger. Wedding: Dream Downtown. 'Nuff said.

Walking/ rolling to the hotel after the rehearsal dinner.

Something old:
Walking past the post office Bett and I marched to after the
Nader rally in 2004. [Edit: 2000. Holy old.] Oh, the memories.

Something new:
My new favorite hotel: The Maritime.

...with window seats.

...and a great location and free wine and
cheese every night on the outdoor patio!

Ready to feast on xiao long bao before the
wedding ceremony.

Eagerly awaited: definitely got the wrong flavor.
These were gross.

A trip to Little Italy.

Something borrowed:
Jenna's fancy red dress!

Something blue:
Oh, just the mermaid's tail. You know, for the mermaid
pool after the ceremony...

Mermaid viewing drinks.

Maine again!

2015-11-30T17:13:00.004-08:00

Woefully behind on the updates! Let's see.. my company enacted a summer hours policy that allowed me to take a few Fridays off in August. I used one for our second annual Portland trip, and first annual Silas birthday party. On the to-eat list were lobsters, steamers, clams, oysters, plenty of ice cream, and birthday cake, of course.

A few pictures:

We started the trip off in Kennebunk. Unfortunately, we were too
early for the famed Nunan's lobster shack, and had to settle for
some steamers and a lobster from O'Reilly, across the street. I bet
they get a lot of consolation prize customers.

Grabbed some sangria from the general store
while we waited for the food to cook.

Amusement park at Old Orchard Beach. We won a stuffed dog
playing rigged carnie games.

The pier at Old Orchard Beach.

Portland Farmer's market: raspberries, blueberries and sour cherries.

And goat cheese. Glorious goat cheese.

Is this a fish market? Nope, just Hannaford's.

My happy place.

I'm the master oyster shucker!

And eater.

The dock at Boothbay Harbor. I kept calling it
Booth-bee for some unknown reason. It's Booth Bay.

A gift from Tim's parents: a night in their Harpswell cabin.

Sunset at Bailey's Island en route to Giant Steps.

More sunset. We nearly died trying to get this shot.
Not pictured: Giant Steps Restaurant, Al fresco dining by cell
phone-light while being eaten alive by mosquitos. Home of the
best lobster and blueberry pie I've ever eaten. I will be back.

Bailey Island Bridge friends. This bridge is built
from limestone blocks.

A river runs through it. Pretty cool!

En route to the "Giant" Steps.

Beautiful Harpswell.

Finished the trip with Fra Diavolo at Street & Co. We had an octopus
appetizer as well. This was pretty good, but couldn't shine a light on the
meal we had at Honey Paw the previous night.

July Fourth (and second)

2015-07-22T18:30:00.004-07:00

@ town fireworks

It should surprise no one that this overgrown kid is in love with fireworks. I usually try to get to as many shows as I can every July. This year was no exception, even if I'm not sure that I succeeded. We hit an old school car show, food trucks and a local wing spot on Thursday prior to the town fireworks show (yay for walking distance fun!), and then the local teen center--- err, froyo shop. I'm pretty sure the average age of the clientele that night was 12. Including the three of us "adults".

On Saturday, we hit the local private beach shows and accidental bonfires. [Inedible] crabs and a very edible roast pig were also involved.

Caught a crab.

Sunset.

Over 20 private shows.

Not zoomed; they were that close. Is my hair on fire?

Chicago

2015-07-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

7 days, June, Chicago, just pictures, no words:

WOW BAO. all caps.

Walk to class.

Cubs v. Dodgers. 4 hotdogs were eaten.
None were the one we were looking for. Cubs lost.

Lawry's Prime Rib. "Not every cut is guaranteed a bone."

Slurping Turtle Ramen. Thanks Yosh! Meal 1 of 12 that day.

The Signature Room. Drinks with a view.
This is becoming a tradition for us.

Navy Pier. See me?

Jetsons' carpark.

Enroute to Wrigley Field. The driver was just
as terrified/ amused as we were. Thanks, Uber.

Dan Ryan, looking thoughtful.

Soft shelled crab at Joe's. Here, we learned the art of poaching
a first-come, first-served table.

Portillo's dipped beef. Oh my god.

Shaw's. Fun atmosphere, but not as good as Joe's.
EXCEPT: best stuffed olives EVER.

Shaw's: This was good, actually.

My first pride parade! Everyone's celebrating the Supreme
Court decision!

The Signature Room.
Again, the art of sniping a seat.

Get in line. For the elevator.

The view from the top.

Left Coast Portland

2015-07-22T17:59:00.004-07:00

Bridge of the Gods.

As all my reader (haha.. aww, sad) know, I'm a major fan of Portland, Maine. Last week, I had the opportunity to explore a bit of the Pacific Northwest.

I was expecting Portland, OR to be full of hipsters, yuppies, tons of green space, coffee, great restaurants, and pretty much a crunchy version of Disney World. After 24 hours in Portland, I was pretty well convinced that I had taken the wrong plane and been let off in New Orleans.

Voodoo donut. I didn't finish it.

The Differences

1) Temperature is lower in Portland

2) More Starbucks locations

3) No mobile bachelor parties

4) Fruit. The fruit is amazing in Portland.

The Similarities

1) Great restaurant scene

2) Live music

3) A river runs through/ alongside it

4) Significant population of young homeless

5) Similar architecture. Low slung bungalows abound

6) Tattoos, piercings and casual dress.

7) Oil, balsamic and hot pepper stores abound

Pupusas and Asian people.

That's not me.

Anyway, we spent Saturday exploring Portland. We crossed the Steel Bridge spanning the Willamette River to get to Voodoo Donuts, which featured a long line and so-so donuts. That was a little disappointing. Afterward, we spent some time at the Portland Saturday Market to check out the crafts and food stands. We ended up getting some Pepper Pinot Beef Jerky and a pupusa.

Afterwards, we walked to the PSU Farmers Market, where we were treated to luscious blackberries and samples of salmon, peaches, cheeses, and oils. What an awesome time! From the Farmers Market, we caught an Uber to Washington Park, were we explored parts of the Japanese Garden and the International Test Rose Garden.

After all of that nature, we walked to Parish for some oysters, drinks and gizzards (yum!), visited Powell's, walked to the Lan Su Chinese Gardens to do some cultural exploration, and worked up our appetites by walking back over the river to the hotel to freshen up before dinner(s).

Chinatown

We decided to head over to EaT for happy hour oysters. Along the way there, we passed The People's Pig, one of the chicken spots I'd researched prior to the trip. We vowed to return after oysters. Fortunately, or unfortunately, when we arrived at EaT, we realized it was the sister restaurant of Parish and had nearly identical menus. Save the turtle soup. Turtle soup was had. It reminded us of Bermuda fish chowder, down to the added sherry.

Turtle soup at EaT

Appetites mostly intact, we walked back to The People's Pig, where we partook of their famous smoked fried chicken. What a great little place! Located next to a fairly rustic-looking urban garden, its smokers were nestled among the recycling bins. Inside the slow-slung building was a giant oven, tattooed cooks, a fantastic playlist, and absolutely, positively, no air conditioning.

The People's Pig

The smoky goodness inside.

The People's smoker

After chicken, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. I mean Bamboo Sushi. We had more food! Apologies for the lack of pictures of actual food. Total step count for the day: 24,614

Rice man @ Bamboo.
Not adults. We are not adults.

Sunday morning, after a technical emergency that resulted in the loss of almost all of our pictures from Saturday, we picked up a rental car and headed to Columbia River Gorge area. Multnomah Falls was the first on the list. The hike to the top was invigorating, but not very rewarding. Yeah, that's it.

View from the bottom

Top of Multnomah Falls.

Looking over the edge. View from the top: 2/10.

Midway up Multnomah, I think.
I forget. I'm a terrible tourist.

Then we went to visit Herman the Sturgeon and the Cascade Locks.

Old man Herman.

Herman's spawn

Salmon candy at the locks.

Dam.

Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center after-hours.

On the way home, we took advantage of the sparser crowds and visited Bridal Veil Falls.

Bridal Veil Falls

Sunset.

Seattle Eats! Smart Catch Dinner: sustainable, delicious, magnificent

2015-07-16T15:02:00.002-07:00

If you haven't heard about Smart Catch, you're missing out! From sponsor Vulcan's website: "Smart Catch is a program designed to increase demand and availability of sustainable seafood by working with chefs and restauranteurs. Smart Catch is working with chefs because they have the potential to make a significant impact in sustainable seafood.

The idea and initial funding for Smart Catch came from Vulcan Founder and Chairman Paul G. Allen, a long-time ocean advocate and explorer."

The program launched in Seattle this summer, and nine of the Seattle area's best chefs helped to kick off the program by showing their stuff at a four-night series of pop-up dinners at Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park.

To no one's surprise, these dinners sold out in less than two minutes. I was lucky enough to score four seats, giving two to our local host.

The dinner we attended was curated and cooked by none other than Chef Ron Anderson of Tom Douglas Restaurants and Chef Bobby Palmquist of the Walrus and the Carpenter.

The Menu.

The Venue.

Local Cider

First Course: Scallop

Second Course: Pacific Cod Ceviche

Third Course: Sockeye Salmon

Fourth Course: Cure Pollock

Sugar Cookie Dessert

Chef Ron

Chef Bobby

Road Trippin' to Rhode Island: WaterFire and Providence Oyster Bar

2015-06-21T19:22:00.001-07:00

WaterFire in Providence, RI

A few weekends ago, we headed up to Providence to celebrate Michele's graduation. No trip would be complete without a trip to a local oyster joint right? Especially if arrival to said destination coincides with Happy Hour! $1 oyster and clams, not to mention a discounted bar menu! So how was it? The clams at Providence Oyster Bar were the best clams I've ever had. I'd go back just for the clams. The rest of the good? Maybe it was an off-night, but I'd go back just for the clams.

Afterwards, we strolled Little Italy and headed up to Michele's to pick her up for some culture and dinner. Our trip coincided with the International Arts Festival, which introduced us to such oddities as SQUONK, building tape art, and Citizens Bank. What? Oh yeah, lots of corporate sponsors.

Where the clam magic happens:
Providence Oyster Bar

After we got our fill of Squonk (or is it SQUONK), we headed to dinner at a place called Local 121. The pea avocado soup was the second highlight of the day. The rest of teh soup? The pea avocado soup was the second highlight of the day.

It seems like our restaurant experience included two restaurants with one stand-out dish. But the clams and soup were REALLY good! Afterwards, we headed to WaterFire. What's WaterFire? According to the website: "WaterFire Providence® is an independent, non-profit arts organization whose mission is to inspire Providence and its visitors by revitalizing the urban experience, fostering community engagement and creatively transforming the city by presenting WaterFire for all to enjoy."

Lights up close

We got to experience the full lighting, which means that over 80 braziers were lit from sunset to after midnight. The river is lined with families, students, artsy people, and gawking tourists, all gazing at the fiery bowls and being slightly creeped out by the scary horror-movie music. Just kidding. Sort of. When we arrived, said horror-music was playing, but eventually shifted to happier Celtic music. If I'd gone as a kid during the scary session, I know I wouldn't have slept for a month after WaterFire...

Tourists

Pretty stars light up the park

2015 Road Trip

2015-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Two years of planning, eight days, three states, 1,246 road miles, one mechanical rooster, one zipline, and 129,432 footsteps later, B and I completed our epic southwest road trip.

Stop #1: Las Vegas, NV

Stop #2: Sedona, AZ

Stop #3: Grand Canyon National Park

Stop #4: Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon

Stop #4: Zion National Park

Stop #5: Bryce Canyon National Park

Stop #5: Salt Lake City, UT

Favorite picture of the trip

Horseshoe Bend: probably my best picture of trip

Most disgusting moment captured.
The texture of the 'sand' and the smell is indescribable.

Vegas:

Poolside at the Flamingo

Pre-zipline at the Rio

Round 1: Aria buffet

Panorama from the High Roller

Grand Canyon:

Grand Canyon!

Sedona:

Sedona

Sedona Hike. Airport trail?

Ssssedona.

Lake Powell:

Some perspective on the size of Antelope Canyon

Horseshoe Bend, courtesy of B.

Antelope Canyon paddling.
Something like 12 miles of pain.

Sand in Antelope Canyon

Fish jerky: free lunch. Why do I look
like a member of the lollipop guild?

Zion:

Barely levitating at Zion: Watchman's trail loop variation

Zion

Zion switchbacks

Bryce:

Bryce Canyon Tree of Inspiration

Sir, can you take our picture? Sure!

Bryce. Different photographer.

Salt Lake City:

Look Ma, no feet!

Flooded salt flats look just like the Caribbean.
Who would have thought?

Queen of the stink! Who knew the Lake stinks?

Tin can @ Bonneville. Oh, the irony.

Springtime gardening

2015-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Tall scallions survived the winter.
The shorter ones are from this year.

I'm trying my hand at a garden at the new house again. Last year, I had very limited success with "big box store" tomatoes and basil in a container garden, and one of my grandmother's tomato seedlings planted in the old hosta patch. I also threw some scallions in for good measure.

This year, I'm trying again but working from seeds. A few weeks ago, I germinated some beets, carrots and mint, and promptly let them dry out and die. I also threw in some scallion bottoms for good measure.

Tomatoes and basil.

Taking advantage of the good weather this weekend, I bought a few tomato and basil plants from Whole Foods and set out to plant whatever beet, scallion and carrot seedlings I could salvage. I also planted a few okra and jalapeno seeds. Fingers crossed!

Carrots. Where? Yikes.

2015's First and Last Day at the Beach

2015-03-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

The pups took advantage of the last hours of the last weekend of beach access of the 2014-2015 season.

Wind in my fur.

Serious business.

Let's go!

Exploring Singer.

What are you looking at?

All done.

Satisfied.

Newport Beach, California

2015-02-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Is this thing the Table Rock?

Newport Beach: I embarked upon the trip with low expectations and emerged a convert. How great could four days and three nights be in SoCal in winter? What the heck is there to do out there?

Whale watched.

Well, according to Groupon, plenty! I learned that I could Segway tour, Jetpack, watch whales, get my nails done, watch the sunset, and eat on the cheap-ish. I ultimately purchased three Groupons prior to heading west: a whale-watching cruise, a sunset cruise and a dining Groupon to Woody's Wharf. While we ended up having to cancel the whale watching tour, which would have had us out on open water, we did manage to see plenty of whales, dolphins, sea lions, and a skate from the shore.

Sea lion.

We booked a room at the Little Inn by the Bay, which had equal numbers of terrific and terrible reviews. They ranged from "The horror, it's next to a liquor store!" to "This place is fantastic, it's next to a liquor store!" While the hotel was close to the restaurant district, at over $200 a night on Hotels.com, I was leaning towards a nicer looker, but less walkable Holiday Inn. By chance, we found the same hotel on Priceline for $50 less per night and ended up taking a gamble on the Little Inn by the Bay.

SO GLAD WE DID! This little place was awesome. Yes, it looks like a motel on the outside, and there is no free breakfast, but other than that, I couldn't have asked for more. (Ok, maybe a better laid out bathroom, but really, that's it.) The linens weren't rough, the towels were new, there was a fridge and microwave in the room, and the AC worked. There were free bikes. The Inn was a block and a half from the beach. The water pressure was strong and the water was hot. I will definitely be back. Ok, enough with the hotel accolades. What did we do, see and eat?

The pass at The Crab Cooker

Thursday: After four flight delays that threatened to leave me despondent in Dallas, I finally arrived in Huntington Beach at around 3:30 pm. I got a free upgrade from National, and was soon tooling around HB in a cute little white hybrid Passat. This took getting used to, because every time the car went silent, I feared that I had stalled out. We ended up catching the sunset on the beach and grabbing drinks and some ceviche at Sandy's. Great start! After our snacks, we headed south towards our hotel in Newport Beach, passing by a giant Woody's Diner (not Woody's Wharf of Groupon fame..), and locating our hotel. It was, as the reviews promised, right next to a liquor store and across the street from a donut shop. We threw on some evening attire (flip flops and a tank top) and decided to explore the area. Not two blocks away from the hotel, we stumbled upon Woody's Wharf! All in all, we got a seat by the window, the waiter was great, the food was decent, but nothing to write home about. We grabbed some drinks at the "liquor store" on the way back to the hotel. It was basically any gas station convenience store you'd find with two refrigerated cases in the back. It wasn't at all the alcoholic gathering place certain TripAdvisor reviews led me to believe.

Bluewater Grill's bar menu. Don't stray from it!

Friday: Headed out by foot to find The Stuft Surfer, a place recommended for it's authentic burrito-type fair. On the way there,we stumbled across one of the must-eat places, The Crab Cooker, and decided to change course. Unfortunately, we were there half an hour before they opened. Back to Plan A it was. Unfortunately, we were there too early for anything other than breakfast food. We grabbed a frozen cappucino, some pictures, and headed back to the Crab Cooker. At the Crab Cooker, we had some soft shell crabs, some fish(?) and some Dungeness crab. I couldn't convince the waitress to give me the shell with the tomalley inside though. :(

82 during the day, chillier at night.

Afterwards, we headed to Balboa Peninsula where we caught a ferry to Balboa island and dreamed about retirement. After some strolling and FitBit step accumulation, we headed down to the NB pier to catch the last moments of the sunset and to game plan for dinner. Unfortunately, our trip's proximity to Valentine's day meant that most restaurants were packed. We did manage to get into the Bluewater Grill, near Lido. The meal started off strong with a fantastic Tuna Poke and Fanny Bay Oysters, but the entrees were lackluster. I ended up sending back a red snapper that tasted and felt suspiciously like a much oilier cod. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to get changed for some harbor watching.

Birdlife at Mozambique.

Saturday: Laguna Beach, Table Rock Beach, Mozambique, magical delicious peri-peri sauce, exotic birds. funnel cake, biking on the boardwalk, free drink and chips at Sharkeez, oysters at Oceanfront 21. Strolling under the stars. Soundtrack: Coldplay's Yellow.
Sad, sad Sunday: With a noon flight, we didn't have time to see much, and our early flight meant we'd have to miss the HB brunch we'd been contemplating. AYCE king crab? Yes please, next time! We ended up at a well-rated local breakfast joint called My Galley where I grabbed a lox bagel to eat on the beach and horsed around in the lifeguard stands. Also, a lime popsicle for the road at a small grocer next door.

Best bagel backdrop I've experienced.

8/10 on the form...

Recent pup shots

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Sweatshirt Singer

Get-together Singer

Pooped get-together Singer and bestie

Hello, Autumn.

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NOLA v.2

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Food pics and other such things. I was a little light on pictures this trip around, but more to come!

This was the calm meal before the storm. After I ate my late breakfast, I walked over to the gate, where I promptly heard my name over the PA system. Apparently, I'd left my ID "where I came from" and had 20 minutes to get to Terminal A and back to Terminal C if I wanted to make my flight.

Bojangles in Charlotte.
-1 for the breading color. +1 for flavor.

Sushi chirashi entree at Rock-n-Sake. Two bowls of soup (sub for the side dish of rice), a salad and this monster was a lot for one person. Even a famished person. My plea for an ikura substitution went unheeded.

No ikura.

Google chat session with Singer from the hotel room. "Where's mommy?" was met with a trot to the stairway, and then confusion. :(

Aww, those bat ears.

The after-hours dinners at the conference were second to none. The first night was spent at Muriel's, where they had a photo booth, tarot card reader and palm reader. The second night was spent at a private dinner at Domenica's.

Fried Kale, roasted cauliflower
and lamb shank at Domenica. (c) Laura C.

Post-conference adventures. One of our first meals on the town: Butcher!

Muffaletta @ Butcher. Pays to know the butcher!

Halloween dinner at Irene's. Great restaurant, even better service, and surrounded by fine diners in fine costumes!

Menu @ Irene's. Probably the best service
I've ever had at a restaurant.

Winter Caprese. I took the picture too late.

What's the soup du jour?
It's the soup of the day.

Cioppino. And a julep.

Soft shell crab pappardelle.

Camera shy people, places and things: Coop's Place, Cafe du Monde x2, Cooter Brown's. The upper lobby at the Westin. The Mississippi River. The "Friday or Halloween" game. Gator bites. Sauteed frogs legs. The muffaletta at Central Grocer. The Halloween party... Wakin' Bakin'.

Rorie is one of my favorite things in New Orleans. I was sad to have to say goodbye again. :(

Yes, Rorie. I love you too.

On the way back.

Dallas. And soon after, frantically running
through the terminals at Dallas.

Kart fail

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Fourth race in a row ending in mechanical failure... Peace out, plastic trophy. It was nice almost getting to know you.

Never even got to the first qualifying heat.

Piston chunks.

Beautiful Bermuda

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Not too shabby!

A few months ago over drinks at Cuvee, we hatched a plan to reward ourselves for making progress on the living room and kitchen. At the time, that meant paint, furniture and organization. The conversation went something like:

Land of relaxation and mediocre food.

"After we make some real progress, let's take some time away."
"OK! Where do you want to go?"
"Up to you!"
Travel junkie that I am, I upped the ante: "Does it have to be driving distance?"
"No. My friend just went to XYZ hotel, he liked it."
... "I've already been to SD a few times. If we're flying 6 hrs west, why not 6 hours east? Want to go to Europe?"
"Sure!"
"You like beach vacations, right?"
"Yeah, I like relaxing ones."
"Ever been to Greece? Beaches!"
... and so the plan to go to Greece was hatched. As all plans go, the Greece plan eventually went out the window and we ended up in lovely Bermuda.

Farewell Feet @ Fairmont

We ended up splitting our time between two different hotels: The Grotto Bay and the Fairmont Southampton, which has its [much nicer] private beach adjacent to the famed Horseshoe Bay. Reviews of both hotels will probably come in a later post.

Why does it taste

like dust?

Birthday sunset... before the epic public transportation fail.

Embellished. ;)

By circumstance only, the trip coincided with my birthday, making it the third year in a row that I've been out of the country on, or very close to my cake day. Unlike last year, the hotel did not spring for a
surprise cake. I did, however, receive the best and most awkward birthday serenade ever while being presented with the driest, thinnest slice of birthday cake known to man a very shy Indian waiter at a British themed Bermudan pub specializing in sushi, with a three piece band covering Train's "Marry Me" with Irish 50-somethings dancing their butts off. Cake pic or it didn't happen:

View along the Railway Trail

BTW, if you ever find yourself thinking about a trip to Bermuda, go ahead and take a picture at Horseshoe Bay, then take a 5 minute walk westward. Unless you really really want to relive the Jersey Shore experience, it will be worth your while. Since the cruise ships don't dock in Hamilton anymore, cruisers have limited time to hit the beaches. Nearly every one will spend their precious shore excursion time at Horseshoe Bay. EVERY SINGLE OTHER BEACH to the west of Horseshoe will be less crowded. If you're there during the shoulder season, you'll have your own private beach to do as you please. Want to make a tent out of towels? Go for it. Want to run into the beach wearing nothing but a hat? No one will see you. Want to collect all of the pink sand to make sand art when you go home? That too.

Birthday explorations: Coney Island Park

My precious....

Highlights of the trip included snagging the best table, and view at The Pointe, swimming in a cave (a real live cave!), feeding and catching fish, John Smith's beach, enjoying a swizzle on a pirate ship, hitchhiking with a pair of semi-locals, getting stranded in St. David's on my birthday, reenacting "Wipeout" on the water skillet of death (and then conquering my fear of drowning). The drinks at Port O' Call. Skip their fish chowder. Being given a free ride by a kindly cab driver.

Nope.

Definitely worth mentioning: Jamaican Grill (the best bang for your buck on the island that will remind your taste buds to keep fighting the good fight), the fish chowder at the Frog & Onion and the free ferry ride between the Fairmonts.

Lowlights: All of the other
food. Oh, the food. Go ahead and skip most restaurants that have been highly recommended. I won't name names. Snorkeling at Church Bay. If you've been snorkeling before and have seen tons of colorful coral and fish, you might be disappointed. I saw two parrot fish. They looked tasty.

All in all, it was quite a memorable trip, even if it was not my typical vacation.

Not great, but way better than
"the best sushi on the island".

Gorgeous views, fantastic server. $33 of
"does your stomach feel funny too?"

Virgin sand.

The Tough Mudder and Maine

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The Mudder was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but I probably would have had a lot more fun and been in less pain if I'd actually trained. The jaunt to Portland brought a visit with my new nephew Silas, Eventide (the BEST lobster rolls ever to touch my lips), Glidden Point, and the Lobster Shack at Two Lights.

Great Northeast - August 2014

My adopted boys!

Lobster with a view. And shockingly expensive clams.
You know when the bill comes and
you think you've been given the wrong check?
Never order the large tray of clams.

Heaven.

More heaven. Or Maine is heaven. I'm not sure.