I guess you could call me a social media maven. I’m just as likely to stay awake reading Mashable.com articles on new ways organizations are using social media to promote their message as I am reading about birds seen from the Canopy Tower in Panama.

I am also prone to philosophizing and problem solving, so the conversations that began weeks ago regarding the future of birding, and specifically, the American Birding Association, have kept my brain steaming.

What are Thought Leaders?

Some great discussions followed Nate Swick’s recent blog post on the ABA’s Renaissance. In there, I mention the concept of thought leaders, which in the world of online media refers to the people with opinions, knowledge, and/or innovative ideas. Thought leaders are not always change-makers themselves, but their ideas can help induce the tide of change by presenting perspectives that counter organizational myopia.

Because it’s relevant to what I want to present this morning, I’d like to repeat an excerpt of a comment I left on Nate’s post.

“Today’s successful organizations pay attention to, invigorate, and harness the exchange of ideas that takes place online.

Birding is interesting in that a proliferation of blogs and online thought leaders organically developed over time. Most of these voices were not necessarily attached to an organization. In fact, organizations have it tough when they TRY to put out their own voices online, because readers on the Internet tend to ignore the sanitized messages in favor of more guerilla-style commentary.

Honesty, rawness, and authenticity is key…yet how can an organizations who do have to be mindful of political correctness harness these disparate voices, like yours, that have so much to offer?

I still think we’re moving closer to the idea of vocal clearinghouses…where multi-author blogs (e..g., 10000birds) or editor’s choice compilations (e.g., Huffington Post) are the norm. To reach members, have your experts, but also, stay down, stay dirty, stay relevant.”

How Technology Can Harness Multiple Thought Leaders

A nice exchange about multi-author blogs appeared on one of Nate’s previous posts and I think these blogs have merit and should be attempted.

Philosophically, however, I see one problem; once a person gets paid by an organization with a specific agenda to express an opinion, his/her focus shifts and narrows, and after awhile their commentary could become boring or at least too clean. And yet, to keep producing thoughtful, accurate, and well-researched, content writers/bloggers must be paid somehow by someone (keep that in mind, and click those ads you see on other’s sites, dear readers).

So while I presented this idea about harnessing different voices, I didn’t yet know exactly how it can be done while still keeping it gritty enough to be relevant. Well, just this week I discovered a new technology that gives me promise that in the vast sea of the Internet swim talented entrepreneurs who are building tools to make information more manageable and useful to people.

A “Birding News Daily,” Of Sorts

Take a look at this image of the newspaper I created called the Laura Kammermeier Daily.

Like your favorite newspaper, it neatly presents a bunch of headlines about Birding and other topics such as Travel, Environment, Arts & Education, and more and is peppered with enough photos and video to keep you interested. You can see it online here: http://paper.li/lkamms#

“How did I DO THIS?” you ask?

Easily. This newspaper took all of about 60 seconds to produce using the website paper.li. Let me credit @StephenDaly, a Facebook and Twitter friend whose Daily edition I first observer, for introducing this concept to me. I am one of his followers on Twitter, and found myself included in one of his issues.

What you see on my Daily is a selection of RSS feeds from all the people I follow on Twitter. The paper.li automatically condenses and displays those RSS feeds into this layout.

While I definitely see problems with automation leading to miscategorization, this could be handled by giving more editorial control over what is displayed, and how.  This newspaper can be a useful way for me to harness birding-related content that I think is valuable to people in my network. Maybe they’ll thank me for it, maybe they won’t, but it is useful to those who have an interest in what interests me.

How An Organization Such As The ABA Can Build A “Morning Chorus” Newspaper

Taking this one step further, here’s how an organization, such as the ABA, may use this concept to its advantage:

If the ABA created a Twitter list (something free and easy, requires no relationship with the birder) of a variety of voices it felt were worth following and promoting, it could turn that list into a daily  newspaper that is fed each morning. I know, let’s call it the “Morning Chorus.”

So imagine a newspaper with headlines from Twitter users such as Jeff Gordon, Gunnar Engblom, BirdChick, Dan Huber, Kenn Kaufman, Nathan Swick, Chris Ciccone, Ted Lee Eubanks, @IdahoBirder, Larry Jordan, or a host of photographers such as Steve Creek, Steve Ingraham, and others.

The newspaper is edited by a staff member who makes sure items are categorized correctly and don’t contain frivolous items (this requires advancements in the current technology). This would allows readers to get inside the minds of these active birders/thinkers and see what links they are following and recommending. Of course, there’s always drivel on Twitter, but editorial control over the List and daily content will stamp that out.

The advantages are that it would be developed/managed at little to no cost and would allow relevant/timely news from the field.

The disadvantage is that this is tied to a growth in birder’s use of Twitter, which I don’t feel confident about. It also ignores the gems that are found inside local and national birding listservs, and maybe that is coming (in fact, Eureka! I now have some ideas on that).

While this paper.li technology is nascent and kinks need to be worked out, I see this as a promising sign that technology will eventually help us manage the massive amounts of useless information the Internet throws at us every day.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some Lady Gaga news to catch up on…

What do you think of this idea? Is this beyond the perview of any one bird organization?

Do you think we’ll see a growth in birders using Twitter?

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Millions of birds die from window strikes each year. A German company called Arnold Glas seeks to overcome that problem by designing Ornilux glass, which contains a special UV coating that is visible to birds, but doesn’t obstruct the view for humans.

While we see a solid, clear pane, birds see a Jack Frost-like web of dark areas that seem to suggest “all is not clear blue skies ahead.” It is said to reduce window strikes by as much as 75%.

Read more about this technology at the TreeHugger site:

www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/bird-friendly-glass-designed-help-spiders-ornilux.php

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The next era of birding will be ushered in by a new crop of great birders. Who will they be?

I wrote this post a few months ago but chewed on it a while after sharing it with a few friends, birders, and members of the ABA board. After reading so many good opinions on the future of birding lately, most recently Kenn Kaufman’s piece on Inclusiveness, the time is ripe to share my thoughts.

Click HERE for the Spanish Version.

In a January blogpost, I proposed the following:

“Birders and nature enthusiasts: I propose we collaborate on an important mission: spread the accessibility of nature. Make it knowable to someone who hasn’t yet discovered it. Vow to take as many of your uninitiated friends as possible into the out-of-doors this year. Show them what you see and hear, help mend that disconnect…”

This weekend I took a group of beginning birders out to watch birds. They were friends of mine, people with a curiosity of birds but who hadn’t ever received the benefit of a one-on-one introduction to their color and song.

I thoroughly enjoyed that weekend field trip. Besides collectively basking in the brilliance of a Blue-winged Warbler, I was able to give back in a way that so many friends and guides have done for me. And I didn’t have to wear, or pretend to wear, the mantle of “Expert.” I was just K-Lo from the Block, showing her peeps some birds.

Beginning  Birders Have it Tough

I’m sympathetic to beginners, they were me not so long ago – and they still ARE me every time I venture into new habitat. But much of what I know today, I owe to the instruction of patient bird guides over the years. I never take for granted the gracious help offered by someone more knowledgeable than me.

Yet beginning birders—those of us with a thirst for knowledge but a world of birding yet to learn—have it tough. First, we don’t know the possibilities yet–there’s an overwhelming amount of information about birds to absorb and apply but it takes a long time to be confident in what we know.

Second, it takes a long time to earn a sense of our own limitations. Ironically, it often happens that once we DO feel a sense of confidence in something, our assumptions are premature or overreaching, and we make a bad call. The sting of our goof impairs future progress.

Third, beginners just entering the birding scene are told there’s a certain way to do things, from describing field marks, to reporting trip lists, to conducting oneself appropriately on listserves. If we do it wrong, or do it in the wrong place, the error is revealed by awkward silence or direct reproach. While there’s a need for precision and accuracy when it comes to the scientific record, there’s a time and place for it. Rigid protocols in more casual settings (e.g., listserves or birding outings) can have a chilling effect on outsiders who aren’t in the know.

Costs of Birding Exclusivity

Beginners soon sense what really goes on in birding circles: the catty judgment about who knows what more than who. Some segments of birding operate like an exclusive country club where the cost of entry is not piles of cash, but loads of birding cachet. But whom does that leave behind — and what is the cost?

Regrettably, we’ve all seen the enthusiasm of novice birders stamped out by the corrective whoop-di-doo of birding hotshots. We’ve seen dialogue on listserves squelched by those who assert that feeder sightings, backyard raptor kills, and birding trivia has “no place on this list.” We’ve seen legions of birders too afraid to ask questions for fear of being wrong, stupid, clearly “not a REAL birder.”

Yet even if someone can’t identify every warbler in the forest or sandpiper on the shore, they still contribute mightily to the world of birding. The growing field of citizen science—where everyday birders collect bird data and submit it to scientists—is one example. The legions of volunteers who run small nature centers and birding clubs is another. Anyone with the curiosity, passion, and cooperation to get involved should be welcomed, their talents harvested.

Changing of the Guard/Increased Visibility

Around every corner, we hear chatter of declining memberships in birding organizations. The old guard is making way for the new, but the new is nowhere to be found. Birding is as relevant today as it ever was—indeed more so due to the rapid pace of habitat destruction that threatens populations plus all the tools, gadgets, and electronic accoutrements that help us dive deeper into its fascinating minutiae.

This burgeoning public interest is reflected in the media. Newspapers are supporting bird-watching columns in a number of states, best-selling books such as The Big Year by Mark Obmascik and Life List by Olivia Gentile chronicle the birding lives of our most rabid members. As I write, Hollywood crews in Vancouver, BC are filming scenes from a screenplay based on The Big Year, with the birding behavior of our own friends (e.g., Greg Miller, an Ohio birder and character in the book) being “studied” by actors Jack Black and Owen Wilson.

But now that Hollywood and Harcourt are hot on our trail, what are we going to do? Capitalize on the increased visibility, of course!

Become an Ambassador for the Birds

By nurturing the spark of new birders, we create a win-win: either we have new birders coming up the ranks of birding clubs and conservation organizations, or at the very least, we help promote an understanding and appreciation of the natural world–one that will inform a person’s decisions the rest of their life.

To reach this goal, I would like to see each of us make a pact to be an ambassador for the birds—I submit that you do not need an official pulpit or loads of birding cachet to be a great ambassador. Just realize the power that you have to spread the joy of birding, to demonstrate curiosity in the field, and the kindness to bring others into the fold.

Together, we can create a Birder’s Welcome Wagon of epic proportions and refine the hospitality of the sport. A number of small but important efforts will help:

• We commit to teaching nonbirders about birds. Again, teaching is not only for the “experts,’ any birder can do it. Just take friends into the field and show them what you see and hear. Birds’ beauty speaks for itself, so you’re sure to impress. To reach new birders, link up with your local birding club’s “new birder” trips or organize your own—just do it.
• We talk to kids about birds. Offer to go into your local school(s), lead a field trip, teach a grandchild, or simply read a short bird book. The awareness you create will have a ripple effect.
• We offer to write an article for a local paper or website. If you have a gift for words, offer to write a short piece on seasonal migration, local birding hotspots, or anything to engage beginners in the sport.
• We make an effort to show nonbirders the view through our scopes. If we’re excited by what we see, they might be too.
• Speaking of floppy hats: We stop dressing like geeks. A number of birders I know lament our choice of field dress as being so geeky as to be unapproachable. Others are on a mission to ban khaki across the sport! I personally love my khaki zip-off pants and multi-pocketed vest, but the idea is this: does anything about your dress make you seem unapproachable in the field? Especially to younger birders who we desperately need to attract?
• We stop being cliquish. Why do so many serious birders exclusively hang out and bird with other serious birders? Too much exclusivity can hasten one’s irrelevance. We bring others, especially younger birders, into the fold. We talk to others on the boardwalk. We lean over and say “Did you see that?” to someone outside of our circle once in a while.
• We go out of our way to make new birders feel welcome—in the field, on the phone, in the backyard, on the listserv. We let them know it’s okay to ask questions. Rather than remain quiet, we reach out after they’ve shared something exciting. Most of all, we demonstrate that we relate to their enthusiasm.
• We curtail the moral melodrama about how humans are wrecking the environment and harming birds. The truth is, many new birders don’t want us to harsh their new-birding mellow. They’ll pick the rest up if they are meant to.
• We freely admit our own mistakes and gracefully accept those of others. Beginning birders should understand that the truth of an ID is to be held higher than all other truths, even that of a fragile ego, and all birders need to demonstrate gracious self-correction. While I’ve seen many great examples of this in the field, we need to realize that beginners can still be stunted by the perception of quiet, unspoken judgment. So by sharing a story of our own fallibility, we make birding more human, more accessible, and start to change the world.

The Next Great Birders

The next era of birding will be ushered in by a new crop of great birders. Whereas we commonly measure a Great Birder by his or her skills in bird identification and insights into changing bird populations, our assessment should broaden to include “softer” skills such as enthusiasm, approachability, and level of cooperation. Many of us are fortunate to have brushed with such great birders – their imprints last a lifetime.

While scholars will always hold a special place in birding, a broadened definition of “great birder” will help ensure a new generation of recruits is around to carry the baton.

What do YOU think?  What on this list are you already doing, or would you LIKE to do more of, to reach new birders (and deepen your connection to birding)?

Acknowledgements
In appreciation of Jane Goodall’s “feathers on the eagle” analogy, I’d like to pay special recognition to all my friends and colleagues with whom I’ve discussed these ideas–you know who you are. And I want to say thanks to all the birders who already live by this creed. I’ve met many of you, and you’ve made a huge difference.  Finally, special thanks to the new birders in my life. What a great day of spring birding we had.

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I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things.

So after tucking away the kids’ final report cards each June, our family heads towards the East Coast to visit family, scouting out new adventures along the way.

This year, we decided to build an overnight stay around the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which anchors the bustling Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor has been one of the major seaports in the US since the 1700s and started blossoming into the cultural center of Baltimore in the 1970s.

The most striking thing about the harbor is how vibrant and walkable it is. Shops are busy, restaurants are full, and streets are crowded with residents, business people, and tourists at all hours. Music of all kinds echoes from the Harborplace Ampitheatre, street performers amuse passersby, and restaurants lure customers with outdoor seating, hip décor, and spicy aromas.

One night doesn’t do the Inner Harbor justice, but we packed as much kid-focused fun into our overnight stay as possible. For us to really “live it up,” we selected a waterfront hotel with a swimming pool, spent a morning at the National Aquarium, ate a family dinner at Fogo de Chao, and soaked up some early American history at Fort McHenry National Monument.

LODGING

Baltimore Marriott Hotel

When we swung open the blinds, 270-degree views of blue skies and the sun-drenched harbor below blew us all away. Read more about this hotel >>

700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 | 800.228.9290.

Also ask about discount National Aquarium packages.

ATTRACTIONS

The National Aquarium

Rated the #1 US Aquarium in 2006 by Conde Nast, the National Aquarium packs riveting marine wildlife exhibits into a fantastic piece of architecture. Read my take >>

501 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 | 410.576.3800.

Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine

Perched on the mouth of the Inner Harbor, this moat-encircled, pentagon-shaped fort is a fantastic place to brush up on early American history and infuse the family with a fresh dose of patriotism. Read my take >>

2400 East Fort Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21230 | 410.962.4290

FOOD

Fogo de Chao

When I saw that Fogo de Chao was just a five-minute stroll from our hotel, I decided to treat the family to what can only be called “the Fogo experience.”  Read my epic piece on Fogo >>

600 Pratt Street #102, Baltimore, MD 21202 | 410.528.9292.

OTHER COOL STUFF

50 Free things to do in Baltimore
Guided Walking Tours
Baltimore Harbor Pass

TRAVEL GUIDE

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

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On our June visit to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, we stayed at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel for two reasons: 1) its location in the center of the harbor ensured we had waterfront views and easy access to other attractions, and 2) it had a swimming pool, which is a must on any kid-friendly vacation.

We passed bellman and valets en route to the sweeping marble lobby where people of all nationalities stood, strolled, and chatted on cell phones.

What a bonus to find we were given a corner room on the 30th floor! After the apparently THRILLING elevator ride, the kids tumbled into the room, muttering ooh’s and ahh’s over the flatscreen TV.

But when we swung open the blinds, 270-degree views of blue skies and the sun-drenched harbor below blew us all away. We could see nearly everything—the Ampitheatre, the Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, American Visionary Art Museum, and harbor taxis criss-crossing the bay. This gave us a birds-eye, “I want to go THERE” perspective before we headed out on foot.

I had lugged my new Leica spotting scope to the room, fearing that it may get stolen if left in the car. Though it wasn’t much use for birding, what it did offer was a way for the kids to re-enact several  gadgety James Bond scenes while spying on yachtsmen in the harbor below.

The kids insisted on a quick swim before heading over to the Aquarium.

The indoor salt-water pool was large and clean with sliding doors that open to a blazing hot sun balcony. The salty water was a new and unexpected for the kids. They didn’t enjoy it very much… even after we explained how it was more environmentally friendly than dousing a pool with chlorine. Go figure.

In addition to a pool and fitness room, the hotel features an upscale martini bar and a waterfront restaurant with American cuisine. A deli is available for quick bites though it is pricey (a few “lunch-type” things cost us $30).

Our “Double with a Harbor View” room was clean and comfortable. The beds were plush and offered a good night’s sleep. At $339 plus $24 in self-parking fees, standard rooms are not cheap, but consider that admission to an awesome view in a luxury hotel in the heart of the Inner Harbor.

If you visit the Aquarium, like we did, then the National Aquarium Package, which provides two tickets to the Aquarium, breakfast for two, and self-parking, may be a reasonable family option (rates range from $219 – $329).

If you go: Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 | 800.228.9290. Be sure to ask for a room with a view. Special thanks to Marriott for hosting our room.

Other Baltimore Inner Harbor hotels:

• Pier 5 Hotel(check out Aquarium packages and fun events including Crabby Hour, Chocolate Bar, and Breakfast with Bite)
• Courtyard Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Homewood Suites

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

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1. Next stop: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor This weekend the family embarks on a walking tour of Baltimore Inner Harbor. Our first stop will be the National Aquarium where where we can...
2. A Family-friendly Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (Overview) I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things. So after tucking away the kids’ final...
3. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: Fort McHenry National Monument Perched on the mouth of the Inner Harbor, this moat-encircled, pentagon-shaped fort is a fantastic place to brush up on early American history and infuse...

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Carrying on an ages old tradition, authentic Brazilian gauchos at Fogo de Chao roast fifteen different cuts of meat over an open flame and bring sizzling skewers to your table.

The gaucho, who wears a button-down shirt with a fancy red ascot around his neck and dark pants tucked into tall leather boots, asks how you like your meat (rare, medium, well), then expertly carves a slice and invites you to pluck it onto your plate using silver tongs. You’re given control over the fast-paced, continuous tableside service with a small, round chip; place it green side up to signal the gauchos to bring more meat, place it red side up to signal them to stop.

As I scoped out dinner choices near our hotel, the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel, Fogo de Chao caught my eye. Many moons ago in Atlanta I enjoyed Fogo on a business trip; I remembered the good food and excellent company, but more than anything, the lively steak house experience was seared into my memory.

On vacation, I tend to avoid franchise restaurants in favor of local flavors, but the last thing I wanted to do is to select a local joint for Paul and I that left our boys, 8 and 10, no other option but a kids’ menu with a selection of food substitutes such as mac n’ cheese, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets.

Because no matter what authentic and delectable food choices are in front of them, my kids, and their small little brains, will find that blasted kids’ menu and order from it every time.

¡BASTA! My boys would LOVE the gauchos with their trays of tender, juicy meats or I was going to skewer and slow roast their scrawny bodies myself!

From this, the Grand Experiment was formed: was Fogo a “family-friendly” restaurant and would my kids, the pickiest on the planet, not only tolerate it, but LIKE it? Could we actually enjoy a nice family dinner where no one fought, whined, complained, protested, or was sent to bed early? Could we have a meal that, by the end, was greater than the sum of its parts?

It was a tough call going in, but by the end, all signs pointed to yes!

We headed to Fogo’s after grabbing a pre-dinner drink at La Tasca Spanish Tapas with our long-time friend Wayne. As a native son of Baltimore and a wine connoisseur, Wayne was there to show us around town and the wine menu. With his uncanny ability select a complimentary wine and describe a vintage to its fullest biochemical detail, Wayne’s the guy you want along when you do gourmet. The advantages to his expertise are many, but as we’d find out later, they do come at a price. Did I mention they come at a price?

I reserved us a table through the Fogo website, so when our party walked in, we were immediately shown to our table. At least three different waiters appeared out of the mist to pull in our chairs. This unexpected courtesy added a dash of anticipation. It also sent a message to the kids that we were somewhere special. I helped my youngest get comfortable and introduced him to the baffling concept of how to unfold a white linen napkin across his small, bony lap. Then I prayed my children would not embarrass me the rest of this meal.

Our Brazilian waiter, who started his Fogo career in Sào Paolo, invited us to water, tap or sparkly. He then explained the concept: enjoy the salad bar as long as we like; when we are ready for the gauchos to serve us meat, turn our chips to green.

Honestly, the idea of a salad bar was a little ho-hum at first. Then I beheld its glory. This wasn’t your Aunt Trudy’s salad bar; this was a sumptuous buffet of gourmet salads and fresh cut vegetables with an array of fresh, hard cheeses. Aside from the extremely fresh selection of traditional salad bar items (lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers), the bar offered a string of exotic flavors such as smoked salmon, prosciutto, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, perfectly steamed Asparagus and artichoke bottoms, and olives. Mouth-watering sides such as chicken and tabbouleh salads rounded out the offerings.

Wayne drank in the wine menu while we nibbled our salads and watched gauchos criss-cross the dining room. The boys were offered (and accepted!) a natural Brazilian soda produced from the extract of guarana.

Soon, platters of carmelized bananas, fried polenta, and garlic mashed potatoes were served. The polenta squares were crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside—simply amazing. The boys devoured the bananas but passed on the rest, which left more for us tall people.

I could have drowned in the salad bar and never come up for meat. But more importantly, the salad was an out-of-the-ballpark hit with Max, my eldest. The words, “This is the best salad I ever had!” flew from his lips as he smacked his gums and stabbed green, leafy things with his fork.

My younger son Jack, however, refused to touch the salad – even the tried-and-true cucumber slices which in my house are the only things that pass as “vegetables.” While his refusal reassured me that aliens had not abducted BOTH children and replaced them with robotic facsimiles, I feared the worst.

But soon enough, however, Jack found true love with the pão de queijo (warm cheese bread made from parmesan), which masqueraded on the table as a basic dinner roll. The rolls were crisp, soft, warm, cheesy, and dangerously good.

Jack nibbled copious volumes of cheese bread and was the first to flip his chip to green, the “bring meat” color. He waited anxiously, his eyes darting towards ours in search of cues on what to do next. In two seconds flat a gaucho appeared and offered Jack a filet wrapped in bacon.

Confused by the chunk of real, delicious food before him, Jack shook his head no. Next, a gaucho appeared serving leg of lamb off the bone (cordiero). Jack said no, probably wondering why, if he heard the word “bone,” a fried chicken wing was nowhere in sight. Next up: pork ribs (costelo de porco). Jack shook his head no a third time.

Uh-oh. I took a deep breath. Visions of dollar bills flying from my pocket pierced my cortex.

We sweetly coached Jack to accept the house special, picanha, which is an exclusive cut of top sirloin seasoned with sea salt, then watched him chew out of the corner of our eyes. One chew turned to three, three turned to six, six to ten, followed by a pleased swallow.

He liked it! He liked it!

After that, Jack’s culinary groove was ON and he paced out the rest of meatfest like a long-distance runner, proudly conspiring to devour no less than six additional cuts of meat with double dips of his favorites.

“I ate five kinds of meat, Mom!”

“Awesome, Jack. I LOVE this garlic-coated sirloin.”

“Oh, let me try it!” he said, and leapt to my side for a bite.

“That’s SOOO good. Now I tried six kinds of meat, Mom!”

Meanwhile, Paul and I mindlessly approved Wayne’s wine selection and then watched our waiter enter the glass-encased wine room just meters away. He slid the tall, rolling ladder to the far left and climbed up four steps to reach our bottle.

“O, what price doth this reach portend?” I thought wryly.

I’d later find out.

For this first bottle, our lovely friend chose a deep-plum French Bordeaux that checked in at (are you ready?) a mere $126, which is more than this Cleveland girl normally spends on an entire case.

But when Wayne tells us in sensuously biochemical terms how the tannins in this exquisitely well-balanced 2001 Chateau Ducru-beaucaillou St. Julien would perfectly harmonize with the proteins in the beef tenderloin we’d soon enjoy, we’d be IDIOTS to NOT buy a $126 bottle of wine. Right?

Oh, who’s kidding? We were IDIOTS for dining with a wine nut at a restaurant that has its own temperature-regulated wine cellar!

Did I mention that the bottle of Bordeaux was only our FIRST? There’s a lot of meat to eat a Brazilian churrascaria, so a single bottle will not ‘do.’ Thankfully, Wayne was merciful the second time around and chose a $42 bottle (2004 Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva) off the “bargain rack.”

I refuse to calculate how many Two-buck Chucks that would buy me back in Cleveland.

But as a friend of mine says “Life is too short for cheap wine, bad cheese, and boring vacations.” The Fogo experience is about throwing caution to the wind and enjoying a hedonistic evening of rich flavor and new experience. So I tucked away the calculator and indulged in how our high-end libations perfectly washed down our high-end cuts of meat.

Max finally finished his salad and began the meat course. He, the Contrarian’s contrarian, was unusually adventurous, testing one new cut of beef after another. He loved the picanha (prime sirloin) and relished the costelo de porco (pork ribs). He also gushed over the filet wrapped in bacon, but that is not surprising since this boy would dip his ice cream cone in bacon bits if he could (who wouldn’t?).

The continuous tableside service was definitely CONTINUOUS, if not overwhelming at first. Paul said, “It’s like they rappel from the ceiling when you flip that card over.” Or like spiders dropping from the ceiling in a haunted house. But at Fogo, there’s no need to scream unless it’s in pure, culinary ecstasy.

As I suspected, the authentically good food was easy for the kids to appreciate because, just like Saturday morning cartoons that flip by at ten frames per second, the gauchos kept things moving. Max said:

“I LOVE the way this restaurant works!  This restaurant is AWESOME! Can we come back here again?”

There are his real words. Not once did I have to tell him to stop banging his fork on the plate OR to stop tipping his chair onto its side. NOT ONCE! This may well have been the first time I didn’t want to slug my kids during the evening’s repast.

A clean plate and happy ending.

Throughout the meal, we laughed and enjoyed a shared experience over good food and good drinks in a lovely atmosphere, like REAL families do on nighttime television dramas.

And for that reason and more, Fogo de Chao passed the test as a family-friendly restaurant.

One note of hindsight: It would be more relaxing if everyone in a party was allowed to finish their salad before anyone else flips their cards to green. That would stay the gauchos while you enjoy your salads and work up to the main event.

________

If you go: Fogo de Chao has 17 locations at major cities in the US. Dinner prices were $46.50 for adults and $23.25 for kids. Salad bar only for $24.50. We already discussed the wine. Find them on the web at www.fogo.com.

Special thanks to Fogo de Chao for hosting the food portion of our meal.

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

Related posts:

1. A Family-friendly Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (Overview) I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things. So after tucking away the kids’ final...
2. Next stop: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor This weekend the family embarks on a walking tour of Baltimore Inner Harbor. Our first stop will be the National Aquarium where where we can...
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Perched on the mouth of the Inner Harbor, this moat-encircled, pentagon-shaped fort is a fantastic place to brush up on early American history and infuse the family with a fresh dose of patriotism.

A British naval attack on Fort McHenry in 1814 prevented the capture of Baltimore and inspired Francis Scott Key, who watched his fort come under attack from the brig of a British naval vessel, to write the “Star Spangled Banner.

We started our tour in the Visitor Center, where I convinced my doubting husband and kids to wait for the next showing of the Fort’s 15-minute introductory movie. Good thing, too. The somewhat corny movie explored the fort’s role in that pivotal battle, but has a moving finale that’s sure to impress, especially if you love your National Anthem as much as I do. Sniff.

Though it was blazing hot, the kids loved exploring the bastions with their enormous cannons, the powder magazine, the jail, and the barracks where re-enactors in period dress chatted about the “impending” British attacks.

We left the park with our hands over our hearts and the American flag flying over our heads.

If you go: Fort McHenry, 2400 East Fort Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21230 | 410.962.4290. The entrance fee is $7 for adults age 16 and up. Open 8 am to 8 pm in summer.

Other Baltimore Inner Harbor Attractions:

• Maryland Science Center
• Port Discovery Children’s Museum
• Camden Yards Sports Legends Museum
• Top of the World Observation Level
• American Visionary Art Museum

Hint: Check out the Baltimore Harbor Pass for discounted admission to these attractions.

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

Related posts:

1. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: The National Aquarium Marine life was a big theme for our boys (ages 10 and this spring, so we decided to build an overnight stay around the National...
2. Next stop: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor This weekend the family embarks on a walking tour of Baltimore Inner Harbor. Our first stop will be the National Aquarium where where we can...
3. A Family-friendly Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (Overview) I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things. So after tucking away the kids’ final...

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Marine life was a big theme for our boys (ages 10 and this spring, so we decided to build an overnight stay around the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which anchors the bustling Inner Harbor. (Read here for an overview of our trip).

Rated the #1 US Aquarium in 2006 by Conde Nast, the National Aquarium packs riveting marine wildlife exhibits into a fantastic piece of architecture. Attractions include the Dolphin Encounter, rooftop rainforest, a central ray pool, a multi-story shark tank, a 4-D immersion theatre, and a temporary exhibit called Jellies Invasion: Oceans out of Balance.

Watching sharks swirl around us at eye level was dramatically disconcerting, and we loved it.

We slowly, sometimes too slowly, wound up the five floors of exhibits in the main pavilion. Each floor showcased a theme relating to fish, marine mammals, and even birds, that inhabit various environments: native Maryland, the open ocean, sea cliffs, the Atlantic and Pacific coral reefs, Amazon river forest, and upland tropical rain forests, and more.

The Dolphin Encounter was a highlight. The kids loved seeing dolphins spin balls on their noses, jump high in the air and slam back down, jump through hoops, and spray water on the audience.

I loved observing how trainers and dolphins are able to communicate seemingly complex signals. My husband was less than impressed, thinking it amounted to nothing more than stupid pet tricks, but made worse because it’s with a species that should be in the wild. Party pooper or all-too critical thinker? Not sure. But the kids and I loved it.

The Aquarium is great, but it does have three important rules. First, buy your tickets online. It will save you from long wait lines. Second, when they say “we recommend you visit before 11 or after 3,” take their advice. We arrived mid-afternoon on a Friday in late June. The crowds were thick and nearly impenetrable inside, which significantly diminished our experience. Three, if you want to get wet during the Dolphin Encounter, get there early and sit in the first seven rows!

If you go: National Aquarium, 501 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 | 410.576.3800. Look into the special dolphin immersion tours for kids, such as the Dolphin Sleepover! Guests enjoy a backstage tour, reserved seating for a dolphin show, say goodnight to the dolphins, then fall asleep in the underwater viewing area. Perfect for special birthdays. Also look for exclusive package deals with nearby hotels.

Other Baltimore Inner Harbor Attractions:

• Maryland Science Center
• Port Discovery Children’s Museum
• Camden Yards Sports Legends Museum
• Top of the World Observation Level
• American Visionary Art Museum

Hint: Check out the Baltimore Harbor Pass for discounted admission to these attractions.

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

Related posts:

1. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: Fort McHenry National Monument Perched on the mouth of the Inner Harbor, this moat-encircled, pentagon-shaped fort is a fantastic place to brush up on early American history and infuse...
2. Next stop: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor This weekend the family embarks on a walking tour of Baltimore Inner Harbor. Our first stop will be the National Aquarium where where we can...
3. A Family-friendly Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (Overview) I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things. So after tucking away the kids’ final...

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Baltimore Inner Harbor (click to see wide screen)

This weekend the family embarks on a walking tour of Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Our first stop will be the National Aquarium where where we can ogle fish, sharks, and other sea creatures. The kids will go nuts over the Dolphin Encounter and the Immersion Theatre, which combines 3-D film with real-life sensory effects like mist and wind.

After exploring other venues (such as the USS Constellation, an old naval war ship) by foot or water taxi, we plan a fabulous dinner at Fogo de Chao with an overnight stay at the Baltimore Marriotte Waterfront Hotel.

I’ll let you know how it goes, if I ever get out of the house. Got lots of packing to do!

UPDATE:

TRAVEL GUIDE

A Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor:

• Overview of our stay
• Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
• A Family-friendly Fogo de Chao

Related posts:

1. A Family-friendly Walking Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (Overview) I cherish the way my kids glow from the inside when we travel together and see new things. So after tucking away the kids’ final...
2. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: Fort McHenry National Monument Perched on the mouth of the Inner Harbor, this moat-encircled, pentagon-shaped fort is a fantastic place to brush up on early American history and infuse...
3. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: Marriott Waterfront Hotel On our June visit to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, we stayed at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel for two reasons: 1) its location in the center...

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Birding bogs in the Adirondacks

You already know I love the Adironacks. And you know the bird watching is great in the Adirondacks. Now let me give you a reason to VISIT the Adirondacks this month BEFORE breeding season wraps up.

In the Southwestern Adirondacks, the 6th Annual Hamilton County Birding Festival kicks off June 18-20 in the towns of Speculator, Lake Pleasant, Piseco and Morehouse, Blue Mountain Lake, Indian Lake, Long Lake, Raquette Lake and Inlet, to name a few. The festival features guided treks through a variety of bird habitats. Click here for a list of birds you might get to see during this festival.

Hamilton County is the third largest and least populated county in New York State.

No wonder excellent birding is found here:  60% of the county is designated Wilderness or Wild Forest area and its mountains approach 4,000 feet. In addition, the county has a million acres of forest, 1,500 miles of rivers and streams and over 56,000 acres of lakes and ponds.

IF YOU GO:

Need lodging? Options include the family friendly Park Motel and Cabins (review) in Tupper Lake and the High Peaks Resort (review) in Lake Placid. You can also rent a cabin at the rustic White Pine Camp near Paul Smiths, one of the historic great camps from the golden age of the Adirondacks. More travel information can be found at visitadirondacks.com. Tell them I sent you.

June is black fly month in the Adirondacks.  Coat yourself with repellant or try one of these handmade gnat hats/bug bonnets.

Related posts:

1. Another Adirondack Birding Festival, June 19-21 Hey there! Yet another Adirondack birding festival to report. Coming THIS WEEKEND, June 19 – 21, the 5th Annual Hamilton County Birding Festival will take place....
2. June is Birding Month in The Adirondacks The Adirondack Park is a haven for boreal birds that migrate to the region every spring. Migrants arrive in full force by late May, and by...
3. First Inaugural Birding Festival at Roger Tory Peterson Institute To celebrate the life and legacy of Roger Tory Peterson, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute will launch its inaugural annual birding festival June 4-7, 2009....

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