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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Sun
15
Jun '08

Flood Waters Then Sun.

Wow what a day! The morning started with massive showers and lightning — and flooding. think about a foot of water on the other side of Saint Charles Avenue. The water was close to lapping up to the door of the Avenue Plaza and almost covering the Trolley Car tracks (the grassy area below).

P1050751

It took us a half an hour to change (into shorts and sandals) and find a low water way to get to the restaurant three blocks away (Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, same guy that started Popeye’s Chicken according to David, see below for information on David). For me — two mimosas and a crayfishopen face omelet with green onions. Got half way through the omelet — probably save the rest for Tuesday AM’s early departure to the airport.

And by noon here is the view from my condo window:

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Who would have thought. The group decision is for a overview tour of New Orleans. David was our guide. An advantage of staying at the timeshare/condo thing is that you don’t pay the commission on tours — so our 3 hour (turned into 4) tour was $27 rather than $42. Nice perk.

Basically the tour was:

  • Central Business District
  • Garden District
  • French Quarter
  • St. Anthony Cemetery Number Three
  • Katrina Destruction

Check out Louisiana Tour Company. Make sure you get David for your tour — the guy knows his history!

Drinks in the room after the tour — we needed them since the tour was four hours rather than three — then off to a cheapy dinner at the VooDooBBQ & Grill about six blocks from the Avenue Plaza. Cheap and DAMN GOOD — even if it wasn’t on Lynne’s list of good places to eat. Wendy and Mom are on a budget, so I’m going in their style. I got the Carolina Sandwich (pulled pork with cole slaw), and then went back for a side of the Gris Gris Greens — all were stunning, and there were three different sauces from texas style to vinegar style, to a sugar cane mango style.

Strange facts about the neighborhood that we are staying in. Within a couple of blocks there are two bar/restaurant/game room/laundramat – and one of them even has a notary public. Here is Lucky’s Place. The other is Igor’s which is on the same block as us (no notary public, but 5-7AM drink specials).

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Wendy’s nephew Ben shows up later tonight — his flight from Kansas City is delayed. My guess is that all the flights that go back and forth to Kansas City are running late due to all the rain and lightning. We have him all checked in so it’s just going to stop by my room (where Wendy is snoozing on the couch after three martinis) when he arrives — now slated at 10:53pm plus shuttle time. Sounds like midnight to me.

[ ? ? ? ]

 

 

Wed
24
May '17

Trip Report: New Orleans, Part One

With the late train arrival, my usual first night visit to Houstons is out – turns out they close at 9:30. In New Orleans, 9:30PM. How VERY odd. But we were hungry so we went to Poseidon, which is just across the street from The Avenue Plaza. Usually, I only go there during Happy Hour. We started out with a couple of Sazeracs, though they didn’t have Rye, so we opted for Bourbon:

And caught a look at the Happy Hour menu in case we want to come back tomorrow…

For some reason, I didn’t even take any pictures of the room – but if you search for Avenue Plaza on the blog, some will pop up.

We both got a good night’s sleep though on our usual off kilter schedule, with me staying up late and Rache getting up early. He spent the morning while I slept exploring the Garden District on foot.

We got out of the condo a little after noon – headed towards the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

New Orleans is not all put back together, as evidenced by this shell held up with steel:

Our favorite (though we weren’t there together) restaurant, Purloo, had gone out of business on my last visit. We were surprised and happy there was a new restaurant in its place (Toups South) – and just as good as Purloo.

Nothing like a couple of cocktails to start the day!

I had the fried pulled pork special (think squished in a loaf pan, mostly frozen, then sliced), which came with all sorts of little sides:

Rache had the crawfish balls (there was some fancy name for them, but that’s the concept). Also tasty!

The place wasn’t all that busy, so we had plenty of time to talk travel with our server:

The restaurant is in the same building as the museum so I stopped by and checked out their bargain used cookbooks table – came away with three (which I now have to carry around all day).

Next stop was Dryades Market – basically a green grocer, fish market, meat market, with a bar in the center.

As luck would have it, my favorite bartender (Kevin) was on duty:

Yes, there seems to be some good old-style New Orleans day drinking going on!

I’m sort of setting the agenda today, but everything I’ve suggested would have been on Rache’s list as well with the exception of swinging by Walgreens to check Bourbon prices.

Here are some random city shots from our walk:

Before this was a neighborhood being gentrified, it was a poor black neighborhood, and before that a poor Jewish neighborhood.

Art is everywhere in this city. Even the Doppler Radar Dome on one of the local TV stations has a bit of class to it:

Along the walk, I stumbled on this very nice wine shop – does this make the trip tax-deductible?

Though I will say that Jim’s comment was – they are storing the bottle upright, and high up in the space, meaning the corks will start drying out no matter how much air conditioning you have.

I was a little surprised when we got to Lee Circle that Robert E. Lee was still atop. I’d been reading where all the Confederate Statues were coming down – as it turns out, Lee was on the chopping block with initial police barricades already set up, and lots of people taking selfies:

Our big stop of the day is The Ogden Museum of Southern Art which I’m going to save for a separate post since there will be a lot of pictures.

[218.6]

 

Wed
2
Mar '16

Trip Report: Arts Run To New Orleans

Off to the Big Easy just after Mardi Gras.

No photos of the flight because that is going to be a separate post after this one (or maybe the one after) because Alaska Airlines has changed its First Class service (for the good). When I booked this trip I paid a little more and got guaranteed upgrade seats coming and going to NOLA.

Should you travel to New Orleans, DO NOT take the Go Airport Shuttle (the “official” airport shuttle) to your hotel. They wait until EVERY 25 seats are filled before they leave. They are as bad as the attitude of cab drivers in NOLA. I heard other travelers who take a hotel shuttle and then grab an Uber into town. Cab is about $50. Uber $35. Shuttle $25 and well over an hour. Even though it was raining I should have just caught the county bus for $2 which ends close to the train station where I could have Ubered to the condo.

Staying at my usual crib on St. Charles. Love the convenience of the place, and the digs:

And the insides aren’t too bad either…

The first night’s dinner was take-out from Igor’s – one of my standard dive bar burger stops:

Not on my diet – but it’s New Orleans. I can be good tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, first up is a revisit to Purloo – which is turning into my favorite upscale restaurant in New Orleans.

That would be Ryan (sexy bartender) in the background with a Sazerac (rye whiskey, Peychauds, sugar, Herbsaint) in the foreground.

And the Harissa Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings, Purloo Dirty Rice (above), followed by dessert (below) which was their version of an Old-Fashioned (bourbon or rye, demerara sugar, pecan bitters):

Interesting to note that their bar bourdon is Evan Williams Black – which is my standard go-to bourbon.

It is connected to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (see link here for notes from my last trip here):

Second up was the reason for my trip back to New Orleans for the second time in six months – the Ogden Museum Southern Art and an exhibition by the artist Michael Meads.

No photography was allowed in the exhibit (which I found out after I was told to stop), so I’ll link to an article about the show that has lots of images (that I assume were used with the permission of the artist).

http://hyperallergic.com/250636/an-artists-sprawling-universe-of-sex-and-death-with-new-orleans-at-its-center/

VERY moving – and ironic that I used the TAM (Tacoma Art Museum) Reciprocal Pass that I got joining during their ArtAIDSamerica show last year. Many of the same reactions to both shows.

Great views of the WWII Museum from their rooftop sculpture garden:

Having walked from The Avenue Plaza to Purloo, and then to The Ogden – bought the $3 24-hour streetcar/bus pass. It used to be a day pass but they upgraded the system so now it’s a 24-hour pass, which is MUCH more useful to late-risers like myself. The St. Charles Street Car Line runs right in front of The Avenue Plaza.

Dumped my bag and took off for The Blind Pelican for oysters. They have happy hour from 4-8 where the oysters on the half shell are $3 A DOZEN with the purchase of an adult beverage. No problem for me:

Then it was time for a nap and the news before my real dinner of the night – at Houston’s (almost across the street from The Blind Pelican). As I wrote in a review in 2013 – Good Food, Good Jazz.

A full day of food and culture.

And tomorrow is another day – and I have to get my full use out of that $3 24-hour Pass. Off to the New Orleans Museum of Art for a little lunch and art.

The trolley to the Museum on Canal Street.

The Museum itself is a rather impressive building. It reminds me of the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City:

And my grilled brisket sandwich for lunch, with a glass of South African Cabernet Sauvignon.

And since photography was OK, one of my favorite pieces (Pick A Ninny – Robert Colescott):

Very much in the theme of yesterday’s show. NOMA is also on the reciprocal museum list so I’m well on my way to getting back my $125 annual membership fee.

There were also the “old standards” which at times I find comforting:

Next up of the Old Mint Museum – which was mostly interesting for the mint display on the ground floor and the architecture itself.

And guess what – it’s 4PM – that means it’s OYSTER TIME! This time it’s the Charbroiled Oysters for $8.95 (with purchase of an adult beverage):

Too lazy to stay (or come back in an hour and a half) for the 2lb. crawfish boil for $15:

I guess I really should show you what the place looks like! It was a little breezy this trip to be hanging out of the patio, porch was better, but not by much:

After a long day of walking – I thought take-out from Pho Orchid (next door to Igor’s) would be a good plan (Bulgogi with rice) – and why not have them make me a Manhattan while I wait!

As a side note – arriving just after Mardi Gras means you can find all sorts of beads on low hanging branches (and in the dirt):

I decided to wash and hang them to dry before packing them:

Lots of beads!

My final day – it’s out of the unit by noon (Wyndham owners have to be out at 10am) it’s almost a repeat of my first full day. Lunch at Purloo – this time the Low Country She-Crab Bisque…

And lots more walking – want some street BBQ?

Or maybe a nice old car?

Maybe a church?

Or many just some pretty old buildings:

Or maybe a statue of Robert E. Lee that they are talking about moving because of the whole Confederate Flag controversy:

Pretty amazing weather considering we flew into a tornado on our way in.

Swung by the Ogden for a final look at the exhibit, grabbed the bag from the bell captain, grabbed a trolley to the bus stop – paid my $2 for a ride to the airport for my final NOLA meal. A Cajun Dog from Lucky Dogs in the airport which I then took to the bar had had with Sazerac Rye on the rocks – diet coke back:

Another trip to NOLA under my belt.

[? ? ?]

Tue
6
Oct '15

Trip Report: Birthday Ramble Part Three –

The City of New Orleans

After dinner with Dan’s work buddy, back to the Metropolitan Lounge we go – to pillage some of their snacks to bring along on the train – like we aren’t getting enough food. They have us show up for boarding at 7:10, and we do, in fact, board shortly after. Seems they board sleeping car passengers before the 8pm dinner cut-off so we can all have a real dinner.

Dinner on the train – steak. Not worth the $22 that it is on the menu, but since it was included – damn fine. At least for breakfast they had all the options, though Dan compared the “Railroad French Toast” to Denny’s right down to the Maple Flavored Syrup.

Lunch I went healthy – after yesterday’s no greens – NEEDED GREENS – and not the kind cooked in ham hocks, although those are mighty fine as well:

Dan went for the Turkey Meatballs with pasta – the meatballs were good (he let me have half a one) but it’s in a tomato sauce that would give me heartburn.

We get out at Jackson, Mississippi where a buddy of mine lives – but they don’t let non-ticketed folks onto the platform like many other cites – so I have yet to meet Ed in person. Ed is an old LRYer that grew up with many of the same people I did – and we share some interests – letterpress for one. He has a working linotype that he uses set the smaller lead type that my eyes are too old for. He also has a dozen jukeboxes that he services with vintage and new 45’s. Did I mention that he also has a (well, several) 35mm projector that he hauls out in the summer for movie nights to show his collection of “B” movies in their original format. Someday I’ll have to book a ticket where I can stop and sit a spell (as they say in the south).

As we leave Jackson, Mississippi, I shot this odd little scene from the front sleeper car hooked up in its normal configuration – closest to the engine after the baggage car (and transition sleeper for those two-night trains).

Not sure why I took this shot – other than it shows the beautiful clouds and trees of the south:

We while away the hours (the train, is, of course, running late) hanging out in the cabin making cocktails….

And eating jerky since my salad has long passed through my system:

And just watching the scenery roll by:

Before you know it, New Orleans is upon us – the view from the lot of the Amtrak station:

Not a bad view from our one-bedroom unit at the WorldMark Avenue Plaza…

Had a brief visit with The Colonels – they had to cancel picking us up at the train station due to some digestive problems on the part of Mrs. Colonel. They are staying at the Avenue Plaza but in one of the Wyndham units. Luckily Uber started up in New Orleans four months ago. Click on the Uber link and get a free ride (up to $20) and I get one too!

New Orleans here we are!

[118.8]

Sun
5
Oct '08

Welcome To The Garden District.

I really do like the WorldMark New Orleans at the Avenue Plaza. It helps that it’s right on the St. Charles Avenue street car line. This morning started with breakfast in my room — eggs and English muffins. Sorry, no champagne and orange juice.

The girls went off to the quarter while I worked on plans for a swamp tour — I failed — need to call tomorrow morning as they don’t want to do a 3pm tour since we are the only ones interested.

I went off on my street car tour — see video above — to the end of the St. Charles line — the part that was closed during my last trip, then back to the condo to upload stuff, then off to the end of the Canal Street line. The City Park end of the line is one of the places I didn’t get to the last trip.

Here is a quick tour of some of St. Charles line — I’m trying to upload a longer version.

 

Got home around 3:30 with a snack in hand — then off to the pool for cocktails with Rachel while Wendy napped.

Dinner tonight is at the Palace Cafe — one of the Brennan boy’s places. It’s nice to have an upscale meal in this town after being on budget travel the last trip. If course, I had all the odd things on the menu:

  • The rabbit appetizer
  • The salad with quail
  • The grilled Pompano with lump crab

Thank god there was no room for dessert. It was an early night for the girls, less so for me. Wendy has an appointment in the morning so I think the rest of the eggs will be for Tuesday morning.

And here is the humorous picture of the day. Rachel and I by the pool with booze in a foil pouch:

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Minutes after this picture was taken, the afternoon rains came in.

 

Fri
8
Nov '13

Of Museums And Flights.

I found out that there is a difference between the WorldMark units and the Wyndham units at the Avenue Plaza beside the resort guide they put in the room. The Wyndham units you have to check out by 10am, and the WorldMark units by noon – not that it makes much difference since the Colonels have to check out at 10am and are heading over to pick me up.

But first another run to Igors for t-shirts. Kate wants another one in Large for the other daughter… and what the hell, I picked up one for myself as well. Sorry for the fuzzy shot.

To kill the time before my flight, and the Colonels need to get to Pensacola we are headed to the National World War Two Museum. Man that thing is big.

This is just ONE of the four buildings. Talk about an endowment.

Learned lots of new and interesting stuff – watched all of the 5-10 minute video reels mostly because it was a chance to get off me feet for a bit.

Several hours later we were all tired and hungry and headed to the snack bar for hot dogs – not going to be a low-carb day for me I can see. Then it was off to another of the buildings, this one sponsored by Boeing which looks like an overgrown boy’s bedroom with full-scale airplanes hanging from the ceiling:

I like the fact that you had several catwalks to get a view from – and a warning that if you have vertigo or are afraid of heights – DO NOT go to the 3rd and 4th floors where the catwalks are. I don’t, but it was still a little disconcerting.

Then it was time to run me to the airport (thanks, Colonels) and for them to head to Pensacola. Got to the Louis B. Armstrong International Airport 3 hours ahead of my flight… which is just fine. Time for another hot dog to tide me over until my dinner flight to San Francisco at 6:50pm

I can already say that I LOVE the new airline rules of allowing your small electronic devices to remain on gate-to-gate that just went into effect on United (and Alaska as well). It’s really nice to be able to have your noise-cancelling headphones powered up for the noisiest part of the flight. Can’t wait until my tablet comes back from the shop (should have been delivered today to the shop.)

Another couple of hours at SFO – meaning another snack – this time Mongolian beef from the Chinese place. No rice. Back to the diet – I can only imagine what tomorrow’s weigh-in will be like after five days in NOLA.

The SFO-SEA plane was one of United’s new “Sky Interior” 737s – slick. Love the lighting. Makes me wonder if they will retrofit their older 737s.

Didn’t get home until two in the morning. Didn’t get to bed until 3 winding down from all the travel excitement.

[? ? ?]

Fri
29
Sep '17

Trip Report: Trip Report: New Orleans For Pre-Birthday Celebration – Part Three

Another day, another adventure.

Didn’t feel like walking back to Touks or the Market – opted for The Trolley Stop Café. I wanted a Mimosa, but they were out of bubbles, so, Bloody Mary it was:

I have to say, nice amount of spice (you can SEE the black pepper), olives, pickled okra, TALL.

Not exactly NOLA food here, though they do have some on the extensive menu. After all the seafood over the last couple of days, I needed a Rueben:

That’s actually a really nice photo of the glistening fries and Rueben!

Needless to say, after that I went right back to bed for a nap, only to get up in time for the WorldMark Avenue Plaza “Wine Tasting” – always on the clock, this one.

Our server is from Mr. John’s Steakhouse, which is housed in the building. Two Washington State wines, one Lodi, California Chardonnay.

The wine wasn’t quite up to the quality of the Italians on Wednesday at the Ritz, nor the cheese/fruit/crackers. I took my glass and headed to the second floor balcony at the front of the building.

I can only imagine this during Mardi Gras because several of the parades come down St. Charles.

And there is no one else here, so I put up my feet in the humidity…

… and take in the people watching.

Next event on today’s schedule is at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which Rache and I are members from our previous visit. It’s an afterhours jazz trio in the lobby (which has good acoustics). I show up early, as the musicians are setting up, and wander the galleries, drink in hand – yes, they set up a bar, and I’m having Pedicabs:

I knew there was a reason I joined earlier in the year – discounted cocktails!

That would be the inventor of the PediCab. And “The Cab” itself, waiting for the band to set up.

And they also had an interesting food offering from a winner of some television show called: Chopped: Pride of New Orleans:

And here is Ms. Linda herself (and her son):

The dish is basically a New Orleans take on ramen – but using spaghetti noodles. I have the combo beef and pork:

As you can see, the PediCab to the right is in a 16-ounce beer cup.

It was nice to see their collection again – this might be my favorite museum in the US. Their choices art are “edgy” for what I consider “the South”.

It’s not all edgy – there are some oil portraits of influential people connected with Louisiana:

And this amazing quilt…

And the detail:

The band was OK – made better by free entrance (member) and discounted cocktails – and everyone seemed to be having a good time:

Sadly, the top floor of the gallery is cut off from the others, not letting the music carry through the upper galleries.

Caught the street car back to the condo – exhausted – but drink in hand.

Ended up getting fried chicken from the corner store (which is a small convenience store known for their fried chicken). A nice amount of grease to cut the alcohol.

Tomorrow, most of a day awaits me before I head back to the airport.

[? ? ?]

Sat
27
May '17

Trip Report: New Orleans, Part Four – The Final Chapter

Check out is at noon and we make it – guess it would be nice to show you where we are staying:

On the ground floor is Mr. John’s Steakhouse – definitely upscale. Here is the backstory about Mr. John, from a plaque in the lobby:

The nice thing about The Avenue Plaza is that its right on the St. Charles Street Car line:

From the condo to Canal Street is like 15 minutes:

We are headed to the Waterfront (also Harrah’s Casino):

This is Rache’s day, so we are heading over to New Algiers, which means a trip across the Mississippi!

Rache wanted to eat at this place in New Algiers called the Dry Dock:

It’s half a block from the dock.

And has a wonderful “divey” quality to it:

We both ordered specials off the chalk board:

Rache had the boiled shrimp with fried green tomatoes and lump crab meat in a red pepper sauce (not bad for a “dive” bar!).

I opted for the fried catfish with crawfish cream sauce over mash potatoes – with vegetables I didn’t eat:

Lordly, that was a FINE meal.

Only slightly marred by the non-stop coverage of what was going down on Lee Circle…

Back outside in the real world, for some odd reason, there is a statue of Louis Armstrong in New Algiers – he wasn’t from there, nor lived there:

Soon it was time to head back to the city and collect our bags from the condo.

Our last stop of the trip in New Orleans was to get another drink from Kevin…who showed us his cherry.

Technically, cherries – I had to buy some Tums from what we have done today…

And if you look at the bill, these are the cheapest, high quality, drinks in town!

Life in the Big Easy is hard!

A couple of city shots on the way to luggage collection….

Now THAT is a BBQ!

Before you know it, we are back on the plane:

Flying into the sunset:

I already miss this city.

[218.6]

Sun
21
May '17

Trip Report: The Crescent From NYC’s Penn Station to New Orleans Union Terminal

Fortunately I actually managed a couple of hour nap in the Acela Lounge at Penn Station after getting NO sleep on the plane.

East Coast sleepers are a single level, giving more headroom in the roomettes (still heavy on the “ette”). With a second set of windows near the top so when you are in the upper bunk you get a view.

Settled in.

Had to wait a bit for our car attendant to get us set up with ice in the room for our cocktails – perfect use for the in-room sink that folds down out of the wall!

With both the sink down and the toilet lid up.

We finally figured out where to stash our bags – turns out there is a shelf that extends out into the hallway ceiling.

B

If you are in the sleepers – food is complimentary in the dining car (sadly, not the wine). And it’s all prepared in this rolling kitchen:

Now for some random food shots:

Overall, the food isn’t as good as on ViaRail going through Canada – maybe that’s why I don’t have many shots of it!

But the sunrise/sunsets were worth photographing…

Thirty plus hour (the train was an hour and a half late) we are in New Orleans for next part of our adventure.

Uber to The Avenue Plaza!

[220.0]

Tue
23
Sep '14

Trip Report: Big Easy Quickie, Part Two.

Today’s mission: The New Orleans Museum of Art, which I’d read was free on Wednesdays… as it turns out free for RESIDENTS on Wednesdays. Oh well — $10 towards the arts and culture scene.

NOMA is at City Park which is at the end of one of the Canal Street Street Car lines (the other goes to the Cemeteries).

Reminds me vaguely of the Nelson-Atkins Gallery in Kansas City with the big columns out front.

Not a huge collection and a couple of wings were closed for upcoming exhibitions, but here are three of my favorites:

To which, when I sent it to my buddy Solus+ he said: “Is that a PENIS?” Answer: “YES, I believe it is.” Of course, being a priest he might find this piece less than….

And then there is the creepy Dutch Boy that looks slightly (well, not slightly) menacing. Man, did it get a bunch of comments on FaceBook:

  • I’ve seen that painting there! 🙂
  • It’s like some satanic boy on a donut box….
  • Would you recommend the NOMA? Thinking about going.
  • Not a huge collection, but a MASSIVE sculpture garden (which I didn’t see but have the brochure for). Lovely café that is an outpost of Ralph Brennan.
  • It looks like a selfie!
  • Dutchboy paints used this painting for marketing.
  • Slightly!?
  • Somewhere in Maine Stephen King is missing a piece of cover art.

Now for something tame… from my love of furniture.

Great lunch at Café NOMA which is a Brennan outpost. I had the BBQ Chicken Sliders:

Yep, a glass of red wine and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal – got my news fix.

From the St. Charles Street Car line.

A view down Canal Street towards the Mississippi. The rain from my first night in town has turned into just a muggy overcast.

Maybe a new profile picture?

That was the end of day one…dinner was pork chops simmered in BBQ sauce. Last night was a pan-fried rib eye steak, both meals came with salad – yes, I’m condo cooking in New Orleans, the land of great food (where the portions are HUGE as are the calories).

Full Day Number Two: the goal is the Mexican Consulate’s Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Five Generations of Mexican Art – focusing on printmaking. Damn fine show! As I said to the gallery director as well. Hard to find. The address on Convention Boulevard finds you across from the Convention Center at a Hertz car rental. It’s a slightly run down building which if you walk around the east side you find the Mexican Consulate on the ground floor, and if you walk around the west side you find the gallery, which you have buzz someone to unlock the door – guessing they aren’t listed in any of the “art gallery guides”. I just stumbled across them on the interweb (as Mags would say).

Also on my agenda – though just added when I noticed it on a directional sign at transferring from the Canal Street Street Car to the Waterfront Street Car was the Museum of Southern Food and Beverage which looked to be close to the Mexican Consulate. When I couldn’t find any other signs for it, tapped it into the phone to find out some sad news:

SoFAB will re-open to the public on Monday, September 29, 2014 following a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

Exploring their site on-line led to this interesting entry:

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum and the Museum of the American Cocktail are located  at 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70113. Street parking is available, or you can take the St. Charles Streetcar line to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and walk three blocks to Oretha C. Haley Boulevard.

Who knew? Guess I have another reason to come back to New Orleans….

Walking back to the street car almost stepped in this:

Not sure how it met it’s end, but doesn’t look pleasant.

And now a couple of random “tourist” shots – the cruise terminal on the Mississippi next to the Riverwalk Outlet Mall…

Harrah’s Casino – now on-land rather than a boat:

Another restaurant with a cool neon sign:

Headed back to the Avenue Plaza to whip up a little dinner…

And before bedtime headed out to pick up more of the cheap “bourbon” since it wasn’t that bad…

Before settling into bed…

For tomorrow it’s check-out at noon and meander to the airport for my 5:55PM flight.

 

The Road Home….

 

It’s wonderful to have a late afternoon flight (though that means getting in rather late as well) – no need to worry about setting alarms, having enough time to make breakfast, etc. It takes about two hours using the cheap public transit to get to the airport – but I’ve got plenty of time, and the check-in desk at Alaska doesn’t open until 3PM anyway.

There isn’t a Board Room at the New Orleans Airport, but there is a Delta Sky Club that I have privileges in, albeit in a different terminal which means going back through security to catch my flight. And when I get there, the place is PACKED – there were more people in the Sky Club than were in the concourse – apparently due to a couple of delayed flights.

But the food was good and the drinks were strong.

That would be the Chicken Salad with walnuts and cranberries, marinated olives, and a Jack and Diet – not shown, the Italian Wedding Soup with meatballs (also good).

Alas—no gate upgrade to First Class for my trip home. And there was a tall muscly guy in the middle seat…spent most of the flight leaning towards the aisle. Looks like my “upgrade luck” finally ran out.

[? ? ?]

Sat
20
Sep '14

Trip Report: Big Easy Quickie, Part One.

What can I say… $258 round-trip to New Orleans and I’m out of here.

Here are a couple of selfies from the Board Room… in the “cone of silence” chair, which I found a little claustrophobic…

And a much more normal chair…

Even got upgraded on the way down on the Salmon Thirty Salmon II…

I’m starting to get used to flying up front…

Even if I do have to have a window seat… but my office is set up once we hit 10,000 feet:

OK, the window is good for some things…

Then came the salad course…with beads! Not sure where I can sweeze the DigiPlayer onto the tray table:

Followed by the main course…

As for the DigiPlayer – guess I have to wait until dessert:

Smooth flight, lots of cocktails, wine, more cocktails…feeling no pain when I land a Louis B. Armstrong International Airport. Grabbed my checked back and headed off to grab the $2.00 bus to the city (the Jefferson County E2 Line):

Yep, it’s raining, and still manages to be humid.

E2 to Loyola, walk half a dozen blocks and catch the St. Charles Street Car Line ($1.25 – $1.50 with a transfer, which I didn’t need). Amazing that I remember how to do this from previous trips – cheap way to get from the airport to the condo, as long as you have an hour and a half. Looking a little tired at this point….

I’ve stayed at the Avenue Plaza many times – maybe that’s what makes the transit so easy. And it’s right on the St. Charles Street Car Line, which is even better.

Full discloser, I took this photo on the way BACK to the airport, as I also took this one the last day, showing off my FABULOUS view:

But the rest of the place is nice:

Nice shower, nice kitchenette – guess I should go two doors down to William’s Market, which is just past one of my favorite places (if you can stand the cigarette smoke) which is Igors Bar, Restaurant, Library and Laundromat:

Sorry that William’s Market and Deli is so plain as to not really warrant a photo, but the food is GREAT – this was the smoked sausage sandwich I had for lunch one of the days:

I was a little confused when she asked if I wanted the sandwich “dressed” – with tomato, lettuce, etc., as opposed to “naked”.

I picked up a dozen eggs and a couple of other things – I’d picked up a 12-pack of Diet Coke Caffeine Free at CVS on the transfer between the E2 and the St. Charles.

All set for the morning…and I have my itinerary all planned.

[224.6]

Mon
4
Nov '13

New Orleans Monday.

Maybe 5 hours of sleep last night. Dragging my ass to the airport this morning. First run with the new suitcase. Wish me luck.

Flights on time, sitting in First (used miles for the ticket), all is good).

Plenty of time in Houston for a Rueben for lunch… which kept me full until after 8pm. WOW – considering the sandwich was at 3PM.

The Colonels met me at the airport which was sweet of them. They brought me to the Avenue Plaza Resort – a WorldMark resort on the St. Francis streetcar line in the Garden District. Kate had a couple of glasses of wine, I had a couple of glasses of Bourbon, Eric was driving. They left after an hour or so to let me get settled – and at least Eric is an early-to-bed kinda guy.

As for me, I had another Bourbon and started thinking dinner and shopping for breakfast.

First stop: Houstons (where I ate at the bar the last time I was in New Orleans).It’s a small chain – guessing this one is the only one with live jazz.

Here is the menu: http://www.hillstone.com/pdf_menus/houstons/Houstons_St_Charles.pdf

Sat at the bar (again) and had the Soup of the Day: Red Bean Andouille and the St. Francis Oysters on a bed of creamed spinach, either of which would have been the dinner I needed after my late lunch. Combine it with a Sazerac Rye and Dolan Vermouth (we sampled this yesterday) Manhattan to wash it down and the phrase out of my mouth was “Dear Lord, take me now, it doesn’t get any better.”

Some pictures. The bar:

The band:

The food:

And if I can make this work – a 30 second video of the band.

Great conversation at the bar with a neighbor who asked my wine advice and I took the bartenders since nothing on the menu I knew… and the bartender treated me to a sample. GOOD. Not sure I’d pay $14 for a glass of it… guess I’d better research the bottle price. The wine was: Mi Sueño El Llano | Napa Valley 14!/!52.Hispanic winemaker, Napa Valley grapes. ViVino, my phone app lists 17 like, no dislikes and a score of 85. It’s labeled Cabernet Sauvignon but has some Syrah in it. Unfiltered so it’s throws a little sediment at the end of the bottle.

Next up was Walgreens for soda, eggs, cheese, and a 3-day Bus/Streetcar Pass.

Unfortunately the mini-mart closed at 8pm. I was hoping for cooking spray, green onions (doubtful) and salsa. They are on the same block as the timeshare and the amazing 24-hour Bar/Grill/Slot Machine/Laundromat:

What it says in the center is IGORS. I’ll try at get a better shot of it tomorrow.

For now, off to bed with Letterman.

[206.8]

Mon
1
Sep '08

Back In The Air, Then Back To Bed.

5:45am comes early — for both Onyx and I.  Luckily Starbucks is open which make him happy — the worries of an early Labor Day flight.

SFO is one of the airports that has a speed line for even their Premier members. I’m Premier Executive (until February 2008 when it will most likely slip to plain old Premier) so that gets me through the speed line in Seattle even if I don’t manage to snag an upgrade to the front of the plane.

Speaking of programs and milestones:

Account number: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Membership level: Premier Executive
Current redeemable miles balance: 64,220
Year to date Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) 12,200
Year to date Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS) 11.5
Lifetime United flight miles: 750,421
Redeemable miles expiration date: Mar 01, 2010

Yes, that would be a lifetime United total of three quarters of a million miles! No keep in mind that a) that’s paid — it doesn’t count the numerous free trips I’ve taken and b) all the other airlines I’ve flown.

First class was half full on the way back up the coast — probably from them using a 757 on the route (three times as many first class seats as the usual 737 or A320) — and it was the morning of Labor Day. And half of those seats were filled with pilots and stewardesses.

Moonsong was waiting for me when Lynne dropped me off back at the house — he was here to finish the railing on the deck (but not to stain it today). When he left a couple of hours later, it was definitely time for a nap — crashed hard for two hours!

Evening spent eating a lamb leg slice with salad and scenes from Gustav making New Orleans all wet — loved all the scenes filmed on St. Charles right by the Avenue Plaza Hotel where I’ll be staying next month.

[218.0 in the PM]

Fri
6
Jun '14

Trip Report: Santa Fe, New Mexico – Visiting Mom.

This week’s adventure was to head to Santa Fe, NM to visit with mom and work through the “honeydoo” list.

Decent flight time out of Seattle, but that means a late arrival in Santa Fe. Late being 9:15pm, which by the time luggage came (took back wine and cherries for the family) it was 10pm by the time I got to El Castillo (The Castle) where mom lives.

The flight plan is Seattle to Los Angeles on this bird:

In an exit row seat, without the leg room of previous exit rows:

In Los Angeles, it’s a terminal change after a stop at the Board Room to get a little work done since I have a four hour layover…

The flight from Los Angeles to Santa Fe is also an exit row – with the seat next to me open:

Got the Road Runner Shuttle to El Castillo getting there around 10pm. Mom left the door to her condo open a bit — I’m sure my father is rolling in his urn over this – he was a tad security paranoid. Mom as asleep so it wasn’t unitl 10 in the morning that I got to see the “honeydoo” list over my morning coffee.

Here is what I accomplished:

  • Installed new cordless phone/answering machine
  • Unpacked all the boxes of geriatric gear
  • Set up spring-loaded lift assist for bedroom chair
  • Set up shower stall seat
  • Set up raised toilet seat
  • Made Deviled eggs

    I wanted to do eight eggs – Mom said that was too many – hopefully Jon and Norma will eat (or Devil) the rest of the eggs when they come next month.
  • Broke down all the boxes and got them to recycling
  • Ran to the store to restock all the bourbon, vermouth, soda, eggs (for me and the Devils)
  • Picked up the mail, droped off the mail
  • And probably lots of things I forgot but did anyway like going to the fridge and tossing past date leftovers.

We didn’t my name transferred onto one of the bank accounts (Jen is on one, Jon is on another) but I’ll be back in October if we can’t get this done through the post.

Dinner tonight was take-out from the Santa Fe Bite, formerly the Bobcat Bite which used to be out on the old highway headed to El Dorado where my parents used to live, and sis-in-law Jenn, bro-in-law Kennan, and niece Karen still live. The food was good the service from awful. Mom had the Bacon Cheeseburger and a Strawberry Shake (example of awful service, not only did the food take way too long to get out of the kitchen, I had to wait while they made a strawberry shake because they gave me a chocolate one) and I had the Rib Eye steak with slaw (a little too vinegary and dry for my taste) and sweet potato fries (a little soggy from waiting around for the proper shake). Yes, I know – ordering a rib-eye from take out, what was I thinking – but it was perfectly cooked.

More puttering around the condo on Wednesday – time to hang out with Mom, both of us in the living room, her reading, me catching up on work (updating the wine shop’s website, catching up on TripAdvisor reviews for the places I stayed, eaten, visited). In the afternoon I wandered into town to pick up a Hemmingway Short Story cigar for my niece who is on a Hemmingway kick. Of course the funny thing is that Hemmingway didn’t smoke – it’s just a line of cigars by Arturo Fuente. The cigar is going in a gift bag with two miniatures of Scotch –Dewar’s White Label (a blend) and Glen Livet (a single malt). Hemmingway did drink scotch.

Here are a couple of shots of the area around The Plaza in Santa Fe:

Above is the St. Francis Cathedral (Catholic).

Above is Loretto Chapel with its amazing carved spiral staircase (image on Wikipedia link). The couple that bought my church on Lopez Island got married in this church – for their honeymoon they toured Northern New Mexico to look at all the small churches in the region – apparently making them want to buy one of their own. If you click on the My Church link you can see the real estate video from 2011 when they sold it. Trust me, it didn’t look that nice when I owned it. They dumped a ton of money into the place and I’m sure they didn’t get it all back considering they bought it in 2008 in the middle of the real estate mess.

And The Plaza itself. The Palace of the Governors Museum is on the far side of The Plaza.

Big dinner out tonight with all five of us at SantacaFé just off The Plaza in Santa Fe.

From left to right: Bro-in-law Kennan, Mom, Karen, Jenn, Uncle Markie.

Great food (reminds me that I need to do a TripAdvisor review!) I had the Filet Mignon, Kennan and Jenn split a Rib Eye, Karen went for the Green Chili Cheeseburger, and Mom for the tempura soft shell crab special appetizer along with the special pasta for the night (most of which went home in a doggie bag for lunch).

Paired with a lovely 2011 Famille Perrin Vacqueyras “Les Christins”. Tasting Notes: Clean, fresh and juicy with black raspberry, cranberry and spice; smooth texture, meaty and bright; long and balanced. Syrah, Grenache.

And what a pretty dessert that Kennan and Karen shared:

I’ve totally forgotten that is was – I do remember eating the mint leaves off the top as my dessert.

The morning brought an early flight on not much sleep – and a rather large gentleman in the seat next to me on the commuter jet back to Los Angeles. Only a couple of hours in Los Angeles to change terminals and grab a drink and a snack in the Board Room before catching my flight to Portland on one of the newer Alaska Airlines plans with the Sky Interior and their new Recarro seats.

Odd since I thought they were also installing outlets and USB jacks at all the seats with these new airplanes. I had a little over an hour in Portland to grab some wine and cheese in the Board Room before my flight to Seattle on the UW-themed Horizon flight:

The only casualty of the trip was my Porter-Case when once again suffered some damage – this time a latch that was completely ripped off at the hinge:

They offered me $100 in flight credit or 4,000 miles on the spot – or the offer of possible repair. Looks like I’ll be going back to T.R. Carroll on Monday to see if they can fix it at the airlines expense. Porter-Case has bordering on bankruptcy so I’m not sure if there will be parts available. I’ll keep you all informed of the outcome. Friday, Saturday, Sunday work schedule for me this week.

[213.0]

Wed
13
May '15

Trip Report: Hawaii With Dwight – Day Three, More Tours

Day three is upon us, more touring the island. Our first tour is that of a factory type – a tour of the Yamaka Ukulele factory located in downtown Honolulu next to the law courts (though in the next couple of years they are going to have to move as development is coming through – but in the meantime, the old man (son of the founder) is still doing tours Tuesday through Friday at 10:30am. The sign says it will last 30-45 minutes – prepare for an hour and a half non-OSHA approved tour. We caught the local bus (#19 or #20) for $2.50 a person since it was direct – could have walked from the Red Trolley line but that would have been 45 minutes each way.

This time was a little different from the other two or three times I’ve been on the tour…started the same, with the old man going charmingly on about the history of the ukulele in Hawaii and the current state of ukulele sales…

But after the first half-hour, his voice started to fade…he is 80+ after all. Luckily, he son (Sam Jr. who runs the place was on hand to take over and give the rest of the tour – that would be the grandson of the founder. Talk about a family business.

They age all of their Koa wood for over four years – and that stuff is truly expensive and why the most security on the premises is aimed at the wood pile:

In the next bunch of pictures you will see what I mean about “non-OSHA” approved tour – reminds me of the Four Roses Bourbon Distillery tour in Kentucky years ago where we were up and down ladders, on catwalks, the works (https://blog.unclemarkie.com/2008/04/19/another-day-in-bourbon-country/ — if the pictures aren’t there, hopefully they will be in a couple of days. They were stored on a Twango account (one of my marketing clients), who got bought by Nokia and eventually closed down. They are on the server at home.)

And Dwight at the end of the tour…

With an aerial shop of the shop floor….

Luckily even with the tour at an hour and a half, we still had time to catch the blue line tour on the Waikiki Trolley

AND grab a little lunch. I opted for leftovers in the room, and Dwight set out to find something and meet me there (without a map – which caused a little mishap since there are several DFS Duty Free stores).


Lots of scenery on this 2.5 hour tour…starting with Halona Blow Hole:

And then Sandy Beach (sort of sounds like a porn star name):

And then Hawaii Kai Lookout:

The whole stop list looks like this:

Blue Line:

Tour duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes per tour
Stop/Highlight 1st Tour 2nd Tour 3rd Tour
Ilikai Hotel & Suites** 8:30AM
T Galleria by DFS*** 8:42AM 11:00AM 1:30PM
Duke Kahanamoku Statue 8:45AM 11:06AM 1:36PM
Hanauma Bay*
Halona Blow Hole*
Sandy Beach Drive-through only
Sea Life Park 10:00AM 12:21PM 2:51PM
Hawaii Kai Lookout*
Kahala Mall**** 10:35AM 1:01PM 3:31PM

* 5-minute photo stop only; no disembarking.
Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays and is therefore skipped.

**Ilikai Hotel & Suites stop does not have a Waikiki Trolley stop sign. Please wait in front of hotel along Ala Moana Boulevard.

*** DFS Galleria Waikiki pick-up location is along Royal Hawaiian Avenue.

**** Kahala Mall pick-up location is at the Kilauea Avenue bus stop.

We will hit some of the same places tomorrow on the Grand Circle Tour.

I was thinking about trying the Pink Line to maximize our dollar value, but by the end of the day we were both beat and ready to retire to the condo.

Speaking of the condo, I still haven’t posted pictures of the place, which is on the opposite side of the building from my last trip to Waikiki:

Another BBQ meal off the grill by the pool, but apparently I was out of energy to take any pictures. Basically the menu was same – marinated chicken, salad, white wine.

[224.4]

Sun
14
Dec '14

Holiday Letter


Guess this gives me an excuse to write a Holiday Letter so here goes:

My addiction to travel continues untreated. This year found me hitting several milestones:

  • In June hit United Airlines Million Mile status meaning gold for life
  • In September made Elite Status on Princess Cruises meaning free internet minutes, free laundry/dry cleaning, and they stock my mini-bar once for free – another lifetime perk
  • In October made Alaska Airline MVP Gold Status through 2015 meaning fairly regular free upgrades to First Class and double miles on all my flights. When I don’t get the upgrade at least they comp my first drink in Economy – and then there are the two free checked bags which is handy when heading to Santa Fe during the holiday with all the presents in tow. Leaving tomorrow staying a couple of nights and taking the train home in the bedroom sleeper.

As for all that travel, it’s been a CRAZY year. On United to get to that Million Mile mark, 41,543 flight miles, Alaska Airlines will be 53,440 (only needed 40,000 to qualify for Gold but there were too many great last minute deals).

The travel list for this year (including this week’s trip):

January

  • Berkeley, CA
  • Los Angeles, CA – Ensenada, Mexico – Los Angeles, CA cruise
  • Berkeley, CA
  • Victoria, BC
  • Bozeman, MT

February

  • Forks, WA
  • Portland, OR
  • Breitenbush Hot Springs, OR
  • Portland, OR
  • Berkeley, CA
  • Denver, CO

March

  • Boston, MA (mileage run)
  • Boston, MA (overnight)
  • Bucharest, Bulgaria
  • Istanbul, Turkey

April

  • Denver, CO
  • Hong Kong (mileage run)
  • Honolulu, HI
  • Redmond, OR
  • Vancouver, BC

May

  • Vancouver, BC
  • Vancouver, BC-Seattle, WA Cruise
  • San Francisco (2 mileage runs in one day)
  • Orlando, FL (mileage run)
  • Oakland, CA (mileage run)
  • Houston, TX (overnight to connect to Air France flight)
  • Paris, France

June

  • Santa Fe, NM
  • New Orleans, LA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA Train Trip

July

  • Whistler, BC
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands

August

  • Denver, CO via Train and Plane
  • Victoria, BC

September

  • Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
  • New Orleans, LA
  • Seattle, WA to Vancouver, BC Princess Cruise
  • Vancouver, BC to San Francisco, CA Princess Cruise
  • Tucson, AZ

October

  • Tucson, AZ (same as September trip)
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Santa Fe, NM

November

  • Los Angeles, CA to Los Angeles, CA Princess Cruise
  • San Diego, CA (Cruise Stop)
  • Ensenada, Mexico (Cruise Stop)
  • Denver, CO

December

  • Detroit, MI
  • Santa Fe, NM
  • Albuquerque, NM to Los Angeles, CA Train Trip
  • Los Angeles, CA to Seattle, WA Train Trip

 

2015 is starting to book up as well:

January

  • Sacramento, CA
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Victoria, BC Canada
  • San Antonio, TX

February

  • Berkeley, CA
  • Victoria, BC Canada
  • Santa Fe, NM

March

  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Tokyo, Japan
  • Komaki, Japan
  • Forks, WA

April

  • Honolulu, HI

May

June

  • Whistler, BC

 

My business partner just shakes his head when I tell him where I’m headed. He’s much more the home body, but as long as I’m back to work my days, no harm, no foul. Speaking of the shop (that would be Madrona Wine Merchants which I have a 1/3 interest), here is a status update on how the business is going.

A little more than three years into starting the wine shop, things are frankly going better than I would have ever hoped for. We have no debt mostly because to retail wine in the state of Washington you have to pay for it first, no credit from the distributors allowed. What debt we had from the beginning were mostly store fixtures (much of which we built ourselves in my woodshop/garage) that we put on the shop’s credit cards was paid off last year. We pay ourselves for our time behind the counter and have always been current with the exception of a couple of winter months the first year. We’ve upped our take several times over the years and are on stable ground finance wise.

The shop itself is small – just 350sqft of sales space with 75sqft in the back for toilet/sink/icemaker and a small amount of storage. Small, but we pack it in with over 650 different labels (stock ranging from 4 to 12 bottles of each. The majority of the bottles are in the $10-20 range with a handful under $10 and a few that range to the low $100s. We are located in the Madrona Neighborhood of Seattle. Those of you who visited me in Seattle before I had the Boylston Street house might remember when Jim (now my business partner) and I lived at 25th and Union – if you kept heading east on Union, at the top of the next hill you would run into 34th Avenue, the heart of Madrona where we are on the main strip with reasonable rent. Sales have been improving year over year which is what you want in a small business.

As for the love life, I’d been seeing someone for a couple of years but with the 4 hour commute and other things he found a partner to move in with who is a much better match. We parted on good terms and are still in contact from time to time. Socially active having people over to dinner a couple of times a week (when I’m in town) and opening the house to the occasional CouchSurfer along with my friends from out of town. Mom is still holding in there though losing a lot of body strength which she is working on with the help of a therapist. Sadly, her travel days are over but she has all the memories of her own travels and still has her mind and eyes and is happy keeping current with books/magazines and the three daily papers, It is nice that she is at El Castillo, a retirement community just off the Plaza in Santa Fe. With it being a two-bedroom it gives me a place to stay on my visits to work through the “honey do” list. I try and show up every 3-4 months depending on airfare.

Looking forward to seeing The Colonels in a couple of days during their almost annual pre-Christmas visit to Santa Fe. And, of course, looking forward to taking the train home with my buddy Dwight sharing the Bedroom Sleeper on the Southwest Chief connecting to the Coast Starlight in Los Angeles.

Happy Holidays one and all.

UncleMarkie

Fri
19
Feb '16

Trip Report: Winter Break With Bliss – The Beginning

One of my self-serving pay-it-forward (can you actually do that?) is to put together trips for friends (and me) who are of more limited means – example – friends of mine who are teachers, lower level office workers, etc. This week’s trip is for my buddy, Bliss, who is on winter break from the school where he teaches IB (International Bachelorette) English to high school kids. Talk about a 12-hour-a-day job plus weekends grading all those college-level papers you’ve assigned.

He needs a break. And it doesn’t’ start well – his alarm didn’t go off. Luckily (for me) we are:

  1. Travelling separately to the airport
  2. On different record locator for our flights

Luckily I’d been texting him my progress through the morning and he finally got a clue it was time to get out of the house – and he’s a SLOW one in that regard. That said, I can chill in the Board Room. If he misses his flight, he can try for the Tuesday flight. Breakfast is served! Well, OK, it was self-serve with the exception of the Red Baron, which they have to make:

Followed by one of their world-famous Bloody Marys:

He finally made it with just enough time to slam down two drinks – which he’ll need since he’s in coach and I snagged an upgrade to my favorite seat (1C). Funny thing happened at the end of the boarding process – a customer from the shop (Madrona Wine Merchants) went flying down the aisle with her daughter in tow. Later I can to find out that her daughter noticed me and said to mom, “The think I just saw our wine guy sitting in First Class.” Bliss used miles (plus I think $5 or something like that for a ticketing/tax fee), I had a $138 one-way ticket – which when you end up in First Class for the non-stop Seattle to Albuquerque isn’t bad.

Nor was lunch:

It was only a two-hour flight, but it was nice to get a hot sandwich (and a couple of cocktails).

Landed, grabbed bags, grabbed the shuttle to the Rental Car Center (I hate those things – a giant time sink), got what they call an economy car (Nissan Altima with Bluetooth phone connection) and off to Santa Fe we head. With a stop at Albertsons where I picked up four half gallons of Evan Williams and two fifths of Swedka Vodka, a six-pack of Vernors, and a twelve-pack of Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale – Bliss picked up six (count ’em six) bottle of Jose Cuervo Cinnamon Infused Tequila, which he likes, and was on closeout, and got an additional 10% for buying six (as did I).

To save on expenses we are staying with my sis-in-law who is married to my bro-in-law. How that works is that she is my dead brother’s widow, and Kennan is her husband. It’s amazing to me that this extended family likes each other, actually loves each other, warts and all – and enough to have me AND a friend stay over.

Tonight’s dinner is:

Minus the dressing step which makes me want a crock pot – guess I should forward this to Salamander and DancingBear, who do have crock pots.

Beautiful sunset before dinner:

Watched the Academy Awards and the Pruett/Souder/Girdner clan headed to their usual early bed.

Slept in, and then it was off for some sightseeing that included hiking (yes, I said HIKING)

I was surprised that on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of February that the parking lot would be close to capacity!

Best fuel ourselves up with a Green Chile Cheeseburger at the gift/snack shop at Bandelier National Monument:

Messy but good! I feel a Trip Advisor review coming on.

As I do every couple of years I decided to purchase the yearly National Parks Pass which has some useless name like “The Inter-Agency Multiple Park Pass”. The real name is Interagency Annual Pass (aka The America The Beautiful Pass) – but here it hangs on my rear view mirror. It was $80, but the entrance fee to Bandelier was $20, so all I have to do is visit Rainier (where a car is $30) a couple of times and it will have paid for itself. I find it odd that the individual park entrance fees have gone up, but not the price of the pass. I try to buy my passes at the smaller national monuments because they get to keep a chunk of the pass money and they need all the help they can get.

Bad shot, but you get the idea – I put this on mostly for my buddy Sierra who is a park ranger. Speaking of which, he is at Denali this summer – might have to use the pass again up there!

I’ve been to Bandelier many times but this is a first for Bliss – a lovely day for a light hike:

It’s a pretty amazing place just an hour twenty minutes from Santa Fe, very close to Los Alamos if you want to combine a trip – no time for us this round.

Got back to the house in time for cocktail hour before Jen and Kennan got home from work to make Ginger Scented Shrimp (sorry, no recipe or picture). And then after dinner drinks:

I guess we know where my priorities lay…

Up earlier the second morning in Santa Fe – want to hit a museum or two before we leave for Albuquerque in the afternoon. But first, breakfast at Tia Sopia’s just off the plaza. Bliss had the Wednesday Breakfast Special (quesadilla) and I had the Green Chili Stew with flour tortilla:

Tia Sopia’s is just across the street from the Lensic Theatre where my mother often saw shows:

Bliss really wants to see and original Shakespeare
Folio at one of the museums – it takes us two museums to actually find it – both pretty much on the plaza of Santa Fe – and both members of the North American Reciprocal program which I got because of my Tacoma Art Museum membership (see blog post here on what I saw and why I joined).

The Folio itself was not terribly inspiring…

And the rest of the surrounding exhibition looked like an afterthought – they should have combined the two exhibits (there was peripheral materials at the New Mexico History Museum), but it was nice to spend some time downtown…

After the musems, it was time to return to Albuquerque, and because we had the time, stop by the Gruet Winery for some bubbles! Some of you will remember my post from December on the sparkling house the Gruet built. I didn’t even have business cards with me this trip but we managed to get the production manager to AGAIN give a tour – when I found out the disgorgement line was running I got super excited. This is the process where they freeze the necks of the bottles and blow out all the yeast before adding back a little wine and sugar to get the bubbles going.

And then onto popping the corks, refilling, and cork/wire/label:

So fun to see the process in action – and so fun to taste the results!

The unlabeled bottle is of a “no dosage” Rose sparkler – the advantages of being in the business is you get to sometimes taste “experiments”. I highly recommend stopping by for a visit if you are in Albuquerque.

They even have a little museum of old champagne equipment:

But we are on a schedule – next up is to find some distilled water for Bliss’ C-PAP machine, grab lunch (the Sonic Burger joint does a Green Chili Cheeseburger that is REALLY good), gas up the car and return it to the airport – did I mention gas is cheap in New Mexico?

Dropped the rental car and hailed an Uber for the trip to the train station with our many bags and boxes.

Next up, the train from Albuquerque to Seattle via Los Angeles.

[? ? ?]

Wed
24
Apr '19

Trip Report: Chicago – Presidential Reserve Style

Bless The Colonels for their bounty. It will take years for me to pay them back for the wonderful places they are providing this year. Latest example is a One-Bedroom Presidential Reserve unit in the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront.

Got a flight into town during the day – a nice change, AND an upgrade to First, rare on mid-day long-haul flights. I hit the ground running with my transit card in hand from previous visits…

Sadly, my balance was -$2.50, which I’m surprised they didn’t make me recharge on the last trip! Reloaded with $20 so I’m good for another trip or two. I have cards for Seattle, Japan, Santiago, all with Magic Marker telling me which city. I really wish cities would adopt a unified system like Japan does. Maybe next year.

Fifteen-minute walk from the “El” stop. And the room is ready. The place is massive – a hair larger than my HOUSE::

And the place is heavy on esthetics, light on the practicality:

Yes, I DID turn on the water flow that comes from the ceiling (and splashes). The bath is in addition to the shower (which holds four people, at least):

The shower has a “rainforest” head, the three body side scrubbers, and a wand. It felt like I was in a car wash.

And the view wasn’t bad:

At least I wasn’t at the front of the resort, and looking at THIS:

In the materials, they’d said, “kitchenette”, which in this case means a full-size refrigerator, a full-size dishwasher, a full-size microwave, and no burners (or oven). Fortunately, there is a restaurant on the first floor, and menus for takeout in every room. Hoyt’s is the name. I got the Marble-Rye Rueben and fries.

Notice the picture of ice – I have a full-size fancy-ass three-door refrigerator, with an icemaker that doesn’t work. After numerous calls over two days, I have a guy in my apartment past eleven working on it…

To find that he has the wrong replacement part. At least he showed up with two big pitchers of ice. It never did get fixed during my 4-day visit.

I spent my days wandering the neighborhood in search of nothing other than appetizer stuff for Cynthia on Tuesday night, more on that later:

Yes, that is an Amazon Go storefront.

Tuesday lunch was along the walk, at Sweetwater, in the base of some big-ass office building. Oddly, don’t seem to have an exterior shot:

Tuesday night, my sort-of-sister, Cynthia, came to check out the place.

I put on a bit of a spread, there was plenty of wine, Uber time:

Cynthia thoughtfully brought flowers (used the blender top as a vase), chocolate, and an M&M guy to go with the wine (juice container).

A nice way to catch up – we have plans in place for Friday during the day as well.

Tried to hit Buddy Guy’s Legend on Wednesday for lunch – only to find them closed for a special event. Went with my Chicago “must-do” restaurant – Berghoffs. Been there forever:

It was a light meal compared to the dinner I had the next night at Buddy Guy’s Legends for the acoustic dinner set:

Catfish Fingers and Fries –said five fingers, got seven. Not bad for a happy hour price of $8 – as cheap as the drinks.

I paid for that dinner with an unconfutable sleep. Good, but that’s a lot of fried food.

My final day in Chicago, with a ridiculous checkout time of 10am, and a flight not until early evening. Cynthia (bless her heart) drove into town and picked me up for a Frank Lloyd Wright tour of Oak Park, followed by lunch. There are just a FEW FLW houses in the burbs of Chicago:

And we did see a few!

Last stop was the gift shop at the FLW Foundation where I spotted this beauty for a Lego buddy:

Before going to Hemmingway’s Bistro which is a French-style restaurant on Oak Park Avenue. Ernest Hemmingway used to live in the neighborhood. We passed his house.

GREAT choice of places to eat at:

We each got an appetizer and a salad – consensus was, “delicious, but too much food”. Gnocchi with a salmon cream sauce, goat cheese salad for Cynthia, the creamed carrot bisque and Frisée Lyonnaise for me.

Nice way to wrap up a tour.

Swung by Cynthia and Lawrence’s temporary digs on the first floor of their son’s house – Lawrence arrived back in town the night before at 3am reeling of a massive cold. I did not do the honor of photographing him at his worst.

Got dropped off at the Metra station for the short hop back to the airport. A wish choice since it was a Friday afternoon and the freeways were clogged.

Headed to the lounge, and though not particularly hungry (and got upgraded so there will be food on the way home), still had to have a little fresh-made guacamole:

Another trip under the belt. Going home to work the weekend.

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Sun
24
Feb '19

Trip Report: Austin For Sun!

After 10 days of mileage runs to Raleigh, including an inadvertent stop in Vegas – it’s time so stay someplace for a couple of nights…and get warmed up.

Because of the weather, my original non-stop flight is now a two hop, through San Jose. Fortunately, I got upgraded on both legs, and the first one came with a turkey burger:

Sadly, I wondered why it was a little dry. It was a Turkey Burger, the Flight Attendant said, “Burger” and I assumed beef. The next leg was the “Protein Platter” since I was full from the two previous flights. Did I mention that I flew from Vegas to Seattle to catch my now connecting flight to Austin?

Because I was on two different tickets, they couldn’t just send me from Vegas to Austin (and they would have had to move me to American).

The flight cancellations (and Vegas) meant I didn’t get into Austin and to the condo until midnight – basically wasting an entire day of my holiday. But the condo was nice:

Made myself a cocktail and went to bed.

Here is the view from the balcony:

The WorldMark Austin is in the middle of the city, two blocks off the 6th Avenue Entertainment District…which means good food!

Those would be the fish tacos and a Manhattan at Ranch 616, one of my favorite spots in Austin. It’s the curved roof over my shoulder…

Next up is a random Austin building – as they say, “Keep Austin Weird.”

After my lunch (and a little shopping, and a nap), it was pool time, even though it was 65 degrees out with a slight wind:

The evening meal was at a place I hadn’t tried before, Sophias, which is an Italian place in the basement on 6th. I’d seen the menu earlier and knew exactly what I wanted – Grilled Octopus! But first, a Barrel-aged Manhattan:

Followed by a Barrel-Aged Negroni!

Had to try it as it was on the Happy Hour menu. Think I’ll be coming back to this place.

More supplies needed – a little trip to Royal Blue Grocery is in order. Larger than a convenience store (with custom sandwich bar), but smaller than a real grocery store:

The morning found me back (from previous trips) to Walton Fancy and Staple (reportedly owned by Sandra Bullock) for my mid-day meal…which, rather than the Rueben, was the Biscuits and Gravy with a Burnt Orange Cocktail (whiskey and orange juice with other things):

Then, more pool time – instead of yesterday’s 65 degrees, it was 75, but the breeze was still there….

And a couple of more photos from the balcony of the unit:

And beautiful sunrise shots….

Followed by take out Nashville-style hot chicken from Tumble 22 where I got a double order, which in one case turned into a three stack:

With this for my final morning “breakfast”:

I had to check out at noon – but I stored the bag, and returned to the roof for an 85-degree day…I got pink:

Made me miss my first day, when I was delayed getting into the city.

Picked up my bags at the desk and headed to the lounge at the airport for my flight home:

It was only a hundred more to book First Class on the way home, and it being a Friday, I knew upgrades would be tough it being an Airbus with less First Class seats, and it meant I could book my favorite, 1C. This is old Virgin America metal.

And it includes inflight entertainment, which will be going away this year as Alaska upgrades the Airbus metal to Alaska seating, but with the new First Class seats:

I had the cod (again, for the 5th or 6th time this week).

I had carryon so I landed, hailed a Lyft, and headed home.

Mileage runs done for the year, at least until the fall.

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Wed
20
Sep '17

Work Report: Wine Tastings, Even On The Road – No Rest For The Wicked

Now that summer is done, ALL the wine distributors we deal with are having trade tastings, mostly on Monday, mid-day. Case in point, this Monday, there were FOUR distributors doing tastings. My own personal limits are about two per day because there are often 100+ bottles open, and even if you spit (which I had to learn how to do), there is residual that you are absorbing. After multiple tastings, I usually come home and take a nap before dealing with dinner.

The two I did this Monday were Vinum and an Independent Self Distributed tasting.

Vinum:

The thing with Vinum is that they put on a great spread.

Upper left is a seafood platter, bottom left, grilled vegetable, back middle chicken satay (replaced by two smoked salmon fillets), front middle, crab dip, upper right, meats and cheeses.

When you are tasting this much wine, you have to refresh your palate (and grab lunch).

Sampled lots of stuff, got a sample of Ginger Beer and Blood Orange Soda to take home – and didn’t even stop at the hard liquor section (since we don’t have a license to sell anything over 20%ABV):

Yes, I turned down free hard liquor – it was like 1:30 in the afternoon!

Next up, a bunch of small wineries that self-distribute, got together and put on a tasting at a micro-distillery a couple of blocks away from the first tasting.

The spread there was more typical of trade tastings:

Though on the bottom right is a huge amount of paté (of which, I was a little piggy).

Good crowds at both:

Being on First Avenue in Seattle, I had to stop at Dick’s Restaurant Supply to check out was on the used/closeout section, picking up some new Old-Fashioned glasses, and some sort of a baking bun tray…

Those are the samples from the first tasting in the background.

Sometimes, I’m even at tastings when I’m on the road. Monday – tastings in Seattle, Wednesday – a tasting in New Orleans.

I’d planned a pre-birthday New Orleans run (post to follow) when I got an invitation from a supplier that they were having an Italian-focused tasting that wasn’t stopping in Seattle. I RSVP’d. Who would turn down something at a Ritz Carlton?

Which is beautiful hotel….

Mind you, this is the shot of the 3rd floor roof:

Hell, even the public bathrooms are nice. Now paper towels at the Ritz.

A bit of a line to get in…

Lots of people, this shot was early. And yes, I was the only one there is a Hawaiian shirt:

Lots of wine:

And some food:

An amusing side note is that, for New Orleans, this is the season when for about a half an hour it dumps rain sometime in the afternoon – shortly after I signed in, this is what it looked like:

You can’t really see it too well (and I wasn’t about to step outside for a better photo), but within minutes there was 6″ of water in the streets – ain’t pumps strong enough to take care of a storm when you are actually located BELOW sea level. By the time I was done an hour or so later – just overcast. Didn’t need the umbrella the condo gave me this morning.

On the way out, I grabbed a Tara Misu Mini Cupcake – just enough sweet for me:

Time to take the St. Charles Streetcar (3-day Pass = $9)back to the condo for a nap!

Life is hard in the Big Easy (New Orleans)! And in the Emerald City (Seattle).

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