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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Sat
19
Apr '08

Another Day In Bourbon Country.

Got to sleep in this morning — we didn’t have to be on the road until 8:30!

First stop was Woodford Reserve since it gets busy in the afternoon.

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These barrels were just filled this morning. If you blow up the photo you can see the date stamp for today. Just FYI — Woodford Reserve is the only distillery that charges a tour fee ($5).

Next stop is Maker’s Mark Distillery. They have completely redone their gift shop, dipping center in this modern look and feel that doesn’t jive with the rest of the surroundings. Here is one of our group (Tom from Texas) dipping his commemorative bottle:

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Next we are off to the Buffalo Trace Distillery for tasting only as we don’t have time for the tour if we want to hit Wild Turkey and Four Roses to complete the entire Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Turns out that if you collect stickers or stamps from all seven distilleries, that they’ll send you a gift if you mail in your brochure. And you know how I am about my free junk.

Next stop is Wild Turkey for what we hope is just a tasting an no tour. Alas — the tour isn’t for an hour, and there is only tasting of the “white dog”, which is just moonshine until they put it into the charred oak barrels for 4-7 years. I did pick up a bottle of their new Russell’s Reserve Rye whiskey to make Manhattans with at tonight’s dinner at Frog Hollow Farm.

The one picture I have from Wild Turkey is of the Barrel Houses — and is really boring. However, I do have a cool picture of the horse farms that we were passing on our way to all these tastings…

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Lunch time had come and gone by the time that we decided that “in-car dining” at Sonic was the best use of our time. When you’ve had nothing but chocolate bourbon balls and straight bourbon for hours, it really is time for a meal.

Four Roses Distillery is our last stop on the Bourbon Trail:

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Who would have thought a Spanish Mission Style distillery would show up in the Kentucky Hills. When we did the tour three years ago my comment was, “OSHA would have a field day with this tour.” It hasn’t changed. I’m surprised that OSHA doesn’t hit them with fines for low hanging pipes not painted and stripped for their workers, let alone on the tour route. The tour guide wasn’t as much of a people person as Lucille, our tour director the last time — a short, older, firecracker that has since retired (again). But still, it was a good time.

Dinner was a Frog Hollow Farm after a quick stop back at the hotel. Frog Hollow Farm is owned by my most unusual travelling companions, Kate and Eric — the retired USAF Colonels (both). This would be Kate and her shish-ka-bobs.

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It was a good time. Barbara was there as well — and accompanied us on our entire day. Swanda and I met her on the E&A Napa Valley Wine Cruise years ago.

Here is a link to ALL the pictures of the trip:

 

 

Fri
18
Apr '08

Bourbon. Bourbon. Bourbon.

Well — today it was up and out early (7:30) for bourbon, bourbon, bourbon. You know you are on holiday when your first dram of bourbon is at 9:45 in the morning.

Jim Beam was our first stop:

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Neither Swanda or I had been to Jim Beam before and at least I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the staff. If course, it being the first visit of the day, everything was pretty quiet.

Next we are on to Heaven Hill and the Bourbon Hall of Fame:

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This facility opened about six months before our visit in 2005 and the tour has only gotten better. You can tell that the bourbon industry is following the wine industry in the sample and buy business.

Next we have lunch at the Old Talbot Tavern:

talbot-tavern

Next stop was Maker’s Mark. At this point we are about an hour behind schedule:

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Think dipping bottles into hot wax to make them your own. However — think about the chap that when told to bounce his freshly dipped bottle on the counter on the rubber mat — misses the mat and slams it onto the granite counter and shattered the bottle. Scene two: contents of bottle (with glass) flow into the melting pot of wax and down onto the burner warming said wax — and panic ensues. That is today’s humor.

Lat to town. Traffic dreadful (you would think we were in Seattle, but with smaller roads). Late to the restaurant by an hour — turns out we are now a party of 12-14 (I lost count). Many appetizers were dinner. Many drinks were fun. Will have to remember what the place was called. It was a house. It was called Maury’s — and is apparently the “after-hours” bar/restaurant for Keeneland — the horse track we are visiting on Sunday.

More drinks in the second floor lobby which we commandeer each night, rearrange the furniture and drink heavily.

It’s spellcheck and off to bed thinking of an Alaska cruise in July that just isn’t going to work out.

 

Sun
22
Jul '18

Trip Report: Wonderful Week In Whistler – Part Three

Well, it’s time for the final day on the mountain – and to beat the crowds we are actually AT the lift entrance just before it opened at 8:30.

I think the trick would be to show up at 8:45 when the initial crowd has cleared through.

We got up the mountain so early that we’d neglected to see what time the trail opened to The Peak Express – turns out it was 10:00, so we had plenty of time to take a Peak 2 Peak gondola ride to kill time. Almost had the gondola over to ourselves, but a handful of people jumped on at the last minute.

We were in for a surprise for our return run back to Whistler – the popular “glass-bottom” car pulled into the station, and NO ONE was in line for it.

We had the car to ourselves! I’ve occasionally had regular cars with just me in them, but never the glass-bottom car. Maybe there is something to be said for getting up early.

Got back to Whistler side and had to cool our heels for 15 minutes or so until the trail opened. Personally, I think they should have given the old men a head start as we were immediately passed by everyone else once they opened the trail.

We are headed own a steep hill to the Whistler Peak Express:

Everybody had passed us, so there was no line at the chairlift, and up we go…

Rache is calm enough on these no to pay more attention to the phone than the scenery…

Here is a short video of our ascent:

At the top, we found the new suspension bridge open:

And some great views:

There was always a trail to the other peak, but it was a serious hike up and down.

Speaking of down, here is the descent off the cliff on the chair lift:

And the view of The Roundhouse from the lift:

Once we got back to The Roundhouse – it was a slow slog for me back up that hill. I would have given a pinky for a PediCab up that trail, we went back down the mountain for a light lunch at the Beacon Pub:

I’d eaten there other years and there was semi-shaded outside seating. And booze.

Rache had the Buffalo Wings – which looked exceptional:

And I had the Seared Ahi Salad:

We split the fried pickles – some of the BEST I’ve had.

Our last stop was at the new full-service bar on the deck of The Roundhouse. What a welcome addition! Which meant going back up the mountain. Thank goodness for the Season Pass.

After our cocktails we headed back to the condo for a little nap before our final dinner. Indian-spiced chicken thighs.

I wasn’t up as early as the day before, but in a couple of hours we were at Duty Free, followed by the border:

Not more than 20 minutes or so delay (would have been 5 minutes in the Nexus lane).

All and all, a fun week in Whistler. I’ve already started to cobble together another trip in August even though there are no contiguous days available. Got to get the most value out of my Season Pass!

[? ? ?]

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Thu
15
Mar '12

Day Two Of The BBQ Trail.

Today we (Wendy and I) head out of town to try one of the BBQ joints reviewed by the Wall Street Journal: Perry Foster’s Bar B-Q in Warrensburg, Missouri, about an hour southeast of Kansas City.

The verdict? Good, not cheap, but not good enough to warrant an hour drive in each direction. On the way back using a different route, we were on the lookout for antique/junk shops:

The verdict? Like a bad garage sale that never ends. Walked away empty handed.

Dinner tonight is with the gang in Lawrence, Kansas at The Burger Stand at the Casbah. Shown here is my old buddy Conan. And no, I didn’t eat all of those fries, though I did have a few to soak up all the $3 Knob Creek Manhattans I was drinking. The downstairs bartender had to learn how to make them from the upstairs bartender, and don’t think he realized that the “$3 Knob Creek 1oz” special didn’t really apply to Manhattans because you have to charge for the Vermouth as well, but I wasn’t complaining, especially when he was pouring doubles and charging for singles. I had the Black and Blue Burger: features Maytag Blue Cheese and Granny Smith Apple Chutney. Yum. And yes, I did eat the bun.

Drove (not me after all those Manhattans) home and Paul made us a round of his signature cocktails, the Side Car (one part fresh squeezed lemon juice, two parts Cointreau, three parts Hennessey Cognac).

[206, which Gail informs me is light by 5 pounds]

Wed
26
Jul '17

Trip Report: Kentucky, Day Three

Oh, the joys of sleeping in. And sleep in, I did. Made it to 10am. Rache had advised The Colonels to not worry about me, that I’d gladly eat leftover biscuits and gravy. Luckily, the gravy was simmering when I padded downstairs in my bathrobe for coffee.

No picture, sadly – but MY they were tasty!

What I did get were some exterior shots of The Colonels Southern Hospitality base they call, Frog Hallow:

After I’d showered and shaved, we were off to today’s distillery, about 45 minutes from The Colonels in the town of Danville. Wilderness Trail Distillery is the name, and once again, showed up at 15 after for an “on the hour” tour. We went off and explored the countryside a bit before returning. Even found a little tobacco growing (sadly, not “wacky tobaccy”:

Back at the distillery:

Loved their sink stand in the bathroom – of course, I would have had it open up, in the form of a cabinet. No room in my current house for it.

Here are some shots from out tour – starting with the lab, which is unusual in that it was the original beginning of the distillery – they made under contract lots of yeast for various distilleries, troubleshot other people’s yeast problems – and now offer master distilling courses. Cart before the horse, as it was. For Wilderness Trail, they use a “sweet mash” process where is where all new yeast is used in the batch, as opposed to a “sour mash” process that holds back a portion of the previous run.

It all starts with the grain:

And then the cooking in the mash and still room:

That’s a lot of creamed corn!

All of the corn in their product (minimum 51%) comes from fields less than 30 miles away.

This is their centrical force proof safe where I had a sample of the 132-proof white dog:

And here is their bottle line – defiantly low-tech.

They are due to release their first bourbon this December – having aged it four years – that’s how young this distillery is. Th current releases are a dark rum (local sorghum) aged in old Four Roses barrels. They will switch to their own used barrels starting in December when they bottle their first Bourbon.

The tour and tasting was $7 (free for active/retired military/police/fire) and included a free shot glass.

One the way back to The Colonels, we stopped for an afternoon snack – and something else Rache had heard of, but never tried:

Yep, a rolling White Castle food truck. Makes me wonder if the pad they are working on is going to be the new home of a White Castle Burger stand.

Or other stop was a return to a Liquor Barn because I’d seen an Old-Fashioned glass with a retro Indiana postcard image on it at the store in Lexington.

I didn’t see any on the shelf in glassware, but I must have had a puzzled look as staff came up to help. She found a pair in a gift basket, which she gladly cut open to sell us just the glasses. GREAT customer service! And yes, they did have 32 Craft Beers on tap – I barely got Rache out of there since you could buy and try.

Before long we were back in our temporary home, each of us taking quick naps since The Colonels had invited neighbors over for dinner. At this point, I let Rache take over since neither of us have pictures, and he is more eloquent than I, and I’ve included his observations of yesterday’s visit to Barb as well:

Besides bird-dogging booze, Markie also included some visits of people he has known through his extensive travels. Barbara recently moved to a new (to her) home in Lexington. Even tho’ she was in the middle of a kitchen remodel, Barbara took time to greet Markie and me. Those two had a chance to catch up while I slowly made friends with Barbara’s dog Petey. It took a while form to feel comfortable with us, but he finally did. That pooch is full of personality.

And we ended up spending two nights with Eric and Kate. They are retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonels and are just full of Southern hospitality. The first night, Kate made a southern dinner of fried pork chops, green beans, fresh black-eyed peas, summer squash, and some stuff I’m forgetting. It was all delicious. We finished the night sitting outside and observing the fireflies. 

The next night, after Markie’s and my visit to Wilderness Trail, our hosts invited some neighbors to a lovely dinner party. I gotta tell you, this evening was like a festive scene out of Steel Magnolias. Kate outdid herself with putting together a lovely spread for nine of us that culminated with a stunning key lime cheese cake that she made. It was all just over the top amazing. 

Kate and Eric were incredibly gracious hosts and comfortable to be with. Friday morning felt like saying adieu to longtime friends. And I’m now Facebook friends with the neighbors.

I had worried that Rache wouldn’t have a good time – but I think I can put that to rest!

Eventually we headed to bed, as an early alarm was going off for me (another reason to sleep in yesterday!).

Tomorrow we are headed home, many things unseen, a reason for another visit.

[? ? ?]

 

Mon
23
Jan '17

Trip Report: Charleston — Wednesday

Another lazy start to the day, so the first meal is basically lunch – at 5Church – who wouldn’t want to lunch in church:

With a nice wall of liquor:

And quotes from “The Art of War” on the ceiling…

Time for a Manhattan! And some Conch Soup.

After lunch, it was off to see Fort Sumter…which involves a ferry ride – and luckily, I was uninformed, but on time, for the last of the two daily winter boats.

Nice day for a boat ride….and showing off my Hyman’s Seafood hat to replace the one I lost years ago.

If you are a Civil War buff – this is the place to come. Personally, I’m more of a WWII guy, but it was still a lovely and informative visit – complete with musket rifle demonstration:

Lots of old cannons laying around….

Parade grounds…

Charleston is the upper left skyline, with the bridge to some island mid, just above our boat.

Did I mention that it is unseasonably warm in Charleston –mid to upper 70’s, which is about 10 degrees over normal.

And saw numerous dolphins – this is as close as I got to catching a picture of one, the blackish blog in the middle of the water – one of the few times I miss my 20x zoom Leica Lens Panasonic Camera:

And, of course, birds everywhere…

No need for the 20x zoom on that one! Soon we are headed back – this is the view headed into the dock, with the Aquarium next door looming over the Fort Sumter Visitors Center:

Was feeling a little peckish, so stopped at Queology for some happy hour wings (6 for $3), and a cheap highball – also on special:

Headed back to the room for the news and a little television, but hunger set in about 9:30, and Hyman’s had just closed, so I had to settle for the Rueben next door at Toast (oddly, ones by the same folks as Queology as it turns out) who were mopping the floors already but made me one to go…

And let me sample a little whiskey I’d never heard of (on the house! – the sip, not the sandwich). This corned beef looked to be hand sliced, and it was definitely yummy.

Cask strength and made in Bardstown, so my assumption was it is really a Heaven Hill (Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, etc.) brand, but a little research showed that it is Willet Distilling.

And now I want more whiskey! And maybe a return to Kentucky to revisit the Bourbon Trail.

Another fun day in Charleston, with more to come!

[? ? ?]

Thu
17
Apr '08

Greetings From Bluegrass Country.

Greetings from Kentucky, land of thoroughbreds and bourbon, and I plan on both.

Interesting red-eye flight from Seattle to Minneapolis — got a free upgrade to first (because I’m an Alaska MVP) and we are at cruising altitude when guy seated next to me gets up to use the bathroom. It’s busy so he’s hanging out in the galley — when I hear this HUGE thump. All I can see is his fet sticking out of the galley at this point. Yikes — he just passed out and dropped like a sack of potatoes.

My first thoughts? They are going to have to turn the plane around. Second thought? There goes getting a drink in any timely manner.

They got him pillows and blankets and in twenty minutes he was fine. He blames it on the spicy food he had for dinner. Yeah, right.

Got to Minneapolis at six in the morning for a nine in the morning flight to Cincinnati — hung out in the Northwest Airlines club having a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. Bar doesn’t open until 8am in Minnesota so that leaves just enough time for one cranberry and vodka before heading to the plane.

Had lunch at the Cincinnati airport — Outback Steakhouse for grilled ahi tuna appetizer — just enough to hold me until dinner. I’d arranged for a minivan from Dollar since there will be six or seven of us for the bourbon tastings and horse racing. Chrysler Town and Country with stow and go seating (which for us just means more space under the floor for bourbon).

Dinner at the acceptable Regatta, made more acceptable by it being right next door to the hotel (Hilton Suites – nice). Orange roughy over rice pilaf with spinach and green beans. Was hoping the home style green beans would be more southern, i.e. pig fat, but they weren’t. Damn.

One last unneeded drink or two at the bar with the rest of the group from Events and Adventures, plus Swanda and I’s friend Barbara from the Napa Wine Cruise of years ago.

It’s going to be an early day tomorrow — out of the hotel by 7:30. Ick. Better get to bed early tonight.

Thu
15
Sep '11

Cabinets In The Morning, Whiskey In The Evening.

Well, this is my second try at this post. Somehow I managed to delete the post before posting. Damn.

Finished trimming out all the cabinets today, including the bottle rack for the main glass case:

Not bad looking, wish I had more empties to fill up the rack for a better photo.

Got out of the shop and on the road at 5:15, just in time for the rush hour fight to Woodinville. I’m off to a whiskey tasting at the Woodinville Whiskey Company.

My dear friend Jill bought me this as an early birthday present — last March. It was a Groupon deal that filled up so quickly this was the first date available. So the deal is, arrive, sample their vodka (interesting but expensive), meet one of the co-owners for a talk about the still, get your photo taken with David Pickerell, their contract Master Distiller (and former Master Distiller for Maker’s Mark), and then head to the “heavy appetizer” buffet table. Heavy meaning ribs, pulled pork deviled eggs, etc. Stand around, eat meet the other owner passing out samples of their White Dog (unaged whiskey), move to the presentation (an hour plus), when a prize (Bourbon Straight, The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey), and then sample some of their aged bourbon which they will release in November.

Whew.

In front of their still.

Wish I could afford one of these!

And then the slog back home for a full glass or two of bourbon.

Thanks Jill.

[217.4]

Mon
18
Nov '13

Hello Honolulu.

Got the upgrade. Got my favorite seat – let’s pray for the return trip as well.

Out of the house at 10:30 which means plenty of time… which usually means I won’t need the time, traffic will be fine and I’ll find a close in parking space in front of the airport at only $10 a day.

With the early arrival it means that I can hang out in Scotty Brown’s Social Club which is actually a really good restaurant in the gate area. It’s a small mostly Canadian (7 locations or so) and soon to be 3 US locations (two in Bellingham) with the addition of a Bellevue branch. I had the one (freaking huge) piece Halibut Fish and Chips (extra tartar .50 but worth it) – and they make a great Manhattan (in the background) using the well bourbon Evan Williams (my go-to none special occasion bourbon). Looks tasty – and other than the sunflower seeds in the slaw, it was great.

]

Plane left on time, but with headwinds we were a few minutes getting in. And then it was getting my luggage (second bag off – amazing) and finding the Speedi-Shuttle stand, which was mobbed. Got to the hotel a little before 10pm and then set off on errands once I hit the room.

Was looking for eggs, soda, and bourbon. Found the last two at the first try, the closest ABC store along with a snack – once my blood-sugar had calmed down from the snack and a cocktail it was off to a larger ABC store (also checked out the Whalers which seems to be a buck or so cheaper on the booze) and got 8 eggs – yes, an 8-pack, along with a Portuguese salami and some string cheese for morning omelets.

The room isn’t bad… a little kitchenette, no stove or burners:

It seems like I’m in a handicapped unit – which is what I think I had the last time staying here… but it’s comfortable and the bathroom is huge (to accommodate a wheelchair):

And the main room.

Off to explore in the morning.

[? ? ?]

Sat
16
Jul '16

Trip Report: Puerto Vallarta

After the craziness of the Greek Reunion was fun – but as all “group” endeavors, there is a schedule of stuff to do. Even with most of a week off to get printers fixed, status, sleep in my own bed, cook for friends, work – I needed a vacation vacation.

Luckily I’d scheduled Puerto Vallarta as part of a United Airlines promotion – spend a grand, get 10,000 bonus miles (on top of miles and bonus’ earned), spend another $500, get another bonus of 15,000 miles. Yep, another quest! Having done the math, with “class of service” bonuses, turns out a couple of First Class tickets is the quickest/cheapest (in terms of lodging/cars/etc.)

First ticket – Puerto Vallarta!

United was actually running a 757 on the SEA-SFO route. Actually one of my favorite airframes, becoming hard to find as operators like the size as well:

Smaller bins than newer models, but a larger First Class section but I’d gotten up at 3:30am to make my flight, so I’m not looking my best:

Too bad the flight wasn’t on time EVEN BEING THE FIRST FLIGHT TO SFO OF THE DAY.

Arrive SFO – and my flight to PVR is at a Domestic Gate – miles from a Duty Free. Managed to HIKE to the International Terminal AND get back in time for the flight – and eventually have my Duty Free delivered onboard. Why? I’m a Bourbon drinker – Bourbon is NOT cheap in Mexico (though with the exchange 18 to 1, cheaper than it used to be).

737-800 to SFO-PVR. Still looking like the walking dead:

And I’m still tired – but this flight comes with breakfast:

With just carryon luggage it was quick through immigration and customs, into the cab (use the cab ordering stand in the terminal) and to the condo. I’m staying at the Vacation Intervals exchange resort with WorldMark – that’s a mouthful!

And I love that they offer you a free beer at check-in….

Not that is was a GOOD beer, but it was cold and I drank it looking out the balcony of my one-bedroom (full kitchen/no washer-dryer).

Yep, overcast, but humid as poop, with the occasional afternoon showers:

But when it’s raining outside, there is always inside:

And other than picking up mixers at the Soriana a half block away:

It was off to the restaurant in the complex – I didn’t get to the condo until almost 5pm.

Turns out this would be my ONLY meal out while in PV – starting with a margarita!

And then the grilled octopus starter:

With the requisite chips and pico de gallo….

And the main of mole chicken enchiladas….

Enchiladas were a little on the dry side, but I was poolside in PV, so……

Next day it was back to the Soriana to get supplies for the rest of the week – maybe I shouldn’t have brought Bourbon, because they sell Jack and Coke in cans in Mexico:

But I was shopping for real cooking things for the kitchen – like chicken/eggs/cheese/pico de gillo/salad…..

And that chicken will turn into heavos rancheros/stock/soup/quesadillas…..

That chicken fed me for a week!

But here are some other shots from the place (which I basically never left)…the entrance area…

Complete with big ceramic frog….

My room, the one above the towels….

The pool area….

Trust me, there were MANY, MANY more kids in that pools usually – between the heat and the kids, reading on the balcony with the sliding door open and AC wafting over me…..

But really, when the sun started to go down, too wonderful:

But after four nights – back to the airport (half the $12 equivalent fare to get back to the airport), no lounge, but a Carl’s Jr., you’d think I was back in Cali:

A little shopping and it was onto the flight – some decent leg room….

And lunch number one:

That would be plantains, not potatoes.

Another short international transfer – TIP – in Houston take the exit rather than transfer lane if you want TSA-Pre. You have to show ID again, but at least you are express.

Enough time for a QUICK cocktail in the lounge (use it or lose it) before leg two of three (PVR-IAH-DEN-SEA):

I DO love bulkhead aisle….and some of the new tray table tricks – a prop for your tablet:

And lunch number two…

The plan was for a four-hour layover in Denver (the joys of a cheap First-Class ticket), but with club access (Gold Status, International Itinerary) I went to the desk to inquire about the delayed earlier flight and First. Question: “Reward travel?” “No, paid First.” Click, click, click. “Got you a seat.” I get to the gate and there are two screens of people (about 40 people) on the complimentary upgrade list waiting in vain – a part of me feels like I actually got some value out of paying cheap for up front – and I get home three hours early! This is actually huge since I would have gotten home at 1AM and had to work at 11AM.

And rather than a snack (and the couple of drinks in the lounge waiting) on the flight – yet another meal:

That would be the mushroom risotto – the other choice was pasta in a tomato sauce – a guarantee of heartburn for me.

A four-night holiday – didn’t do ANYTHING cultural in PV, unless you consider the last Soriana photo – looks like the soda pop aisle doesn’t it?

This is the DISH SOAP aisle – THAT’s an accident waiting to happen.

Home safe.

[215.2]

Tue
25
Jul '17

Trip Report: Kentucky, Day Two

Once again, I’m out of bed before I’d like. The hazards of planning a trip with multiple sites to visit each day.

Rache went for his usual morning saunter, and then had the leftover ribs from last night. I stayed in bed and then had my ribs and mac cheese. Pretty good breakfast. The Microtel advertised a continental breakfast, but, they too, had a vat of gravy – sadly, not enough biscuits to go around.

First stop today is the Buffalo Trace Distillery which produces more bourbon than anyone else, under about thirty brands. Pappy Van Winkel, Buffalo Trace, Sazerac are a few – think they have Blanton and Weller as well. If you click on the link it will take you to a list of their brands. This place is HUGE:

And they let you wander around before/after the tour (which is FREE!).

As usual, tours are on-the-hour, and we show up 45 minutes before – just long enough to have missed a tour. At least we got to wander.

Our tour guide is a retired Boeing employee from Cle Elum – he was amused that a couple of Washingtonians were on the tour:

Off we go to one of the aging warehouses. Unlike Maker’s Mark (and many other distilleries), Buffalo Trace doesn’t rotate its barrels from the bottom to the top – they just use whiskies from various levels in various brands.

Next up was the building that they hand bottle all the Blanton’s Whiskey:

Everything is done by hand; filling, labeling, wax sealing, bagging, and boxing.

But, what we are really waiting for it the tasting at the end of the tour. We had two choices between four samples. I ignored the vodka and the white dog (unaged whiskey) and went straight to the Buffalo Trace and the Eagle Rare.

The poor kid at the end of the bar was Italian, and didn’t turn 21 until next month – he got root beer, which they also make. Like I said, I went for the whiskey!

It even came with “dessert” which was a Bourbon Crème, that had it not been free, I wouldn’t have tried – but it was good – especially with the bourbon laced candy they were handing out. Unlike Bailey’s, it’s real cream and needs to be refrigerated after opening.

Sadly, they wouldn’t let me into this room with their most expensive products:

We needed a little lunch snack, and since it was National Hot Dog Day, we swung through a Sonic Drive-In since they were doing dollar dogs. Sorry – no pictures of us chowing down on cheap dogs.

After Buffalo Trace we were off to Woodford Reserve. Rache and I had been drinking Woodford Reserve on the flight out and I wanted to show him the distillery, but more important, the drive to get there which is through gorgeous horse country.

Yep, those are million-dollar HORSE BARNS; heated floors, the works.

We got to Woodford – of course, 15 after the hour. We opted to not take the $14.00 tour (or $8.00 for just the tasting), took a couple of pictures, browed the gift shop and left. These will give you an idea of the place:

And one of the barrel-aging houses nearby:

Next up was a cocktail visit with Barb – my travel agent for Princess Cruises. Out of kindness (and laziness), no photos of her “new to her” home since it’s in the middle of moving in and a kitchen renovation. She has a dog, Petey, cute as heck, that, of course, Rache instantly bonded with.

The is the part of the trip where all my friends come into play – and our next stop is at The Colonels, who last I saw in Santa Fe last November.

Don’t we look all comfy!

No need to haul the luggage upstairs – make the stair climber do it.

And speaking of comfy – look at our bedroom. Thanks Colonels!

The evening meal was one of southern hospitality — fried pork chops, green beans, fresh black-eyed peas, summer squash, and some stuff I’m forgetting. Needless to say, we slept well.

One more full day of exploring, tomorrow.

[219.2]

Wed
13
Jun '07

Not The Day I Expected.

The first day back from vacation wasn’t what I was expecting… which was working on the garage and around the house and yard.

Instead — it was Vanessa (VavaPussy) on the phone wondering if I could run her up to Snohomish to look at a car if she took the bus from Portland to Seattle. Oh, and could she borrow $500 for a week.

Ran as many of my errands as I could (Home Depot, UVA, Car Wash, Bank) before swapping the Bimmer for the Van (don’t show up to a used car lot in a shiny Bimmer and expect to talk them down on price). Met Vanessa at the bus station and off we go north to see this Toyota van. I understand her love of these vans, I used to have one before Surfer Bryan burnt it to a crisp. Good gas mileage, room for a 4×8 sheet of plywood in the back, great turning radius.

Well — the van turned out to be a dog. Motor was good but there was some serious exhaust noise which we found out at end when we decided to pass on the van was the result of a missing catalytic converter (stolen) that they had welded a muffler in it’s place (illegal to sell, and sure as hell wouldn’t pass DEQ) — and they hadn’t even bothered to find the right size pipe, so my guess is that you’d get dangerous fumes in the drivers compartment. Bad, Bad, Bad Used Car Dealer — Simple Affordable Auto Sales. The more I think about it — the more I’m tempted to file a complaint with with Craigslist and the Better Business Bureau.

Back in the city in the midst of rush hour traffic and off to Safeway for dinner supplies. Trying to convince Vanessa to spend the night even though she’d have to find a baby sitter for the dogs. Had a quick stop at EB Games to see if they had another controller for the Wii — yes, but not with the WiiPlay combo which is the better deal — and I’m loath to go to Burien where they do have them.

Got back to the house to check on train and bus schedules. Last train gone, last bus at 7:40 — back downtown in rush — Vanessa got the LAST ticket. Bye Bye Vava.

Dinner tonight in honor of Jameson is vegetarian (with the exception of the chicken stock in the rice. Grilled Walla Walla Sweet Onion bulbs, eggplant, squash and zucchini. Add a salad and wine and you have a grand meal with left overs for Jameson’s lunch on the trail. He spent yesterday (10 hour workday) pulling blackberry and other invasive weeds on the Mountains to Sound Trail — his summer internship.

Enough for now.

Sun
26
Nov '06

Car troubles, worth the trouble.

The end of our stay has come, parent’s are out the door at 7am after a hug from me (before I go back to bed until 8:30).

Got packed up while drinking coffee, cleaned the kitchen a bit, set the laptop up for GPS and headed to Arcosanti, which is an hour north of Phoenix. Arcosanti is an urban experiment in the middle of the dessert that was started in 1970, and still is very much “in process”. Here is the “blurb” from the website:

In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers

Arcosanti Panarama 

Missed the 11am tour, there was no noon tour, and the last was at 1pm which was too late for my schedule — but the docent told me the way to the visitors trail which gets a great view of the project for lots of good photos. Guess it means that I need to come back. In some ways, it reminds me of the intentional community that is Brietenbush Hot Springs, with owner/workers running a new-agey retreat/conference center. The visitor’s trail was a nice hike through an arroyo and up the other side for stunning views of the complex. Check out the photos at:

http://www.twango.com/channel/markso.arcosanti

Back at the car — the car does not start. Not even much of a click, click, click. It is amusing that the radio still does work — and it is the car talk boys. Well, I have AAA — call the national number, wait due to heavy call volumes. What state are you in? when I finally get a person…. annoyed? Arizona — I’ll transfer you… to another telephone queue. Figured it was easier to just keep asking people who came out if they had jumper cables.

Got jumped by a car from Connecticut — a resent transplant, and I was back on the road south towards Tucson, with a stop at the Phoenix Airport Payless Rent-A-Car counter to get a different car. The shimmy in the steering wheel at 75 I could stand. A battery that doesn’t work — that doesn’t work. So I trade in the Gold Taurus with 30K+ miles on it for a Green Chrysler Sebring Ragtop with 20K+ miles on it with a bunch of golf ball size dents. Here is my guess to the Payless business plan — buy the leftovers from Hertz, Avis, Budget and continue to rent them out. My word to consumers — note EVERY dent, nick, whatever. Having rented an $11 a day subcompact (which apparently they don’t have any of), I’m happy to have a convertible in it’s place.

The $11 a day car...

Running an hour late, I’m back on the road to Tucson and Joe and Nikia.

Must stop for a snack before hitting their place and Taco Hell is the only place I can find. Well, at least it isn’t a burger.

Laptop dies, but I’m close enough to remember how to get to their place (thank god he hasn’t moved in years). The dogs (two rescued greyhounds) greet me, and I resist the urge to strip off my clothes as I pass through the house on the way to the pool.

Dinner is vegan fajitas (well, Joe and I have cheese and sour cream) that are wonderful. Now back to work.

 

Sun
19
Jul '09

Dinner Party Season Continues.

Tonight the dinner party moves over to Swanda’s place after a relaxing day around the house avoiding paying work and catching up on magazines that have been stacking up.

Firecracker salmon, some orzo salad, cucumbers in vinegar, corn salad… too bad I forgot to bring the wine.

Hell, I was even home by 7:30!

And then, all hell breaks loose at 9.

Fluffernutter had called during dinner which rolled over to voice mail. When Swanda retrieved the message it was not good. A member had gotten lost in the woods on a hike with a dozen or so other members.

Fluffernutter was on the way out to the trail head, family had been tracked down and notified. I was assigned two channels to watch to see if there was any coverage (negative), and by 11:30 Swanda and I were headed out to the trail head with more pop, water, sandwiches, chairs, a canopy — apparently a dozen of his family showed up to help.

I got home at 3:15am and got the text that they had found him a 4am. At least now I can sleep with some ease.

[218.3]

Fri
29
Jul '16

Trip Report: Whistler With Roxy

In what has become an annual tradition for the last three years, Roxy and I are once again off to Whistler for some “hiking”.

Top down the whole way, with a few sprinkles – overcast mostly.

Condo was ready for us when we arrived a little after 4pm – not a bad place. It’s a one-bedroom so Roxy is on the fold-out couch:

First stop is the IGA for a bird and supplies:

Just like my trip to Puerto Vallarta a couple of weeks ago, it’s going to be a chicken week, made easier by the fact that Roxy is enthusiast about food.

The next morning up and on the road – but with a wake-up selfie for a friend just back from Europe:

A bit out of focus, but that’s Roxy’s fold-out couch/bed.

We were SLOW getting out of the condo, it was after noon when we picked up our Peak2Peak Season passes… what was overcast yesterday was cloudy and drippy on the mountain….this is on the first gondola:

Which turned into this on the Peak2Peak….

For us, having skipped breakfast (for sleeping in until 11am) we headed directly to Christines for lunch – it was closed for renovations last summer, but it was a favorite our first year:

Roxy had the Salmon…

I had the Blackened Ahi…

Sorry that both shots were after we’d “tucked in” as the Brits would say.

This should give you an idea of the weather on our first two days on the mountain:

But there was a “cool” display of a “faux” GMC Denali gondola:

After last night’s dinner, I’d stripped the chicken and Roxy made us Chicken/Ciabatta/SweetOnionDressing sandwiches for our mountain adventure – tasty they were:

I also boiled down the bones and made stock for chicken/vegetable/noodle soup – with is tonight’s meal:

Got to get your money out of that chicken!

Even made it to the hot tub for a soak post dinner after our “grueling” day of “hiking”:

Day Three in Whistler required a room change – down the hall in the Handicapped Unit – couldn’t find four days together in one unit, so that meant packing everything up, leaving it on a trolley, bagging the stuff in the fridge, and having it magically appear in our new unit.

But, again, the mountain was socked in…

This day, we were wise enough to bring books along, spending many revolutions in the Peak2Peak Gondola, not bothering to get off – just introducing ourselves to new riders with each turn.

More chicken noodle soup for dinner – the staff kindly moved it pot and all, replacing the missing pot from our new kitchen.

And oh what a difference a day makes when the sun comes out! Lines everywhere…

No more round-and-around for us. People everywhere because of the break in the weather…

And the first hike we do – it’s a Black Diamond trail to the Peak Express. Remember, I’m the guy that only does the Green Diamond Trails. That would be the lift down in the valley – bad for my knees on the way down, bad for my breathing on the way up:

Said “Black Diamond” trail:

On the walk I saw this gentleman doing a watercolor on the path – reminded me of my brother-in-law on hikes:

That would be a snow making lagoon on the upper right.

As you can see from the video below, there is a reason we didn’t take this lift Tuesday or Wednesday in the bad weather – they are open chairs!

But it sure is pretty at the top!

The way DOWN is actually a little more breathtaking – though I didn’t get the camera turned on in time to see the sudden “over the cliff” launch – but as luck would have it, that’s right where the lift stopped.

I had a hankering for a hot dog – apparently not easy to find when they don’t have their outdoor grill going – unless you are a whole suckling pig!

Guessing that’s for the pulled pork poutine (which I had last year). I had to settle for the Children’s Combo which had a VERY SAD hot dog, fries, and three sides (yoghurt, fruit strips, fruit cups, etc.). That said, it was $10 CAD, minus 10% because we are pass holders, bringing it to $9 CAN, and with the exchange with $1 USD equal to $1.30 CAD, it was a cheap lunch in an expensive place:

Alas – lunch at Christines is a once-a-trip treat (we spent $110 CAD on lunch Tuesday for the two of us).

The trip is coming to the end, so, a little more reading, hanging out on lifts, but no more hiking:

And from our final ride down the mountain:

Before you know it, we are one the road headed home – actually got out of the condo by 9AM! Don’t we look relaxed on the road?

The border was maybe 20 minutes because I spent five minutes buying duty-free rye, cutting off another 10 minutes of traffic – would have been quicker, but Roxy doesn’t have a Nexus card – but not bad. We made it home after getting stuck in Seattle traffic by 3:30 or so… plenty of time to cook dinner for our mutual friend, Mr. Whippet!

Pardon the stacks of wine boxes – got 10 cases of “Buck-A-Bottle” for upcycling.

All-in-all, a fun trip. Going back early September since I have a season-long pass – and there is “room at the inn”.

[214.8]

Thu
24
Apr '14

Trip Report: Redmond, Oregon

On the road with Xander and Roxy – headed for Redmond, Oregon for a couple of nights in a 3-bedroom “chalet” complete with BBQ grill and hot tub – the only way to stay. We will be meeting Julian and Megan who are coming from Portland to celebrate Julian’s last week in Portland before a week in New Mexico and then flying off to JapanLand for at least a year of teaching English as a Second Language.

Here is a great selfie from the road:

How nice to not have to drive the 6 hours in each direction – and unusual situation. And a pleasant one.

I forgot to plug in Burgerville into my GPS so we were out of range by the time hunger struck. But we did stumble across a gem:

That would be the Barlow Trail Roadhouse on Highway 26 in Welches, Oregon. To hell with the diet – I’m having the Biscuits and Gravy (1/2 order) and a Manhattan.

Xander went for the Miners’ Meat Lovers Omelet with mashed potatoes (from scratch) and gravy instead of the breakfast potatoes:

And Roxy went for the Stomping Mountain Toast which is Texas toast dipped in pancake batter, rolled in oats and sugar frosted flakes and then deep fried.

Talk about RICH – hello coronary.

It was 4:30 by the time we got to Eagle Crest, a WorldMark resort. They did a slooooow check-in which meant that the unit wasn’t quite ready for us…not a good sign. But it was BIG:

Julian and Megan didn’t get there until almost 7 so dinner was a little later than usual… Salmon with a Ginger Wasabi Glaze for Rosy the Pescaterian, and little lamb t-bones for the meat eaters:

For our only full day, off to Smith Rock we went – no, not my idea. Really, hiking? Me? I did actually manage to get down to the river and back, but I passed on the longer route the rest of the folk took.

Needless to say, this place it set up for hiking…and rock climbing:

Man I love my 18x zoom lenses. Since I headed one way (on a shorter trail) and the kids took the longer route – I moved the car to pick them up at the other parking lot.

Tonight’s dinner is a brazil-nut encrusted rock fish for Roxy with a spicy wasabi drizzle, and a couple of racks of pork ribs for the carnivores… It’s really nice to have Julian in the crowd – he’s a great cook and takes most of the load off me.

The breakfasts were rosemary challah French toast with South Park Blackberry Syrup (yes, I ate the carbs) with sausages, and the final breakfast was a eggs scramble with a side of bacon for everyone except for Roxy – no cheese, no bacon.

Check-out time is noon, and waiting for a load of dishes to get done put up right at that mark… back on the road again, this time with stops in Portland to drop off a book, and then to finally get to a Burgerville for my fix:

Yes, that is a Pepper Bacon Tillamook Cheeseburger with a glass of Merlot. Be warned – this might be the only Burgerville that serves beer and wine.

Got back home around 7 with Xander and Roxy staying for a couple of drinks to wind down from the road trip.

Guess it’s time to plan some more travel….

[213.0]

Thu
17
Jul '14

Trip Report: Whistler With Roxy.

Roxy goes back to college at The Evergreen State College in the fall, and left both of his jobs at the beginning of the summer to have one last fling before academia. With that in mind I’ve booked us three nights in the WorldMark Whistler Creekside – a one-bedroom plus.

Roxy’s bedroom – albeit meant for children:

My bedroom was meant for the adults:

Not a bad view – and this was taken before they came and whacked down some of the closest trees for an even better view:

We got to the place about 3:30 after stops in Squamish at the liquor store for wine and cider, and Nesters for groceries. The room was ready and I think I’ve even had this room before since it’s on the third floor – but that’s the entrance floor. Room was at the end, close to the back door for convenient parking.

Since Roxy is a PescaTerian, it’s fish rather than fowl for dinner – halibut with salsa to be exact, along with a nice salad:

In the morning it is up and out – according to what I have read, the 7th Heaven Express lift has limited hours. A little breakfast and out the door with the first stop be Guest Services to pick up our lift tickets – if you book 5 days in advance, you get a discount (which pretty much pays for the tax) and a second day free –which is a huge discount. Basically it works out to $25 a day for unlimited mountain top rides, but only one time up the mountain. We were in line behind some nice German boys:

What I discovered over the two days on the mountain is that Whistler/Blackcomb is truly an international destination. German, Italian, French, Kiwi, Spanish, you name it.

Our first ride is up the Whistler Gondola:

That takes you to the Roundhouse Lodge where we caught the Peak-to-Peak to get to Blackcomb.

The Peak-to-Peak is the world’s longest gondola run at 1.88 miles. From there we caught the bus to the 7th Heaven Express. So weird to see people waiting in line half in and half out of ski gear – I prefer the half out:

The bus was crowded since the lift had only opened half an hour earlier. Figure half tourists, half ski/snowboard.

Here is a selfie with Roxy on the open-air lift:

A beautiful day to be in the mountains. And from the top, which is 7,494 feet….

And the ski-bowl, which is open until July 27th this year:

Complete with skiers doing aerial tricks:

After hanging around for a bit, it was time for a little snack:

That would be the ham and cheese melt on a big slab of multi-grain bread, a shot of cognac (which hits you like a ton of bricks at that altitude), and my “water bottle” filled with Whiskey and Diet which lasted me all day – got to keep hydrated. As for Roxy – just a can of cider, he’s not much of a mid-day eater.

We caught the bus back down and grabbed the Peak-to-Peak back to Whistler and set off for the summit via a .37 mile hike (elevation change 180 feet) and yet another open-air chair lift. Whistler Summit is 7,807 feet in elevation and needless to say has stunning view.

Just to give you a feel of the ride down – several people have commented….no way in hell!

We decided to take the Solar Express to Blackcomb Base Camp since it looks on the map like it will be closer to the Free Day Lot (Lot Number 4) where we parked. We saw a black bear on the way down, but I didn’t get a good picture of it. For this ride on the Peak-to-Peak, we waited for one of the two glass-bottom cars:

The downside of these cars is that you have to wait for them rather than immediately getting on one of the regular ones, there are not as comfortable (i.e. you can’t put your feet up), and most importantly they are stuffed with other people.

Back at the condo – it’s another fish night, this time was a slab of grilled salmon with grilled eggplant – did I mention the condo had a grill?

A quiet evening for the boys…a little whipped by the altitude.

Up the next day – not as early since we’ve already done the summit with the early closing time – today is all about hiking – yes, I used that word. Granted, we are only doing the “Green” trails, not the “Blue”, and god-forbid, the “Black” trails. But nonetheless, yes, I’m hiking. Here is the hiking trail map.

We did one hike on each of the mountains, coming up the Solar Express from Blackcomb Base Camp in the morning. The first hike was the Spearhead Walk, which was .74 miles long with an elevation change of 55 feet. Twice the trail passed over the downhill run from 7th Heaven:

Lots of great views of the valley between the two mountains on our little hike:

After our first hike of the day, it was back onto the Peak-to-Peak to hit the Alpine Walk on Whistler. This one is .96 miles long with an elevation change of 213 feet. More great views, just no great pictures.

With that hike done it as time for a late lunch at Christine’s back on Blackcomb – onto the Peak-to-Peak we go….Christine’s is the fancy sit-down restaurant and I thought we should treat ourselves. It’s also a great way to avoid parents with children. My expectation was OK food and that you are really paying for the view….but first… cocktails:

Manhattan for me, Blueberry Margarita for Roxy. As for lunch, Roxy had the hot ahi tuna sandwich with arugula and black truffle aioli and I went for the pound of steamed mussels:

We shared bits and both were EXCELLENT – one of the best meals that I’ve had in YEARS. The bill? $88 CAN not including tax for the two entrees and three drinks. Any yes, the view was STUNNING as well:

It was after 4 by the time we were done with lunch, and time to head back down the hill.

Today there were four black bears out foraging for huckleberries – and I got a nice little video of one of them:

On the way back, we stopped at the new grocery store (Creekside Market) in Creekside Village where the condo it. I hadn’t been to this one, it’s only been open since the Winter Olympics in 2010 where Creekside was at the bottom of the downhill run.

We found a great selection of sausages – salmon sausages for Roxy, lamb for me.

Well after dinner, Roxy found some playmates down the hill – and me, I had another drink and went to bed.

Off before 11 in the morning as I have to been Susan at the Costco in Burlington to pick up some more bindery equipment that she is getting rid of – that after an easing short line at Customs after our trip to Duty Free (2 liters of Dark Rum for Dark and Stormy’ s since I still have some of the Reeds Ginger Brew). Roxy still needs to apply for Nexus so that when we go to Cabo San Lucas in September that he has Global Entry.

Both of us got a ton of sun on this trip…. 5 hours with the top down on the way up, 5-7 hours each day on the mountain, another 5 on the way home.

It was nice to switch off driving on the way home. Speaking of home, got there at 4pm after dropping Roxy off at his place in the old brewery.

And my next house guest was patiently waiting for me – he’d arrived yesterday. Luckily I have a lock box with a key in it for such emergencies.

[? ? ?]

 

Fri
19
Jun '15

Trip Report: Whistler, BC, Round One

This spring seems to be the spring of repeated trips…three trips to Hawaii, and now two trips to Whistler. That’s what happens when you buy a season Peak-2-Peak pass early because it comes with a $10 Gift Card for food/stuff on the mountain.

Yes, Mark Stephen Souder bought a summer long pass to go “hiking” in a resort 5 hours from Seattle. Well, it was cheaper than two single day passes. And with all the trips that Roxy an I took on this trip we got it down to less than $5 per Gondola ride – and with the summer pass I can come down to the village for a decent cocktail for a late lunch since Christine’s on Blackcomb is closed for renovation this summer.

Bur first, Roxy and I have to get there….

I sort of like this “road shot”. Cheap (far right), medium cheap (me, in the center), and really expensive (left). That would be the Audi R8, $120,000 MRSP.

It’s basically 5+ hours from Seattle to Whistler with small stops – found a new thing I want to check out a new place I saw a sign for…Railway Heritage Park in Squamish. Up the road from the Britannia Mine Museum – which I’ve done and would do again.

But no stops for us other than gas (south of the border), duty free, the border itself, and then into the condo.

This is what it looks like after we are settled into the condo – granted, this was the morning after a lovely fish dinner (fried breaded sole) after we arrived:

.

And here is a sketch that Roxy did of me that morning….

We have three nights here, and full day one (Tuesday) is spent just exploring the Village and hanging out. Like picking up our left ticket (Roxy) and my season pass (Me) for tomorrow. Want to rent a car:

$500 a day. We decide lunch in the village was a better choice, and cheaper, though not by much:

Tonight’s dinner was broiled Halibut and salad – we are both watching our weight. Not sure WHY I have no pictures of any of the food on this trip.

In the morning we are up in the air on the Gondolas, one three running at the moment – Fitzsimmons for the Mountain Bikers (cute), and the Whistler Gondola – and, of course, the Peak-2-Peak.

That is actually a winter map…the summer trail map is here – the former, better at giving you topology, the later, more realistic for our summer hiking…

Except that ALL the hiking trail are closed for snow, and there is no skiing even on the 7th Heaven Run, which was running until mid-July last year, so Roxy and I just go back and forth on the Peak-2-Peak (5 round trips).

The Peak-2-Peak is really pretty amazing…..

And here is a quickie video….

Even with the trails not open, it is still a stunning view….

On the Blackcomb side, Woz from New Zealand remarks about how many times he has seen up today…got to get that $50 ticket to under $5 a ride!

There is food on the mountain – even if Christine’s on Blackcomb, home of stunning mussels and amazing Manhattan’s is closed for the season for remodeling – it’s Pulled Pork Poutine and Merlot for me!

Roxy had the Quinoa Vegie Burger (and thankfully shared my fries):

Even without the table service and good cocktails, the view was stunning….

But after a few runs across the mountains you start getting silly…..

Who travels with a Santa Hat – someone who wants a Christmas Card Photo in the snow…

Was horizontal, now vertical, eyes closed, might use the one on the gondola….Roxy, on the other hand decided to do Yoga on the Peak-2-Peak. Just FYI, we usually waited to have a car to ourselves (email me for the OTHER pictures:

Since Roxy is into Environmental and Business stuff at The Evergreen State College, when we saw this right under the Peak-2-Peak Gondola, it required research….

The whole story is here: http://blog.whistlermuseum.org/tag/cheakamus-dam/

And the diagram of how it works is…

Geeks in the woods. Eating fish every night. And not even sitting by the pool.

Left Thursday morning around 10, or was it 11. Swung through Duty Free which probably saved us 15-20 minutes wait since Roxy doesn’t have a Nexus card (gets you through the border in the equivalent of the HOV lane) – and I needed Rye Whiskey ($34 after 10% discount for being a Nexus member, take another 20% off for the exchange rate for two 1.14 liter bottles).

Home late afternoon after getting stuck in an hour delay getting through Seattle. After all the fish for the last three days – it was a steak for dinner:

Now I just need some red wine – Roxy isn’t drinking so no wine with dinner for the last three days. Very uncivilized.

But I’m home and back to the non-wine-cellar…

[222.2]

Mon
16
Oct '06

Fall Hits Lopez

The temperature is cool, the leaves are falling, it is fall on the lovely Isle de Lopez. Time to write those cranky letters to the Seattle Symphony in advance of tomorrows Visiting Orchestra concert by the Kirow Orchestra from St. Petersburg.

Fall 2006 on Lopez Island, Washington

On just in time for fall — the postman delivers an unexpected present. Apparently I’m the First Prize Winner in the Bulleit Bourbon Outdoor Adventure contest — not the grand prize, which I think was a cool mountain bike, but a damn fine OGIO backpack (http://www.ogio.com/product.php?product=126) in black with the Bulleit Bourbon logo on it in orange. Now if I could just remember what I wrote!

Bulleit Bourbon branded OGIO Metro backpack

 

Wed
9
Apr '08

Thanks, Dad.

Just a thank you to my father for introducing me to flying at an early age, and how to behave. I know that sounds silly, but that’s what I was thinking while I was joking with the flight attendants on the SLC (Salt Lake City) to SEA (Seattle) Delta flight. This is the part of travelling that I like, sitting around reading, listening to music or wathcing movies — while people keep my drink filled and my tummy full. And, oh what an exciting/stressful flight day. After a decent day of work at the SOB warehouse, it was off to the airport at 3:30 for a 5:27 flight. Make that a 6:10pm flight now set to arrive at 9:19pm in SLC — that would be the EXACT time that my connecting flight was due to land. First you stress out. Then you realize if you are stuck in SLC that there are no hotel rooms because of a convention. Then you just accept what fate has in store for you.

In my case, fate was VERY, VERY good to me. We actually left the gate at the new time (and not later), and the pilot got a more direct flight path since the storms over Oklahoma weren’t as bad as planned. Add the two of these together and we were at the gate at 8:45pm after a lovely beef steak dinner with mashed potatoes, slightly overcooked squash, nice salad with dicon radish garnish. I figured if there was a chance I was sleeping on the floor that I’d best have a big meal. Didn’t but nibble at the chocolate decadence also on the plate — I am still watching the weight. The only scale on this trip was in Dan and Lisa’s bathroom and I didn’t think it appropriate to bust in naked in the mornings. Woodford Reserve was the bourbon of choice since the scotch was Dewars. And speaking of Woodford, I beleive that is part of my Kentucky Bourbon and Ponies tour later this month.

Home in time to watch most of the evening news, and only a $23 cab ride with tip.

[no scale]