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Sat
1
Sep '18

Trip Report: Kansas City

The trip didn’t come off as planned. I made it, but DancingBear had to cancel at the last minute since his dog Buster just got out of surgery the afternoon of the day before we were slated to leave. Buster went under the knife to remove a cup of pea gravel covered in BBQ hamburger drippings. I’m sure it tasted great going down, but not so much in his tummy:

Not only painful to Buster, but painful for DancingBear:

Ouch – but at least he is home and one the mend…

Meanwhile, I’m headed to Kansas City…and while at the airport, saw one of Alaska’s newest liveries, the SubPop plane…

Which also shows you the smoke from wild fires raging in BC, WA, OR, CA – seems that we are getting smoke from all of them. As seen from above:

One of the sad things about DancingBear having to cancel his part of this trip is that there is no one to swap almonds and walnuts for cashews with in First Class (I like the cashews, the almonds, not so much).

Was served a lunch from Alaska’s new “trendy” menu. For some reason they thought I’d pre-ordered the fruit and cheese plate – silly people:

Got to see an interesting view on the landing in Kansas City – the NASCAR speedway on the Kansas side of the border.

Knew it was there, but hadn’t seen it from the air before.

DancingBear had arranged a rental car, but no DB, no car. I texted my buddy Paul before I left, and he was able to be my chauffeur for the visit – with our first stop at a grocery/liquor store in North Kansas City, where they had Verners, but I didn’t really need a twelve pack (or the Yoohoo next to it):

Got checked in at the 21st C at The Savoy Art Hotel, and after a little juggling, got the two queens changed to a king bed on an upper floor. Love the “Do Not Disturb” door hangers!

Maybe I should have stuck with the two beds…would have made for a bigger room.

Live and learn. Nice, but not sure worth $250 a night (though I got a 21% introductory discount which barely covered the 19% Kansas City Lodging Tax).

After she got off work, we grabbed Gail and headed off to CharBar we went. Nothing like starting the trip with BBQ (and a Manhattan)!

Paul and Gail split a couple of things, starting with the grilled jack fruit burger (vegetarian):

And the Fruits and Roots salad:

 

I went for the Pickled Pig sandwich (deep fried pickles and cole slaw):

 

And though we were all full – we split the peach bread pudding – which was stunning:

 

Gail dropped Paul and I off at The Green Lady Lounge for a little after dinner jazz, but to be honest, from all the food, we made it through a couple of songs and a drink and grabbed Uber’s back home.

It’s one of my favorite spots for jazz in KC – just wish I’d had more energy.

Back at the hotel, I found this wandering in my hallway….

Apparently, penguins are “a thing” at the 21st C hotel chain.

The next day brought BBQ with Wendy in Lawrence at Bigg’s BBQ (the favorite of my friend Nita):

I went “small” with the three pulled pork sliders since we have 7pm reservations at The Savoy Grill:

Paul had some massive sandwich thing:

For Wendy, the burnt ends with cole slaw and fries you get two sides, but if you do it right you can end up with four between two people because the big sandwiches come with one AND endless fries:

Paul dropped me at the hotel so I could get a quick nap (which didn’t happen – worked instead), and Gail showed up at six for wine and cocktails in the room before dinner, which we made, and then headed out to check out the modern art on the first and second floor of the hotel (which is open to the public as well):

Even art in the meeting rooms:

My favorite piece in the “Refuge” exhibit:

Then we were off to The Savoy Grill (after returning our drink glasses to the room):

The view from Booth Number 4: The President’s Booth – and of cocktails:

Me: Martini, Gail: Bee’s Knees, Paul: I’ve totally forgotten!

Next up, the cheese plate:

Check out the “retro” dishware:

For drink round two, I switched from a Gin Martini (in honor of Pucci), to a Manhattan:

Paul got a Chocolate Martini (which he had at The Green Lady Lounge as well), Gail, the Kat’s Kimono:

Then the mains and sides started coming…prime rib for me:

Pasta Primavera for Gail (housemade pasta):

Salmon for Paul:

And sides of green beans almandine and creamed corned (which was pretty much mashed fresh corn):

For dessert, the profiteroles!

To go with my Benedictine and Double Espresso – and no, they didn’t let me light the cigar:

In the morning, I tried the room service (and in the restaurant) Biscuits and Gravy (same price as the restaurant [$14] and only a $3 delivery charge)

I was underwhelmed…A) salad with breakfast? B) the biscuit was more dense than fluffy, which had they split it, the gravy would have worked better.

To wrap up the visit to The Savoy, some random shots of the hotel, restaurant, and bar:

Check out was 11am (which I find annoying, but better than 10am). Paul grabbed me from the hotel, and we were off to lunch at The Nelson-Atkins Gallery:

Spent a little time seeing art….

Next stop, the airport – and fortunately, the gift shop was closed, or I might have been tempted by these two t-shirts for Kathy:

And onto the plane for dinner on the way home…

Complete with a couple of cases of BBQ sauce!

Another week, another trip.

[226.2]

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Fri
16
Jan '15

Trip Report: Out Of BBQ Sauce – Off To Kansas City.

While not entirely the reason for the quick trip to Kansas City, it certainly is ONE of the reasons. The other was that it was on an Alaska Flash Sale a month ago and I picked it up for $156.20 – something on the order of half price. Alaska tends to do their Flash Sales every Wednesday from 11-1PM West Coast Time. This might be the one I bought while in Mexico while on a land excursion touring wineries. Thank goodness for T-Mobile and free data roaming in over 120 countries.

Oh, what a difference a week makes in flying. You can’t even see the North Concourse (or the end of the C Concourse) the fog is so soupy.

Luckily all Alaska Airlines planes are equipped with Required Navigation Performance (which I talked about in my last post) which means all the flights out of Sea-Tac on Alaska are on-time:

Got an upgrade on the way out to Seat 1D, across the aisle from my favorite seat on the plane, 1C. Reason? You are the second person to get your cocktail and there is no one in front of you to put their seat down, and since it’s an aisle, it’s easy to make a bathroom run.

A nice little sandwich on the way to Kansas City – along with a Digi-Player, which I wasn’t expecting:

Got into KC, and Gail was there to pick me and all my bags up.

  • Porter case filled with clothes, bourbon and wine.
  • Wine shipper filled with Adams All-Natural Peanut Butter which they can’t get in Kansas City.
  • My backpack with electronics

A lot of junk for a two-night trip.

Paul has a conference tonight so Gail and I head over to the Kansas side of the border to check out RJ’s BBQ as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (not sure which category it falls into). We just hit the end of Happy Hour so drinks were $3 and appetizers $3.95 – Where can you get a Kettle One martini for $3 or was it $5, either way, when he couldn’t find any olives (or a martini glass, or vermouth), he just brought me a double Ketel on the rocks:

And he did find some olives – the previous shift hadn’t restocked. Onion rings in the background (so-so).

Started with onion rings (so-so, not house-dipped), corn fritters (really good – chunks of corn inside, definitely house-made), and the Bison empanadas (tasty, which a zingy dipping sauce), and then I moved onto a real meal:

Ribs with a side of slaw. They serve their ribs dry, but have several different sauces (3?). That was enough food for the evening (and for lunch the next day). You can find the whole menu HERE. There are other things on the menu I’d like to try, like the Jalapeno Sausage (ground pork butt mixed with diced jalapenos, rolled up in corn husks & smoked. Served with flour tortillas, Dijon mustard & barbecue sauce – 5.95) and the Gumbo of the Day (A Cajun-spiced soup made with rice, okra and our smoked sausage. Ask your server for the variation of the day Cup – 4.45 Bowl – 6.45).

After that meal I took a several hour nap when I got back to the condo – also feeling under the weather with a sort of cold, and then with their cat, waking up at midnight for night-caps with Paul after his conference. Reminded me of when I got off work on Sunday night I came home and went straight to bed, postponing dinner until later.

Slept until noon which is when Gail showed up with the car for me to borrow so I could go off and run some errands and get some culture after polishing off the ribs and slaw:

Stop number one – Gates and Sons sauce factory, across the street from one of their restaurants.

I finally got to meet Tina Starr who I’ve chatted with and emailed over the years. Sweet woman:

Not only did she ship my last case which Nita didn’t have time to pick up – FOR FREE, she gave me all sorts of sample bottles:

18oz. standard-size bottle on the left, a 3.1oz. bottle labeled “Fly With Me” and then the tiny 2oz. size. She gave me 5 of the “Fly With Me” and 24 of the sampler size. Maybe these should go in the wine club shipments!

Next up was Arthur Bryants for another case of sauce – I had Paul ship me one in November, but I’m out at home so when in Rome (or Kansas City, which is number two in the world behind Rome for public fountains) grab it while you can.

Errands done, time for a little culture in the form of the Liberty Memorial – apparently the only World War One museum in the US. It’s kind of funny that the park grounds surrounding the museum were the notorious gay cruising grounds in the 70s and 80s.

While you can’t see it too well, under the glass floored walkway is a field of poppies –not unlike the field of poppies that has been making the news in London.

My one-word comment about the museum: Sobering. Great exhibits including an amazing multimedia rendition of life in the trenches when you feared mud as much as bullets.

I happened to show up on World War Wednesday, each Wednesday all tickets are just $7.00 no matter normal, senior, child. My lucky day, though it’s certainly worth the $14 retail price. Other parts of the museum include being able to go up in the tower (elevator, then 45 steps):

And if you are looking at the first picture of the museum, this is the building to the right of the tower:

After the museum I went off in search of mixers for the bourbon I brought and ended up at Berbiglia, a chain of liquor stores in Kansas City. One of the Berbilia boys actually owns Arthur Bryants (and is seriously cranky, and demands wholesale orders start at 10 cases). Didn’t find what I was looking for, but was seriously tempted to put this in the back of the car. Had I been in Seattle, it would have been gone, gone, gone:

Paul was done with his conference at 7:30 and off to Boling’s Chinese we went – conveniently located about two blocks from the condo. I had the Hui Style Lamb with Spices (had a coating like that of salt/pepper squid) with enough left over for tomorrow and we all shared some tofu fresh rolls (I would have gone for shrimp, but oh well). After getting back to the condo, Paul suggested a night cap at Harry’s Country Club:

One nightcap turned into 4. Various Chocolate Martinis for Paul, various Manhattans for me. Yet another late night. Luckily, Harry’s is only ½ a block from the condo.

Afternoon came early (slept in again trying to kick the cold/allergies), got packed (pulled the bottle dividers out of the wine shipper and slid the two cases of BBQ sauce in their place), and we were out the door for a lunch north of town on the way to the airport. Trezo Mare would be the name of the place. Paul had a lunch combo of the Pasta Alfredo with a side of Grilled asparagus ($11). I love that they can out with the Pasta and said that the asparagus would be coming in a minute, that the first set was on the grill too long – and the Alfredo had these wonderful looking with roasted tomatoes, broccolini, roasted garlic, etc. I had the condo of Fish Tacos (yes, in an Italian Restaurant) which was marinated tilapia, soft shell tacos, spicy aioli, marinated vegetables, Trezo hot sauce with a side of the Italian Slaw. Also good.

Got to the airport in PLENTY of time – it is me, after all. Kanas City suffers from an airport that was being built just as hijackers were starting to lift airplanes at gun point, and was designed for you to be about to park about 50 years from your gate. Here is a great Wikipedia reflecting on TWA’s Flawed Design. Funny that they had a major role in the design and then when times changes they wanted the city to rebuilt it (to which the city said no, and TWA moved its hub to Saint Louis.

No upgrade on the way home – I was number one on the list until about 15 minutes before the flight, then I was suddenly number two. Considering how I felt at the moment, sleeping in seat 6D (bulkhead) is fine for me.

Came home, had a nap (just like Sunday), then got up and cooked dinner.

Home again, home again, at least for a bit. Next week brings company to town.

[228.6] OUCH.

Sun
9
Oct '16

City Report: Lunch At Loretta’s and The Space Needle

In the city for a week – and company is in town! Now where to go – for guests who used to live here. Can’t believe we had dinner Sunday night and I don’t have pictures.

But Tuesday, we headed for a quick lunch we headed to Loretta’s Northwesterner for lunch for me, soup for Gail (which came with my Lunch Special), coffee for Paul:

The soup was a Cream of Broccoli which wasn’t overly thickened had lots of celery, and I had the panko-breaded chicken cutlet burger. Both GREAT!

Wednesday lunch was the Prime Event – Paul said they wanted to have lunch on their last day in town, “somewhere with a water view.”

I made a reservation at the Space Needle Restaurant. Great views (and it turned out to be a sunny day), and while the ride to the observation level is $22, for a $25 minimum lunch spend at the restaurant, you get a free ride up, AND access to the observation deck AND a free digital photo from your meal. This would be ours:

For those of you who don’t know, the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, and these days looks like this:

The lower section is an event space.

Did I mention that it rotates? Here are some lunch shots:

And views….North – the horseshoe buildings are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation buildings with Lake Union to the top.

East towards Bellevue with downtown Seattle to the right (more like Southeast):

South to downtown – cloud cover over Mount Rainier:

Southwest over Puget Sound:

49 minutes to rotate – but first we need drinks!

We DID NOT order the Millionaire Martini at $250! I started with the Seattle Sazerac (Paul and I), and then after dinner the Woodinville Manhattan for me:

We all spent WAY over the $25 – but think of it like a $22 off coupon! Round one for me – Razor Clam Chowder, salads for Paul and Gail:

Round two – Penn Cove Mussels with Chorizo – I was feeling the need for seafood, the Dungeness Crab Melt for Paul, and Gail had the Roasted Cauliflower Flatbread:

Paul got a little Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert, not on the list, but provided (and shared by all) while I had my Manhattan:

What I realized when we went up one floor to the observation deck is that every view had wire, rather than windows:

Finally, it was time to go down to ground level:

Since the $25 minimum includes food AND drinks – literally, you could sit at the table, nurse two cocktails for two hours (the maximum dining time allowed) during lunch hours, and meet the minimum. As Gail said, “well, lunch was less than our insurance deductible for the rental car that we scratched and we were expecting to pay for – but they said it was nothing.”

Fun in the city.

216.4]

Fri
27
Nov '15

Trip Report: Kansas City

Falling in the category of “no justice in this world” would be a recent fortune cookie fortune:

Guess it’s time to go to Kansas City to pick up some BBQ for the store, hang with some friends, listen to jazz.

With me running late (for me) and my flight leaving from the North Satellite at Sea-Tac, I got to check out the new Alaska Airlines Board Room location:

Small – but it will do until 2017 when the whole terminal is renovated and they add gates and move the club to the roof.

It was great to be leaving this:

But it’s pretty above the clouds:

And in seat 1A, free entertainment:

No photo of lunch, but it was the turkey ensalade capresse warm sandwich of other trips. And more funny bits of reading material:

Lots of that arranged for Kansas City!

Dinner with Paul and Gail the first night around the part of town the old Subs Pub was located at Café Trio. Interesting drink menu:

I started with the Fig Manhattan before moving onto the Rosemary and Maple Whiskey Sour – Gail went with the White Icicle:

And for my dessert, something with a little Foie Gras:

It was pretty, but the little roll things needed to be room temperature, not chilled.

Gail headed back to Greenwood (their “summer residence”) where they have taken the cat to make my visit easier and Paul and I headed to The Green Lady, a 7-day-a-week jazz bar – and it was amazing. Not often to you see a trio composed of vibes, Hammond B-3, drums:

And here is a little of the music:

And, of course, a couple of more Manhattans:

The nice thing about staying with Paul is that we BOTH sleep in super late – so that breakfast was actually LUNCH at Arthur Bryant’s. Paul had the pulled pork/beef combo sandwich:

I went for the “Pig On A Bun”:

After lunch, bought two cases of Arthur Bryant’s Original BBQ Sauce for the shop, then we swung by Gates to pick up a case of their original sauce – and the trunk shows it:

Tonight’s gathering is at Harry’s Country Club where the gang plans to meet.

Oddly enough I didn’t get ANY pictures of all eight of us gathered in a little mini-reunion. Paul and Gail from Kansas City, Phil, Diane, Byron, Vicki, and Retta from Lawrence – I was amazed that the Lawrence folks would drive over for a mid-week dinner.

I DID get pictures of my lunch the next day back at Harrys – the pastrami sandwich lunch special with potato salad:

No cocktails for me at lunch, just iced tea – but if I wanted whiskey – man do they have a selection!

Before you know it, it’s time to load up for the airport, and my return trip – just A LITTLE luggage:

Yep – it was easier to use a cart to get it all down stairs.

No upgrade for the way home – I was number 11 on a list of 27 – on a THURSDAY! At least I got one of the 4 empty seats between me and a MVP Gold 75K flier in the window:

And with the complimentary cocktail when I don’t get upgraded:

Whippet picked me up at the airport (handy with all that luggage!) so I took him to an old-school Seattle institution, The Thirteen Coins. Must be a theme…. Pastrami for lunch, Ruben for dinner. Actually, we both had the Rueben, mine with a Manhattan side:

A quick,but fun, trip back home.

[215.4]

Sun
8
Oct '17

Trip Report: Post Birthday Kansas City

Without fail, the weeks around my birthday always involve travel. Not that it’s much different from the rest of the year. This week is a couple of nights in Kansas City.

It ain’t first, but it comes with sugar coated Smurfs!

And free booze…

Didn’t get into KC until almost 6pm. Drop my bags and head for BBQ!

Yes, you can get a Manhattan in a BBQ Joint (Q39). We got the onion straws (above), and split a Triple Threat (sausage, pulled pork, pork belly, apple coleslaw, zesty BBQ sauce, toasted bun).

It was the perfect amount of food (for once!) You can’t see from the photos, but you couldn’t swing a rib without hitting a manbun in this place.

Back to the condo for a little work (for Paul) before heading out for the 10:40pm show (yes, me) at the Green Lady Lounge…via Kansas City’s FREE Light Rail (the residents within half a mile of the track pay for it to the tune of $200 a year).

And hot guys doing tricks on the car:


Into the lounge we go!

Chocolate Martini and Manhattan!

Here is a clip from the first night….

It was 1:30AM when we took Uber back to the condo, luckily $6.35 down the same road:

After a late night, it WAS NOT an early morning. Paul rousted me at 11:30 so that we could leave for Lawrence (Kansas) at noon (which turned out to be 12:30) for lunch with Wendy.

We are at Genovese, which is an Italian place. With a full bar!

The food was good, too!

I napped in the car while Paul drove us back to Kansas City for drinks and dinner with Gail – starting at a distillery.

Next up is dinner at the Grand Street– which sounds sidewalk, but is definitely upscale:

And really great food…my pork chop:

Gail’s pasta:

Paul’s salmon:

And the schedule repeats itself after Gail heads back to their country place to take care of the cat they removed from the condo for my visit. I “sort” of feel sorry, but it’s nice to not have to huff pink pills to breath.

Back to the condo so Paul can work a bit, before we hit the jazz club again – this time Ubering since it’s raining.

Different B-3 Organ Trio tonight…

And a shot of the club itself:

And a little clip from tonight:

Another night up until close to 2AM – at least tonight we got the bed made (last night I just slept in my clothes on the couch):

The morning, shall I say afternoon, found us headed to Gates & Sons for BBQ sauce for the shop (I hit Bryants yesterday):

Sadly, my usual contact, Tina Starr, was still on vacation, but still managed to grab my case.

Luckily, my flight is early evening, so we have enough time to pop by the Nelson-Atkins to see a little Thomas Hart Benton. Thanks to Ace at the front desk, I discover works I’ve never seen before that were hidden in the Atkins Auditorium:

And here is some detail:

And then onto the Benson’s in the rest of the gallery, the most famous:

And my personal favorite:

A wing by the condo to finish packing, and a swing by The Savoy Hotel, being renovated by 21st Century Hotels. I grew up having my birthday dinners in The Savoy Grill, and when I used to come to KC on business, I’d stay at a B&B that was renovating the Savoy Hotel room-by-room with a STUNNING breakfast menu from the Grill. They are doing a complete restoration:

Yes, that says 1888.

Got to the airport, had some sliders at the Boulevard Brewing outlet in the airport….

Endured a non-TSAPre line…

And hopped into my overcrowded “Premium” class seat for the return home:

Thank you, Alaska, for the free DigiPlayer when I told them this was my final flight to make MVP Gold 75K!

And the free cocktails help too.

[225.0]

Sun
4
Oct '20

Trip Report: Birthday Trip To Kansas City

Spent part of last week in Kansas City visiting my birth town (technically, one city over – Independence).

The usual Caesar (a Canadian bloody Mary made with Clamato)…the lounge does a great job with these:

Smoke is less than my flight a couple of weeks ago:

Food choices have improved a bit – there is a breakfast sandwich offered in addition to the fruit and cheese plate.

Still wish it was a warm sandwich.

Using points to stay at the La Quinta Midtown – it’s a little less than two years old and quite nice:

And a TON of outlets and USWB charging ports:

Desk has two USB and four 110 outlets.

Night stand has three USD and five 110 outlets. Wish ALL hotel were this equipped.

Off to Paul and Gail’s place for dinner. The next day Paul and I met up to have a little BBQ at Arthur Bryants…

We got it to go – and Paul found us an overlook to go with the gorgeous day:

Kansas City is full of green park areas. This one happened to be across the street from my buddy Chas Nol used to live YEARS ago.

Truly wonderful weather for my visit.

The photo was taken from the portion of the park with “cultural interest”.

Lots of take-out food this trip, though I generally think home-prepared food is fine, but you go with the comfort level of your host. I got the Roasted Beet Salad with Gorgonzola, in the the cup is escargot in a wonderful broth.

Besides hanging out with friends, the main purpose of the trip is to pick up a couple of cases of BBQ sauce. One from Gates (easy),

Gates will sell to my wholesale even though we only order a case a year. After picking up the case, went across the street to the restaurant and was surprised that they weren’t serving pork at that location. That is their inner city location, guess pork has gotten too expensive for the neighborhood. Had my sandwich at another of Kansas City’s many parks:

Bryants which took three visits and still no sauce will sell a case at a discount in the restaurant, but seems the restaurant was out. They had six the first day I showed up (which wouldn’t have gotten the discount, third visit, they were completely out. On Tuesday they said Thursday. On Thursday they said Friday after 11:30 – and then 1:30 when I arrived at 11:30. I ended up going over to Costinini’s Market at buying it at retail, which will screw our margins at the shop. Just what I want to do curbside – packing glass bottle of BBQ sauce in a wine shipper I used on the way out.

The important thing is that I got to hang out with Paul and Gail, Gail and I went to Lawrence to visit Wendy for a picnic lunch on the lawn with wine hidden in juice bottles. Felt like high school again!

A little plane spotting at the airport…lots of planes in storage:

Soon enough I was back in the air…

Sadly, it just isn’t really as fun as it used to be. That said, I still have a couple of more quick trips between now and the end of the year.

[227.0]

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Sun
15
Sep '19

Trip Report: Kansas City Quickie

This picture should explain how I felt the morning of this trip:

Apparently, so did the guy in the fourth row.

A quick trip to Kansas City since we are running out of Arthur Bryant’s BBQ Sauce, and they won’t sell and ship to me wholesale, but if I show up at the restaurant they will give me a case discount.

It’s also a good excuse to visit friends.

Went straight from the airport with Paul to Lawrence to have dinner at Merchants with Wendy.

Inside of an old bank building, where the restrooms are in the old safe.

An interesting cocktail to start. In A Pickle was my choice:

Lots of appetizers split three ways:

And a split sandwich…Brussel sprouts and mac & cheese as sides:

And because Paul was there, dessert:

Got back to Kansas City around 9PM to meet up with Gail who had a meeting conflict with dinner…stayed up until 3AM (well, Paul and I) chatting away, catching up from a year between visits.

In the morning, it was coffee before heading to the Nelson-Atkins for lunch and art…

Gail left before Paul and I wandered around a bit, then took off for Arthur Bryants for a case of sauce.

A bit of a panic ensued…my plan was to pick up two cases of their sauce in plastic bottles – which they didn’t have I stock so I had to do glass. With plastic I could just slap a bag tag on it and check it. With glass we had to stop by Office Depot for bubble wrap and an exterior box. Total pain that doesn’t bode well for future purchases.

Not sure why they didn’t have it in plastic – found it in plastic behind security albeit at double the price I paid with the case discount.

A fun, but brief trip. There is the possibility of a March trip as a four night stay with Rache as it’s on his list of places to visit.

[220.4]

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Fri
7
Oct '22

Trip Reports: Caribbean and SoCal – Days Apart

Pardon the copy and paste, but a personal letter seems like a great dual post:

Spent my birthday in St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands doing absolutely nothing but eating and looking out at the sea. Here are a couple of representative pictures that I haven’t end had time to blog yet.

 ..
   
 

Lots of stairs, often called for the cart to haul me up the hill, since I was at the top. My unit was the lower protruding balcony, and the final shot is of Thursday when the rains came in heavy, and the power went out for 20 minutes while they got the generator running and switched back to island power about 4 hours later.

Got back the night before Will and Solus showed up to spend the night before heading off to Dublin on their honeymoon. Lovely dinner, and great to reconnect with Will on a more personal level. The next day we all went to the airport together, first picture below, in the lounge.

Then it was off to hang out with Paul in Yucca Valley, which is north and west of Palm Springs by about 45 minutes.

   

     

 

Paul and I have known our AirBnB host since she was a kid living at the Last Resort up in Hansville with her parents. Paul got the last car off the rental lot which is why we ended up with a muscle car. Host is also an accomplished accordion repairperson and performer, equestrian (hence the horses). $200 a night, but well stocked.

Couple of shots from our day trip to Joshua Tree.

To be honest, the back-to-back trips between chemo sessions was a little taxing.

Brother Jon showed up last night for a couple of nights before he goes off to India and Nepal for a month of “work”.

My next trip is to upstate New York to see a mansion that friends bought – that should yield some wild pictures for you.

Hope all is as well as it can be with you all.

Mark

Tue
27
Aug '13

A Full Day In “The Paris Of The Midwest”.

I ordered WAY too much food for breakfast:

From left to right:

  • smoked salmon with caviar and toast points
  • broiled lamb chops and oysters Rockefeller
  • lobster bisque

Talk about being full.

After breakfast it was off to pick up Obrad in the suburbs after a quick stop at WalMart for a package of black socks.

From the suburbs it was back to the Savoy Hotel to get Obrad checked in (even though it was like, noon). I had a couple of things to do before heading to Paul and Gails to drop off wine and pick up Paul for errands and BBQ. Here is Obrad with the wine in from of the Savoy:

I love the stained glass in their front windows.

First stop was up north – a bookstore for Obrad and a sporting goods store for me – then off to Arthur Bryants for some BBQ:

Then shopping for dinner – fresh salmon which I should have brought from Seattle at the price they were charging, but I don’t do farm raised. And since we were broiling the salmon with the door ajar – here is a trick to warm your bread at the same time:

And the final assembled dinner:

A fun dinner for seven: Paul, Gail, Clayt, Deanna, Wendy, Obrad and your truly.

Good food, good company, good wine, good conversation.

[? ? ?]

Tue
13
Mar '12

Arthur Bryants Here I Come.

Ugh. 6:30am. Maybe I should go back to bed for an hour and just park at the airport.

No. It’s out of the house and into the city to leave the car at the apartment and take light rail to the airport. Knowing it’s going to be 79 and sunny in Kansas City, no coat. Probably a mistake, but I’m to the airport before I realize I could have brought a light one and just taken it off in the airport and stuffed it into my garment bag. Oh well.

Through security quickly, and off to the Board Room where I notice this outside:

Yes, snow. Maybe that coat would have been a REALLY good thing. Oh well, I’m inside and warm, and a First Class seat awaits me for the trip to Kansas City.

Shortly after getting into Kansas City and Paul and Gail’s place, we are off to a Happy Hour at Harry’s Country Club. One of the Happy Hour specials that Paul had was a Black and Tan where the tan was hard cider. Looks nice:

Yes, we are dining outside and Paul is in shorts.

Next stop was a wine shop/wine bar/whiskey bar/whiskey shop… two floors, this is the “basement”:

And back at the house, one of my nemesis’s:

Conversation and then bed.

A long day in the air over.

[? ? ?] Was so sleeping I spaced out weighing myself this morning.

Tue
19
Jan '16

Trip Report: Return to Sacramento

Nothing like a $160.10 round-trip flight to get me motivated to travel – add complimentary upgrades to First in both directions and I’m in.

Staying with Jameson (faux-nephew) and his girlfriend Carolynn at their place a couple of blocks from old town Folsom. Got my own cat-free room – yes, the cat is the downside to the trip.

I had planned on hitting some wineries after meeting up with Paul the German CouchSurfer who is attempting to hitchhike from Vancouver, BC to New York City using NO CASH. I hosted him in Seattle last week, and it turned out we were in Sacramento at the same time so hooked up for lunch and dropped him at a freeway entrance as he was headed to Reno. And it turns out all the Placerville Wineries are closed on Tuesdays (some Wednesday to Sunday, most only weekends).

Lunch? Max’s Bar and Grill in Auburn – at the start of the Sierra foothills. For picking it at random (search restaurants, Auburn, CA – look for ones close to the highway) it turned out to be the best Rueben that I’ve had in years. Pair it with a Manhattan, and it was heaven. Paul and the Manhattan:

Said best Rueben in years:

Turns out the freeway entrance I wanted to put Paul on didn’t have any place to pull over so we backtracked an exit to one with a gas station – turns out it was also Downtown Old Auburn with not much traffic. He waited five hours and ended up hitchhiking in the dark. At least he made it to Reno – by 9:30pm.

I got to Jameson’s place before he did – but check out the “economy” rental car from Advantage Rent-A-Car – apparently the economy is very good in California if you get a Kia Sedona LX mommyvan as an economy car:

Cute house. Great food – the first night what started out as a pork loin turned into a Carolina-style pulled pork with a side of creamed yams and a salad – plus a couple of bottles of wine I brought.

Wednesday was the designated “winery” day. Slept in late to make up for the prior days up early, fortified myself with another Rueben at Deb’s Frosty in Diamond Springs, California. Not nearly as good but $7.50 rather than Max’s $15 (plus Manhattan).

And the sign has seen better days. Would be interesting to try other items on the menu, which seems to be half burger stand and half Tex-Mex food.

And now for the winery report:

One of the lesser known, but fascinating California winery regions is Eldorado County, an hour east of Sacramento. Unlike the bustling regions of Napa or Sonoma, these smaller regions offer inexpensive tastings fees (if any at all), and offer up some great wines and stunning scenery.

As you can see from the map, there are no shortage of wineries in Eldorado County, many of which are only open weekends. Most everyplace you stop in will have maps of the area, including special maps for the sub-AVAs of Fairplay and Placerville. It being a Wednesday afternoon, my choices were a little more limited so I hit two that were recommended (and next door to each other) and one (Miraflores) that I just stumbled upon.


While none of the wines from the three wineries I stopped at are available at the shop, this is more informational about off-the-beaten track wine regions.

First up was Windwalker Winery in the Fairplay area of El Dorado County California. They produce 9-10,000 cases of wine a year with 10% being estate fruit. Of that production, 1/3 are white wine varietals, including dry-style Albariño (unusual for California) and a Viognier (both tasty, but I bought the Albariño). If you are a Chardonnay fan, their Chardonnay won the prestigious Golden Bear award at the California State Fair (front and center in front of their other medal placing wines).


As you can see from the chalkboard, they have an extensive and varied production. I even had a chance to chat with Ben, their winemaker:


Some of the more interesting reds they had open were the Alicante Bouschet (another rare California varietal) and their Estate Fruit Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They also have several desert wines that I passed on. By the end of the tasting I’d had three whites/rosé and nine of the reds – yes, I was swirling, sipping and spitting.

Next up in the day’s adventure was Perry Creek Winery, which is just one long driveway away from Windwalker. Unlike Windwalker, most of their grapes are estate grown.


As with Windwalker, the major portion of their wines are red varietals (Chardonnay and Viognier being the two whites). I worked my way through them, finding the Zinfandels to my favorites – and oddly, the ZinMan Zin (which I bought) tastier than their Reserve Zinfandel. I ended up trying both the whites and half a dozen of the reds.


Last on the list for the day was Miraflores Winery, visually the most stunning of the bunch – no wander they have a full schedule of wine/food pairings, weddings, wine maker dinners.


For tasting they had your choice of six whites or rosé, and fifteen reds of which I sampled. With the exception of their Pinot Grigio and Misíon 1853, all of their wines are estate fruit grown on 50 cultivated acres


I really like their 2014 Barbara Rosé, along with their 2012 Méthode Ancienne – a traditional native yeast, foot-pressed Syrah. They used to invite people in to help with the stomp, but in recent years it’s just handled by the production workers. Other notable on the tasting menu were the 2014 Misíon 1853 – the first varietal planted in California in, you guessed it, 1853. Also deserving mention are their 2011 and 2012 Petit Sirah.

So, when you are travelling around the country, explore the less explored wine regions – when doing the research for this article I found a map for the wineries of Indiana – who knew.

Got back to the house before Jameson and Carolynn – but not enough time for a nap, just enough time to clear up email.

Another damn fine meal, this time with Eldorado County California wines (the Albariño and the ZinMan – taking the Syrah home with me). And while we are talking about the accommodations – said overly-friendly cat:

As usual, Carolynn heads to bed before Jameson and I, and no sleeping in for me in the morning – an 11:30 flight. But again, at least I’m in First.

And the flight comes with lunch – a yellow beat salad with focaccia (and cocktail):

Just another week in the air with Uncle Markie.

[215.6]

 

 

Mon
8
Aug '16

City Report: Time Off In The City, From Free To Pricey

So, its summer, which for me is no cheap bargain flights anywhere, so it’s time to explore the city. So over the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing tourist things with friends who are also free during the week.

Let’s work from Free to Pricey – though I visited these places in the reverse order.

Filson Factory Tour (FREE):

Filson is what Eddie Bauer used to be – the rugged outdoor ware company, albeit from the West Coast rather than the East Coast. Eddie Bauer has bounced around from corporate overlord to corporate overload, but Filson is still privately owned. But one thing is the same – they stand behind their product, even if your grandfather bought that jacket, they will repair it.

Here is great overview of Filson from Wikipedia: LINK HERE. Like most things, you start digging into it and although privately held, it’s held by the same folks who have Fossil and Shinola. On the upside, you should see the Filsons/Shinola bike which I don’t see on their site (or Shinolas) that had nice bamboo accents. There is still one in their showroom in Seattle – last time I asked the price I think it was upwards of a grand.

All of Filson’s production is done domestically for most of its flagship line of bags and heavy-weight jackets with a free small exceptions like dry bags (thick rubber bags for rafting, etc.) – belts, bags, all US production in Seattle, but their new line of more casual shirts I believe are outsourced/partnered to Levis (guess I’ll have to look at the “made in” tags on the next visit) but the one I looked at on the site said “imported”.

All that said, it was great to see high-end work being done in the middle of Seattle. Here are some shots. First the showroom:

And then the factory tour – with the “hottie” tour guide:

TONS of staff (ratio 4 staff to 1 customer) on the floor. Unfortunately the one item I wanted was only part of a package of a watch and books. Sigh. FYI – that “package” with the watch runs $1000. I just wanted the orange bandana! Tours are Tuesdays at 10am, Thursdays at 1:30pm– the meet on the THIRD floor, showroom is on the SECOND floor. It almost made me miss the tour!

Next up (in reverse order) is:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitors Center (FREE)

The Foundation is right across the street from EMP – The Experience Music Project, located at Seattle Center. Why not add it onto a visit to Seattle Center, The ChuckHooy Glass Abuse Garden, the Science Center, etc.

During opening hours it’s a self-guided tour – which is esthetically pleasing, but WORD heavy. Show up at 2pm for the guided one-hour tour. It still give you time to explore areas of interest in-depth, but give you a better overview of Uncle Bill’s work (no, I’m not his nephew, I’m just an ex-Microsoft employee).

Here are a couple of shots from the Visitor’s Center:

Because we need a “selfie” in this post – they had a photo booth:

Would have been nice to have some starving children in the background or something (just kidding).

And the final stop in this Seattle Tour is:

Experience Music Project – EMP ($25 but free for “North American Reciprocal Museum Association” Members)

This might be the hidden benefit for my “Pioneer” Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) membership. Last October I got a TAM membership to support the AIDSartAmerica exhibit which they were lead organizer. With the membership I got reciprocal privileges to The North American Museum Association and Museums West. Very amazing for a smaller regional museum – and that level of membership was $125 for a year, with half a dozen guest passes to the museum.

So far, during this year, I’ve gotten six entrances to EMP ($150), 4 entrances to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans ($54 soon to be 5 at $67.50), 1 entrance ($10.50 soon to be 2 at $21.00) to the New Orleans Museum of Art, 4 entrances into The Tacoma Art Museum ($60), 2 entrances into The Neon Museum in Las Vegas ($36), 2 entrances into the Georgia O’Keefe Museum ($24), Palace of Governors ($24), and New Mexico Museum of Art ($24). Round numbers: I’ve gotten $382.50 value out of my $125 – think about that they next time you are in a museum – check out their partners and get something than the other “basic” membership (caveat – some reciprocal memberships restrict benefits within 60 miles of your “home” museum, and some [like the Neon Museum] require BOTH member cards for two people, most do not). It’s nice to be able to give your “Guest of Mark Souder” pass to visitors in town especially for the EMP. Just like my National Parks Pass, I tend to favor smaller museums because they collect a larger chunk of the money.

But I digress (as usual) – we are talking about the Experience Music Project which started as Paul Allen’s dream to build a Jimi Hendricks Museum. The Hendricks family looked at the co-founder of Microsoft and wanted a whole wad of dough to aloe name to be uses – hence “The Experience Music Project” that holds Paul Allen’s’ collection of Jimi Hendricks memorabilia, his Sci-Fi (Paul’s, not Jimmi’s) collection, and rotating exhibits. It is in a Frank Gehry designed building that has the Seattle Monorail running through (but not stopping in) it. Here is the LINK to the background of the museum.

Let’s get to some pictures of the place!

Mr. Whippet and the EMP.

So, the Museum is split into sections – Guitars, Hendrix Nirvana and various other music-themed exhibits, and then there is the Horror, Fantasy, Infinite Worlds sections, plus a couple of areas for special exhibition – currently one on Star Trek (extra $5 upcharge) and the other “The World of Wearable Art (WOW)”. Here is a sampling of photos starting with Fantasy and a couple of costumes from The Wizard of Oz:

Then Science Fiction:

Then into Guitars:

And finally, wearable art:

By the end of the Museum I was feeling a little peckish – luckily there is a Wolfgang Puck Pop Kitchen & Bar – 50% off on food items for members and reciprocal members. Yahoo!

Time for a Manhattan and some parmesan fries.

Next time I go to the opera I might have to come here for an early dinner!

So there you have some free and not-so-free (unless you want to borrow my pass).

Safe travels everyone.

[215.0]

Sat
8
May '10

Need A New Toy?

Apparently Paul Allen is downsizing… look what is up for sale:

Click on the link for the full specs. Here is an edited version of what my buddy says about the question of downsizing I posed to him:

Hard to believe Fraser Yachts can’t even get the details right.  The boat in the picture is indeed “Tatoosh” (originally owned by none other than Craig McCaw), but it sure as hell DOES NOT have two heli-decks!  I traveled all over The Red Sea aboard this beauty — the most beautiful of Paul’s three — last year including portage in Sharm el-Sheik and Hurghada, Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan.  But, alas, Paul’s toys are not the only things he’s ridding himself of.  Not sure if it’s that he’s feeling mortal amidst his fight with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, or just over-extended, but this yacht joins the ranks of his 757 which is also on the market.  Oh, and he laid-off 25% of his helicopter pilots February 10th, followed three weeks later by 20% of his jet staff.  It’s all very odd.

I guess I’m not the only one cleaning out their garages (though his garage is MUCH bigger than mine).

Dinner tonight (lampchops) with Carlotta from Portland who was up in Tacoma visiting a mutual friend of ours who isn’t expected to make it through the summer.

Bummer.

[224.8]

Wed
30
Apr '08

Of Bar-B-Que and Paddleboats.

Kansas City, home to Bar-B-Que and Paddleboats in the same block.

Had lunch today at Winslow’s Slow BBQ in the City Market. $4.99 for the regular size pulled pork sandwich. Damn fine BBQ. Gots to love dem pickles on the side.

P1050498

My plans were to head to the Steamboat Arabia museum after lunch. I was there five years ago and it was a cool place, but when it came time to plunk down the $12.50, I just bought the hat pin ($3.00) instead.

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Plans tonight are for a potluck party at Paul and Gail’s place in the “Helping Hands” building in downtown Kansas City — their condo is the corner one on the top floor (closest to the center of the photo). Two bedroom, two bath. Nice. I went on-line and looked up the cost of the last unit available in the building — 1A — which is the unit closest to the center of the photo on the first floor (Paul and Gail are in 5A). Here is the link. $299,000 for 1352 sq ft.

Guess I’d better get the church sold before I look at anything else. And speaking of that, spoke to a real estate agent in Friday Harbor that I’ll meet with next week to get the listing started and hopefully the church sold and another 1000 permanent yearly WorldMark points in my account, plus a bundle of cash. Why is it that I always look at real estate where ever I go?

Tonight’s crew: Paul, Gail, Wendy, Rhonda, and Dottie. Well, and, of course, me. Maybe I’ll remember to get a group picture of us all.

[clueless, no scale, but my body wasn’t happy with me after yesterdays food intake]

Wed
14
Mar '12

Of BBQ And Opera.

Slept in WAY late because I had used the computer as a clock and hadn’t set it back to account for the time change. Was up at 10, which my body said was 8, as did the clock.

Wendy and Paul picked me up a little before 1 to head to Arthur Bryant’s for BBQ, and what should be on the morning paper’s front page?

A shot of two big guys pigging out at Arthur Bryants. And here are Paul and Wendy doing the same thing:

And if you read the label closely, you will find LARD as one of the ingredients.

Should you want to, click on the image and you will go to the Arthurs site for the blow-up.

I came out of there with a case of sauce for the store. Then stopped at a grocery store to grab some Gates and Sons sauce so that the shop will have the “battle of the Kansas City BBQ titans” available for purchase.

Tonight is dinner at a German restaurant called Grünauer in the Freight District. Basically every skuzzy old neighborhood in the central core of Kansas City is being kitted out with new restaurants and shops. I was a little surprised at the recommendation since going to a German restaurant isn’t usually a good bet for a vegetarian. But it worked. I had the beer brauts with the mashed potatoes swapped out for steamed spinach. Yum. And because of the opera tickets we got a round of espresso/schnapps to warm us after our meal. We even split a bottle of Austrian wine — a Grüner Veltliner 2008 Höpler, which is a dry white with lots of citrus overtones.

And then it’s off to the opera:

I have to say it was one of the most intriguing operas that I’ve seen in years. Great sets, wonderful music, and an odd plot line that had Henry Kissinger as the devil.

And the hall is stunning:

That’s it for today, back late (at least for the kids).

[204 but it’s their analog scale so who knows]

Tue
29
Apr '08

Greetings From Kansas City.

I had the most amazing flight this morning. The flight attendants were HAPPY. They were joking, they were enjoying their jobs, they were making EVERYONE feel welcome. I have not had this on a flight for YEARS. Congratulations to the flight crew of UA958 on the Seattle to Chicago run — when I get home I’m going to have to send in one of those KUDOS certificates they send me as a frequent flier. That’s how good they ALL were.

Now I’d like to apologize to the crew of the Chicago to Kansas City flight — you were good, but those gals were GREAT. Yes, I’m gushing.

And now for the photo of the day.

Well — I was going to have a photo of the day, but the card is being cranky — guess I should check the camera. Well, it was the computer needing rebooting. Try this:

P1050488

Tulips from my garden. How cool is that.

Had dinner tonight at Aixois down in the Brookside Neighborhood of Kansas City where Paul and Gail used to live before moving downtown. Paul had shrimp and pasta, I went for the half dozen east coast oysters (good, but a little larger than I like) and the duck confit with spinach salad (I though confit was off the bone — but I basically got a duck leg). Maybe I should look up the definition….

Confit of goose (confit d’oie) and duck (confit de canard) are usually prepared from the legs of the bird. The meat is salted with herbs, and slowly cooked submerged in its own rendered fat, in which it is then preserved by allowing it to cool and storing it in the fat. Turkey and pork may be treated similarly. Meat confits are a specialty of the southwest of France (Toulouse, Dordogne, etc.) and are used in dishes such as cassoulet. Although confits are now considered luxurious, these preparations originated as a means of preserving meats without refrigeration.

Damn, you learn something new each day — thanks to wikipedia for that definition.

Thinking of a repeat visit to the Arabia Steamboat Museum tomorrow since it’s about one block over. Maybe I can get some good pictures. Basically it is a musuem built around a steamboat that was plying the Missouri river is 1856 and is filled with all the “stuff” that was on board, which was enough to stock a general store. It sunk, the river changed course and was buried in sand and muck for a hundred years, then was dug up.

[clueless — was too asleep to remember to weigh]

 

 

Sat
23
Oct '21

Trip Report: Kansas City With A Friend For Friends

Another week, another trip. This time with my friend Sue, or, at least on the way there.

Sent her a picture of the lounge entrance so she could find it:

Yep, people are back travelling. Especially me!

Had an hour in the lounge before boarding. Sue used miles, I used upgrades, so I got food on board:

Pulled pork breakfast bowl. Other choice was a cheddar omelet.

Hello Midwest…

On arrival, noticed planes still mothballed on the tarmac…

Hopefully the new Kansas City airport opening in 2023 will have better tarmac view.

Paul and Gail come to pick us up…sadly, not in this old Impala ragtop that brough back memories of Havana:

On the way to the house, be stopped by Axios for a mid-afternoon snack:

Funny that for “dinner” all we did was snack back at their house!

Thursday, we had a BBQ lunch at Char Bar, which actually has a pulled jackfruit sandwich (and great rings):

Across the street – I spied an amusing sign …

MAR-GO-RITA – yep, to go!

Pakistani delivery food for dinner with another old friend – I had the lamb korma. Gail is vegetarian, Paul mostly except for BBQ when it’s just the two of us. Sadly – no pictures of the feast, which, of course, we ordered too much.

Friday afternoon I’m headed home, but we have one more lunch on the way to the airport – at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art:

Followed by art!

What a lovely way to end a quick trip to Kansas City to pick up BBQ Sauce for the shop’s specialty food section.

At the airport I discovered that “to-go” booze is a thing in Kansas City – even in the airport (though the sign says you can’t take it on board):

Before long I was back in my seat (1C), and dinner was served:

Miso Cod though there wasn’t much of a Miso flavor, sadly.

Another trip under my belt. Next week is Chicago, Cincinnati, and Kentucky.

[? ? ?]

For more blog posts, click here.

Sat
26
Jul '14

Trip Report: Dublin.

After arriving in Dublin – well, at least at Jeff and Mindi’s place though no Jeff (aka Mork) – made pleasantries and went to bed for a 5-hour nap, which by the way is exactly what you are not supposed to do to help with your jetlag….I have other tricks up my sleeve for that. Awake at 5 while Mindi is on her daily work call – time for a little Knob Creek and seltzer:

Yes, weird ice “cubes” more like ice stalactites. The gin is waiting for Mindi’s G&T after her call.

Mindi works at home so I’ll be able to see lots of her this trip – and more importantly (for continued invitations) be able to cook our meals in.

Since I’ve visited before I know where all the closest markets are and they have a “veg” delivery service all we really need is some protein and some wine. Got the protein for tonight and tomorrow around the corner at the Halal market (no pork!). But before that we need to restock the wine rack – and no, not with this which made me CRINGE:

The first evening’s meal was marinated chicken bits in a semi-spicy curry sauce with a bunch of the “one their last day” vegetables…

And the incomparable Mindi waiting for me in the dining nook:

An evening of drinking was enough to get me to sleep through the evening until 10ish the next morning – we were both running a little slow.

Today’s outing is a new hairdo for Mindi – her monthly appointment. While that’s going on I wander the streets, pick up supplies like booze and diet soda and stumble into a gay bar – the big purple thing – called The George. No time to really go in, and I can only imagine a gay bar at 2pm in the afternoon – though it would have given me a place to sit. As I learned from the website later, at 2pm they would have been just opening so it would have been me and the bartender most likely:

And a couple of doors down, another place I should have tried but didn’t. Pitt Bro’s BBQ which apparently uses American-built smokers. I seem to have read something in an advert (as the Brits say) about these folks – even before stumbling across them:

My motto is that if you see everything on your trip you have no excuse to come back. Guess I need to ask Mindi when she is getting her hair done again. That would make the afternoon:

After Mindi’s hair was finished – she had a little shopping to do…at the Celtic Whiskey Shop – and this is only ONE wall – the even had a hallway filled with small bottling’s in minis – too tempting.

Here is the one that Mindi picked up for Jeff’s birthday – only EU125 ($168 at today’s exchange)

The salesman had ME at Madeira Cask aged. One of 377 bottles made just for this shop.

Tonight’s dinner is a lemon pesto roast chicken on a bed of root vegetables:

While that is going I worked on a little ratatouille for tomorrow night’s dinner – to be tossed with greens in an oil and balsamic dressing:

Got to use those vegetables before they expire.

Can you see why I get invited back? Especially since after the meal it was pulling off all the remaining chicken to make chicken salad out of for tomorrow’s lunch – and stock for the freezer:

Well, stock for cooking and chicken vegetable base – just add noodles.

Another late evening of staying up way past midnight shooting the shit – didn’t get out of bed until noon today, so breakfast was definitely brunch but without the Bloody Maries or bubbles. More like cheesy scrambled eggs with oven re-roasted root vegetables:

Got an email mid-day from the Groom (Pucci) saying that Aisling was going to be out tonight on the traditional Irish “Hen’s Night” and that he was free….off to the Halal butcher go I as we’d just had another batch of “veg” delivered (even though I wasn’t through with last weeks). Tonight’s meal in honor of the groom is an American BBQ dinner with a Mediterranean Flare: Grilled lamb chops (yes, these ex-pat Dubliners have a charcoal Weber), served with a zucchini-based tzatzkiki sauce, and the ratatouille and garden greens with olive oil and balsamic. Didn’t get a pretty picture of it before, but here is the during:

And in the background you see a bottle of 1994 Mondovi Cabernet Sauvignon… that didn’t survive the move from the states too well – the cork was shot. I had to strain it through a paper towel. It really was about TEN years beyond its prime… luckily we had another bottle handy.

Oddly not corked, just no fruit left – it wasn’t their Reserve which might have still been drinkable. This one was slated to drink between 2002 and 2008… 6 year ago. It was well after midnight when we stuffed the groom into a cab, not exactly knowing the address he was headed for but he knew the area and the street. Luckily he DID make it home in one piece.

And just to get us off the food track for a minute or two – the house where I’m staying:

And the back yard with the Weber:

Before you know it – the last supper has arrived. Walked a little further afield today to get pork for dinner and supplies for the trip – tonight’s meal are pork cutlets in chili-garlic sauce, cucumbers in yogurt, and the standard salad we’ve come to love:

After dinner it was off to the neighbor’s – Paul and Mary who remembered me from my last visit… a VERY LATE NIGHT of chatting and playing with the dog – Paul didn’t get in from the airport until after midnight and Mini and I didn’t leave until around 3am – and then talked back at the house for another hour:

Even with the late night, I still had time for a final meal – Heavos Rancheros that I’d prepped the night before so the eggs could soak into the corn tortillas…

Too bad I’m leaving for the train station at the same time that Mork, I mean Jeff his headed home from the airport. Guess we’ll have to just have drinks when they are in Seattle in August.

Before I knew it I was on the train to Bray to catch a cab to the wedding venue – more on that in the next post.

See what I look like with not enough sleep. At least we all ate well in Dublin.

[221.4]

Tue
12
Aug '14

Visitors Report: The Colonels Come To Town.

What a lovely couple of days with The Colonels in town on their epic journey from Kentucky to Alaska (and back):

BTIIMap

Now THAT is an epic trip. And as full disclaimer, I’ve raided their trip blog for some of the photos (and the map above).

I’d arranged for The Colonels to stay at the WorldMark Seattle at The Camlin for their three day stay:

The Camlin

The unit I got via the “waitlist” was a Courtyard Studio Plus – which means stairs to all the units. Luckily, they got a unit with only one set of stairs, AND had the bell-staff schlep all the bags and boxes into the room.

They arrived at 5PM from Eastern Washington, and I got stuck in traffic so I didn’t make it until 5:30. As the room was a little warm (no AC, but a fan), we had snacks and drinks in the courtyard. Had I thought about it I would have brought steaks and salad since there was a BBQ unit right across from their room.

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We were at the table to the left (WorldMark photo).

After a couple of drinks – and a tour of the property (the museum in the basement and the Cloud Room on the top floor) we were off to Dragon Fish Asian Café which is walkable for all of us. Here is a picture from The Colonels blog:

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The Lady Colonel took this photo as they were passing in front of Dragon Fish Asian Café on their way to dinner on Friday (that story to come later). His blog comment had to do with the ladies in blue dresses dragging huge crosses down the street:

Now, I know I’m an old white guy, rather conservative, and from a small town, but there were lots of folks in Seattle that just left me shaking my head. We didn’t get to photograph many of them, but the following photograph of two women in long blue dresses, each woman carrying a cross, might give you a sense of what I’m speaking of.

Our dinner at Dragon Fish was wonderful – I’d worried that the menu might be a little adventurous for The Colonels, but it turns out they like everything we had and shared – and then back the next day for lunch – that’s a testament to the quality of the food (or the close proximity to The Camlin). Here is what we had (as best I can remember):

  • CHICKEN POTSTICKERS 7
    garlic, ginger, cabbage, sweet hot soy sauce
  • ASIAN CURRIED STEAK FRIES 3
    curry spice, ketchup
  • KOREAN BULGOGI SKIRT STEAK * 8
    pickled cucumbers, sesame seeds
  • GRILLED MISO RIBEYE * 11
    tempura onions, sweet miso sauce
  • WAWAII ROLL WITH TOASTED COCONUT 12
    smoked salmon, macadamia nuts, blueberry wasabi sauce
  • CHICKEN YAKISOBA (wheat noodles) 8
    vegetables, yakisoba sauce, sesame seeds, pickled ginger
  • LIME RICKEY SHRIMP ** 8
    quick fried. peanuts, hichimi, lemongrass vodka sauce

Hung out at The Camlin with The Colonels for a bit after dinner, and headed home for tomorrow we are doing The Museum of Flight, then a tour of Madrona Wine Merchants, then dinner at my place.

Here are a couple of photos from our adventure at The Museum of Flight. But first a stop at The Taco Truck:

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It was pronounced good – and a good thing I talked The Senior Colonel into only one burrito – those things are HUGE. Beef for The Senior Colonel, Spicy Pork for me (we both had burritos, a rare treat for me), and Lady Colonel has three tacos, one each beef, pork, and spicy pork.

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Not a bad selfie with the three of us. First stop was the new building that I haven’t seen which is on the “air park” side of the museum, over the new bridge over East Marginal Way that I haven’t been over. The new building houses the mock-up of a space shuttle that we got from Houston – alas, no retired shuttle, just the full-size mockup. This will give you an idea of size:

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And then to go crawl around some planes:

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In front of a retired 707-based Air Force One – think ancient technology. And The Colonels inside a retired Concorde – like one I flew on several years ago.

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The aisle is only 12″ wide, and seats more like 16″, and if you are over 6 feet tall you didn’t want a window seat since you’d have to bend your head for the entire flight. Here is photo from Pigletté Takes The Concorde for pictures from that trip:

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piglette-1piglette-1That would be with the appetizer of caviar, smoked salmon and a lovely 1986 Pol Roger Cuvée Churchill Champagne.

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Or doing Mach 2 (which is 1380 miles per hour) at 51,000 feet….while feasting on lobster rings with cucumbers accompanied by a 1994 Château Petit Village Pomerol. Damn tasty – don’t remember what the main course of wine was:

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But enough of my old travels, let’s move back to the present – a final shot of The Senior Colonel in the grand hall of The Museum of Flight:

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All tuckered out we headed back to my house to hang out in the semi-air conditioning (the bedroom, with a fan to push it into the living room). We chatted while I worked on dinner, figuring that a 6PM start would be better for The Colonels. The menu was:

  • Fresh home-made bread
  • Salad
  • Rib-eye steaks off the grill

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The plan for The Colonels the next day was to visit The Living Computer Museum, partly funded and supplied by Paul Allen of Microsoft fame. But alas, trying to track down medical information kept them in their room until it was time for dinner with Swanda – and quite a spread it was:

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And the group shot with The Colonels camera, somehow minus The Caveman:

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It was a fun dinner with The Lady Colonel bonding with The Caveman, Swanda’s partner. I left before The Colonels did which might be a record.

The following morning The Colonels were on the road to Kamloops, British Columbia. Guess it’s time for me to plan another trip to Kentucky, but not until they get back home.

For The Colonels blog of this trip, you can visit: http://froghollowfollies.blogspot.com/ once they are back from their trip (it’s private for the moment).

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Thu
19
Jun '14

Trip Report: The Southwest Chief From Chicago To Los Angeles.

Another Amtrak Lounge, another comfortable chair to nap in.

Compared to the New Orleans location, this place is HUGE:

The reception desk to the right, carry-on luggage check room to the right – I just kept my small computer bag handy:

And several rooms worth of seating….

And unlimited soda…

And our own exit directly (though not close) to the tracks:

Around 10 I headed out to explore – found a CVS Pharmacy that sells Evan Williams, took some neighborhood shots:

The last shot is of old waiting hall – the new ones are located under sky scrapper next door complete with “food court” that actually had good food (well, they had a McDonalds as well, but this was my 10am snack:

Yep, a Chicago Style Brat from this place:

And when I went back out to score additional Evan Williams in case I need to share, also picked up one of the best pulled pork sandwiches (extra slaw instead of the fries) that I’ve ever had. Loved the egg-bun:

From these folks:

The wonderfully empty Metropolitan Lounge wasn’t so empty when I returned. When you have this many trains going out around the same time in the afternoon…

You end up with a scene like this:

And the other two rooms looked like this as well – not an open seat in the house.

Luckily it was a 2:15pm load time for our 3pm train, The Southwest Chief – but that was pushed back because there were three delayed trains that needed to get out of the room ahead of us. Controlled chaos was what is was… on the upside, I got to see a gaggle of Boy Scouts headed to the Philmont Scout Camp in Cimmaron (NM) boarding the train:

Philmont Scout Ranch, the Boy Scouts of America’s premier High Adventureâ„¢ base, challenges Scouts and Venturers with more than 214 square miles of rugged northern New Mexico wilderness. Backpacking treks, horseback cavalcades, and training and service programs offer young people many ways to experience this legendary country. Or so their website says – I understand that 2 weeks there is $1500 when you figure in transportation to get there. LINK TO FEES

To make matter more humorous, in Galesburg, IL another gaggle of Scouts got on in matching fluorescent t-shirts. And if you really want a chuckle – imagine the lounge car filled with testosterone laden teens mixed with a handful of Old Order Amish woman headed to San Diego. The basic jist of the Old Order Amish is according to Wikipedia: “The Old Order Amish is the concept many outsiders have when they think of ‘Amish'” right down to “rumsprina” a “rite of passage” for adolescents where often leave the community for a taste of the outside world before being baptized.

I would have gotten a picture but I didn’t want to be an ass.

The first meal on the train was dinner – hence the Pulled Pork sandwich at 1:30pm or so.

What’s for dinner you might ask – I had the steak again, to see the difference between routes. Tonight’s steak was much juicier that last nights, but I like the corn better than the green beans as the vegetable – presentation was hand-down better on the Southwest Chief.

The only goal remaining for tonight is to grab a couple of “Platform Memories” shots in both Kansas City (MO, not KS) and Lawrence (KS). First stop is Kansas City where Paul will be meeting me:

Though I would have like to get more of the train in there.

But onto Lawrence (KS) where I had to work with the conductor since only one car in coach was opening – and it was a QUICK two minute stop, enough for this shot of Byron, Phil and myself (right to left):

Turns out Conan was headed back from the movies and just saw the tail-lights of the Southwest Chief as they hit a crossing. Another 10 nights early and I could have waved.

Unfortunately I don’t think Flagstaff (AZ) is going to work out because Kyle work evenings. Hopefully I’ll get one or two from The Coast Starlight.

Just for the record, I’m in Car 0331 (second sleeper forward of the Dining Car) in Room(ette) 4 facing West and North. I’ve lucked out as this is one of the few Superliner II cars that still has a functioning ice drawer under the coffee urn:

Most of these have been abandoned after the health department raised hell for the scoop being in the drawer – use of the drawer now comes with rules from the car attendant – scoop must remain in paper bucket next to the coffee urn when not in use. The rest of the sleepers (including those on the City of New Orleans) that I’ve been on have had Styrofoam coolers to fetch your ice from.

And here is a little oddity that I noticed on the Southwest Chief schedules note:

So is “69” a reference to Arizonans? I thought Arizona was so conservative that sex wasn’t allowed.

Decided on the top bunk with both mattresses – tight but comfy though the morning came too soon and I didn’t hear the breakfast hours last night, so a bit of a panic, and then because of all the Boy Scouts, a half an hour wait to get a table. Damn do-gooders.

Got talked into the Omelet – not bad. Asparagus, onions, tomatoes, cheese was the filling. Yes, on the Southwest Chief they have menus items listed.

Headed back to the room(ette) after breakfast and basically napped until noon when I went downstairs for a shower – which did wonders for my mood.

Lunch was the Angus Cheeseburger with Bacon, always a winner – though I skipped the Kettle Chips.

The afternoon found me not reading but draining my tablet battery playing this mind-sucking Tri Peaks Solitaire which I got hooked on with my phone – and man can the game suck the juice out of the phone (and the tablet). By Albuquerque I finally put it down, but I did take breaks in Lamy (and Albuquerque) to step off and get pictures – it’s so weird to be at these two stations and not have any friends or family.

In Lamy it would have been my sister-in-law Jen, but she is interviewing job candidates today and the bro-in-law and niece are out of town – and mom is a El Castillo in downtown Santa Fe, so that’s out. There is a great “Platform Memory” – and probably what started this project – of my parents and I at the Lamy Station a couple of years before my father died.

Here is a link to the post that photo was in: LINK

And here is the station today:

The stop after Lamy (which is the stop for Santa Fe (NM)) is Albuquerque (NM) where in the past I’ve hooked up the Jen’s (sis-in-law) friend Michele to shoot the shit on the 45-minute layover – but alas, she has a doctor’s appointment at the same time, so, yet again, another link to a previous post of my last meet-up: LINK

And here is the station today:

Guess this means that I’ll have to include a photo of the Flagstaff station where I was hoping to meet Kyle:

Speaking of Flagstaff, we were delayed an hour because of a medical emergency. What’s that phrase? “It’s all good until the ambulance shows up.” One three ladies travelling together to Las Vegas had a couple of strokes – but to get her off the train as she was on the “hefty” side, they had to get her conscious since they couldn’t get a backboard up the narrow coach car stairs. They say it shouldn’t make us too late as there is padding in the schedule between Riverside and Los Angeles.

A later dinner seating tonight, 7:45pm, it was that or like 5:45pm which would have left me hungry at nine – no more 7pm seats but the time they got to my sleeper. They actually have reservations going til 9pm which is definitely too late for me.

Dinner tonight? Yes, another steak – luckily they were out of desert by the time they got to our table. Luckily I had some chocolate left over from the Snack Basket on the flight to New Orleans.

And a humor shot — the Jim Croce song: “If I Could Save Time In A Bottle,” mine would be more like “If I Could Measure Time In A Bottle.”:

Early to bed since if I want breakfast I need to be in the Dining Car at 5am as they stop serving at 5:45am, or San Bernardino whichever is later…as it turns out we are still an hour behind so I wouldn’t have had to rush that much.

As we pulled into Fullerton I saw the Amish ladies transferring to the Pacific Surfliner:

Ended up getting in 25 minutes late – time to hook up with Craig, but first, the Metropolitan Lounge.

And I close with my post with my favorite picture of the day – Arizona in the afternoon:

To be continued…

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