UMTravels

Met up with the kids in the check-in line at the Victoria Clipper – actually not in the line, at the counter…I was running a few minutes late getting there. Turns out we were some of the first people on the boat so we had our choice of tables. I prefer the ones in the back closer to the Duty Free counter.

Joe and Lisa on one side:

Me on the other side of the table with fixin’s for a Red Baron (also known as a Poinsettia):

Three hours later we are queued up for Customs and Immigration in Victoria:

Lisa had signed us up for the City/Butchart Gardens Tour through The Clipper which is basically a driving tour of the city on the way into and out of town on the way to The Gardens. Here is Chinatown:

And then the world-famous Butchart Gardens:

We tried to have our pre-tour lunch in The Dining Room but the soonest they could seat us was 2:30 – it was noon, AND the bus was due to return to the city. The Blue Poppy was where we ended up. Cafeteria line, but sit down, and with wine. I had the pulled pork sandwich and a glass of Cabernet. Lisa and Joe had sandwiches and shared a Salmon/Clam Chowder which looked like it had too many potatoes for my taste.

Back in the city we were the last hotel drop off as we are at the far end of inner bay. We only had to wait a few minutes for our room to be ready:

We were a little far for my tablet to get a good connection in the living room so I set up shop in the guest bathroom:

And even that took some work to get a connection – the redirect on their site after log-in wasn’t working so I had to call technical support and to have the phone close enough to the computer to work through stuff with tech support I had to string both the unit’s telephones together using the data jack on one to feed the other:

The things I do for a computer connection, at least with my status it’s free.

But the view is great – even for being on the first floor:

That would be the Coho Ferry heading back to Port Angeles – it’s the other ferry connection direct to Victoria’s Inner Harbor.

Joe went off to do the grocery store shopping while Lisa and I went around the corner to the mini-mart for the heavy items like Diet Coke, Tonic, Ginger Ale and ice since the clean out the ice bucket between guests which is a pain when you really want a cocktail ASAP.

I’d brought up Flank Steak for the first night large enough for leftovers with the eggs in the morning, and T-Bone Steaks for the second night. Protein is about double the price in Canada as in the US so it made more since to clean out some of the 50% off cow I had in my freezer. And dinner was good:

And breakfast was good thanks to Joe’s cooking:

For our full-day in Victoria, Joe and Lisa headed off on the water taxi to check out Chinatown and Antique Row:

It being Thursday I stayed behind to get the wine shop’s website updated. We met up for lunch at Barb’s Fish and Chips at Fisherman’s Terminal – my guilty pleasure when I’m up there. The one-piece for me, the two-piece for Joe, and Lisa had the Salmon and Chips.

Little did we know that Labor Day Weekend was an antique boat gathering called Classic Boat Festival. That might explain us not getting a Penthouse Suite with the hot-tub.

Quite a schedule of events – that we will miss since we have an 11:35 boat back to Seattle. At least we got to see them arriving in the harbor”

The afternoon for the kids was poolside. I joined them for an hour before heading of on the water taxi to the marina downtown to check out all the boats:

The ride into town was amusing with this group of partiers… apparently for $15 you purchase a wrist band from the water taxi folks and it gets you four ferry rides between various waterfront bars, and if you have at least four people in your group you get a free appetizer to share at each bar. Sounds like a smashing deal to me (Pickle Pub Crawl):

And here is a really great selfie on that same trip – so good I used it for my FaceBook profile picture:

Several people have commented that it makes me look like a young Pappa Hemingway. But the point of the trip was to see the stunningly gorgeous wooden sail and power boats:

Even the dinghies are pimped out…

And maybe one of the stunningly gorgeous captains…

And the wicker chairs in his cabin that he hates but can’t get them out of the cabin without cutting them in half…apparently they were loaded in before the roof was put on:

Sorry for the glare…gives it an odd “impressionist” feeling. And speaking of pretty boys, these buskers were also talented:

Time to head back to the condo for drinks and dinner…

Our condo from the water…we are one unit back from the front on the 1^st floor:

And the dinner that I mentioned:

Up earlier on the final day to catch the ferry home…

Very crowded it being the Friday of Labor Day Weekend:

Not a free seat on the entire vessel – and for the final photo of this post, some crisps we shared with our tablemates:

Home a little after three and turned in for a power nap for tomorrow is a work day.

What a fun couple of days.

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Oh, the joys of more relaxed travelling…Indianapolis here I come!

I seem to have lost some of my packing skills:

I have not lost my vacation day-drinking skills:

Notice there is also some protein to soak up the alcohol.

Sadly, the days of really cheap First-Class seats are coming to an end (probably why I have over 100,000 Elite Qualifying Miles this year), and Indy is never a cheap flight (captive market). But I’m in my usual seat, and my usual travel aloha shirt:

And the flight includes lunch:

Joe and Lisa were at the airport to meet me and whisk me off to my hotel. We are all vaccinated, but they have three (Joe corrected me — it’ two, just feels like twelve) cats, which I’m not vaccinated against. I’m staying at the Crown Plaza Downtown at the Old Train Station. Yes, this is not usually my budget, but I have a train car suite – which I was expecting to be in the basement, but it was on the second floor. The have 13 converted cars that stand on their original tracks.

More photos later since we are off to dinner at La Margarita, which turns out to be their first night of indoor seating:

Barbacoa tacos with dipping broth, think Mexican French Dip.

On our way to our next stop, we passed the World Headquarters of White Castle – the burger place:

Next up was a Tiki Bar that is a favorite of Joe’s – who has a Tiki Bar in his basement. The Inferno Room:

The next found Joe and I at Shapiros – the famous Indianapolis Jewish Delicatessen.

I had a Rueben; Joe had a bunch of stuff so he could take lunch home to Lisa.

Home for Joe and Lisa includes a Tiki Bar in the basement:

The next day, Joe and I explored the old train station, now an event center attached to the hotel:

Here are some shots of the hotel, which is built in the old train shed – hence, train cars on the second floor:

They were setting up a wedding for 300 socially distanced people the next day.

Which begged the question, where is the current Amtrak station. Close by, on two remaining tracks through the train shed…and a seriously depressing place above a combined with a sketchy Greyhound/Bolt terminal.

On a whim, we decided to drive over to Beech Grove, a major Amtrak refurbishment center for their rolling stock:

And some of the new Midwest higher speed cars:

Off to pick up Lisa for a tour of New Fields, formerly known as the Indianapolis Art Museum.

Dinner was at the Root and Bone:

Apparently, I don’t pack any better on the way home:

My final morning/afternoon, since I had a late afternoon flight, a stop at an Antique Mall (Midland Arts and Antiques) on the way to the airport.

I actually got out without buying anything! Just as well since there was no room in the luggage.

Off to the airport, where there are cars on display, and a branch of Shapiros:

Other random thoughts: it was Indy 500 season, so there were white Corvette Pace Cars all over town, and my hotel was filled with early 20-something seriously fit young men – all staying at the hotel. Turns out it was Spring League held at Lucas Field, which is also connected to the hotel via skywalks. It’s like the Elite Pro D Football Camp. There are 8 teams, times 50 players – even doubled up, that is A LOT of rooms. Guessing they didn’t pay what I paid for my suite, which was cheaper since we are still in a pandemic. Godsend for the hotel with no conventions happening.

Well, that’s the trip. Indy was FUN!

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One of my traditions on the first night arriving in New Orleans is to wander down the street and go to Houstons. Yes, it’s a chain, albeit a small one, but I know there will be live jazz and that I can grab a spot in the bar and just eat good food and listen to good jazz. Isn’t that what New Orleans is about? Even better when you don’t have to fight the crowds in the French Quarter. Oddly enough, I pulled the dinner menu for the Kansas City branch (since I’ll be there in November) and I wasn’t as impressed – the New Orleans menu is much better.

This visit I took Dan along on my tradition. No Colonels as they were a bit under the weather.

That would be the band over our shoulders and Manhattans in front of our shoulders. And the food!

    

    

Clockwise from upper-left-hand: Hand-cut Fries, Oysters St. Charles, Skillet Cornbread, Gulf Coast Style Fish Sandwich. Not a dog in the lot. Yep, wees in nawlins.

If this blog post doesn’t make you hungry I pray for your soul.

Sightseeing for the first full day both The Colonels and I have the same idea, The Southern Food & Beverage Museum which was closed for relocation the last time I was in NOLA. But first, a visit to their on-site restaurant, Purloo (which is a traditional dish made with whatever meat happened to be leftover). The food did not disappoint (nor the atmosphere):

The bar (and the cute hipster bar tender) above, and The Colonels below:

And even though it’s only noon, I had to try their Old Fashioned which warrants a full-size photo AND the recipe: Bourbon or Rye with Demerara Syrup, El Guapo Chicory Pecan Bitters and Citrus Peel. I went for the Rye (and I remember a little mint in there as well).

And the food – not sure where the last photo is! Pretty sure Mr. Colonel had with Fried Chicken with Tasso Mac & Cheese and pickled Okra. Mrs. Colonel had the marinated flank steak over Thai noodles:

Dan had the fried catfish with stone ground grits and collard greens with a smoked tomato gravy…

And I went for a fairly light dish, the Crab Beignets:

Starting to worry about getting on the scales when I return home!

Well nourished, it was time for the Southern Food and Beverage Museum ($10 regular, $8 if you ate at Purloo, $5 Military) which also includes the The Museum of the American Cocktail and the La Galerie d’Absinthe. What’s NOT to love about this place!

And the cocktail section:

With the world’s largest cocktail shaker – 4 at a time!

And for my friend Joe (of Lisa), a collection of Tiki items (he has a Tiki bar in the basement in Indianapolis):

And we close with the pig:

As The Colonels age they are less and less up for going out to dinner, preferring some light appetizers inside, which is what we had before Dan and I headed out to dinner. The thought was The Blind Pelican half a dozen blocks away – but as it turns out it was “Friday Night Fight Night” (Military with ID get in free).

Yep, the blocked off the street and put up a covered fence. Second choice was VooDoo BBQ, which wasn’t as good as I remembered it, and with no bartender (on a Friday night no less), no Manhattan – I had to settle for an alcoholic slushy of some sort (which at least they refilled on the way out). We spilt one of the larger dinners:

And the funky interior hallway…

Saturday we made our way to La Place, Louisiana, home to some of the finest andouille sausage makers in the world, but first, lunch at The Cajun Invasion, this odd mix of Cajun and Vietnamese (which considering the number of Vietnamese shrimpers in Louisiana isn’t all that surprising):

Clockwise from upper left: Mrs. Colonel’s crawfish fried rice, Dan’s fried oyster po’boy, and my jambalaya and meat pie (was supposed to be crawfish, oh well). All surprisingly good for a strip mall restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

But the main reason for the trip was andouille sausage – The Colonels favor Jacobs (and they have it shipped), but reviews differ between first and second place for Baileys – and they are almost on top of each other. For me it was a contest of who had the surliest counter people.

Dan ended up with 1 pound of chicken, 1 pound of pork andouille from Baileys, and the same from Jacobs who smokes theirs for 20 minutes longer (according to local lore). Mrs. Colonel just got stuff from Jacobs.

Tonight we finally got to try the Blind Pelican, and boy did we try it!

Got a table outside with a view of the shrimp boiler:

But we weren’t here for the shrimp, we were her for the oysters! 5 dozen to be exact – three dozen raw, and two dozen charbroiled and topped off with a rack of ribs and coleslaw. During happy hour (4-8pm) oysters on the half shell are $3 a dozen (I kid you not) and $7.50 a dozen for the charbroiled – but you have to buy an “adult” beverage for every dozen you order. With Dan and I this wasn’t a problem.

It takes 4 line guys to shuck that many oysters for a full house:

And my aren’t they pretty:

They are VERY strict in their rules around happy hour oysters:

Sunday was a rainy inside day so we stuck close to home – we’d been making breakfast in the room with eggs, bacon, leftovers, and for lunch we went next door to Igor’s Bar, Grill, Laundromat, Library & Pool Hall. It was so weird to be in there with no one smoking, though 50 years of nicotine was still on the walls. Dan got the burger, I got the sausage sandwich:

Dinner tonight was at Basin on Magazine – a little too far to walk, so it was Uber time again! More oysters on the half shell:

Followed by the corn and crab bisque and seafood gumbo:

And the crispy pulled pork creation (half way through) that wasn’t that crispy:

Birthday breakfast at The Trolley Stop Café – a whopping $3.50!

Packed up the bags, stored them at the desk, and hung around the hotel reading and sitting in the sun – killing time until lunch, and then killing time until the airport.

Lunch was at Pho Orchid, also on the same block as the WorldMark New Orleans. Bun (meat over noodles with broth) for Dan, Korean Beef “tacos” for me.

And then it was time to Uber off to the airport – makes like our 5^th
Uber trip in NOLA. Alas, we are in different terminals (Dan going out Southwest, me going out Alaska), and even the airport lounge I have access i to is in yet a third terminal. We say goodbye at the curb.

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Four people spent the night in the condo… Joe, CaddyDaddy, SurfBetty, and, of course, me.

SurfBetty was up and out early, and the three of us packed up all the remaining food and booze and were out the door at 11:30. With no cooktop, that meant breakfast as back at the house rather than in the penthouse. You’d think they could have made the penthouses with a full kitchen. I can understand the rest of the rooms at the Camlin, but I guess they think that since you are in the big city that you won’t be cooking your meals.

The afternoon was spent unpacking, repacking, and generally cleaning up the place a bit. Nothing like multiple trips to leave you with stuff lying around everywhere.

Dinner tonight is via a Groupon Coupon for Shilla, a Japanese/Korean restaurant that I have long loved.

Sadly, the bloom is off the rose and all we are left with is thorns. It wasn’t that bad, but it’s under new ownership and management and things have gone downhill. The best example is our in-table grill wasn’t working and we were given a portable one which hogged most of the table. In the end it seemed like a lot of money for the quantity and quality of the experience.

And now we know why they have been offering Goupons.

This is Joe’s last night in town, back to work he goes.

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Well, I must be on holiday as I had a HulaDog for breakfast this morning, granted it was a late breakfast.

I had the polish in a bacon taro roll with the mild sauce with Star Fruit Relish & Lilikoi Mustard – truly Hawaiian.

After breakfast/lunch (it was almost 11) it was off to the FoodPantry for supplies for the condo.

As promised, here are some shots of the condo. Yes, it’s the handicapped unit:

And a lovely shot of me by the pool:

Joe and Lisa showed up around five and I had a pupu platter laid out and ready for them. Lots of various poke (marinated raw fish) and a selection of drinks.

For dinner we decided on The Village Noodle House in Chinatown. I’ve passed through Chinatown many times, but somehow never managed to stop and eat. Lisa had the beef, broccoli, thin noodles; Joe the shrimp with vegetables, and I opted for the roast half duck. We shared appetizers of Moshu Pork and Green Onion Pancakes. All good, not spectacular, but I’d go back. Hell, they even have free parking, a rarity in Chinatown.

Had a little walk after dinner with sort of freaked Lisa out a bit… certainly wouldn’t as a woman (or maybe even a guy) walk around the neighborhood without being very alert.

Back at the condo, Lisa headed to bed (I had an overlap of a day on my reservations) and Joe came down to my room (luckily on the same floor) to chat and have a few more drinks.

Well, that’s the news for today.

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When I checked in I actually managed to get my favorite bulkhead aisle seat: 1C. And the sun is out. Looks to be a nice day for flying.

Update #1: So, TSA asked me today for another form of ID when I tried to use my Nexus card. It seems that soon they are going to start scanning IDs and they haven’t figured out how to get Nexus integrated into their system which also goes for Sentry, the US-Mexico speed lane card. He also didn’t have an answer for why their need to be different systems for US-Canada and US-Mexico border.

More later from Tucson.

From Joe’s cellphone, entitled “relaxing before the party”.

Gotta say, I crapped out about 11pm and when I got up to pee at 3:30, the party was still going.

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It’s always fun to wake up with a straight man in your bed. Whenever we visit each other we always sleep in the same bed which the last time I was in Tucson, led to three of us in bed: girlfriend, Joe, then me. There is no sex, just some cuddling before falling to sleep.

First up on the agenda for the two of us to go to a Champagne and new Italian wines at C&G – Joe will go as Madrona Wine Merchants new intern. Apparently he didn’t make the cut as by the end of the day, he was no longer our intern.

Next up was packages at the apartment, then to pick up wine at the shop for dinner, back to the hood for a carwash (very dusty from the woods) and a grocery run before heading (after dropping off the wine and groceries) to Dragonfish Asian Café so Joe could hook up with a couple of gay guys from his college day (honest, Joe is straight – trust me, I’ve tried [repeatedly] and failed).

Nice appetizers – I had the tempura peppered bacon and some chicken pot stickers – Joe started with an avocado roll and then to the tempura peppered bacon. It being happy hour those small plates were like $2.95 and $3.95 – and for $2.95 you could get four of their normally $7 cold sakés that counted towards their Saké Club – drink the first 9 (over the course of a year), get a cedar sake box and a 5 appetizer card – finish the next 8 and get a t-shirt and a chance at dinner for two. Go on a Sunday night and all sakés are 50% off. So far I have five punches (four in the first section, one in the second).

A couple of hours later we were home and working to diagnosing the problems with the dining platform. At least I’m getting closer to getting it running again. Still more to do, but at least I can get to the batteries without having to move the entire lift.

Another late dinner, supplemented by Joe making blackberry martinis (macerated blackberries with a little sugar and either vodka or light rum). And we were so full from the appetizers that we just used the leftover steak over a bed of greens. And a nice rosé.

Of course Swanda learned of the blackberries and now wants some to make his own martinis.

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I got Joe up, showered and out of the house by 5am to get his car back and get to his flight.

Guess who went back to bed?

After I returned to the land of the living, it was time to clean up all the items that were pending – getting transportation to/from the airport, reading the long emails I just scanned over, oh, and all those credit cards bills and the new lower mortgage payment.

Dinner by myself, the boys were taking the scenic drive through Mount Saint Helens and didn’t arrive until 9ish. So, the steak that I’d neglected to freeze, leaving the pork chops for tomorrow when we go to dinner at Swanda’s place.

Short post today.

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An early morning – that means an alarm clock.

9:45am train to Portland for a couple of hours of shopping at Powells and hanging with Joe’s friends, one of which I know.

Nothing like travelling in a sleeper car – with the attendant bringing us split after split of champagne.

And the famous Portland Chinatown restaurant… Hung Far Low – though I tend to remember the sign hanging mid-block, not on the corner.

Much fun, delayed trains, complaint letter coming (no wi-fi in either direction, bad parlour car service both ways, etc)… and now I’m exhausted.

And fat.

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8:30am staff meeting — yes, me, in an early morning staff meeting. Shocking.

This week I’ll be reporting from a work/play trip to Sunny Florida (or at least I’m hoping for sunny) logging some billable hours for Shirts of Bamboo.

After Dan’s doctor’s appointment we are off to Daytona Beach — too bad it isn’t spring break with all the half naked guys running around. Well, not exactly after the doctor — there is picking up the rental car and getting lunch in with Lisa before we hit the road.

Check-in is at 4pm at the lovely (hopefully) WorldMark Ocean Walk. It’s a two-bedroom penthouse — which hopefully means sometime more (like a private hot tub) than waffle weave robes. WorldMark really needs to fix their descriptions if it doesn’t. Example: WorldMark Oceanside (the other ocean — north of San Diego) is an example of a “Penthouse” not including a private hot tub — should be renamed Deluxe instead.

Current plan is to check-in, see what they consider a full kitchen, and then do shopping for two days of dinners and breakfasts. It’s also turned into a business trip since Dan will be meeting with a store owner (seven locations) about carrying some bamboo items from our wholesale line.

Stay tuned for updates, unless I’m having too much fun.

MID-DRIVE UPDATE

Nothing like two geeks on holiday. We are finally making some time after having to repeated stop to get the toys in the rental car working. No Toyota Camry as promised, but instead we have a Ford Fusion with 3800 miles on it — the the Microsoft/Ford Sync system — hence the technology delays.

It was easy enough to get the computer plugged in and hooked up to the system so that we can listen to KPLU (Seattle Jazz Station) and still get directions from Microsoft Streets and Trips via GPS. It was getting the bluetooth on my phone to work — never did, but Dan’s newer bluetooth phone does work, and it downloaded his address book and everything. It’s actually better that his phone work than mine since he gets more calls than I do.

Next stop, Daytona Beach.

******** STOP THE PRESSES ********

Special Update for Helene: Lunch with Dan and Lisa at Pho 97 — a lovely Vietnamese restaurant on 34th in St. Pete. Great fresh rolls which both Lisa and I had — and I had a pork sandwich as well (my portion of the bill…. $5). Nice lunch before being dropped at Hertz.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM

Off to the market and the liquor store. Publix is a couple of miles north of us. Dinner is both shrimp and lamb with salad, bread, and asparagus…. on the worst collection of cookware that I have ever seen in a WorldMark resort. It’s so bad it is worthy of MORE than the call for a supervisor (still hasn’t shown up), a failing comment card, and many comments on the WorldMark Traveler’s Forum as to “what to expect”.

And here is a shot of Dan and I from last night. I’ll give the link to the rest of the photos when I get them uploaded.

Off to the Big Easy just after Mardi Gras.

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

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

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

And the insides aren’t too bad either…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A full day of food and culture.

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

The trolley to the Museum on Canal Street.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lots of beads!

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

And lots more walking – want some street BBQ?

Or maybe a nice old car?

Maybe a church?

Or many just some pretty old buildings:

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

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

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

Another trip to NOLA under my belt.

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It was a trip for the miles – the final flights to hit $1,500 in United Airline tickets excluding taxes – I just squeaked over the spend at $1.506. And what did I get? 25,000 bonus miles on top of the miles that I earned. Since all 5 segments were booked in paid First Class (which has class bonuses), that brings the total miles earned to 37,048. Basically 5 cents a mile on a cost basis. It would have been cheaper to just wait for a United Bonus Miles sale (like they are having now) and pick up the miles for a little more than 2 cents a mile – but then again, I wouldn’t have gotten to go to both New Orleans and Puerto Vallarta (my two mileage runs).

That said, under United’s OLD mileage plan (two years ago) my Gold status and class of service bonus would have earned me 37,884 miles into my account, under the CURRENT mileage plan, my Gold status and the class of service bonus got me 12,048 miles – basically a THIRD of the miles. And you wonder why I prefer Alaska Airlines and their mileage-based program.

In reality – I made a decision to go for more miles. I just redeemed 20,000 of those miles for a reduced award round-trip ticket to Columbia, South Carolina in late October. This, by the way, is the best use of miles – tickets to out-of-the-way places that NEVER go on sale. And trust me, Columbia, South Carolina is one of those destinations – and I even got a one-stop (DC) in both directions, and “oddly” United offers “status” upgrades even on mileage redeemed tickets – mind you, you are the LAST of those upgraded. No first on the DC-Columbia legs, and can’t imagine getting an upgrade on a flight between Seattle and DC.

Now that you’ve suffered through my “mileage whore” section of the post – let’s talk New Orleans.

It seems I’m now going a couple of times each year, which means that I’m developing “habits”. New to the mix is paying the $50 UberXL fee for a private ride from the airport to the condo. And considering the storms on the way in, waiting for the bus was out.

Got to the condo, and for once – NO ONE was in the check-in line (it’s a big place). Threw the bags down, went out for Bourbon and mixer, fixed a cocktail, and basically chilled out. I have to say – HELLA view from this unit, best I’ve had here!

I got a one-bedroom, so there is room:

The rest of the pictures of the unit are from later in the trip when the place really looked “lived in”.

Here is the outside – not sure I like the new paint job:

The Bourbon and mixer – Basil Hayden for $30 a bottle – freakin’ cheap by Seattle standards:

My habit on the first night in NOLA seems to be a visit to Houston’s – a small national chain that adapts each cities menu. In this case, it includes jazz starting at 8.

And good food/booze – in this case, because it’s NOLA – that would be a Sazerac:

And an $18 burger:

I love the haystack fries, even though I shouldn’t have them.

My plan for the first day was to return to Purloo for an early lunch – only to find that they are no longer there, and that the Southern Food and Beverage Museum is closed on Tuesdays so that meant no shopping for odd southern cookbooks.

You can find the link to both those places on my February New Orleans post (https://blog.unclemarkie.com/2016/03/02/trip-report-arts-run-to-new-orleans/)

Had to come up with a new plan for lunch so I kept walking down Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. until I stumbled across Dryades Public Market, which is in what looks like an old schoolhouse. Got a Cuban from one stall and a Sazerac from the bar and called it lunch:

And I thought the bartender at Purloo!

Attempted to go back to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art – but guess what? Closed on Tuesdays. After a little shopping for Kathy (Princess of Tacky T-Shirts), caught the street car back to condo, futzed a bit, then headed out to Samuel’s Blind Pelican for an early dinner/late afternoon snack of oysters. Ended up getting a dozen of the raw on the half shell for $3 a dozen – and YES you read that correct – during Happy Hour which is 4-8pm, must purchase an “adult beverage” to qualify for the cheap price. No problem here.

Then moved onto the Charbroiled at $8.50 a dozen (and another “adult beverage”.

Even the dogs were eating oysters – this one trained to grab them from the edge of the bar!

Not sure how THESE guys who are on their feet for hours shucking oysters feel about them being dog food….

And this is one of the most amusing repurposing of door knobs – to hang you coat/purse on!

They go through a TON of oysters so they have their own truck:

And let’s not forget the Shrimp Boil and BBQ!

Whew! Real dinner later in the night was at Pho Orchid, starting with Vegetable Spring Rolls (well, after a Manhattan):

And then the combo fried rice – which I didn’t finish – but which made a great breakfast in the morning!

The following day brought me back to The Ogden Museum of Southern Art:

Here are some of my favorite pieces like this “quilts” from their invitational show:

The major show was works on paper from their collection, including two by Michael Meads – the artist that I came to specifically see in February:

Some other favorites:

And from the basement History of Graffiti in New Orleans:

Of my favorite museums, this one ranks in the top ten – maybe because they take chances and have more “adult-themed” exhibits rather than “general audience” exhibitions.

We’ve reached the end of this post – longer and it chokes in the machine. Stay tuned for Part Two!

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Talk about a quick trip…just an overnight outside Denver with my ex and his wife. I would have stayed longer but the cheap flights were only on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And when I say cheap — $118 round-trip. Add $23 for the rental car, $10 for gas, and $35 for airport parking in Seattle and you have my expenses other than breakfast in Denver on the way to the airport (under $5).

Did I mention that I was upgraded in both directions? Knew about the return upgrade, but the “at the gate” upgrade when I was sixth on the list when I checked was a bit of a shock as there are only 12 seats up front.

In honor of my quick trip – a bunch of “selfies”:

In the Alaska Board Room.

From my going list of Airline Club Lounge photos.

The view on the tarmac featuring a salmon-thirty-salmon.

Shocked at my gate upgrade to first.

Relaxing at Dan and Lisa’s place.

Even Winston has started to like me.

In the Admirals Club at the Denver Airport…I can’t believe I forgot to get a shot of the room.

Next time. And we know there will a next time.

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Sometimes, it’s easier to just up the hardware and fly to your software/hardware dude. Hence why I’m flying to Denver when the temperatures in Denver are in the single digits.

Let’s start with a really bad lounge full portrait…

But soon enough was up in the clouds (the Caesar helped)…

Got upgrade to First with enough time to order the Pho Plate – which was so good I got on the Alaska Listens app to tell them!

Did I mention it was going to be cold in Denver?

I brought my project to work on with Dan:

Now we just have to get the screen scaled correctly to make my dream World Clock.

Dan had his own project going with his 3D printer:

I’d been considering a 3D printer, but now that I’ve seen the hassle of getting it set up and dialed in, nope – will ask Dan to print anything I need.

With all the geek work and not leaving the apartment since it’s brutally cold, we started eating like dorm room teenagers…

Though, in all fairness, that was homemade Japanese Mile Bread.

When I said we didn’t leave the apartment, I even had booze delivered in to make Empress Gin Martinis!

That would be a little fancy for dorm room teens.

One we did make a bunch of progress on the World Clock…

In the blank space under the times will go a scrolling news feed and a scrolling stock/commodity feed.

But not this week.

It was a quick two nights, and the temperature was 5 degrees when we left for the airport. I do not miss that cold and/or snow, or the lack of humidity that dries out my nostrils. The sun is nice, however.

How nice they sent a gay plane to pick me up!

Return leg home was in mere Premium Class, but as an Alaska MVP Gold 100K, they shower you with “stuff”.

Home at a reasonable time, and I have tomorrow off. Whew.

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When you have friends that live in Indianapolis, you don’t get to see them often, so when you get a chance to holiday in the same city, you take it, even if it is six hours in the opposite direction.

The gods must have been smiling on me since I got an upgrade at the last minute – at boarding they scanned my boarding pass and rejected it. They replaced it with a boarding pass for 4D. The downside is no choice of meal, sigh.

Would have preferred the omelet and sausage. Oh well.

Arrived at HNL and grabbed the city bus into town – stopped at Giovani’s for a quick lunch…

Got settled into the condo early, not a bad view!

Mick and Ric arrived around 6 and we had some nibbles and eventually got lazy and called next door to PFChangs for takeout.

The next day (Tuesday) was a busy one. After rising late (me), off to lunch at the Liliha Bakery for a little Fried Chicken – really good Fried Chicken:

We chose this restaurant because it is close to the Salvation Army Thrift store…

Where I found some goodies…

A couple of them are for me, a couple for other people, including Joe, whose 50^th Birthday Celebration is part of this adventure.

Speaking of Joe (and Lisa, and Lisa’s Niece Emily), they are all coming to dinner, so we are off to the Food Pantry for supplies – but find this closed bar for a quick picture:

We did manage to swing by (before the meal prep) to the restaurant on top of Tommy Bahama for their 3-5PM Happy Hour, which has really good food options, like the Poki and the Fish Tacos:

The meal restrictions were, not spicy, no pork. We were having so much fun that evening that we didn’t even take picture of the lovely meal Mick made (while I’m a good cook, Mick is an excellent cook!)

Ric left in the morning before I got up – he needed to be back at work in Phoenix, so Mick and I went to the World War Two Museum at Fort Derussey which is a couple of blocks from the condo, and free:

That building in the center background is the Trump Tower (hisssssss).

Wednesday was actually Joe’s birthday, so the Tiki Bar Crawl started at Tommy Bahama’s around 3:30…

And then to Arnolds, which is a dive bar for restaurant workers in the alley behind Tommy Bahama…

This would be Emily…the niece:

Beyond that, we hit three more Tiki Bars… starting with Rumfire, at the Sheraton Waikiki…

And then over to The Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian (aka The Pink Palace):

And onto the final stop which was Tiki’s Bar and Grill, but with a stop at the Duke statue on the beach…

Lots of Tiki glasses at the Tiki’s Bar and Grill!

It was a fun evening…and since we started early, we were home by 10!

The following morning we had to be out of the condo at 10am (which I’m used to WorldMark’s noon checkout), and off to the airport we went. Mick had a later flight, but needed to do a conference call so we hit the lounge – we are on different flights (I’m stopping in Portland).

Got upgraded to First on the HNL-PDX flight (even before I actually flew TO HNL) so I had food on the return as well….

Not sure why there isn’t a picture of the main course…aparently having too much fun (again).

Well, that’s it for this installment.

[225.6]

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Ah, the tropical heat of Miami – didn’t miss it, still don’t. Plane landed on time – and by 8am I’d had a quick breakfast and was looking for someplace quiet to hang for a couple of hours until Dan and Lisa arrive from Tampa (driving). The answer – across from the post office (I also needed postcard stamps) was the chapel – not in my terminal, but pre-security. Nothing like spending your first three hours in Miami in church.

Actually, it worked out really will. I hung out in the back of the chapel with my luggage, in a dark corner – only two people popped in. I tried to look awake for them.

They made good time so we were out of the airport a few minutes after 11… much better than the noon I’d been expecting.

Next stop – some place that served healthy organic food between Miami International Airport and Boca Raton where Dan’s grandparents live. The answer was Metro. Dan and I opted for the cheeseburger with Fontana cheese, Lisa went for the seared Ahi – which is what I should have gone for because the burger was huge. Oh well.

Grocery store, then off to the Grandparents – me happily sleeping in the back of the Element. I really dislike red-eye flights, even up front.

Introductions, then naps for all of us – Dan and Lisa were up early as well as having a concert the night before.

Dinner of a veal pot roast, big salads (needed that) and a nice bottle of wine.

Canasta after the dinner dishes were cleared and cleaned. I watched and tried to get a feel for the game after a thirty year absence in playing. It may take me another round of watching as the game ended prematurely with Lisa scoring a “junk hand” on her first draw – for 5000 points, and the next round Grandmother Slyvia (Lisa’s partner) scored a win on pairs closeout after a couple of rounds – the odds of getting either of those hands is astronomical, and the odds of getting one after the other… well, I can’t calculate them.

Glad I wasn’t playing that hand.

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It’s going to be a long day of driving, flying, and walking.

Eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast, and out the door at 9:45 headed to Bellingham.

Met SurfBetty in downtown for Korean Food at the Stone Pot only to find it closed. Then conveying to a Japanese Restaurant near SB’s place in the north end only to find it closed (damn Mondays). Ended up at a lovely Vietnamese place nearby which was cheap and lovely.

After a great lunch (Chicken Pho [soup] for SB, summer roll and chicken-lime salad for me) it was off to the airport arriving WAY in advance of my flight and in the middle of an Allegiant Air flight to Vegas I believe since I didn’t see anyone dressed for warm weather (they now fly to Hawaii as well).

Short line at check-in being a Gold First Class person – apparently if I wanted to take tomorrows flight they would have given me $400, which would have been more than the ticket cost me. Bad timing unfortunately with meeting up Joe and Lisa tomorrow. And you know how much I love getting bumped. Dollars, miles, the works.

Had a couple of Manhattans at Scotty Browns and got caught up with all the emails and blog posts for both me and the business, and then it was onto the flight. I left my jacket in the car since I didn’t want to drag it around Hawaii for four days so it means I’ll freeze my nipples off on Saturday morning as well – hopefully it won’t be raining cats and dogs.

About an hour in, dinner was served:

• Mixed Greenswith Soy Citrus Glazed Chicken, edamame and Madarin Oranges
• Warm Hawaiian Sweet Roll
• Kalbi Beef Ribs with Korean BBQ Sauce
• Sticky Rice
• Stir Fried Zucchini
• Tropical Trifle for dessert

Not bad for airline food. Manage to drink them out of Scotch in the six-hour flight so someone else up front must have been helping.

Here is the view from Honolulu International Airport on my arrival. The Chinese Garden you see in the foreground is actually behind security in the airport. But oddly enough, no smoking.

Caught the shuttle into town, dropped the bags and headed out for a late night snack of Kaulia Pork from Ono Cheesesteak which has taken the place of L&L near the Royal Kuhio where I’ve stayed in the past. The Royal Garden where I’m staying this time is about 4 blocks north (meaning further from FoodLand, the closest full service grocery store). And no, I didn’t eat the two scoops of rice, but I did eat the tiny scoop of mac salad.

The room is nicer that the other Wyndams I’ve stayed at in Waikiki, though there are some “odd things”:

Wine glasses, but no corkscrew

No cutting board or knives

No cooktop, but I knew that so I brought the electric skillet

I’ll try and get some pictures tomorrow.

But for now, it’s time for bed.

[210.9]

You never know when a Christmas miracle will happen. The random addition of a neighbor (French) into the holiday table mix yields incredible results.

Attendees:

• Mom
• Dad
• Jennifer (sis-in law)
• Kennan (bro-in-law)
• Nancy (Jennifer’s aunt)
• Karen (youngest niece)
• Emily (oldest niece)
• Sophie (the neighbor)
• Myself

Unfamiliar with US customs, Sophie asks for our fondest memories of Christmas past. MANY stories come out. Many stories that I haven’t heard. before the end of the evening is over, more wine is opened. We have also drained an entire bottle of Grappa — a $12.99 steal at Trader Joe’s in Santa Fe.

Some of those stories:

• My parents dating history before marriage (3 weekends)
• The story of my mother’s father’s tragic accident on the way to her wedding
• Out came the bible that my mother had her orchid on for the wedding (the bridesmaids had poinsettias)
• My brother Jon’s picking up a “humorous” movie for New Year’s Eve (Das Boot — at least it wasn’t the directors cut!)
• Antics of Jennifer’s dead father — a great “swordsman” according to the wicked stepmother
• Sophie’s growing up in France as an only child in a “proper” French house
• and more that I can’t even remember at the moment. Blame it on the Grappa.

The menu was standard Souder Christmas featuring a huge standing rib roast and all the trimmings.

With all the laughing and drinking — people didn’t leave until after eleven — shocking for my parents who are usually in bed by nine.

And what New Mexico Christmas would be complete without having to push someone out of a ditch — that would be Sofie.

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Recounting a long day… up with a wakeup call at 7, rolling over until 7:30, coffee on, eggs reheated, out the door around 9, headed for the North Shore.

We did the slow trip up the east side. Most folks just go straight up the island, we did the circle route.

Apparently they decorate trees on the north end.

Here is a little video tour of our east coast of Oahu run:

And then it is on to Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck – Darcy turned me on to this two years ago on my trip with SurfBetty.

And then off to Bonsai Pipeline and other surf spots – no, we didn’t surf, I used the free chair I found (and fixed) on the beach to watch the surfers.

And then it was off to Honolulu for the Tin Man Mailman, a retro Hawaianna storef (Joe bought a Tiki Mug), then off to one of the oldest Tiki Bars in Honolulu located in the industrial districts – La Mariana Sailing Club )Joe bought a Tiki Mug):

Love the blowfish lanterns over the bar. Then off to a fabric store where Lisa bought fabric to recover Joe’s Tiki Bar chairs, and I bought 100% cotton fabric featuring space shuttles loaded with pineaples – I kid you knot. Sorry, no photo.

We didn’t make it to the Duke’s statue as Friday night traffic was hell getting into Waikiki, so we turned around and headed to the airport to drop me off.

Fun trip – 4 hours in the Delta Sky Club room next to the Japanese Garden behind security at the Honolulu International Airport (reminds me of Seoul, South Korea)… free drinks, free snacks, free wi-fi.

Plane leaves at 11:45pm, arrival 7:55am and I’m to work at 1:30pm for a bubbles tasting.

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Here are some shots of the non-handicap units.

Still no burners – good thing I brought the hot plate!

Didn’t fire up the hot plate this morning – ate leftovers from last night. Think Chinese breakfast.

We were out of the units a little before 10 and headed to the Kanaka Ukulele factory tour. I’d done it before, but thought Joe and Lisa would enjoy it (which they did).

Next up was the Aloha Bowl Flea Market. Not as packed as it usually is according to the vendors. Cause: very muggy weather, but overcast so you don’t have all the heat from open sun.

After a couple of hours and only covering half of the flea market we set out for something air-conditioned: Hilo Hattie. Yes, more shopping – and here it the result from the flea market:

Fabric for something, maybe a shirt? ($10 for three yards)

And who couldn’t resist Christ nailed to a surf board – looks great draped in puca shells. ($15, down from $18)

Three new Hawaii shirts from Hilo Hatties. (1 @ $4.99, 2@ $9.99)

Joe and Lisa headed back to the windward side of the island while I had the remaining leftovers for dinner.

In for the night – my dogs are barking (my feet are killing me).

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