some April - May - June wanderings

PJ and I had some fine wanderings recently.

To Flagstaff in late April for a Gregory Alan Isakov concert.  Stopped in Sedona on the way up to try out a new trail (a loop on the "Hogs" trails) - lovely as always in Sedona though this particular route won't go top of our list.  PJ and I had a great dinner at Brix in Flagstaff.  CPG, PJr and Pat Herrera joined for concert - fun day - including some phone time as CPG and Dharma wheel and deal on house purchase.  Dark Sky Brewery impresses.  But Isakov has lost his way, at least in our view.  Hiked on Mt. Elden as well.

McMillan's (Flagstaff)

Not much photography, here's a Sedona trail look:


via GIPHY

Dark Sky Brewery was a success; better-than-expected dinner at some new Italian place (Flagstaff).

Cooperative weather allowed us another trip up to Spur Cross on May 7 - and this time we did the full Elephant Mountain loop.  A favorite place.  Cloudy/cool conditions.  Epic brunch follows at Richardson's - green chili pork eggs benedict, yes!  Pairs well with Sculpin-on-tap.

Elephant Mountain - Spur Cross Nature Conservancy

We get out to the Superstitions on May 16 and hike the Peralta Trail for the first time in several years.  Supremely cooperative weather.  We agreed that this trail is even nicer than we recalled it.  Mid-week hiking kept the crowds down and simplified parking.  Amazing place.  Followed by lunch at another amazing place - Arizona Wilderness brewery.  My little designated driver was quite helpful (not to mention a fine hiking companion).  Here's Weaver's Needle:


via GIPHY

Superstitions + AZ Wilderness = strong combination.

Unusually fine atmospheric conditions in the Superstitions.  We need to get out there more regularly.

Celebrated wedding anniversary #37 with a road trip to our favorite Laguna Beach hotel - three nights, great weather, we walk the town relentlessly but offsetting calorie intake not a problem for me.  Meals at our usual favorite spots.  Shopping trip at the outlet malls on the way home.  Another delightful trip.


via GIPHY

So many meals at Nick's . . . 

A short staycation at FoundRe hotel in downtown Phoenix over 10 June weekend.  The usual:  wandering, eating; weather warm but manageable.  Much enjoyed our walk (and visit) to the Phoenix Art Museum, then light rail to Arrogant Butcher for a surprisingly good lunch.  Our favorite dinner was at Breadfruit.  Had a tour of the Cafiso's construction site - pretty fine location (and basically next door to our hotel).  Fun getaway.

Top - Match restaurant (in the hotel).  Bottom - life on the rails.

yes it was a good weekend for baseball

As previewed here, PJ and I tried something different - a weekend in downtown Phoenix (June 8-10).  We've had good luck with various Kimpton hotels, and a new one opened in Phoenix on June 5.  The Diamondbacks were in town for a weekend series with Oakland (a really bad team), and POC worked his ticket thing.

Walking back to hotel (it's in background) along Jefferson after Sunday's game.

 It all turned out very nicely.  Tried out various downtown restaurants.  We thought the new Cityscape development (encompassing the new hotel and a number of the restaurants) is shaping up nicely.  Hotel was quite good, and the hotel restaurant (Blue Hound) is very well done.

Duggan to the rescue - part of the disastrous start to Friday's game (which turned out well).

As far as the baseball - Friday night's game was the best of the year - Dbacks went down 6-0, eventually won 9-8 on a three-run walk-off home run courtesy of Tatman.  So that was fun, even if we had left after 2+ hours to eat dinner (and follow the game on TV at least).    Dbacks also won the games on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday's game - "Star Wars night" - imperial storm troopers - it was amusing . . .

We walked around downtown a bunch.  Ran into Jeff Ward, who invited us to soft opening at his new restaurant (Fuego Cityscape) - so that was nice as a pre-game activity on Saturday.

I predict we'll do something like this again.

. . . including Star Wars riffs on player introductions.

Just prior to Sunday afternoon game.  Roof closed for the first time all weekend.

Winslow and Jerome (touring with PJ, June 4-8)

PJ and I took a delightful tour of Northern Arizona June 4-8.

Saturday, June 4

We hadn't driven the Beeline Highway for many years - spectacular scenery.

Stopped at the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park (enroute to Winslow). Some photos in the slideshow, plus video below. This was surprisingly entertaining - though for some reason, we had low expectations. Arrived around 11:30a -brilliant sunshine, temp in upper 70s, perfect. Nice trails, decent exercise. Very dramatic (by our standards) working our way through the rocks and creek under the bridge itself.



Then lunch on the patio at something called the Rimrock Grill in Pine, Arizona (about five miles up the road from the Tonto turn-off). Odell IPA on tap. Hit the spot, and then some.

Then onto Winslow. We had our misgivings about spending time in Winslow, but had seen positive reviews about the La Posada Hotel and its restaurant - the Turquoise Room (plus a feature on some TV travel show). So we booked two nights in what must be the best available room (242) - about the only room with a small balcony, with the room just open in a newly-remodeled section of the hotel, overlooking the front entry, new gardens and plantings, etc.

La Posada is a delight - we were thrilled with our stay there. I don't know how they do it - every detail is thought through carefully and then executed to perfection. It's almost overwhelming trying to take in everything they're up to. Descriptions available via the hotel website and plenty of other online review sites.

My stab at a quick description: The place would be delightful if it were just the hotel with restaurant. But then there all these additional layers that make the experience so rewarding. Architecture by Mary Colter (we're familiar with her for Grand Canyon work) - this hotel is intended to be patterned on a traditional hacienda, and it really works. Supposedly her favorite project. Santa Fe RR history. Harvey Hotels. Harvey Girls (still use the uniforms in the restaurant). 1930s and 1940s hot spot - TWA stopover in addition to the trains. Rapid decline after WWII; converted to lowly RR offices, treasures auctioned off or sent to dump. City of Winslow in rapid decline after a bright start. Renovation of the hotel starts. Associated artists, starting with renovator's wife. Tinsmith. Gardener. Turquoise Room. Painstaking restoration, new elements. Gorgeous public spaces consume so much of the hotel - how does this make $? Freight trains passing through constantly - a plus, enhances the atmosphere, evocative RR sounds. With Winslow still struggling - this gem in a tough area.

The restaurant is ridiculously good. PJ stuck with the prime rib and filet at dinner on our two nights and was well rewarded; I had elk medallions with some sort of black currant reduction on Saturday, then the MVP dinner on Sunday (quail, elk medallion with some other treatment, tamale with bison). Somehow the chef incorporates all sorts of native elements, fresh local ingredients, delightful meats. And this is in Winslow!! Breakfasts and lunches also just a delight.

Also on Saturday: we walked into downtown Winslow. Not a good sign when the best attraction is based on a 1970s Eagles tune (per photo stream).

Sunday, June 5

Three delightful meals at Turquoise Room, per above. Warm weather. Visited Homolovi Ruins State Park. This isn't terribly interesting - or maybe it is, after all. Incredible site overlooking the Little Colorado River. Open, desolate territory. Lots of unauthorized digging on the sites as folks sought pottery in prior years.

Spent much of the afternoon and early evening relaxing around the La Posada property - too much to look at, will need to go back. Also spent some time driving around Winslow neighborhoods, which was interesting.

In addition to meal description above: had two of their famous appetizers with Sunday dinner. A Hopi woman makes a traditional "piki" bread that is indescribably light. Not possible to re-create. The chef also has a squash blossom appetizer that is just delightful.

Monday, June 6

More time hanging around La Posada for breakfast, etc. Found a book for me and a really nice bracelet for PJ at the gift shop. Reluctantly checked out.

Lunch at the very-well-reviewed Tinderbox Restaurant in Flagstaff (less than an hour west of Winslow). Cool, breezy, delightful in Flagstaff. We walked the downtown area - which merits further exploration. Bought a six pack of Lumberyard IPA at the brewery.

Then drove down 89A through Sedona to Jerome (yet another spectacular drive), where we stayed two nights at the Jerome Grand Hotel. Walked the town a bit after checking in; enjoyed the view and a drink from our patio (per photo stream); dinner at Asylum in the hotel. Perfect weather.

Tuesday, June 7

Breakfast at Quince. Then to the Woodchute Trail (10 or so miles south of Jerome), got there around 11:00a or so. PJ was talking about going all the way to the lookout point (about 4.5 miles one way from where we parked) - and she meant it. I think she scampers rather than hikes. Conditions were just delightful, the payoff views can't be beat. This was fun. Lunch at Grape per usual; then mostly relaxed at the room until dinner at Asylum.

We're a little concerned with the Jerome Hotel and Asylum - not progressing. Or maybe it was an unfair comparison after what we experienced in Winslow.

Wednesday, June 8

Breakfast at Flatiron Cafe in Jerome - nice. Walked the shops awhile in Jerome - nice. Decided we needed to continue our pattern of lunch in a different town every day - went up to Sedona after checking out of the hotel. But we didn't have great luck finding a lunch place and ended up at the Oak Creek brewery location in Tlaquepaque. Which was ok. Walked around Sedona a bit, then worked our way home. But not before stopping at BJ's at Desert Ridge for dinner around 7:30p, where we had surprisingly good food and a nice conclusion to our trip.

I do enjoy traveling with PJ. This was a great trip, with Winslow the best part.

Kai (at Wild Horse Pass)

Wanted to mention briefly that PJ and I spent a delightful weekend at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass resort down on the south end of Phoenix (overnights April 9 and 10).

The impetus for the trip was a generous gift certificate to Kai restaurant at the resort - received from our kids for our 30th wedding anniversary. So it was time to get going on this. Kai has been open a few years now, and remains the valley's #1 fine dining restaurant (per the reviewers, or at least most of them). I believe it's the only restaurant in the state with AAA five diamond status.

The place lived up to its billing - PJ had the lamb, I had the buffalo tenderloin, tremendous attention to detail by the staff - nice.

What was also nice was that the other restaurants at the resort also did a great job - we had dinner at Ko Sin the second night, plus a great lunch at the golf course clubhouse.

Mostly relaxed around the room, but also did a hike on the south side of South Mountain - Telegraph Pass - I can see why it's such a popular place with folks on that side of town. Even some petroglyphs right off the trail.

Excellent getaway.

We liked Quebec province

Back in town after a short trip to Montreal and Quebec City.

These are wonderful destinations. Still hearing echoes of French conversation. Will post on various trip topics shortly.

Also need to remark that autumn in AZ is a fine thing.

Road Trip! (Southeast AZ)

Patricia and I snuck away a few days to SE Arizona (April 18-21). We could hardly believe we hadn't been back to Bisbee since 2002. Here's what happened:

1. Drove to Tucson on Saturday and stopped first for lunch at Cafe Poca Cosa; first time we were at its new location. Sat at the bar and had a wonderful lunch and conversation with the owner, she is quite a success story, regularly appearing in the national foodie magazines. Mole sauce is quite something. Stayed at The Lodge on the Desert; dinner at Barrio. The hotel was in the final stages of a remodel, they are doing a great job.

2. Sunday - had a cup of coffee at the Starbucks on University, just west of campus. This is a beautiful shaded area right by U of A. Then packed and hit the road for SE AZ "wine country." Started with lunch at Canela's in Sonoita, which we had just been reading about in Arizona Highways. Sat outdoors. Just a gorgeous day. The light is different in this part of the state, very beautiful.

3. Then drove to five or six wineries; the industry is making progress since our last visit, though it sounds like they are finding conditions (soil and weather) perhaps a bit less promising than they were hoping in the early days. But who knows. We did a tasting at Callaghan, and also at Sonoita Vineyards (Gordon Dutt). We liked the first one, the second had an entertaining pour-meister. It was just a beautiful day, and the red soil, mountain backdrops, rarified light, etc., is compelling. A couple photos above.

4. Then drove to Bisbee, where I took the top Bisbee photo (looking up the main drag toward sundown). Stayed at the Copper Queen - had a really neat corner room with only one downside (featured cold and luke-cold water in the shower). And they said they had permission to name it the "Lee Marvin" room, I guess he stayed at the hotel (not necessarily this room) a number of times. Whoopee.

5. Weather was sensational. We enjoyed the coffee shop; nice dinners at the Bisbee Grille (Cafe Roka wasn't open the days we were in town); walked the shops and galleries; took a long walk up and around the hills; eventually found a nice bracelet for PJ. Most enjoyable were two lunches on the patio at the Copper Queen restaurant - sensational setting, nice local IPA, good food, outstanding company.

6. On our last day, we looked at a couple bed & breakfast places, a couple of which look quite promising for future trips. Then started our drive back to Phoenix (hadn't moved the car once while in Bisbee). Easy, pleasant return trip.

7. Stopped for happy hour at La Boca in Tempe, then met the rest of the choir folks for one of our final choir practices (working on Mendelssohn's Elijah).

Such a nice trip . . .

BTW, bottom photo is late 19th century bar artwork - Lily Langtry, a period actress (also associated, let's say, with the future Edward VII).

Various adventures: beginning 2009 (EMG #80)

This continues the discussion of our holiday activities . . . still missing photos (which I also rely on to trigger my recollections of the events, so likely there will be more to come on text as well as photos).

1. January 1 - Patricia and I were down to breakfast at the hotel by around 7:30a, with exactly zero other customers around . . . maybe New Year's Eve activities slowed the breakfast crowd? Anyway, we got organized and went over to Arnie & Joann's place to pick up our three sons. Luis, POC, Nicole, Kerry stayed in Chicago for the day to go to the outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field. The rest of us drove to Iowa. Very easy trip; the Chrysler minivan works well for these purposes; no weather issues; made it to St. Joe around 5:30p. Which was right in time for a pork patty supper. A good group of early arrivers were there; played cards (some played spoons) watched a couple bowl games (not competitive). Eventually up to the AmericInn in Algona. Chris, Patrick and Paul Jr. were were channeling Mike O'Donnell and Vo Zintak as we finished the trip.

2. Jan 2 - breakfast and chatting at the hotel for quite awhile. Charlie went with the four of us over to the YMCA to find some exercise; ended up playing basketball there. We picked up Kevin Illg for our sixth; the kid can actually shoot the ball. He and Charlie had some good matchups. This was fun, the facility was quite nice. Then back to the hotel, where everyone eventually gathered (including car #2 from our group, consisting of the four above-named hockey fans). It turned out that all six daughters and all three sons were able to make it for their father's 80th birthday - first time we all were together in quite a few years. So that was nice. We went over to some studio for a family photo. This was fun to do and a good idea, but unfortunately it turned out that the product wasn't all that great. (That also was the only point where the 11 of us were more or less "alone together," which was a nice feeling in itself. And it did bring to mind little things like Glenn's Studio (family portraits from the 1960s).) Back to the hotel for a pizza supper; then a long session of bingo featuring prizes brought in from various parts of the country. Followed by a late euchre game involving CCG and my sons in the break room. Weather was turning quite a bit colder, with wind and some precipitation starting.

3. Jan 3 - everyone eventually got organized at the hotel and we made our way down to St. Joe for noon meal, etc. Grandma had ridiculously good baked goods every time we turned around. At this point the weather was icing up pretty significantly. There were a couple NFL playoff games, including the first home playoff game for the Cardinals in something like 47 years. This overlapped with the 80th birthday party but it turned out that the Cardinals were able to win without us. Played cards a bunch in the afternoon.

4. The actual 80th birthday party was held later in the day, at the "learning center" (chapel) in the St. Joe school. Very nicely arranged, including choice of location; food was good, decorations nice; etc. It was most enjoyable to hear folks share thoughts about EMG, with three generations of commenters chiming in. There is a feeling of continuity about these things (at least for us (somewhat) older folks); you can't help thinking of the previous generations and wishing they were there to speak up as well. As far as a sense of continuity, it also was an interesting thought to know that prior generations were resting, let's say, in the cemetery right up the hill. Unique. EMG is at a stage where he is as good an embodiment as can be found for St. Joe continuity . . .

5. But enough of that; after the party, we went back to the house in St. Joe. At this point I was getting thoroughly reacquainted with concepts such as warming up the car, chipping off ice, etc. First time in this level of weather since the 80s. There was plenty of ice by now. More talking and card playing, then drove back to Algona up an icy (but adequately salted) highway 169. Late cards with CCG again at the AmericInn (and Kristen this time); we were in the breakfast area but were invited to play Texas hold-em with another group in the break room. Intriguing offer and good for some laughs, but we declined. No doubt we looked like easy marks, or something. . .

6. Jan 4 - Everyone got organized early and went down to St. Joe for 8am Sunday mass. Icy again. Tailwind permitted sliding along hotel parking lot when walking to car. Icy at school and church. Stopped for "coffee and rolls." We had thought that we would drive around St. Joe area a bit on this day, plus tour the house on the farm. But the weather made that unattractive. Alternate attractions included NFL playoff games and pretty much continuous card playing. Some who planned to travel stuck around for the day; others made it back to Mpls (with delays along I-35) or Storm Lake. Luis and POC continued to hold up quite well with a large group of new friends in confined quarters. Probably never played so many cards at one time. One group switched to Chinese checkers later in the day. Said our goodbyes. Eventually back to hotel, where we sat in the lobby for awhile and chitchatted about our vacation travels.

7. Jan 5 - this was our travel day to return to Chicago and Phoenix; quick (and unsuccessful) stop at the house in St. Joe to look for some kind of hair dryer or something (it was nice to see the folks there). Icy conditions had pretty much given up. Various stops; the two cars pretty much stayed together; eventually split at O'Hare (from which Luis was flying; also said goodbye to Nicole and POC there); then to Midway where said goodbye to Kerry; easy flight to Phoenix.

8. So that was it. Highly unusual confluence of circumstances where we all could be together, have time with just us during the first part of the break, then also had time with most of the relatives on both sides of the family. Our two traveling guests, not surprisingly, were easy and fun traveling companions throughout, at least as far as I know.

By the way, the goodbyes are never fun but maybe because of the duration and the nice time, at the end it made me very sad to say goodbye to Nicole (at the O'Hare oasis) and Kerry (at Midway). Such a nice time together. The summary above gives some info about how the days played out but - as wonderfully fun as all that was - it's pretty obvious that the gift is just being together.

Various adventures: closing out 2008

Back in Arizona and slowly catching up with things after a delightful holiday break. Some quick notes regarding the December portion of our holidays (through 12/31/08) are below. Will post on the January portion soon. These posts are much delayed in part because I've been stalling around waiting for some photos. (They haven't arrived so will be added later. Patricia and I didn't take pictures (other than a cell phone photo of "Santa" per below) so it may take some time . . . )

1. Anyway, the fun started with Patrick's graduation in Tucson on December 19, described in the preceding post.

2. With Nicole and Kerry in town, now all seven of us were together, a state which continued until we split up in Chicago late in the day on January 5. I'm grateful we had all those days together and wonder when/if it will happen again for that long of a time.

3. Pre-Christmas, we did some Christmas prep stuff, and mostly enjoyed hanging around the house together. Various parties, including at both Linda and Ray's and Helen and Massoud's on 12/20; party at our house for the graduation on 12/21. The seven of us had dinner together at Richardson's on 12/24, a very enjoyable meal again. Prior, Paul Jr. reprised his role as Santa at the Cummings' Christmas party (at which we all stopped by).

4. Patricia had to work on Christmas Day (like last year); the rest of us hung out at the house, visited her at Mayo, and watched Chris prepare a fine Christmas feast (which was served up promptly after she got back from Mayo).

5. Then spent a couple more days basically just doing miscellaneous things together. Kerry and Nicole showed what seemed to be an unnatural interest in some Wii shooting game. Quite a bit of Wii bowling. We had fun playing the "tip-in" version of HORSE at the basketball courts down at the park. Patricia continued cooking various great dinners. Mary Beth hosted a nice holiday party on 12/27.

6. We then hit the road - flew to Chicago on 12/28. Mary Beth and "Bumber" took us to the airport. Paul Jr. forgot his wallet and cell phone- some ID issues, though didn't create much inconvenience. Easy flight; typically slow process getting car and baggage at Midway. We met up with POC there. Lunch at Portillo's. Dinner at the restaurant right up the road from Joann's place, I already forget the name. Weather a non-factor; we heard tales that things had been awful for quite a few days, then a 55 degree day with heavy rain that washed away all of the mess just before we arrived. Met an absolutely massive dog (named Kirby). It was fun just chit-chatting etc., Arnie & Joann are fine hosts.

7. December 29 - fine breakfast courtesy of Arnie. For some reason we had the idea of going bowling, and there were some very good scores. So that was fun. Several grocery store trips culminating in a very good fajitas dinner. Played pinochle; Patricia and Nana won games, I wasn't even close. Another fine day mostly hanging around.

8. December 30 - A bunch of us (i.e. my three sons and me) eventually went to the north side and had lunch at a Geno's East location near Nicole's apartment. It was good, except they forgot to put in the order for Chris and me (meaning everyone else sat and waited with us). POC went to pay for lunch, which was nice except Nicole had already taken care of it. Luis had arrived from DC by this time so he was with for lunch (also Kerry, Nicole, POC). Took a quick tour of Nicole's apartment after lunch (first time I was at this location) - nice. Luis brought Hayek's "Road to Serfdom" as a Christmas gift which is a fine choice especially with the economic goings-on and disorganized political response these days. But probably not as good a gift choice as the Halo figurines that soon absorbed my sons. After all this, back out to Joanne & Arnie's where we had a chance to sit, relax, talk for an hour or so.

9. In the evening we went over to Jan Zintak's place. The nine in our traveling party went, plus Nicole and Danny Loza. In addition to Jan and Rita, Pat and Nancy were there, also Voe showed up (with lots of tales of his visits to Arizona (his son is a cop in Phoenix, it turns out)). Jan does an unbelievable job decorating her apartment. She had all kinds of snacks and desserts, also ordered pizza for the large group. This turned out to be a very fun evening - even did some Christmas singing. Jan pulled out her cassette tape of the 1977 Glee Club Christmas album, I appreciated that she was thoughtful about that. And haven't seen a cassette tape version in many years (though I have several LP copies).

10. December 31 - some folks did lots of work decorating Joanne's place - including creating what were loosely termed as "party hats" - modified shower caps, actually. Did some prep, Costco shopping, etc. (somewhat re-created the meal we had put together courtesy of Costco for Patrick's graduation. Party in the evening - music, dancing, nice food, typical New Year's Eve type entertainments. All but one of us wisely shed our party hats fairly early in the evening. Got to see John's family plus Ping's sister were there. Back to the hotel with a group of animated passengers, where some probably slept more soundly than others.

So that's it for 2008 . . . and I must say I had quite a wonderful year with my little friend and all, not sure how you'd beat it . . . then again it seems like that pretty much every year . . .

Visit to Minnesota and Iowa (November 14 - 18)

Here's a few notes on a short trip to the Midwest that Patricia and I took mid November, pretty much arranged at the last minute.

We flew into MSP airport on Friday, November 14; MBS was chauffeur to airport; light crowds at airports and car rental etc. (almost like there's a recession going on or something); had a bit of lunch; then drove up to the House house. We had a chance to see all the kitchen renovations there, it certainly turned out great. Chatted with Steve and Margaret awhile; Cecilia showed up from work; eventually we went out to dinner.

Ate at a local pizza place named Barley John's; very fine stuff ("Barley John's own extra hot chipotle paste, topped with seasoned grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, red onion and cheddar cheese. This is one hot pizza, there is no mild." They weren't kidding); plus they were doing their own beers; then drove into downtown Minneapolis and saw the new office location for Cecilia; walked through the public spaces in the new Guthrie center (basically right across the street); the Cue at Guthrie looked so inviting that we had a glass of wine and listened to the live jazz a bit; etc. So all this was quite fun, even though we almost froze every time we stepped out of the car, and had a bit of a misadventure trying to get out of the Guthrie parking lot (eventually rescued by the attendant). Too bad, we didn't get any photos of these adventures.

Cold and rainy evening; we drove down to Therese's condo; met her fiance, Mark Gaertner. Therese had a fine array of snacks and beverages and was kind enough to serve us even though we were really behind schedule. Very nice late-evening; pretty easy to see why she likes Mr. Gaertner. All this lasted until 1a or whatever, so it was a very full day.

Saturday morning - went for coffee (via the Clover) and pastry (via standby Bread and Chocolate) - delicious. Did a bit of grocery shopping, looked over potential wedding reception sites, had lunch at WA Frost. A very pretty autumn day - sunny, some leaves still on the trees, low sun angle; had kind of forgotten all this as I don't believe we've been in that part of the world in late November since 1985.

Then an easy road trip to Iowa. More gorgeous skies along the way; sunset was delightful, the sun pretty much just hung out there as we drove south and turned west. Got to St. Joe in time for pork patties, dessert, lots of conversation. Fun night.

Sunday: went to Mass at 8a. Long conversation with Mark Bormann family after; breakfast; Steve came over from Mason City; also Dolores, Art, Tom, Kieran from Storm Lake. We appreciated they made the trip on very short notice. Grandma made some kind of pork roast that eventually served us well for several meals. Got to hear some flute music; Euchre (rematch of Patricia/Tom v. Grandpa/Kieran); lots and lots of conversation about all sorts of things. Fun. Later looked over a bunch of EMG photos, talked, etc.

Monday: hung around the house in the morning; Patricia went to look over the house on the farm with Grandpa and Grandma (and ended up getting some very nice photos, three of which are included in this post); I made an attempt at some sort of exercise by walking briskly around the cemetery hill a half dozen times (which worked well except when walking into the wind, as temp and wind speed both were in the 20s). Patricia and I went over and played cards with Clarence and Caroline in the afternoon at their place (Grandma had card club); also had dinner over there and lots o' conversation, very fun per usual plus Clarence and I actually won a big majority of the games; back to St. Joe for more fine chatting etc.

Tuesday: enjoyed the morning around the house in St. Joe; eventually got organized and packed; Grandma had some nice souvenirs for me; we went to "Maggie B's" in Algona for lunch - they're serving good food there; plus quite a bit of theorizing with Sheys and Lickteigs; all this followed by an easy return trip to Phoenix. MB took us to the house; at this point we were hungry so had dinner at Richardson's. Which made it seem like a very extended evening, since it was dark even before we left the gate in Minneapolis.

Whistler-Vancouver (2 of 2)

A few notes on the balance of our trip.

Part one was a visit to Whistler, BC, summarized here.

We drove down to Vancouver from Whistler on Monday 9/22, after hiking in the snow. Returned via the only route (Sea to Sky Highway, great views, e.g. top photo). Quite a bit warmer as we progressed. Checked into the Pacific Palisades Hotel (same place as we had stayed in 2002; beautiful views out over English Bay (second photo). We were there until returning to Phoenix on Thursday, September 25.

I think we will return regularly to this area, for reasons mentioned in prior post.

We also considered a day trip to Victoria - which is an entirely separate adventure - but decided to wait with this until we can spend at least one overnight on that island.

Here in Vancouver, we devoted lots of time to walking the city, eating and drinking. (Those activities are completely complementary: it takes lots of walking to build up the appetite for large lunch and dinner everyday. I can't believe how much ground we covered, PJ is a great sport for this kind of thing.

Highlights were:

1. Chambar (awesome Belgian restaurant from our last evening in town. Six entrees and 39 Belgian beers (including Chimay Blue). Huge crowd on a rainy Wednesday night. Fun seating right inside the door.

2. Banana Leaf (Malaysian; I had some kind of beef dish prepared in a curry/coconut milk preparation; Okanagan Spring pale ale)

3. Kirin (highly recommended Chinese food and it was great despite a cold, corporate-style room. PJ's kung pao scallops ruled)

4. Raincity Grill (emphasis on local ingredients, beers, wines; right by English Bay; right across the street from Banana Leaf)

5. Steamworks (we had a fun time walking to, around and through Gastown - touristy but nice; shops; the steam clock (per photo)) - this restaurant was a converted something or other old building with great views out over the water, microbrewery in the basement, interesting seating nooks upstairs, etc

Also rented bicycles (with helmets, mandated by local law) and toured the sea wall around Stanley Park; delightful weather that day, great views throughout (bottom two photos).

Visit to DC (2 of 2)

So here are some notes on the last two days of our DC trip . . .

Saturday, August 16

Kerry and Luis had the idea of going on a tour of Virginia wineries - which was a good idea, a bit of a change of pace from the DC mainstream tourist adventures. Our group met Ricky and Natasha at the Rossello house, and started out on the "Grape Adventure" van.

I'm pretty sure that the drivers for these tours aren't supposed to be drinking, but we were wondering about that. About 20 minutes into our trip there was an unannounced u-turn; sure enough, about 20 minutes later we were driving past the street where we had started. At which point the tour folks 'fessed up to a "minor problem." Oh well, it was only 40 minutes or so out of our lives.

Anyway, we visited three wineries. Some of us were probably more interested in touring, others in tasting, still others in collecting souvenir wine glasses - but everyone had a fun time. The first winery (Pearmund Cellars, website here) featured a pretty knowledgeable taste-master (I think I made up that term); the setting was nice but not quite as nice as what was to come; our crew manages to make all sorts of funny comments throughout the tasting (at least we think they're funny).

The second winery (Three Fox Vineyards (website here) had a great setting; dicey taste-master; but a very fun place. This is where we had lunch. Our supposedly sober tour leaders had kept the food on ice; a good idea which would have been even better if they had kept the food separated from the melting ice. So the sandwiches, brownies, etc. were served in a kind of melted ice broth (or water), you might say. We were pretty hungry, but even so . . . at least we were distracted by entertainments such as Patrick and Ricky rolling down the hill.

Onto winery #3 (Barrel Oak Winery, website here). The taste-master here (photo below) may have had aspirations about running a classroom or boot camp or something, because he was firmly under the illusion that we were supposed to pay attention to his every word. Thankfully he couldn't enforce that standard, or we would have had several folks in permanent detention. Nice wines, nice outdoor seating area, nice views; a good way to finish the tour.

Then back to the Rossello's; picked up groceries and Patricia (with assist from Natasha) put together a v. good dinner for everyone. (And she thought she was on vacation.) A very fun evening.

After which - despite the lateness of the hour - Kerry and Luis were kind enough to take a group of us on the night walk of the monuments. We dropped off Patricia and Nicole and the rest of us drove down to the Capitol mall area (Chris, Kerry, Luis, Patrick, Paul Jr., Nedda, me). I haven't been around DC all that much, but this is my favorite thing. Here's what we saw:

1. Lincoln Memorial - this is not beatable. The setting on the end of the mall is superb. Whatever feeling the architect was trying to inspire as everyone walks toward the memorial and up all those stairs - it works. How awesome was Lincoln? And how about standing in there and reading the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address, chiseled into the walls? Also something to stand at top and look out over the Mall.

2. Korean War memorial - probably my favorite of all; there is something about these ghostly (at least for nighttime visitors) figures that appear to come up out of a small stand of trees, moving out on some thankless patrol in a forgotten war (or whatever they're doing). This can get your imagination going.

3. World War II memorial - first time I had seen this, and it is quite impressive. But I would like to go back and see it again, I didn't really connect with this as much the first time around. For one thing, it seems like they tried to cover all the bases (50 states, territories, women in service, theaters, all service branches, etc.) - which I suppose was necessary given the scope of the war, but the memorial seemed to lack some of the punch of the others.

4. Vietnam War memorial - did I mention there was a bright full moon? This made the memorial look quite a bit different to me than it looked at night in 2003. I hadn't noticed how it lines up with the Washington Monument. Whoever designed this was beyond successful.

This adventure took awhile, we got back by 1:30a or so. I was grateful folks were interested in going. The monuments are wonderful, as was the company.

Forgot to mention, the weather was ridiculously nice throughout our visit. I think of August in DC as difficult-to-bear heat and humidity, which I guess does happen quite often. But not to us.

Sunday, August 17

End o' trip, so we checked out of the hotel. Kerry took Patricia and me with Chris, Paul and Nedda on a tour of the West Wing of the White House. One of her former bosses was our tour guide. I had kind of low expectations for this as it had the feel of a stock DC experience, but that was wrong. I very much enjoyed it. The tour guide was knowledgeable and nice. Just getting through security was kind of entertaining. I liked gawking at the Oval Office, one of the large conference rooms (where supposedly they do important stuff), the Cabinet room, all the 18th and 19th century American artwork hanging around, and of course a bunch of Bush photos (including current stuff from Beijing Olympics). Took photos in the Rose Garden and the press area. Nice experience.

Then we met the rest of the group down on the Potomac waterfront for lunch; the place was named Sequoia. It ended up being kind of comical. It was a large factory-type restaurant with a view, so expectations as to food were very low to start with. But still not met. All of the salads featured bugs. The manager's solution - in a situation where our diners pretty clearly were so done with eating salad - was to assure us that the lettuce was being washed twice, and replacement salads would be right out. That led to a short discussion, and the salads were swapped for mega-sodium soup of some kind. After that came steaks (ordered medium rare but served well done) with a side of potato buds (but those didn't have a chance against the garlic flavoring). After that, a dessert that Sara Lee would be ashamed to sell (or maybe does).

Anyway, it was nice to see the area and it was a good idea to go there given the limited amount of time remaining before our flight. And the experience actually underscored how great all the arrangements had been every step of the way on this trip.

Thereafter got organized, made our way to Baltimore airport, enjoyed smooth flight back to Phoenix.

Everyone was convinced that they had a great time throughout the trip. I certainly did. And I'm increasingly confident that Kerry does have a real job out there.