tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71128232024-03-13T23:24:38.472-04:00The View from the RoofLiving the good life in paradise - in Southern Indiana!Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-5430318487390575972016-08-29T06:29:00.001-04:002017-11-23T12:32:51.056-05:00A Walk Down Bitter Street<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is why I travel.<br />
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On Sunday afternoon, Mary and I took a walking tour of the Barri Gotic, the Gothic Quarter, in Barcelona. The streets are narrow, and paved with stone. Some of the buildings here date back to the 12th Century, or earlier. There are remnants of a wall and an aqueduct constructed by the Romans when they founded the city of Barcino around 15 BC. Some of the buildings, like the Church of Santa Anna, (12th C.) retain their original look. Others, like the Cathedral of Barcelona appear as a patchwork of styles built over centuries. The old coexists with the older, and all of it coexists with the new - the bars and restaurants, the tee-shirt shops, the tourists with their iPhones - though if these buildings could talk, I suspect they might wish we would hurry up and be replaced by whatever comes next, since they have seen, and mostly survived, everything for hundreds of years. <br />
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At one point, early in the afternoon, we closed our guide book and, instead of returning to the main thoroughfare and the next site to see, we followed the narrow, winding street - Carrer de Montsis (“Carrer” is Catalan for “street”, like “Calle” in Spanish) - just to see what was ahead. After a few steps, we reached the point where Carrer de Montsis met Carrer de Amargos. Hanging on the wall at the intersection was a sign made of painted tile.<br />
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We stopped to read it, and were attempting to translate, when an old man approached us. He was wearing a bright red shirt and carrying a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag, like he was returning from the market with a bottle of wine for dinner. He spoke first, and it took us a few brief exchanges before he switched to English. He guessed that we were trying to understand the words on the sign and said, “It’s Catalan”, indicating the regional language of Catalunya, “I put it there. And another one down there.” He pointed at a spot on the wall down the Carrer Amargos where another sign hung.<br />
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“I have lived on this street my whole life. I was born in #7 and now I live in #12. And I’m 91 years old.” He said something that I didn’t understand about the Queen of Spain. I think she<br />
was the inspiration for the signs. He struggled to find the right words, telling us that the sign said something like “the street will embrace you”. <br />
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His English was halting, but far better than my Spanish. I asked him his name. He told us his name was Emile, and that he had been a photographer, working over 40 years in a small shop at the other end of the street. He said he had spent many nights developing film, making and developing prints, holding them up in the red light of the darkroom and marveling as the black and white images appeared on the paper. He told us that every day he wrote two or three letters and sent them to friends. “Not the rat a tat a tat”, he said, mimicking the motion of typing on a keyboard. “I write like this”, and his hand moved as if gliding over paper with a pen.<br />
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We told him that this was our first visit to Barcelona and he told us he hoped we would enjoy it and come back again. Then he shook our hands, with a grip stronger than any I have encountered in years. He smiled, kissed the back of Mary’s hand, and walked off down the street.<br />
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When we returned to our apartment late in the day, I was determined to understand the words on the sign. I leaned heavily on Google Translate to get the basics of Catalan to English. Then I used a bit of poetic license to capture the meaning that I think Emile was trying to impart to us. The street name, Carrer Amargos, translates literally as “Bitter Street”. His sign, I believe, means this:<br />
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<i>“Pedestrian, do not stay long on Bitter Street, for you will find it to be not bitter, but a place that will embrace you.”</i></div>
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A place that may embrace you for 91 years. A lifetime. I think we are all looking for our home on Bitter Street. It’s nice to have met someone who lives there.<br />
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This is why I travel.<br />
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-53976747455435331432015-10-08T21:13:00.000-04:002015-10-08T21:13:26.834-04:00West Coast Vacation: Napa and Yountville - Day 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are lots of different ways to visit wineries in the
Napa Valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can drive yourself,
ride a limo, ride a bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We elected to
ride bicycles and had signed up for an outing with </span><a href="http://www.napavalleybiketours.com/napa-bike-tours/napa-valley-bike-tour.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Napa Valley Bike Tours</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The description on their web site sounded
like a fun way to spend the morning – a casual ride over beautiful back roads,
pedaling leisurely between the rows of grapes, enjoying the sunshine and clear
valley air and getting to taste some delicious wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were looking forward to the experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the marketing pitch turned out to be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived a few minutes early at the tour company in
Yountville, well-rested from our first night at the Writer’s Retreat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were eight of us in the tour group – me
and Mary, a couple from Toronto who looked to be about our age, and a group of
four young women who were doing a girls’ weekend in Napa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had read the same description we had,
and came dressed for a stroll in the park – cute outfits and sandals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The couple from Toronto looked pretty serious
– he had biking shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had sunscreen
and athletic shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We met Carolyn, our tour guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She gave a short talk on safety, riding etiquette, and the
route we would be taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bikes were
new, 18 speed models.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us had
paid the extra five bucks for the optional gel seat cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This turned out to be a wise move.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We pedaled for several blocks through Yountville, everyone
getting familiar with their bikes and settling in to a single-file line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got outside the city, Carolyn picked
up the pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was clear that this was
not going to be “leisurely”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rode for
some distance along a side road, then turned onto a much busier highway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had a bike lane, but it still took us a
while to get used to the cars and trucks whizzing past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a while – our memories differ on how long it might
have been – we turned off onto another side road and stopped for a water and
photo break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard a lot of panting
and some groaning as the group took a quick break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the unexpected exertion, we all
enjoyed the scenery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After catching our breath, we rode for another 10 or 15
minutes to the first winery – </span><a href="http://www.saddlebackcellars.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saddleback Cellars</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We sat at a picnic table under an umbrella and sampled six
wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tasted some Charbon grapes
straight from the vine – sweet and very tasty.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much of the grape harvest had already been completed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were large boxes of Charbon grapes
stacked near where we sat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we were
tasting, these were being emptied into a crusher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We might have been grumpy when we arrived at the winery, but we were happy as we saddled up to ride away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was about a 20 minute ride to the next winery - </span><a href="http://goosecross.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goosecross Cellars</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
They had a b</span>rand new tasting room - it had opened the day before our visit. We sat on their new deck that looked out over a vineyard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We enjoyed sitting outdoors and sampling their wines We tasted five and bought two. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was probably a good thing that the tour only visited two wineries. The limos and busses were looking pretty good as we rode
back into town. We arrived back where we started about 1:15 in the afternoon. We grabbed lunch at the Yountville Deli next door, then headed back to the Writers Retreat for a nap. We needed to rest up before our dinner at Bouchon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><em>Note: Reality had to set in eventually. As I publish this post, I'm back home. Vacation is over and I'm back at work. It may take a few more days between entries, but I'm determined to continue writing the story of our vacation. Going back and looking at the pictures takes me back to all the fun we had. It's helping me maintain that post vacation afterglow, despite numerous challenges to my good mood! </em></o:p></span></div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-58909467711389108332015-10-03T09:58:00.004-04:002015-10-05T20:27:45.817-04:00West Coast Vacation: Napa and Yountville - Day 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our planning for this vacation took place over several weeks
in July and August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We initially agreed
on the start and end points, then started filling in the details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The itinerary was pretty fluid for a while as
we reviewed the road atlas and consulted Google Maps to identify what seemed
like reasonable stopping points along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
It began to firm up as </span>we started booking the AirBnB
locations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made some choices about
places we would not see, like San Francisco, which we had visited several years
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the decision to stay in the
Napa Valley was nonnegotiable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both
wanted to visit some vineyards, and Mary was determined to eat at a Thomas
Keller restaurant.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thomas Keller is a renowned chef and restauranteur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His premier restaurant, </span><a href="http://www.thomaskeller.com/tfl" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The French Laundry</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, in
Yountville, CA,
has been awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide and has received numerous other awards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one of those places that dedicated
foodies have on their bucket lists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
gave it serious consideration for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a <u>very</u> expensive place to eat – the seven course tasting menu
costs $295 per person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The price includes
tip, but not wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add another three hundred for wine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we could make a case for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We told ourselves it would be a “once in a
lifetime” meal on a “once in a lifetime” vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we were convinced…for a few days.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we took a hard look at the menu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It changes daily, so we wouldn’t have been
able to predict exactly what we’d get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But every time we looked at the menu, we realized that there was
something on it that one of us didn’t like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were options, but some came with “supplements” – additional charges.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then we thought hard about the price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over a thousand dollars for one meal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who are we kidding?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reluctantly,
we scratched The French Laundry from our itinerary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll go there when we win the lottery.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, Thomas Keller also owns three other restaurants
in Yountville – <a href="http://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchon-bistro-yountville" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Bouchon</span></a>,<u><span style="color: blue;"> </span></u><a href="http://www.thomaskeller.com/yountville-california/bouchon-bakery" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Bouchon Bakery</span></a> and <a href="http://www.thomaskeller.com/ad-hoc" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">ad hoc</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided that Bouchon would be our special meal for the trip. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was still a splurge, but wouldn’t require
us to take out a loan for dinner.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While that decision was being made, we were also booking
accommodations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found the Writer’s Retreat
in Napa, CA on AirBnB and decided that it met our basic requirement for a
one-of-a-kind, quirky place to stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Booked it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What we didn’t realize, until we arrived in the area, was
that the restaurant and the room were in different towns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not too far apart – about 10 miles – just
enough to register on the inconvenience meter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jTEF0Y_WX-c/Vg_OwZqCGGI/AAAAAAAAA0k/b_HpXm0owu8/s1600/Napa%2BMap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jTEF0Y_WX-c/Vg_OwZqCGGI/AAAAAAAAA0k/b_HpXm0owu8/s400/Napa%2BMap.JPG" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Google Maps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting to Napa from Carmel took a few hours and got us onto
an interstate highway for the first time on this trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We had not missed the interstate system!) We
took Hwy 1 northeast out of Carmel and Monterey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were quickly out in farm country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We passed through Castroville, “the Artichoke
Capital of the World”, then cut across Hwy 152 to the 101 freeway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went through Gilroy, “the Garlic Capital
of the World”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I swear I could smell
garlic in the air before we got to Gilory!) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, we saw this guy and had to snap a picture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ILdGkUhI43c/Vg_PBPxS9CI/AAAAAAAAA0s/Nd4iKezH_ak/s1600/Vette%2B09%2B24%2B2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ILdGkUhI43c/Vg_PBPxS9CI/AAAAAAAAA0s/Nd4iKezH_ak/s400/Vette%2B09%2B24%2B2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Katie and Sarah, we wanted you to know that
your convertibles are not just sporty toys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They’re practical, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can drop
the top, load up your box of tools and stepladder, and go on off to hang
sheetrock or paint houses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 101 took us east of Silicon Valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We considered taking a short detour into
Cupertino to give some face-to-face feedback on the latest IOS release to Tim
Cook at Apple, but our schedule was pretty tight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Look for it in an email, Tim.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We continued east to I-680 which took us north, bypassing
all the urban congestion on the east side of San Francisco Bay – San Jose, Milpitas,
Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro and Oakland.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived in Yountville around noon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t get into the AirBnB for a couple
hours, so figured we’d get lunch and look around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a <u>really</u> hot day, up around 95
degrees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everywhere we went in
California, people told us about the excessive heat, usually adding, “but it’s
supposed to be much cooler next week”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
parked along the main drag, Washington Street, next to a beautifully tended garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wiH5gL1Pr2s/Vg_PqV0OQkI/AAAAAAAAA00/QvHT3P_Hh6M/s1600/DSC03910%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wiH5gL1Pr2s/Vg_PqV0OQkI/AAAAAAAAA00/QvHT3P_Hh6M/s400/DSC03910%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We guessed that it was the kitchen garden for the French
Laundry and Bouchon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked down Washington
Street, through a small, well-tended, local park that had some amusing
features. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ekt6hjWYNFU/Vg_QTr0mUVI/AAAAAAAAA08/Dsegseb2FCw/s1600/DSC03913-%2Bcropped%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ekt6hjWYNFU/Vg_QTr0mUVI/AAAAAAAAA08/Dsegseb2FCw/s320/DSC03913-%2Bcropped%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After passing several tasting rooms and restaurants, we stopped at the <a href="http://www.pacificbluescafe.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Pacific Blues Café</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> and ate b</span>ig sandwiches, washed down with iced tea.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-invH_iy9hP4/Vg_Rq3X4tKI/AAAAAAAAA1I/tkloFcEmwKw/s1600/IMG_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-invH_iy9hP4/Vg_Rq3X4tKI/AAAAAAAAA1I/tkloFcEmwKw/s400/IMG_0159.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch we dug out the address of the AirBnB and
realized our planning error.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Writer’s
Retreat was 10 miles back south in Napa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It took a few minutes to get there, but we were delighted with what we
found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Writer’s Retreat is a one room cabin on a secluded side
street (really a gravel road).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
tricky to get to, but once there you feel like you’re a thousand miles from civilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_jq8mjNcI8/Vg_aLeG7geI/AAAAAAAAA1o/ivNL-JBCswI/s1600/DSC03919%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_jq8mjNcI8/Vg_aLeG7geI/AAAAAAAAA1o/ivNL-JBCswI/s400/DSC03919%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was probably the smallest of the all the places we stayed, but still very comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cqgcho0b_N4/Vg_aK6rBWnI/AAAAAAAAA1w/i25zY9H6uPE/s1600/DSC03915%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cqgcho0b_N4/Vg_aK6rBWnI/AAAAAAAAA1w/i25zY9H6uPE/s400/DSC03915%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJCGmPjB7s8/Vg_aKyWUpII/AAAAAAAAA1s/qE9ZoCbhJxc/s1600/DSC03916%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJCGmPjB7s8/Vg_aKyWUpII/AAAAAAAAA1s/qE9ZoCbhJxc/s400/DSC03916%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P6L6QDrnkIs/Vg_aK1rnNgI/AAAAAAAAA1k/_m_jy9YRKLQ/s1600/DSC03917%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P6L6QDrnkIs/Vg_aK1rnNgI/AAAAAAAAA1k/_m_jy9YRKLQ/s400/DSC03917%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The watercolors on the wall were done by Monroe, the owner. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4c8j4A584PM/Vg_bV3pZp-I/AAAAAAAAA18/VOaFErIB9YI/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4c8j4A584PM/Vg_bV3pZp-I/AAAAAAAAA18/VOaFErIB9YI/s400/IMG_0212.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decided to do a simple, casual dinner, knowing that the
next day was our big meal at Bouchon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
started searching for something local in Napa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were several good prospects, but one was too intriguing to pass
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clemente’s is a family-owned Italian take-out place that has
been operating in the area since around 1925.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was originally owned by the Tamburelli family and operated as the
Depot Restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clemente Cittoni
started work there as a bus boy in 1961 and worked up to become a part
owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere along the way, it
became Clemente’s and moved to its current location – inside a local liquor
store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvJkUIhKq-0/Vg_cgjNIvRI/AAAAAAAAA2I/PtwbUuZCmCA/s1600/IMG_0161%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvJkUIhKq-0/Vg_cgjNIvRI/AAAAAAAAA2I/PtwbUuZCmCA/s400/IMG_0161%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found the place and were enthusiastically greeted by
Joanne Cittoni, Clemente’s daughter, now one of the owners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I think everyone working there was a member of the extended Cittoni family.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AtLT-tBuvt8/Vg_cg-PQY4I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/GRrNazNx6ZY/s1600/IMG_0162%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AtLT-tBuvt8/Vg_cg-PQY4I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/GRrNazNx6ZY/s400/IMG_0162%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When she learned we were visiting, she took
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Look, here’s what you’re gonna
need – You need a half dozen ravioli’s, a half dozen malfatti.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(“Malfatti” is Italian for “mistake”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were Invented by Mrs Tamburelli years
before, when she ran out of prepared ravioli and had a full restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a ball of ravioli filling, rolled in
flour, boiled and doused in tomato sauce.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“And you’re gonna need some gnocchis and some sweet breads.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just stood there, smiling and
nodding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We paid our bill at the
checkout counter of the liquor store and carried out our dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x0MzZHxZ4_I/Vg_cgzhBwKI/AAAAAAAAA2c/Dal0A_d_Snc/s1600/DSC03920%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x0MzZHxZ4_I/Vg_cgzhBwKI/AAAAAAAAA2c/Dal0A_d_Snc/s400/DSC03920%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it turned out, the story was more compelling than the
food, but that’s the chance we take. There's always tomorrow!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
</div>
Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-37277845844008342882015-10-02T12:56:00.000-04:002015-10-02T16:19:24.621-04:00West Coast Vacation: Exploring Carmel and Monterey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After our <a href="http://theviewfromtheroof.blogspot.com/2015/09/west-coast-vacation-point-lobos.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">hike at Point Lobos</span></a>, we went back into Carmel to
find breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate at the Carmel
Belle, a little café in a building with several other shops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so hungry by then (around 10:30am)
that we didn’t stop to take any pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mary’s breakfast was the best of the two – a bowl of polenta with
mushrooms, tomatoes and some other goodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The place was neat and compact, with a nice selection of breakfast and
lunch items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seating was open and
comfortable, with about a dozen tables, an open fireplace (not needed on this
day) and a sofa and two chairs next to the fireplace.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7dCOPVWZffs/Vg38epDZu0I/AAAAAAAAAy4/jAvdCkh5uag/s1600/IMG_0126%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7dCOPVWZffs/Vg38epDZu0I/AAAAAAAAAy4/jAvdCkh5uag/s400/IMG_0126%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">One of our favorite ways to understand a new city is to visit a grocery store. We've done this is every major American city we've visited and also in England, France, Belgium, Italy and a few other places. Seeing what's for sale tells us a lot about the local community. Comparing prices gives us a sense of the cost of living. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">So on this morning, on our way back to the car after breakfast, we walked through the local grocery store - <a href="http://www.nielsenmarket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Nielsen Brothers Market</span></a>. It is a small place - less than 10,000 sq ft - the size of most local grocery stores when we were growing up. (Yes, kids, there were grocery stores on the planet as it was cooling!) Nielsen Brothers bills themselves as a specialty grocery, and the product offerings reflect that focus. They had a small, but well-stocked produce section, a full meat counter, a separate wine room, an extensive selection of whiskies and a small cabinet with cigars. It fit the bill for a grocery store catering to well-heeled vacationers. But it was not all caviar and cabernet. On the way out, we saw a hand-written chalk sign advertising their breakfast sandwiches. They were significantly cheaper than what we'd paid up the street - an economy tip for our next trip.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We didn't spend any more time in Carmel, or, as it's formally known, Carmel-By-The-Sea. There are plenty of places to shop there - lots of craft stores, clothes stores, restaurants and specialty shops of all types. I'm not much of a shopper, so someone else with have to review all those places.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later in the morning we took the<u> </u><a href="http://www.pebblebeach.com/activities/explore-the-monterey-peninsula/17-mile-drive" target="_blank">“17 Mile Drive”</a> around the
Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Several people had recommended this outing, and it shows up in all the
guide books and lists of things to do in the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having now done it, I’d suggest anyone coming
to the area skip it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You pay $10 per car
to take a tour of a wealthy neighborhood, look at some coastline – which is
pretty, but no better than other spots we saw along the drive for free. You get to watch
some rich folks tee off on some beautiful golf courses, and contend for spots
in the turnout parking lots with dozens of other tourists who got the same
recommendation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I thought the stop at
the Pebble Beach Golf Course might be fun, but when we arrived they had most of
the parking area cordoned off for some event, and it didn’t appear that we were
going to see anything more than the gift shop…so we kept going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other main draw of the 17 Mile Drive is the “Lone
Cypress” – a single tree growing on a rock in a bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one is different from some others we saw
along the trip in that someone built a wall around it and landscaped the slope
below it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But... like every other tourist in the area, we stopped for a
photo in front of the tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UA7M89XasLM/Vg4BflMjS-I/AAAAAAAAAzM/mMWSRV0Pxfs/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UA7M89XasLM/Vg4BflMjS-I/AAAAAAAAAzM/mMWSRV0Pxfs/s320/IMG_0136.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Ours,
however, was taken by another person - reciprocating our offer to take a photo of them, unlike many of the others which were
snapped from the end of a selfie stick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Somehow, the silliest thing invented in years…wish I’d thought of it!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had packed a picnic lunch (left over takeout Chinese and
a small bottle of wine – pretty fancy!) and decided to find a spot to eat on
our way to the Monterey Aquarium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yelp
– our second most used navigation app – showed us “Lover’s Point Park” in
Pacific Grove, a small town that abuts Monterrey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The park looked out over Monterrey Bay and
had several picnic tables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was sunny
and quiet – a great place to have lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjNjweapPmQ/Vg4CUb6OLsI/AAAAAAAAAzY/ifEf3YxgsX8/s1600/IMG_0836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjNjweapPmQ/Vg4CUb6OLsI/AAAAAAAAAzY/ifEf3YxgsX8/s320/IMG_0836.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After our picnic we
drove a couple miles to visit the <a href="http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Monterey Bay Aquarium</span></a>. The Aquarium is located on
Cannery Row.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The area got it’s nickname
from the fish canneries that were located here In the late 1800’s and early
1900’s.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pBtZWLvPvtg/Vg4DnT6Y5NI/AAAAAAAAAzk/VQYLOKob968/s1600/Cannery%2BRow%2B1930s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pBtZWLvPvtg/Vg4DnT6Y5NI/AAAAAAAAAzk/VQYLOKob968/s320/Cannery%2BRow%2B1930s.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="http://thedwsblog.com/2014/05/04/read-across-america-california/" target="_blank">The Dead Writer's Society blog</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Steinbeck, who grew up in nearby Salinas, wrote about life
in the canneries in his novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cannery Row</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I read it in high school and have forgotten
most of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having just reread<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Travels With Charley</i>, I’ve got more
Steinbeck on my “To Read” list.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today’s Cannery Row is several blocks of tourist shops and
restaurants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder what John
Steinbeck would think of Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kfNLGsn62KQ/Vg4EFmhOP8I/AAAAAAAAAzs/iehKYQL2ccA/s1600/DSC03902%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kfNLGsn62KQ/Vg4EFmhOP8I/AAAAAAAAAzs/iehKYQL2ccA/s320/DSC03902%2B-%2Blow%2Bres.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We enjoyed our visit to the Aquarium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
AirBnB hosts, Michael and Jill, had provided passes for our use,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so we didn’t feel any pressure to “see it
all”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped to take in two of the
major exhibits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Sorry…no pictures, but I've inserted links to the Aquarium web site.) The
first was the <a href="http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/sea-otters" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">sea otters</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These guys
were livin’ large in their tank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Floating on their backs and gliding through the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hadn’t realized how big they are – four
to five feet long, and a good 8” – 10” in diameter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The other exhibit was <a href="http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/kelp-forest" target="_blank">the kelp forest</a> - a large tank with a
variety of fish ranging from a schools of small, silvery sardines and anchovies to a hammerhead
shark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They swam amid 20' tall kelp plants. We noticed that </span>many of the fish seemed to be napping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They just hung suspended in the water, not moving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(To be fair, it was late afternoon and I’m
often ready for a nap then, too.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were also some very interesting exhibits about the
canning industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aquarium had been
built on the site of the Pacific Fish Company Cannery, which processed fish from 1916 until 1973. A central fixture of the cannery were three large (two stories tall) boilers used for cooking the fish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8jRsFilMc3E/Vg4HN8Zz_EI/AAAAAAAAAz4/wrwxKtDXIu0/s1600/Hovden%2Bboiler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8jRsFilMc3E/Vg4HN8Zz_EI/AAAAAAAAAz4/wrwxKtDXIu0/s400/Hovden%2Bboiler.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca1292.photos.013820p/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The boilers have been restored and are part of a permanent exhibit on the canning industry.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hjG0kfdTEk/Vg4ITgKskfI/AAAAAAAAA0A/qi8F98zz3_A/s1600/Hovden%2Bboiler%2B-%2Bmodern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1hjG0kfdTEk/Vg4ITgKskfI/AAAAAAAAA0A/qi8F98zz3_A/s400/Hovden%2Bboiler%2B-%2Bmodern.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannery_Row" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Video displays along an adjacent wall showed
old film footage of the way the cannery operated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It employed many women from the area (in the
1920’s and 30’s, when women rarely worked outside the home) to sort freshly
caught sardines into conveyors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fish
were gutted and had their heads sliced off by machines, then the bodies were
placed into oval tins for cooking in the boilers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were cooked once in open cans, then a second time when the cans had been
sealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working conditions were tough –
14 hour days in mostly wet and drafty conditions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The canneries failed after the fishing industry in Monterey collapsed in the 1950's. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After leaving the Aquarium, we returned to The Secret Garden for a
second night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped at a Trader Joe's along the way and picked up sushi and
wine for a simple supper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We listened to
our host’s eclectic CD collection – Yo Yo Ma, KT Tunstall, Sarah McLaughlin,
Santana – and reflected on a busy and interesting day.</span></div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-14369559802404247382015-09-29T01:46:00.000-04:002015-09-29T10:05:14.785-04:00West Coast Vacation: Point Lobos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When we checked into<a href="http://theviewfromtheroof.blogspot.com/2015/09/west-coast-vacation-secret-garden.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: blue;">the Secret Garden</span> </span></a>in Carmel, Michael, our host, recommended that we visit the <a href="http://www.stateparks.com/point_lobos.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Point Lobos State Natural Reserve</span></a> and hike the Cypress Grove Trail. On this trail, he told us, we would see one of only two places where the Monterey Cypress trees grew naturally - the other being on the Monterrey Peninsula around Pebble Beach. (More on that in a future post.) While Monterrey Cypress are found other places, it's because they have been planted there by people.<br />
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On Wednesday morning, Sept. 23, we decided to visit the park early in the morning to get in a walk before breakfast. During a couple hours spent at the park, we saw some spectacular scenery. It was the highlight of the vacation so far, and it spoiled us for some of the scenery we saw later in the trip.<br />
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Point Lobos is a 350 acre park located three miles south of Carmel on Hwy 1. The reserve includes several offshore areas - accessible only to divers. <br />
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The name "Point Lobos" is derived from "Punta de los Lobos Marinos" or "Point of the Sea Wolves" - so named because sea lions frequent the offshore rocks. We saw a few of these original residents during our hike. They were sunning themselves on a rock about a hundred yards offshore.<br />
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The Cypress Grove trail takes you through the Allan Memorial Grove - named for Alexander Allan, an engineer and conservationist who, in the 1930's, bought much of the land that now makes up the Point Lobos Reserve. At that time a real estate developer had drawn up plans to sell a thousand tracts for houses and create a subdivision called "Carmelito". We are fortunate that Mr. Allan intervened! The trail follows the contours of a point that juts out into the ocean. The combination of forest and ocean creates some memorable views. <br />
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As we began our hike, before we ever saw the ocean, we saw the cypress trees silhouetted against a clear blue morning sky. There is something about the shape of these trees that lets you know you are no longer in your familiar back yard. You are approaching something wild and different.<br />
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In the morning light, the forest could be alternately beautiful and spooky. Some of the trees looked like they belonged in story books. Harry Potter could have had a nasty encounter with this one.<br />
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And then we rounded a bend in the trail and began to see the trees against the backdrop of the sea crashing over the rocks.<br />
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Following the trail leads to views of larger rock formations, with Carmel across the bay in the background.<br />
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In places, there is an eeriness to the grove. Some of the trees are bleached white by the salt spray. Many have an orange lichen growing on them. The combination is otherworldly.<br />
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We spent over an hour walking slowly along the mile long Cypress Grove trail. It was early in the day and there were no other visitors to the park. The only sound was that of the surf, and the occasional sea bird flying nearby. In some places, the early morning fog had still not burned off.<br />
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A different trail in the Reserve takes you around Whaler's Cove and to the Whaler's Cabin - a small structure built in the 1850's by Chinese fishermen. It has been restored and now houses a small museum with exhibits on the various commercial fishing ventures that have taken place in the area over the last 150 years. During the restoration, pieces of whale vertebrae were found used as foundation stones. The large tree at the end of the building was probably a sapling when the cabin was built. It now protrudes into the building. In this photo, Mary and Katherine, the docent on duty, are setting up a telescope to get a closer look at a pair of egrets across the cove.<br />
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So much of what we've seen on this trip is accessible (though not fully appreciated) through the window of a car. Our experience at Point Lobos was shaped in large measure by the time and pace of our examination. To see it required us to get out of the car and make an effort. We could not rush by it, talking on cell phones or listening to the radio. We had to walk slowly and deliberately. The path was prepared for us, but it was rocky and uneven and required our attention to every step. We had to "be there", to be aware and mindful of our surroundings. And because we took our time, we came away with clear memories, images not blurred by velocity or inattention. We saw something worth seeing ... and worth remembering. <br />
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Sadly, my small photos on this small web page don't do justice to the beauty we saw at Point Lobos. I guess you'll just have to go there and see it yourself. Please do!<br />
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-8045330217252934342015-09-25T21:52:00.005-04:002015-09-25T21:52:55.958-04:00West Coast Vacation: The Secret Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One of the decisions we made as we planned this trip was to stay almost exclusively in properties listed on AirBnB (airbnb.com). This site allows individuals to rent out extra rooms to entire apartments or homes for travelers. <br />
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Properties get rated by the people who stay there, and we, as renters, get rated by the property owners. This check-and-balance helps deter dishonest listings and vandalism of the accommodations. You generally request a lodging and get a confirmation from the owner, presumably after they have checked your online reputation.<br />
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We have used it frequently over the past few years and have found the lodgings to be economical (usually cheaper than a hotel, particularly in metropolitan areas), well maintained and having much greater personality than your typical hotel room. <br />
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The Secret Garden in Carmel, California was one of the best experiences we've had using AirBnB. In addition to being positively reviewed, the owners, Jill and Michael, were on site and welcomed us when we arrived at their home. <br />
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Their house sits just off California Highway 1 - the scenic Pacific Coast Highway we traveled part way from Santa Monica to Carmel. It's one of those places that's easy to find - once you've been there. It took a cell phone call to Michael to confirm the location. After that, we found our way easily. <br />
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The gate shown above is the entrance to their courtyard. Inside, a brick path winds around the house, through a beautiful small garden, to their extra room. It had an outside entrance, ensuring privacy for guests.<br />
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A small sitting area is nestled in the corner of the garden, just outside the room.<br />
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Inside, we found a room that had been recently remodeled by Michael and Jill, with wooden plank walls stained a light gray. We were tickled to see the bird motif bedspread (we have an identical spread in one of our guest rooms.) Jill had continued the bird theme in the decorative plates hanging on the wall and others in the cupboard for our use. <br />
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In addition to creating a warm and inviting guest room, Jill and Michael also provided a variety of amenities for their guests. These included freshly ground organic coffee, maps and guidebooks, and passes to local parks and the Monterrey Aquarium.<br />
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We stayed two nights in The Secret Garden while we explored Carmel and Monterrey. The small table in the corner was a perfect place to eat take out food (which we did the first night after a long day on the road), and to plan our activities for the day.<br />
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This was exactly the kind of place we wanted to stay in on this trip. If we have reason to go back to Carmel in the future, our first choice for lodging will be the Secret Garden.</div>
Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-14767480542411166162015-09-25T01:11:00.001-04:002015-09-25T21:09:06.886-04:00West Coast Vacation: Santa Monica to Carmel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tuesday, September 22, 2015<br />
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This morning we were up and out by 6:30am. California Highway 1, aka The Pacific Coast Highway, was accessible a few blocks from our apartment, and that's where we went. It was a gray and overcast morning - not very "scenic". We moved with traffic north from Santa Monica and into Malibu. We could see the ocean much of the time, but there wasn't much to see - gray water, gray sky. It didn't matter though - we were up and moving. It would get better. <br />
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After Malibu, the scenery became more sparse - fewer people and developments, more open space. The ground around us looked alternately like the surface of the moon, the landscape in Afghanistan (based on what we've seen in the news), or some other barren landscape. <br />
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We made it to Oxnard and began to see a difference. We were now in commercial agriculture territory. We saw acres of fields neatly plowed into raised beds with taut plastic covers over them. We saw row after row of plants on trellises under white covers. After a few miles we figured out these were grapes. We saw fields with many different kinds of produce being grown - tomatoes in one area. Row after row of lime trees in another. Long, multiple hooped covers with shrubbery - probably destined for back yards in the east and Midwest. Everywhere we looked the ground seemed brown and dry - reflecting the drought that has affected California for several years. Many of the farms had irrigation systems in place - long slender pipes running parallel to the beds, with an occasional upright leading to a spigot. Many farms appeared to be using drip irrigation - a method that uses tubing with small holes that lay on the ground throughout the bed. It drips water into the soil - a more efficient method than spraying water into the air. <br />
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We saw lots of equipment - tractors, trucks, pumps, generators - all the tools of modern, large-scale agriculture production. But we also saw people - small groups in the fields, many wearing broad-brimmed hats, bent over, picking the produce that will end up on our grocery store shelves for our consumption. We guessed that most of the people doing this work had brown skin. We saw the rough houses they lived in along side the fields. We saw them walking to the fields. We knew they live a hard life and hope they find some sense of satisfaction and reward in what they do, for we are dependent on them for our food.<br />
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And we made a wrong turn somewhere along the way. We naively thought that Highway 1 would be clearly signposted, but apparently it was not. We stopped for coffee in the town of Moorpark and realized we were off course. Cursing, we asked Siri for redirection and spent an hour or more on Highway 101 getting back on track. We looked at our road atlas and decided to stay on 101 for a while to make up lost time. It didn't seem to matter much, since the morning was so gray.<br />
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We passed Santa Barbara on the 101. We had stayed there are few years ago and enjoyed the town. Today, we couldn't tell it from any other place that an interstate highway bypasses.<br />
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After awhile we stopped at a rest area outside Govita. When we got out of the car, we were surprised by how windy it was. The terrain looked like much of what we had seen all morning - dry, brown, windswept.<br />
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Then the first amazing thing of the day happened - we drove through the tunnel, around a corner and BANG! - we went from gray, overcast skies to clear, blue skies with the sun shining!<br />
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Within a few miles we were in the Los Alamos area and saw acres of vineyards.<br />
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We stayed on Hwy 101 to San Luis Obispo, then reconnected with Hwy 1 to proceed up the coast. The scenery got progressively better as we continued north.<br />
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We stopped often. ...to see the sea lions lounging on the beach.<br />
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...to look at the road ahead.<br />
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We began noting a change in vegetation - seeing the Cypress trees that are a prominent symbol of the central California coast.<br />
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The coast changed - becoming more rocky, and more colorful.<br />
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And when we looked back, we could see how the ribbon of road paralleled the ocean.<br />
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We stopped to appreciate the small details which were easily overlooked in the context of the grand landscapes we saw. (We learned later that this flower is Anise.)<br />
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As we proceeded north, the landscape became rockier, sharper, more well defined.<br />
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And then, at the end of a long day of driving, we arrived at The Secret Garden.<br />
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More to come!<br />
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-4535281489922235742015-09-24T22:56:00.000-04:002015-09-24T22:56:46.440-04:00West Coast Vacation: Staging in Santa Monica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our first few days were spent in Santa Monica, California, visiting with our daughter Sarah and getting ready for the road trip.<br />
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We flew to Santa Monica from Indy on Saturday morning. It was a 7:15am flight, which meant getting up way early to do the hour drive to the airport. This meant disturbing the routines of our two Boston Terriers, Beans and Sox. <br />
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If you live with dogs, you know that they develop a sixth sense about your activities. Beans, our older BT, gets nervous whenever we get out the suitcases. She starts to shiver and will hardly get out from underfoot until we drive away. Mary got smart this time and put both dogs in a back bedroom while she got the suitcases out and set them on our bed. While Beans' radar was twitching while we packed, she didn't get alarmed like usual. On Saturday morning, Mary took them into the back room while I loaded the suitcases into the car. That diversion, along with a couple dog biscuits, allowed us to slip away without a lot of drama. (Don't worry...we didn't leave them alone for two weeks! Our other daughter, Katie, is house sitting. She and fiancé Adam came out later in the morning.)<br />
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We were on the road by 4:30. It was a dark drive to Indy, compounded by construction - concrete barriers crowding the shoulders, dim lines, lanes rerouted - and rain. We white-knuckled it through to the airport. Not a great start for a driving vacation.<br />
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Running the gauntlet through airport security is always a hassle. Nine times out of ten, my bag gets pulled to the side and the TSA agents have to inspect it. This morning, though, it was Mary's turn to win the lottery. Her bag ended up in the bad suitcase lane, and a terse agent (remember - it's 6:00am and his job is to rustle through peoples' personal belongings) asked permission to search it. Mary said "Sure, go ahead. I don't know what you're going to find, though." As the agent opened her bag, she muttered "Oh, shit. I forgot!" <br />
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"Forgot what?", I asked.<br />
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"My shampoo and conditioner. I forgot to put them in the bag we checked. Damn it!"<br />
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At about that point, the TSA agent pulled three plastic bottles from her suitcase - shampoo, conditioner and eyeglass cleaner. "Sorry, ma'am, these are larger than 3 ounces. You can't take them on board."<br />
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Now I'm standing there thinking how much can this cost, five or six bucks?, when Mary says to the guy, "I hope you can take that stuff home to your wife. It's fifty bucks worth of product!" (This is why I don't enquire about what a trip to the stylist costs, nor am I ever told.)<br />
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"No, ma'am. We can't keep it. You can go back out to the lobby and check your bag, if you like."<br />
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Mary muttered something, and I stepped in. "Just let it go", I said, and guided her to the end of the line and on towards our gate.<br />
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Thankfully, the flight was uneventful. I took a nap while Mary read a magazine. She doesn't sleep on a plane. Her explanation: "I can't sleep. I have to be ready in case the pilot needs me to fly the plane." <br />
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After a couple hours in the air, the pilot announced that we should look out the left side of the plane. It was a beautiful clear morning and we were flying over the Grand Canyon. We had a great view.<br />
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Sarah and Pearl, her French Bulldog, met us at LAX and drove us back to their apartment. Along the way we passed what, to us, was a typical crazy California sight - a CVS drug store that had a two story high, three-dimensional figure of an evil looking cross-dressing clown on its façade. I didn't get a picture because we were anxious to get to the apartment. "We'll come back later for a photo", I said. That statement became the basis for our first new rule of the vacation: If you see something photo-worthy, take the picture now! Don't plan on coming back to get it later. You won't...especially if you have to contend with LA traffic.<br />
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Mary's brother, Eddie, drove up from Carlsbad and met us for brunch. We don't get to see him very often, so it was a fun way to start our time in California.</div>
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We checked in at the AirBnB apartment mid afternoon. It was in an apartment building in downtown Santa Monica, about 7 blocks from the beach. Nothing special, in fact it was smaller and not as well equipped as the online description had led us to believe. We quickly discovered that the internet and cable TV did not work. Yep, we wanted to get away and disconnect. Be careful what you ask for!</div>
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However, the temperature in Santa Monica was in the mid-90's, much higher than normal for them. Many places, including Sarah's apartment, didn't have air conditioning. We stocked up with wine and snacks from a nearby grocery store and happily spent the late afternoon and evening sitting and talking. Yes...talking. Remember that?</div>
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On Sunday I bought an LA Times and enjoyed sitting on the patiodrinking coffee and reading a real newspaper. (The Columbus <em>Gazette</em> lasts me about 5 minutes on a typical Sunday!) While I read the book review section, Mary read the real estate ads aloud: So-and-so director's estate is up for sale for $55M. Marginally known actress selling her big house for $12M. She bought it 3 years ago for $9M. Wish I could get that type of appreciation!</div>
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Later in the morning, we walked to the beach and along the walking / skating / biking path for a mile or so til we got to Sarah's side of town. </div>
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There was a lot of activity on the beach that morning. In addition to the joggers and bike riders, there were local surfing schools holding classes near the water's edge and some aerobics classes being held in the sand. Of course, there was also beach volleyball. We saw three teenagers doing acrobatics off the concrete curb. They took turns running across the sidewalk, leaping up onto the curb and doing flips in the air. Mary asked if they could do it together, and they obliged.<br />
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Away from the beach, we wandered through the local Farmer's Market. It occupied almost a full city block and was open all day on Sunday - imagine that! We sat on the sidewalk and ate delicious burritos stuffed with organic vegetables, rice and feta cheese while we listened to a quartet mangle some otherwise good songs. You gotta take the good with the bad.</div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Sunday evening, Sarah recommend that we have dinner at Seasons 52 ( </span><a href="https://www.seasons52.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.seasons52.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> ). It was our first great meal of the trip. Our waitress, Stacy, had a great sense of humor and was very knowledgeable about everything on the menu.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We began with appetizers. We had an Ahi Tuna Tartare that was fabulous. It was layered with wasabi-avocado mousse and a tropical salsa and was served with Hawaiian sea-salt crisps. (I could have ordered a second one and stopped there. OK...who am I kidding!) </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Along with it we had a flatbread with a trio of roasted mushrooms, garlic confit, spinach, green onions, goat cheese and truffle oil. Also delicious.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As an entree, I had Asian-glazed Chilean Sea Bass with organic black rice, snow peas, shitake mushrooms and a micro wasabi.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mary had a wood-grilled pork tenderloin with sweet potato mash, saute of bacon, French green beans and Brussels sprout leaves and a zesty jus.</span></o:p></div>
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Sarah had a filet, which looked delicious, but I didn't get a picture.</div>
All of it accompanied by a chilled Viognier - a crisp white wine we've come to enjoy, but don't find on many menus.<br />
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On Monday we got serious about the rest of the trip. Mary and I started by walking several miles to to Sarah's place and back. (We'd left something in her car the day before!) We then had a nice al fresco breakfast at the Blue Daisy Café (<a href="http://www.bluedaisycafe.com/">http://www.bluedaisycafe.com/</a>), a block from our rental. Mary's was the best - a bagel with salmon, cream cheese, capers, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. I was tempted by big breakfast sandwiches and benedicts, but opted for some oatmeal with strawberries, bananas, honey and cinnamon. (Something about the healthy southern California scene must be rubbing off.)<br />
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In the early afternoon we took an Uber to LAX and picked up our rental car. A few minutes of stress as they had difficulty preparing the rental agreement to match the cost we had booked. <br />
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Problem solved, we asked Siri to get us to In and Out Burger for a late lunch. Mary had been on a previous trip and we said we'd go <u>once</u> on this trip. We arrived at about 2pm to find the parking lot full and the drive thru backed up 10 cars deeps. After circling the lot a couple times we found a spot and went inside. There had to be 12 - 15 people working in the kitchen and front counter. The place was running full bore and <u>everyone</u> working there was smiling! (I'd like to know their secret...and share it with employees and servers everywhere!) Our burgers came out hot and delicious.<br />
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On the way back to the apartment, we made a couple stops to pick up a cooler, some ice and a variety of supplies for the trip. <br />
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We had one last dinner with Sarah on Monday night at a local tapas restaurant - Manchego (<a href="http://www.manchegosm.com/">http://www.manchegosm.com/</a>). It was a warm night and the place was not air conditioned, but we had a great time trying a variety of the small plate dishes. (It was also dark - no pictures.) <br />
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We really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Sarah, to talk at length about her work in the law firm, and to see the area where she lives. We'll have to make it back to Santa Monica again soon. <br />
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We took an Uber back to the apartment and packed our bags, ready to set out on the road trip the next morning.</div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-89985867184936035512015-09-24T10:49:00.001-04:002015-09-24T10:49:19.517-04:00West Coast Vacation - The Big Build Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vacations are to working adults as Christmas is to small
kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s more about the
anticipation than the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the
realization can be a letdown after the visualization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s hope not in this case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve certainly loaded this vacation with
significance….<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I haven’t taken a vacation all year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I n</span>eed to get away and unplug.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mary has been stuck on the farm for three years without a
lengthy trip away. She <em>really</em> needs to get away and see something different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’ve started calling this vacation the “trip of a
lifetime”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Sounds like </span>a setup for
disappointment, doesn't it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But we have as much fun, or more, planning trips as we do
planning what we’d do with our lottery winnings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one got some extra attention. The conversation went something like this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> “Let’s plan a driving trip up the west coast.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>OK. I think we can make it from LA to Vancouver in two weeks, don't you?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And let’s plan to stay in AirBnB’s all the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The quirkier the better!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that's what we're doing. We started in Los Angeles and in two weeks will end in Vancouver. We're going to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway in California and enjoy the scenery. We're going to tour some wineries in Napa on bicycles. We're going to visit Crater Lake in Oregon. We're going to explore a bit of Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. We’re going to stay in some city apartments (probably not
that quirky), but also in some places with intriguing names, like “The Secret
Garden” and “The Writer’s Retreat”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also
in a BlueBird bus that’s been converted to overnight lodging in, where else, Portland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">And of course we're going to eat some great food and drink some great wine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We busted our asses getting ready to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I've </span>said before that I wish I could
maintain the level of activity I achieve in the week before a vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I'm like a mad man, crossing stuff off my </span>“to-do” list every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I surprisingly become a much better delegator. (My staff may wish I'd just stay home!) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Mary had a poster-sized calendar
with a list of 20 things that needed done every day of the two weeks before we
left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of it got done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The other dynamic of getting ready for
vacations is that you become crystal clear about your priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some stuff on the to-do list get reprioritized
to be done after the vacation, meaning it may never get done at all if you
shred the list before you leave.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I talked to my staff, peers, and boss:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m going away for two weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to read email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to call you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trust that you will make good decisions
while I’m gone, and I won’t second-guess you when I return.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone said some variation of “Wow, I wish
I could do that!” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s see how it goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-90970841143513313992015-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:002015-09-24T23:19:44.295-04:00Divider<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Place holder page to put some more pictures of the farm house remodel.</div>
Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-78938481457541156792013-06-18T22:06:00.000-04:002013-06-18T22:06:25.935-04:00The Farm House Remodel - Week 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Let's see if we can catch up on the action. Here's a week's worth of updates...<br />
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<b>Day 5 - Monday, May 27, 2013</b><br />
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Monday was Memorial Day, which was not a work day for the crew, but was one for us. More to do in advance of the demolition. I picked up the river rocks that border all the flower and shrubbery beds around the house and hauled them to the back of the property. I also spent time salvaging lumber from the demo pile, ending up with a good load in the back of the pickup. No, it's not new wood. Yes, it has a lot of nails sticking out of it that I'll have to pull out. But when it's time to build a new shelf in the barn or another nest box in the hen house, it will be just fine. <br />
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<b>Day 6 - Tuesday, May 28, 2013</b><br />
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On Tuesday, the crew started sometime after 1:00pm. They built the temporary wall inside that will provide privacy and security for us when they remove the front of the house. Everything beyond the wall will be gone.<br />
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<b>Day 7 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013</b><br />
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Today the power was out from around 9:00am until 3:30 while the temporary service was installed. We'll be living on 60amps for the next few months. That's the temporary pole at the right edge of the photo below. <br />
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You can also see the other noticeable development - the windows were all removed. Not as noticeable from outside was the removal of most of the ductwork - the furnace and central air are now out of commission. </div>
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We had dinner tonight with a group at the Pine Room Tavern in Nashville, Indiana. No cooking in the FEMA trailer today! </div>
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When we got home, we discovered that the power to the window air conditioner in our bedroom was not working. Something got disconnected during the demo today. Luckily, an adjacent outlet is still live, so an extension cord is enough to keep us cool. I'll report this to Greg, the contractor, tomorrow. </div>
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<b>Day 8 - Thursday, May 30, 2013</b></div>
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The good news: The electrician was on site today and fixed the problem with the bedroom air conditioner.</div>
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The bad news: He cut power to the barn. Not a major problem, but one we'll have to get corrected later this week.</div>
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No picture tonight. We took off early and went to Indianapolis to join our friends Ann and Alan at the <a href="http://www.indianahistory.org/feature-details/concerts-on-the-canal" target="_blank">Indiana Historical Society Concert on the Canal</a>. We enjoyed these open air concerts regularly when we lived in downtown Indy, and it was fun to go back again. We sit on the grass bank across the canal from the stage and enjoy the show for free. It was a beautiful evening - perfect weather to sit outdoors, sip wine, enjoy a picnic dinner and listen to the Tad Robinson band play Motown hits. If you're looking for a fun outing on a Thursday night, let us know - we're up to go again. (I'm marking August 1 on the calendar.)</div>
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<b>Day 9 - Friday, May 31, 2013</b></div>
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Nothing happened today - all activity was rained out. We'll hope for more production next week.</div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-91391526597255764052013-06-09T21:55:00.000-04:002013-06-09T21:55:02.294-04:00The Farm House Remodel - Days 4 & 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Day 4 - May 23, 2013<br />
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Today most of the crew did not work. Mary worked with Jeff, the electrician, to get the FEMA trailer powered up. By the end of the day, all the extension cords in the trailer were gone and an new 30 amp circuit was feeding power to the trailer. This means we can use the toaster, and the coffee pot at the same time, with lights, and might be able to cook a meal that doesn't involve a crock pot in the dark.<br />
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This will be our "summer kitchen" until the new kitchen is completed, sometime in the fall.<br />
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Day 5 - May 24, 2013<br />
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Today the tree guys came to cut down four large trees around the perimeter of the house. We hated to see these trees removed - some of them were probably 50 to 60 years old. But they had not been adequately maintained or ever trimmed. There was no way to build the new floorplan with these trees in place. <br />
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They took out the two large trees to the left of the outhouse. Better pictures will follow on a later day.<br />
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Today is our 37th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by leaving town for Bloomington. We had a great dinner at Restaurant Tallent - one of our favorite places for special occaisions. The chef agreed to do his five course tasting menu - normally only available on week nights - for us, because the restaurant was slow this Friday night. It was one of the top 2 or 3 meals we've ever had! A great way to end the week.<br />
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-20570441910154022352013-06-04T22:31:00.002-04:002013-06-09T21:31:11.628-04:00The Farm House Remodel - Days 2 & 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Day 2 - May 21, 2013</b><br />
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If our neighbors had not already concluded that we were white trash by now, today's demolition might lead them to that conclusion. The view when I got home from work today included a toilet in the front yard.<br />
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I haven't asked any questions, nor am I drawing conclusions, but the toilet was gone the next morning. I had already sifted through the debris pile to the right and salvaged about $100 worth of 2 x 4's. Hey, we're always building something on the farm. Might as well reuse whatever we can. <br />
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Lots of activity indoors today. Sheetrock from the interior walls and ceilings was torn out.<br />
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Ray the plumber did some rework on the septic and water lines to ensure that we still had service from the master suite. (Thanks, Ray!) </div>
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And after all the work was through, we sat on the back patio and enjoyed a cocktail, followed by a dinner from the crock pot. It was a beautiful evening, and we expect to enjoy many more as the project continues.</div>
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<b>Day 3 - May 22, 2013</b></div>
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Today we were surprised when the crew started cutting the house in two. This happened earlier than we expected - probably something we'll need to get used to. </div>
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Mary shot a video of a definitive moment.</div>
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Inside the house, the crew removed a section of floor across the width of the house - in line with the cuts in the walls - sort of a large perforation through the building. We could begin to see where the house would come apart, but couldn't yet imagine how it would be done.</div>
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All of this work took a toll on the Boston Terriers. After a full day of supervising the work from the back yard, barking at the contractors and generally missing their naps, they were exhausted!</div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-20374489281996899552013-06-04T21:06:00.005-04:002013-06-04T22:33:21.074-04:00The Farm House Remodel - Day 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Monday, May 20, 2013</b><br />
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We had spent the weekend clearing out the front of the house - moving furniture back to our master suite, packing boxes of stuff to be stored in the garage, removing doors and wood trim that might be salvageable for later use. By Sunday night we were as ready as we could be (and worn out!) There were a couple big pieces of furniture left - a sofa and a dresser - but we figured the crew could work around them until we got them moved later in the week.<br />
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Here's the view from the outside at the end of Day #1. I'll take a picture from the same spot every day. From the outside, there's not much visible difference. Everything happened indoors today.<br />
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The crew arrived at 10:30am on Monday morning. This was later than we anticipated - we would have figured on 7am - so we'll have to understand their schedule and approach. This week and next are designated on the schedule as "demo" - as in "demolition" - so we expected sledge hammers to be flying. They were, and the crew made short work of the interior of the house.<br />
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Everyone we've talked to about remodeling had war stories to tell about things they discovered once they started tearing out the old parts of their house. Our experience was no different. We had a couple of surprises in our first day.<br />
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Surprise #1 - The crew discovered that the original part of the house extended further back than we had thought. In the photo above you can see an old window that was uncovered as the sheetrock was removed. So the kitchen section probably dates to the 1930's, not the 1980's. This may or may not prove to be a problem later. </div>
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I don't have a good "before" picture of the rooms shown in the photos. Trust me, though, they were not remarkable. <br />
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Surprise #2 - Within the first hour, another problem surfaced. One crew member had started pulling up the floor in the current laundry room. This is part of the middle of the house that will be gutted and reconfigured, so we were anticipating that there was a good foundation underneath. The crew member reported that he found four different layers of floor in the laundry room - tile, linoleum, etc. - and that underneath all those layers the wood was rotten. <br />
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They stopped work in this room - not sure why, but we'll come back to it later. I'm sure there are more surprises ahead. <br />
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Overall, we were impressed by the amount of progress made on this first day. We're off to a good start!<br />
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-18444667379690997432013-05-28T21:52:00.000-04:002013-05-29T17:35:59.403-04:00Another Crazy Adventure - The Farm House Remodel - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I started this blog almost 9 years to the day ago - May 25, 2004. If you look through the list of posts, one conclusion you could reach is that I have been neither prolific nor committed. You'd be right about that. Spoiler alert: That's probably not going to change, despite my good intentions. <br />
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I reread the <a href="http://theviewfromtheroof.blogspot.com/2004/05/hello-world.html" target="_blank">original post</a> tonight and was surprised by how many other things have remained the same. I still think I'm living the good life in paradise. Mary still hasn't figured out she got the short end of the deal. (Though it's been 37 years now, so it's possible she's figured it out and is simply not going to admit it.) And we're still pursuing crazy adventures together. Since I published that first post we've put our last kid through college, lived in at least three different homes, toured Europe and moved to a farm. <br />
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Which brings me to the latest adventure - the subject of this series of posts. We moved to Second Act Farm in the spring of 2012. The house was livable, but we knew it would require some major work. I could see a major renovation in our future, but we agreed up front that we'd live in it for a year before we attempted any substantial changes. We wanted to experience the place through four seasons and give some thought to what changes were really necessary.<br />
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That was a good plan for a reason we didn't anticipate up front - starting the farm would completely consume all of our spare time and energy. Stripping wallpaper and picking paint colors never made it to the middle of the priority list, much less the top. We had our hands full making all the mistakes that new farmers make. (Some of those are documented at the farm blog, <a href="http://secondactfarm.blogspot.com/">http://secondactfarm.blogspot.com/</a> . Same spoiler alert - posts are few and far between. See a pattern emerging?)<br />
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But over the winter we found some time and a good architect, Louis, who helped us refine our ideas into a buildable design. The plan in a nutshell is this: We would demolish the front third of the house (everything forward of the dashed line in the photo below). It contains two small front rooms, and a half story above - ceiling is at 6' - 2".<br />
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In its place, we would have a new, larger two story addition, like shown in the architect's drawing below. It will have a new living room and master suite downstairs and two guest rooms upstairs. A wall of windows on the first floor will look out over the adjacent farm land, and a wraparound porch will give us extra space to entertain.</div>
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The middle third of the house will be gutted and reconfigured to contain a new kitchen, pantry and laundry room. The rear of the house will remain unchanged. It's currently the master suite - where we'll be living during the remodel - but in the future will become a combination office and exercise room.</div>
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Through the early spring, we talked to several local builders and negotiated price and specifications. We ultimately selected Greg and his company to do the work. </div>
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They started the demolition one week ago. Two thirds of the house is now gutted. There are large saw kerfs in the side walls that mark where the front of the house will be separated. We're currently living in the master suite (along with half of our furniture) and using a borrowed FEMA trailer parked in the back yard as our kitchen and dining room. (Yes, that's FEMA trailer, as in one of the thousands that was deployed in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. But that's a story for another day.)</div>
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Lots of our friends and family members have asked us about the project, so we have decided to document our experiences here. It's not likely we'll post every day, but we will document the entire project from now through completion - currently scheduled for the first week of October. We hope you'll find it entertaining. Mary and I went into this with an agreement that neither one of us would complain about the noise, dirt or general inconvenience involved in this project. So far, we've held up our ends of the bargain, but there's a long, hot summer ahead. We know that some of our friends have started a pool, betting on which one of us caves in first, and when. You might want a piece of that action. </div>
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Stay tuned. Lots more to come!</div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-57200215318358264502011-08-18T20:10:00.001-04:002011-08-18T20:12:14.035-04:00Dad's new novel - "Sunrise in the Cloud Forest" - launches on August 19<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking for a great, late summer read? How's this for a teaser:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #000099; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Matthew X Landry, organizer and senior pastor of Mobile's Harmony Temple, wants nothing more than to make the Temple the largest Protestant church along the Gulf Coast, counting on the help of his wife and co-pastor, Georgia Landry . . . until that goal and his marriage are threatened by the public confession of a woman who claims to be the pastor's lover. While Private Investigator Lettie Fortenot labors to prove the pastor's innocence, a wounded Georgia Landry flees to Costa Rica in an attempt to carve out a new life for herself.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #000099; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
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</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #000099; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is Dr. Matt guilty or innocent?</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #000099; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
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</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #000099; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The couple's own sons, who are themselves conflicted in their religious loyalties, are not the only ones divided on this question. Exploring the depths of ambition, trust and forgiveness, the future of a family, as well as the future of a great church, is at stake in this compelling new novel by Bert Johnston.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">I'll admit to a bit of bias here - Bert happens to be my father. He is a retired Presbyterian minister living in Spanish Fort, Alabama, just east of Mobile. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">This is Bert's second novel. He has been on an interesting journey for the past five or six years. His first novel, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Parson-Campbells-Breakthrough-Novel-1950s/dp/1448619149/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311300321&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3333cc; line-height: 115%;">"Parson Campbell's Breakthrough"</span></a></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"> was published in 2009, several years after he entered the </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3333cc; line-height: 115%;">"National Novel Writing Month" </span></a></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">and wrote the first draft. ("NaNoWriMo" is a worldwide event that encourages would-be authors to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I've done it for a couple of years. Bert and I did it together one year. He kicked my ass in word count.)</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunrise-Cloud-Forest-Bert-Johnston/dp/1461179645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311300393&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3333cc; line-height: 115%;">"Sunrise in the Cloud Forest"</span></a></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"> is available as a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1461179645/sr=1-1/qid=1313712367/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1313712367&sr=1-1&seller=">paperback</a> or a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1461179645/sr=1-1/qid=1313712367/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1313712367&sr=1-1&seller=">Kindle book</a>. For a brief moment a few weeks ago, it was in the top 30 bestsellers on the Amazon.com UK site for Kindle books. You can help influence its ranking in the US by buying your copy on the official launch day, tomorrow - August 19. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">More information about the author and sample chapters from "Sunrise" can be found on Bert's web site - </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3333cc; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bertjohnston.com/" target="_blank">www.bertjohnston.com</a> .</span></span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Let me know what you think of the book. I'll pass any comments along to Bert.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-44140627363232871152011-08-06T21:04:00.000-04:002011-08-06T21:04:18.204-04:00Successful surgery on the MacBook in 94 steps!Two things I haven't done much of in the last few years are:<br />
<ol><li>Publish anything on this blog. The last post was in October, 2009. (There was actually one in November, an embarrasing rant about reality TV - the only post I've ever deleted from the blog.) Lots has happened since then, but most of it will have to wait for another post.<br />
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<li>Repair a computer. We haven't had a desktop computer in the house for at least 5 years, and my primary platforms have been a laptop issued by work and most recently, an iPad - neither of which I can tinker with. </li>
</ol>But today I spent about 3 hours doing a repair on Mary's MacBook. Here's the story:<br />
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Mary has had her MacBook for about 5 years. Several months ago the display started going black when she moved it. In order to use the laptop, she would have to pivot the display slowly, sometimes getting it to 90 degrees, sometimes not. After a couple of months, it got to the point where she could only raise the screen about 45 degrees. <br />
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I did some research on the Internet and found a description of a likely cause and a <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Core-2-Duo-Inverter-Cable/4772/1">procedure for repairing it</a> at ifixit.com. The procedure had 47 steps, and that was just to get to the point where the old part was taken out. You had to repeat the same steps, in reverse, to put the machine back together - a total of 94 steps. <br />
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It was rated "difficult" - not a surprise.<br />
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I passed on the chance to repair it myself.<br />
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Another month passed, and the problem got worse. I called a repair shop in Indy and was told they would gladly diagnose the problem for $90 and <i>then</i> would give me a quote me on the repair. It seemed silly to drive to Indy for the chance to pay several hundred dollars on a 5 year old computer. I went to the Geek Squad counter at the local Best Buy, but was told their company policy prohibited them from opening the case on a Mac. <br />
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I went back to the ifixit site for another look. The 47 steps didn't look so daunting this time. Plus, the site suggested the tools I needed, including a coin which had a face value of 25 cents<a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Coin/IF145-095?utm_source=ifixit_guide&utm_medium=guide_intro&utm_content=required_items&utm_term=macbook_core_2_duo"> that they would sell me for $2.95.</a> There was a button to add all the tools to my cart. Easy. <br />
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After a few minutes review, I figured "What the hell, how hard can it really be?" and sent in the order. To their credit, they didn't add the coin to my cart. With an online coupon code, I got the part and the necessary tools, including something called a <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Spudger/IF145-002?utm_source=ifixit_guide&utm_medium=guide_intro&utm_content=required_items&utm_term=macbook_core_2_duo">"spudger"</a> that I thought might be a British screwdriver...I was wrong, for $30. <br />
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I reserved a Saturday afternoon for the repair. I printed out the 47 step procedure, cleared off a work space, readied the spudger and took a deep breath. <br />
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Over the years I've disassembled and updated a lot of Windows / Intel desktops. I've added memory to a Dell laptop. But I've never cracked a Macanything. The ifixit instructions proved invaluable. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to go through the 47 steps, with only a few minutes set aside for head scratching.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kRl-pYo3qHY/Tj3T3D_gWYI/AAAAAAAAATQ/A3QjeTTmjYU/s1600/Mac+Repair+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kRl-pYo3qHY/Tj3T3D_gWYI/AAAAAAAAATQ/A3QjeTTmjYU/s320/Mac+Repair+009.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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The thing that amazed me the most was the tiny size of most of the hardware components. To keep things orderly, I took the screws from each step and taped them to a piece of paper. These were some of the tiniest screws I've ever seen. Here they are, next to my 25 cent tool. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQb4VVxTsmg/Tj3T2Inr6nI/AAAAAAAAATM/7PuVswe6jKc/s1600/Mac+Repair+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQb4VVxTsmg/Tj3T2Inr6nI/AAAAAAAAATM/7PuVswe6jKc/s320/Mac+Repair+005.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Not surprising - the interior of the MacBook is tight and tidy. There were some of the smallest connectors I've ever seen. I needed a magnifying glass to see some of them. <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OYP3W-gfSqA/Tj3T4MrN_xI/AAAAAAAAATU/hPMwAjFpTkY/s1600/Mac+Repair+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OYP3W-gfSqA/Tj3T4MrN_xI/AAAAAAAAATU/hPMwAjFpTkY/s320/Mac+Repair+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I got a kick out of seeing the speakers...smaller than my 25 cent tool!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d7lRzxRPnDo/Tj3T5b3cy6I/AAAAAAAAATY/XxwiB-g5Gic/s1600/Mac+Repair+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d7lRzxRPnDo/Tj3T5b3cy6I/AAAAAAAAATY/XxwiB-g5Gic/s320/Mac+Repair+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After an hour and 45 minutes, I had done all the disassembly and had installed the replacement part - a 3 inch long cable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7j1JcGYv8T8/Tj3hmNj1mwI/AAAAAAAAATo/ieCZi6CxcuY/s1600/Inverter+Cable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7j1JcGYv8T8/Tj3hmNj1mwI/AAAAAAAAATo/ieCZi6CxcuY/s1600/Inverter+Cable.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Working backwards through the 47 steps took another 55 minutes. Surprising that it went back together faster than it came apart. When the case was all back together and the battery was reinstalled, we held our breath and pushed the power button. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After a few seconds we heard the familiar sounds of the MacBook booting up. A minute or so later, the desktop appeared. I pivoted the display, hoping it wouldn't black out. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It didn't. Success. Woo hoo! Probably should have cleaned the screen before we took the last photo, but who really cares if there are a few fingerprints? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZysAdqgxks/Tj3T7QXL_OI/AAAAAAAAATc/Mrkc_6wrScg/s1600/Mac+Repair+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LZysAdqgxks/Tj3T7QXL_OI/AAAAAAAAATc/Mrkc_6wrScg/s320/Mac+Repair+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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If you've got something at home that needs fixed, I highly recommend <a href="http://ifixit.com/">ifixit.com</a>. Their website is easy to use, they bundle the tools you need, and most importantly, they give you the step-by-step instructions. Yes, this one probably was "difficult", but it worked! Thanks, <a href="http://ifixit.com/">ifixit.com</a> !Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-56847679879071591332009-10-30T18:52:00.003-04:002009-10-30T19:11:32.135-04:00Hydrogen = Teachers...Wow!My younger brother, Bobby, works for <a href="http://www.gensler.com/">Gensler</a>, the multi-national architecture and design firm. Bobby has an interesting job with interesting clients...and he's really good at what he does. I heard today that he's in China, picking out tile and other components for one of his latest projects. I'm in Amsterdam, finishing a week of work on my current project. Our younger brother, Thom, has an ongoing gig in Korea, so the Johnston boys have clearly gone global. <br /><br />What got me started on this riff was <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/gensler-catches-high-line-fever?partner=rss">an item I saw tonight at fastcompany.com</a>. Some Gensler folks have proposed an innovative project in Chicago - converting an abandoned rail line into a greenhouse to grow food for local consumption and also including a "hydrogen generator" that would split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen could be sold for use by alternative fuel vehicles, with the profits being funneled back into the Chicago school system to pay teacher salaries. <br /><br />Hydrogen = Teachers.<br /><br />It seems inadequate to call this "out of the box thinking". Sure, it's a design concept, and some of the infrastructure doesn't yet exist. But it represents an approach to problem solving that is clearly not encumbered by the traditional. <br /><br />I've spent much of today talking with my project team about how we approach our work with new eyes - challenging assumptions and looking for the breakthrough ideas that get us to our goal faster, better, and smarter. <br /><br />Hydrogen = Teachers. <br /><br />What's our equation?Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-16994609460436508602009-09-04T21:51:00.005-04:002009-09-05T05:38:10.790-04:00One More Airline Horror Story - This Time About Delta Airlines<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">About six months ago, Mary and I decided to take a vacation over the Labor Day week. We had an invitation from Mary's brother, Eddie, to join him, his wife Susan, and some friends at a house on the Jersey shore. We've never been to the Jersey shore, and we haven't had any real contact with Eddie and Susan over the years. It seemed like a great opportunity. We said "Yes!".<br /><br />We thought we'd be smart and plan ahead, so we got online and booked two tickets with Northwest Airlines. At the time we did it (March, 2009), we were shopping for convenient flight times and low cost - no different from any of the millions of people who buy airline tickets every year. We found what we thought was a good deal, and were even able to cash in part of a flight we had to cancel last year. We carefully looked at each leg of the flight and selected seats side-by-side. We coordinated with Eddie to arrive in Philadelphia at about the same time, so we could share a rental car. It was all coming together nicely.<br /><br />We made a mistake, though. I imagine it was a mistake that most of the other millions of ticket buyers make.<br /><br />We didn't read the fine print.<br /><br />I don't even recall seeing the fine print - the "rules" associated with the tickets. It was probably displayed - we were booking through Northwest Airlines web site, nwa.com - and they probably gave us the option to review it all. And I probably didn't review it. Tell the truth, now. How many times have you read all the fine print on a web site when you're conducting a routine transaction? You don't , do you? You hit "Accept" and move on.<br /><br />You probably think that when you select a seat on an airplane, it's yours. It's not. You probably think that if you and your wife select seats side-by-side, that you'll actually get to sit together. You're wrong. You probably think that if you pay what the airline asks for the seat, that there will be some integrity in your reservation, even if the airline merges with another. Ha Ha HA! Foolish mortal!<br /><br />I bought the seats from Nortwest Airlines six months ago. Paid for them. Selected the adjacent seats. Since then, I have received multiple emails from Northwest advising me of changes in the reservation. Most were innocuous, even inscrutable. There was an initial change in arrival time - getting in an hour later than we originally planned. (Sorry, Eddie, you'll have to wait an extra hour for us.) The others didn't appear to change much. Last night (Thursday evening before Labor Day), we looked at the reservations online (at nwa.com). We were still together on the same flights, still in the same seats. Our departure on Saturday was confirmed, according to Northwest.<br /><br />Tonight (Friday), we checked in on line. The first sign that something had gone wrong was when we had to switch from nwa.com to delta.com to check in. I know the airlines combine flights - selling tickets on a delta flight, a northwest flight, and maybe somebody else's flight - each with different flight numbers, but all really being the same plane. We bought a ticket on Northwest. Delta would deliver. OK. They bought Northwest...or Northwest bought them. I don't care too much...just get me to my destination, safely.<br /><br />After a couple of false starts, I got us checked in. Then I printed the boarding passes. I though we were all set.<br /><br />But, wait a minute...the seats are different. The seats we were assigned in the Northwest confirmation were not the same on our Delta boarding passes. We were sitting in different rows! WTF?!<br /><br />So I called Northwest. I spoke to a customer support rep who told me, politely, that he couldn't see our seats on the Delta flight and that we'd have to contact Delta. Thanks a lot. I paid you for the tickets. Why should I expect customer support to be helpful?<br /><br />So I called Delta. I spoke to Donald. He couldn't help me, either. The flight is full. You'll have to talk to the gate agent. There was nothing else he could do.<br /><br />What?! So it's MY problem now? No way. I asked for a customer service number where I could lodge a complaint. He gave me one: 1-888-286-3163.<br /><br />Guess what? That's a fax machine! I'll grant him this: Donald did a nice job of getting rid of me.<br /><br />I searched for Delta customer support number on line. I found a number for Delta in Atlanta. The answering machine said that their office hours were 8-5 and I should call back. I found another listing for customer service - 1-800-221-1212. I called it and kept hitting "0" until I got a live human. I don't know where she was physically located, but her accent suggested somewhere in India. She was polite, and looked up my reservation, and politely told me that there was nothing she could do. She recommended that I talk to the gate agent.<br /><br />Thanks, I said, but that's not an answer. Get me your supervisor. She put me on hold for an extended period...probably about 10 minutes. When she came back on, she told me that her supervisor could not help me, but that she'd talk to me anyway. Great. Put her on.<br /><br />Debra, the supervisor, was from somewhere in North America. She, too, was polite, but reiterated that she couldn't fix the problem.<br /><br />Why, I asked, would I get confirmation of adjacent seats from Northwest, but be seated in different rows by Delta? Debra calmly replied that when I agreed to purchase my tickets, I agreed to the airlines' conditions that I only had a seat, not a specific seat. There were no guarantees that I would have a specific seat. Its all spelled out in the agreement for your ticket - that pesky fine print!<br /><br />Then why, I asked, did the airlines perpetuate the charade of allowing us to select seats on line? Why waste our time and the airlines' computer bandwidth? Good question, she replied. But she didn't have an answer. She repeated that should talk to the gate agent.<br /><br />I'll admit that by now I was pissed. No thanks, I said. Here's what I want: I want you, Debra, as a customer care manager with Delta Airlines, to notify your people in Indianapolis and have them sort it out, so that when I arrive at the airport tomorrow afternoon, they say, "Hi, Mike. We understand there was a problem with your seats. We've fixed it for you." That, I said, would be real customer service.<br /><br />To her credit, Debra didn't laugh. Instead, she told me that she could document my request, but there was no guarantee that the people in Indianapolis would read it.<br /><br />What? You mean that Delta Airlines goes to the trouble and expense of maintaining a 24x7 Customer Support line, but that the rest of the organization will likely ignore what customers say?<br /><br />Oh, no, said Debra. They'll pay attention if I call to request a wheel chair or some other special assistance. But a complaint about how Northwest / Delta mangled my reservation? Sorry, they probably won't read that.<br /><br />Whether I ever buy another ticket on Delta or Northwest again will have absolutely no impact on the financial performance of either/both/the combined airline. I know that, and so does Delta / Northwest. But maybe the one or two people who read this blog will tell a couple of their friends, and they'll share the link with others. Maybe our combined voices demanding better service will influence how Delta / Northwest handle their seat assignments.<br /><br />Maybe sooner or later, somebody at Delta who is empowered to actually solve a customer problem will give me a call and offer a solution.<br /><br />Maybe I'll pick up the phone.<br /></span></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-13798990389029884092009-08-16T11:23:00.020-04:002009-08-16T13:04:57.914-04:00Saturday at the RacesIndianapolis is known in some circles as <a href="http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/">"The Racing Capital of the World"</a>, with most of that motorized activity taking place a few miles from where we live. This weekend, though, we got a close-up look at a different type of racing just a few blocks from home. The 2009 "Mass Ave Criterium" took place on a 2/3 mile triangle of city streets just a few blocks from our condo.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.nuvo.net/sports/article/boys-bikes-and-bragging-rights">Nuvo Newsweekly</a>, criteriums are the most common type of bicycle races held in the US. They are road races, typically run on city streets that are closed to other traffic. The race format is simple - each race runs for a set period of time (at Mass Ave it was 35 to 60 minutes) followed by 2 or 3 additional laps. During each race, extra prizes called <span style="font-style: italic;">primes</span> (pronounced "preems"), usually cash, are given to the winners of specific laps. Speeds on the course may average 25 - 30mph during the race, with sprints of 45+ mph to the finish line.<br /><br /><br />This is the 2nd year that the criterium has been run on Massachusetts Avenue. Mass Ave is lined with shops and restaurants. It's a popular destination downtown, and makes a great venue for the Criterium.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/SogvwoTtM9I/AAAAAAAAAOg/tXGue0kQ84s/s1600-h/Criterium+009-vsmall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/SogvwoTtM9I/AAAAAAAAAOg/tXGue0kQ84s/s400/Criterium+009-vsmall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370595068139615186" border="0" /></a>The start / finish line was at 435 Mass Ave, just outside the <a href="http://www.threedog.com/">Three Dog Bakery</a>, one of Beans' favorite haunts.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/SogzAFyi8MI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RqCXfDEqbjM/s1600-h/Criterium+077-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/SogzAFyi8MI/AAAAAAAAAOo/RqCXfDEqbjM/s400/Criterium+077-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370598632286515394" border="0" /></a>The racers proceeded southwest on Mass Ave, then turned left on Vermont St., right in front of the Old Point Tavern and Julian Opie's animated LED artwork <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dancing">"Ann Dancing"</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />(I always get a kick out of watching Ann dance. You can see a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YTYPYIphJQ">video</a> taken during the winter of 2008 when she was first installed.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog0_KLgLqI/AAAAAAAAAOw/46ymTSi393o/s1600-h/Criterium+100-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog0_KLgLqI/AAAAAAAAAOw/46ymTSi393o/s400/Criterium+100-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370600815308320418" border="0" /></a>The route continued east on Vermont, past St. Mary's church. Riders then turned north on East St. and finally turned back onto Mass Ave.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog2pr4IoHI/AAAAAAAAAO4/2AoaUR3uHVM/s1600-h/Criterium+094-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 286px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog2pr4IoHI/AAAAAAAAAO4/2AoaUR3uHVM/s400/Criterium+094-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370602645420023922" border="0" /></a>Some spectators enjoyed the view from a safe distance...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog3OV6zytI/AAAAAAAAAPA/99muiyGXQbo/s1600-h/Criterium+123-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog3OV6zytI/AAAAAAAAAPA/99muiyGXQbo/s400/Criterium+123-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370603275180821202" border="0" /></a>...while some of us wanted a close-up view of the action.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog4IsgsLdI/AAAAAAAAAPI/pLEA0Rr-thc/s1600-h/Criterium+064-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog4IsgsLdI/AAAAAAAAAPI/pLEA0Rr-thc/s400/Criterium+064-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370604277677698514" border="0" /></a>Many of the participants were highly-skilled athletes, but they made room for a few others, too. Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard, a former participant in the "<a href="http://www.iusf.indiana.edu/Events_Programs/Little_500.html">Little 500</a>" cycle races at Indiana University, led the parade lap for the final event, the men's professional race.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog5ZJ2bJcI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/wA9qDoafHPc/s1600-h/Criterium+047-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Sog5ZJ2bJcI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/wA9qDoafHPc/s400/Criterium+047-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370605659943019970" border="0" /></a>There was also a race for younger cyclists, many of whom demonstrated the same level of intensity as their older counterparts.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It was a beautiful Saturday in downtown Indianapolis, the racing capital of the world!Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-69375841064769846692009-07-31T19:31:00.005-04:002009-08-01T19:07:02.165-04:00Squatting in NewarkAt about 7:45am EDT this morning, I boarded a plane in Amsterdam - yes, <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> Amsterdam - in Holland, or "The Netherlands". (There is a distinction between the two, according to people who live there. ) I had been in Holland for a week on business, with a day trip into Belgium. It's the first trip of many over the next year. I'm leading a business process transformation project for our company, and our first pilot locations will be in Holland, Belgium, Norway and Sweden. It's a big project, with high visibility - good if we're successful, not so good if we're not. My motto for the team is simple: "we have no option to fail".<br /><br />I enjoyed my stay in Holland. Our office is in Dordrecht, one of the oldest cities in Holland. It is an island - surrounded by the inland waterway. It was good to get acquainted with the local team, to see their facilities, and even to meet some customers. The next year will be challenging, but everyone I've met so far is enthusiastic and ready to get going.<br /><br />That was the good part...and it extended through the trip back to the US. I had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel this morning, did a few emails, and caught a cab to the train station. The trip from Dordrecht to the Amsterdam Schipol airport took about an hour, giving me plenty of time to read the International Herald Tribune - almost the first news I'd seen all week.<br /><br />The flight left Amsterdam a few minutes late, but we had smooth flying throughout the day. Once on board, I set my watch to Eastern time - 6 hours earlier - and effectively started my day over. The 8 hour flight gave me time to get a lot of work done and still have time to finish a novel on the Kindle. The flight was smooth and the food was edible - thanks, Continental!<br /><br />Things started to change, though, when I got back to the states. Due to bad weather, we were put in a holding pattern over Albany, New York, waiting for the Newark airport to open up. We landed an hour late. I took my time going through Customs, knowing I had at least 3 hours before my flight back to Indianapolis. But when I checked the "Departure" boards, my flight wasn't listed. That's always a sign of bad things to come.<br /><br />The bottom line: the last leg of my trip is delayed at least 2 hours, so instead of getting home at 10:30 tonight, it will be after midnight. Mary and Beans will be asleep. For now, I'm sitting on the floor in the Newark airport, tethered to a power outlet that's charging the laptop and the Kindle. I'm surrounded by fellow travelers, all trying to sort out their plans. One couple is stretched out on the floor across the aisle, asleep. Others are in various states of repose, resting on backpacks. For the moment, no one seems too stressed. Let's hope it stays that way. It could be a long night.<br /><br />Ain't travel fun?Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-48641303725420674202009-05-31T14:59:00.004-04:002009-05-31T17:13:39.871-04:00Playing for ChangeThis afternoon I stumbled on some of the most fascinating and moving music videos I've ever seen - products of a project called <a href="http://www.playingforchange.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Playing for Change</span></a>. The videos were created by a recording engineer named Mark Johnson. Over a four year period, Johnson traveled around the world filming and recording dozens of local musicians performing the same songs. He then edited the performances together, creating a series of "songs around the world" - virtual group performances that are compelling to watch and wonderful to listen to.<br /><br />Johnson talks about the project in this video clip that also features snippets from the videos of "Stand By Me" and Bob Marley's "War/No More Trouble" and "One Love".<br /><br /><br /><object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mJ4bXR0By-g&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mJ4bXR0By-g&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object><br /><br />Several of the songs have been released as individual videos on YouTube, Vimeo and the Playing for Change web site. (I've linked to the YouTube versions because they seemed to play smoother - with less delay.) Two of my favorites are embedded below. "Stand By Me" begins with film of Roger Ridley, a street performer in Santa Monica, California who was the original inspiration for the project.<br /><br /><object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Us-TVg40ExM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Us-TVg40ExM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object><br /><br />The performance of Bob Marley's "War/No More Trouble" weaves together voices and images from Africa, Ireland, Israel, India and the United States.<br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgWFxFg7-GU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgWFxFg7-GU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br /><br />As a technical feat alone, these videos would be tremendously impressive. As a vehicle for illustrating the unifying power of music in a divided world, they are tremendously powerful.<br /><br />Watch, listen. Visit Playing for Change on the web at <a href="http://www.playingforchange.com/">http://www.playingforchange.com/</a> .Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-42808221036662700092009-05-25T13:45:00.001-04:002009-05-25T21:53:49.558-04:00The "Staycation" - Part 7 - Wrapping UpWe've had a great time on the "staycation", but, sadly, all good things must come to an end. Here's a quick recap of the last few days.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Thursday </span>- no planned activities. One of the best parts of a staycation is the ability to decide to do nothing special. Its tough to do that when you're away from home and paying for hotels, rental cars and meals out. We took Thursday as a day to run errands and stock up the pantry.<br /><br />Our one nod to exploring Indy on Thursday was lunch at Roscoe's Tacos in Greenwood. We had seen <a href="http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905200314">an article in the Indianapolis Star about several good places to eat in Greenwood</a>. Roscoe's was one of the places. It was plain and simple, low priced, and good. Mary tried their soft tacos - one chicken and one ground beef. I tried the "Son of Sampler" - three corn tacos (one ground beef, one shredded beef, one chicken) and a side (I had black beans and rice). We were surprised that the ground beef tacos were the best of the bunch. There were seats for about 20 people, and all were full - even at 1pm on Thursday. Maybe the newspaper article helped, maybe they are always this busy. Lunch was about $15.<br /><br />On Thursday evening we met our neighbors Ann and Alan for hors d'oeuvres and wine on the roof. We had a delightful, relaxing evening - swapping stories and watching the sunset over the skyline. Our neighbor Richard joined us on the roof midway through the evening. Richard works in state government and always has a good story or two to share.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday</span></span> - A light day in the city. We had lunch at <a href="http://kingdaviddogs.com/">King David Dogs</a> on Pennsylvania Ave.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shn_5KWWmuI/AAAAAAAAAMs/r6qKG9mo2PA/s1600-h/Spring-2009+095-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shn_5KWWmuI/AAAAAAAAAMs/r6qKG9mo2PA/s400/Spring-2009+095-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339580190720170722" border="0" /></a><br />This is "the" place to get a hot dog in Indianapolis. Like a lot of our staycation destinations, we had walked past King David's numerous times, but never during their business hours. (They're only open from 11-4, Monday through Friday.) On Friday as we walked to lunch, we encountered a steady stream of people carrying plastic cups with the King David logo. It seemed like everybody on Pennsylvania Ave. had been there for lunch.<br /><br />King David Dogs is run by Brent Joseph. He's the grandson of William Hene, one of the founders of the Hene Meat Company, which developed the King David brand of meats, including all-beef hot dogs. They sold them through delis and grocery stores in Indy from the 1940's through the 1990's. Brent uses the family recipe and serves all his dogs on steamed poppy seed buns.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShoAyZ4UUWI/AAAAAAAAAM0/IvBNqAoELSk/s1600-h/Spring-2009+094-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShoAyZ4UUWI/AAAAAAAAAM0/IvBNqAoELSk/s400/Spring-2009+094-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339581174141702498" border="0" /></a>It's a small place inside - maybe 10 or 12 tables, and at 1pm on Friday it was packed.<br /><br />Mary ordered a chili dog (chili with beans, brown mustard, cheese and onions). I got the "Chicago Dog" (onions, tomato wedges, neon green relish, yellow mustard, sport peppers, a dill pickle spear and a dash of celery salt). We both also got tater tots. (Where else can you get tater tots?) We enjoyed every bite!<br /><br />While we ate, we compared notes on lunch spots with the man sitting next to us. He told us he worked at the NCAA headquarters and had tried practically every lunch place downtown. His recommendations:<br /><ul><li>The Workingman's Friend (also recommended by our neighbor, Alan)<br /></li><li>The Tip Top Tavern</li><li>John's Hot Stew</li><li>The Ice House</li></ul>While we won't get to all of these this week, we've added them to our list for future outings.<br /><br />Later on Friday afternoon, we went back to the <a href="http://www.ottegolf.com/">Otte Golf Center</a> for their "twilight" special - 18 holes for $10 (walking). We got there about 4:30 and had the course almost completely to ourselves until the very end. It was hot for the first 9 holes, but the evening turned very pleasant for the back 9. An added bonus - we were both hitting the ball well. The course is open until 10pm. We're planning to go back regularly throughout the summer for more twilight golf.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday</span></span> - We hadn't planned any activities for SaVturday, but the staycation spirit stayed with us, anyway. The big event downtown on Saturday was the <a href="http://www.500festival.com/parade/">Indy 500 Festival Parade</a>. It started at noon, just a couple blocks from our condo. People were walking past in groups by 10am. We had attended the parade for the past two years and decided to skip this one. We decided to drive south, away from the crowds downtown, to run some errands and try someplace new for lunch. I checked the "Dining Out" listings in the <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/">Indianapolis Monthly</a> and got the address for the Ice House Restaurant on S. West St. It was a warm day and we figured the a place called "Ice House"would be a comfortable spot.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shq_Wg4ivKI/AAAAAAAAANM/LqxpWEHNGOk/s1600-h/Spring-2009+106-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shq_Wg4ivKI/AAAAAAAAANM/LqxpWEHNGOk/s400/Spring-2009+106-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339790701706263714" border="0" /></a><br />The Ice House was described as an "after work hangout for generations of clock-punchers". It is located in an industrial area a couple miles south of downtown, with a freight yard behind it. It looked like the kind of place where a man (or woman) with a powerful thirst might be found after the quitting time whistle blew.<br /><br />On Saturday afternoon, however, we had the place almost to ourselves. A couple of tables were occupied by groups of men in town for the race.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShoI3GfudNI/AAAAAAAAANE/mo_18Zv8afs/s1600-h/Spring-2009+104-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShoI3GfudNI/AAAAAAAAANE/mo_18Zv8afs/s400/Spring-2009+104-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339590050930652370" border="0" /></a>The place had a well worn, comfortable feel to it. At one end of the long bar was a jukebox, a couple of video games, and a cigarette machine. How long has it been since you've seen one of those?<br /><br />The menu was on the table as a laminated place mat. It didn't take us long to make up our minds. Mary got a club sandwich. I went for the tenderloin - another recommendation I'd picked up somewhere.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrCs-9NZPI/AAAAAAAAANU/sMV3mFnQ-7E/s1600-h/Spring-2009+102-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrCs-9NZPI/AAAAAAAAANU/sMV3mFnQ-7E/s400/Spring-2009+102-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339794386270905586" border="0" /></a><br />Portions for both sandwiches are best described as "ample". In the finest Indiana tradition, the tenderloin nearly covered the entire plate!<br /><br />While we enjoyed the sandwiches, Mary flipped through the <span style="font-style: italic;">Indianapolis Monthly City Guide</span>. She found a short note about Garfield Park, the oldest city park in Indy. What got our attention was the fact that the park has a "formal garden like something you'd see at Versailles". We were intrigued...even more so because I remembered seeing signs for Garfield Park on our way to the Ice House.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrR31VQHLI/AAAAAAAAAN0/Fdms7z2A7Qg/s1600-h/Spring-2009+115-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrR31VQHLI/AAAAAAAAAN0/Fdms7z2A7Qg/s400/Spring-2009+115-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339811065340370098" border="0" /></a>The waitress confirmed that the park was nearby, so we headed that way after lunch. We drove into the park past the public swimming pool and several large groups having picnics. I was about to conclude that we'd been led astray, when I saw a sign for the <a href="http://www.garfieldgardensconservatory.org/">Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Gardens</a>.<br /><br />Sure enough, it was a large formal garden, laid out in a very symmetric fashion. We can't compare to Versaille, since we haven't been there, yet, but it was a surprising find in the middle of an urban park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrR36r_VTI/AAAAAAAAANs/Vjo_TqemMbw/s1600-h/Spring-2009+107-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShrR36r_VTI/AAAAAAAAANs/Vjo_TqemMbw/s400/Spring-2009+107-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339811066777916722" border="0" /></a><br />Adjacent to the garden is the conservatory - a 10,000 square foot green house.<br /><br />We wandered through the garden, out a back gate and through a portion of the larger (136 acre) park. The grounds were neat and well maintained. We saw the <a href="http://www.indy.gov/eGov/City/DPR/Programs/Arts/Pages/Eagle%20Creek%20Park%20Concert%20Series.aspx">MacAllister Performing Arts Center</a> - an outdoor ampitheater that feature pops concerts on Thursday nights and "movies in the park", all summer long. We also saw the <a href="http://www.indy.gov/EGOV/CITY/DPR/PROGRAMS/ARTS/Pages/GarfieldParkArtsCenter.aspx">Garfield Park Arts Center</a> that offers a wide variety of programs in the visual and performing arts to the broader community.<br /><br />Looking back, this was possibly the best way to end the staycation. We've had a week of fun, at very low cost, that did not require the expense and stress of traveling. And best of all, we discovered several new places that hold lots of promise for future activities, right here at home. We'll still travel, of course, but we'll do so with a much better appreciation for all that we have in our back yard.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-13024956573452993372009-05-23T08:01:00.021-04:002009-05-25T21:52:15.851-04:00The "Staycation" - Part 6Wednesday was another beautiful day in Indiana. We couldn't believe our luck in having a string of great weather for the "Staycation".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shfmz-lwVTI/AAAAAAAAALs/S-R82gfaG8Q/s1600-h/Summer-2008+005-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shfmz-lwVTI/AAAAAAAAALs/S-R82gfaG8Q/s400/Summer-2008+005-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338989663920084274" border="0" /></a>Our first stop was the <a href="http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=citycountybuilding-indianapolis-in-usa">City County Building</a>, the home of Indianapolis and Marion County government. At 28 stories, it is a prominent part of the skyline we see from our roof.<br /><br />At the very top of the building is an observation deck. We headed up for what we expected would be a great view of the city. We weren't disappointed.<br /><br />We arrived just before 10am, which was when the observation deck opened. We took the service elevator to the 26th floor, and then a separate elevator to the top. On the way up, we met Robert Short, the attendant in the observation deck. We were his first "customers" of the day, and he welcomed us warmly. Like everyone else we've met this week, Mr. Short was interested in the "Staycation". He thought it was great that we were exploring Indianapolis.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfsFe9YgoI/AAAAAAAAAL0/W-kKHbyaIdA/s1600-h/Spring-2009+086-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfsFe9YgoI/AAAAAAAAAL0/W-kKHbyaIdA/s400/Spring-2009+086-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338995462225035906" border="0" /></a>The observation deck is enclosed, with windows all around. It is bright and airy, with lots of Indianapolis artifacts on display.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShftSqTke5I/AAAAAAAAAL8/pUb8TwSS_ng/s1600-h/Spring-2009+074-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShftSqTke5I/AAAAAAAAAL8/pUb8TwSS_ng/s400/Spring-2009+074-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338996788120812434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The walls of the the deck are set back from the outer walls of the building. When you look out over the city, you have a floor just outside the window. This helps people with a fear of heights - you're not looking directly down all those 28 floors!<br /><br />It was easy to pick out some of the more familiar landmarks of the city. Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium were clearly visible.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfuR4U-6fI/AAAAAAAAAME/uSfidqxvYPk/s1600-h/Spring-2009+079-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfuR4U-6fI/AAAAAAAAAME/uSfidqxvYPk/s400/Spring-2009+079-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338997874216593906" border="0" /></a><br />The City County Building was completed in 1962 and was the tallest building in Indianapolis until 1970. It was the first building taller than the <a href="http://www-lib.iupui.edu/kade/soldiers.html">Soldiers and Sailors Monument</a>.<br /><br /><br />The other great thing about the observatory is the price: free!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After taking in the panaramic views of the city, we thanked Mr. Short and rode the elevator back to the ground floor. Our next stop was just outside. On Wednesday mornings in the summer, a Farmers' Market opens on Market Street.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfvGuNYTyI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Y31PdAEBAbk/s1600-h/Spring-2009+087-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfvGuNYTyI/AAAAAAAAAMM/Y31PdAEBAbk/s400/Spring-2009+087-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338998782033415970" border="0" /></a><br />We browsed among the stalls and found some bread from a local bakery and fresh strawberries. We needed both for our picnic lunch.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />From the market, we headed back to the condo, where Mary packed a picnic lunch of <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/california-blts-recipe/index.html">California BLT's</a>, Traders Point Creamery cheese, and fresh Indiana strawberries. We threw in a carafe of white wine and headed for the IMA.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShgTn1-_X2I/AAAAAAAAAMk/Vy7BIgQVIYo/s1600-h/Spring-2009+093-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShgTn1-_X2I/AAAAAAAAAMk/Vy7BIgQVIYo/s400/Spring-2009+093-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339038933474828130" border="0" /></a>The <a href="http://www.imamuseum.org/">Indianapolis Museum of Art</a> sits on a 150+ acre site at 38th Street and Michigan Rd. The museum grounds include the main galleries (at left) as well as <a href="http://www.imamuseum.org/explore/lillyhouse">Oldfields</a>, a 22 room mansion that was the home of Josiah K. Lilly, the grandson of Eli Lilly. A 100 acre park, the <a href="http://www.imamuseum.org/art-and-nature-park">Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park</a>, will open in June, 2010. Another bonus: Admission to the museum and grounds is free. Special exhibits in the museum usually have a fee, but there are three floors of galleries that can be viewed at no charge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShgOt57pmHI/AAAAAAAAAMc/KyXwSFI5Ihg/s1600-h/Spring-2009+089-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShgOt57pmHI/AAAAAAAAAMc/KyXwSFI5Ihg/s400/Spring-2009+089-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339033540055636082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had visited the museum grounds once before and had enjoyed walking through the Oldfields gardens. Today we found a shady spot by the fountain and spread out our picnic. It was cool and quiet - a very relaxing spot for a picnic.<br /><br />After lunch we toured the third floor gallery in the museum where the contemporary art is housed. We enjoyed most of what we saw, then Mary got the giggles in the room with the yarn pieces (a 20 foot strand of yarn stretched diagonally from a window to the floor, several strands of black yarn stretched from floor to ceiling, and a wall with yarn stretched in "L" shapes). We decided it was probably time to leave, before we disturbed the silence and the attention of the serious art afficianados. We'll go back some other day and look at the Asian art or the textile exhibits. Its easy, and best of all, its free!Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7112823.post-20195342171532681182009-05-22T13:29:00.039-04:002009-05-25T21:50:35.437-04:00The "Staycation" - Part 5<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfWaQAyDHI/AAAAAAAAAKs/5YuDAlNvH0g/s1600-h/Spring-2009+056-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfWaQAyDHI/AAAAAAAAAKs/5YuDAlNvH0g/s400/Spring-2009+056-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338971629734202482" border="0" /></a><br />Tuesday of the "Staycation" dawned cool and sunny - a perfect day to get out and explore. We began the day with a walk around our corner of downtown, to give Beans a chance to burn up some of that Boston Terrier energy.<br /><br />Our route this morning took us up East Street, where we literally "stopped to smell the roses" at one of the row houses.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfWr910lAI/AAAAAAAAAK0/j7B31Lvm_AM/s1600-h/Spring-2009+057-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfWr910lAI/AAAAAAAAAK0/j7B31Lvm_AM/s400/Spring-2009+057-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338971934094038018" border="0" /></a><br />Around the corner on Michigan Ave., we stopped in front of the <a href="http://www.germanlife.com/Archives/1998/9804_01.html">Anthenaeum</a> to give Beans a chance to meet the "big kitty". Beans was not particularly impressed. Garfield was more focused on the patries.<br /><br />The Garfield installation is part of the <a href="http://www.indydt.com/Artfultread.cfm">8th Annual Mass Ave Artful Tread</a> tire decorating contest. Merchants along Mass Ave. and adjoining streets create works of art using discarded tires to celebrate Indianapolis' racing tradition.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfXjyL_hSI/AAAAAAAAAK8/saBY1vMhrRQ/s1600-h/Spring-2009+059-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfXjyL_hSI/AAAAAAAAAK8/saBY1vMhrRQ/s400/Spring-2009+059-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338972893038478626" border="0" /></a><br />Later in the morning, we drove to the Northwest corner of Indy, to the <a href="http://www.tpforganics.com/">Traders Point Creamery</a>. This is a certified organic farm that produces whole milk, cheese, yogurt and grass-fed beef.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfYLNK-JFI/AAAAAAAAALE/SCxdUUfRF4A/s1600-h/Spring-2009+058-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfYLNK-JFI/AAAAAAAAALE/SCxdUUfRF4A/s400/Spring-2009+058-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338973570296849490" border="0" /></a><br />The Creamery Barn houses a dairy store, offices, a restaurant and a cheese aging room. The barn was originally built in Bluffton, Indiana in the 1860's. It was slated to be demolished, but instead was salvaged and moved over 100 miles to Traders Point. Several other barns on the property were also salvaged and moved.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfYpQQ15zI/AAAAAAAAALM/kZbItGmdMtA/s1600-h/Spring-2009+060-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfYpQQ15zI/AAAAAAAAALM/kZbItGmdMtA/s400/Spring-2009+060-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338974086522857266" border="0" /></a><br />It was a nice day, and we took the walking tour of the farm. The Traders Point web site mentions that they milk between 60 and 90 cows each day. We didn't see near that many, but we did see this group of young calves, jostling for a drink at the tub.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfY-xxbdXI/AAAAAAAAALU/8sL_H28KjtQ/s1600-h/Spring-2009+063-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfY-xxbdXI/AAAAAAAAALU/8sL_H28KjtQ/s400/Spring-2009+063-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338974456295159154" border="0" /></a><br />The chicken coops are on wheels and can be moved to follow the cows, which helps to control bugs. But because of the number of coyotes, hawks, foxes and other predators, the coops are kept in one area. We couldn't help but think of Chevy Case's line in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958/"><span style="font-style: italic;">National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation</span></a> about the "tenement on wheels"... though the chickens seemed as content as Cousin Eddie.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The walking tour took us around the pastures and on a pleasant walk through woods alongside Eagle Creek.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShbsowLzo_I/AAAAAAAAAJU/80rhvFvHeAA/s1600-h/Spring-2009+065-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShbsowLzo_I/AAAAAAAAAJU/80rhvFvHeAA/s320/Spring-2009+065-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338714593167647730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shbs7bPOhRI/AAAAAAAAAJc/NuPMTAgZYmU/s1600-h/Spring-2009+064-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/Shbs7bPOhRI/AAAAAAAAAJc/NuPMTAgZYmU/s320/Spring-2009+064-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338714913962362130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShbsolycFlI/AAAAAAAAAJM/o-KpZLOcF-s/s1600-h/Spring-2009+067-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShbsolycFlI/AAAAAAAAAJM/o-KpZLOcF-s/s320/Spring-2009+067-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338714590376891986" border="0" /></a><br />We ate lunch at the Creamery restaurant, on an outdoor balcony. Mary had a hamburger made with the Creamery's own grass-fed beef. I had a pork belly Cuban sandwich, made with Indiana pork.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfZ3mD-HDI/AAAAAAAAALc/UADNmOwbKZY/s1600-h/Spring-2009+068-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfZ3mD-HDI/AAAAAAAAALc/UADNmOwbKZY/s400/Spring-2009+068-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338975432404245554" border="0" /></a><br />Late in the afternoon, we walked to the <a href="http://massavewine.com/">Mass Ave Wine Shoppe</a> for a wine tasting. We had not visited this shop before, but had heard good things about it from neighbors. The shop features a "wall of wine" - 100 bottles under $15, and also sells cheeses and craft beers. The place was packed and the tasting was fun, with four very different wines featured. We bought a couple bottles for a rooftop gathering later in the week.<br /><br />Next door to the wine shop is <a href="http://bestchocolateintown.com/">The Best Chocolate In Town</a>. We figured "since we're in the neighborhood, we might as well stop in". Everything looked delicious, but we showed admirable restraint and left with only a small bag of chocolate truffles.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfavNxzrVI/AAAAAAAAALk/C_znEjQvD9k/s1600-h/Spring-2009+069-small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BgiSm1DpGNU/ShfavNxzrVI/AAAAAAAAALk/C_znEjQvD9k/s400/Spring-2009+069-small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338976387958287698" border="0" /></a><br />Back at the condo, we took our dinner up onto the rooftop deck and enjoyed the view of downtown while the sun set. A great end to a great day.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16841366973606130454noreply@blogger.com0