West Egg Cafe

Our second day began by finding a local breakfast place, the West Egg Cafe.  It was a great place that had eggs every way imaginable.  The restaurant was busy, but service quick.  It was a great sit down place to start our day and quite tasty.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and would love to go back.

The Field Musuem

After a good breakfast we ventured to the Field Museum.  There we viewed the main exhibit; taking note of the numerous animals and even the famous Tsavo Lions (aka “The Ghost and the Darkness” lions). I forget how great a good museum can be.  After seeing the permanent exhibits we saw the temporary exhibit on diamonds. Though no pictures were allowed, it was rather fascinating seeing the global market of diamond producing.  We spent a good deal of time at the Field Museum, before moving on to other activities.

Sue the T-Rex welcoming all Field Museum visitors.

After spending the latter part of the afternoon loitering around Michigan Avenue, we took the recommendation of a good friend and went to Bandera restaurant. Bandera has a great atmosphere with an overlook of Michigan Avenue and live jazz.  The menu is somewhat eclectic, but great food.  The entire trip we had excellent places to eat and this was no exception.

Instead of paying for a coat check, Carol was nice enough to be our own coat check, or pack mule.

Field Museum permanent exhibit.

This is mine and Katy's interpretation of evolution. It is interesting that she is walking tall, and I the neanderthal.

Here Katy and I are looking over the Menu. Behind us is Michigan Avenue.

Here is the live jazz trio that performed almost non-stop the entire time we were there.

This is the dessert we ordered at Bandera. It was as good as it looks.

Chicago nighttime skyline from the Signature Room.

Last year my family took advantage of traveling to London to welcome in the New Year.  This year we chose the Second City, Chicago.  This choice was not due to any affinity towards past experiences as much as a good deal with plenty of things to do. This year our trip was three-nights, with us leaving on New Year’s morning, and a smaller cast.  Only four of us went, but it in the legacy of family travel: it was a fearsome four.

A glorified piece of Michigan Avenue Scenery.

When we first arrived we flew into O’Hare and shared a cab to our hotel on Michigan Avenue.  The cab fares from O’Hare to downtown were about $40, but depending on the number of people, this can be more affordable (and timely) than taking a shuttle which is about $14 a person/one way. The cheapest is by far to take the EL, but the effectiveness of cost is balanced by the length of time.

The girls striking a pose. The weather definitely, well sort of, called for the hoods.

We stayed at the Marriott downtown and were very pleased.  Our room overlooked the Magnificent Mile, and the hotel was in the middle of the action. Almost everything we did was well within walking distance. Most travel websites gave this hotel a four star rating and I would completely agree. No more, no less, but definitely worth its rating and I would highly recommend staying here, primarily for the locale.

My wife and I outside the Peninsula Hotel

Carol and Jonathan outside the Peninsula.

Our first day/night we spent on Michigan Avenue.  We walked the streets, explored the shops, and got our bearings.  It was cold, but not unbearable, which gave us southerners an anticipated holiday-ending experience.  After spending ample time loitering the streets, we walked about four blocks to Giordano’s Pizza for the traditional Chicago style. Though the wait was long, the restaurant’s proximity was such that we ventured back to our hotel during the wait. Nevertheless, the pizza superseded the length of wait time. I know when it comes to pizza, many people have “their place” or at least, “know the best.” Nevertheless, Giordano’s is a great place to visit, but I’m sure many others in the downtown vicinity would be just as good.

Giordano's Pizza

Katy and I at Giordano's.

We ended the day by going back to the hotel lobby and watching T.V. for a bit.  I know our first day may not seem as colorful as some people often hope to experience on a trip, but we enjoyed it; because we spent time enjoying each other’s company and the place we were in, Chicago.

Over the past few months my travel has been limited, but what little I have done has been enjoyable. Better yet, my wife’s photography skills have increased at rapid rates, and the quality of pictures have as well.  I have a few posts coming on Chicago and maybe one on El Paso. I look forward to sharing with you!

Katy and I are getting ready to play tennis in Blowing Rock Park

As I mentioned before, Blowing Rock has a variety of shops, inns, and restaurants, that makes this town so enjoyable.  First, the restaurants.  The Speckled Trout Cafe is located at the entrance of the city on Main Street.  With the Highland area being such a trout fisherman’s delight, the Speckled Trout Cafe gives it’s patrons a variety of trout recipes that celebrate it’s namesake.  Another excellent place to go is Canyons.  Canyons is located on a ridge that has one of the best overlooks of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state.  A tip here would be to go early, take your time, and sit on the porch to enjoy such wonderful scenery.  The food is more southwestern based, and they do a fair job with it.  Of the combination of scenery and food, the Canyons is a must go in my book.

The Green Park Inn was Blowing Rock's most famous hotel for over a century, but has recently closed. It is a beautiful facility, that is in need of some repair.

Outside of Blowing Rock you can spend a day or two exploring the area.  With Beech Mountain and several ski resort areas 30-45 minutes away, you can see more of the area and have a better understanding of the region’s beauty.  Other than natural scenery, Blowing Rock has a small outlet mall, an outdoor store (Footsloggers), and a variety of small shops that sell handbags, shoes, rugs, and clothing.  Another thing that is enjoyable in the town is to spend time in the park.  Located right off of Main Street, the park welcomes people of all ages.  You can rent basketballs or tennis gear for free, and the park is open until midnight daily.

The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Canyons Restaurant.

Finally, every mid-afternoon and throughout the evening, the Blowing Rock scene is at Kilwin’s Ice Cream shop.  The ice cream maker and fudgery has a consistent line out the door during the warmer days, but moves quickly.  It has a large variety of ice creams, fudges, and candies. Overall, the there entertainment value of Blowing Rock is what you make of it.  There is more than enough to do, or if you are looking to a more relaxing experience it can also offer plenty of places to sit and people watch.

Katy and I exploring at Sunset Tee's and Hattery a Blowing Rock shop.

One of Blowing Rock's many alleyways.

While I was growing up my parents seemed to enjoy taking two small trips, instead of one big one.  This one ideal can be completely understood by visiting Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  A quaint village in northwestern North Carolina, Blowing Rock has a population of around 1,500 people (according to the 2000 census).  With numerous shops, quiet streets, and wonderful scenery, it fully embraces and celebrates its Blue Ridge mountainous home.

Katy and I outside at the original Mast General Store.

Until recently, I had not been to Blowing Rock or Boone in about ten or so years.  I remembered it fondly, and still had a t-shirt from the Speckled Trout Cafe on Main Street (a great place to get high country trout).  My parents had decided that they were going to go back this summer, and my wife and I wanted to join.  As the weeks led up to our trip I told Katy of how great the scenery was, and that the region extinguishes any busy or fast-paced temperaments.  Sure enough, my memory did not disappoint.

Blowing Rock has numerous inns and motels that seem to be straight out of the 1950s.  Incredibly well-kept, the inns around the village are great places to stay, but prices are less than competitive.  With that in mind and the small size of the town, we try to vary our trip as much as possible.  Although we stay in Boone (eight miles from Blowing Rock), we still call Blowing Rock home base.  However, by staying in Boone, we are able to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway; visit Beech, Sugar, and Grandfather Mountains; go to Valle Crucis, home of the Mast General Store; and be near the city of Boone, which also has a very unique downtown.

Downtown Blowing Rock

Over the next few posts I’ll try to venture into some of the small things that makes this region of the country so wonderful to visit, but before I post any more pictures we decided to bring a piece of our trip home in a very different way.

For over a year now, my wife and I have been wanting to get a dog.  Living in a condo, this can be challenging, but fortunately we had a little push in the right direction.  The Watagua County Humane Society was having a rummage sale that we ventured into, and it was there we met our dog.  About a year old, this Basset Mix, was friendly, calm, and incredibly endearing.  Although we were away from home, we wanted him and full of spontaneity, we took him home.  With the help of our travel partners (thanks mom and dad!) we got Boone back to Nashville and ready to live with us.

Our dog Boone

Boone making himself at home. Little did he know, he was making himself too at home.

Katy and I outside the Speckled Trout Cafe

The Valle Crucis Post Office inside the Mast General Store

The family enjoying Blowing Rock's Park

However, the next day was quite an upgrade from the night before (in more ways than one). Saturday was the hottest day of the summer for St. Louis. A balmy ninety-eight degrees at game time, Nathan had gained two tickets to the Bank of America All-Star suite. Being able to get in and out of the heat, in style, was a welcoming treat.

The game was scheduled for a 12:15 start, and like any avid fan, we arrived at 10:15 to get the most out of our experience. While enjoying the plushness of the suite, we also enjoyed watching Albert Pujols, the best player in baseball, hit two home runs and power the Cardinals to a victory that circumvented a sweep by the Cardinals’ 1987 World Series foes.

After game we went back to his parents’ home and went out to dinner and Ted Drewe’s frozen custard. Although I had been to St. Louis many times before, it was my first time to Ted Drewe’s. Being such a hot day it was as packed as I had ever seen an eating establishment, but in successful restaurant fashion, the lines moved quickly and we were served an excellent product. Overall, a fun day that I will not soon forget.

The first thing that we did was only tell one person: my aunt Beth. Joseph, Andrew (both my cousins), and my parents (who were also making the trip) did not know that Katy and I would be there. Once we arrived, my aunt picked us up and we went to surprise both Andrew and Joseph. It was great to surprise people that you love and not to have something be about yourself. We were there for family, most importantly Joseph; or as we called it, “Joe Day ’09.”

Though most of the family was not to arrive until Friday, we went on a Wednesday to get a little more time with the Joseph, Andrew, and Beth, before the real craziness began. During those two days we were there to spend time with the boys. However, once Friday came, so did the family. My parents, my grandmother, and others flew into to Houston and all met at my great-aunt’s home for dinner. However, this is where we were able to give our biggest surprise to my mom and dad, to whom we had said good-bye to only days before due to the fact that we were “going to Cancun.”

Overall, it went incredibly well and we felt so blessed that we were able to spend time with our family, give them a fun surprise, and watch Joseph accomplish a big milestone in his life. I’ll post a part two later this week discussing some other parts of the trip.

My father always had an amazing knack for photography.  No matter the place of travel, my father carried his Pentax SLR camera body and lenses with him.  Often going through an array of backpacks, camerapacks, and fannypacks; he made sure that the camera made it on the trip.  My mom and I occasionally would try and take pictures with smaller film cameras and then digital cameras, but dad’s professional grade equipment always reigned supreme (and it always made for an interesting trip through security at airports!). Of course Dad upgraded to a Digital SLR over time, and it has been a wonderful travel edition for him as well for those of us in the pictures.

With my wife and I now being finished with another school year, we were scrutinizing over what to do and where to go throughout the summer. With our anniversary upcoming, we wanted to be wise in our discerning of summer plans.  My wife and I agreed that our first “big” summer check on the agenda should be a DSLR Camera, and we have already been so very pleased.  After going to London and then Prague with an acceptable camera, I cannot wait to take our new travel accessory on our summer adventures.  Having good pictures, whether capturing a memory or going for a more artistic and aesthetic appeal, can make a good trip great and the financial hit more of a financial pat.

The camera we purchased was a Nikon D40 kit.  It came with a camera body, a 18-55mm lens, a 55-200mm lens, a 2 gig memory card, case, and several instructional DVDs.  After spending a little over a week with the camera, and taking over five hundred pictures, we feel comfortable in using the camera and are incredibly pleased with its capturing capabilities. Hopefully, I will be able to add higher quality of photographs as the posts come along.

In the latest issue of Conde-Nast Traveler, there is a brief one-page summary of the battle of the Smart Phones.  The magazine placed three reporters in the middle of Moscow to complete several tasks via their resources (i.e. smartphones).  One reporter was given the Blackberry Bold, another the Iphone, and the last no smartphone at all, just traditional guidebooks.  Throughout the few days they are there, the reporters are given various tasks, and recorded the time it took to complete it using their resources.  It is very interesting to see the results of where technology can both hinder and help.  Not having a smartphone myself, I was interested to see the results.

The tasks they had to complete were the following:
- Find a hotel with no assistance for less than $300 a night
- Find dinner at an affordable restaurant that is a local favorite
- Visit the Diamond Vaults at the Kremlin
- Take the subway to the Izmailovsky Bazaar and buy a handicraft.
- Find the best pelmeni (a type of dumpling) in town.
- See a live performance.
- Find a pharmacy at midnight and buy aspirin.
- Visit the home of a notable dead Russian.
- Find a good bar and try a new Vodka.

The final results were the Blackberry Bold – 2; Iphone – 2; Tech Free – 5.

Overall, I found this very intriguing.  I had a Blackberry, own a mac, and never have used a phone for travel needs, but it was very reassuring that some of these traditional practices surpass the tech trends.  After reading the report it seems that it was often much quicker to ask someone at a hotel where something was than to spend time looking something up online.  The winner credited her success to the kindness of strangers. Pretty cool, considering that twenty years ago they would have been the bitterest of rivals.