Because Sometimes You End up in Trenton

What can I say? The bf was at Fort Dix for two weeks and his birthday was going to be while he was there, so I cashed in some miles, flew to Philly, took a train to Trenton, and experienced New Jersey for a few days. There are parts of New Jersey which are quite beautiful; Trenton is not one of them. But the unincorporated village where we stayed was pleasant enough, a neighborhood right against the Delaware River, with row-houses and a light rail station, and we could easily get to the quaint village of Bordentown from there, it being a pretty slice of Rockwellian Americana with boutiques and nice restaurants. The real draw to the area for me (besides the bf, of course) was the Grounds for Sculpture, a 42-acre sculpture garden with mostly giant installation pieces and a fancy restaurant in its midst. The restaurant is boldly named Rat's (after the Wind in the Willows character, but still). Gary had been there once before for a brief visit and a great meal and wanted to spend more time, and I was intrigued by the idea of giant pieces of art in the middle of New Jersey.

We arrived in the early evening on a perfect night. It was sunny and somewhere between warm but not hot and cool but not cold; there was no humidity and no breeze, it was just perfect out. We spent two hours strolling through the grounds, ambling down trails, and wandering into hedged gardens. We enjoyed the view of the adjacent lake and had fun admiring (and not admiring) the sculptures. The resident peacocks were out in full force and showing off. It could not have been a more pleasant way to spend an evening, which was topped by a spectacular dinner at Rat's (seriously, the place is called Rat's). We had crispy fried shrimp to start (here's a secret I've learned at dim sum which was employed here: prawns + mayo = yummy treat), followed by roasted duck, steak, and molten chocolate cake for dessert. I'm totally over the whole lava-cake thing, but the rest of dinner was fantastic.

A Perfect Piece of Salmon

country living

It's easy to forget that the San Juan Islands are so close, so beautiful, and that every minute of every sunny weekend should be spent on one of them, if at all possible. Being able to get to a place as magical as Orcas Island with just a 90 minute drive and an hour on the ferry makes me feel sorry for people who live in less scenic parts of the country -- Alabama, for instance. But being one of the fortunate ones, and taking one of those less fortunate than I with me, I drove to the ferry in Ancortes on Friday and had a fantastic weekend.

Gary and I discussed whether living on Orcas full-time would be fun, or would the small-town life feel cloying and the island feel remote. It's a tough call. It is so freakin' beautiful out there, it's had to imagine being bored or feeling closed off, especially when Seattle is just two-and-a-half hours away. If one were of independent means or say, worked from home (hey... wait a minute!!) what would be the problem? For now I think the proximity is good enough, and I'm looking forward to hitting some of the other islands soon. This was my third trip to Orcas in 18 months, but Lopez and San Juan are beckoning too.

It was back to Doe Bay on this trip and while it was a little chillier than last time with Cheryl, we still had gorgeous weather and plenty of sun. We roamed around the island on Friday, poking into the shops, driving down roads that just ended at the water, and driving up to the Mt. Constitution lookout point which didn't offer quite the same clear views as last time but was spectacular even so. We drove back into Eastsound at dinner time for wood-fired pizza and then checked into our yurt at the Doe Bay Resort. Cheryl and I stayed in one of the little cabins last time but the yurts are situated closer to the water and I liked the idea of being in a fully made bed while essentially being in a tent. The yurt was definitely comfy-cozy if a little cold at night, but soaking in the hot tubs before going to bed definitely helped.

our little yurt in the woods - far right

if you had to camp, this is where you'd want your tent to be

french toast

On Saturday we had a big breakfast at the Doe Bay Café (including, but not limited to, goat cheese-stuffed French toast with strawberry-rhubarb compote) and then drove around the island some more; we hiked to Cascade Falls which is a series of three gorgeous waterfalls, went into a few shops back in town, and checked out another resort on a different part of the island that might be nice for next time. We sat outside at that place, sipping a mocha, watching a bald eagle in a tree, and just looking out at the water. That night we went back to the Doe Bay Café for dinner and it was amazing. We had

at Doe Bay Garden

walked around the Doe Bay Garden in the morning and chit-chatted with two of the gardeners, they told us that the garden, in season, provides all the produce for the Café and that level of freshness was very apparent on our plates. We started with rock shrimp on a bed of spinach, layered on a piece of rye toast with a very delicate sauce poured over, and it was as pretty as it was delicious. But the show-stopper was our wild salmon entreé which came with Yukon gold potatoes, garlic shoots, shiitake mushrooms, wild leeks, and was topped with hollandaise. We are two people who have eaten a lot of salmon...

rock shrimp with spinach

Copper River salmon, king salmon right off fishing boats -- there is simply no shortage of fresh salmon in these parts, but this plate of salmon was special. First of all, it was cooked to absolute perfection, being very slightly raw in the middle and very slightly charred on the edges; and the plate was beautifully arranged, with one yellow blossom on top and tiny purple petals strewn about. Add to that some amazing additions to the dish which weren't listed on the menu: a few sea beans (salty, crisp, delicious) and some fava beans (mild in flavor, hearty, legume-y-goodness) and it was kind of a symphony on a plate. I would not have picked

a perfect plate of salmon

hollandaise to go with a beautifully clean piece of grilled fish but this addition was genius. A little bit of everything on the fork and the taste sensations would pile on as we chewed. There was the fantastic flavor of the fish, then the vegetables would add their earthiness including a hint of garlic, and finally the lemon from the hollandaise would kick in. We were astounded by how delicious is was, and how subtly all the flavors worked together.

On Sunday we got up early and went to the Brown Bear Bakery for quiche and a chocolate muffin ("muffin" being a term used loosely, this was a giant piece of chocolate cake shaped like a muffin) and then on to our last excursion which was a 3-hour sea kayaking tour. The sun had come out in earnest by this point, and the weather was perfect for a paddle along the shore, looking out at the islands, and enjoying being nearly eye level with the fat harbor seals frolicking on some rocks.

Another fantastic weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

Nashville - the Athens of the South

Seriously? Yep, that's what they call it. I've never been to Greece so who am I to argue, AND, the Parthanon is there. It may not be THE Parthanon, but it's damn close. It's a scale replica built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and resides in the middle of what is now Centennial Park in Nashville, and in keeping with the original which was a temple to the goddess Athena, there is a 42-foot statue of one scary looking broad inside.

The main reason for the trip North from Birmingham was two-fold with one of the folds being coincidentally Greek-related. It was to visit the bookstore opened a few years ago by Ann Patchett, one of my favorite writers. She first made an impression on me with Bel Canto in the early 2000s and I've read most of her other books ince then; State of Wonder blew me away and Run is a page-turner, The Magician's Assistant is filled with sadness and kindness and sweetness and hope. The name of Ann's shop is Parnassus Books, named after Mt. Parnassus in Greece, home of the muses and thus a place for poetry, music, and learning. Ann has said in interviews that she wanted the store to be the the bookstore of her childhood, small, personal, a place where the booksellers knew you and knew what you read. She wanted it to be a place to hang out, to read, and to escape. The bookstore of my childhood wasn't a small independent shop like Ann had during her childhood in Nashville, it was the Walden Books in the mall in Sacramento - but I know exactly what she means. It was standard procedure when going to the mall as a child with my parents that I would make my way to the Walden Books and they would pick me up there when they were done shopping. I loved that store. It was small and people left you alone. I have nothing against the Barnes & Nobles of the world, it's wonderful to have so much variety on hand, but it's not the same. Ann's store is delightful, warm, and inviting. As I was wandering around, someone smiled and asked if I needed help finding anything, and when purchases were made (I bought a memoir by Ann's late friend, the writer Lucy Grealy, and the book Ann wrote about their friendship after Lucy died), the lovely lady behind the counter gave me some backstory about the books and the order in which Ann recommends they be read. We weren't there long, and I was a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't get to meet Ann (she was either in the back or out at that moment, the lady who checked us out said she was in that day) but it definitely felt like a special experience to be in the Parnassus of the South.

The second of the two-fold itinerary for Nashville was to go to Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. I saw it listed on some random list of the best fried chicken places in the country, and that struck me as a good enough reason to try it. We were still a little high on the fried chicken we had a the fancy gastropub in Charlotte, and Prince's was a 180-degree turn in terms of ambiance (think gas station back room meets diner) but the chicken was great, and the the experience seemed very "down home."

There was a lady selling home-baked slices of cake out of the shop; it was unclear in what way she was associated with Prince's other than the fact that she was inside it, but one of her offerings was caramel cake and we are suckers for anything caramel around here. The cake was ridiculously sugary and good and the chicken was delicious. We weren't looking for super-spicy, just flavorful and crispy, and I had read on-line that if you don't like it HOT (as in spicy), don't even order the medium, so we went with the mild, which was plenty hot, and the plain which was basic fried chicken. I'd give the mild at least three stars on any Thai food scale, but it was very tasty and the plain was just great. Both were served on slices of white bread and topped with pickle slices. The Kentucky Derby started about 10 minutes after we sat down so we watched the race while waiting for our meal. Some guy wandering around the place was packing a huge sidearm in the elastic waistband of his size-enormous jean-shorts. He seemed to know everyone and I saw him go into the kitchen although it didn't appear that he worked there. I guess he needed the gun since he clearly wouldn't be out-running anyone. This is the South.

Concord, North Carolina - A Howl of Dismay

When I told people I was meeting Gary at the Great Wolf Lodge, the people who don't have kids looked puzzled; the people who do have kids and had been to the one outside Seattle looked horrified. Why?? was the prevailing question. Because the Army says so, was the only response. Gary has annual training here in Concord and the Great Wolf is where everyone is being put up, which is odd on many levels, the least of which is that this is not necessarily an event that families can participate in given that the reservists have come from all over the southeast, and some folks are quite far from home. I flew in two days ago figuring I could work in the room while Gary has his training, and of course, not knowing any better (and dismissing the stricken looks on the faces of my friends), I figured I'd have some fun on the water slides, because, why not? Well, because... picture if Chuck E. Cheese built a hotel. It's a water park, but it's an indoor water park - no fresh air and little natural light, just a dank, humidity-filled cavern with kids in swim-diapers. The water is about 2 feet deep in the wave pool, and about 6 inches deep in the kiddie pool. Those are my guesses anyway, since there's nothing that could actually get me down into the water park area, but there are windows looking through from the lobby. Our room is perfectly nice but the hotel lobby and public areas have all the ambiance of an arcade. Am I sorry I came? Of course not. I can't think of any place I wouldn't go just to see and be someplace new.

This is playing on a continuous loop on a big screen on our floor; the only possible reason I can think of for this is to make the guests feel like they're on an acid trip. 

If you look hard enough, you can find a great meal anywhere, even in the Southeast, land of chain restaurants and processed food. Last night, we found the Soul Gastrolounge in Charlotte where the Southern fried chicken wings were divinely crunchy and the Korean BBQ wings had a sweet kick of chili. The wings and an avocado salad made a great dinner, followed by tiny pastries filled with huckleberries and goat cheese with a scoop of lemon-vanilla ice cream for dessert. The neighborhood, on the edge of downtown Charlotte and filled with trendy restaurants, wine bars, and a few boutiques and antique shops, prove that hipsters exist in all parts of the country.

from the Soul Gastrolounge website; get there early or be prepared for a LONG wait..

The unappealing water park and the hotel's fever-dream decor aside, the main reason I'm here is that there is a dinner tonight to close the Army reservists' training exercises, and I have a date with a Lt. Colonel.

Something Fishy in the State of Georgia

I hadn't been to Atlanta for years. When I worked at Midori Ribbon, I used to make the trip twice a year for tradeshows, and always had a lot of fun with Peter and Shelagh, my Midori compatriots and tradeshow buddies. It was always really cold though (February) or just downright unbearable (second show was in July), so going there in March was a pleasant change. We had a free night at the Hyatt due to a seriously unfortunate incident at the Hyatt in Vancouver (don't ask) and made the two hour drive from Birmingham to Atlanta last Saturday with a plan to spend Sunday at the Georgia Aquarium. It's one of the biggest in the world and the plan was to get there when it opened to avoid the crowds. What we didn't plan on was forgetting that March 8th was the first day of Daylight Saving Time, and not getting up particularly early anyway. By the time we got to the aquarium, it had been open for a couple of hours, and while it was crowded, it's so large and the design is such that the masses don't really impede one's enjoyment. There aren't a ton of tanks but the ones they have are mostly enormous and they comprise four main galleries; there is also a dolphin show (which is truly awful), and various theaters, add-on experiences, and tours. We just visited the galleries and saw the dolphin show (which I can now not un-see), and had a great time.  

scary albino alligator

lobby of the Hyatt

Vancouver, B.C.

It was a weekend for puffy coats and elastic waist pants in Vancouver last weekend, as Gary and I ate our way through town while trying to stay warm. We drove north on Friday and with no real agenda other than visiting Stanley Park, walking across the Capilano Bridge (which I had a vague memory of doing when I was about ten years old), and having a few good meals. Every time I go to Vancouver I'm amazed by its big-city feel; I expect Seattle to seem small by comparison when I visit New York, but it seems stunningly tiny just a few hours to the north as well.

Lions Gate Bridge

Another American visitor?

menu at Japadog

tonkatsu with cabbage slaw, hot dog with seaweed - awesome! 

breakfast at Medina