3 years & I'm back! 4 days across the country.

I logged into this blog today after 3 years, an MBA, a fiancee and a new job.  Why?  I'm headed back across the country.  After two amazing years studying for an MBA in the full time program at the Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, IN, I packed up my car for the long drive out to San Jose, CA.

While this road trip isn't quite the 2 months I spent last time, I decided to resurrect the blog for two reasons...  First, I've already found several places that I want to tell people about, and second, my mother and I are traveling together, and we've taken some fun pictures.  And what's better than fun pictures in the context of a story?

While I think it's quite likely that no one will find the blog again considering its years of dormancy, it doesn't really matter.  However, it would be lovely if I could guide some people to the wonderful businesses we came across.  Stay tuned for reports of fun places slightly off the beaten path but close enough to the highway for travelers to enjoy.

Finally... New Orleans Day 1

New Orleans, oh New Orleans... how I fell in love with you. I may want to move there if opportunities don't work out otherwise. My life is currently defined by a myriad of options and I only need one to work out to be okay. A few key points- I need to find a means of making a living, need to start my career, and need to be out of my parents house within a few months. Otherwise, I think everyone involved will go crazy, but mostly me. I'm 28 years old and Peace Corps excuse aside, I so badly want to start my life!

Anyhow, back to New Orleans. I drove in my first day after a brief stop off in Houston. I didn't blog about it because the stop just consisted of crashing with a Peace Corps friend for the night and taking off as early as I could manage. I didn't actually see anything of the city. I've been there before and some day I will return.



I arrived in New Orleans around 4:00pm, and headed straight to my friend David's house. Even before stepping out of the car, I felt captivated by the place. The buildings themselves are quite interesting with long French doors- many of them with two apartments in a one story building. The neighborhood he lives in is "up and coming" which is usually a nice term for still a little rough with raising prices.

I took a few minutes to say hello and get settled in before we went for a coffee at his neighborhood coffee shop/vegetarian place called Satsumas. Cute place. I ordered a quiche which was quite excellent, though I must say... the coffee was pretty crappy. It took two Splendas in my small cup to cover the bitterness when I usually just use about a half packet. It was the end of the day though. Oh well. I'd recommend it anyway for quiche and ambiance. The juice looked good too.

After the coffee, we're both a little more awake, and decide to head to a dive bar called Mimi's for, according to David, a really good Bloody Mary. As a bit of a Bloody Mary diva, I was really looking forward to trying them. I wasn't disappointed. Perfectly spicy (by request- she asked spicy or not) with the right texture, and some lovely garnishes of pickled green beans, and olives. Perfect.


My buddy David chillin with his lovely Bloody Mary.


The interior of this neat little dive...


Yeah, that's right... I already ate the pickled green beans.


Just one of many interesting houses in New Orleans. If I had a real camera, and not a cell phone or a little point and shoot, I would have gone nuts. If I move down there, I WILL go nuts. Did I mention my first degree is partially in photography?

After leaving our fun little Bloody Mary bar, we headed down to the French Quarter. I've never been to New Orleans before, but I could only imagine the chaos that must go on during Mardi Gras.


Cute little bar where we got beers to go before walking around.

Next, we decided to stop for some absinthe. I've never had it before, and there are several bars here that carry it. I'm not a big black licorice fan, but really, I had to try it anyway. Our bartender at the Pirates Alley Cafe was a really cool chick and she agreed to be in a few photos of the pouring process for the blog... she even got her hat for effect. Sadly, I forgot to give her the web address so she could actually see it for herself. Perhaps someday she'll find it randomly and remember the silly people who walked in with an absinthe fascination- though probably she gets it all the time.

The process itself consisted of pouring the absinthe through a lump of sugar which she set on fire and then very slowly pouring ice water from a tap into the glass which gave the absinthe a cloudy appearance. Check out the three photos below for a clue to how the process works, though for a really good idea, you should just see for yourself sometime. It's cool.





David and I drinking our absinthe. Good times!

After the absinthe, we wandered around the French Quarter a little. I swear I took a video of Bourbon Street just to show you all, but that one went MIA. Maybe it was the absinthe. We started looking for a place to get food. It was crawfish season and I was really looking forward to digging into a bowl. I couldn't remember if I had ever had them before and David hadn't, so we were sure to ask how to do it. I was a pretty big fan, but between that and the gumbo, I was pretty terribly full.

After we ate, we went to a bar to meet up with a girl we knew in Morocco, but I'm afraid I wasn't so wonderfully social. I think the rice kept expanding in my stomach, and I was highly uncomfortable. There was a good band playing that night, however, and I enjoyed the music as much as I possibly could. The band was a trio, and the girl had quite the voice. I'm always envious of girls who get that low, sexy, husky, thick smokers voice. When I smoked cigarettes back in the day, my voice got all hollow, and I couldn't control my voice as well. I guess that's even more of an incentive for me to never smoke cigarettes again. Regardless of my past, boy did I have voice envy this evening... and this wasn't to be the last night in New Orleans that I would be afflicted by that longing feeling one gets while watching someone really good and wanting so much to be her at that exact moment.

I have so much more to tell about New Orleans. Stay tuned... I'll update within the next few days.

Slow on New Orleans

Hey all. Just wanted to update with a little note about timing on my New Orleans post. Sorry it is taking me so long to post, but I have tons of photos to sort through. I'll have it up by Thursday. Check back then.

Cheers!
Kate

Grapevine, TX (with a little bit of Dallas)

The reason I added "a little bit of Dallas" to the title of this one is that I did spend just a little time there. My visit to this area was mostly to spend time with one of my good friends from Peace Corps. Lindsey and I were roommates in Philadelphia where we trained for a few days in the US, and then later in Ouarzazate for our all-out three month, crazy community-based training. And it was a bit of insanity for sure. I don't think I was myself that entire three months. Talk about being out of your comfort zone. Put 35 competitive, motivated, but temporarily and situationally insecure individuals into a city in a developing country with extreme weather patterns (desert heat, dryness, and dust), and you are bound to have some drama. Add in illness and the inability to drink and eat in public during daylight hours (we arrived at the very beginning of Ramedan), and it definitely makes for quite the intense situation. We actually had much less drama than I ever would have thought considering the circumstances.

So Lindsey and I have been through some really interesting times together, but one thing I've always loved is that though it all, the two of us would always laugh. That's one reason I really looked forward to getting together. Laugh we did...

Sadly for the blog, most of this wasn't something I can share. Not that it's private (well, some of it), but it just wouldn't be funny to anyone else. What I can share with you are some photos and some cool stuff about Grapevine and the little part of Dallas I did see.

One other thing I should mention is that my friend is an artist, and she had to prepare to run a table at the Grapevine wine festival the next week. That meant lots of painting during free time. She's talented- I bought a set of watercolor on glass paintings that I love. Right now she's focusing on fun, functional items like hand-painted wine and martini glasses. A little plug for her... she's doing gift sets (a nice one for mother's day), and the rose petal glass set- not the best picture online, but I can vouch for how lovely they are in person (my favorite of all the designs). You can buy her stuff on her Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ljane6.

Now, back to the trip itself. I arrived Friday night, and we spent most of the evening catching up. We were headed out to a ball game the next day. Lindsey's aunt's financial adviser had a box available for clients, so we were able to chill on a balcony, eat catered South of the Border (yum), and have a bit of wine while watching the Texas Rangers play Arizona. Sadly, Texas lost at the very end though they were ahead most of the game. It was a nice afternoon, though we were a little disappointed that they didn't let us in to the actual ballpark. It would have been nice to get a snow cone.

Speaking of snow cones, did you know that they call them snow balls in New Orleans? I was really confused at first, because in states where we actually get snow, snow balls usually refer to the kind you throw at people as children. So if you're in the Big Easy in the middle of the summer, and someone wants a snow ball, they mean the flavored kind.

After the game, we headed out to see one of Lindsey's high school friends- a nice guy named Sunil. He lives in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. It was a nice neighborhood with lots of young, urban professionals, and perhaps some college students. The bar scene was lovely. We didn't end up going out much-we were both tired- but it was a nice night, and the area was pretty cool.

The Ginger Man was one place we decided to try. It was a neat place situated in a cute little house. This next photo is of the building.



We called it a night after this one, but I was glad we did. We both were tired after a long day at the ballpark.

The next day, I headed to downtown Grapevine while my friend finished some painting. She mentioned some wineries, shops, and restaurants that I should check out and drew me a map. I set off and the first thing I saw as I pulled into the historic district was a winery with tasting. I figured I'd have a few hours to walk around, so I could stop and try some wine before hand.


I started my day at Su Vino. As you can see in the photo below, many of their wines have won a variety of awards (those are metals on the bottles in case you can't see them well in the photo). I was looking forward to tasting some of these. The fee was reasonable- five tastes for $5, or $9 to keep the glass. I elected the five tastes, and started on the dry wines.

They are a small winery so I'll focus on the positive. Having built my taste for wine over the past 10 years, I can be just a bit of a wine snob- not too bad. I think a bottle of decent table wine with lunch or dinner is great, but when a wine is supposed to be a dry red and it comes out sweeter than it should, I do tend to balk a bit. I realize by the selection on their tasting list that they probably have a clientele that prefers sweeter wine. I abandoned the dry reds pretty quickly and focused on finding a sweet bottle that my non-wine drinking friend might like. I found it... Island Paradise. A very light, fruity, refreshing wine made from a Sauvignon Blanc that may not have a place at a serious wine tasting, but would be perfect for a day poolside with some girlfriends.

Though I am typically not a sweet wine fan, I have been known to enjoy a glass of sherry or port wine after dinner. With this in mind, I tried the Porto Cocoa, and ended up purchasing a bottle. I feel like this wine might sell so well for them because it bridges a gap between those who like sweet wines, and those who can appreciate a good port for the richness and finish. I liked this bottle, and I'm looking forward to opening it after a nice heavy dinner... perhaps with some dark chocolate salted caramels which I've been hooked on ever since Theo in Seattle.



After wine tasting, I thought I should walk around. I think sometimes when you're all by yourself, people think you're nuts. I decided to snap this random shot of me and the statue of a Mr. Benjamin Richard Wall, the mayor of Grapevine from 1912-14, 1916-17, 1919-20, and 1933-46. That's quite a history. He was also known as a philanthropist and established one of the first boy scout troops west of the Mississippi river. ...if he only knew that one day a silly little tourist from the state of New York was going to come to Grapevine in 2010 and take a photograph with his statue.



Next, just a few photos of interest...



According to this last sign, Grapevine was named for the wild mustang grapes that naturally grew here. It's an interesting bit of history, but difficult to read in the photo.


This historical cabin was actually moved to this location, but is mostly build-with the addition of a board or two- out of the original pieces. I'm not sure why they moved it here, but it is interesting to look at. You can step up to the doors and see the inside as it would have looked over a hundred years ago.


The courthouse...

On to lunch- I decided on Tolbert's which, I've heard, is quite famous for its chili. I read some reviews online which were quite the mixed bag. Lindsey herself had never been there, but her mom wasn't a fan. She told me about a good sandwich place, but it's known for being based on a New York deli. I can go to a NY deli anytime, so I decided to go local and try my luck. I wrote up a review as I sat so I'd remember. I'll type it up below.

My review of Tolbert's written as I ate:

Since Tolbert's had a bit of a bum rap on Yelp, I thought I should write this review while I was actually sitting here rather than from memory.

Service: My service has been absolutely wonderful. I was greeted promptly at the door by my waitress who was very good. She had several other customers, but the service was still very prompt. She checked back at all the right times. I requested a side of cheese (I love my chili with lots of cheese), and though she dropped it accidentally, she brought out another in due haste, and was very nice about it. My experience was good.

Food: The chili is quite good. To say it's the best chili ever is a bit of a stretch. I love Texas chili- no beans. I'm not a fan of beans in chili, but they do offer the option for northerners who come in looking for it. I was quite happy with the meated version.

I asked the waitress if it was spicy, and she said as a spicy food fan, that she likes it a little hotter. She gave me a side of the hot sauce they use so I could add as I pleased. After pouring about half of the hot sauce in, I felt like it had the perfect amount of heat. As a foodie- my analysis- well-spiced, though it could be a bit saltier to bring out the flavor of the spices. The taste wasn't completely full-palated, but it was good. Nice combination with raw onion and cheese sprinkled on top. With the extra side of cheese, the chili flavors expanded nicely, and I threw in an extra shake of salt. After these small additions, I feel like I can truly and honestly recommend their chili to anyone.

I think even without the additions, I do still recommend people come in and try the chili. Though the photo is a little fuzzy, check out how good that looks below. The tortilla chips were a perfect addition. Overall, it was a fantastic meal and experience. Check it out.

And last but not least, my friend Lindsey and I out for our night in Dallas. FYI, that's me on the right.

The next day I spent repacking my car (some organization was getting necessary at this point in the trip) and then taking off for Houston. I didn't go out or see anything in Houston so I won't blog about it- just had another Peace Corps friend in town to crash with for the evening. The next big event was to be New Orleans. I was really looking forward to NOLA- a city that interests me tremendously though somehow I had never made it down.

Stay tuned for photos and the story of the French Quarter, music, fun, and food during Crawfish season.

Final Route 66 to Grapevine

Today I finished my trip on route 66. I made plans with my friend Lindsey to visit in Grapevine, TX, and I was really excited about being in the company of friends.

I left Santa Rosa as early as I could manage. I had about 8 hours ahead of me and wanted to give myself time to stop for a nice lunch.

The first place I left the highway was in Montoya, NM. I have a friend who was named Montoya after the town. I got a photo of the sign and then headed out to see what is now practically a ghost town. There were a few homes and some shells of buildings- one with a painted old sign advertising cold beer.




I continued on the small road that runs adjacent to the highway. After driving a few miles, I started getting a little nervous that it wouldn't connect back. The paving job was a little rough, and I drove towards what I thought might have been a dead-end. It wasn't. I turned right and crossed under the highway in a little one lane arched underpass. Fortunately, the road improved on the other side. I took this short little video as I approached the main road.



After making it safely back on the highway- no flat tires, cattle crossings, or driving back 10 miles- I crossed into Texas and continued on route 40 (which has eaten much of this section of the old route 66). My guidebook mentioned a small restaurant called the Midpoint Cafe in Adrien, TX. I decided this would be a good place for a nice, long lunch break. I took many photos.

The lunch there was good, but quite basic. There were no french fries, burgers, or anything that required a great deal of cooking. Lots of sandwiches. I ordered a grilled cheese which was perfectly crispy on the outside and melty on the inside- just the way a grilled cheese should be. You have no idea how easy it is for a restaurant to mess up what should be the easiest thing to make, so I was pleased. I didn't want the bag of chips that came along side. The cafe, however, is not known for it's lunches. It's all about baked goods baby! Yep. Check out the sign below.


Home of the Ugly Crust Pie. I didn't hold out for this place just for a grilled cheese. I checked out the pie menu right away, and what a menu. They had about six currently in stock, plus three types of cobbler. My favorite pies are pecan and apple. I could have been a little more adventurous and tried the chocolate chip (can't remember the exact name), but I thought if I tried something familiar, I would be a good judge of quality. Sadly, they had just sold their last piece of pecan pie, so I elected to try the apple cobbler a la mode.



Is it as good as it looks? Yes! I actually couldn't help smiling, and I may have moaned a little when I took my first bite. The cobbler was heated up just perfectly, and the ice cream melted slightly. Yum.

These next photos are all worth about 10,000 words with everything there is to look at. Signs, 66 memorabilia, pies, souvenirs, etc. One thing I haven't yet mentioned about the place is the fantastic hospitality. The place is run by a couple who take the concept of southern hospitality very seriously. Everyone was welcomed and invited to sign the guest book. The food came out promptly, and they made sure everyone was satisfied. They were very nice people, and I'd recommend this place to anyone who passes through.






This car was parked outside at what appeared to be an old service station. If you look closely, you'll see that it is covered with signatures and notes from people who have passed through on route 66. There are even several different languages- I can pick out some German and Swedish.



The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, TX is named as such because, well, it is the midpoint of route 66. I made it half way- woo hoo!


Don't like this photo of me so much- I'm very travel worn- but it's the only photo with me in it. See? I was actually there.

Adrian, TX was the point where I officially said my goodbyes to route 66. It was a fantastic experience, and I would do it again sometime. I actually didn't get off route 40 (historic 66) until just after Amarillo, TX where I hopped on 287 south. This road alternated between highway and town road. I only stopped once in a funny little town called Memphis, TX.

As I drove in, I was captivated by some of the old buildings, and this cute little antiques place and tearoom. I decided to stop, but first I took a few photos of some buildings in the town square.





After driving around for a moment, I stopped at the tearoom, and gift shop called the Ivy Cottage. It looked really lovely on the outside. I went in and was greeted by a woman and her daughter who were chatting with an elderly gentleman. The man wore a nice southern suit, the three of them spoke in soft southern accents, and it felt pretty much exactly like walking into a tearoom in the south should. Everyone was very nice, and both the woman and her daughter inquired as to where I was from, headed, and what I was doing. When they discovered I was traveling alone, I received some very stern warnings about being careful. Everyone laughed when the daughter said, in her sweet little southern accent, that she would be so freaked out that she wouldn't even stop to pee. It was really sweet of them to be so concerned about a stranger. I told them that I am used to traveling by myself, and that I did so in Morocco all the time, but I made sure to emphasize that I would indeed be very careful.

After I looked around the store a bit, I bought some gifts and the mom offered me some lemonade or iced tea to go. She was closing the tearoom for the day and said she was about to dump it out. After a final "be careful", I insisted I would, thanked them, and left the store in a very good mood. Nice, nice people. It was a good stop.



On to Grapevine. I arrived at my friend's house just before 9:00pm, and we spent the next few hours chatting about our lives. It was so nice to see her! I'll tell you all our visit and show you photos of my stop next blog (I'll have it out this week sometime). Cheers for now!

Update

I'm currently in Columbus, Ohio staying with my sister for the weekend. I have tons to tell you about. Most of the posts from here on out will be retrospective, and I may throw in some others just for kicks. It'll be out-of-order, messy, but you'll see some interesting photos.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Philly to get my kitty cat.

Cheers!

A little something...

I just wanted to say a little something about tonight ahead of time... While I'm feeling it. We were just at this amazing place in New Orleans with really fantastic live music, free red beans and rice, and a really great spot to watch. I'll post video and photos- if they came out alright- very soon.

On a different note, my road-trip is drawing to a close. I hope I get to travel more very soon and share it with you all, but finances are coming out short, and it's just about that time. Stay tuned for some interesting retrospective posts and stuff about my way home. Cheers!