Yes - we had some urban adventures in Dallas, including tennis with our niece Katie and a visit to the King Tut Exhibit at the Dallas Art Museum. Did we walk like Egyptians? Of course! Amazing artifacts, including a bronze chest engraved with depictions of activities around the palace that looked pretty much what we were doing at Lori and Charlie's - eating, drinking, and sharing family gossip.
Then we spent a day with our old friend Jerri, who lives in a charming house in East Dallas - we walked down Swiss Avenue and admired the fabulous old mansions dating from the 20's and 30's... lawns green, flowers blooming, like an English garden. We were accompanied by Margie, Jerri's new companion, who gave us immediate doggy kisses and became our new best friend. And the real "icing on the cake" was that Bobby (oops - now Robert) Bellamy, second only to Jerri as a raconteur, joined us for cocktails... lots of laughter about 30-year old exploits and youthful indiscretions... check out this article about his business at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/lakewood/stories/DN-fdluxe_fobhome_1204fas.State.Edition1.4a59c24.html
After a tearful departure from Jerri's (tearful because we were sad to leave - also tearful because we shut her wrist in the automatic window of the car - ouch!) we drove past Memphis, Happy, Paris, and Hope, Texas to Amarillo... and tomorrow is Taos - so next post will be from chilly New Mexico.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Long, Tall Texans...
Happy Easter! We were sad to leave Nick and Andrea today (photos coming soon)... Teaching at Tarleton University in Stephenville, they are on a mission to bring liberal arts education and literature to Central Texas - and they're a most entertaining host and hostess. Went last night to Mary's Chicken Fried Steak - the one and only time I've ever enjoyed that dish - usually tastes like breaded mystery meat, but Mary's was divine... peppery gravy and Shiner Beer... mmmmmmm. Lest you think we've done nothing but eat, we did make an expedition to an old cemetery with Civil War era graves - and the confederate flags are stilling wavin', ya'll. The history of the county, from flu pandemics to an entire family wiped out in a car accident in the 50's, is reflected in that small plot of ground.
It's interesting to be in such an authentic place. I don't think I could live here, but I really admire the fact that there is a culture here that lives on despite the gentrification and "genericization" (if there is such a word) of much of the country. Note to Vikki: Lots of FoodSaver customers here - huntin', fishin' and livestock.
Today we're in Dallas with Dick's sister and her family, so we'll have some urban adventures to report shortly. Cheers!
It's interesting to be in such an authentic place. I don't think I could live here, but I really admire the fact that there is a culture here that lives on despite the gentrification and "genericization" (if there is such a word) of much of the country. Note to Vikki: Lots of FoodSaver customers here - huntin', fishin' and livestock.
Today we're in Dallas with Dick's sister and her family, so we'll have some urban adventures to report shortly. Cheers!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Soul Food, Jalapeno Ice Cream, Tex Mex and Brats...
Sorry we haven't posted in a couple of days - we've been staying with friends, so we've had real people to talk to! Stayed with Dick's cousin Kathy and her husband Jerry in Austin - a great evening in their beautiful house - and now with our beloved friend Nick in Stephenville, Texas - Dairy Capitol of Texas...
We've been eating our way across the country - but great regional eats only. On our way out of New Orleans, we spent a day on the blue highways - took the Cajun Coast drive through charming old towns like Franklin and Jeanerette... ate at the L&M Bistro, which turned out to be the local soul food source. After I'd asked "what's a shrimp wrap" and Dick asked "what's a smothered pork chop?" the very sweet, patient young man waiting on us said, "Y'all aren't from around here, are you?" BTW - smothered pork chops are ambrosia... the afternoon included a pilgrimage to the Tabasco factory on Avery Island - saw the egret rookery with thousands of nesting birds, white against the blue sky - and the grand finale was - jalapeno ice cream! After a relaxing night in Lake Charles, Louisiana - resting our digestive systems - we literally ended up in hog heaven... Hinze's BBQ (tag line: "Put Some Pork on That Fork!") located somewhere between Houston and Austin. Chicken, ribs and three sides for $9.99 - now that's eatin'.
But wait - there's more! On our way from Austin to Stephenville, as we crawled past the Lonely L Longhorn Ranch and a vet's office that advertised "Rattlesnake Vaccine - $17", we found Eve's Cafe in Lampasas, Texas - home of real German cooking. The Texas Hill Country was settled by Germans, and their legacy lives on at Eve's. Bratwurst and sauerkraut, Westfalia Ham sandwich with horseradish - and after we found Nick's house, he took us to nirvana - the first great Tex Mex we've had in three years! So now we're going to get some Pepto Bismol and hit the sack - on to Dallas and some great deli food... Happy Easter/Passover to all!
We've been eating our way across the country - but great regional eats only. On our way out of New Orleans, we spent a day on the blue highways - took the Cajun Coast drive through charming old towns like Franklin and Jeanerette... ate at the L&M Bistro, which turned out to be the local soul food source. After I'd asked "what's a shrimp wrap" and Dick asked "what's a smothered pork chop?" the very sweet, patient young man waiting on us said, "Y'all aren't from around here, are you?" BTW - smothered pork chops are ambrosia... the afternoon included a pilgrimage to the Tabasco factory on Avery Island - saw the egret rookery with thousands of nesting birds, white against the blue sky - and the grand finale was - jalapeno ice cream! After a relaxing night in Lake Charles, Louisiana - resting our digestive systems - we literally ended up in hog heaven... Hinze's BBQ (tag line: "Put Some Pork on That Fork!") located somewhere between Houston and Austin. Chicken, ribs and three sides for $9.99 - now that's eatin'.
But wait - there's more! On our way from Austin to Stephenville, as we crawled past the Lonely L Longhorn Ranch and a vet's office that advertised "Rattlesnake Vaccine - $17", we found Eve's Cafe in Lampasas, Texas - home of real German cooking. The Texas Hill Country was settled by Germans, and their legacy lives on at Eve's. Bratwurst and sauerkraut, Westfalia Ham sandwich with horseradish - and after we found Nick's house, he took us to nirvana - the first great Tex Mex we've had in three years! So now we're going to get some Pepto Bismol and hit the sack - on to Dallas and some great deli food... Happy Easter/Passover to all!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Do ya know what it means to miss New Orleans?
We have a 20-year secret love affair with New Orleans... N.O. is like the skanky girl your Mom told you not to hang around with, but you did anyway, because no one - no one! - had more fun. Through the past two decades, we have collected some amazing New Orleans memories:
* Going to Commander's Palace with a group that included Julia Child - Mrs. Brennan and the entire waitstaff was standing at attention by the gate to the restaurant when we arrived - handsome old waiters with their white serviettes over their arms... and they served us Sazeracs and champagne cocktails from silver trays in the garden...
* Visiting a voodoo priestess - my sister and I writing our wishes and placing them on an altar to Marie Laveaux - in a courtyard overrun with chickens and goats... all taking place a block from the soaring office towers on Canal Street...
* Dancing with fat old ladies, little kids and skinny guys in cowboy hats at a real Cajun fete de dieu at the old Tipitina's on Napoleon Street... everyone laughing, drinking and enjoying the music of Clifton Chenier...
* Renting an apartment on Dauphine Street and walking at sunrise to the French Market to pick up beignets for breakfast. Uncharacteristically peaceful - most of the revelers finally gone home to bed - and the streets gleaming from the recent passage of the streetsweeper - sharp smell of chicory coffee in the air.
All this and more - and yet we made a new discovery this trip - the old Ursuline Convent down by the Cathedral. Built in 1745, full of historic treasures, including a letter to the sisters from Thomas Jefferson, whose eloquent prose still jumps off the page two centuries later. Sitting in the quiet garden, companionable with sculptures and chirping birds - this is what it must have been like when New Orleans was just a small French town on a big muddy river.
* Going to Commander's Palace with a group that included Julia Child - Mrs. Brennan and the entire waitstaff was standing at attention by the gate to the restaurant when we arrived - handsome old waiters with their white serviettes over their arms... and they served us Sazeracs and champagne cocktails from silver trays in the garden...
* Visiting a voodoo priestess - my sister and I writing our wishes and placing them on an altar to Marie Laveaux - in a courtyard overrun with chickens and goats... all taking place a block from the soaring office towers on Canal Street...
* Dancing with fat old ladies, little kids and skinny guys in cowboy hats at a real Cajun fete de dieu at the old Tipitina's on Napoleon Street... everyone laughing, drinking and enjoying the music of Clifton Chenier...
* Renting an apartment on Dauphine Street and walking at sunrise to the French Market to pick up beignets for breakfast. Uncharacteristically peaceful - most of the revelers finally gone home to bed - and the streets gleaming from the recent passage of the streetsweeper - sharp smell of chicory coffee in the air.
All this and more - and yet we made a new discovery this trip - the old Ursuline Convent down by the Cathedral. Built in 1745, full of historic treasures, including a letter to the sisters from Thomas Jefferson, whose eloquent prose still jumps off the page two centuries later. Sitting in the quiet garden, companionable with sculptures and chirping birds - this is what it must have been like when New Orleans was just a small French town on a big muddy river.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Macho Corridor
Hi, ya'll! We're in New Orleans, ready to set out on a stroll around the Quarter... but I have to tell you about the drive from Tallahassee to Mobile... I call it the Macho Corridor. But before I explain why, check it out - the two items below are actual billboards spotted along the way (I won't editorialize - I'll leave that to you):
It's a small world.
I know - I created it.
-- God
God, Guns and Guts
Made America Great
Whew! And in addition, there are more fireworks available along this route than possibly anywhere in the world - and the available roadside attractions include Don Garlitz Drag Car Museum, The Museum of Naval Aviation, The Museum of Sports Art, and the Armed Forces Museum. A fantasy drive for the macho man... as for my wimpy, girly self, I enjoyed the wildflowers growing along the freeway - yellow, purple, red, and white - absolutely amazing - flowering fruit trees and egrets and herons rising out of the swamp. So there was something for everybody today - including a shrimp Po Boy at a truck stop that was out of this world - then soft shelled crab when we got to N'Orleans... I'm taking a fried food break today. When we get some photos we'll post!
It's a small world.
I know - I created it.
-- God
God, Guns and Guts
Made America Great
Whew! And in addition, there are more fireworks available along this route than possibly anywhere in the world - and the available roadside attractions include Don Garlitz Drag Car Museum, The Museum of Naval Aviation, The Museum of Sports Art, and the Armed Forces Museum. A fantasy drive for the macho man... as for my wimpy, girly self, I enjoyed the wildflowers growing along the freeway - yellow, purple, red, and white - absolutely amazing - flowering fruit trees and egrets and herons rising out of the swamp. So there was something for everybody today - including a shrimp Po Boy at a truck stop that was out of this world - then soft shelled crab when we got to N'Orleans... I'm taking a fried food break today. When we get some photos we'll post!
Monday, April 6, 2009
On the road again...
We did it... packed the damn pods, packed the Mini to the rooftop (so much for having the top down - we look like the Beverly Hillbillies) spent our last night in Boca at the luxurious digs of our friends Cathy & Bob, then hit the road on Sunday morning... sad to leave friends and fabulous weather... but excited for the adventures ahead. We have photos to post, but the writeandshoot team is currently the writeandsmoke team... our photographer is not yet prepared to dig into cyberworld and post the images. Can't pretend that the first day was exhilarating... although it was interesting to watch the terrain turn from tropical to "Old South"... green green green with gauzy moss hanging from the trees and kudzu in abundance. Our first night in Tallahassee was pleasant - actually found a cool little bistro - twinkly lights in the trees as we sat on the patio and a luscious Greek lamb burger - Edna Valley Syrah - very civilized.
I just opened up my Meditation book to a random page this morning, and here's what came up: "Each place you come to is unique, and it is all to be explored. But this is only possible if you travel light (!) without attachment to what has come before, without comparing, and without giving up. Faith means trusting the unfolding process of our lives. It is a willingness to let go of fears and attachments and open ourselves to the unknown in each new moment." Hmmm... next stop New Orleans - hope to have a new moment to share from that fascinating place. Cheers!
I just opened up my Meditation book to a random page this morning, and here's what came up: "Each place you come to is unique, and it is all to be explored. But this is only possible if you travel light (!) without attachment to what has come before, without comparing, and without giving up. Faith means trusting the unfolding process of our lives. It is a willingness to let go of fears and attachments and open ourselves to the unknown in each new moment." Hmmm... next stop New Orleans - hope to have a new moment to share from that fascinating place. Cheers!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The "J" Word
Sorry about the cryptic reference to the "j" word in the last post -that has to do with the current over-use of the word "journey"... as in "my spiritual journey". My friend Kathy lives in Mill Valley, California, which in addition to being picturesque and delightful, tucked into the redwood studded foothills of Mt. Tam, is the virtual epicenter of self-absorption in the U.S. Believe me, the irony of someone who's writing a blog complaining about self-absorption is not lost on me... so when I use the word "journey", I mean it in the literal sense of travel, not as in a metaphorical life path...
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