Indian food is my favorite ethnic dish but the closest restaurant is an hour away in Rochester, MN. Thank you Mayo Clinic for bringing ethnic food to southern Minnesota! So Caylan and I decided to make it ourselves. For the main course, we made palak paneer, a cheese and creamy spinach dish.
We made the paneer/cheese from scratch. That consisted of boiling milk, adding lemon juice, separating the curds, straining the whey, kneading, resting for two hours, slicing, and cooking. Whew!
The palak/creamy spinach was easy. It consisted of cooking spinach and cream with a gazillion spices (cardamom, garam masala, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric, green chilies, ginger, and garlic).
We opted to buy frozen naan instead of making it ourselves since Caylan believes naan only tastes good if made with a tandoori oven. A tandoori oven is a cylindrical clay oven that gets very hot.
Flash back to the first time Caylan and I met. I went to the food coop in Grand Forks, Amazing Grains, to get ghee for making naan. Caylan was the co-op's baker and he gave me the co-op's recipe. I went home, made naan on a griddle, and the next day brought him some of the naan. He thought it was mediocre. Flash forward to last night's dinner. As we were eating our store bought frozen naan, I commented that I thought the naan I brought him at Amazing Grains was better than this. He admitted that if he had known he would be spending the rest of his life with me he would not have said that the naan was "just okay."
For dessert we made gajar hawa, indian carrot pudding. If I had read the recipe before starting to make it I would have known that it needed to simmer for an hour and sit for 3 hours. Fortunately, we were hungry again by the time it was ready.
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We made the paneer/cheese from scratch. That consisted of boiling milk, adding lemon juice, separating the curds, straining the whey, kneading, resting for two hours, slicing, and cooking. Whew!
We opted to buy frozen naan instead of making it ourselves since Caylan believes naan only tastes good if made with a tandoori oven. A tandoori oven is a cylindrical clay oven that gets very hot.
Flash back to the first time Caylan and I met. I went to the food coop in Grand Forks, Amazing Grains, to get ghee for making naan. Caylan was the co-op's baker and he gave me the co-op's recipe. I went home, made naan on a griddle, and the next day brought him some of the naan. He thought it was mediocre. Flash forward to last night's dinner. As we were eating our store bought frozen naan, I commented that I thought the naan I brought him at Amazing Grains was better than this. He admitted that if he had known he would be spending the rest of his life with me he would not have said that the naan was "just okay."
For dessert we made gajar hawa, indian carrot pudding. If I had read the recipe before starting to make it I would have known that it needed to simmer for an hour and sit for 3 hours. Fortunately, we were hungry again by the time it was ready.
+-+Hunch.jpg)
My sorority sister, Jillian, had a baby - Theo! I am in love. Watch out baby ladies, he is sporting a preppy argyle sweater under his swaddle. He's four weeks old and a healthy eater.
We left Waco at 6am on Sunday morning (11.04.2012) and drove about 1,000 miles in 17 hours, non-stop, to Dubuque, Iowa. The length of the drive was memorable, not the gas stations that we stopped at in-between.
We drove into Dubuque around 8:55pm. We found a restaurant that was still open called, Houlahan’s at a Hilton hotel. The maps application on the new operating system for the Apple iPhone told us to park on the street and hike a quarter mile to our destination. Fortunately we didn’t listen and drove through an expansive parking lot to the front door to park.
That night we stayed at what we hope was our last Motel 6. During the night I heard a vehicle without a muffler pull up outside the door of our room followed by loud voices. The next morning, Caylan found a note, presumably a note that fell out of someone’s purse or pocket. The note explained that a good Muslim family had been robbed and they needed car repairs and a place to stay. We have no further information on this family.
We went to Dubuque because Caylan met with a board of directors of a new co-op. The board was composed of well-to-do 40-50 year olds. They were organized and peppered Caylan with tough questions. He thought the meeting went great and found the group inspiring.
While Caylan met with the board members I found a copy/business center to fax completed forms for my new job. Be safe, Winona, for I shall be covered by malpractice insurance.
After Caylan’s meeting we headed to Madison, WI. We stopped in Mount Horeb, WI to visit another potential food coop client and to see an old friend of Caylan’s. We made it to Madison in the late afternoon. Caylan lived in Madison for a few years and still has lots of friends there. We were staying at his friends’ home, Chris and Ruth, but they were still working. We walked around the UW campus and shopped on State Street. It was snowing in Madison, so we bought two hats (that are reversible) basically BOGOBOGO (by one get one). We ate spicy pickled eggs at the Old Fashioned and visited a small grocer that is a CoPOS client. We were exhausted and sought refuge in a movie theatre for a screening of Loopers, a sci-fi movie that garnered good reviews. I learned that time travel is Caylan’s favorite movie genre. In case you’re wondering, my favorite is musicals. One day we will find a time-traveling musical and life will be complete.
Tuesday morning it was still snowing and we ran Jane by the lake. We were near a voting site and we saw people from all walks of life partaking in democracy. We window shopped at Century House, an upscale, modern Scandinavian furniture showroom. We shopped at a few other places and ate at the Maharaja Restaurant, an Indian lunch buffet.
Since the beginning of our road trip we had been looking forward to spending election night in Madison. Caylan had watched the results in 2008 at a dive bar there and he was looking forward to sharing the experience with me. From what I hear, a Madison dive bar is infinitely better than any other cities dive bars because in Madison, the tap beer and food are usually delicious. However, a client emergency kept us from going out. Instead, Chris and Ruth invited a few others over and we spent the evening together drinking wine, laughing at the television, going between Fox News and CNN, playing with interactive graphics on the NYTimes Politics page, and eating Thai food. We are most excited that the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman failed. The failure of this amendment did not give anyone rights, but gives this civil rights issue momentum. This is one example of Minnesota Nice.
We left Madison after breakfast at Iron Works cafe. Madison is known for its chocolate filled croissants so I needed to have one before I left. Yum.
We spent our first night in Winona in 28 days. But only one night! We left for Grand Forks on Thursday to visit family and pick up Caylan’s car that’s been in the shop for months. We stayed in Grand Forks until Tuesday morning and now we’re finally returning to Winona on Tuesday night. There is a big thanksgiving pot-luck at Ed’s No Name Bar in Winona. We are eager to spend more than one night at our comfortable home.
Jane has a new jacket. She loves it. She is also sporting a new red flashing light on her collar for our evening walks. Safety first.
We drove into Dubuque around 8:55pm. We found a restaurant that was still open called, Houlahan’s at a Hilton hotel. The maps application on the new operating system for the Apple iPhone told us to park on the street and hike a quarter mile to our destination. Fortunately we didn’t listen and drove through an expansive parking lot to the front door to park.
That night we stayed at what we hope was our last Motel 6. During the night I heard a vehicle without a muffler pull up outside the door of our room followed by loud voices. The next morning, Caylan found a note, presumably a note that fell out of someone’s purse or pocket. The note explained that a good Muslim family had been robbed and they needed car repairs and a place to stay. We have no further information on this family.
We went to Dubuque because Caylan met with a board of directors of a new co-op. The board was composed of well-to-do 40-50 year olds. They were organized and peppered Caylan with tough questions. He thought the meeting went great and found the group inspiring.
While Caylan met with the board members I found a copy/business center to fax completed forms for my new job. Be safe, Winona, for I shall be covered by malpractice insurance.
After Caylan’s meeting we headed to Madison, WI. We stopped in Mount Horeb, WI to visit another potential food coop client and to see an old friend of Caylan’s. We made it to Madison in the late afternoon. Caylan lived in Madison for a few years and still has lots of friends there. We were staying at his friends’ home, Chris and Ruth, but they were still working. We walked around the UW campus and shopped on State Street. It was snowing in Madison, so we bought two hats (that are reversible) basically BOGOBOGO (by one get one). We ate spicy pickled eggs at the Old Fashioned and visited a small grocer that is a CoPOS client. We were exhausted and sought refuge in a movie theatre for a screening of Loopers, a sci-fi movie that garnered good reviews. I learned that time travel is Caylan’s favorite movie genre. In case you’re wondering, my favorite is musicals. One day we will find a time-traveling musical and life will be complete.
Tuesday morning it was still snowing and we ran Jane by the lake. We were near a voting site and we saw people from all walks of life partaking in democracy. We window shopped at Century House, an upscale, modern Scandinavian furniture showroom. We shopped at a few other places and ate at the Maharaja Restaurant, an Indian lunch buffet.
Since the beginning of our road trip we had been looking forward to spending election night in Madison. Caylan had watched the results in 2008 at a dive bar there and he was looking forward to sharing the experience with me. From what I hear, a Madison dive bar is infinitely better than any other cities dive bars because in Madison, the tap beer and food are usually delicious. However, a client emergency kept us from going out. Instead, Chris and Ruth invited a few others over and we spent the evening together drinking wine, laughing at the television, going between Fox News and CNN, playing with interactive graphics on the NYTimes Politics page, and eating Thai food. We are most excited that the proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman failed. The failure of this amendment did not give anyone rights, but gives this civil rights issue momentum. This is one example of Minnesota Nice.
We left Madison after breakfast at Iron Works cafe. Madison is known for its chocolate filled croissants so I needed to have one before I left. Yum.
We spent our first night in Winona in 28 days. But only one night! We left for Grand Forks on Thursday to visit family and pick up Caylan’s car that’s been in the shop for months. We stayed in Grand Forks until Tuesday morning and now we’re finally returning to Winona on Tuesday night. There is a big thanksgiving pot-luck at Ed’s No Name Bar in Winona. We are eager to spend more than one night at our comfortable home.
Jane has a new jacket. She loves it. She is also sporting a new red flashing light on her collar for our evening walks. Safety first.
Waco is 100 miles north of Austin. The trip to Waco introduced Caylan to many of the important relationships and places in my life. We visited my alma mater, Baylor (it was homecoming!). I went to Baylor from 2000-2004. After school, I moved to Houston for a year, before moving back to Waco for another 3 years. I loved Texas, especially Waco. I made great friends, married/divorced/reconciled, and enjoyed exploring the outdoors.
The food scene in Waco is dominated by hole-in-the-wall restaurants, grease, and spicy food. There are so many unhealthy places I wanted to take Caylan, that there was no way we could visit them all without also visiting the ER. To welcome Caylan to Waco, we shared a GUTPAK from a resturant named Vitek's. The GUTPAK included brisket, sausage, jalapeños, onions and cheese on a bed of fritos - plus a side of white bread.
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We offered to deliver a GUTPAK to my friend Revekah's clothing store. She declined. I lived with Revekah for two years. During that time she was the proud doggy-parent of Bradley, a very handsome great dane. Bradley was fawn colored (Jane is blue - look it up on Google). Now Revekah is married (to Jeremy) with a 16-month old human baby child (Esther Margaret). After we packed the GUTPAK Caylan and I stopped at Prefontaine, the women's boutique that Revekah owns. Prefontaine always has beautiful and clever window displays.
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That afternoon we had a couple of firsts. Revekah's house is overrun with dogs who don't all get along (her dachshund Claire and three of Jeremy's cattle working dogs - Nero, Pistol, and Winnie), everyone agreed Jane should stay at John's, my ex husband. John's great dane, Rainier, died a year ago at the age of 11, and John was happy to host another dane. Here is a video of Jane playing with Nero, who I am told is one of the best cattle working dogs alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3r_Xbzoey0&feature=youtu.be
Nero must not be allowed to play in the house. Wise doggy.
John had given Rainier's crate away so we put Jane in Rainier's old sunroom. The only thing stopping Jane from tearing up the house was a simple child's gate. John, who happens to own three paddle boards, took us SUPing (stand up paddle boarding) on a river in Waco. Hanging out with my fiancé (Caylan) and ex-husband (John) went fine (and no one "fell" in the water or drowned) thanks to maturity, peace, time, distance, and let's not forget: professional counseling. Caylan and John became good friends and laughed and laughed. Caylan liked John so much that I had to explain (again) why our marriage didn't work. Everyone had so much fun!
Enough about the sappy emotional side of things and back to paddle boarding. The saying goes, "if you can stand up, you can SUP." The boards are basically giant surfboards and the paddle is like a cane. If you lose your balance, you can catch yourself by putting your paddle in the water. We SUPed where the Brazos and Bosque Rivers meet, which is in the heart of the city, on the edge of Cameron Park. Cameron Park is a 416 acre park featuring limestone cliffs that rise out of the water (but are too unstable for climbing - this is called "rotten" or "skunk" rock). It is the second largest city park in the country (second to Central Park in NYC which is twice the size). I spent years mountain biking and running the trails that weave through the park and its limestone cliffs, but I had never seen the cliffs from a SUP vantage point.
After a few hours of SUPing we made it back to the house at sunset. We pulled up to John's house and heard barking. Jane? She never barks. We ran to the door and as John started to unlock it, the door knob fell off. Jane had clawed through several layers of paint of the 132 year old door. Jane had been with us 24/hours a day for the last 20 days. She must have been so worried when she saw us leave through that door, that she was determined to find us. John assured us that it was okay and that he was planning on refinishing that door soon anyways. We were all so embarrassed - yet understanding. The next day John bought Jane a crate - partially in preparation for him adopting another Great Dane.
Friday morning we went to breakfast at a bakery named Lulu Jane's, a new place in gentrifying east Waco. We heard the place was popular and that we needed to get their early. We got there at 9:30 and the man behind the counter said they were switching over to lunch. At 9:30?! We cleaned them out of the few remaining pumpkin bread slices and orange scones. Over breakfast, the conversation turned to BBQ and Jeremy offered to teach Caylan how to smoke brisket. Caylan was all ears and the two decided to start grilling pronto. Smoking meat is a labor of love, requiring the cook to check the temperatures every hour. Jeremy and Caylan took shifts monitoring the temperature of the grill throughout the night. They started Friday afternoon and we ate Saturday night. It was so good! We made home-made french fries and cole slaw to go along with the meat. No BBQ sauce was needed.
During the day, Caylan and I rollerbladed on a path in Cameron Park and by the river. This suspension bridge was built in the 1880s to allow ranchers to move cows to market. It was also the practice design for the Brooklyn Bridge.
We shared a glazed donut from Shipley's, a franchised donut shop headquartered in Houston. Rewind to Winona. There is a legendary donut place near our home in Winona. It smells good on our morning run, but the donuts are dry and cold. Then we ate at the infamous institution, Voodoo Donuts, in Portland, OR, but I thought they could have been better and that Shipley's donuts were tastier. Today was donut judgment day (DJD in the biz). Would Caylan agree that Shipley's tastes the best? HE DID! His only complaint is the confusing hyphen that Shipley's uses to spell "do-nuts." We think it has to do with "DOUGHNUT" being shortened to "DO-NUT" but Caylan thinks it should be spelled "DO'NUT." A donut by any other name would smell just as sweet.
The next day we SUP'ed again. This time we went to the Baylor Marina. Then we went to a grand opening party for a new bike shop, Bear Mountain. It was fun to see old friends. That night, we babysat Revekah's child, EM, for a few hours. She was sleeping, so we just watched the video monitor, trying to catch her in the act of turning over. This was the same night that Caylan monitored the brisket.
Saturday was Baylor Homing. We walked to the Homecoming Parade. We met the NoZe Brothers in costume (Baylor's secret society) and saw the Pi Phi float that got rejected from the parade because of faulty brakes. Our favorite float was from the astronomy club - lots of moving parts!
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When we got home, we enjoyed eggs and blueberry waffles with Revekah and Esther Margaret. EM has a sweet disposition and is such a good girl. She loves books and will bring you a book and plop down in your lap for you to read. If you read too slowly, she'll turn the pages for you. Her favorite book is Cowboy Slim. EMis also a lover of dogs. She pets and chases them. Says woof, woof! She moves fast making it is difficult to capture a picture of her!
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After breakfast we toured Baylor. We visited the Armstrong Browning Library, which houses the largest collection of poems by Robert & Elizabeth Browning. The library was recently named one of the most beautiful libraries in the country by Mental Floss magazine.
I showed Caylan the business school, Old Main, the secret spots where I used to "builder" (term for climbing buildings), and the bear habitat, where real bears (the mascot) live on campus.
It was hot in Waco (88F) and we needed a refresher. We made the mistake of going to Food For Thought (the one healthy place to eat in Waco) before the football game and ended up waiting 30 minutes for a smoothie.
Caylan was still looking for boots, so he talked to Jeremy, the boot expert. Jeremy sent us to Style Station, even though he didn't appreciate the liberal prophesying of the owners. While we were there the owner walked around babbling "women's 7 here, men's 8 there, 11's up here and around the corner." We didn't find anything.
Next we went to Cavender's, a boot mecca. Caylan had a very helpful salesperson and Caylan tried on several boots. We learned leather soled boots are for dancin'. Caylan found a pair of shoes, made by Jeremy's favorite brand for boots, Twisted X (from Decatur, TX). Low and behold, when we got out of the shop, Jeremy drove by in the parking lot (I swear he was seeing if we were there!). Caylan proudly revealed his purchase. Jeremy was excited until he saw they were shoes, not boots. "Those aren't boots!" Jeremy said.
Before dinner, we went for a bike ride and got chased home by a rain cloud. Here is a photo of Caylan and I by long horn (cow) sculptures downtown.
-1.jpg)
For our last night in Waco, we enjoyed THE brisket, with homemade blue cheese cole slaw, deep fried sweet potato fries, and four kinds of blue bell ice cream. Texans love Blue Bell ice cream and for good reason - it's great. (I once had a college roommate who after 9/11 tried to transport Blue Bell to her boyfriend in Utah using dry ice. TSA didn't like that. Bless her heart.) We laughed a lot over dinner. Especially when Jeremy, who is a legitimate cowboy, told tales of cattle ranching and herding.
We woke up at 4 am to leave by 5 on Sunday morning. Revekah sent us on our way with freshly juiced carrot juice and kale/apple smoothies. We picked up Jane and embarked on our longest travel day of the trip: 17 hours to Dubuque, IA. But first, we stopped at the Czech Stop to get the best kolaches in America.
Yum.
The food scene in Waco is dominated by hole-in-the-wall restaurants, grease, and spicy food. There are so many unhealthy places I wanted to take Caylan, that there was no way we could visit them all without also visiting the ER. To welcome Caylan to Waco, we shared a GUTPAK from a resturant named Vitek's. The GUTPAK included brisket, sausage, jalapeños, onions and cheese on a bed of fritos - plus a side of white bread.
.jpg)
We offered to deliver a GUTPAK to my friend Revekah's clothing store. She declined. I lived with Revekah for two years. During that time she was the proud doggy-parent of Bradley, a very handsome great dane. Bradley was fawn colored (Jane is blue - look it up on Google). Now Revekah is married (to Jeremy) with a 16-month old human baby child (Esther Margaret). After we packed the GUTPAK Caylan and I stopped at Prefontaine, the women's boutique that Revekah owns. Prefontaine always has beautiful and clever window displays.
-1.jpg)
That afternoon we had a couple of firsts. Revekah's house is overrun with dogs who don't all get along (her dachshund Claire and three of Jeremy's cattle working dogs - Nero, Pistol, and Winnie), everyone agreed Jane should stay at John's, my ex husband. John's great dane, Rainier, died a year ago at the age of 11, and John was happy to host another dane. Here is a video of Jane playing with Nero, who I am told is one of the best cattle working dogs alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3r_Xbzoey0&feature=youtu.be
Nero must not be allowed to play in the house. Wise doggy.
Enough about the sappy emotional side of things and back to paddle boarding. The saying goes, "if you can stand up, you can SUP." The boards are basically giant surfboards and the paddle is like a cane. If you lose your balance, you can catch yourself by putting your paddle in the water. We SUPed where the Brazos and Bosque Rivers meet, which is in the heart of the city, on the edge of Cameron Park. Cameron Park is a 416 acre park featuring limestone cliffs that rise out of the water (but are too unstable for climbing - this is called "rotten" or "skunk" rock). It is the second largest city park in the country (second to Central Park in NYC which is twice the size). I spent years mountain biking and running the trails that weave through the park and its limestone cliffs, but I had never seen the cliffs from a SUP vantage point.
After a few hours of SUPing we made it back to the house at sunset. We pulled up to John's house and heard barking. Jane? She never barks. We ran to the door and as John started to unlock it, the door knob fell off. Jane had clawed through several layers of paint of the 132 year old door. Jane had been with us 24/hours a day for the last 20 days. She must have been so worried when she saw us leave through that door, that she was determined to find us. John assured us that it was okay and that he was planning on refinishing that door soon anyways. We were all so embarrassed - yet understanding. The next day John bought Jane a crate - partially in preparation for him adopting another Great Dane.
Friday morning we went to breakfast at a bakery named Lulu Jane's, a new place in gentrifying east Waco. We heard the place was popular and that we needed to get their early. We got there at 9:30 and the man behind the counter said they were switching over to lunch. At 9:30?! We cleaned them out of the few remaining pumpkin bread slices and orange scones. Over breakfast, the conversation turned to BBQ and Jeremy offered to teach Caylan how to smoke brisket. Caylan was all ears and the two decided to start grilling pronto. Smoking meat is a labor of love, requiring the cook to check the temperatures every hour. Jeremy and Caylan took shifts monitoring the temperature of the grill throughout the night. They started Friday afternoon and we ate Saturday night. It was so good! We made home-made french fries and cole slaw to go along with the meat. No BBQ sauce was needed.
During the day, Caylan and I rollerbladed on a path in Cameron Park and by the river. This suspension bridge was built in the 1880s to allow ranchers to move cows to market. It was also the practice design for the Brooklyn Bridge.
We shared a glazed donut from Shipley's, a franchised donut shop headquartered in Houston. Rewind to Winona. There is a legendary donut place near our home in Winona. It smells good on our morning run, but the donuts are dry and cold. Then we ate at the infamous institution, Voodoo Donuts, in Portland, OR, but I thought they could have been better and that Shipley's donuts were tastier. Today was donut judgment day (DJD in the biz). Would Caylan agree that Shipley's tastes the best? HE DID! His only complaint is the confusing hyphen that Shipley's uses to spell "do-nuts." We think it has to do with "DOUGHNUT" being shortened to "DO-NUT" but Caylan thinks it should be spelled "DO'NUT." A donut by any other name would smell just as sweet.
The next day we SUP'ed again. This time we went to the Baylor Marina. Then we went to a grand opening party for a new bike shop, Bear Mountain. It was fun to see old friends. That night, we babysat Revekah's child, EM, for a few hours. She was sleeping, so we just watched the video monitor, trying to catch her in the act of turning over. This was the same night that Caylan monitored the brisket.
Saturday was Baylor Homing. We walked to the Homecoming Parade. We met the NoZe Brothers in costume (Baylor's secret society) and saw the Pi Phi float that got rejected from the parade because of faulty brakes. Our favorite float was from the astronomy club - lots of moving parts!
-2.jpg)
When we got home, we enjoyed eggs and blueberry waffles with Revekah and Esther Margaret. EM has a sweet disposition and is such a good girl. She loves books and will bring you a book and plop down in your lap for you to read. If you read too slowly, she'll turn the pages for you. Her favorite book is Cowboy Slim. EMis also a lover of dogs. She pets and chases them. Says woof, woof! She moves fast making it is difficult to capture a picture of her!
.jpg)
After breakfast we toured Baylor. We visited the Armstrong Browning Library, which houses the largest collection of poems by Robert & Elizabeth Browning. The library was recently named one of the most beautiful libraries in the country by Mental Floss magazine.
I showed Caylan the business school, Old Main, the secret spots where I used to "builder" (term for climbing buildings), and the bear habitat, where real bears (the mascot) live on campus.
It was hot in Waco (88F) and we needed a refresher. We made the mistake of going to Food For Thought (the one healthy place to eat in Waco) before the football game and ended up waiting 30 minutes for a smoothie.
Caylan was still looking for boots, so he talked to Jeremy, the boot expert. Jeremy sent us to Style Station, even though he didn't appreciate the liberal prophesying of the owners. While we were there the owner walked around babbling "women's 7 here, men's 8 there, 11's up here and around the corner." We didn't find anything.
Next we went to Cavender's, a boot mecca. Caylan had a very helpful salesperson and Caylan tried on several boots. We learned leather soled boots are for dancin'. Caylan found a pair of shoes, made by Jeremy's favorite brand for boots, Twisted X (from Decatur, TX). Low and behold, when we got out of the shop, Jeremy drove by in the parking lot (I swear he was seeing if we were there!). Caylan proudly revealed his purchase. Jeremy was excited until he saw they were shoes, not boots. "Those aren't boots!" Jeremy said.
Before dinner, we went for a bike ride and got chased home by a rain cloud. Here is a photo of Caylan and I by long horn (cow) sculptures downtown.
-1.jpg)
For our last night in Waco, we enjoyed THE brisket, with homemade blue cheese cole slaw, deep fried sweet potato fries, and four kinds of blue bell ice cream. Texans love Blue Bell ice cream and for good reason - it's great. (I once had a college roommate who after 9/11 tried to transport Blue Bell to her boyfriend in Utah using dry ice. TSA didn't like that. Bless her heart.) We laughed a lot over dinner. Especially when Jeremy, who is a legitimate cowboy, told tales of cattle ranching and herding.
We woke up at 4 am to leave by 5 on Sunday morning. Revekah sent us on our way with freshly juiced carrot juice and kale/apple smoothies. We picked up Jane and embarked on our longest travel day of the trip: 17 hours to Dubuque, IA. But first, we stopped at the Czech Stop to get the best kolaches in America.
Yum.
We left Marfa after lunch and drove seven hours east to Austin. This drove took us from the desert of West Texas to the hill country of central Texas. Caylan was surprised that Texas had trees. We drove through the heavily German town of Fredericksburg. It was hard to not stop at one of the variuos farm stands selling peach ice cream.
We arrived in Austin around 7 pm. We walked Jane along a dirt path that follows a river through the city. The weather was warm and there were hundreds of Austinites/Austinians outside running, rowing, walking, and swimming.
We stayed with a college friend of mine, Kathryn. She lives in a beautiful townhome near downtown. Her husband was out of town so we parked in a garage. LUXURY. On the way into Austin, I texted that we would like to eat Indian, barbecue, or at a gastropub (that means a bar with notably better food than "bar" food). Kathryn knows good food, but wasn't keen on Indian, so she only responded with bbq and gastropub options. Caylan and I looked at the menus online and chose the Salty Sow, a new gastropub in East Austin. The restaurant boasts that it uses "local and sustainable ingredients in a modern farmhouse atmosphere" (and Caylan rolls his eyes because this is very trendy). I spent the next 3 hours mastering my pronunciation of "sow." HOW! not sew/so.
We arrived at Kathryn's and jumped in the car to make our reservation time. Jane stayed back at the house (in the car, in the garage with the windows cracked) and Kathryn gave us a drive-by tour of the city. We liked Austin. Once at the Salty Sow, we ordered margaritas. I had a blood orange rita and Caylan chose one with cilantro and serrano peppers frozen in ice. We then chose a variety of tapas (small plates) to share family style - triple fried duck fries, brussel sprouts (my favorite), arugula salad, and crisp chicken thighs. The weather was balmy and we comfortably enjoyed what was likely our last outdoor dinner of 2012. Somehow we avoided the weirdo Austin Halloween crowd.
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We had a lot of fun catching up with Kathryn. Several times we lamented that Lauren wasn't there with us! Kathryn did a killer job talking us into returning next year for ACL (Austin City Limits), a big music festival in Austin. Fingers crossed.
Kathryn, like most normal people, had to work the next day. We, on the other hand, enjoyed a casual morning. We ran and went to Mozart, a charming coffee and pastry shop situated on Lake Austin.
Next stop: Waco!
We arrived in Austin around 7 pm. We walked Jane along a dirt path that follows a river through the city. The weather was warm and there were hundreds of Austinites/Austinians outside running, rowing, walking, and swimming.
We stayed with a college friend of mine, Kathryn. She lives in a beautiful townhome near downtown. Her husband was out of town so we parked in a garage. LUXURY. On the way into Austin, I texted that we would like to eat Indian, barbecue, or at a gastropub (that means a bar with notably better food than "bar" food). Kathryn knows good food, but wasn't keen on Indian, so she only responded with bbq and gastropub options. Caylan and I looked at the menus online and chose the Salty Sow, a new gastropub in East Austin. The restaurant boasts that it uses "local and sustainable ingredients in a modern farmhouse atmosphere" (and Caylan rolls his eyes because this is very trendy). I spent the next 3 hours mastering my pronunciation of "sow." HOW! not sew/so.
We arrived at Kathryn's and jumped in the car to make our reservation time. Jane stayed back at the house (in the car, in the garage with the windows cracked) and Kathryn gave us a drive-by tour of the city. We liked Austin. Once at the Salty Sow, we ordered margaritas. I had a blood orange rita and Caylan chose one with cilantro and serrano peppers frozen in ice. We then chose a variety of tapas (small plates) to share family style - triple fried duck fries, brussel sprouts (my favorite), arugula salad, and crisp chicken thighs. The weather was balmy and we comfortably enjoyed what was likely our last outdoor dinner of 2012. Somehow we avoided the weirdo Austin Halloween crowd.
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We had a lot of fun catching up with Kathryn. Several times we lamented that Lauren wasn't there with us! Kathryn did a killer job talking us into returning next year for ACL (Austin City Limits), a big music festival in Austin. Fingers crossed.
Kathryn, like most normal people, had to work the next day. We, on the other hand, enjoyed a casual morning. We ran and went to Mozart, a charming coffee and pastry shop situated on Lake Austin.
Next stop: Waco!
Thirty minutes outside of El Paso we were shuffled through border patrol, even though we had never left the country. This is a precaution of some sort. As we scrambled to find our licenses, a drug sniffing dog found Jane. RUN! just kidding. We revealed Jane, assured them she was 'merican dog, that we were going to Waco to visit friends, and all was good. Unlike security at the Hoover Dam, we weren't summoned to pull over and open our cargo container or trunk. (We safely led four mexican chihuahuas to safety.)
We woke early Halloween morning (a Tuesday) in Van Horn, TX. Van Horn was a ghost town, with boarded up shops, empty gas stations, and one glistening McDonalds. We headed south to Marfa.
On our way we skidded to a stop when Caylan saw a tarantula crossing the road. Don't worry, traffic is obsolete in this neck of the woods, er, desert.
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We passed the Prada Marfa sculpture.
Marfa is an artists' community in the high dessert of West Texas. Visiting the city was on my bucket list. I learned of it from my gay hairdresser when I lived in Houston just after college. He and his boyfriend would fly to Marfa for weekend getaways. Marfa was formed in the 1880s as a water stop for the railroad. Since then, artists and writers (like Donald Judd and Peter Behrens) have discovered it and visit for inspiration. Such artists later brought Marfa artist foundations, writer in residency programs, and really good food.
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There are several highly acclaimed restaurants and food carts. We ate at Food Shark, a trendy food cart that boasts dozens of reviews by critics like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Vogue, Southern Living, Food and Wine, Forbes, and NYTimes (twice). The list doesn't stop there, the rest of the reviews are on their website. We loved our marfalafel and tender chicken tacos!
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We shared espresso from Frama (anagram of Marfa - play on words crema, the foam on top of coffee)
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We went to a great book store, but since we were there in the morning and not peak season, many of the shops were closed.
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Border Patrol hangs out in Marfa, monitoring the area, searching for illegals. Apparently, Marfa is the first place in this region that has water, so it is more efficient to stay there and wait for a thirsty immigrant, than it is to patrol the entire border.
We are glad we went. We recommend going if you're within an hour of it, but don't go out of your way to visit.
We woke early Halloween morning (a Tuesday) in Van Horn, TX. Van Horn was a ghost town, with boarded up shops, empty gas stations, and one glistening McDonalds. We headed south to Marfa.
On our way we skidded to a stop when Caylan saw a tarantula crossing the road. Don't worry, traffic is obsolete in this neck of the woods, er, desert.
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We passed the Prada Marfa sculpture.
Marfa is an artists' community in the high dessert of West Texas. Visiting the city was on my bucket list. I learned of it from my gay hairdresser when I lived in Houston just after college. He and his boyfriend would fly to Marfa for weekend getaways. Marfa was formed in the 1880s as a water stop for the railroad. Since then, artists and writers (like Donald Judd and Peter Behrens) have discovered it and visit for inspiration. Such artists later brought Marfa artist foundations, writer in residency programs, and really good food.
.jpg)
There are several highly acclaimed restaurants and food carts. We ate at Food Shark, a trendy food cart that boasts dozens of reviews by critics like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Vogue, Southern Living, Food and Wine, Forbes, and NYTimes (twice). The list doesn't stop there, the rest of the reviews are on their website. We loved our marfalafel and tender chicken tacos!
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We shared espresso from Frama (anagram of Marfa - play on words crema, the foam on top of coffee)
.jpg)
We went to a great book store, but since we were there in the morning and not peak season, many of the shops were closed.
.jpg)
Border Patrol hangs out in Marfa, monitoring the area, searching for illegals. Apparently, Marfa is the first place in this region that has water, so it is more efficient to stay there and wait for a thirsty immigrant, than it is to patrol the entire border.
We are glad we went. We recommend going if you're within an hour of it, but don't go out of your way to visit.
From Alamosa we drove 7 hours due south to Las Cruces, NM. We stopped in Santa Fe for lunch.
We've been asked a few times what our least favorite place was on the trip. If Reno and Crestone top the least favorite cities, Santa Fe is near the top of our favorites list. We made reservations at La Boca. We enjoyed tapas (garlic fries, various hummus, and bruschetta with creamy mushrooms and a fried egg) paired with one glass of dry sherry.
We walked Jane around the square and we browsed a few design studios. I really liked this magnetic spice rack and want to see if we can make it before we buy it.
When we were full and happy, we finished our trek to Las Cruces (wishing we could have stayed in Santa Fe longer). Las Cruces is 45 miles from El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Caylan visited a coop there named Mountain View. It really had a beautiful view!
After Caylan's meeting, we purchased a bunch of local road trip food for a giant two-step across Texas. We bought jalapeño beef jerky, fresh tortilla chips and salsa, kombucha, a dog bone (woof!), and pistachios.
We drove to the Hoppy Monk bar in El Paso to re-group, taste the local flair, and plan our Texas trip. We planned to spend our three available days in Marfa, Austin, and Waco. We drove as close as we could, stopping two hours east of El Paso, in Van Horn, TX.
Caylan had to work at the bar and pulled out his computer. I snapped a photo. He reminded me that taking pictures using the flash, of a guy on a computer, in a bar, in Texas, where people are hostile to "smarties," was not wise. Duly noted. After risking my life, I feel compelled to share the lame picture.
The Motel 6 we stayed at in Van Horn asked us if our dog was normal. Yep. Then the attendant said, he had seen just about everything, from chihuahuas, to monkeys, to great danes. Yes sir, just one of them normal dogs. Jane kept a low profile.
We've been asked a few times what our least favorite place was on the trip. If Reno and Crestone top the least favorite cities, Santa Fe is near the top of our favorites list. We made reservations at La Boca. We enjoyed tapas (garlic fries, various hummus, and bruschetta with creamy mushrooms and a fried egg) paired with one glass of dry sherry.
We walked Jane around the square and we browsed a few design studios. I really liked this magnetic spice rack and want to see if we can make it before we buy it.
After Caylan's meeting, we purchased a bunch of local road trip food for a giant two-step across Texas. We bought jalapeño beef jerky, fresh tortilla chips and salsa, kombucha, a dog bone (woof!), and pistachios.
We drove to the Hoppy Monk bar in El Paso to re-group, taste the local flair, and plan our Texas trip. We planned to spend our three available days in Marfa, Austin, and Waco. We drove as close as we could, stopping two hours east of El Paso, in Van Horn, TX.
Caylan had to work at the bar and pulled out his computer. I snapped a photo. He reminded me that taking pictures using the flash, of a guy on a computer, in a bar, in Texas, where people are hostile to "smarties," was not wise. Duly noted. After risking my life, I feel compelled to share the lame picture.
The Motel 6 we stayed at in Van Horn asked us if our dog was normal. Yep. Then the attendant said, he had seen just about everything, from chihuahuas, to monkeys, to great danes. Yes sir, just one of them normal dogs. Jane kept a low profile.
Avoiding Zombies in Crestone
0 Comments Published by Mt. Marcy on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 1:07 PM.
If you don’t know where Crestone, CO is, keep it that way. But if you’re curious, it is tucked under the mountains of the San Isabel National Forest, which is southwest of Colorado Springs.
We drove into town at dusk. Per usual, I walked Jane around town while Caylan met with his client. The town is a spiritual center with numerous Tibetan centers of various denominations and a carmelite monastery.
As we walked, Jane and I observed a very bustling tea shop, with people carrying out crates of dried something (surely they don't drink THAT much tea).
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We popped into the World Famous Freebox. It works this way: donate whatever / take whatever. Jane and I saw a little girl very excited about a broken pencil she found. We did not take or give anything.
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We went by a handmade city park.
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The woman, who was no older than I am, was bent over petting Jane. Then she lifted her head and said through rotted teeth "GOAT MILK" and smiled. Excuse me? "GOAT MILK, give ya' dog some goat milk to cover her ribs." What does goat milk do? "Probiotics, it coats the ribs. That there dog behind me was rescued two weeks ago, and we give 'er goat milk and now her ribs are covered." Thank you, I'll try that. (then I considered saying "TOOTHBRUSH.") Poor Jane, everyone is forever telling her she is so skinny. We always assure them that she eats 6 cups a day and that the vet is very happy with her 100# weight.
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Jane and I wandered back to the natural grocery where Caylan was meeting. Outside was a gas pump with bio-diesel. Inside I found Caylan, who had just completed a therapy session with the owner of the store.
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Before we left, we felt obligated to help the store out. We scoured the empty shelves, looking for items that weren't too old. One item that stuck out in particular was a bottle of $35 water that has been purified and promises to give you vivid dreams. We passed and bought old chocolate. When we got into the car, we looked at each other and said, "leave - before everyone turns into zombies!"
We dodged deer all the way to Alamosa, CO, which was an hour south. When Caylan checked into our hotel, he asked the attendant what the deal was in Crestone. The guy responded that there were a lot of "growers" there (presumably, marijuana). That seemed about right to us.
In Alamosa we ate at the San Louis Valley Brewing Company. We had an awesome hatch chili beer, that "even I liked." This beer smelled as good as it tasted. Caylan bought a few bottles to take home.
The next morning, Jane and I ran and Caylan went to an early morning meeting. The store is expanding and they are interviewing point of sale companies. The meeting went well!
Next stop: Las Cruces, NM.
Laramie is a 7 hour drive north from Moab. We arrived in town around 7:30 pm on Sunday night (11.28.12). When I was in undergrad, my parents lived in Laramie. It was there that my dad and I started rock climbing and mountaineering. Our earliest climbing instructor, Jay, still lives there. Jay is a 59 year old hip carless dude that is really good at asking for rides, and who is an EMT who teaches yoga, CPR, glacier travel, and rock climbing. Jay said he’d love to join us for dinner if we could pick him up. We ate at the Library, a gastropub across from the university.
Our default hotel on this trip is Motel 6 because of their liberal pet policy. Our first Motel 6 experience was awful. It was in Portland. Our non-smoking room was smokey, groups were gathering in nearby rooms, and it was next to a strip club. Ever since that experience we always search for a pet-friendly hotel other than Motel 6. However, we often end up back at Motel 6. That was the case in Laramie, too. The Laramie Motel 6 was pleasant - with their obvious attempt to look like a boutique hotel. For $50/night our room had bamboo flooring, an LED TV, memory foam mattress, a bright orange accent wall, granite counter tops, and a window unit air system - all next to a bustling railroad track. Hilarious!
The next morning we grabbed coffee and walked around town. Caylan met with his client and learned they do not like computers and have neglected to visit a very successful neighboring food coop that is about an hour away. Before leaving town, we stopped at Vedauwoo, which is where I learned to climb. Snow and an uncleared road kept us from getting deep in the park. We were curious what Jane would think of the snow since we had never seen her in the stuff. She was unfazed, maybe even excited about it.
Next, we drove to Fort Collins, CO, which is an hour south of Laramie. Fort Collins is home to New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire) and there are eleven other micro-breweries in town. Unfortunately, we weren’t in Fort Collins very long. Jane and I walked around the Old Town Square while Caylan met with the client and then we jetted down to Crestone, CO - which deserves it’s own post.
On the way to Crestone, we stopped for lunch in Denver (D’Corazon), went to REI to use the restroom (as always), and scooted out of town before traffic could catch us. Zoom!
We woke early Sunday morning (11.28.12) and drove to Arches National Park, which is a few miles outside of Moab. The sun was just rising over the sandstone features. We drove throughout the park, stopping at points of interest. Dogs were not allowed on the trails, so Jane stayed in the car.
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First, we stopped at the aptly named Balancing Rock.
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Then we went to The Windows. We got there at the same time as another person. He was running quickly with lots of equipment. By the time we got close to the feature, we saw why he was running. Twenty or so photographers were there waiting for the sun to rise and peak through nature’s pane. We were careful to not obstruct any of their pictures.
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Look closely (below) to see the photographers.
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The fiery furnace was cool. (It was also the name of one of our sushi rolls from the night before.) Under the furnace were salt hills, which are the remnants from an ancient ocean.
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Delicate Arch is the park’s most famous feature. It is the one pictured on the Utah license plate.
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Like the Grand Canyon, we departed just as the crowds were picking up. We drove into town for breakfast at Eklectica. This restaurant came recommended by locals at the food coop. It was okay.
Before leaving town we went to the local climbing crag, called Big Bend climbing area. The area is scattered with boulders the size of school buses. Bouldering is characterized by scrambling up a giant rock without a rope, as opposed to climbing a rock face or mountain side with a rope. For protection, boulders use a spotter (another person who is there to break your fall and a crash pad, which is a big pillow).We climbed an easy bouldering problem on a boulder called, flat rock. We flashed it, gave each other high-fives, and headed out for Laramie.
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