So it is now 2012. I'm home form the Chicago Express-Greenville Road Warriors hockey game, won by the Road Warriors in overtime on a very controversial power play goal that literally went through the net and out the other side. Feeling a bit lonely tonight, drinking a pint of Hacker Pschorr. Thought I would reminisce by recalling 10 of my most notable moments from the past 12 months, in no particular order.
1) The Jets second straight run to the AFC title game
2) Catherine and trips
3) Meeting Joe Benigno at Wrigley Field
4) Texas Trip
5) WWE Money In the Bank
6) Car Accident
7) Come Thirsty Sunday morning classes end
8) Betrayal by members of Come Thirsty
9) Time with S. Miller
10) California odyssey
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
They Go To San Diego
We wound up arriving at the Argyle steakhouse at the Four Seasons hotel in Carlsbad around 6:30. Some company was having their Christmas party there too, and well, let's just say the walls aren't soundproof. We went with the $99 pre-fixe menu for 2 people and that's the only way I would have eaten at a place this nice. As we sat down, I saw this tiny dish with two powders along with the two tiniest spoons I've ever seen. The two substances were simply salt and pepper. So I could tell right away that this was no ordinary eatery. We started with an included glass of wine each. Then came popovers with a smoky red tomato and roasted pepper and garlic spread. It was amazing. We had a cream of cauliflower soup. For salad, Mom got the iceberg wedge with blue cheese. I got the spinach salad with whole hazelnuts, pears and braised salted bacon. It was hands down the best spinach salad I have ever had. Then again, all I had to do was add bacon!
For entrees, we both had the flat iron steak. Mom had a bleu cheese crust while I had a shallot and red wine sauce. They came with gourmet potato tots (like deep-fried mashed potato) and parmesan jumbo asparagus. They also included a garnish of roasted garlic and roasted tomato. The meat was very tender and the sauce complimented it beautifully. We both ordered sweet potato pound cake with a chantilly whipped cream and we loved it. I wasn't overly comfortable dining in such a fancy restaurant, but I will say Mom picked a fine, fine place. After another 15 minutes of driving, we arrived in Encenitas at David and Jane's place around 8:30. A Stella, some casual conversation, and I was ready for bed!
Day 5 arrived and I awoke early to use the Internet. This thing ran so slow, I think it took 45 minutes to load wfan.com alone. It was just a disaster. Anyway, we left at 10:15 and I had already been awake for three hours. We first went to La Jolla, a bougie coastal town and had breakfast at a place called Brockton Villa for some Coast Toast. Basically, this is like a thicker cut of French toast combined with an orange souffle. With a little bit of their berry preserve spread, it was really good. I would probably return for it, I don't know if it's worth $12 though. And I had a side of thick cut bacon too...There was a guy sitting next to us with his wife. Mom mentioned how nice his hair was, how texturized it was, whatever that term means. But his laugh was so loud and so over the top, people at two tables moved inside just to get away from him. After the guy left, Mom and Jane mentioned to the cute girl server about him. She said "Oh, that's my boyfriend's father." Unreal.
Anyway, right across the street from the BV is a small park and a beach with a ton of large rocks. And the rocks were absolutely overrun by loads of pigeons and seals. I also spotted a stray pelican or two. Throw in 65 degrees and that I was wearing shorts in December, it was a pretty radical departure from life in the Midwest. We then drove south into the Beach towns: Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. PB has a pretty good nightlife reputation and even a bar with every Chicago sports team's flag flying outside of it. MB, directly south, is a smaller, quieter town while OB is all about surfers and used to be a hippie neighborhood. It's a little more of an off-beat, funky spot now. I wanted to get to Hodad's for a bacon cheeseburger, but...the line was out the door, it would have been so good!
Anyway, we went onto Del Mar, a very affluent beach town before visiting Torrey Pines, first the famous golf course of the name. The South course has hosted the U.S. Open tournament, has an annual tournament every January, and is also the spot Scott Peterson was arrested for killing Laci. Anyway, I brought an orange Greg Norman golf shirt, 45 bucks or so. Just for laughs, I checked the green fees of the South course. For San Diego residents, it costs $61. Not too bad. For non-residents, $183. I was hoping that number was pesos. I mean, it costs three times as much? Crazy, crazy. And then we went to the TP state park and hiked the trails up and downhill for almost three hours before reaching the bottom, leading two walking the beach for a half hour to get back to the car. And we got to the end of the beach just as the sun was setting.
We were all pretty spent, so we drove into Del Mar for happy hour at the Brigantine. I had mentioned I wanted to try some fish tacos, and did I ever. They come in a corn tortilla with fried fish filets, cheddar cheese, ranch, pico de gallo, and cabbage. I squeezed on a little fresh lime and hot sauce and wow! The fish was crispy, the veggies tasted fresh. The combo of ingredients sounds strange, but they marry togetyher just beautifully. A typical order of two costs $9.50; each one at happy hour cost just $2.75. Before it was all over, I wolfed down four and washed them down with a pair of Coronas. Thanks to Dave for picking up the check. I also met Zach (Dave's grandson) and Lauren, his GF.
We went back to the house and put up some lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree. A woman named Anne, who I guess works for American Airlines in San Diego, came over and she and I almost duked it out when she started talking about how great Tom Brady was, althought she could not remember his name. What a shock. By this time, I was half asleep anyway, so I just said a subtle good night and headed into bed.
Day 6, my final full day, Christmas Eve Eve. It was about one place all day long and that was the San Diego Zoo inside Balboa Park. With my height issues, I still wasn't totally comfortable taking the Sky tram to the other side of the park, let alone paying $4 to board it! But we did it anyway and headed straigtht to the Happy Feet 4D theater. polar bears pandas elephants orangutans zebras sloth bear tigers giraffe rhino Lunch turned into an absurd adventure. stuffed polar bear and a mouse pad with maybe 11 animals on it.
We left around 3:30 pm and had about 4+ hours to kill before going to Croce's Jazz Bar in the Gaslamp district. We checked out Seaport Village for some window shopping and cupcakes. We drove up India Street, just north of downtown and west of Balboa Park That six or so block stretch is Little Italy. We somehow found a place to park and walked down the street looking for a place. I had read about this place that blended Brazilian steaks and an Italian steakhouse. I think they should just name the place Heaven’s Restaurant. A bit more than we wanted to spend, so we kept going. Eventually, we found a place and I can’t remember the name. We wound up having a few salads (my second spinach salad inside of a week). I liked that on the menu it advertised that the pizzas were made with bottled water and semolina flour. So we took the bait and split a very nice 12-inch pie, made with prosciutto, artichokes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
From there, we spent 20 minutes driving around the jammed Gaslamp District searching in vain for a parking spot. I wound up swallowing the figurative shoe polish and paying $10 for a spot in a garage. So we walked about three blocks and arrived at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar around 7:45. We found two open seats at the bar and was very happy to hear Jim Croce music playing. The restaurant is rather smaller than I expected, but it does have some nice memorabilia. So I walked around for a few minutes and observed some of the rare photos of the late great singer-songwriter and his family.
Since Croce's menu is very fancy and expensive, I just ordered dessert and picked the apple tart with butter pecan ice cream and caramel corn. I had never seen a combo like this. It was an acquired taste, but it made sense. The saltiness and crunch of the corn complemented the sweetness of the ice cream and caramel quite nicely. For $8.00, I don’t think I would order it again though. I saw Jim's widow Ingrid very briefly before she disappeared for the night. Although she walked right by me, sadly, I didn't get to meet her.
A blues band played that evening, a four-piece band and a vocalist. It was pretty cool, and I have to point one thing out and it’s awkward. The vocalist was a black woman, around maybe 60. Her chest was so largely out of proportion to her the rest of her body, that I couldn’t even bear to look at her. We were both pretty worn out, so we called it a night pretty early. There was one pleasant surprise though. When we got our bill, we did not see the $10 per person for the cover charge. So we took off for Encenitas around 9:15; we had been out for maybe 13 hours by that point.
And so then there was Christmas Eve. Day 7. It was about the Jets versus the Giants and what a freaking disaster. We left early in the morning following another unsuccessful attempt to use the internet. I got to the Gaslamp District around 9:20 in the morning. There were a few people walking around town, but it was closer to empty. Mom and Jane went off to Coronado for sightseeing and some shopping. After taking a few pictures of Croce’s and some other sights, I walked south on 5th Avenue to Henry’s. As I opened the door to enter, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were Jets banners hanging from the ceiling, inflatable Jets dolls, and about 30 Jets fans already there. I think we wound up getting to around 100 people by game time. They even had a special menu for Jets fans. Went with a $5.00 breakfast sandwich and I have to say it felt very strange eating breakfast with football about to start.
I met a few interesting people. Rob, the organizer of the group, is a loud fun-loving Hispanic guy and was very welcoming. A little overly optimistic, but that’s ok. Sergio is the photographer and he looks just like Rex Ryan and he actually dresses like Rex for the games. I’m not saying that’s a good look to be sharing, but that’s the way it is. Todd was the first guy I talked to, pretty big guy, very nice. Colin was a little younger than me, I sat at his table most of the day. Brittney and Melissa are both gorgeous, they came across as legit So Cal socialites and they sat at our table too. Britt actually took off during the second quarter and went shopping, never to be seen again. I think I annoyed Melissa since I stated my dislike for mayonnaise. Well, whatever, it wasn’t the first time. I must say I found Michelle very attractive. She lives in Oceanside and is a Jets fan despite living in California her whole life.
The less said about the game, the better. Just one of the worst regular season losses I have ever seen. The Jets absolutely gave that game away. And to see the cocky Giants fans bragging on the internet…it was just disgusting.
So when it was time to leave, I turned on my Ipod and played some classic Benigno rants. I just walked a few blocks west to Nordstrom’s in a complete stupor. I may have let out a couple of loud groans and yells in the middle of downtown San Diego. I came across three Jets fans I saw at the bar, including a girl named Jen and we hugged. It took Mom and Jane about 15 minutes to find the car. When we stopped at some café for lunch, I passed. They had French Onion soup and split some kind of funky salad with chicken, apples, and some other California-esque ingredients. I did wind up eating some leftover French bread, but whatever.
We got back around 5:00 and I drank a couple of Stellas, I think I had five in three days. And so it was time to go. Around 5:20, we took off north up I-5 for LAX. The 2-hour commute went pretty smooth, we just hit a touch of traffic in Orange County. We got in really early, around maybe 7:00 for an 11:20 flight. With the extra time, we split some chicken nachos at On the Border. And when you run out of beverage for 10 minutes at a Mexican joint, that’s a problem with the staff. Getting the flight turned out to be a very close call, we really didn’t know if we’d make it. If we missed, we would have to wait over six hours for the next one. Thankfully, we got the last two seats on the plane. Since I and everyone else with any common sense was sleeping, the 30 straight minutes of turbulence was not a welcome part of the trip. But we got through it, and landed around 5:15 in Chicago on Christmas morning.
We got home around 7:15 and I unpacked while Mom napped. We managed our way up to Willow Creek Church for the Hybels family service at 10 pm and I’m glad we did because it would have been a shame to not at attend church during all of Christmas weekend. But we went, really enjoyed the service, arrived home for the second time at noon, and collapsed.
For entrees, we both had the flat iron steak. Mom had a bleu cheese crust while I had a shallot and red wine sauce. They came with gourmet potato tots (like deep-fried mashed potato) and parmesan jumbo asparagus. They also included a garnish of roasted garlic and roasted tomato. The meat was very tender and the sauce complimented it beautifully. We both ordered sweet potato pound cake with a chantilly whipped cream and we loved it. I wasn't overly comfortable dining in such a fancy restaurant, but I will say Mom picked a fine, fine place. After another 15 minutes of driving, we arrived in Encenitas at David and Jane's place around 8:30. A Stella, some casual conversation, and I was ready for bed!
Day 5 arrived and I awoke early to use the Internet. This thing ran so slow, I think it took 45 minutes to load wfan.com alone. It was just a disaster. Anyway, we left at 10:15 and I had already been awake for three hours. We first went to La Jolla, a bougie coastal town and had breakfast at a place called Brockton Villa for some Coast Toast. Basically, this is like a thicker cut of French toast combined with an orange souffle. With a little bit of their berry preserve spread, it was really good. I would probably return for it, I don't know if it's worth $12 though. And I had a side of thick cut bacon too...There was a guy sitting next to us with his wife. Mom mentioned how nice his hair was, how texturized it was, whatever that term means. But his laugh was so loud and so over the top, people at two tables moved inside just to get away from him. After the guy left, Mom and Jane mentioned to the cute girl server about him. She said "Oh, that's my boyfriend's father." Unreal.
Anyway, right across the street from the BV is a small park and a beach with a ton of large rocks. And the rocks were absolutely overrun by loads of pigeons and seals. I also spotted a stray pelican or two. Throw in 65 degrees and that I was wearing shorts in December, it was a pretty radical departure from life in the Midwest. We then drove south into the Beach towns: Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. PB has a pretty good nightlife reputation and even a bar with every Chicago sports team's flag flying outside of it. MB, directly south, is a smaller, quieter town while OB is all about surfers and used to be a hippie neighborhood. It's a little more of an off-beat, funky spot now. I wanted to get to Hodad's for a bacon cheeseburger, but...the line was out the door, it would have been so good!
Anyway, we went onto Del Mar, a very affluent beach town before visiting Torrey Pines, first the famous golf course of the name. The South course has hosted the U.S. Open tournament, has an annual tournament every January, and is also the spot Scott Peterson was arrested for killing Laci. Anyway, I brought an orange Greg Norman golf shirt, 45 bucks or so. Just for laughs, I checked the green fees of the South course. For San Diego residents, it costs $61. Not too bad. For non-residents, $183. I was hoping that number was pesos. I mean, it costs three times as much? Crazy, crazy. And then we went to the TP state park and hiked the trails up and downhill for almost three hours before reaching the bottom, leading two walking the beach for a half hour to get back to the car. And we got to the end of the beach just as the sun was setting.
We were all pretty spent, so we drove into Del Mar for happy hour at the Brigantine. I had mentioned I wanted to try some fish tacos, and did I ever. They come in a corn tortilla with fried fish filets, cheddar cheese, ranch, pico de gallo, and cabbage. I squeezed on a little fresh lime and hot sauce and wow! The fish was crispy, the veggies tasted fresh. The combo of ingredients sounds strange, but they marry togetyher just beautifully. A typical order of two costs $9.50; each one at happy hour cost just $2.75. Before it was all over, I wolfed down four and washed them down with a pair of Coronas. Thanks to Dave for picking up the check. I also met Zach (Dave's grandson) and Lauren, his GF.
We went back to the house and put up some lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree. A woman named Anne, who I guess works for American Airlines in San Diego, came over and she and I almost duked it out when she started talking about how great Tom Brady was, althought she could not remember his name. What a shock. By this time, I was half asleep anyway, so I just said a subtle good night and headed into bed.
Day 6, my final full day, Christmas Eve Eve. It was about one place all day long and that was the San Diego Zoo inside Balboa Park. With my height issues, I still wasn't totally comfortable taking the Sky tram to the other side of the park, let alone paying $4 to board it! But we did it anyway and headed straigtht to the Happy Feet 4D theater. polar bears pandas elephants orangutans zebras sloth bear tigers giraffe rhino Lunch turned into an absurd adventure. stuffed polar bear and a mouse pad with maybe 11 animals on it.
We left around 3:30 pm and had about 4+ hours to kill before going to Croce's Jazz Bar in the Gaslamp district. We checked out Seaport Village for some window shopping and cupcakes. We drove up India Street, just north of downtown and west of Balboa Park That six or so block stretch is Little Italy. We somehow found a place to park and walked down the street looking for a place. I had read about this place that blended Brazilian steaks and an Italian steakhouse. I think they should just name the place Heaven’s Restaurant. A bit more than we wanted to spend, so we kept going. Eventually, we found a place and I can’t remember the name. We wound up having a few salads (my second spinach salad inside of a week). I liked that on the menu it advertised that the pizzas were made with bottled water and semolina flour. So we took the bait and split a very nice 12-inch pie, made with prosciutto, artichokes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
From there, we spent 20 minutes driving around the jammed Gaslamp District searching in vain for a parking spot. I wound up swallowing the figurative shoe polish and paying $10 for a spot in a garage. So we walked about three blocks and arrived at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar around 7:45. We found two open seats at the bar and was very happy to hear Jim Croce music playing. The restaurant is rather smaller than I expected, but it does have some nice memorabilia. So I walked around for a few minutes and observed some of the rare photos of the late great singer-songwriter and his family.
Since Croce's menu is very fancy and expensive, I just ordered dessert and picked the apple tart with butter pecan ice cream and caramel corn. I had never seen a combo like this. It was an acquired taste, but it made sense. The saltiness and crunch of the corn complemented the sweetness of the ice cream and caramel quite nicely. For $8.00, I don’t think I would order it again though. I saw Jim's widow Ingrid very briefly before she disappeared for the night. Although she walked right by me, sadly, I didn't get to meet her.
A blues band played that evening, a four-piece band and a vocalist. It was pretty cool, and I have to point one thing out and it’s awkward. The vocalist was a black woman, around maybe 60. Her chest was so largely out of proportion to her the rest of her body, that I couldn’t even bear to look at her. We were both pretty worn out, so we called it a night pretty early. There was one pleasant surprise though. When we got our bill, we did not see the $10 per person for the cover charge. So we took off for Encenitas around 9:15; we had been out for maybe 13 hours by that point.
And so then there was Christmas Eve. Day 7. It was about the Jets versus the Giants and what a freaking disaster. We left early in the morning following another unsuccessful attempt to use the internet. I got to the Gaslamp District around 9:20 in the morning. There were a few people walking around town, but it was closer to empty. Mom and Jane went off to Coronado for sightseeing and some shopping. After taking a few pictures of Croce’s and some other sights, I walked south on 5th Avenue to Henry’s. As I opened the door to enter, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were Jets banners hanging from the ceiling, inflatable Jets dolls, and about 30 Jets fans already there. I think we wound up getting to around 100 people by game time. They even had a special menu for Jets fans. Went with a $5.00 breakfast sandwich and I have to say it felt very strange eating breakfast with football about to start.
I met a few interesting people. Rob, the organizer of the group, is a loud fun-loving Hispanic guy and was very welcoming. A little overly optimistic, but that’s ok. Sergio is the photographer and he looks just like Rex Ryan and he actually dresses like Rex for the games. I’m not saying that’s a good look to be sharing, but that’s the way it is. Todd was the first guy I talked to, pretty big guy, very nice. Colin was a little younger than me, I sat at his table most of the day. Brittney and Melissa are both gorgeous, they came across as legit So Cal socialites and they sat at our table too. Britt actually took off during the second quarter and went shopping, never to be seen again. I think I annoyed Melissa since I stated my dislike for mayonnaise. Well, whatever, it wasn’t the first time. I must say I found Michelle very attractive. She lives in Oceanside and is a Jets fan despite living in California her whole life.
The less said about the game, the better. Just one of the worst regular season losses I have ever seen. The Jets absolutely gave that game away. And to see the cocky Giants fans bragging on the internet…it was just disgusting.
So when it was time to leave, I turned on my Ipod and played some classic Benigno rants. I just walked a few blocks west to Nordstrom’s in a complete stupor. I may have let out a couple of loud groans and yells in the middle of downtown San Diego. I came across three Jets fans I saw at the bar, including a girl named Jen and we hugged. It took Mom and Jane about 15 minutes to find the car. When we stopped at some café for lunch, I passed. They had French Onion soup and split some kind of funky salad with chicken, apples, and some other California-esque ingredients. I did wind up eating some leftover French bread, but whatever.
We got back around 5:00 and I drank a couple of Stellas, I think I had five in three days. And so it was time to go. Around 5:20, we took off north up I-5 for LAX. The 2-hour commute went pretty smooth, we just hit a touch of traffic in Orange County. We got in really early, around maybe 7:00 for an 11:20 flight. With the extra time, we split some chicken nachos at On the Border. And when you run out of beverage for 10 minutes at a Mexican joint, that’s a problem with the staff. Getting the flight turned out to be a very close call, we really didn’t know if we’d make it. If we missed, we would have to wait over six hours for the next one. Thankfully, we got the last two seats on the plane. Since I and everyone else with any common sense was sleeping, the 30 straight minutes of turbulence was not a welcome part of the trip. But we got through it, and landed around 5:15 in Chicago on Christmas morning.
We got home around 7:15 and I unpacked while Mom napped. We managed our way up to Willow Creek Church for the Hybels family service at 10 pm and I’m glad we did because it would have been a shame to not at attend church during all of Christmas weekend. But we went, really enjoyed the service, arrived home for the second time at noon, and collapsed.
LA Invasion
So following four hours of sleep on Saturday night, we took the four-hour 6:40 flight from O'Hare to LAX. Outside, the temperature must have been around 60 degrees, but it may as well have been 85. Mom picked up our navy blue Nissan Sentra from Fox Rental Cars and there's no doubt we put a few hundred miles on that puppy, maybe close to a thousand.
Marina Del Rey is two neighborhoods north of LAX and I was very surprised how crammed the neighborhood was. I had visions of a quiet town, very touristy, almost like the eastern end of Long Island. It turned out to be filled with strip malls, a lot of traffic, and construction of condos right next door to the Courtyard we were staying at. We got Room 460, the last remaining room. After setting our room up, we decided to head north up to the mountains. The first stop was Brent's Deli in Northridge, a real Jewish deli. The French dip was decent enough, not great. They had great crisp, fresh pickles and I always like a good Dr. Brown's root beer. But I had a #3-corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, Russian dressing, and deli mustard on double-baked rye bread. Excellent sandwich.
We then headed north to Simi Valley to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The drive off RR Blvd to the museum includes flags of every President, which is cool. Lots of audio and video exhibits, some old artifacts from his birthplace, Dixon, IL, a town I know well. I wouldn't call the place a must-see, I would call it good. The highlight was probably the opportunity to step on board a real Air Force One that Reagan flew on for years. We also visited his crypt, located in the Central Garden. And considering how the Republican debates are going and the inadequacy of our current President, I wish we had someone like him leading our country now.
We took a long drive west down the Ventura Highway (And I played the America song of the same name). We got somewhat lost, but found our way to the PCH eventually. The highlight was visiting Malibu during sunset. The mountains just seem to drop revealing houses and a beach road and then the Pacific Ocean. We had dinner at the Reel Inn and had some amazing seafood dinner. I had grilled Cajun snapper, rice, steamed veggies, salad, and a drink, and it only cost me about $16. Mom went with the Cajun orange roughy. And we had a view where we could scope out the PCH and the ocean as the sun set. Just a tremendous restaurant. Thank you Man vs Food Nation. We headed back into MDR through Santa Monica and Venice before shutting down for the night early. I really think I fell asleep by 9:30 at night.
Day 2 was all about Los Angeles. After a solid workout, we began driving northeast into Beverly Hills. We walked through the infamous Beverly Hills Hotel, the site of the cover for the Eagles famous Hotel California album. Of course, I wore my Hotel California t-shirt and it certainly got some laughs from the hotel staff. We then drove down Hollywood Boulevard through the Sunset Strip and past the Troubadour, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and other famous clubs. We arrived in downtown and saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and plenty of celebrity impersonators. We probably would have gotten out and explored, had my camera not died. So we headed west two blocks to LaBrea Avenue for Pink's hot dogs. We got three: the Today Show dog (2 hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese & guacamole), the Mullholland Drive dog (10 inch stretch dog, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese & bacon), and I got the Philly dog (dog with Philly steak, American and Swiss cheese, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms). The Today show tasted okay, but the chili and guac combo is just weird to get used to. The Philly was just tremendous. Drank a cream soda for the first time in maybe 20 years! The fries were okay, nothing special. I would certainly return.
We then headed over to the Hollywood Bowl and managed to sneak our way inside and I took some photos. What's so cool is there are no elevators, it's just concrete, stairs, and ramps. I think we spent the next three hours navigating the tight curves and bends around the plush houses in the Hollywood Hills, trying to grasp a decent view of the Hollywood sign. We tried to find Griffith Park, a huge public park in north LA, because I heard that was a good place to see the sign and they also had a great observatory of the city. We had no such luck getting anywhere near there. So I just called it off and asked Mom to drive to Dodger Stadium, that took maybe 10 minutes. I did notice how close together so many great tourist attractions are to each other in LA. For being such a huge city, it really isn't too hard to navigate if you know where you're going. Unless of course you're driving north on the 405, which completely blows regardless of time or day.
We then began heading west and stopped in Hollywood again, this time to check out the Farmer's Market, which was mobbed. The food was set up just like an expanded Quincy Market. There wasn't a type of cuisine that wasn't featured, there were booths for Brazilian, New Orleans, hot sauces, BBQ, sushi, etc. Wound up getting some ice cream just to validate the $1 parking. Peppermint for mom, pumpkin for me. We walked past the market into the outdoor shopping area that featured a Jamaican band and Santa's Village for the novelty feel. The mall itself had A&F, Nordstrom, an 18-cinema theater, Barnes & Noble, etc. And I must admit it was a great opportunity to look at some beautiful ladies.
We really wanted to avoid the freeways back to MDR, so we took a ton of sideroads through neighborhoods we probably should have avoided. There was one stoned jackoff who ran right in front of our car trying to make us stop. I screamed and of course Mom shut right down on me for a few hours. But we did at least drive through Washington St in MDR all the way down to the beach. We wound up eating at Island's, which is a tropical themed burger place. Happy hour let me sip a 22-ounce golden ale for just 3 bucks! We wound up eating some sliders and I was happy my plate included over a dozen pickle chips and I didn't even need to ask for them. We also got a basket of fries for two bucks and my God, there must have been three potatoes worth. We may have finished half the fries between us and they were cooked exactly how a french fry should be. Skin-on, just a little seasoning, and crispy and tender at the same time.
We headed back to the room around 6 and Mom said she was just going to lay down and nap. I knew what that meant. She was about to sleep for at least three hours. We did think of catching a movie at the cinema right across the street, but I knew that wasn't happening, at least not that evening. I headed over by myself, but $11 for a ticket seemed a bit much, especially after buying lunch and gasoline. So instead, I went over to Barnes and Noble and finished reading the Andre the Giant biography till about 9:30.
Day 3 (Tuesday) started with a trip to the Getty Museum, tucked high in the hills of L.A. Mom really wanted to check this place out, so who was I to object? I learned when a museum doesn't charge admission, the first thing to do is check the parking price. Fifteen bucks. anyway, this is a art museum that displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The unique designs of Richard Meier's architecture also make the Getty one of the more unique structures I've seen in a long time. I liked walking around the Cactus Garden as well as the spiral-shaped Center Garden.
For specific art work, a few pieces stuck out to me in particular. Jan Brueghel's Sermon on the Mount was so intricate and detailed. Aert van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape uses few colors, but the shading is great. And I like the fiery orange in the nighttime too. Vinent Van Gogh's Irises is one of the most popular works in the entire museum. The colors are very vivid and it's remarkable how Van Gogh weaves and layers each flower.
We spent about five hours at the museum, leaving around 3 pm. We drove down to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; I heard it was a nice historic site with a lot of Mexican heritage. We walked through a street fair where every vendor seemed to either sell blankets, shirts, miniature guitars, or lucha libre masks. Lunch was a pair of burritos from a street vendor, and they really weren't that good. Even the sodas didn't taste good! After that, we walked over to the historic Union Street train station, which is renowned for its blend of architecture styles and that it has been around since 1926.
After debating a few ideas on where to go, we finally took one more shot at Griffith Park. After a few minutes of driving uphill and past the Greek Theater, we did find the observatory, although Mom had no desire to walk to it since we would have had to park at least a half mile away. So I just got out and snapped a few quick shots of the valley and the observatory itself. We drove back to MDR to C&O, an Italian joint. I loved the decor immediately, with a ton of Rat Pack memorabilia and their music playing on the jukebox. Great garlic knots too! Mom and I did see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. While the storyline intrigued me, I found the film rather raw and graphic. I understood it I guess, but I have never disliked a hero or heroine in a film more than Rooney Mara's character.
Day 4 was our transition day, and as it turned out, one of the most grueling on us physically and on our Sentra as well. I certainly would have liked to spend a full day at the beach playing volleyball, but the temperature never even exceeded 65 degrees. Anyway, we checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Santa Monica Pier and spent a good hour there. I remember thinking that it reminded me of Coney Island with the style of shops, the street musicians, the Ferris Wheel, and shops, and then I realized the guy who designed the Pier actually came from Coney Island. About all it needs now is a Subway station and a minor leagues baseball team. I purchased a beaded necklace, my first souvenir. It was cool walking to the end of the pier looking out at the water while listening to the smooth piano of the live musician. Very relaxing indeed. As I walked back, I did see three or four people practicing volleyball and I was in my jeans, so it bummed me out that I couldn't play. And the other thing was the walking surface by the basketball courts. It looked like a composite court, except the ground gave way beneath me. It was sort of bouncing up and down. I don't know what the surface is called, but it's a pretty neat invention.
We drove north a half hour to Burbank and toured NBC Studios from noon till about 1:15. This was where they film the Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Days of Our Lives, etc. With it being Christmas week, there wasn't a whole lot of action going on in the lot. I got to visit the set of the Tonight Show, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos. After 20 minutes of driving east, we found ourselves in Pasadena. We had lunch at Stonefire Grill, I had a few other places in mind, but I guess I had to respect Mom's wishes to eat healthy. Against my will, granted. Anyway, I had a lunch combo of BBQ tri-tip and lemon garlic chicken with a salad and breadstick with a drink for 9 bucks. It was a steal. Almost no carbs, juicy meat, and no tip to pay. And the kitchen staff seriously threw big chunks of raw garlic on the chicken, so even I had to go easy on eating garlic!
Our plan was to travel the entire PCH from LAX all the way to Carlsbad, where we had a 7 pm dinner reservation. But Mom became infuriated that we traveled northeast when we were heading south later. I just didn't realize time was an issue for her, I thought 5 hours would more than suffice. Well, after some arguments, I got us back to the PCH, unfortunately none of it became picturesque until we hit Long Beach, so that was kind of a wasted hour all in all. Although it would have been nice to stop and spend time in Redondo Beach or maybe Manhattan Beach. One town that stuck out was Huntington Beach, it is just gorgeous.
Marina Del Rey is two neighborhoods north of LAX and I was very surprised how crammed the neighborhood was. I had visions of a quiet town, very touristy, almost like the eastern end of Long Island. It turned out to be filled with strip malls, a lot of traffic, and construction of condos right next door to the Courtyard we were staying at. We got Room 460, the last remaining room. After setting our room up, we decided to head north up to the mountains. The first stop was Brent's Deli in Northridge, a real Jewish deli. The French dip was decent enough, not great. They had great crisp, fresh pickles and I always like a good Dr. Brown's root beer. But I had a #3-corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, Russian dressing, and deli mustard on double-baked rye bread. Excellent sandwich.
We then headed north to Simi Valley to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The drive off RR Blvd to the museum includes flags of every President, which is cool. Lots of audio and video exhibits, some old artifacts from his birthplace, Dixon, IL, a town I know well. I wouldn't call the place a must-see, I would call it good. The highlight was probably the opportunity to step on board a real Air Force One that Reagan flew on for years. We also visited his crypt, located in the Central Garden. And considering how the Republican debates are going and the inadequacy of our current President, I wish we had someone like him leading our country now.
We took a long drive west down the Ventura Highway (And I played the America song of the same name). We got somewhat lost, but found our way to the PCH eventually. The highlight was visiting Malibu during sunset. The mountains just seem to drop revealing houses and a beach road and then the Pacific Ocean. We had dinner at the Reel Inn and had some amazing seafood dinner. I had grilled Cajun snapper, rice, steamed veggies, salad, and a drink, and it only cost me about $16. Mom went with the Cajun orange roughy. And we had a view where we could scope out the PCH and the ocean as the sun set. Just a tremendous restaurant. Thank you Man vs Food Nation. We headed back into MDR through Santa Monica and Venice before shutting down for the night early. I really think I fell asleep by 9:30 at night.
Day 2 was all about Los Angeles. After a solid workout, we began driving northeast into Beverly Hills. We walked through the infamous Beverly Hills Hotel, the site of the cover for the Eagles famous Hotel California album. Of course, I wore my Hotel California t-shirt and it certainly got some laughs from the hotel staff. We then drove down Hollywood Boulevard through the Sunset Strip and past the Troubadour, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and other famous clubs. We arrived in downtown and saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and plenty of celebrity impersonators. We probably would have gotten out and explored, had my camera not died. So we headed west two blocks to LaBrea Avenue for Pink's hot dogs. We got three: the Today Show dog (2 hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese & guacamole), the Mullholland Drive dog (10 inch stretch dog, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese & bacon), and I got the Philly dog (dog with Philly steak, American and Swiss cheese, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms). The Today show tasted okay, but the chili and guac combo is just weird to get used to. The Philly was just tremendous. Drank a cream soda for the first time in maybe 20 years! The fries were okay, nothing special. I would certainly return.
We then headed over to the Hollywood Bowl and managed to sneak our way inside and I took some photos. What's so cool is there are no elevators, it's just concrete, stairs, and ramps. I think we spent the next three hours navigating the tight curves and bends around the plush houses in the Hollywood Hills, trying to grasp a decent view of the Hollywood sign. We tried to find Griffith Park, a huge public park in north LA, because I heard that was a good place to see the sign and they also had a great observatory of the city. We had no such luck getting anywhere near there. So I just called it off and asked Mom to drive to Dodger Stadium, that took maybe 10 minutes. I did notice how close together so many great tourist attractions are to each other in LA. For being such a huge city, it really isn't too hard to navigate if you know where you're going. Unless of course you're driving north on the 405, which completely blows regardless of time or day.
We then began heading west and stopped in Hollywood again, this time to check out the Farmer's Market, which was mobbed. The food was set up just like an expanded Quincy Market. There wasn't a type of cuisine that wasn't featured, there were booths for Brazilian, New Orleans, hot sauces, BBQ, sushi, etc. Wound up getting some ice cream just to validate the $1 parking. Peppermint for mom, pumpkin for me. We walked past the market into the outdoor shopping area that featured a Jamaican band and Santa's Village for the novelty feel. The mall itself had A&F, Nordstrom, an 18-cinema theater, Barnes & Noble, etc. And I must admit it was a great opportunity to look at some beautiful ladies.
We really wanted to avoid the freeways back to MDR, so we took a ton of sideroads through neighborhoods we probably should have avoided. There was one stoned jackoff who ran right in front of our car trying to make us stop. I screamed and of course Mom shut right down on me for a few hours. But we did at least drive through Washington St in MDR all the way down to the beach. We wound up eating at Island's, which is a tropical themed burger place. Happy hour let me sip a 22-ounce golden ale for just 3 bucks! We wound up eating some sliders and I was happy my plate included over a dozen pickle chips and I didn't even need to ask for them. We also got a basket of fries for two bucks and my God, there must have been three potatoes worth. We may have finished half the fries between us and they were cooked exactly how a french fry should be. Skin-on, just a little seasoning, and crispy and tender at the same time.
We headed back to the room around 6 and Mom said she was just going to lay down and nap. I knew what that meant. She was about to sleep for at least three hours. We did think of catching a movie at the cinema right across the street, but I knew that wasn't happening, at least not that evening. I headed over by myself, but $11 for a ticket seemed a bit much, especially after buying lunch and gasoline. So instead, I went over to Barnes and Noble and finished reading the Andre the Giant biography till about 9:30.
Day 3 (Tuesday) started with a trip to the Getty Museum, tucked high in the hills of L.A. Mom really wanted to check this place out, so who was I to object? I learned when a museum doesn't charge admission, the first thing to do is check the parking price. Fifteen bucks. anyway, this is a art museum that displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The unique designs of Richard Meier's architecture also make the Getty one of the more unique structures I've seen in a long time. I liked walking around the Cactus Garden as well as the spiral-shaped Center Garden.
For specific art work, a few pieces stuck out to me in particular. Jan Brueghel's Sermon on the Mount was so intricate and detailed. Aert van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape uses few colors, but the shading is great. And I like the fiery orange in the nighttime too. Vinent Van Gogh's Irises is one of the most popular works in the entire museum. The colors are very vivid and it's remarkable how Van Gogh weaves and layers each flower.
We spent about five hours at the museum, leaving around 3 pm. We drove down to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; I heard it was a nice historic site with a lot of Mexican heritage. We walked through a street fair where every vendor seemed to either sell blankets, shirts, miniature guitars, or lucha libre masks. Lunch was a pair of burritos from a street vendor, and they really weren't that good. Even the sodas didn't taste good! After that, we walked over to the historic Union Street train station, which is renowned for its blend of architecture styles and that it has been around since 1926.
After debating a few ideas on where to go, we finally took one more shot at Griffith Park. After a few minutes of driving uphill and past the Greek Theater, we did find the observatory, although Mom had no desire to walk to it since we would have had to park at least a half mile away. So I just got out and snapped a few quick shots of the valley and the observatory itself. We drove back to MDR to C&O, an Italian joint. I loved the decor immediately, with a ton of Rat Pack memorabilia and their music playing on the jukebox. Great garlic knots too! Mom and I did see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. While the storyline intrigued me, I found the film rather raw and graphic. I understood it I guess, but I have never disliked a hero or heroine in a film more than Rooney Mara's character.
Day 4 was our transition day, and as it turned out, one of the most grueling on us physically and on our Sentra as well. I certainly would have liked to spend a full day at the beach playing volleyball, but the temperature never even exceeded 65 degrees. Anyway, we checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Santa Monica Pier and spent a good hour there. I remember thinking that it reminded me of Coney Island with the style of shops, the street musicians, the Ferris Wheel, and shops, and then I realized the guy who designed the Pier actually came from Coney Island. About all it needs now is a Subway station and a minor leagues baseball team. I purchased a beaded necklace, my first souvenir. It was cool walking to the end of the pier looking out at the water while listening to the smooth piano of the live musician. Very relaxing indeed. As I walked back, I did see three or four people practicing volleyball and I was in my jeans, so it bummed me out that I couldn't play. And the other thing was the walking surface by the basketball courts. It looked like a composite court, except the ground gave way beneath me. It was sort of bouncing up and down. I don't know what the surface is called, but it's a pretty neat invention.
We drove north a half hour to Burbank and toured NBC Studios from noon till about 1:15. This was where they film the Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Days of Our Lives, etc. With it being Christmas week, there wasn't a whole lot of action going on in the lot. I got to visit the set of the Tonight Show, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos. After 20 minutes of driving east, we found ourselves in Pasadena. We had lunch at Stonefire Grill, I had a few other places in mind, but I guess I had to respect Mom's wishes to eat healthy. Against my will, granted. Anyway, I had a lunch combo of BBQ tri-tip and lemon garlic chicken with a salad and breadstick with a drink for 9 bucks. It was a steal. Almost no carbs, juicy meat, and no tip to pay. And the kitchen staff seriously threw big chunks of raw garlic on the chicken, so even I had to go easy on eating garlic!
Our plan was to travel the entire PCH from LAX all the way to Carlsbad, where we had a 7 pm dinner reservation. But Mom became infuriated that we traveled northeast when we were heading south later. I just didn't realize time was an issue for her, I thought 5 hours would more than suffice. Well, after some arguments, I got us back to the PCH, unfortunately none of it became picturesque until we hit Long Beach, so that was kind of a wasted hour all in all. Although it would have been nice to stop and spend time in Redondo Beach or maybe Manhattan Beach. One town that stuck out was Huntington Beach, it is just gorgeous.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Atlanta Blue-Day 2
The alarm woke me up at 7 and I right headed down to the second floor for a workout. It wasn't near the best I've ever experienced; it's really hard to get a good strength workout at a hotel that isn't spectacular. One cable cross machine with no bench. And an elliptical that didn't even have moving arms.
From there, I walked outside, heading west towards the touristy area of downtown. I checked out the Omni Hotel and CNN Tower. Just west of that was the Philips Arena, at the site of the old Omni. Behind the Arena, I could see the Georgia Dome in the distance. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power as I was about to snap my final photograph of the Atlanta shaped steel arches in front of the Arena. I picked up a Green machine Naked juice when I got back. I pretty much knew that would be about my only chance to eat anything healthy all day.
Mom and I headed out together and made the mile walk west to Centennial Olympic Park. I explored the Olympic Fountain of Rings, the many torches, and the brickwalk. Across Baker Street is Pemberton Place, which houses the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the entire world. John Pemberton, a Georgia pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola in 1886. We entered the World of Coke at 10 am. There were artifacts from all over the world: bottles from Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Huge bottle openers, advertising signs, clothing, etc. Then came the animated Happyfication theater. I took my picture with the polar bear, which was quite cool. We also saw the bottling plant, the Milestone of refreshment (lots of interactive games, history, and a display of at least 150 Coke beverage can/bottle designs from throughout the last 120 years). I got to trace the classic logo with my finger and it's really hard to make the holes in the a's and o's.
We headed the the second level to the pop culture gallery. There was the Coke couch from Season 4 of American Idol, a kisok to make my own Coke computer-generated art, and a wall dedicated to the failed New Coke experiment from 1985. Then came the 4-D theater, which has the moving seats and blasts of wind and water, and yes, I got wet. Last, but not least, came the tasting room which offers guests a chance to try 60 different beverages from across the globe.
I probably went through at least 20. I has a lemon soda from England, it was marvelous. The Italian soda called Beverly tasted terribly bitter and tasted more like straight alcohol. Definitely my least favorite. The Mozambique ginger ale was really good and relaxing. The Mexican iced tea featured a very robust lemon flavor. I never had Barq's red cream soda before, and I'm typically not a big fan of cream soda, but I really enjoyed this one. And gingerbread coke could very well become a new holiday tradition for me.
The last stop was the gift shop and Mom and I could not agree. It was my money, I brought a sign and I'm still mad I did not buy a glass. She wanted me to get this big empty bottle, which must have been four feet tall, to drop spare change into. Sounded good, but how was I going to get that into an airplane?
Anyway, we walked another half mile north just past Georgia Tech. It was time for some grub. So many people have told me about the Varsity and have recommended it. It is the world's largest drive-thru and one of the most iconic eateries in Georgia. We ordered two Number 1's:a pair of steamed chili dogs with yellow mustard and beanlesss beefy chili. Mom got the fries and I got the rings. I have to say those were the best onion rings I've had since I was in Mount Morris, so that probably goes back ten years. They're cut not too thin, not too thick and the coating on the outside tasted just tremendous. I found the dogs to be very good. I'm not used to chili The addition of chopped onions added an extra layer of flavor that I think made them better. I passed on the soda and a sweet tea for the frosted orange, which tasted like the thickest creamsicle ever. Tremendous! I can only imagine how much better it would be on one of those hot Georgia summer afternoons. But the thickness was insane. It took 45 minutes of walking to finish it off, I do not exaggerate.
We planned to take the 3:30 flight home, but we got to the airport early and took the 2:15. We stepped off the plane into a welcoming December atmosphere of 30 degrees and rain. Of course, the airline misplaced Mom's lost luggage.
From there, I walked outside, heading west towards the touristy area of downtown. I checked out the Omni Hotel and CNN Tower. Just west of that was the Philips Arena, at the site of the old Omni. Behind the Arena, I could see the Georgia Dome in the distance. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power as I was about to snap my final photograph of the Atlanta shaped steel arches in front of the Arena. I picked up a Green machine Naked juice when I got back. I pretty much knew that would be about my only chance to eat anything healthy all day.
Mom and I headed out together and made the mile walk west to Centennial Olympic Park. I explored the Olympic Fountain of Rings, the many torches, and the brickwalk. Across Baker Street is Pemberton Place, which houses the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the entire world. John Pemberton, a Georgia pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola in 1886. We entered the World of Coke at 10 am. There were artifacts from all over the world: bottles from Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Huge bottle openers, advertising signs, clothing, etc. Then came the animated Happyfication theater. I took my picture with the polar bear, which was quite cool. We also saw the bottling plant, the Milestone of refreshment (lots of interactive games, history, and a display of at least 150 Coke beverage can/bottle designs from throughout the last 120 years). I got to trace the classic logo with my finger and it's really hard to make the holes in the a's and o's.
We headed the the second level to the pop culture gallery. There was the Coke couch from Season 4 of American Idol, a kisok to make my own Coke computer-generated art, and a wall dedicated to the failed New Coke experiment from 1985. Then came the 4-D theater, which has the moving seats and blasts of wind and water, and yes, I got wet. Last, but not least, came the tasting room which offers guests a chance to try 60 different beverages from across the globe.
I probably went through at least 20. I has a lemon soda from England, it was marvelous. The Italian soda called Beverly tasted terribly bitter and tasted more like straight alcohol. Definitely my least favorite. The Mozambique ginger ale was really good and relaxing. The Mexican iced tea featured a very robust lemon flavor. I never had Barq's red cream soda before, and I'm typically not a big fan of cream soda, but I really enjoyed this one. And gingerbread coke could very well become a new holiday tradition for me.
The last stop was the gift shop and Mom and I could not agree. It was my money, I brought a sign and I'm still mad I did not buy a glass. She wanted me to get this big empty bottle, which must have been four feet tall, to drop spare change into. Sounded good, but how was I going to get that into an airplane?
Anyway, we walked another half mile north just past Georgia Tech. It was time for some grub. So many people have told me about the Varsity and have recommended it. It is the world's largest drive-thru and one of the most iconic eateries in Georgia. We ordered two Number 1's:a pair of steamed chili dogs with yellow mustard and beanlesss beefy chili. Mom got the fries and I got the rings. I have to say those were the best onion rings I've had since I was in Mount Morris, so that probably goes back ten years. They're cut not too thin, not too thick and the coating on the outside tasted just tremendous. I found the dogs to be very good. I'm not used to chili The addition of chopped onions added an extra layer of flavor that I think made them better. I passed on the soda and a sweet tea for the frosted orange, which tasted like the thickest creamsicle ever. Tremendous! I can only imagine how much better it would be on one of those hot Georgia summer afternoons. But the thickness was insane. It took 45 minutes of walking to finish it off, I do not exaggerate.
We planned to take the 3:30 flight home, but we got to the airport early and took the 2:15. We stepped off the plane into a welcoming December atmosphere of 30 degrees and rain. Of course, the airline misplaced Mom's lost luggage.
All in all, it was a good 36 hours. There are some nice features of Atlanta, but I wouldn't want to spend much time in the heart of the city. I'm just no redneck.
Atlanta Blue-Day 1
Ever so slowly, I rolled out of bed at 4:45 and we left for O'Hare around 5:40. There wasn't too much traffic on a Sunday morning either, we got to the airport quickly and I navigated my way through the security line in maybe ten minutes. We took the 7:45 flight on American Eagle and this was one of the worst looking airplanes I had ever flown on. I sat down and the inside of my seat had tears in it. There was no armrest in the middle of the two seats and the pilot didn't make it easier. Granted, we were flying through a thick sea of gray clouds for an hour, but the
turbulence was as bad as I ever felt in 10 years. It was so bumpy i asked the flight attendant for a cup of ginger ale on the rocks just to calm my stomach down. And when the pilot landed the plane, he jammed on the brakes like he suddenly realized he had been driving a car on black ice.
So we took a 20-minute ride on the Marta rail north to Peachtree. We got a little lost on Peachtree St, but made our way to the Marriott Courtyard. We couldn't check in because people were still getting ready to leave following the SEC championship game. I was amazed how many people were wearing purple and yellow for LSU. It was like being right in Baton Rouge. We dropped our bags off and started our walk into town.
As we strolled the mile up Peachtree St into midtown, I was amazed how one block evolved into another. One one block, there'd be a Hard Rock Cafe, a Brazilian steakhouse, and an accounting firm. On the next block, there would be homeless people sitting on the lawn overlooking Highway 75. We got to Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles for lunch. There were already a dozen people outside by 11:45, so we knew we found a pretty hip spot. The hostess told us the wait would take 35 minutes or less, and that turned into 55 minutes.
Finally, we were seated in the back room. I had a good view of the TV to watch Atlanta vs Houston. We both drank Uptowns, or Arnold Palmers. Huge glasses, that's always a plus. And I was so thirsty at this point, I probably would have felt re-hydrated drinking Nyquil. We started off with some fried green tomatoes, a fine southern appetizer. They had a nice Cajun spice on them and the outside tasted nice and crisp. But the remoulade sauce lacked a lot of flavor and I am a huge remoulade fan. Not this one.
We both ordered the Uncle Ron, which are three-piece fried chicken meals. Three pieces of chicken with two sides. Mom went with squash casserole and a great mac and cheese; I went wit house potatoes (shredded potatoes with peppers, onions, and Creole seasoning) and collard greens. They also came with the fluffiest corn muffins I've ever had. The chicken was incredibly juicy. The breading was nice and crisp, but could have used a touch more spice for my liking, I added a few dashes of hot sauce and that did the trick.
For dessert, we split the sweet potato cheesecake. Just before it came out, our waiter, Claude, asked us the easiest question of all time. "Would you like pecans, whipped cream, and caramel on your cheesecake?" The graham cracker crust tasted smooth ands buttery and not at all overwhelming. The pecans gave a nice crunch and zest, the caramel brought all the flavors together, and well, whipped cream is whipped cream. Just a wonderful dessert.
From there, we took a 45-minute walk southeast up and downhill to the Martin Luther King site. We walked through the Civil Rights Walk of Fame which features many notable Civil Rights figures' footprints. Politicians, athletes, entertainers, businessmen. Hank Aaron, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Stevie Wonder, Ted Turner, Sammy Davis Jr, and probably a lot of names I don't recognize. I am stunned there is no Oprah.
We then walked through the main exhibit featuring audio and video of Dr. King's life and walked outside to a long pool in the middle of a courtyard, for lack of better words. Right in the middle of the pool were the crypts for Dr. King and his wife.
For me, the highlight was visiting the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father preached, where MLK gave his first sermon, where his funeral was conducted, and where his mother was assassinated in 1974. We walked in and I was asked to remove my Jets hat. After climbing a flight of steps, we headed into the sanctuary. One of Dr. King's sermons was playing. It was very haunting, I sat in the front row and just let his words about family, following God's plan, and justice wash over me for about 15 minutes. Then, we headed downstairs to Fellowship Hall, which showcased an interview with Coretta Scott King as well as the long and storied history of the church, which goes back to 1886.
We didn't really need to stay another 30 minutes to tour the birthplace, so we walked 20 minutes west back to the Courtyard. It was getting close to 3:30 pm and Mom's feet were starting to ache by now, we'd walked 4-5 miles for the day. Quick sidenote. During this stretch, we faced our third of maybe six panhandlers of the day. I tried to ignore this guy, since I figured the less interaction, the better. Well, he was a black guy, around 60, and he started complaining that I didn't like black people. He screamed not all black people are bad. I didn't respond to the man, nothing good was going to come out of doing that. It was pretty comical. And I know you've got beggars in every major city in America. The difference is, in Atlanta, there is nobody else walking on the street than you can use to shield yourself. You HAVE to face these guys, like it or not.
So we hung in the hotel for two hours. I watched football and tracked the end of the Jets' victory in Washington D.C. For the evening, I wanted to travel north to the posh Buckhead neighborhood, but by now it was 5 pm and we knew all the shops were going to close at 6 pm on Sunday night. So we decided to stay local and hit up Ted's Montana Grill. Wanting to spread a little Mets pride, I wore my Jose Reyes jersey. Amazingly, our waiter Larry, is a Mets and Giants fan! He was a very amiable guy, laughing a lot and cracking a ton of jokes. I got some bison chili and a Philly bison burger and fresh-cut fries. So messy, but so good.
Mom decided to head back to the room since she was really cold and tired. I wasn't ready go head back to the room so I hit up Meehan's Public House, a local downtown Irish pub. It wasn't the best place to go. I drank a Bushmills on the rocks and an Innis and Gunn. 16 bucks. Lame. Granted, i would have tried the buttermilk-battered chicken fingers with the ancho BBQ sauce if I wasn't so stuffed. Furthermore, the bar was pretty dead, I guess downtown Atlanta is not the cool neighborhood. Even worse, I got the news Reyes had all but signed with Miami for 6 years and over $100 million. That's when I ordered my next drink. I got back to the room around 10 pm. Catherine and I talked on the phone for an hour and ten minutes. I came back in and Mom was half asleep but she had "To Catch a Predator" on the TV. I have to admit, I got caught up in it and watched the rest of the show till 1 AM, which is when I went to bed.
turbulence was as bad as I ever felt in 10 years. It was so bumpy i asked the flight attendant for a cup of ginger ale on the rocks just to calm my stomach down. And when the pilot landed the plane, he jammed on the brakes like he suddenly realized he had been driving a car on black ice.
So we took a 20-minute ride on the Marta rail north to Peachtree. We got a little lost on Peachtree St, but made our way to the Marriott Courtyard. We couldn't check in because people were still getting ready to leave following the SEC championship game. I was amazed how many people were wearing purple and yellow for LSU. It was like being right in Baton Rouge. We dropped our bags off and started our walk into town.
As we strolled the mile up Peachtree St into midtown, I was amazed how one block evolved into another. One one block, there'd be a Hard Rock Cafe, a Brazilian steakhouse, and an accounting firm. On the next block, there would be homeless people sitting on the lawn overlooking Highway 75. We got to Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles for lunch. There were already a dozen people outside by 11:45, so we knew we found a pretty hip spot. The hostess told us the wait would take 35 minutes or less, and that turned into 55 minutes.
Finally, we were seated in the back room. I had a good view of the TV to watch Atlanta vs Houston. We both drank Uptowns, or Arnold Palmers. Huge glasses, that's always a plus. And I was so thirsty at this point, I probably would have felt re-hydrated drinking Nyquil. We started off with some fried green tomatoes, a fine southern appetizer. They had a nice Cajun spice on them and the outside tasted nice and crisp. But the remoulade sauce lacked a lot of flavor and I am a huge remoulade fan. Not this one.
We both ordered the Uncle Ron, which are three-piece fried chicken meals. Three pieces of chicken with two sides. Mom went with squash casserole and a great mac and cheese; I went wit house potatoes (shredded potatoes with peppers, onions, and Creole seasoning) and collard greens. They also came with the fluffiest corn muffins I've ever had. The chicken was incredibly juicy. The breading was nice and crisp, but could have used a touch more spice for my liking, I added a few dashes of hot sauce and that did the trick.
For dessert, we split the sweet potato cheesecake. Just before it came out, our waiter, Claude, asked us the easiest question of all time. "Would you like pecans, whipped cream, and caramel on your cheesecake?" The graham cracker crust tasted smooth ands buttery and not at all overwhelming. The pecans gave a nice crunch and zest, the caramel brought all the flavors together, and well, whipped cream is whipped cream. Just a wonderful dessert.
From there, we took a 45-minute walk southeast up and downhill to the Martin Luther King site. We walked through the Civil Rights Walk of Fame which features many notable Civil Rights figures' footprints. Politicians, athletes, entertainers, businessmen. Hank Aaron, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Stevie Wonder, Ted Turner, Sammy Davis Jr, and probably a lot of names I don't recognize. I am stunned there is no Oprah.
We then walked through the main exhibit featuring audio and video of Dr. King's life and walked outside to a long pool in the middle of a courtyard, for lack of better words. Right in the middle of the pool were the crypts for Dr. King and his wife.
For me, the highlight was visiting the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father preached, where MLK gave his first sermon, where his funeral was conducted, and where his mother was assassinated in 1974. We walked in and I was asked to remove my Jets hat. After climbing a flight of steps, we headed into the sanctuary. One of Dr. King's sermons was playing. It was very haunting, I sat in the front row and just let his words about family, following God's plan, and justice wash over me for about 15 minutes. Then, we headed downstairs to Fellowship Hall, which showcased an interview with Coretta Scott King as well as the long and storied history of the church, which goes back to 1886.
We didn't really need to stay another 30 minutes to tour the birthplace, so we walked 20 minutes west back to the Courtyard. It was getting close to 3:30 pm and Mom's feet were starting to ache by now, we'd walked 4-5 miles for the day. Quick sidenote. During this stretch, we faced our third of maybe six panhandlers of the day. I tried to ignore this guy, since I figured the less interaction, the better. Well, he was a black guy, around 60, and he started complaining that I didn't like black people. He screamed not all black people are bad. I didn't respond to the man, nothing good was going to come out of doing that. It was pretty comical. And I know you've got beggars in every major city in America. The difference is, in Atlanta, there is nobody else walking on the street than you can use to shield yourself. You HAVE to face these guys, like it or not.
So we hung in the hotel for two hours. I watched football and tracked the end of the Jets' victory in Washington D.C. For the evening, I wanted to travel north to the posh Buckhead neighborhood, but by now it was 5 pm and we knew all the shops were going to close at 6 pm on Sunday night. So we decided to stay local and hit up Ted's Montana Grill. Wanting to spread a little Mets pride, I wore my Jose Reyes jersey. Amazingly, our waiter Larry, is a Mets and Giants fan! He was a very amiable guy, laughing a lot and cracking a ton of jokes. I got some bison chili and a Philly bison burger and fresh-cut fries. So messy, but so good.
Mom decided to head back to the room since she was really cold and tired. I wasn't ready go head back to the room so I hit up Meehan's Public House, a local downtown Irish pub. It wasn't the best place to go. I drank a Bushmills on the rocks and an Innis and Gunn. 16 bucks. Lame. Granted, i would have tried the buttermilk-battered chicken fingers with the ancho BBQ sauce if I wasn't so stuffed. Furthermore, the bar was pretty dead, I guess downtown Atlanta is not the cool neighborhood. Even worse, I got the news Reyes had all but signed with Miami for 6 years and over $100 million. That's when I ordered my next drink. I got back to the room around 10 pm. Catherine and I talked on the phone for an hour and ten minutes. I came back in and Mom was half asleep but she had "To Catch a Predator" on the TV. I have to admit, I got caught up in it and watched the rest of the show till 1 AM, which is when I went to bed.
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