Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

A Quick Tour of Philadelphia

For the past two days I've been in Philadelphia where we were presenting at a conference. in between sessions I've been able to wander about the city.

Here is a small sample of what I have seen - more tomorrow . . .

Travel Tuesdays - Maine

It's a tricky day for Travel Tuesday - Sandi's blog round up of travel related posts. Tricky because it is also Vanentine's Day . . . and I had alreayd used my Heart picture from San Francisco for Saturday photo hunt. These are challenging issues for bloggers.

I know, I know . . . get a real problem Jerry!

Anyhow I remembered our 2010 to Maine. We stopped in the lovely town of Rockland, Maine to tour the Farnsworth gallery. They were featuring an exhibit of work by Robert Indiana a 60's pop-art veteran who has made Maine his home for years.

outside the gallery was this piece of art - perfect for a Travel Tuesday Valentine's Day edition!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all!

So What did we Bring Home From California . . .

A quick post . . . we arrived back home at 12:15 this morning. After dropping Paul off at home I went to the 24 hour grocery store to gather a few things. When I got home I carried in four suitcases, the knapsacks, and assorted bags of stuff (Paul had to work today so I sent him to bed and took care of stuff).

This morning I awoke mighty tired!

After dropping Paul off at work I unpacked all of the suitcases, put everything away, did 6 loads of laundry, took 12 articles of clothing to the dry cleaners, got everything ready for dinner, and finalized my presentation that I had to do this afternoon.

I will be heading to bed shortly!

After I have everything unpacked I did the usual `what we brought home picture`.

Here goes . . . a small carry on suitcase that was on sale at Kohls. A five litre can of olive oil that my friend Jane had shipped from Tuscany. 8 bottles of wine (the bottle of 2 Buck Chuck brought home from a friend was apparently stolen by TSA). 4 bottles of flavoured olive oil and 4 bottles of flavoured balsamic vinegar purchased at the new olive oil shop in Palm desert. 2 boxes of toffee, two small bags of toffee, and two bags of toffee popcorn from Brandini Toffee. 9 jars of spices/rubs, pomegranate molasses, freeze-dried corn, California Bay leaves, fennel pollen from the new spice store in Palm Desert. Jeans. A wine book (which I realize I forgot to pay Palma for - ARGH). 2 bottles of dish soap, a lime and lemon juicer, veal demi glace, and a new citrus zester from Williams Sonoma. A jar of Tuscan spice/salt mixture. Pear salad dressing. Artichoke and Truffle tapenade. A jar of chipotle and peach jam. " tins of coffee beans, cat treats, multi-coloured Quinoa, assorted sweets from Trader Joes. Maple leaf shaped crackers. Heart shaped crackers. 9 boxes of chocolates and one box of suckers from Sees. A box of Ghiradelli Valentine's Day chocolates. 2 bags of Valentine's Day message M and Ms. 2 bags of individually wrapped sweet hearts. 3 bags of Moose Munch from Harry and David. 1 pair of shoes. 1 jar os Santa Maria BBQ dry rub spice mix. 1 dozen large oranges grown in Palm Desert.

Hmmm - no wonder it took hours to put everything away.

Now lest you think I'm going to eat all of this candy myself don't worry - everything is a gift and will soon be out of the house (or at least out of my sight!)

A Blogging First . . .

Well, a first for this blogger, anyway.

I'm updating my blog from 37,000 feet as we cruise past Kansas City. Wifi on planes is a beautiful thing. Blogging is an interesting diversion from watching the guy in front of me knocking back his fifth drink. Even in first class some of the folks are hideous.

This morning we woke up and had coffee with Palma, Brad, and Luigi. We left Palm Desert at 7 am and made the trek to LAX for our 11:20 flight. We were booked in first class (thank you, points) so I wasn't that worried about making it in time. LAX is only a 90+ minute drive from the desert but with traffic and general annoyances we were not taking any chances.

Thank goodness as there were accidents galore.

Finally, as a result of a wrong turn, the GPS took us well away from any highway and through an unknown (some might say scary) area of LA and got us to the airport with an hour to spare. We would have made it sooner but we had to pull off for a 'comfort break'.

I dropped Paul and the luggage off at the curbside check in (thanks Brad for this great tip!) and raced off to drop the car off. Of course I promptly made a wrong turn since the address wasn't entered in the GPS and I almost ended up back on the freeway. ARGH

Once I was sorted out (after making no less than 4 illegal U-Turns) I pulled into a gas station to fill up the car only to be stymied by a hideous woman in front who seemed to have abandoned her car. By this time I was ready to do the same! After helping her out I was next to fill up and soon the car was full of gas and back home at Thrifty.

It was a quick shuttle ride to the terminal where I met Paul (who was starting to panic since the plane left in 40 minutes) and we proceeded through security. The guard tried to send us to a long line up until I waved our first class boarding passes - then we went to the special line where we were whisked through security in record time.

When we got to the gate the plane was loading. We ignored all of that zone silliness and just walked on and into our seats where we were greeted with a drink.

If only we were rich - it'd be first class all the way! The food is decent. The drinks plentiful. The service great. I have all the room I could possibly want (except for the pinhead in front of me who feels the need to recline his seat into my lap). All in all, this is THE way to go!

With this wifi I was able to work on a presentation for tomorrow. It's nice to not have a panic day of work awaiting me upon my return.

Next stop, Philadelphia and on to Toronto. SIGH

A short trip but a much needed rest!

A Lazy Day in Palm Desert

We were asked what we wanted to do while we were in Palm Desert - the answer was 'relax'. We've been going full out for the past 4 months and we just wanted an opportunity to take it easy!

Yesterday was a perfect day for that . . .

We played with Luigi . . .

Hung out by the pool . . .

Watched the hummingbirds dart about in the grape vines . . .

We did manage to rouse ourselves long enough to wander about the town doing some shopping.

Of course, Palma spoiled us with her wonderful cooking . . .

As always, there was laughter, smiles, and Luigi in the middle of everything! *smile*

Traveling to Palm Desert

Yesterday was another travel day for us. Happily it was without the hideousness that characterized our trip west!

We left Buellton at 9:30. While I was at the light waiting the signal change so I could enter the freeway I spotted the windmill that marked the hotel the guys in Sideways stayed at.

We were meeting Palma and Brad in Santa Barbara for brunch at 11:00. It was only about a 50 minute drive so we had lots of time to stop. The drive south from Buellton starts off by going through some rugged terrain as you cross through the mountains. Once the mountains have been left behind the road hugs the ocean, offering up some brilliant sights.

Because we had plenty of time we pulled off and wandered about.

Even with all of this stopping we were early when we got to Santa Barbara. We have briefly stayed in the city a few years ago and didn't really care for it. This tim we were further away from the beach - we were amazed at what we had missed during our last visit. Santa Barbara is now high on the list of places we want to return to!

The restaurant was well-known for it's local seafood. Paul and I ordered the fish tacos and a glass of prosecco  . . . the perfect way to start a sunny day in CA!

After brunch we hopped back into the car and headed southwest over the mountains to Palm Desert. We stopped for a spell at the outlet mall where I was the picture of restraint and arrived at Palma and Brad's house by 5:30.

It was great to meet Luigi, the new addition to the family. He loved 'Mr. Lobster' every bit as muchas Max did when we delivered one to him in Piemonte last fall.

After we were settled we nibbled Palma's treats, chatted, laughed, drank wine, and played with Luigi until we could no longer keep our eyes open.

Another wonderful day in California.

A Day of Wine, Food, and Fun in the Santa Ynez Valley

Do you remember the movie Sideways? The 2004 Oscar winning movie featured two middle-aged men living LA and traveling to the Santa Barbara wine country for a weekend of fun which turned into discovery and adventure.

Our experiences in the Santa Ynez Valley were far less dramatic to be sure - there were no car crashes, affairs, fights, no drinking of buckets of spat out wine from tasting rooms. Instead we had gorgeous weather, great food, wonderful wine, and lots of laughter.

Yesterday started cool but ended up just over 70 degrees - a perfect day for winery visits.

We went to a local favourite restaurant for breakfast - Ellen's Danish Pancake house. What a difference from breakfast on Friday where we were surrounded by socialites who clearly had been nip and tucked. The crowd at Ellen's was decidedly more real and rustic.

I think this describes the entire valley - particularly when one compares it to other wine regions.

The first winery was at 11AM so we had some time to explore Buellton. We managed to find Ostrich Land where the Sideways characters came face-to-face with an angry bird in a hilarious scene.

Our encounter didn't involve angry ostriches. :-)

Foxen was the first winery - a smaller group met up here for a tasting of 3 whites and two reds. There are two tasting rooms here - the famous 'shack' that appeared in the movie and a more recent addition that was recently opened to accommodate the increased crowds coming to the area. Apparently a number of local wineries are in the process of opening 'showcase' tasting rooms a sign the the wine tourists have found the area. I guess this was what Napa and Sonoma were like in the  60s and 70s respectively.

I really liked the rustic countryside that we drove through - stopping as often as safety would allow to take pictures on the narrow and winding road through Foxen Canyon.

The entire group showed up at the next winery - Zaca Mesa. We tasted eight wines in their large outdoor garden and courtyard. We also enjoyed a wonderful alfresco lunch supplied by Sharon and June. It was a perfect spot to hang out in the sun . . .nibbling on delicious food . . . tasting interesting wines . . . and chatting with great people!

 I climbed a huge hill that overlooked the winery to take a group shot. Sadly my telephoto lens was sitting in the car - had it not been for the fact that I almost had a heart attack getting up in the first place I would have gone back down and gotten it!

The last winery of the day was located close to Santa Maria. Cambria is a huge producer 0 famous for their Chardonay and Pinot Noir. There we sat on the patio and enjoyed the wine, the company, and the warm 'Californian' sun.

Leaving Cambria, we reversed our route, heading back to the hotel in Buellton for a rest before the pizza party.

When we arrived at the Skyview the guys from Full of Life Flatbread had their oven set up and were getting it up to 650 degrees so they could make dinner.

This being California, the portable oven was decorated with beautiful ceramic tiles designed by the local school children . . .

and a fascinating collection of bumper stickers!

Everything was fresh, local, and amazingly delicious!  The guys served up salad, cauliflower gratin, and three types of flatbread pizzas.

Of course, a visit to wine country wouldn't be complete without WINE!

 . . . or delicious dessert. Shannon had arranged for a company from Santa Barbara to travel north with some of their gelato. Bob and Ellie from 'Here's the Scoop' like to give back to their community, and besides the various events put on for the youngsters of Santa Barbara in their store, they also buy much of the produce for their gelato and sorbet from local farmers. Everything is fresh, local, and, you guessed it, delicious!

I had a scoop of pina colada and a scoop of lemon lavendar.

For a brief moment it was like being transported back to Italy. Sigh

A Typical Travel Day

What is a typical travel day anyway?

In my mind a typical travel day is a pretty hideous beast where shit happens. One needs to expects this as typical and it makes it all seem reasonable when it happens.

Yesterday we were up at 3 am EST to be at the airport for our 6 am flight out of Toronto. While I am an admitted morning person this was too early, even for me. We checked in quickly, went through customs quickly and encountered our first disappointment - the first class lounge wasn't open yet.

We don't normally travel first class. I had lots of points that were getting ready to expire so we decided to blow them and travel first. We were looking forward to a civilized start to the day once we got through customs. This was not to be.

Instead we met the travelling public, who by and large can be a nasty group of folks. In the course of 30 minutes I listened to a man rant at the duty free cashierafter she warned him that he had a connecting flight from the US to Puerto Rico and the customs there would confiscate his vodka. She was helping him out and saving him $ 50 + - he decided to yell at her in return. Next was a rather loud group of young women wearing matching pinks shirts declaring to the world that it was Sharm's Bachelorette trip. They were channeling the women from Bridesmaids in a loud way. Then there was loud coffee line guy who pontificated about how Starbucks was gross coffee and why couldn't he have a Tim Horton's. When it got to be too much a young lady in line turned to him and said - 'there is a Tim Horton's 100feet away, perhaps you could do us all a favour and go there'. Our fellow line members clapped.

At the gate it was a short wait until we boarded. It was smaller plane to Charlotte so there was no meal but we were given drinks and snacks. This was all good.

The bachelorette girls were on the plane. That wasn't good. Happily the magic curtain between first and the rest magically drowned them out.

The Charlotte airport is a charming airport with its civilized white rocking chairs for all to enjoy. The travellers in Charlotte were a sorry lot though. It was explained to me that the dregs of the SE US were all connecting through Charlotte so it brought out the worst in folks. We made a note to connect through Phillie in the future.

A short wait later and we were on the plane to LA. Lunch was actually tasty. The drinks flowed. The guy in front of me knocked back 8 JDs and water. The woman across the aisle from me had her poodle with her - she had a sucker for the wee beast. She'd lick the sucker, give it to the dog to lick, lick it again, and so on. I wanted to hurl my tasty lunch. Once the sucked fell out of the dog carrier, rolled across the carpet . . . after retrieving it the licking continued.

I closed my eyes.

When I opened them I noticed our flight attendant with a flashlight trying to read some controls on the ceiling. We sound were told why - the plane has suffered a toilet malfunction and they were ready to overload. We were diverting to Phoenix. The pilot asked us to try and hold 'it' and informed us that drink service was stopping. For some reason no one else found that amusing.

It was a quick repair in Phoenix and we could have left much sooner except for the fact that it took forever to round up the passengers who got off and allegedly made a desperate run for the bathroom but came back with sacks of fast food and souvenirs.

A short hop later and we were in LA.

As is usual for LA the wait for the luggage took forever. It arrived on a different carousel than it was supposed to.

Whatever.

We took the shuttle to the car rental area where I had to fend off the aggressive efforts of the agent who tried to sell me everything but chains for the tires. In the end I was given an upgraded SUV and we were off to Van Nuys where we were staying for the night.

By the time we were settled it was 3:30 PM PST and we were hungry. We had 4 hours until we were meeting our friends for dinner so we used our GPS to find the closest In-N-Out burger where I threw all diet caution to the wind and scarfed back a vanilla shake, double-double, and animal style fries. My arteries are still constricted.

We still had time for a short nap before we met up with everyone for dinner.

Dinner was at Osterieria Firenze, the restaurant by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani. It is always great to hook up with the slowtravel gang - lots of hugs, laughter, and good stories.

It was a great meal. Of course I started off with the famous strawberry balsamico martini . . .

Followed by a salad and the delicious orecchiette with sausage, what was supposed to be rapini (I know rapini, this was not rapini it was black kale) and chili peppers.

Paul had the same panna cotta he had enjoyed when we were here 2 years ago (time flies, it does indeed). I passed on dessert, still feeling a titch guilty about that In-N-Out visit. :-)

By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted. It was 22 hours from the time the alarm clock had rung at home. Needless to say we slept like like a rock!

Today we have a short drive to the Los Alamos area for a weekend of food, laughter, and wine with the slowtravel gang!

And We're Off

The house sitter has arrived and we should be in the air by the time this posts.

Next stop . . . LA

Dante wanted to come . . . as usual!

Travel Tuesday - New York

It's time for Travel Tuesdays. please feel free to play along - all you need to do is to post one of your travel pics (and who doesn't have a gazillion of those) and then pop on over to Sandi's blog to join her Linky.

This week's post has a back story.

Ok. ALL of my posts has a back story. I shall try to be brief (I see Sandi rolling her ideas already).

Paul works in retail. Retail employees can never take time off over the Christmas holidays. The store he works at has been bought by Target. They will close on October 1st throwing 300+ employees out of work (just one store - close to 250 in chain - that's a lot of unemployed folks). store will be shuttered for 8 months while target guts and renovates it.

We're making lemonade - for the first time ever we may be able to travel for the holidays!!!!!

Do we return to New York?