Traveling – Page 3 – Mom's Guide to the Galaxy

Culinary Tourism

White-sided dolphin swimming beside our boat.

I flew back to California for work last week. I arrived Sunday morning and managed to just make it to Oceanside for a boat tour – theoretically, whale watching, but it’s not quite whale season yet. We did see three kinds of dolphins as well as some sea lions. That was the extent of my traditional tourism; the rest of my days were filled with work. Meal times, however, were a great time to explore some of the local options.

It began immediately following the boat ride, with a coupon to Harbor Fish & Chips. I opted for the “small” – a single piece of fish – which was impressively sized; anything larger would have been too much for me. When I arrived at my hotel, I realized it was well-placed for walking to dinner. In addition to four restaurants down the block, there was an outlet mall across the street, with most of their restaurants at the end near the hotel. That said, Pokemon Go rewards you for walking, so I almost always to the long route to and from dinner.

Clockwise from the upper left: seared ahi salad; Wild Alaskan sand dabs with sauteed kale and goat cheese, grilled zucchini, and sourdough bread; "small" fish and chips — Clockwise from the upper left: seared ahi salad; Wild Alaskan sand dabs with sauteed kale and goat cheese, grilled zucchini, and sourdough bread; “small” fish and chips

I had four opportunities to walk to dinner, and a goal of trying somewhere new each night. Being so close to the ocean, I made a point of selecting fish more than I usually would. I started with a fish taco and chicken tortilla soup at Rubio’s, a local fast food chain. My second dinner was a seared ahi salad at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, another local chain whose name was new to me. By the third night, I wanted a milkshake, so I walked to Ruby’s Diner, a few doors down from the Rubio’s, and had a delicious burger/fries/onion rings combo with my drink. On my last free night, having walked past its “Now Open” sign for several days, I tried the Parmesan Crusted Wild Alaskan Sand Dabs at the recently remodeled King’s Fish House.

My last night had a work dinner scheduled, and the food was as delightful as the other nights, this time at the Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen. I ordered one of the daily specials – a pasta with sausage that was made in house – after trying a couple appetizers with my co-workers. I highly recommend their Brussels sprouts. Well, and the rest of their food… the whole week’s cuisine was amazing.

The end of an era.

My father passed away this week, at a mere 91 years old.

Now I realize that to a lot of people, 91 is downright ancient. But Dad didn’t really start showing his age until the last few years, after being hit by a couple strokes. He climbed his last mountain, Pacaya, at 80, with my cousin’s family. He stopped playing racquetball at 72, not because he couldn’t play anymore, but because there weren’t racquetball courts nearby. And at 91, he was still happily traveling at every opportunity – he visited his little sister in England, went to his mother-in-law’s birthday party in Oregon, and was on a cruise in September when he fell ill. As I said, a mere 91.

I can’t tell most of Dad’s story; I’ve only been around for about half of it. But it started in Darlington, England before World War II, included military service just after the war, and was followed by a move to the United States after he completed his Library Science degree. He spend a couple of years in Ohio, followed by some time at the University of Illinois, Penn State University, and Portland State University (yes, he went from one PSU to another), before finishing his career at the University of Miami in Florida. A work trip brought him to Guatemala when I was in elementary school; the next summer, we came to Guatemala to learn Spanish.

Our family has never quite left since then, as we moved here for junior high with visits between here and Miami. By the time Dad retired, they had a house here, which they used as a base to help raise some of the grandchildren while traveling around the world. We are left with a great number of books, including an extensive Jerome K. Jerome collection, whose bibliography Dad worked on for years. Dad was rather excited the day I cracked open one of his English copies of Three Men in a Boat and found a printing mistake he didn’t have cataloged.

He also collected stamps, primarily ones featuring Catholic saints, and was a 50-year member of the American Philatelic Society. In his younger years, he also enjoyed rock climbing; he took us once when I was young. (I enjoyed that adventure far more than my sister did.) When I visited Devil’s Tower a few years ago and saw people climbing the sides of it, I asked him if he had done that. He had visited, but never climbed it.

As a child, I was spoiled not only by living in a house with thousands of books – and free access to all of them – but with access to an incredible research library as well. My sister and I were frequent visitors at the university’s library throughout our childhood, so I was quite familiar with it by the time I started college. I’m sure Dad hadn’t read all of those books, but if you ever played a trivia game with him, you might have thought he had. Even a year ago, I was still losing to him at trivia.

He was fiercely independent, rarely requesting assistance and frequently refusing it outright when offered for something he thought he could still do. He appreciated a fine drink – wine, whiskey, or good beer – but would politely accepted cheaper alternatives, like whatever beer Mom drinks. He took advantage of Miami’s climate to light up the Big Green Egg year round, and grilled a fabulous steak.

He will be missed.

The Dan Camp Journey

Four years ago, I embarked on my first drive to Dan, or Black Belt, Camp, with a carload of teenagers (none of them mine) and the vague notion that I’d be doing karate all weekend. Our first stop was a rest area on I-65 in Indiana, where one person slowed down long enough to receive copies of the New Testament for all of us. That resulted in some interesting car conversations as we proceeded to a popular (with our karate family) lunch spot. Beyond that, well, we stayed up late, got up early, and did karate pretty much all weekend. There were team-building exercises, some general silliness, and new friendships that came out of the weekend. Every year since has been a different adventure, with a new mix of driving companions and the same overall giddyness that comes from doing karate for a whole weekend with two hundred or so of your closest friends.

Strawberry milkshake in a mason jar at The Farmhouse — Strawberry milkshake in a mason jar… is that enough whipped cream?

This year was no different in that respect. After years of driving by, both to Dan Camp and other events towards or past Indianapolis, and only having stopped at the shop before, we ate lunch at The Farmhouse at Fair Oaks Farm. If you’ve driven south on I-65 recently, you’ll know that it’s hard to miss the billboards for Fair Oaks Farm; between the restaurant and the farm, there were probably a dozen before we got there. (Driving north, there are two that tell you that you missed it and you can turn around at the next exit.) This is unquestionably the first time I’ve been served a milkshake in a mason jar. They are, as it turns out, the perfect size. The meal was delightful, prefaced by some fresh cornbread and well, no, we didn’t make it to dessert. But I generally consider dessert to be optional when I have a milkshake.

After lunch, as I mockingly pointed out the scenic corn and soy (and more corn and soy, as this is the midwest), I noticed a faint rainbow out of the corner of my eye. It wasn’t until my companions (who weren’t driving) looked that we realized there was a double rainbow, with a far brighter one hiding below the faded one I had spotted.

Beyond the exciting weekend activities – have you ever played balloon “soccer” on a windy day with multiple balloons per team, and only karate moves allowed to propel the balloons? – the weather was just about perfect. Two years ago, there was a downpour along with some exciting thunder and lighting on the Saturday afternoon, which forced a break in our outdoor activities for a bit. This year, there was a bit of rain on our drive Friday, and a light sprinkling Saturday afternoon.

Foggy morning from the suspension bridge — Looking at the giant slide from the suspension bridge, through the fog and a spider web.

Sunday morning, as I began packing the car, I enjoyed the fog that had settled in overnight. I went back to the cabin for my phone, then walked onto the suspension bridge to get some photos. (The bridge is one of those things that you either love or hate about the camp; it bounces quite a bit when everybody is lined up, crossing the river.) Just me and my arachnid friends.

Spider and web with a foggy morning river in the background. — Pretty spider and web with a foggy morning in the background.

My next great adventure

My next great adventure starts today. (Well, last week by the time you read this.) Two days after my official termination date at my previous job, I accepted a job offer. For my first week of work, I’m flying to San Diego to meet my co-workers at the main office. This is my first visit to California as an adult; I don’t count the couple times I’ve stopped in the San Francisco airport.

One of the important items on my prep list was finding the nearest WTSDA dojang. As it happens, the instructor there was the guest master when I pre-tested for my black belt in February. My karate uniform was actually the first thing I packed. I’m also staying about 10 minutes from a beach, so I packed my bathing suit – and sunscreen! – as well. Other than that, it’s work clothes, pajamas, and toiletries. Oh, and two books – of for each flight. I plan to re-read Anno Dracula on the way out and The Lightning Thief on the return trip.

The work week went well, the extra stuff went almost as planned. I attended a great karate class, and tried an assortment of interesting restaurants while I was in California. I didn’t go swimming, but I did dip my feet in the ocean at sunset my last night there. I resisted going to Legoland after work – theme park prices make more sense as an all day outing. And, except for the transit to and from the airport, I wasn’t near downtown San Diego, so I didn’t get to see any of the excitement surrounding the San Diego Comic-Con.

What did thrill me was the gardenias near the dojang; the nearby shopping center had them planted all around the edges of the parking lot, so getting out of the car, I could smell them immediately. Oh, and I found a game store. (Of course I did.)

Exploring Portland

Powell’s City of Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy section. I looked in other rooms; I shopped in this one.

I moved from Portland when I was five, so I only have vague memories of when I lived there. I have visited enough over the years to have some favorites; when I go back to visit friends and family, I try to do a mix of exploring new places and visiting old, familiar ones. An absolute must is Powell’s City of Books, which is their main location. You can pick between whatever’s available according to your taste, be it paperback, hard cover, new or used, because Powell’s shelves then all together. When I was there in 2015, I had a shopping list of classic science fiction books; I was able to find all of them.

We met friends for dinner a couple blocks away from Powell’s, at McMenamin’s Ringlers Pub. We were so busy having fun, I forgot to take any food photos while we were there. Suffice to say I’d be happy to eat there again.

Not actually in Portland… lava tubes at Ape Caves, Mt. St. Helens, Washington state

The exploration part of this trip was a trip into Washington state to the Mt. St. Helens Lava Tube. I was discussing my upcoming trip to Portland with a (now former) co-worker, who told me about the lava tubes. It was an amazingly scenic drive – as much of the area around Portland is – and we opted for the short, easy walk down the tubes, rather than the extreme

Bridge of the Gods, north of Portland, Oregon

one going up. Our initial plan was to follow this with a trip to Multnomah Falls, but everybody else was already there – the parking was full, and the freeway exit closed. We were quite hungry, so revamped our plan to eat at a restaurant underlooking (it’s like overlooking, but we could see the underside of it) the Bridge of the Gods.

The main purpose of this visit was my grandmother’s birthday party, which was a fabulous reunion of family members and friends. After the party, with only an hour or so before it closed, I went to the Portland Saturday Market and then to the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Sadly, I was still quite full from the amazing food at the party and couldn’t try anymore food at either location.

I did stop at the teahouse in the Chinese Garden, operated by The Tao of Tea, to pick up some Rose Petal Black tea, which is an all-time favorite of mine. I also watched a drawbridge go up, which is one of those fun things to do if you’re not one of the cars stuck waiting on the bridge.

But all good things must come to an end, especially with a houseful of cats waiting at home and a week of organizing before starting my new job. We did find a delightful farm-to-table restaurant at the airport called The Country Cat where we bought a filling lunch. This turned out to be fairly important… we were getting ready for bed after arriving home and realized that because of the time difference and flight time, we never ate dinner. Oops.

Planning a trip to Niagara Falls

I may post more about our trip to Niagara Falls on later days, but here are some of the thoughts that went into planning it.

Transit

Selecting an airline isn’t usually difficult; Southwest is my preferred airline if it services an airport in the right area. Even when we fly carry-on only, like we did for our Philadelphia trip, I like the option of checking bags for free. The pricing is almost always comparable to the other airlines, so it comes down to selecting times I like for direct flights. (Chicago to Buffalo is just over an hour, an indirect flight doesn’t really make sense.)

I researched options for getting from the Buffalo airport to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Quickly dismissed was the Greyhound option; that’s from downtown Buffalo, and only at set times, so it would have required too many transfers. The airport shuttle was more appealing until I realized that I could rent a car for less than it would cost for both our fares one-way. Our lodging included free parking, so renting a car turned out to be a no-brainer.

On the other hand, I didn’t want to drive around all weekend, or bother to pay for parking multiple times in the Fallsview area. We picked up 48-hour WeGo passes, parked the rental car by our cabin, and rode the bus into the downtown area multiple times. When I returned the rental car, they thought I had filled the gas tank because I had driven it so little.

Lodging

I’ve had a KOA (Kampgrounds of America) membership since 2013, when we went on a 13-day road trip; two-thirds of our nights were at KOA sites. On a whim, I checked to see if there was a KOA in the Niagara Falls area. As it turns out, there’s one on each side of the Falls. Having never visited Canada before, I was set at staying on the Canadian side. I didn’t really want to pack a tent (even with free baggage), so I booked a cabin… well, a Kamping Kabin. Because it’s at a Kampground.

KOA Kamping Kabin - outside and inside views — KOA Kamping Kabin – outside and inside views

Camping cabins are minimalist in nature. There’s a roof over your head, a door that locks, beds (one double and a bunk bed), and a table with a chair. There’s also a picnic table and seating on the deck. You bring your own linens or sleeping bags, which was most of our luggage needs for this trip. You also have to walk outside to get to the bathroom and the shower stalls. (Pack your own towels too.) In good weather, this works out nicely… and we had amazing weather at Niagara Falls last weekend.

Activities

Niagara Falls - Horseshoe Falls at night, when the falls are lit up with multicolor lights — Niagara Falls – Horseshoe Falls at night

Other than “see the Falls,” I had no idea what we would be doing in the area for two and a half days. I reached out to a friend in Toronto who mentioned that there’s a wax museum with movie stars in the area. Actually, there are two. And a rock stars one. While researching the museum, I discovered that they offered a Fun Pass that combined the museum, the SkyWheel (2 rides if you buy online!), some virtual rides, and a choice of indoor (wizards) or outdoor (dinosaurs) mini-golf. The pass allows you to do each activitiy once, any time within a year from when you activate it. Since we have no immediate plans to return to the area, we did them all Friday and Saturday.

Everything else we did was based on what we found when we got there. We ate at a mix of local (Tim Horton’s, Queen Victoria Place Restaurant) and speciality chain restaurants (Margaritaville and Hard
Rock), watched the nightly fireworks over the Falls, spent some time at the local Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, and spent Sunday morning at Bird Kingdom. We did some shopping, and then visited the Falls from the U.S. side Sunday afternoon before flying home.

We packed up and went.

Several months ago, a co-worker of mine mentioned a website she had heard of – Pack Up & Go – that will plan a 3-day vacation for you. The catch is that you don’t find out where you’re going until you go. We thought that sounded like fun, so as a spring break option we picked a price range in the “plane, train, or bus” option and filled out their survey about our interests, recent trips, and upcoming trips – they want to avoid places you’ve gone recently or are going to soon.

One week before the trip, we received some hints so we know what to pack, the weather forecast, and when and where we’re departing. Based on the weather and departure details (flying out of Midway and we’re allowed two free checked bags each), I guessed we were heading to Baltimore – Southwest (the airline for free checked bags) had four flights leaving at 8:00 AM that day, and the other three were to warmer climates. Cassandra’s guess was Philadelphia. You're going to Philadelphia! PA As it turns out, she was right – that flight was at 7:55.

We woke up at 4am and opened our envelope before heading to the airport. By the time we parked, we had an email with our boarding passes and some additional details. I glanced through the sightseeing and food recommendations before breakfast, and really dug into them on the plane.

Our package also included directions to our hotel, a dinner reservation and gift card, museum tickets, and an Uber credit. And most importantly, a map of the downtown area. I marked our hotel and dinner spot, and scoped out where the recommendations landed on the map.

We stopped at the hotel before lunch, planning to leave our bags with the concierge, but lucked out because our room was ready. We took a little longer as a result, then hit the streets heading towards the Reading Terminal Market. It was lunchtime and the whole market felt packed, so instead of exploring its’ entirety, we slipped out the other side and found a lovely Ramen restaurant in Chinatown.

After lunch, we wandered towards the Liberty Bell with a stop in a chocolate shop. Despite three chocolate shop stops, we didn’t buy any chocolate on this trip! (Self-restraint is easier when traveling carry-on only.) When we reached the Liberty Bell, we saw a long line inside the building. And outside. And turning the corner. We decided to wait our visit until Sunday morning, though we did pick up postcards at the gift shop. We wandered our way around town and back to the hotel before our dinner reservation at Garces, and managed to visit a couple shops on the way to that.

Dinner was amazing, starting with sourdough bread and a selection of olive oils and vinegars, then appetizers, soups, and entrees that landed at our table. We even saved room for dessert, which went nicely with the Auchentoshan Three Wood (Scotch) I selected. As we strolled back to the hotel, we laughed as a young gentleman sang to someone in his group, then asked who else needed to be serenaded.

Sunday morning, well before the Liberty Bell opened, we descended to Urban Farmer, the hotel’s restaurant, where the waiter talked me into having a homemade English muffin… because it came with the blue crab omelette. The muffin was easily double the size I expected. It made a lovely lunch; I barely finished the omelette.

Our line strategy worked – we strolled right in when we reached the Liberty Bell shortly after 9:00 am. Next on the agenda was The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, a block away from our hotel. There were casts of dinosaurs fossils as we entered, and information on any number of animals elegantly displayed in life-sized dioramas, as well as an indoor butterfly exhibit. We bypassed the live crocodiles, since we had already decided to visit both the Adventure Aquarium (across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey) and the Philadelphia Zoo. We stopped at the hotel to grab my leftover English muffin from the room fridge and summoned a ride using Uber. Our driver did warn us that the area surrounding the aquarium is unsafe, and to get our return ride directly from the entrance.

We arrived just in time for the hippo feeding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve mostly seen hippos lounging at zoos, so this was a treat. Both hippos were in the water. From the below water level viewing area, we could see them pushing off the floor to snatch half a head of cabbage in their mouths. We moved from there to the shark exhibit, glancing at jellyfish and other creatures on the way. The final part of the shark exhibit is the optional Shark Bridge – a rope netting bridge with metal supports over the shark tank. (Yes, we most certainly did walk it.)

Then it was time for a hands-on exhibit, reaching into a tank of rays before popping outside for one of the two penguin enclosures. And back inside for the touch-a-shark tank – significantly smaller than the ones below the shark bridge – and an exploration of reptiles and amphibians. We went back outside with the crowd at penguin feeding time before visiting the hands-on kids area. (Yes, we’re above the target age range. But still welcome.) That included yet another touch tank, this time with starfish, shrimp, and fish.

An Uber ride later, we were back at the hotel trying to pick a dinner spot from the long list Pack Up + Go provided. With assistance from my phone (“that one doesn’t have an available table for two hours”, “that has no openings tonight”), we selected El Rey as our destination, and enjoyed interesting Mexican food, including a rice pudding flan.

Having reached our final morning without, we decided a Philly cheesesteak sandwich was an appropriate breakfast option at the appropriate named Spataro’s Cheesesteaks restaurant at Reading Terminal Market. And having already walked over 40,000 steps during the weekend, we chose the reasonable option of… no, wait, we walked some more. You can’t really sit down while exploring a zoo. We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and spent the next few hours at the Philadelphia Zoo. (With our luggage. Good thing it was just carry-on.)

They have some pretty interesting exhibits, including their 360 view tunnels for various animals. I can’t emphasize enough how cool it is to walk under the jaguar or the red pandas. Sadly, the trip had to end, so we headed to the airport, thoroughly satisfied with our first Pack Up + Go experience.

‘Tis the season

I spent a year abroad in college in the lovely, if somewhat dreary, city of Glasgow. It’s only dreary because of the overcast skies and rain, the people more than make up for it. I spent a decent number of weekends and holidays that year with newly found friends in Edinburgh, including Christmas Day.

I remember waking up that morning and finding my Christmas stocking, not in the living room near the tree, but on my bed with me. (Yes, I slept fairly soundly back then.) In all fairness, there was a large dog downstairs who might have gotten curious about the stockings had they been left in her reach. More surprisingly, as I reached into the stocking, I found that every gift in it was wrapped.

I think it was in high school when we noticed that our parents’ stockings had bare minimum content and started scrambling through our room on Christmas morning for assorted junk we could add to them. Most years, our stockings were about as random, it was just newer junk.

Holiday stocking & wrapped gifts — Oooh, wrapped stuff on a stocking.

I don’t remember anything in that Edinburgh stocking being junk. Fun and unnecessary, perhaps… I mean, does a college student really need Lego? (In my defense, I owned no Lego at all until that year. OMG, Lego Thor is awesome!) That year reshaped how I thought of Christmas stockings, and has certainly influenced the type of items that are seen in them at my house.

Here we are at the holidays again, and I found myself reminiscing about that year… and wrapping just about everything. Perhaps I should make some Yorkshire pudding this year too. Happy holidays!

Cruising the Galápagos

Our Galápagos cruise was on the Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour II. That’s a mouthful, we just called it the Endeavour once we were on board. We flew into Guayaquil, Ecuador the day before embarking, arriving late enough that we only stopped to eat dinner before going to bed. We were met at the airport by Lindblad staff who happily ferried our luggage to the hotel and presented us with a rundown of the next morning’s activities: early morning wake-up, luggage outside the door 15 minutes later, and a buffet breakfast before dashing off to the airport for our flight to Baltra for embarkation. Galápagos images: Welcome to the Galápagos, marine iguana, Sally Lightfoot crab, blue-footed boobies, sea lions, sunset

After our short flight, we walked out of the back of the plane (or front, depending where you were seated), queued up for immigration and a bag check, then waited with snacks and shopping in the VIP lounge while the rest of the cruise-goers made their way through the lines. We then loaded into buses to the dock so we could put on life vests to ride the Zodiacs to the ship. Our luggage, tagged with our cabin numbers, would follow separately.

After a brief view of the cabin and introduction to our housekeeper for the week (Kelly), we mustered in the lounge for crew introductions and emergency procedures. Oh, and more snacks, then lunch in the dining room soon afterwards. Somewhere in there, I found time to unpack before our first wet landing of the week, where I followed our naturalist, Jason’s, example and walked barefoot for our mostly sandy nature walk.

After that, most of the week is a blur. I spent a restless first night on the boat arguing with something that didn’t agree with my stomach, missed a nature walk and the first snorkeling opportunity then next day, then rejoined the activities for a late afternoon walk. Over the next few days, we were taught about plants and wildlife in the Galápagos, with many up close and personal encounters. The basic guideline is to stay six feet away from the animals, which most people attempted to do. The animals, who are unfortunately illiterate, followed no such rule, which certainly made for better photos.

Most days followed a similar route: breakfast, morning excursion choices (usually splitting into shorter wildlife walks and longer, more scenic ones), lunch on the ship and an education talk (photography, geology, and Charles Darwin were among topics covered) while the ship moved to another location, afternoon excursion choices that frequently involved being in the water, then a daily recap and the next day’s plan before dinner. Among the options we tried were jumping off the back of the boat (into 65 degree water! BRRR!), stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking (not recommended right after paddle boarding, uses too many of the same muscles), and deep water snorkeling, in addition to many scenic walks across sand, lava, and uphill both ways in one case.

Over the course of the week, we ended up on at least one excursion with each naturalist. It didn’t really matter, they were all awesome, but they each brought a slightly different perspective and unique stories to the adventure. When we visited the Darwin Research Center and learned about Lonesome George, we happened to be with Socrates, a naturalist who has helped out at the center for years. The next day, we saw a giant centipede and heard from Christian how he was bitten by one as a child.

We spent a day in Santa Cruz, visiting the Darwin Research Center and shopping in Puerto Ayora before visiting the Tomás de Berlanga School, which is supported by the cruise line, while another group visited a coffee and sugar plantation. We reconvened at a local restaurant for a delicious lunch, then drove to a farm that lets Galápagos tortoises wander freely. As it turns out, they’re fond of guavas, which grow at the farm and are allowed to fall freely for the creatures. After a bit more shopping, we carefully avoided the sea lions wandering the docks and found our Zodiac back to the ship.

That was the second night we were delighted by live music on board. The night before was a performance by crew members, including the captain (making for a stellar line in La Bamba… “yo no soy marinero, soy capitán”). A local music group came on board with a dance group with assorted instruments, keeping us entertained – and dancing for some of it – for quite a while.

By the time we disembarked on Saturday morning, we were wiped out, yet sad to leave. We flew back to Guayaquil, where Cassandra and I ignored the city tour option in favor of the heated pool and a pair of coconuts with straws, followed by a stroll through the hotel in search of a chocolate shop. An early dinner followed, anticipating the 2:30am wake-up for our flights returning us to reality.