Chicago

This spring I had a conference in Chicago and I had to take advantage and extend my time just a bit. I didn't spend an extra night, I just spent a few extra hours and got to see a lot! Funny how different time can pass on my couch vs real life!

First the views from my hotel room weren't half bad...
And my co-worker and I got to eat at some fantastic spots. One night was at a great Italian restaurant and the next was at Uno Pizza - where they happened to be filming a show for the Travel channel! If I am on camera, it would only be because of the funny faces I was making at my co-worker's kid.

So conference over and I have 6 hours to kill before I need to think about the airport, so I headed for the Field Museum.
So the part of the museum that holds the dioramas and taxidermied animals... well it scared me. Freak me out. I swear to you, I looked in the eyes of this beast I think it blinked:

Then I fled to the mummies and tombs, not sure if it settled my soul:
And then the totem poles of Alaska (I think it was Alaska), are messed up:
Next I was off to the dinosaur bones and I even caught the 3D movie - sure it was geered a bit towards the kids, but whatever, I enjoyed it and it did not freak me out.

Well best be heading out and see a few more sites... like the Married with Children Fountain!
I waited forever for this water show to happen, but it was a lovely day and I enjoyed my ice cream cone and book while I waited.

Finally Millennium park. There are some weird things scattered about this park, but I enjoyed a nice stroll in my last fleeting moments in Chicago...

Minneapolis Tours

I have confessed my love for tours in the past, so no surprise I went on a few this year...

* Who knew the southernmost bog resides in Minneapolis? I didn't! But once I heard about a "quaking bog" tour I had to go on it! Tucked inside of Theodore Wirth Park is this fascinating wetland (that is right - fascinating). Did you now that the pinecone from a tamarack, which can reach heights over 60 feet, is smaller than the size of a dime? So what other kind of plants grow in this low oxygen environment? Carnivorous ones of course! Pitcher plants and sundews are about the only thing that can survive. Oh and buckthorn. Sadly, buckthorn is taking over the bog now and the caretakers suffer an endless battle. And if you are interested in the definition of a Quaking bog, well it has a vegetation mat half a meter or so thick that floats over water or very wet peat. Walking on this surface causes it to move – larger movements may cause visible ripples of the surface, thereby creating a quaking surface.

Ok, this shot is not the bog, but just outside of it... poison ivy!


This is not in the bog, but just across the street is Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and there was a cardinal! It made my day.


* Lake Harriet Traditions (co-sponsored by the Linden Hills History Study Group) was a lovely walking tour starting at William Berry Park (Queen and 40th St) and brought us through Linden Hills and ended at Lake Harriet. It was a fun look at the neighborhood and homes.


* Tour: Red Cedar Lane and the Purcell and Elmslie Homes. Starting out near 54th and Upton Ave this tour was all about the architecture in the area and the people who built it. Interesting folly spotted along the way!
I highly recommend checking out the walking tours of Minneapolis: www.preserveminneapolis.org

California Wine Trip: September 10-12, 2010

Ah, California wine country, I returned! As soon as we landed I wanted to get started and visit all 280 wineries and the fact that I couldn't stressed me out, but in 3 days we still made a good effort! Michelle and I flew in Thursday evening and after waiting far too long for the airport shuttle we finally arrived at HoJo where Rachel was waiting for us with a chilled bottle of champagne! Awesome.

The next morning, after filling up at the continental breakfast, it was time to travel to our actual destination: Glen Ellen. Oh, but wait! The Golden Gate bridge! And it was a typical foggy San Fran day, the bridge never looked so cool.
Last time I was in the area we just jumped on the main highway, but I had heard that CA 1 was the way to travel. You follow the water and cut through some charming towns, like the little unincorporated water side town of Olema. Cute. A lovely lunch was served to us on a charming outdoor deck at the Farmhouse Restaurant. Unfortunately, the fog that made the Golden Gate so charming stuck with us the entire time on the 1 so the views weren't what they should be.

By this point though we needed to get a move on it, the wineries were going to be closing for the day and we hadn't even made it to 1 yet! It is really a shame the tasting rooms close at 5pm. As closing hour started to approach, we (luckily) missed our turn off so decided to stop at the winery just ahead: Anaba. This is a new winery that took over a previously existing vineyard. Their blush and pinot were my favorite!

Glen Ellen was minutes way at this point and oh, what a picturesque city Glen Ellen is! It is a small town and has all the small town charm. On the main drag is a tasting room for Hop Kiln so we could fit in another tasting for the day. The lady at the tasting room was kind enough to make reservations for us at Glen Ellen Inn for dinner. After eating there I wanted to move to Glen Ellen and only eat the ravioli that they served me that night. Oh and then there was dessert...

During our stay at Glen Ellen we rented a cottage off VRBO.com. Vanity Vineyards had some pluses and minuses. So never was it made clear we were renting a guest house in the backyard of the main house. Which meant when we arrived at the address we just entered the house...it wasn't our house! Ugh. Once we got that all settled our cottage was adorable, but we always had that feeling that we were intruding on someone's space.

Morning came and we were first in line for when the doors opened at Kunde. This turned out to be my favorite vineyard on the whole trip. We started with a cave tour and ended with a wonderful tasting. The Sauvignon Blanc here was pretty delish!

Before visiting our next winery, just up the road was a local olive oil shop, Figone's Olive Oil. It was great! Sipping olive oil out of little cups is an interesting experience! Ok, now for the next winery! Kenwood. The guy pouring our wine was a trip.

After 2 tastings (pre-lunch) we figured we better get some food in our bellies! So just up the road was Ledson. Um, we didn't even try the wine here, but we took advantage of the beautiful grounds and deli! The whole place was just so commercial and grandiose that I couldn't bare to be inside it and sample the wines, so we rushed out with full bellies and traveled the roads of Santa Rosa til we arrived at Paradise Ridge. The views here can't be beat. I didn't sample all they had to offer, I just purchased a glass of the bubbly. It wasn't my favorite, but it was nice to sit high atop the hills and look down at the town and vines.

We now needed to get on the back roads and find us some charm and boutique wineries. The first one we stumbled upon was DeLoach. Is not boutique, but it was good! And all pinots. I might like pinots now! But I am still scared to order them, you just never know - I always follow the rule, purchase a cheap cab before you purchase a cheap pinot, and you all know I am pretty cheap! Next, we found our boutique winery! Harvest Moon. I think we arrived 20 minutes before closing so it was a bit rushed, but great. The Zins here were good and we got to nibble on actual wine grapes.

For dinner on Saturday we decided to drive into Sonoma. We wandered a bit, but it was dark and you couldn't see much and our tummies were growling! After a day of drinking, nothing sounds better than Mexican so we stopped in at La Casa. They had a spot in the back courtyard, so we could just relax and over indulge in cheese and carbs!

Yet again, we were first in line when the wineries opened Sunday morning and we were ready to sample the fine wines at Chateau St Jean. I had a fun time here and really liked everything I sampled, but left with a Gewürztraminer. By this time we had figured out that you could share a tasting, which meant one could still taste the wine by the end of the night and not by hungover by 4pm!

Then we traveled back into Glen Ellen and stopped quick at the tasting room of Mayo . Some really good one here, particularly the Barbera. Lunch was calling and we ate at Garden Court Cafe , great food in a small cafe in the heart of Glen Ellen.

I had heard all about the tram ride and vineyards of Benziger and was really interested in seeing it for myself. The grounds were breathtaking. And it was nice to just sit and have someone drive me around. The wines here are bio-dynamic and I don't know if it is my head or not, but it all tastes a bit earthy for palette. The reserve cab is pretty darn good though!

I didn't want to leave! We had to go, we wanted dinner in San Fran and I guess at this point we were getting a bit full of wine, but on the way out of town we pass by Cline. I realize how commercial it is, but I do like their wines so this was our final stop. It was crazy busy here, but we found a spot outside and I could leave with a non-fortified port that I had been hunting for.

We drove around San Fran for a bit and I suffered a panic attack being stuck near vertical on the hills but finally got us to Lombard Street...and we drove the crooked street! Then we drove for like an hour to find parking and finally stopped and ate at an Asian-French fusion place. It was good! But I still had enough room for a second dinner at the airport! :)

My NW MN Wine Trip, May 14-May 16, 2010

The third annual MN wine trip has come and gone. I am nearly done planning the 4th annual wine trip for 2011, but sadly I have to wait a whole year before that is going to happen! However, in the mean time, hopefully writing about the 2010 trip will help me relive it and not long for the next one quite yet!

This year 7 of us piled into 2 cars and hit the open road for NW MN. Well actually the open road didn't come right away since the first stop was in St Louis Park! About 6 miles away from our brunch stop at Victor's 1959 Cafe (where "wine trip 2010" is now penned on the walls), was our first stop: Warehouse Winery. By appointment only, we were able to schedule a tour of these new winery and enjoy all the rich bodied wines they are creating. My favorite was #3, the Sangiovese blend, it was nice and peppery.

Second stop (and second time Google map failed us) finally brought us to Millner Heritage Vineyard and Winery in Kimball. Opening the tasting doors in May of 2009 (but in operation since 2006) - Millner is one of the newest in MN and they have a strong tie to their heritage (hence the name!). Our host was dressed in a traditional German outfit that was pretty adorable. :) All the wines have a German/Austrian name. My favorite here? Freizeit. Great patio wine for those warm summer evenings! There website is helpful to know how long you can continue to age the wine (if people can actually wait around to drink it!).

We then drove to our rest stop for the night: Brophy Lake Resort. So... who else knew it was fishing opener this wine trip weekend?? The stir that 7 girls made traveling to a resort lake was pretty impressive! And then when the guys realized we couldn't get our fire pit started, oh boy. Finally we had a hero come to our rescue. Although I still claim that we couldn't get the fire started cuz once we realized we needed paper we got distracted and started to read the magazines instead. This resort was so fantastic, I highly recommend it and if you go fishing opener, you get to experience a very interesting subculture!

The next day started with the first of our 6 theme stops....

Then we continued on to the real business at hand, drinking wine! We traveled to Carlos Creek Winery and stayed for much too short of a time. The grounds here are so nice and they had all sorts of activities that we couldn't just stick around for. We did go on a tour here and then quickly slammed some wines. Recently Carlos was taken over by new management, and I think they are still working out their recipes. I had a hard time finding a wine I could name my favorite, but finally sampled Trinity and I really liked it!!

It was then off to a surprisingly wonderful stop: Leatherwood Vinegary. I say surprising because I left with 2 bottles of vinegar and I have never used vinegar in my recipes or meals before! I thought I didn't like it. One man's hobby has turned into a exciting new adventure! Set up in a humble workshop connected to him home, there are endless containers of vinegar of all stages of fermentation. I left with a tangy combo of rosemary and apple and a plain apple cider. Yum.

We had the luxury of not having to stay in a hotel or resort the second night, someone in the group had a cabin right along the travel path! We visited the best Mexican joint in the Northwoods: Companeros. We were all wishing we were wearing stretchy pants by the time we left there!! Once back for the evening, we watched loons dive for endless minutes and ran from june bugs.

The next morning was lazy and wonderful. We only had 1 winery left: Forestedge Winery. I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant. All their wines are fruit wines and well, the thought of drinking sweet fruit wines was not appealing after a weekend of wine tasting. But before we were were going to see if we could handle it, we had theme stop #2!

Ok! Now we could drink down some syrup...however, we were in a treat for a treat - these wines were dry, not syrupy sweet! The black currant and rhubarb raspberry were both my favorite. Great stop!

We then had the long drive home from Laporte to Minneapolis, thankfully we had 4 kodak moments to stop at!!

Foshay Observation Deck

The skyline of Minneapolis was a different place in 1929 when the tallest building opened and held that title for 40 years. It may not be the tallest building in 2010, but it is rooted in downtown liked an old oak tree. Recently it had a rebirth and now holds a trendy nightclub, a trendy bar on the 27th floor and a trendy hotel, however the 30th floor is not so trendy... but instead transports you back to the "conspicuous consumption" era of the 1920s.

When you enter the Foshay Tower (on Marquette and 8th), held straight to the info desk of the W hotel. After handing over a chunk of cash ($8 for adults), you will get a special key card that takes you to the 30th level.


The museum is lined with old papers and letters highlighting the history of the Foshay. Hanging on the walls in 2 places is an electronic screen that will play videos outlining the past and current stories this building has had. One of the most interesting things I retained is that each floor is 4.5 inches shorter than the one beneath it. Therefore plumbing and duct work has to be offset at each level, which leads to quite an engineering feat! After wandering and reading gobs of memorabilia for a good 45 minutes, I finally climbed the final steps to the open air observation deck. And here are a few of like the 42 pictures I took....






Open Monday - Saturday from 12pm - 9pm
Open Sunday from 12pm - 6pm

Observation Deck Winter House are subject to the weather - call ahead (612-215-3700)

Midwest wine tour season has started!

First winery visit of the season: Hook Stone Winery

Tucked right in with all the tourist shops lining main street is a little wine tasting room right in Hayward, WI. Four dollars will get a full tasting and a glass etched with the winery's name and "mascot". In addition to having fun wines like "Campfire" and "Rock Bass", the shelves are also lined with great food items like olive oils, mustards and sauces. I fell for the olive oils which were lined up right by the front door. These oils were different in that the olives are pressed right along side the accompanying flavors. For instance, the roasted garlic is pressed right with the olives as opposed to the olives being pressed, then infusing the oil later with the flavor. Pressing together allows for a much more predominate flavor and richness.

All wines are made on premises with grapes from California and Washington. I really enjoyed the whites. The reds were all pretty oaky. The port was my "best in show" - it is non-fortified (meaning no brandy added) and I thought it was just lovely.

Address:
10588N Main Street
Hayward, WI 54843

Phone:
715-634-WINE (9463)

Atlanta trip: February 26 -March 1, 2010

Travel Log

Finally! It seemed like forever since I had gone on a trip!! This winter has been a long one (I think we - Minnesotans - say that every year, but really, this one seems like the worst in a long time) and I really needed to get away and not see snow. So after searching and searching on Expedia, I found a great deal to Atlanta. Rachel was going to be the travel companion on this trip til, well one diabetic cat later and it wasn't looking good. So turns out Neville was also looking to get away so I still had a travel buddy!

Friday
I had to get up before the crack of dawn, I didn't believe the sun was ever going to rise. It finally did when the plane took off! Oh well, at least during these early morning hours I had the meat raffle to entertain me!
I won 1 dollar! Well it wasn't enough to pay for the trip, but it was lunch time and I was ready to start spending some money! About a block away from our hotel was Steel. Odd place, I couldn't tell until we got a menu that this was an Asian restaurant! It was vacation so that meant wine with lunch! The server asked if we were celebrating something. hee hee.

A full stomach and I was ready to start exploring the city. First tour of the trip: the Federal Reserve Bank. The very first thing on the tour was a map showing where all the Federal Reserve banks were...um, Minneapolis was on that list. I didn't even realize, then I was worried that I could be going on this same tour back home - how lame would that be? Turns out Atlanta is the only one that has such a display. It was pretty neat, the museum part had all sorts of old money and items that use to be used as money. You got to inspect counterfeit bills and lift a gold bar. And you leave with a bag of real shredded money. Fun times.

What to do the first evening in a new town? How about tour a brewery!? Jen and I had read about a crazy place called Sweetwater Brewery. We didn't realize how crazy it was until we there there. It was like being a college house party again. If you ever want a refill on a beer you need to stay in a constant line or you are never getting back to the front again. After sampling all their beers, it was time to get out of there! It wasn't worth the $32 round trip cab ride, but I did love their blueberry beer. On a nice night it would have been fun to be outside and wander the grounds, but all being crammed into the building was a little too much for me.

Time for dinner! We headed back to our hotel and thought we would try another restaurant that was just across the street, Prickly Pear Taqueria. Not the best Mexican, but it was close and warm. This restaurant was one of several I saw on the trip - a joint Mexican and Pizza restaurant. Kinda of like an upscale joint Pizza Hut and Taco Bell combo! Oh and another unique restaurant type in the Atlanta area - a place that serves salads, just salads.

Saturday
After a nice, lazy, vacation morning, we decided to head out and explore some more. Next on the bracket - the CNN tour. Sadly, the earthquake in Chile had just hit in the middle of the night so this Saturday CNN tour was a bit more happening then other typical Saturdays. Our tour guide was pretty pumped that Rich Sanchez was there.

After the tour we stayed in the busy CNN center and ate at Dantanna's. This is a total sports bar place, with fun over-sized booths that have individual flat screen TVs, although we were seated at a boring table. Food was pretty good!

We thought we would check out Piedmont Park on the way back to the hotel. All the travel guides say to go here, but maybe because it was out of season, but it wasn't that cool. Just endless stretches of dead grass. For dinner we met up with Jen's aunt. It was so nice to let a local drive and decide where to go! She picked a great place, La Tavola. Great Italian food.

We were home early enough from dinner to run over to the liquor store across the street and then go back and rent a cheesy movie off cable. My favorite thing to do on vacation is rent a movie off cable!

Sunday
We still had a lot to see and this was our last full day! Got an early start to the morning and took the MARTA to Oakland Cemetery. Founded in 1850 this cemetery is filled with so many interesting things. Old epitaphs to read and old headstones to inspect... we spent a lot of time here.

I do a lot of research before trips and I didn't hear about the Cyclorama until we were in Atlanta. Such a shame, they need to boast their marketing skills cuz this place needs more visitors! It was fantastic! A giant oil painting completed in 1886 that is now strung up in a circle with a diorama blended into it, you get to view it by setting in a rotating stage that takes you through the 360 degree view of the battle of Atlanta.

I was starved at this point and we had past a cute little neighborhood joint called Dakota Blue. Tables filled with young, hip, artsy couples and local art hangs on the walls. I left with a new craving, jalapeño cheese grits from Dakota Blue. Yum!

Grant Park was a really neat neighborhood. We even checked out a couple of open houses in the area to see what the houses were like there. Grant Park totally beats Piedmont Park!

Well, time for the most touristy thing a person could do, The World of Coca-Cola. This is one long commercial, a commercial I didn't want to change the channel on! :) We got to view old memorabilia and old commercials. There was a 4D movie we watched twice. And then the finale, sampling 50 different Coke products from around the world! I stopped drinking Coke about 4 months back so I was nervous how this would go... thankfully I didn't stick my head under the soda fountain and just let the soda pour directly into my mouth!

As soon as we stepped on the MARTA to head back to the room to refreshen before dinner, someone started to yell, "the girl in the blue coat! the girl in the blue coat!" I can't even stress how much I didn't want to be wearing a blue coat at this time. I look up and this other guy started to introduce himself to me saying that he was a retired clown and now does magic tricks for entertainment (and tips). Oh god. I don't what is worse, a random guy yelling at me or a retired clown. Turns out it was all pretty hilarious. The clown hid a scarf in his sleeve and made it reappear under the sleeve of my jacket. Too funny.

The whole time we had been avoiding Marlow's Tavern, another restaurant across the street from the hotel, it looked chainy and meat laden. However, we didn't want to pay for a cab ride so we decided to give it a try. I am glad we did! Dinner was great, and they were happy to have us for hours (which I love to settle in a booth,with a good friend and a bottle of wine and not think about leaving the safety of booth life and entering the scary world again). The server was adorable and we got free asparagus fries, life was good.

Monday
Last day. :( Thankfully our plane didn't leave til mid-afternoon so we figured we had time to do one more thing... tour the Fox Theater. The outside is so nondescript, so I couldn't believe the inside when I saw it. Unbelievable. I got to sit in a chair valued at $50,000! Our 1 1/2 hour tour turned into 2+ hours by the end, but that is ok. I totally enjoyed poking around every nook and cranny. I just can't believe some guy gets to live there. He is like the protector of the Theater and they let him convert some old offices into a 2 story apartment. Lucky.

One last lunch before it was time to head to the airport. Right across from Fox Theater was a good looking place, Baraonda Caffe Italiano. They had pizza! For some reason I had been craving pizza the whole trip so I finally got my fix. Now I go could to the airport and head home...