Disney 2014

It had been 11 years since the group had last visited Disney so it was about time! Big thanks to Andy and Maria for spearheading this and getting us all there to celebrate!

But before Disney 2014 begins, Rachel and I decided to head out early and start the vacation with some R and R. We stayed at a great hotel (a couple miles from Universal Studios), The Point Orlando Resort. When we saw the website of folks hanging by a poolside bar we knew we had to stay there - those were our people! :) And that is exactly what we did. Checked in, immediately donned swimsuits and hit the pool bar for lunch and relaxation til dinner time.  Our hotel was on a local public transportation system called, I-Ride Trolley and it worked well for us. It was a $2 bus ride up and down Universal Blvd or I-Drive and found on the stop was Maggiano's. Oh beloved Maggiano's! Our dinner and service really didn't live up to our memory, but the cheesecake did!

Next morning, we hopped on the iTrolley and made our way to brunch at the Hilton. It was right across the street from the spa we were going to, but "right across" was in Vegas terms, the distance is very misleading with giant structures! Anyways, brunch was fab - one of the best I have had. Avocado and goat cheese wrapped in a wheat tortilla? Yes please! Then it was time for the spa. The 4 hour spa experience called the Serene Retreat...ahhhhh.... I had no idea what to expect at the spa at Rosen Centre but it was wonderful. After a relaxing start to the day, we were ready for the wildness of Downtown Disney! And we were ready for more friends to start arriving! We met Joel and Kerry at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant - it was fun and loud and I was excited for everyone else to start arriving!

Time to leave our hotel and head to Disney Beach Club Villas! Andy and Maria were able to finagled their time share points to all get us rooms at their resort. Because of that we special clips on our magic bands and people went above and beyond to "Welcome us home"... thinking we were all time share owners. heehee. When we left our first hotel we played it smart and put on our swimsuits, no sense in getting dressed if we were going to be poolside the whole time! And poolside we were...for 6 hours. Finally got dressed to have dinner at downtown Disney because the group had arrived!  

The next day started early, but we had a lot of Disney to cover in 2 days! We took the Villa boat over to Hollywood Studios where we hit the highlights: Star Tours, Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster. Then even thought the heat index kept climbing we decided to head spend the afternoon at Magic Kingdom where I nearly passed out from the heat at the Haunted Mansion. I think I might be a ghost there actually. We only did a couple more things: the Swiss Family Tree House, Pirates of the Caribbean and then some shopping. I crashed at the hotel for a while and recovered and then finally made it to dinner at Nine Dragons at Japan Epcot. Then we caught the firework show at Epcot and because we hadn't had enough food :) we ended up at Spice Table Road where they had a special Wine Down after hours that we could sample wine and food. 

Next full Disney day started us out at Animal Kingdom where we went on the Safari ride, then the Dinosaur ride, Yeti and Primeval Whirl. I really like the Animal Kingdom park! Then - Epcot. With the goal of drinking around the world. I only made it to 6 countries or 7 if a weird cherry drink at China counts. Others pulled off the 11 drinks. Andy maybe shouldn't have... I did some rides in at Epcot because Maria scored us some free fast passes, so I did the Norway ride, Soarin' and Test Track.We had dinner at Morocco and ended the night at the hotel (super) hot tub.

Last day, time with everyone was way too short. Got up, got packed and had a bit of time to do some shopping at the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk encircles all the Disney resorts in that area and is Disney charming. Before we knew it, it was time to board the Magical Express for a ride to the airport. Then we got separated from the group and only Rachel and I ended up together, having lunch at the Outback Steakhouse. There were not a lot of choices for us! But I am so glad we did, because I now know about the blue cheese vinaigrette, that I must find a copy cat recipe for! A couple of drink at lunch and it was time to board the plane. It was a somewhat memorial ride when we hit turbulence and the plane dropped from the sky. I haven't experienced that before, where the only thing holding me in the chair was my seat belt. It only lasted for a second, but the amount of screaming it induced, yikes. Thankfully the rest of the flight was not memorable! Land safely and I have started to save my pennies for Disney 2024! :)

MN Wine Trip: May 2014

The 7th Annual MN Wine Trip brought us to 3 wineries this year! We repeated the Northeast/Central area of the state. First step of wine trip - start off with a good brunch! This year since we were headed north, we ate in Northeast Mpls at an Ecuadorian restaurant, Chimborazo. 5 stars!! The food was amazing and the server was wonderful, explaining all the unique items on the menu and offering suggestions. I want to return immediately.

Now, usually the charm of wine trip is that we find these small towns with odd buildings that have now been converted to B&Bs (like a jail house or an old church), but this year, considering the location we didn't have that charm so we took the plunge and stayed at a hotel with a water park! Holiday Inn in Otsego. I am pretty sure the best way to prevent a hangover is to burn it off at a water park. :)

Sometimes convenience is everything and in this case it also provided us with a great meal to start our day of winery visits, the hotel restaurant had a great breakfast! Now, time to check out the wineries...Two Rivers Winery was first on the list. The owner of White Rabbit Vineyards & Winery recently opened Two Rivers in Ramsey so instead of heading to Andover we sampled wine at Two Rivers. The winery is large and is getting ready to host classes and events! I purchased the bubbly and I am excited to try it, not many MN wineries offer bubbly!

Second winery of the day, Goose Lake Farm and Winery. Located in Elk River, this is a farm winery and adorable. Lots of animals roam free (chickens and birds, plus they have goats and other furry friends) and because of this they have natural fertilizer and weed control! Most exciting find at this winery... soft packs! They have pouches of wine that you can purchase, equals 1.5 bottles of wine. So single serve. Heehee. We finished the day with dinner at Pour Wine Bar and then back to the water park!

As always the end of the weekend comes too soon! Thankfully we had one more winery to stop at Willow Tree Vineyard & Winery in Ham Lake. This winery was great, we had a fun time bellying up the bar and chatting with the worker. We found out that they have a seasonal pumpkin wine so we are excited to return in the fall and try that!

MN Wine Trip: June 2013

Sixth annual! And a return to the southeastern quadrant of MN.

We had hopes of a picnic lunch at Lake Harriet before hitting the road, but because spring just won't come, we had to settle for lunch at Fireside Pizza. Which of course is not settling at all but gorging at a Richfield tradition! Now we were ready for it first winery! We hit the road and headed to Plainview. Off the beaten path, we found a super charming winery and vineyard. Whitewater Wines. The owner was wonderful and welcoming. I liked the Coral Bell, which was a blush. Summer might be coming but I still can't get my taste buds to like white wine, so I'm hoping I can get by with dry roses for upcoming patio season!

Onto our lodging for the evening! Heavens Valley Lodge. Super cute! It is in the valley of a hobby farm. The 2 bedroom lodge is right next to the hen house. So we got to pick eggs right from the hen house for breakfast the next day (by the way: this is the best egg bake ever!).
After breakfast, we packed up and traveled downtown for a bit of shopping. We stopped at the Watkins museum and shop. Then, and I was real excited for this, we stopped at Bloedow Bakery. I needed a donut! We bought a bunch. Pretty darn good.

Then I got to visit my old college campus, Go Warriors! The campus has changed so much! I couldn't remember my dorm's name, but we found it finally – I needed a photo op! Time for a wine tasting! We left the valley of Winona and traveled up the bluffs to Garvin Heights Vineyard. I didn't find a wine I really liked here, but it was still nice to sit on the patio and take in the views.

Next, we had a winery in Rochester to visit, so time to travel to our next destination! First we checked in at our hotel for the evening, Aspen Suites. Perfectly fine, 2 bedroom suite in a chain hotel, clean and roomy. Before we got too settled, we had to get out the door and visit Post Town Winery. Again, didn't find a wine I was really into, but it was a nice winery to visit. It was just a store front, the vineyard was a few miles away. They serve pizzas and had a guy playing the piano for some atmosphere, pretty nice!

Then we stopped for an early dinner in Rochester and headed back to the room to just chill and hang out. Unfortunately, on Sunday we didn't make it to our fourth and final winery of trip, so stay tuned, hopefully a bonus wine trip will be added here later this summer!

Chickens!

Korea 2013: final days

Day 9: traditional folk village
We had another late start today, all this walking is tiring! All we really had on the agenda was to visit a traditional folk village. We booked a tour package that picked us up at our hotel and drove us about an hour out of town. Once at the village we had about 2 hours to tour the grounds and watch some performances. It kind of reminded me the renaissance festival back home, but obviously from a different era of time! There were food vendors, replicas of old farm houses and traditional dance shows. It was neat to see.

That took up a huge chuck of the day, so by the time we were back in the hotel, it was time to head out for dinner. We never really explored our original neighborhood, hongdae, so we decided to get on the subway and do that. For being in a university area, it took us forever to find a restaurant with some English. I had to stop at a food vendor just to have a snack (hard boiled egg in a sweet bread, good!). Finally found a restaurant and they had the egg drop soup that we had in the bar in Gangnum! That was soooooo good, I was getting it again for sure. Although we still haven't figured out the portion sizes...again, we ordered 2 dinners when we just needed one!  We wandered a bit more after dinner. I am just amazed at how nothing closes and people must not sleep here!

Day 10: we leave :(
There isn't much to share about this day. We got up early, checked out, caught the cab to the airport railroad and started the long trek home!

Thanks to all that followed along through my travels in Seoul! The people there are wonderful and I recommend everyone buy themselves a plane ticket and go!

Korea 2013: day 7-8

Day 7: shopping in Seoul!
We spent most of the day shopping in Insa-dong. This area is full of shops and kiosks selling pottery, souvenirs and food. On Sundays the streets are closed to traffic which makes shopping easier! We stopped at a tea house and shared this large bowl of tea. It was iced, fruity and floral, very refreshing!

After taking a rest from a hard day of shopping, we headed back out to visit N Seoul Tower (picture below). The tower is located on a mountain (Mt. Nam) so I hiked a mountain! Well we hiked a bit of it and took the cable car most of the way. The long lines were killer and it was really crowded . But the view was worth it (kind of :) ). Seoul is beautiful at night, so many lights. When we got to the top of the mountain, we ate at the Italian restaurant there. Not too bad, the risotto was really white rice in gorgonzola cream sauce. The cream sauce was super tasty!

Day 8: more shopping
We were sleeping in today! Finally made it out if the hotel for lunch. Um, we ate pizza. Always a good base for shopping! In the Sinchon neighborhood, where we are staying, there are back alleys filled with stores, fun to shop around. We then hopped the subway (have I mentioned how awesome the subway is here!? So easy to figure out, will bring you anywhere) and went to the Namdaemun market (picture below). It has over 10,000 stores. Oh.my.god! So many stores! But in the end it seems like there are only 5 different types of stores. Still, really amazing to see.

For dinner we meet up with another friend of a friend. A coworker of mine has a friend going to school here, so we meet him in one of the university areas, Hyewha. Such a cute area! We ate at a traditional Korean restaurant, shoes off, sit on the floor. Really good, purple rice, tons of sides and egg soup. Then we went to a beer mart. It was like being at an American bar, except you go to the beer coolers and get your own beer. Then as you drink you put the empty bottles in a bucket that you bring to the cash wrap at the end to pay. Fun!

Korea 2013: day 5-6

Day 5: explore Busan
First, I need to address our toilet here at the hotel. There are so many buttons and I only understand a few of them! I must say, the button with the face on it scares me the most. I don't want to press it. And then I realize this is something you probably don't discuss, but I never read anything about this while researching and only found out days before I was leaving, but you don't flush toilet paper here. They have the fanciest toilets around (picture below), but culturally it is just something you don't do. It is hard to retrain oneself to remember this!

This morning we started late. We headed down to the beach and hiked along it a bit. Gorgeous scenery. And nice walking paths. We didn't really have breakfast so it was time to get food. Always a bit of struggle. We just start to wander and hope we find a posted menu with some English on it. And we did! I got a spicy tofu stew...with mussels. But I could just pick around them since they were still in the shell and it was full of tofu, not the biggest fail. It was really good. So glad I got a seafood allergy test before I left!

Then we caught a taxi to visit Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (picture below). A buddhist temple right on the beach. It was really beautiful. Some people were there to worship, some just to tour. We got some grape ice cream and sat on the beach rocks and just enjoyed the sun.

Dinner time came soon enough and we were craving pasta. It is nice that there are so many food choices. Love Korean food, but I couldn't eat any food every day of the week. So we googled a nearby Italian restaurant and headed out only to discover it was closed (explanation in Korean) so then we returned to our main strip where there 2 other pasta places. We picked the one with people in it, always a good sign! I gotta say, some of the best pasta I have had!

Lots of people were on the beach enjoying the pleasant evening weather and listening to the guitarists play on the boardwalk,  so we did the same!

Day 6: travel back to Seoul
Time to repack! I was ok saying good-bye to our Busan hotel. While it was nice to have a large bathroom, the decor was really outdated and wifi didn't work in the room (which is disappointing cuz everywhere you can get free wifi, even in the beach). Although it was a great location, a block from the beach. We needed lunch before we left so we started walking! After a few failed attempts at finding a readable menu we came across a Chinese restaurant. I ordered the noodles in black bean sauce with green peppers. Turns out the green pepper was jalapeno and it was crammed full of seafood (again, glad I got that seafood test!). Plus the noodles were just not that good, way too chewy (and Rachel said the squid was chewy too). Not the best lunch, but I have failed lunches at home too!!

We cabbed it to Busan station where you catch the express train to Seoul. It was really busy for a mid-Saturday afternoon! After taking time to get a donut for the trip, we only had to wait 1 minute til we could board. Oh and donuts here...not as sweet. The honey dripped on my donut was the sweet part. The train ride is a pleasant one, nice to stretch out just sit back and relax.

Arrived in Seoul and checked into our final hotel of the lag. After a minute or two pause to freshen up it was time to go on the hunt for food. We ended up making a big circle and eating right across from the hotel! I got a tofu dish (no seafood! ) and loved it. We spent hours after dinner walking and shopping. It was 11 at night when we returned to the room and no shops were even closing, crazy!

Korea 2013: day 3-4

Day 3: explore Seoul
Had breakfast on the rooftop garden of our hostel today. Beautiful sunny morning! Then we started out early to visit gyeongbokgung palace (picture below). The palace grounds are huge with beautiful mountain scenery behind them. We had a group of 13 year old boys very excited for us to take a picture with them. Um, sure! We spent the rest of the morning wandering the grounds til lunch called. 

We traveled to a small neighborhood, close to the palace and found another restaurant with pictures and some English descriptions. Very helpful! Plus, it looked busy. So we walked in and realized it was maybe more traditional? We had to take our shoes off and sit on the ground. My body is not use to sitting cross legged for that long! But it was real good! I ordered a red bean gruel with dumplings. Yum! The server wanted me to add sugar to it, but I liked it better salted, so I tried to slyly swap it our when they weren't looking.

We returned to the room for a break and to figure out evening plans. We were meeting a friend of a friend for dinner. She had us meet her a Hanjeongsik restaurant, it serves a full-course korean traditional meal with an array of savory side dishes. It was amazing! But I really can't understand these portion sizes over here (picture below). We sat down at the table and they rolled over a table top that slipped over the table top in front of us. The entire table was FILLED with food. I ate and ate til I could eat no more and there was so much left, I felt bad! We also ordered an earthen jar of rice wine that you scoop with a big wooden spoon into a smaller cup. Super good! Our new friend, Annie, then brought us to Gangnum where we ordered another jar of rice wine. Most bars require you order food with drinks so we had to order more food! We got an egg dish that we could share, it was really good too but I didn't need more food! Gangnum was amazing to see at night, vibrant neon lights, similar to New York's times square, but still different.

Day 4: travel to Busan
This morning started rainy in Seoul. We took our time having breakfast and repacking the suitcases, it was time to check out of studio 41st. This hotel was wonderful and served us well, the staff was super friendly/helpful and amazing accommodations (kitchen, laundry and a computer in the room), but we were off to Busan! For lunch we just picked up a sandwich at Paris baguette (pastry shops found all over the place) and made our way to Seoul station, a main hub. We were taking the express train. If you ever find yourself doing the same, get the first class seat for sure. It isn't that much more and is so worth it, you are on the train for 2.5 hours. But the free wifi helps the time past!

We headed to the taxi stand after exciting the train and even though we had the hotel address in Korean we did not end up at our hotel. The cab driver got us to the general area but dumped us at a really posh hotel. I figured that would be ok cuz they'd have a concierge that could help and they did! The guy got us a new cab and told the driver exactly where to go and we made it!

There seems to be a lot less English signage here and just from being tired and needing a break from Koran food we ended up at the most American place they probably have here, a tapas bar. I gotta say, the food was tasty! Afterwards we walked around a bit and then stopped for some Turkish ice cream. Tomorrow we really check Busan out!

Korea 2013: day 2

Day 2: explore Seoul

Started the morning in the common room of the hostel, fried some eggs (mine had a double yolk, must be good luck!), had some coffee and talked to the 2 friendly girls at the front desk. We decided we'd hit 2 palaces today so off to the subway we go!

The first palace was Changdeokgung we went on the Secret Garden tour. There were still a few cherry blossoms on the trees but we also caught a "rain" storm of falling leaves. Picture more of a special grounds area for royals than like an area filled with exotic flowers. There are many gazebos and path ways, a very private and peaceful area.
Picture below.

Lunch time! Rachel spotted this porridge place (dishes explained in English) so we thought that would be best!  I had the vegetable cheese porridge, perfect for a rainy day! Again though, so much food! But everyone in the restaurant was ordering their own bowls so we just went with it. The porridge came with side dishes, like Kim chi, a side of beef and something else like kimchi...after I ate it, discovered it was squid. Oops. Picture below.

We then went to deoksugung, which is the most urban palace, in the heart of the city. Temple structures stand with electronic billboards in the background. we had hoped to see the changing of the guard ceremony, but due to the rain they canceled it. So we decided to start shopping. We went to Insa-dong, which is lined with shops. Every other shop has got to be a skin shop, which explains why Koreans have such perfect skin! And you better believe we stopped at several of them (I am wearing a honey face mask right now as I type this!).

The rainy weather was starting to wear on us, not to mention all the walking. So it was time for a break, we headed back to the hotel where we stopped at a GS25 (maybe similar to a CVS back home) and bought a ton of snacks to try. We sampled them all but decided we better figure out dinner before we gorge on corn chips and caramel corn!

The guy at the front desk did some research and thought we'd really like Tara Jumak, a makgeolli pub (traditional rice wine). It was an experience! The chairs were decorated special for us (as if we couldn't stand out even more)! And the menu was 100% Korean. But the owner was Finnish and could communicate with us. I got an onion fried Pancake, along with all the sides, good stuff!

Korea 2013: day 0-1

Day 0: travel
Minneapolis to Chicago - flight was on time and smooth. Love that flight, you take off, get a drink and descend. Over and done before you know it! Then we disembark and experience total blondness. I really dislike the O'hare airport. Plus, no restaurants in the international terminal? I don't get it. Thankfully we didn't have a long layover (<3 hrs). Once on the plane, it was only a short time and I had a complimentary glass of wine, slippers and movie playing. Ah...vacation!
 
Lunch/dinner (not sure what meal of the day it was!) was fun, assemble your own Bi-bim-bab (picture below). Dozing, movies and whining about the flight length was the rest of the flight. With about 2.5 hrs to go all the kids on the flight started to have melt downs, it was deafening, they were expressing how we all felt though. Total flight time: 13 hrs 28 mins. Ugh.

Day 1: check-in at first hotel
We got off the plane, had some tense minutes wondering if I'd ever see my luggage again, and then found the airport railroad. One of the exits brought us within a 10 minute walk of our hotel. The folks at the hotel are super nice and very welcoming. By the time we got to our room (with its super fancy unlocking keypad) we were crashing, but wanted some dinner, at the end of the block was a very American place, called h. Salads, pizza, sandwiches. I didn't really care, just wanted a quick dinner and then off to bed! However we did have one glitch the restaurant...turns out the $12 salad  was more like a salad for 2 (or 3) people. Both Rachel and I just about died when we saw the salad size put down in front of us! Oh well. Don't think that's the end of a confusing dinner order! :)

MN Wine Trip, May 2012

Wine trip #5! This means we had to return to a quadrant of the state we have been to in the past. The great thing about MN is that there are hidden surprises in the hundreds of small towns scattered about, so no route will be a repeat! We traveled Southwest, which meant Faribault for lunch and a bit of shopping. Fantastic lunch at Cheese Cave! We even tried to get our server to come with us on the rest of the trip, he was super! Then we had the typical antique shopping and wandering. Faribault was much cuter than expected!

Time to check in to our hotel for the night. It was in the tiny town of St Clair, MN. The lodging for the night... an old church, Bell Tower Suites! Figured it was about time to stay in a joint that was originally created to worship the dude that turned water into wine! Plus, we have already stayed in a jail and a castle, a church was next logical choice. It was pretty amazing. 1400 square feet and stain glass filling the entire wall in the living room. We hung out a bit but it was time to hit our first winery, Indian Island Winery! They had a small restaurant that served burgers and wine, all a girl needs. This place is quite a compound! Large structure in the middle of farm land, wish the weather was better cuz the patio looked awesome. Thankfully they had live music inside to entertain us! And I couldn't get over it. White dude on the steel drums. How do you pick that up living in farm land?? Anyways, he was great!

Time to return to the church to pray. I mean play games and drink too much. :) Morning came quick and it was time to pack it up and head to the antique mecca in the area, Jordan MN. While we were shopping the storms started to brew, so we took cover in a coffee shop/diner/antique store. I think we hung out here for hours. Finally we could kill no more time, time to brave the storm and head to winery #2, Crofut. Now we had troubles with this winery the first time round in 2009, in that I didn't read their hours posted so we couldn't stop at the designated itinerary time. This time it was going to happen! Um, or not. We arrived to find a note on the door: Closed due to weather. Are you kidding me? It was raining. Sigh. Again, not meant to be. Nothing really left to do in this wet and dreary weather but to head to Chaksa. Our stop for the night.

So yes, Chaksa might be only 45 minutes out of the cities but that requires an overnight stay! Don't worry about it. We all put 2 and 2 together and realized it was Cinco de Mayo. So we had to dine at a Mexican restaurant! Turns out there was a brand new one in town that just opened. Perfect! Or not ... New wait staff,  new systems, busiest night of the year meant we waited 45 minutes just for a bill, then even longer to pay. Ugh. But we finally got out of there and trekked it to the wine shop down the road, Dolce Vita Wine Shop. Now, we had it on good authority that we'd love the place, but I didn't realize I'd love it that much! Super service, guy really knew his stuff, gave us all wine tastings and they have a super chiller that will chill a bottle of wine in minutes, cool thing! Time to return to the Best Western! Gotta give some praise to this joint, great price and underground parking (helpful when the storm hit at 2am).

Morning came and it was not sunny. The storm was still hanging around so no one wanted to stick with the original plan and tour Arboretum. Instead we played mini golf! Fun course. We worked up an appetite and headed to Lions Tap for lunch. 

**Bonus wine trip! Due to a schedule change we weren't able to stay at this B&B during wine weekend  but I didn't want to cancel our reservation. And am so glad I didn't! Turns out Belle Plaine doesn't have much entertainment besides bars, but the hidden gem is The Rectory! Before we could check in we had some time to kill. First brunch at Cindy's Kitchen. Yummy - real cooking. It was still a bit early for drinks so we hit the local thrift store and I rediscovered my love for bubble gum ice cream. OK! Now it was acceptable to hit the bars. Lots of townie bars, the no windows kind so it was hard to know what we were going to get into. But we found the cutest one! Huck's Shipwreck Saloon. Recently remodeled with murals and the full shipwreck theme. Super cute and clean!

After an afternoon drink, it was time to check in. We had a very thorough tour of the old rectory and learned all about the history from our wonderful hosts for the night. We then sat in the game room and played games with we munched on the wonderful cheese plate and sipped wine. Then it was dinner time, back to the townie bars! We heard the food at Johan's was good and I won't deny that, however the atmosphere was not like our earlier place. Things really got lively when the homemade pole dancing stage was assembled. Yikes. We retreated to our peaceful B&B for the night!


The next morning we started the day with the most amazing breakfast. It was course after course of deliciousness. Scones, poached peaches, stuffed french toast - all homemade. Times like this I wish my stomach was 10000 times bigger. I was sad to leave. But we were going to a winery so not too sad. :) on the earlier wine trip we stumbled upon a brand new winery that wasn't open yet, but by this weekend it was! Chankaska. Not a huge fan of the name. But the grounds are amazing, it is quite a winery. The workers actually understand the wine they are serving and are quite knowledgeable - great experience. 

Oh and I have to mention... there is one tourist attraction in Belle Plaine. The 2 story outhouse. You can't tour the inside, but you can get a good idea from the outside!

Boston Trip: September 25-29, 2011

Mother-Daughter Trip! I will admit, I was worried when 2 days before we left my mom presented me purse. But not just any old purse - it was a coordinating purse. It coordinated with her purse!!! It was the kid-size version of the one she bought for herself. :) But this was a mother-daughter trip so it fit the theme! Plus I was happy to have a new purse! ;)

Day 0

Evening airline ride to Boston, hopped a cab and got to the hotel (Westin Waterfront) to have a late dinner at the hotel's restaurant, MJ O’Connor’s. It was an Irish pub that played top 40s music – a pet peeve of mine. The hotel room had a decent view of the harbor, but no washcloths for the entire stay – I guess that was our trade off.

Day 1

We were able to get up and start the morning in Boston fresh and ready for some sight-seeing. The hotel concierge recommended the Upper Deck trolley tours and that turned out to be a great tour for us. Padded seats, entertaining tour guides and easy to spot buses painted bright green and yellow. We traveled the route until we got to stop 7, the start of the Freedom Trail. But before we could start that we needed lunch, I spotted an alley that looked interesting and it had a restaurant tucked into it, Sweetwater Tavern. Great good and super yummy sweet potato fries. We then entered Boston Commons to walk to the beginning and first site of the Trail, The State House.

Then we saw it all: King’s Chapel and burying ground, Boston City Hall, Old South Church, Old State House (where we stopped for a tour to hear more about the Boston massacre) and that is where we stopped for the day. We got back on the bus and toured around the city til we got back at our hotel. The hotel had a free shuttle that returned us to Faneuil Hall in the evening so we could enjoy dinner at Cheers. For being such a tourist trap I was really impressed with the food!

Day 2

We started the foggy morning by heading to the harbor for our harbor tour that was included with our bus tour. So glad we took the first boat tour, it was just me, my mom and some lady from India – it was like a private tour of the harbor and as we were out on the water the fog lifted and it was a beautiful ride.

After the boat tour, it was time for lunch! Right on the wharf was Chart House and it seemed like just the place to eat and enjoy the harbor view. It was our nautical day so next stop: USS Constitution. This was the one spot I didn’t see last time I was in Boston cuz Rachel and I lost track of the RED line that was on the sidewalk. It is a beautiful ship and was neat to see how well it is taken care of.

Back on the trolley! Next we were going to stop at Prudential – there is a bar on the 52^nd floor that has great views of the Boston skyline, good place for a rest stop. Hopped the last trolley back to the hotel to freshen up and back to Quincy Market for dinner! We wandered for a bit trying to decide where to go and spent some time checking out the Holocaust memorial. It is actually pretty horrific. There were 6 towers to represent the concentration camps and a gassy fog came up through the vents in the sidewalk while you read quotes from Holocaust survivors. Nothing like eating after seeing that! After realizing some places were just too loud and bar-like we finally ended up on the patio of Anthem. Pleasant evening.

Day 3

The morning came and we were back in a taxi, cabbing it to Faneuil Hall to start up where we left off on the Freedom Trail. First stop, actual Faneuil Hall. I am glad we went inside, it was beautiful! Very nicely restored and oozed a wonderful sense of history. A few short blocks and we step into the North End, Boston’s Little Italy. It was a clear divide! Italian restaurants everywhere! We had some sites to see before I could gorge myself on Italian food though, like Paul Revere’s House! We were able to tour the inside see how it would have looked at the time he owned it. It was actually quite a large house for that era – which is good considering he had like 16 children!

Then on to the Old North Church. One if by land, two if by sea. Finally, time for some lunch. Italian lunch! On the plane ride to Boston we discovered we had a Boston local sitting next to us and he recommended Antico Forno. I can't say it was the best Italian meal I ever had but the server (from Brazil) had the most amazing eyes. So good lunch and onto Copp’s Hill Burying Ground which signaled the end of the trail for us. All we had to do was cross a bridge and we would be back at the USS Constitution which we already toured! So my mom did it - Freedom Trail, check!

Before we left the North End we had one last stop...everywhere we went we told to go to Mike’s Pastry for cannolis. So I guess we had to go! Um, yeah, it was pretty yummy! After that we were pretty tired out and retired early – we didn’t even have dinner this night!

Day 4

Figured out the subway system on the final day! We saved a bunch of coin and avoided all taxis. It took me a minute, but we got it figured out and didn’t end up taking us on a ride to Harvard or something – instead we made it to the lunch spot of the day: Omni Parker House’s The Last Hurrah – home of the parker rolls and creator of the Boston Cream Pie. Enjoyable lunch chatting with the couple at the table next to us who were from Saint Cloud! HA! Oh and there was a Best Buy conference at the hotel also so MN was all around.

After lunch we entered the subway again for a closer look at Boston Public Library and Trinity Church. Both beautiful structures, inside and out.

At this point we had really seen it all and pretty tired of walking so we headed to the airport and dined at Jerry Remy’s Bar and Grill for our final Boston meal. Smooth plan ride home and a little kitten was happy to have me home!

Graceland Road Trip: June 18-24, 2011

Road trips seem like a good idea... no airline ticket to purchase, amazing amount of scenery and attractions you can visit, but then as the trip starts to approach I start to calculate how much time I will be stuck in a car and I get a bit anxious! I don't like to sit still. But I gotta say, with all the breaks and sites we saw, the time passed quickly! I am already thinking about planning another. I think it is time to see more of the west coast... but focus... this blog is about my fabulous trip to Graceland!

Saturday, June 18th: St Louis
After spending 10 hours in the car, St Louis seemed like a good stopping point! We arrived in St Louis late afternoon and the sky was blue and bright, so it seemed like one should really travel 630 ft in the air to experience it! The Gateway Arch was really a site to see. The 4 minute ride up to the top was fun... and cozy, they cram 5 people in these little cars designed in the 60s - so you learn to make friends quick! It was unfortunate that once on top, the viewing windows were dirty and small, which diminished the view, but it was still one of my favorite stops!

Now it was time for dinner! We had read an article that listed some of the best pizzas in the country and St Louis had a listing: Pi Pizzeria. We decided to go to the Central West End cuz it was 2 miles closer to us than the other location and we were starved. I had no idea that Central West End was that adorable. Super trendy and cute. The pie was pretty decent, but I think they are known for their deep dish, which we didn't get.

Sunday, June 19th: Drive to Nashville
We woke up the next morning, ready to drive to Nashville. Along the way we made a stop at Land Between the Lakes. It is a section of land that is sandwiched between 2 lakes, with walking trails and historic locations. I was happy to get out and walk around a bit, too bad the weather didn't want me to. So hot, so humid and a bit rainy. So we got back in the car to visit the bison prairie, excited to see some roaming bison! Um, the bison didn't want me to see them. They were not feeding or roaming, they were hidden somewhere among the trees, so that was a bust.








Our Nashville hotel had a shuttle to Opryland Resort, which was great cuz parking over there is $18! The resort is grandiose and over the top, at a constructed corporate level that I don't appreciate, but I made the most of it! I road the boat that wound through the courtyard (that is how big the hotel is) and enjoyed the fountain show and had dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants: Jack Daniel's. There was a band playing at Jack's which was fun to watch, great cover band and I even picked up their CD of original songs. It was a fun night!









Monday, June 20th: Nashville, drive to Memphis
Back on the hotel shuttle in the morning, so we could tour the Grand Ole Opry. It was super lavish, all the dressing rooms and the green room were a site to see. The thing that really got me was the circle on the stage. The current location of the Grand Ole Opry is pretty recent, the "real" location was the Ryman Auditorium. So in order to keep a piece of that history, they cut out a section of the Ryman stage and installed it into the current Opry stage. After hearing all the Opry history, we had to tour the Ryman Auditorium also! Between the two, this one was the most interesting for me. The history of the building is fascinating and the talent and legends that sang on that stage gives you the "chill bumps".


Our time at Nashville was at an end (bummer) and it was time to get to Memphis! But with one stop along the way... Grinder's Switch Winery. We all know the special place that MN wineries hold in my heart, so I was excited to visit a TN winery! This winery is in a super charming log cabin, in the middle of what seemed nowhere. The owner is super friendly and pours some great and unique wines. Quite a few sweet ones (just like MN), but some real treasures too. The Chardonnay was one of my favorites, which is rare, those are not usually my favorite!









Tuesday, June 21st: Memphis
It's time, time for the whole purpose of this trip: Graceland. Before arriving, we had read somewhere that you can expect to spend about 2 1/2 hours touring the property. We spent 7 1/2 hours. HA! Ok, so we did take a shuttle over to Sun Studio for a tour and come back to finish the Graceland experience. But Sun Studio is so closely tied to Elvis that it seemed like all part of the Graceland experience. And it was all so great. How to even write about it? Graceland, the house, is much smaller than I expected and we could only tour the first level (lame), but it does have a lot of other building on the property to poke around in. To have a house like that frozen in the 70s era of decorating, well, that is pretty eye opening! I want a jungle room. Sun Studio was also a great tour. Heard some old and original tracks and really got that feeling of history.

Dinner that evening was at BB Kings on Beale St where we were entertained by the house band and I got some good mac and cheese! Beale St is pretty touristy so we thought a good way to view the city would be a Trolley ride. They restored their vintage car so it was a charming 45 minute ride around the city as the sun disappeared for the night.

Wednesday: June 22nd: Memphis
I was absolutely giddy to watch the Peabody Ducks make their daily trek to the fountain and who knew you had to get there an hour early to watch this! Good thing we showed up so early. The elevator doors finally opened and the 4 ducks came running out - they bee-lined for that fountain! Just so cute. We then visited the top of the hotel to see their "palace" at night and some great views of Memphis.

Time for lunch! We ordered sensibly so we could binge on dessert (at lunch! I never get dessert at lunch, but considering the South considers mac and cheese a vegetable side, it seemed right). Rumor had it that McEwen's on Monroe had some fabulous banana cream pie, and I have to agree!

When we at BB Kings the prior evening, the waitress recommended the Gibson Factory Tour. So after licking the dessert plates clean, we headed to the Gibson factory. Interesting tour, learned stuff about the guitar making process that I had no idea about!

I usually seem to end up at a cemetery on my vacations and this was no exception. Elmwood Cemetery is a Memphis cemetery that was started in 1852. And I think this was the most amazing and largest one I have been to at 80 acres. So many awe-inspiring headstones and crypts. I could have spent hours here, but it was too hot to wander and it was closing time soon, which meant dinner...

Every site you read to research Memphis tells you to eat at Rendezvous Restaurant, so we thought we better! The entrance is in an alley, the wait is long, and you find your own table after the hostess points you in the general direction. It is simple and good! A place to visit for sure!

Thursday, June 23rd: Memphis, drive to Branson
Well, that was it, time to start our return home. But not before we made one last overnight stop at Branson! We were going to make a stop to tour some caves in Arkansas, but before we got there, we saw all these signs advertising the Natural Bridge. Our curiosity was peaked, we had to stop. The drive down to the starting point was kind of crazy! We actually had to put the Prius in a low gear and weave our way down and hope we didn't run into another car! Safely made it and we walked the short trail, taking in the beauty of the land and seeing the bridge. Wish we could have walked on the bridge. Ah well.








Once at Mystic Caverns, there were 2 caves on the property that could be toured. The first one, just 1 week earlier was flooded tens of feet, so glad we showed up a week later! The second cave was bigger and had a small pond/wishing well. The pennies that are thrown in there are eaten away in about 2 weeks by the chemicals in the water! It was real pretty there and nice and cool.







Um, so wow. Wow. I don't even know where to start to describe Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede dinner show. Maybe just the name is enough? :) It wasn't until I was buying tickets that I realized that we had to pick a side: North or South. And they meant North or South in the Mason-Dixon kind of way. The whole evening, the audience was pitted against each other in all sorts of crazy competitions, some performed by audience members, some by professional horse riders. There were some fun horse riding tricks and baby pigs plus mini-ponies stole the show, but still sometimes I was kind of wide-eyed, trying to wrap my head around what I was a part of that evening.

Friday, June 24th: Branson, drive home
We really only made one stop on the 10 hour drive home, so I have to mention Osceola Cheese Shop! It was a good stop. I sampled a bunch of cheese, found my MO souvenir mug (I earned 2 new state mugs on this trip!) and then was ready for that final push home! Final mileage count: 2149.9 miles!