Eric Visits in June

I am lucky to live near DC. It is a cool place to live, it is beautiful in the fall, it has a dynamic energy about it, and people often come here for business, conferences and sight-seeing. I have been fortunate to have a lot of friends come out to visit over the last two years. My friend Eric came out for a conference in June and stayed with me. Eric and I were both in the same study abroad program in Madrid, Spain. He was the cool kid and I just tagged a long basking in his awesomeness. It was great to see Eric because we hadn’t seen each other since I left Utah. It was a reunion that was long overdue.

Sadly, Eric wasn’t in town for very long and he had to attend the conference and I had to work (I hate needing a paycheck). So I would drop Eric off at the Metro on my way to work and I would pick him up at a Metro stop or in DC after work and we would eat food. Eric and I love to eat food, I think it is what brought us together initially.

So here is where we ate:
• I took Eric to one of my favorite places, Kabob Palace. I have mentioned it before, but I just love that place and I love to take visitors there. If you come to see me, there is no escaping it – just ask Tiffany.
• We also headed to Ben’s Chili Bowl. Ben’s Chili Bowl is a DC institution and I had never been. Eric swore to me that he liked chili so we made our way up to U Street. The chili was indeed very good and it is different than southwestern style chili as there were no beans anywhere. I would not recommend the slushees that they have, the one I ordered was so sweet I almost went into a diabetic coma. Eric and I both enjoyed the chili dogs. Eric also had potato salad that said was just okay.

Eric also wins the Guest of the Year award. I set Eric up in the basement is which is large and cold (which is great for the summer). Our dog, Lexy, rarely ventures into the basement for reasons that are known only to her. When she does go down there, however, it is to poop. Sometimes when Lexy can’t last the entire night the basement becomes her bathroom. It is a rare occurrence, but Seabreeze does have a seam cleaner on hand just in case.

Poor Eric was sleeping soundly when he heard Lexy come down the stairs. He told us that he got very excited that Lexy was going to hang out with him until she proceeded to poop right in front of him on the carpet. Wonderful Eric took Lexy out for a walk at 3:00 am and then proceeded to clean up her mess. Eric, you went above and beyond and are welcome here anytime – if you dare to return.

I hope that doesn’t scare the rest of you way.

Bella Visits in June and August 2009

In June my lovely friend Bella Tukuafu came out to DC for her new job. I was so excited that she was in town because it had been about 4 years since we had last seen each other. As usual, Bella was totally awesome. It was great to catch up with her and learn more about her sexy husband (I am just reporting the facts, right Bella?) and her totally adorable kids. Bella never ceases to amaze me; she is so cool and confident.

While in town, Seabreeze, Shelley, Bella and I went to our former mission president’s house for dinner (the mission president supervises all the missionaries). I hadn’t seen the Pratt’s in about 8 years and it was strange to see kids that were in high school when I knew them now married and with kids on the way. It was nice to catch up with them again.

Bella and I went out to dinner several times when she was in town. I took her to Cosi here in Reston and the s'moores were fantastic. Bella's co-worker Cecilia joined us as Cosi and instantly fit right in. Cecilia you are welcome here anytime. On her last night in town I headed to Rosa Mexicano in to join Bella and her co-workers for dinner. Boy did we eat up a lot of food and shared several desserts. I love people that love dessert.

What really made my day was that Bella came back in August and we were able to spend time together once more. I wish she didn’t live so far away – stupid Utah.

Savannah, GA

Right after I got back from NYC I headed down to Savannah, GA. I was really excited to go, because I was heading to my ancestral homeland. My maternal grandmother grew up outside of Savannah in Jesup. I have never been to this part of Georgia, so it was exciting to get an idea of my Grandma AJ’s background. One of the people I met said that they knew some Odum’s (my grandmother's maiden name) from Jesup and commented that they are some fun-loving drunks. I am glad I come from a line of people that know how to party.

The highlight of the trip was the night I spent in Savannah. There is a new Hampton Inn downtown that is really nice. It is located right in a lovely part of Savannah and is a good deal, although you do have to pay for parking. One benefit of staying a Hampton Inn is that they usually have a decent selection of cable channels. Sadly, I ended up spending way to much time in the hotel room as I felt the beginnings of a cold coming on.

Before I crashed for the night, I headed to Paula Dean’s restaurant, The Lady & Sons. I love to eat at local places and I was especially excited to eat the food of someone that appears on my beloved Food Network. Things actually went my way as I was able to find a free parking spot close to the restaurant and I got in without a reservation (because I was willing to eat at the bar).

There was a lot on the menu that looked very, very good. The only issue is that I have some weird preferences when it comes to food (my dad continuously mocks me, and rightfully so). I don’t like to eat meat on the bone. This means that I don’t really care for roasted chicken served on the bone or ribs. In fact, if it meant eating ribs or not eating at all, I wouldn’t eat. I don’t care to gnaw on bones and when you eat chicken on the bone, you don’t just get the meat, you end up eating gristle, tendons, and other nasty parts of the animal. Yuck. I also don’t care much for fish. I have never really enjoyed fish, aside from the fish stick or Filet-o-Fish variety. I also have issues with shellfish. I oftentimes have strange reactions to crab and lobster, so I just tend to avoid the whole group all together.

Now for the important part – Savannah is a southern coastal city - meaning that they are famous for their seafood and fried chicken (not necessarily together). So when I had to pick a meal, it was pretty much fish or fried chicken. Here is how I played it: The Lady & Sons has a meal called the “Southern Buffet.” It is all you can eat for $17.99 of pork loin, fried chicken, biscuits, corn bread, macaroni and cheese and a lot of other typical southern foods. The bartender recommended the Southern Buffet since I was only in town for the night and it was the best way to sample Paula Dean’s cooking.

The buffet was fantastic, aside from the pork loin which I found to be dry. I also didn’t love the peach cobbler – and I typically love peach cobbler. It just seemed a bit bland, as if there wasn’t enough cinnamon.

I may not eat much fried chicken on a regular basis, but it was the best fried chicken I have ever had. I even went back for seconds. The macaroni and cheese was totally decadent and the homemade corn bread was to die for – I had to force myself not to just eat carbs the entire time. Before you even head to the buffet, you are served garlic and cheddar biscuits – those biscuits prove that this is an inherently good world, as nothing that delicious could ever exist in a world of pure evil. I even tried some black eyed peas that were pretty tasty. But that fried chicken – oh man, that must be what fried chicken in heaven tastes like. Mom – you have to go.

Given the opportunity, I would happily go to Savannah again. Maybe this time I would be able to take a tour of the city, go to the Odum stomping grounds, and see that statue on the cover of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

New York City, NY

Well, I did pretty well on my blog in August, yet like most of my efforts in life, the progress was short-lived. I am going to get back up on the blogging horse and try once more. Thanks for sticking with me.

In May I had the awesome assignment of going up to NYC for a three-day training course. It was especially nice because my good friend, Frank, was assigned to teach. Road Trip!

Frank and I decided to take the train up to New York instead of flying. I haven’t been on trains very much, but I like the concept. One argument for the train is that it takes you right from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, which is really convenient. While it is about a three hour train ride, you don’t have to arrive at the train station 1.5 hours early so you end up saving a fair amount of time. It is a much more laid back affair and it really was nice to not have to deal with taxis to and from LaGuardia or JFK. I would totally take the train again (although it not any cheaper than flying). Frank did not have such a fantastic experience. I came home a few days earlier than Frank as he has friends up on Long Island. On his way back someone jumped in front of his train and died, delaying it for hours. The exact quote from Frank was, “I wasn’t annoyed while I still had 30 Rock to watch, but once I finished with the DVD’s I got mad.”

Now I may come off sounding spoiled, because of where I stayed in New York, but I am not. Frank and I were lucky enough to book rooms at the Waldorf-Astoria. I never in a million years thought I would get to stay there. They were running a huge special and it was cheaper to stay at the Waldorf than it was to stay at a Hilton Garden Inn in Chelsea (I am not lying: $259 at the Waldorf compared to $269 at the Hilton Garden Inn). It was an amazing hotel with an absolutely beautiful lobby and a great location in Midtown. I will say that my room wasn’t remarkable, it was actually quite small. The hallways in the hotel also creeped out Frank, who said they reminded him too much of the “The Shining.” Judge for yourself...

The Waldorf is just a couple of blocks from Rockefeller Center. Naturally, Frank and I headed over there to try and stalk Tina Fey, but she was no where to be found. While there was no Tina, there was a Magnolia Bakery. For those of you that know I love tiny cakes, they don’t get much tinier than cupcakes. Frank and I went back to Magnolia several times and I fell in love with the chocolate on chocolate and the red velvet. Frank is weird and eats his cupcakes without frosting. Who does that?

Frank had never been to the Empire State Building so we totally had to go there. Now they try to upsale you with a special trip to the 102nd floor for an extra $15. It is not worth it. At that high up, the perspective is about the same and the entire floor is enclosed and slightly confining. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day to go and I as usual, the view was spectactular.

I talked Frank into going to Serendipity with me because I love their frozen hot chocolate (as stated in an earlier blog). I totally got us lost going there, but we arrived and I enjoyed my sandwich and my awesome frozen hot chocolate. I don’t know if Frank enjoyed it or not.

The building where we were training was located in Chelsea so I was able to go to the Chelsea Market for lunch. I loved that place, especially Hale and Hearty Soups. They have amazing corn chowder and wild mushroom soup. I also enjoyed their turkey cranberry sandwich. I ate there several times and really enjoyed the food and surly service.

I also had my first authentic New York Style pizza at Gotham Pizza. It was very yummy and not at all greasy. I typically like a thicker crust because I love bread, but I am becoming a thin crust convert. I my have to eat a lot of pizza to fully change my mind but I am up to the challenge.

There are some fantastic restaurants in Chelsea by chefs whose names I actually know. There was Tom Colicchio’s place, Craft, which had some delicious steaks smells coming out of the building and Iron Chef Morimoto’s Morimoto New York. It is at times when I am surrounded by fine dining that I really wish I had a lot of money.

I had my first, “let’s get some drinks at the Waldorf” experience and it was expensive. I paid $20 for two virgin daiquiris. I wonder what in those drinks cost $20 because I know there wasn’t $20 worth of booze in there? It was still a lot of fun and I totally downed a ton of the Chex mix-like food they had on the tables. I hope I ate $20 bucks worth of that mix.

Since I am not very familiar with New York I don’t know of a lot of places to eat that were within our price range. After wandering around and getting hungrier and hungrier Frank and I just gave up and picked a place to eat off Times Square. I had heard of Maxie’s Delicatessen before and for some reason had heard it was delicious. I was very, very mistaken. The food was totally disgusting and flavorless. I think that they take every order and just deep fry it. My southwestern egg rolls tasted just like my Ruben hamburger that tasted nothing like a Ruben. Everything ultimately tasted like old oil. Do not eat there – EVER!

Frank did figure out where the mistake came, there is a 4-star restaurant in New York called Maxie’s Bar and Grill. We were so close to goodness but yet so far…

On the way back from Maxie’s we passed a restaurant called Alfredo’s of Rome. Frank and I stopped to look at the menu and someone that was outside smoking told us the place was really delicious. Since she was dressed all in black, we assumed she was a waitress but she insisted she was not, just a happy customer. We went back the next day and I had the best fettuccini alfredo of my life. It was so creamy and simple. The sauce actually tasted like cheese and not like a cheese sauce derivative that came out of a can – I accuse you Olive Garden. It isn’t cheap, but not overly expensive. I would happily eat there again.

On our last night in New York we went to see The Lion King. I was totally jazzed to see the play as I had heard so many great things about the costumes and set design. I should preface the following by saying that I have never seen the movie The Lion King so I didn’t really know the story. Frank was a really good friend because he wanted to see a different play, but I insisted on The Lion King. The first number with the “Circle of Life” song was breathtaking. I was in shock at that creativity and imagination it took to make the savannah and its wildlife come to life so beautifully on stage. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Then things started going down hill. The jokes were lame and the kid actors had the emotional range of a rice cake. I went to the theater with higher expectations from the whole production. There were some stand out scenes for the costumes and sets, but the overacting and pathetic jokes just really took a great play and made it unfortunate. As Frank later reminded me, “it is a kid’s movie.” I owe you an apology Frank.

The day I was leaving to travel back to DC was my birthday. Frank and I decided to go to the Today show. According to internet sources, you should arrive at the Today show at about 5:30 am if you want to get onto Rockefeller Plaza. 5:30 am is early, but Frank and I were up until almost 1:30 am watching scenes being filmed for the upcoming movie, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nicolas Cage so 5:30 am was really early. It was kind of boring watching them film the movie because took forever for them to do anything. The upside is that my failures to enter the movie business on the production side seem less like failures. We did get to see a garbage truck ram a car at about .5 mph in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. So if you see the movie that is part we saw being filmed.

We got to the Today show at about 5:30 and proceeded to stand in line for an hour until they let us onto the plaza. Frank made a sign for me to hold up (since he is more artistic than I am) wishing my Uncle Roger a happy birthday (we have the same birthday). It was the first installment of the Today summer concert series with Jennifer Hudson. We were able to listen to her warm up which was really fun.

One of the ladies standing next to us was chosen for the Ambush Makeover series. She was just so nice and if you watch during the fourth hour of the show, you can see Frank and me standing behind her and jumping up and down like idiots. I have to say that the guy who does the makeovers is Botoxed beyond belief. Yikes!

By 7:00 am we had seen Al Roker, talked a fellow visitor through a break-up with her boyfriend, heard Jennifer Hudson, and had aching feet. We both went back to the hotel and crashed.

Before I caught my train back to DC we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was amazing. I absolutely adore their collection of Greek and Roman statuary. It was especially wonderful having Frank there because he as a strong background in art and art history. I would highly recommend inviting Frank to any art museum you visit. I just wish we would have had more time to explore. I could spend days there, and I know nothing about art.

Next Trip: Savannah, GA

Opera at the Kennedy Center

For growing up in a suburb of Paris, my friend Mathieu has had no exposure to the opera. It is shameful. Are you sure you are even French Mat?

Now I can’t really say much because I have only been to 3, maybe 4, operas in my entire life. My wonderful friend Michelle Kirby arranged for us to go see La Traviata in California when I was in high school. I really enjoyed it, especially because they provided supertitles. I don’t understand anything about singing or composition, but I know I liked what Verdi put together.

In Austria, Seabreeze, Shelley, Elise, and I watched about half of an opera (something in Italian) at the Vienna State Opera House (we only watched half because we had to make the three hour drive from Vienna to Maria Alm) and it was a beautiful production. If you are visiting Vienna, go to the opera house about an hour before the performance and you can get standing tickets for 2 Euro. It is a great deal and the Vienna State Opera House is beautiful.

What might count as an opera is a Spanish form of operetta and folk opera called Zarzuela. In Madrid Seabreeze, Shelley, Katie and I saw a Zarzuela performance that was fantastic. It isn’t as heavy as opera and often introduces some comedy. I would say it falls more on the Gilbert and Sullivan side of theater. I was impressed that I understood as much as I did of the performance. Poor Katie had to have one of us translate for her. I bet she missed a lot of plot points because Seabreeze, Shelley and I all speak cheap, gringo Spanish.

And my latest opera was back in May – Siegfried. Mathieu decided that he needed to see an opera and I am always game to participate in something that makes me sound cultured and smart. I don’t actually have to be cultured and smart – I am merely looking to appear cultured and smart. So Mat picked Siegfried. Siegfried is the third of a four part opera series by Wagner called Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). It is essentially part of the plot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy with less fighting and more sword forging. Siefried’s father had a sword that was broken and Siegfried has to reforge it so he can fight the dragon Fafner (best name ever) that has a ring that gives the owner the power to rule the world. Sound familiar?

Overall it was a great night and good performance. Let's fact it, any night at the Kennedy Center is a good night. At four hours, it was definitely on the long side, but I still felt like I learned something - mostly that German isn’t a very pretty language. Also, if I have to listen to a story about “One ring to rule them all…” it is going to be on DVD and have Viggo Mortensen fighting orcs.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our night at the opera.

Mathieu and Andrew


Emily and Me


Andrew, Mathieu and Emily

Tiffany Visits!

In April one of my oldest friends, Tiffany Cook, came out to visit. It was such a joy to have her come because, as usually happens when my friends have kids, they can never leave home for very long. Luckily Tiffany had an “ace in the hole,” she was pregnant with her third child at the time as was able to garner enough sympathy from her husband, friends, and family earn a brief getaway. Nice job Mike, you earned a lot of husband points!

Tiffany served as a missionary for our church here in the DC area. As a missionary, you rarely get to have any fun, so this was Tiffy’s big chance to do some of the things she couldn’t do before. Of course, at seven months pregnant I don’t know how much fun you can have, but Tiffany was bound and determined to try.

And now, the many adventures of Tiffany in DC:

Tiffany went out to dinner with single people.
I consider this a brave move for someone that has been married for over 8 years. I must say that Tiffany was a total sport as we talked about love, jobs, dating, and places to get good Mexican food. We ended up eating at El Paso Café, which is probably the best Mexican and Salvadoran food I have had on the East Coast. While that isn’t saying much, I would definitely eat there again.

Tiffany let me be a history nerd at Monticello.
Tiffy did not have a long list of places to see, but she did want to go to Monticello and Mt. Vernon. It is about a 2.5 hour drive down to Monticello from Reston, but it is a lovely trip. I had never been to Monticello in the spring and it was, as always, delightful. Sadly, it was the busiest I have ever seen because everyone was in DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival and made daytrips to Monticello. Regardless, it was a lovely day and I totally wish I was a Jefferson descendent so I could have more access to the place and be buried in the family plot.

Tiffany survived a trip to Baltimore.
It wasn’t actually supposed to be a trip to Baltimore, but boy did it end up that way. We attempted to go to Mt. Vernon, but it was so crowded and just sitting in traffic was totally annoying. Being the wild girls that we are, we decided to drive up to Philadelphia. The trip started off so well…we found a Krispy Kreme, traffic was light, and the weather was fantastic. Then we passed through the Harbor Tunnel outside of Baltimore. Just as we excited the tunnel my car just lost acceleration. It was awful.

So what happened was that my timing belt broke and busted up the engine in the process. I ended up calling AAA for a tow and the Highway Patrol set up flares to make sure no one hit my car as I was blocking a merging lane. The Maryland roadside emergency guy actually pushed my car with his truck so we could get to a shoulder. The tow truck guy took us to his shop, as it was a weekend and most shops were closed. Then Tiffany and I walked down the street and hung out at a McDonald’s in Baltimore until Seabreeze kindly came and rescued us. There was so much crying on my part. For those of you that know I have issues with Baltimore, my car dying and getting stranded in a town I don’t know didn’t help Davis-Baltimore relations.

Things did not go well for my poor little Ford. The repair costs were to range between $1,500 to 3,000 at a minimum for a car that would fetch $1,200 if I could get it running again. I ended up selling it to a salvage yard in Baltimore for $100. I have to say, that if you need a mechanic in Baltimore, go to Curtis Auto Shop in Dundalk. The mechanic was fantastic and didn’t try to rip me off in my fragile state. I would gladly have him look at my new car – a Nissan Sentra that I adore. Seabreeze was an absolute treasure when I didn’t have a car. She let me borrow her car every day so I could take Tiffany around and go car shopping. Seabreeze, you went above and beyond. Shelley and my mom and dad deserve Medals of Valor for kindly putting up with about 15 phone calls a day regarding taking out loans, car shopping, insurance, negotiating, etc. I also still owe Jason a dinner for helping me negotiate buying a car. He is very, very good. Below is a picture of my sweet Ford getting towed away. Sniff, Sniff…


Tiffany let me be a history nerd at Mt. Vernon.
Thanks to Seabreeze we did make it to Mt. Vernon. I love to go to Mt. Vernon and Monticello in different seasons because you really get to see different vegetation and animals. Tiffany has been starting to garden, so it was nice for her to buy some seeds from her trip that she could then plant in her garden at home. I like seeing all the baby animals (I also like how I am 5 year old girl when it comes to baby animals). I even got to pet some baby sheep that were so darling. The new museum at Mt. Vernon is great and I would highly recommend a visit.

Tiffany spent 5 days with me.
I love that Tiffany knows me so well. It was fantastic to spend time with someone that knows when I am full of BS. I just love her to death.

Come back any time Tiffany!

SPORTS!

Since March I have attended more professional sports games than I have in my entire life. I am not quite sure why that is, but I have a couple of ideas. I think one reason is because it is much easier to get to the arenas and ballparks here in DC than in the Bay Area. Also, my parents weren't that interested in sports or attending games. The one team I would LOVE to see play is the San Francisco 49ers. If only I could afford those tickets. Sadly, they totally suck so it would probably just be depressing to attend a game.

Anyway, here are some pictures of us at the games.

In March my friends Seabreeze, Mathieu, Jenny, Shanna, and I saw the Washington Wizards play the Orlando Magic. Naturally, the Wizards lost.



In May Jenny, Shanna, Shelley, Ben and I attended a Washington Nationals game. I don't remember who they played. Naturally, the Nationals lost.



At the end of May a group of us drove up to Baltimore to see a game at Camden Yards. Aside from the Inner Harbor smelling like a combination of raw sewage and rotting fish, it was a wonderful night with AMAZING weather. It was also Mathieu's first baseball game so it was extra exciting. The Baltimore Orioles played the Detroit Tigers. Naturally, the Orioles lost.



In the picture above, from left to right, is: Jen, Ben, Shelley, Mathieu, Seabreeze, Andrew, and Christine.

To top it all off, we went to the batting cages in Herndon, VA to confirm our baseball genius. My friends Frank and Laurie joined Mathieu, Shelley and me.







Who knew I enjoyed going to games? I sure didn't. Although it is one of the few times that I will eat a hot dog - so maybe it isn't an appreciation for athleticism, but rather a desire to eat meat by-products. I am going to have to think about this one.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I thought that blogging would be an easy way for me to keep track of the vaguely cool stuff that I do. How wrong I was – blogging is time consuming! That must be the reason why people do this as a full-time deal. I think my real downfall is that I want to do these blogs in chronological order. If I could just blog at the moment I might be better but I am so neurotic that I there is no way I could actually abandon linear time.

That being said, in February I headed up to Calgary, Alberta. I had never been to western Canada before and I couldn’t believe that my first trip was going to be in February. I am not a snow person, and from what I hear about Canada (the Great White North is not a joke after all) I would definitely be out of my element. Luck was in my favor the week I was there, not much snow, just a lot of cold. I don’t think I have been that cold since I lived in Logan, UT. To make matters worse, I don’t even know how cold I was because they use Celsius. As much as I detest the metric system, it was cool to drive 110 kph – I felt drunk with speed and power.

When I arrived in Calgary, I saw a lot of steakhouses. And since I am my father’s daughter, I decided to eat steak. It had been a long day by the time I reached Calgary and I was ready to eat. I ended up going to Cattle Baron, which I guess is pretty well known (at least according to the framed articles in the lobby). I ordered a 6 oz filet and it was adequate. I honestly expected a little bit more from the famous Alberta beef – although I am not sure it is the cows fault. I must admit that the bread they served was amazing. Is it sad that I remember the bread?

I did eat at the hotel (Embassy Suites to be exact) on a couple of evenings because it was cold. I know that is so pathetic but once you get ensconced in the warm hotel, why would you leave? The hotel food was passable although after I ate I wish I had gone out.

One of my students recommended a restaurant called Moxie’s Classic Grill. It was very nicely decorated and trendy but I still felt comfortable eating by myself. I don’t remember the entrée (oops) but I do remember the avocado spring rolls that were super yummy.

Another student recommended a place called Thai Boat. It was nice and they had a pretty good pad thai. I would have liked something a bit more robust, but for the price it was just fine.

My students decided that we all needed to go out to lunch on Thursday. Olive Garden was chosen because it is good for a lot of people. Fortunately for me, one student told the waiter it was my birthday and the wait staff brought out a cake and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” It was so hard for me to just play it naturally and not crack up. My students were the nicest group of people that I have met in quite some time.

The coolest thing I did was drive up to Banff National Park and see Lake Louise. I have wanted to go to Lake Louise for a while and for a couple of reasons. One, I once saw an episode of the Jeff Corwin Experience (I love Jeff Corwin) at Lake Louise and it looked stunning. Two, I have Webshots on my computer and one of the rotating pictures is of Lake Louise. I guess I just wanted to say when the picture rolled around on Webshots that I had been there.

Banff is about 1.5 hours away from Calgary, so I took off after my class finished around noon on Friday. I drove up to Banff and it was just lovely and even better, it wasn’t snowing. I was a bit hesitant to make the drive up into the Canadian Rockies as I didn’t have any snow gear aside from a glove, scarf, and hat set that my brother got me for Christmas. I definitely didn’t have shoes that would work well. I ended up taking my sneakers and hoping for the best.

Lake Louise is stunning. For overnight guests there is Château Lake Louise which sits right on the lake. I would love to stay there, although I don’t think I make nearly enough money. The alpine beauty of the Château and the lake reminded me so much of Austria.

I walked over to the lake and it was totally frozen. They had ice sculptures, as well as a skating rink, and a hockey rink. I was watching people walk across the lake and I was dead set against setting one foot on that frozen mass of water. I had always thought people hanging out and having funtivities on frozen lakes was an urban legend. It just seems unnatural.

After realizing that this was my one shot to walk on a frozen lake, I decided to take the proverbial plunge. I figured I have had a good life, so if it ended then so be it. I loved walking across the lake. I only made it about ¾ of the way across until the sun dipped behind the mountains and it became very, very cold. Needless to say, I lived to tell the tale. It is, perhaps, one of the most memorable experiences I have had.

On the way back to Calgary, I stopped in the town of Banff, which can only be described as picturesque. I walked around the main streets of Banff with the distinct feeling that someone took Park City, UT and moved it to Canada. I had a hard time finding someplace to eat as everything looked really cheap or really expensive. I finally decided to pick a place and just go – I was on en expense account so what did I care? I would ask forgiveness when I got back to the office.

I ended up eating at the Maple Leaf. It was amazing! They let me sit by the window with a panoramic view of the mountains. What made it even better was that I got to watch the sunset as I ate. The New York strip steak was perfectly cooked and tender. The mashed potatoes were so creamy and the vegetables were just the right and perfectly al dente. I cannot think of one bad thing to say about the place. The wait staff was outstanding and even let me join in their conversation about Lost. For those of you that like wine, they have an extensive selection. If you are ever in Banff, do not skip the Maple Leaf.

And now for two side notes: First, the Canadians are not kidding when it comes to hockey, as every other channel covered some hockey game. And second, I did find a used bookstore called the “Wee Book Inn.” Sadly, it was going out of business because of rising rent prices.

Next Trip – New York City

Language Guide

I can swear by what this video says. While in Moldova the one phrase I could remember was "Take Cover!" and people always found that endearing. Enjoy!

Gettysburg, PA

In January some of the 31 and older singles from my church decided to take a ski trip to Gettysburg, PA. Shelley’s boyfriend, the totally awesome Ben, really wanted to go skiing. Shelley thought it would be fun to go as well and somehow managed to talk me into the trip. I don’t know how she does it.

The plan was to avoid skiing. Shelley is a fantastic skier, but didn’t have any of her gear in Virginia. I don’t ski at all, and I really didn’t want to try on the pathetic “mountains” that they have out here. If I am going to go skiing, it will be in Utah or the California Sierra Nevada’s. That is how God intended people to ski. Instead, Shelley and I were going to tour the Gettysburg Civil War site.

Everyone in the group was staying at a Day’s Inn, but I am a hotel snob and refused to stay there. Instead, we stayed down the street at a Hampton Inn where I felt much more comfortable. The Hampton was nice enough, but in our first room (and I do mean first) someone had smeared snot on part of the wall. I cannot stay in a room like that and we had to change rooms. I am still disgusted thinking about it. The hotel was very nice about the whole incident so I don’t fault them.

The next morning we overslept and didn’t make it to the Gettysburg tour. I wasn’t that upset because I was just along for the ride. We decided to drive to Amish country (Lancaster County) as Shelley had never had never been. It was an amazing plan except for the fact that we had no actual idea as where to go to exploit the Amish and gaze at them for our own amusement. Luckily Shell and I live for the road and just headed toward any town or shop with the word Lancaster in it.

Now if you ask us how Amish country was, we really couldn’t tell you. A few weeks before this trip Seabreeze’s mother, Coni, came and helped us to feng shui our bedrooms. Coni did an amazing job and little by little Shelley and I have been attempting to make our rooms infinitely more awesome. To make a short story long, as we were driving to Amish country we saw a billboard advertizing a Pottery Barn outlet store. It was as if the universe was telling us to buy crap for our bedrooms.

The rest of the day became a quest to find the Pottery Barn outlet. Lancaster, PA has an amazing amount of outlet malls. We headed to the Yankee Candle outlet, the Harry and David outlet, the DKNY outlet, and finally, the Pottery Barn outlet. By the time we had finished shopping, we needed to head back to Gettysburg and meet up with Ben. It may seem lame, and it was, but we got some great stuff at even better prices.

We did see one buggy if that redeems us in any way.

Next Trip – Calgary, Alberta

Havelock, NC

In January I drove down to North Carolina for a class in Havelock, NC. I decided to make the 6-7 hour drive, because by the time you get to the airport an hour and a half early, make the hour flight to Charlotte, NC, have an hour to two hour layover in Charlotte, make the hour flight to Jacksonville, NC and then drive an hour to Havelock it seemed a bit of a wash. Also, last time I flew to the area I had a bad experience on US Airways and I don’t want to give them any more money.

While it may sound exciting to go to the Eastern Carolina Shore, Havelock is not the “Outer Banks.” Also, since I was there during the off season, all the good restaurants that were recommended to me in Morehead City (a twenty minute drive south) were closed. I ended up eating at Wendy’s my first night there and Panera my second night if that tells you anything.

A couple of things were noteworthy on my trip. First, Marines swear more than any other branch of the Armed Forces. You would think that being a “lady” I would have slowed them down, but they were completely undeterred. I am not complaining or being prudish, it was as if they had taken the cursing to a new level. In a way, I almost admire their creativity.

Second, I actually found some amazing sushi down in Morehead City. I didn’t expect to enjoy the food as I had been having pretty low expectations of the area, but it was the best sushi I have had since moving to the East Coast. One of my students recommended a sushi bar and Japanese steak house called Kabuto. I went in because I had no where else to go, and ended up eating at Kabuto's two nights in a row – an unprecedented move for me. I would highly recommend the California Rolls (I know it is “gringo” sushi, but I still love them) and the hibachi filet mingon. I know it is hard to have a bad filet, but was fantastic.

There is a local place called Ham’s, but I found the service to be slow and the food forgettable. The only reason I really ate at Ham’s was because I could walk there from my hotel. On that note, if you are going to Havelock, the Hampton Inn was recently built and is a perfectly fine place to stay.

It may have been a less than exciting trip, but I did miss out on all the storms in the DC area so I still list my Havelock experience as a win.

Next trip: Gettysburg, MD

Sacramento, CA

It wasn’t too hard to say goodbye to my family at Christmas because I came back after one week. It wasn’t because I was homesick, I had a course to teach in Sacramento, CA. There was nothing much to report about this trip except that it was the last training course my company offered in our now closed Sacramento office. I must admit that I am going to miss the several times a year I was able to go back home on the company dime. I just hope that the State of California can save enough money for me (unbridled optimism, or you could argue misguided optimism is a wonderful thing) to make it back to Nor Cal periodically.

I would just like to give a shout out to all the people that took time out of their busy schedules to eat food with me. You all know how much I love to eat food! Thanks to: Mom, Dad, Jody Moore, Megan Moore Garrison, Sheri Frazier, Sean Gendreau, Katie McCluskey, and several of my students who ventured to In-N-Out Burger with me.

Next Trip – Cherry Point, NC

Home for Christmas - Antioch, CA

I can’t believe the time delay in my blogs. I find that I want to do all of this in chronological order, but I am not disciplined enough to blog in a timely manner. I wish I could promise “Yes We Can” like change, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.

So my last trip in December was to my hometown, Antioch, CA. I hadn’t anticipated returning home for Christmas, but being in Phoenix and having vacation time that needed to be used, it just seemed foreordained. It turned out to be a nice trip home as my family was together again for the first time in over a year and a half. It also turned out to be a blast from the past trip as I caught up with two of my best friends from high school that I had not seen many years.

My friend Veronica Leong is a professor in the Engineering Department at Arizona State University (this is especially weird because I spent the prior week in Tempe, AZ but I thought Verny was still working on her post doc at UCLA). She actually runs her own lab and teaches classes and is one of the smartest people in the world. I don’t know if she has been officially designated as one of the smartest, but she is an Antioch High School success story. Thanks for making us look good Verny. She is married to Ryan Santos and has an adorable little boy named Bradley who starts off shy, but then makes us all drink imaginary soup.

When I think of Michelle Kirby, I instantly think of the kindest and most genuine people I know. Michelle doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and it isn’t because she is pushover, it is because she is truly and sincerely kind. I haven’t seen Michelle in many years and I am so glad that our time at home coincided. Michelle has accomplished quite a bit since we last communicated: earning her MBA, running all kinds of insane (in my opinion because I hate exercise and physical pain) marathons and trail races, and traveling the world. She lives in the Denver area and I am rooting for a trip to Denver very, very soon.

It was great to catch up and it honestly seemed as if no time had passed since high school or when we all graduated from college. Since I wasn’t home for very long we didn’t get to spend a ton of time together, but the girls came over to my place one night to catch up. I think it freaked my parents out a bit to have us all together again – it was a bit of time warp.

The next morning we all went out to breakfast so we could also spend some time with Ryan and Bradley. Veronica even brought some of her high school year books to peruse, which was a bizarre and sometimes terrifying walk down memory lane. It was just so wonderful to see my two friends all grown up. I know it sounds condescending, although I don’t intend it to be, but I am so very proud of both of them and I am so happy that we are still friends. I need to make sure it doesn’t take to so long for us to get together again.

Next Trip – Sacramento, CA

Phoenix, AZ

As I said in the last post, December 2008 turned out to be crazy busy. The third trip of the month took me to Phoenix, AZ. I was very excited about this trip because my awesome friend Elise attends Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. I rarely get to see Elise now that I live on the East Coast and as she will testify, I am horrible at keeping in touch with people over the phone (Elise, I promise that this is true for everyone, not just you. I am an equal opportunity ignorer). I have a wonderful friend, Suzette, who lives in Tucson, AZ – or so I thought. I was so pleasantly surprised to learn that she now lives in Phoenix and we were able to get together and catch up. What a great trip.

I booked a reservation at the Hyatt in downtown Phoenix based on the recommendation of my client. Supposedly the Hyatt was only a few blocks from the training location and it would have been an easy walk to and from the hotel. Well, at the last minute they changed locations and I ended up commuting everyday to Tempe. I’ll admit, I was tempted to change hotels, but once I get settled in I am loathe to leave. Also Hyatt Hotels are pretty nice. Plus, it was a reverse commute and I had a nice rental car, so it turned out pretty well in the end. I will say that I am disappointed with the Phoenix downtown area. Unless there is a basketball game going on, the place is practically dead after 5 pm. I didn’t enjoy walking to my hotel from the parking garage at night because the streets were almost as empty as a ghost town. To be honest, it freaked me out a bit.

Elise and I love to go out and eat and this trip was no exception. Elise and I planned on meeting after she was finished with school (she is working on her PhD) and I was finished working. Monday night we went to her favorite Vietnamese restaurant. They had some awesome egg rolls. After that we went to Cold Stone and had the best ice cream combo that was ever created: After Dinner Mint. It is Chocolate Peppermint ice cream with marshmallows, Oreos and chocolate shavings in it. So good, but sadly it is only available during the holidays.

Tuesday night Elise and I headed off to one of our favorite places to eat, California Pizza Kitchen. As some of you may recall (Mom you are probably the only one that remembers this) that I have been boycotting CPK for removing my favorite pizza, the Pear and Gorgonzola, from the menu. I am sure that the loss of my patronage did irreparable damage to CPK’s financials, but that is what they get for crossing me. I am so glad I gave CPK another try because PEAR AND GORGONZOLA IS BACK ON THE MENU! Shout it from the rooftops and everyone order that pizza because I don’t want to have to be without it again. Afterwards we saw a Christmas movie with Freddie Rodriguez in it – which was fine by me because he is super cute.

I also drove by a Costco Home store on Tuesday. Now this is not a Kirkland’s or a regular Costco Warehouse with furniture in it – this is a separate warehouse with just furniture and accessories. Why do we not have this in Virginia? I want one and I want one now here in Virginia and also one for my friends and family in California (my Veruca Salt impression). Costco, don’t hold out on me – share the joy!

I also found a Half Price Books in the Phoenix area – would it be a Jen trip if I didn’t visit Half Price Books? It was a nice shop and I was able to sell some books for a solid price and I loved browsing around the store. I really wish we had a Half Price Books out here in DC, think of all the money I would waste.

Wednesday night we just ordered Pizza Hut (with their yummy breadsticks) so I could do laundry at Elise’s place. I watched my first episode of Private Practice (yummy Taye Diggs) and Elise and I talked about our feelings and relationships. We love to talk about feelings and relationships.

I had demanded Mexican food while I was in Arizona. Elise knew of an excellent place called Ponchos. It was amazing food – their red sauce on the enchiladas had a hint of smokiness that was so delicious (chipotle powder perhaps?). It must be well known in the area because we had to wait 20 minutes to get in on Thursday night. Also, Bill Clinton ate there when he was president, and say what you want about Bill, but he strikes me as the kind of guy that enjoys good food. Elise and I took a picture in front of Ponchos so I wouldn’t forget all the places we ate while in Phoenix. I will say that this picture below is not very flattering of me, but I think it is totally hilarious. I am standing next to Elise and look at how enormous my head is in comparison to hers. What on earth happened to me? Is my parent’s house built over a nuclear waste disposal site? Has the military been conducting experiments on me? What caused me to grow this gigantic head – I know that it isn’t to house my gigantic brain. I think that radiation or nuclear waste is the only answer.

On Friday I met up with my friend Suzette for lunch at a sushi restaurant in Tempe called Ra. It was very good sushi – I especially enjoyed the tuna which didn’t have a fishy taste at all. Suzette and I met doing a study abroad in Madrid, Spain. We ended up assigned to the same house and just hit it off. Before this trip to Phoenix, I hadn’t seen Suzette since June 2001. I had so much fun catching up – it was as if only a few months had passed and not 8 years. Suzette is working on a MA in Accounting. What a savvy girl to get a degree in something practical and useful.

I booked a flight from Phoenix to Oakland so I could go home to Antioch for Christmas. A few hours before my flight left, I met Elise at a very popular restaurant called Oreganos. They have this cookie sundae that is out of this world. Essentially, it is a freshly baked cookie, warm out of the oven and still a little doughy, served with vanilla ice cream on the top. It was heavenly and if I close my eyes I can still taste it. Elise, I hope you will eat another one of those cookie sundaes in my honor. It was so hard to say goodbye to Elise, I wanted to pack her in my suitcase and take her on all my trips. Sadly, Elise has a dissertation to finish and loads of money to earn so she can buy me pretty things.

I have to admit that when I first arrived in Phoenix, I thought it lacked charm. Upon leaving, however, I began to see the beauty in the landscape. I sometimes wonder if I could live there long term, although I think I would complain endlessly about the hot summers.

I would also like to give a shout out to my friend Tina. Tina was in my class in Phoenix and we became instant friends. She is a super cool chic and I hope to see her again in the near future.

Next trip – Antioch, CA

Orlando, FL

Being a West Coast gal, when it came to visiting a Disney theme park as kids, the Davis clan headed 7 hours south to Disneyland. I had naturally heard of Disney World, but really had no interest in going out of my way to visit. Disneyland is enough for me, it being the original and therefore the best Disney theme park. Skip ahead to my early 30s and the time arrived for me to visit Disney World.

What prompted this visit you may ask? Work. I signed up to take an analytical investigation methods course so I could be a better worker bee. While I may sound flippant, I really appreciate that my company will pay for me to take training courses. The closest course to DC was in Orlando, so that is how I scored a trip to the happiest place in Florida.

December turned out to be a crazy month for me. I started off the month in Ottawa, headed down to Orlando, FL a few days later, then traveled directly to Phoenix, AZ for a week, flew from Phoenix to Antioch for Christmas and made it back to Reston in time for the New Year. I am still tired from those trips. It was quite an environmental shock to go from Ottawa (freezing cold) to DC (pretty cold) to Orlando (do I really need a sweater cold). Being a professional, I only complained about the climate change every 10 minutes or so. What willpower I have!

The course was very helpful for my job, mostly because it reaffirmed that I am on the right track and I have acquired a pretty solid foundation when it comes to link analysis. There were some very, very cool people in the class and I really enjoyed learning from them. You guys know who you are.

I got to spend a lot of time with Sloane, a fellow student, who is just awesome. Since her agency wouldn’t spring for a rental car (Bad Government! You don’t send a lone woman into a sketchy area of town without a rental car – it just isn’t safe) she and I would pal around trying local restaurants. It helped that we stayed at the same hotel, which was the Marriott Courtyard Orlando Downtown. The problem with this place is that the local police warned us not to walk around at night and there was no place to eat within walking distance anyway. Also, the beds were so hard only Seabreeze would have enjoyed them. I didn’t sleep well for 6 nights because of those stupid beds.

The first night we went to Boston Lobster Feast. I am not going to eat at a seafood buffet ever again. I don’t like seafood enough to make it worth the money and any seafood buffet is a total sacrifice for quantity over quality. I think I ate more chocolate soft-serve than I did actual food.

The next night we headed for Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment center located at the Walt Disney World Resort. What I like about Downtown Disney is that it is free. Sloane and I decided to go have Cuban food at Bongo’s Cuban Café. I really enjoyed the food: tostones, flank steak with chimichurri sauce and a virgin strawberry daiquiri. It was also lovely eating outside (in December – Crazy!) and overlooking the lake. After dinner Sloane and I headed to the largest Disney store in the world and were totally overwhelmed.


Sloane and I also ate at a sandwich shop called Firehouse Subs. They serve some nice hot subs there and for those of you that like hot sauce, they have every variety under the sun. Lastly, before I took Sloane to the airport we ended our quest for a good Cuban sandwich at Vega’s. They were great sandwiches and cooked on authentic Cuban style bread. I am not a huge fan of pickles on my sandwiches, but the entire combination of mustard, bread, pickles, and pork all smashed together was absolutely delicious.

While in Orlando I learned a few things about crime. One, never travel on Orange Blossom Trail unless you are looking for transvestite prostitutes. Two, don’t murder your child. I bring this up because they found Kaylee Anthony’s body while I was in Orlando taking a course at the Orange County Sherriff’s Office. When I walked out of the Sherriff’s Office after class, the place was crawling with reporters and there were helicopters flying overhead. I even saw a CourtTV van in front of the county courthouse. It was a total circus. Now I am not qualified to say if she is guilty, but she totally is.

On my last day in Orlando, I decided to go to the Magic Kingdom – by myself. Now I have been to an amusement park by myself once before and I hated it. For some reason I thought that the Magic Kingdom would be different. I was so wrong. I was the only person by themselves that I saw the entire day. It was all adoring families together for the holidays and reveling in each others company. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity which is why I decided to go in the first place, but it was so depressing to be such a loser. It should be called the Suicidal Kingdom for Singles. I did have fun going on the rides and watching all the little kids dressed up as princesses and pirates but I still would have liked to have had someone, anyone with me. Plus I felt compelled to stay the entire day as I paid almost $80.00 to be all depressed. I may have been miserable, but I was bound and determined to get my money’s worth of misery.

On a final note, Disneyland is way better than the Magic Kingdom. Disneyland’s holiday decorations are far better and the Magic Kingdom doesn’t even turn the Haunted Mansion into the Nightmare Before Christmas ride. What’s the deal?

Next Trip: Phoenix, AZ

Ottawa, ON

Back in December I made my very first trip to the Great White North. My company sponsored our first ever Canadian User Conference and I was one of the lucky trainers selected to go to Ottawa in the middle of winter. Aside from the freezing cold I really liked Ottawa and Canadians in general.

Since I was there for a conference, I only really left the hotel once. Most of what I know about Ottawa I learned from my cab driver. Apparently in winter the river totally freezes over and the city hosts skating races, a winter festival, and all kinds of “funtivities.” I did not get to see any of this. I did catch a glimpse of the Parliament building which was amazingly beautiful.

The night before the conference I did go out to eat at an amazing restaurant in Ottawa called Giovanni’s. It is located in the Little Italy section of the city and was by far the best Italian food I have ever had. I kept trying to find a way to sneak back to Giovanni’s but I was too busy and exhausted to make a break for it. I had the “Pappardelle con Porcini” which I still occasionally reflect on as the ideal pasta dish. The noodles were fresh, and the cream sauce was sparingly added so the dish wasn’t too heavy, and there was just the right amount of mushroom flavor. To be perfectly honest, I am rooting for another trip to Ottawa just to go to Giovanni’s again.

I found out after I ate at Giovanni’s (thanks to some of our conference attendees) that the owner was arrested about a week before I arrived for being involved in a drug-smuggling operation and gangsterism. Yikes, talk about an Italian cliché. Check out the article.

One more noteworthy item – Canadians know how to party. I was really impressed that as a collective they drank all of my colleagues under the table and still held coherent conversations about law enforcement, hockey, universal healthcare, and Canadian politics. If you want to party with the best just visit our neighbors to the north.

Next Trip – Orlando, FL

Thanksgiving in Sacramento

I hadn’t planned on going home to California for Thanksgiving, but all the stars and planets aligned and the trip came together flawlessly. I love Thanksgiving. I love food. I love watching Food Network obsessively for 2 weeks before the holiday. I love having an eating strategy that I spend hours perfecting. Thanksgiving is awesome.

I also need to talk about how much I love JetBlue. It is a great airline because they have tons of DirectTV channels, give you snacks, and free sodas (unlike some airlines – you know who you are). The only issue that I have with JetBlue is that they don’t fly everywhere I need to go. Now US Airways…

Thanksgiving was relatively uneventful. The trip was so brief that I didn’t get to see a lot of my friends. I did try to prepare a few items for the big feast. My cranberry sauce turned out well, but my green bean casserole (which I made from scratch –thank you Alton Brown) didn’t turn out well. It isn’t Alton’s fault, as I have made the dish successfully before, but I didn’t cook the beans enough and I burned the fried onions. Snafus aside, Thanksgiving dinner rocked my world. Jody, every year you out do yourself. It was also great to see so many of my cousins and their children. Every time I go home it always hits me how much I really miss California.

Next trip – Ottawa, ON

Camp Lejeune, NC

I was there.

Next Trip - Home for Thanksgiving

Shenandoah National Park and Monticello

When I first moved out to Virginia, my mom and I took a roadtrip to see Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and then Monticello. We had such a good time that I decided to make it an annual event. Since my mom couldn’t (or wouldn’t – good use of guilt Jen) come this year my friends Shelley, Evan and Justin decided to join me instead.

Skyline Drive is always a gamble because you have to go at just the right time during the Fall. I have yet to find the right time and have decided to make it my mission in life to travel Skyline Drive in all is autumnal glory. When mom and I went in 2007 most of the leaves had not turned, when I went in 2008 they were already falling in vast numbers. 2009 is going to be my year!

We had a great trip! Shelley, Justin and Evan had never been Shenandoah so it was good chance to check it off the list. We made it about halfway through the park when we cut out and headed to Monticello in Charlottesville, VA.

Monticello is one of my happy places. I find the home and the property so tranquil that I would love to just take a book up there and read all day. I love to walk through the gardens and enjoy the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I don’t like gardening or growing things, but if other people are doing to do all the work, I am more than willing to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

After taking a tour of the grounds, house and family graveyard at Monticello, we headed back to Charlottesville for dinner. We had a great meal at a place on Main Street called Bizou. The weather had been so nice all day that we even ate outside, which is impressive for November 1st. I had a chicken pot pie that had cripy leeks on the top instead of crust. It was a nice re-working of a classic dish.

Thanks to Evan, Shelley and Justin for joining me. Any one game for 2009?

Next trip – Camp Lejeune, NC

Dayton, OH

I went to Dayton, OH in October to teach a class at Wright-Patterson AFB. Dayton was one of those places that I had no regret in leaving. There is nothing wrong with Dayton; but there is nothing remarkable about it either. Of course, most of the people I met there were very nice, so that does increase Dayton’s score a bit.

I did find a Half Price Books in Dayton, so that gave me something to do. I even bought an Alton Brown cookbook, which is very difficult to find used. I had no business buying a cookbook that I would then have to pack back to DC, but I seized the moment.

I did a little research and discovered that Dayton is only about an hour from Cincinnati. I love the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati and really wanted to go see the fountain that is in the opening credits. Mission Accomplished! I picked a day when it wasn’t going to rain and drove the hour to Cincinnati to go to Fountain Square. I really liked Cincinnati and would love to go back. I found the Tyler Davidson Fountain and snapped a ton of pictures that I looked truly terrible in. The fountain itself is stunning and definitely worth a visit.

Some friends from Ohio told me about an ice cream store called Graeter’s. There was a Graeter’s conveniently located in Fountain Square, so off I went. I have to say, their ice cream is fantastic. I got the Apple Cider sorbet and I still dream of how delicious it was. It tasted just like apple cider, with the mulling spices and all. This is high praise because I usually don’t eat ice cream unless there is chocolate involved. Why waste the calories if you don’t get any chocolate?

Across Fountain Square was an Italian place, recommended to me by the manager of Graeter’s, called Via Vite. I had a wonderful meal there, especially after eating at chain restaurants in Dayton all week. I had the special which was potato gnocchi in a butternut squash sauce. I would gladly eat there again.

On my last day in Dayton, I headed to the National Museum of the Air Force. What a great museum. I had a wonderful time and I didn’t even get to see everything. There are literally hundreds of planes on display. The museum teaches you about the early days of aviation, has many cool WWII-era planes and they even have an F-22 Raptor. The highlight for me was seeing the U-2. Now I have seen a U-2 before down at Edwards AFB in California, but I am always happy to get reacquainted with a plane that I have spent years researching (I did my Master’s thesis on the U-2).
Next trip – Shenandoah National Park and Monticello