Pink House

Sometimes I Work and sometimes I Daydream

I have been SO busy lately! Every week I'm printing out my schedule from my Google Calendar and then checking it every day to make sure I don't forget something. Add to that my everyday tasks (empty dishwasher, do laundry, go to grocery store, etc.) and it feels like a lot. By evening I am ready to fall onto the couch where Rocco is patiently waiting for me.

I think it's going to be at this pace now until we leave for Thanksgiving week to California. We're continuing our tradition of renting a vacation house at some location in Cali where the guys will come to meet us for the long Thanksgiving weekend. In 2007 we stayed in a beach town just south of Santa Cruz called Aptos. That was a great little beach house. Last year we rented a house in Santa Barbara which was fun too. This year we plan to head further south to Newport Beach area. We found a cool beach house to rent with a rooftop deck (!) and I'm looking forward to exploring that area. It's always fun to see the guys and to just have a few days of "just us four" again. It only happens once a year which is not enough, but part of reality now. I treasure the time. 

But I'm also REALLY looking forward to having some vacation time. I feel like this year both Kev and I have been working hard and not taking as many breaks. He added the band (which he loves) to his already full schedule, and I've been working with students and taking graduate classes through UCLA (one more to go to complete my program!) For the last two weeks both of us have had evening meetings Monday through Thursday.....we're missing our dinners for two at home, and Rocco is missing couch time with us. I'm feeling like we need to take a break.

This summer we only went out of town twice and one was camping on the Smith River (doesn't count!) and the other was a crazy-long drive to California over a long weekend. No weeks of relaxation. Then fall came and we're into the cold long winters. I realized that I may be in for a bad winter if I don't get some serious vacation time out of state!

We were lucky that the board my husband serves on met in sunny Phoenix for their fall meeting. We got to stay at a gorgeous resort (Sheraton Wild Horse Pass) for four days in glorious warm weather. Friends were there and we shared some good times. I got to sit by this beautiful pool for three whole days and just read and chat! One of my favorite things to do.

This was the best kind of place to be - this is my kind of "office". I took along my laptop and some reading to do (the work kind) but I just couldn't make myself do it when I got to look at this kind of view from my lounge chair. So......I simply didn't. I simply let myself veg out and enjoy. Well, we did get up to do a bit of shopping and go to lunch too. Tough duty.

My plan now is to buckle down and work hard until we leave for Thanksgiving in California. Seniors are working hard on applications and essays, and I have some new students to start the process with. I also have to do some research and write a proposal for a practicum. But I just keep thinking about that sun on the California beach. It's the carrot to dangle before myself to keep me going.

6-course Farmer's Feast at Quiessence in Phoenix

Last week when we were in Phoenix for a meeting, I researched a restaurant for our group of friends to go to one night. I typically use a variety of sources including food websites (trip advisor, yelp, chowhound) and food magazines (Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit), and city newspaper reviews to find what are considered the best food or most unique dining experiences in the cities that we visit. Quiessence was highly rated in all of the sources that I checked.

Quiessence is the main restaurant, fine dining option, in the "Farm at South Mountain" development just south of downtown Phoenix, near Chandler and Tempe. We called ahead for reservations for a party of 8, and arrived after dark. It is a challenge to find where you're going, even with directions and a good map, but after a few wrong turns, we  spotted the lit sign in the dark. After entering the main entrance, you still have to continue in through the "farm" area, past some shops and park-like areas. At the end of the road ahead, I could see some lights and we continued driving through. We parked in a bark-covered field, and then walked down some rock pathways toward a farm house in the distance. Fortunately, there were some glowing outdoor lights that guided our way forward. It was worth the drive and navigating to get there!

Quiessence is in an old farm house that has been converted to a restaurant. Therefore, there are several rooms within the house for dining, rather than one big area. Some diners were seated out front of the house (love those warm Phoenix evenings) on the patio. Inside the screened front porch is a waiting area, and the hostess walked us through two separate dining rooms (one with a cool fireplace), into the back where our group was seated in a private dining room at a large 8-person table. It was kind of cool to have our own room!

Quiessence's food is focused on locally-sourced produce and meats from local farms and ranches. They have a regular menu, but our group chose to have the 6-course Farmer's Feast (everyone in your group must order it).

The Farmer's Feast at Quiessence is a "signature multi-course culinary journey through local farms and pastures, land and sea". It is $65 a person, well-worth it in terms of quality of food as well as the unique dining experience.The menu states that they EXCLUSIVELY source all of the ingredients for the Farmer's Feast from:

• Local and organic fruits and vegetables
• wild foraged edibles (mushrooms)
• organic and heirloom wheat grains
• pastured and humanely raised meats
• wild and sustainable game
• overnight flown-in sustainable seafood
• sundries from small Arizona businesses

It sounded great to all of us! We were there for the dining experience, not just to "eat". We had a wonderful waitress who explained the Farmer's Feast dinner to us and warned us that it takes a couple of hours to prepare and serve all courses. We smiled and said "great! Bring it on!". Two of the guys looked through the good wine list and selected a red and a white for the table. Then we settled in to enjoy ourselves, and we certainly did.

Our waitress had the help of a few other waiters, so that every time they brought in a new course, they brought in all eight dishes together and sat them down in front of us at the same time. Impressive! The service was WONDERFUL the entire evening - very pleasant, professional, and attentive without being overbearing. GREAT SERVICE!

Two kinds of bread with herbed butter and orange blossom honey

As they brought out each course the waitress described in detail what each item was. Everything was made in house. I'll do my best to remember, but I just won't have the detailed info that they provided us. I did take photos of everything because I was planning to blog about it.

The first official course was charcuterie and cheese platters.
All of their meats are house-cured, but the cheeses were from a local farm.

They brought out two large platters, one for each end of the table, with carefully arranged salumi and cured meats and local artisan cheeses. Looking at the menu, this is called the "Chef's Spread" on the appetizer list. Some of what we were served was head cheese on house crackers with relish (in the middle, rabbit pate on crostini, and the cheese were Applewood Smoked cheddar and Fossil Creek Havarti. It was very interesting to sample these. I like how they were very careful to provide 8 samples of everything for our group of eight. A thoughtful detail!

Smoked Sturgeon Salad with shaved radishes and apples, creme fraiche and baby arugula.

2nd course was Salads and Soups. What surprised us a bit is that after the first course, each course came with four options. So when they served the salad and soup course, they brought out 8 dishes of 4 different options. They set them down in front of each diner and described what each dish was. We then had the option to trade amongst ourselves or most of us just ending up sharing bites with our spouses so that we could sample different dishes. The variety was fun to see and sample. Everyone was really happy with each dish though! They were all delicious.

Another salad: Chiogga Beet Salad - roasted chicogga beets, frisee, toasted walnuts, creamy dill vinaigrette, shaved red onions, and roasted red peppers.

Tomato Bisque - with oven-dried tomatoes and crispy fried shallots
(this was Kevin's dish)

And I didn't take a photo of my salad! But I can see from the menu that it was a tomato and eggplant salad - and it was very tasty! By the way - all of the portions of these courses were SMALL and for the most part light as well. That, paired with the relaxed pace of the meal (and the fact that we didn't have dinner until 8 pm!) made it not so filling to have these many courses. It really was not over-filling.

My 3rd course: mussels with garlic and mushroom linguine! Heaven!

The 3rd course was pasta which they said were all made in-house fresh each day. There were four different varieties!

Another pasta course option: Farmer's Cheese Gnocchi with fennel sausage, sage and cream
This looked so good and the diner eating it thought so too!

One of the pasta courses was Short Rib Ravioli which looked amazing! But I didn't get a photo of those.

The 4th course was seafood. They were all small portions of two different seafood dishes, either scallops or halibut.

George's Bank Scallop with Garlicky Spinach, Cherry Tomato Jam, and Creamed Corn Sauce.

This was outstanding! Probably my favorite dish of the entire night. I loved it!

Roasted Alaskan Halibut with Spaghetti Squash, mediterranean relish, and roasted red pepper sauce.

The 5th course was the meat course. This time they served two different varieties, either steak or pork. I was happy to get the pork tenderloin and Kevin was happy to be served the steak. Again small tasting-size portions with the 6-course meal.

 Kevin's meat course: Wood Grilled Grass-Fed Beef wtih Red Potato Hash, Roasted onions, and Chanterelle Mushrooms.I think this was a hit with the guys.



My meat course: Wood Grilled Pork Tenderloin with butternut squash mash, roasted gala apples and braised fennel. Delish! Really nicely prepared!

The last course was dessert, of course! The surprise though, was that there were four options that were served to our table ...so some sharing of desserts took place. I'm actually not a big dessert fan, so I can't even remember what these were and they are not listed on the menu that I brought home. So the descriptions here are pretty generic:

An apple/pear tart on mini-crepes with creme fraiche and caramel sauce.


This was a apple walnut bread pudding with some kind of sauce (bourbon?). I think this is what I had and all I remember is that I really liked it and only shared one bite with Kev!


Kevin was served the flan with some kind of sauce. Poor guy - he was probably dying to have the apple tart now that I look back at this. The luck of the draw, I guess.


The other dessert option was some kind of berry sorbet served on shaved pears. Pretty and healthy!

And that concludes our lovely dining experience at Quiessence in Phoenix! A delightful and yummy dining experience. At the end of the evening the chef came out to see us and we gave him our thanks and a round of applause over the wonderful meal. It was really fun! I highly recommend Quiessence if you like locally-sourced gourmet food prepared in healthy and interesting ways.

Quiessence Restaurant at the Farm at South Mountain
Phoenix, Arizona (Chandler area)

"Hand-crafted American Cuisine"
Menu changes nightly!

Happy diners!

Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix - Score!

When we flew into Phoenix last week, I had a game plan. A serious one. Our goal was to get into an early dinner at Pizzeria Bianco before heading out to the resort where our conference was. We actually tried to get into Pizzeria Bianco last fall when we flew into Phoenix, but we were there at lunchtime and they only open for dinner. So...another year to wait. But this year, we scored. Big time!

What is Pizzeria Bianco and why would I care about going to just a "pizza place", you ask? Pizzeria Bianco is possibly the most famous and popular "pizza place" in the U.S. And rightly so. It has been featured on news and talk show (Today Show  etc.) and food magazines numerous times....even Oprah has been there. It was on my bucket list. Crossed that one off.

We arrived at the airport and rented out car and drove a couple miles to the downtown location, a couple blocks from Chase Field. Pizzeria Bianco opens at 5 p.m. and is well-known to have a line of people waiting to get in the entire evening. That's how popular it is. We parked in a garage and walked around the block to find it. It's a bit disorienting because it's located in a little group of historic buildings and at first you think there's no one around. And then we came around the corner...and I told Kevin, "Oh! There it is." He asked, "Where?"  And I pointed and said "See the line of people? That's it. They're waiting." At 4:30 on a Wednesday in the fall. Yeah.

Bar Bianco next door

So we walked up and asked where the end of the line was. People pointed and I talked to the young man next to us who told me that they were "group #11" which made us group #12. A few minutes later more people starting arriving and filing in behind us on the sidewalk. Lucky we got there when we did.

If you ever have to wait in a line for a restaurant, this is the place to do it. Not only is the weather GORGEOUS and comfortable, but PB has made the wait as pleasant as possible. There are tables and chairs where people can have a drink and visit while they wait, or read, or play cards, or even a game of Scrabble like a group of gals was doing. Cool! Everyone seems pretty happy to be there and content to wait. I guess they know it's worth it.

PB has also, wisely, purchased the building next door and turned it into a bar, Bar Bianco, which serves wine and beer for waiting customers. So upon arriving to wait in the queue, parties send in someone to order glasses of wine or beer, and bring them back out to the group. There are benches and chairs to sit comfortably. PB even planted a little green lawn to make the wait more pleasant. And the famous long table and benches that are sandwiched between the restaurant and bar. Kev took my photo there.

At 5 p.m. sharp, a young hostess opened the door to the restaurant and the line surged forward. There was one group of 6 retired-age couples who had called ahead for a table and arrived early (only large groups can reserve). They were let in first. The hostess then let in one party at a time and let them select their own table. Even the 8-seat bar with single chairs was filling up as we inched our way to the front of the line. I didn't think we were going to make it in for the first seating. But we did.....we nabbed the last 2-top table, right in the middle of the restaurant. Score! We were happy as could be as more crowds lined up outside, waiting for the next seating.

Look! There's the famous owner/chef in the open kitchen!

This was one of my most-happy-restaurant-experiences ever. Just perfect in every way. We took it all in - the tall-ceilinged room (so tiny!) and exposed brick walls, hardwood floor, open kitchen, brick pizza oven with glowing flames. Smile and sigh.

The menu is small - but the waiters know it well and can recommend how much food to order (they don't even try to upsell you because they know they can fill your table again as soon as you leave). The service is professional, quiet, and swift. They know how to serve well but you don't feel rushed. It was fun to be able to see the workers make pizzas from our central seats.

And there was the owner/restaurateur/chef right behind the counter, making pizzas! I've seen him on TV! This is the guy that makes the magic happen.

Our waiter recommended that we order two salads or appetizers, and two pizzas to share (they're small, thin-crusted, cut in 6 slices). Sounded great. Every day they feature a new "Farmer's Market Salad" which is composed of fresh local ingredients. The salad this day was baby arugula (tiny micro leaves!), parmesan cheese, thinly sliced apples, and a light citrus vinaigrette. It was delicious! Really fresh and tasty.

We ordered two pizzas: The Sonny Boy (tomato, fresh mozzarella, salami, greek olives) and the Wiseguy (roasted onion, smoked mozzarella, fennel sausage, and we added roasted cremini mushrooms. No tomato sauce on this one.) Both were excellent. We realized why people LOVE the light, crisp, tender crust. SOooooooo good!

We had a couple of pieces left at the end that we took with us. We wanted to stay and just people-watch but the tables are a very precious commodity here, and we willingly gave it up when we were finished so the next happy twosome could enjoy dinner.

Such a great place! Outside groups were waiting in the dark, under the street lights and twinkling lights. Talking, drinking, and waiting their turn to go inside. The warm weather made it even better. What a fun, delicious, and magical place. Yay for Pizzeria Bianco! Hope we can return someday!

Road Trip to Colorado

K and I are leaving today to drive to Fort Collins, Colorado, to see old friends and walk in the ALS Rocky Mountain Chapter "Walk to End ALS" on Sunday. A couple that we knew in optometry school in Oregon found out that the guy has ALS and we are going down in support of him. Once again, a lot of driving, and a very short stay, but we decided to do it anyway. It will be good to see them again. We're in cahoots with their office staff who know we're coming to walk with the team, but we'll surprise the couple.

Hope K's back doesn't go out again with all of the driving. Not too bad this time. 8 hours of driving today and 8 hours of driving on Monday. One day of rest in between. Taking my Kindle and knitting along to pass the time in the car.

Justin Winery in Paso Robles and Avila Beach

Planning to finally finish up our CA trip here.....lots going on.

On Sunday following Chase's concert we headed to Justin for the special tour and Wine Society (not merely a "club" - ha!) tasting room with our guests - Dave, Sara, and Sean. After this we had lunch on the patio at Justin - gourmet, slow-paced, and with the winery dog, Churchill, laying at our feet. Who could hurry under such circumstances?

Then we said our good-byes to Sean who was headed back home north to SF while we headed south to SLO to meet up with Chase. We saw Chase's house (!)and his corn crop in his backyard (4 stalks of corn, as I remembered) along with the gas grill on the patio and a ping-pong table which may not be used for ping-pong. Ah, the life of college students. Apparently, the week before we arrived, they had a kiddie pool in the backyard (to entice the young gals in bikinis to come on over to "swim") but someone jumped in too hard with their cannonball and busted it. So the backyard consists now of tons of dead grass, 4 stalks of corn that Chase is diligently watering with a garden hose, a circle of mismatched lawn chairs, the ping-pong table, and the gas grill that we bought them last spring as a house-warming gift. You got the picture, right? Kind of reminds you of Animal House, huh?

Chase showed us the presentation boards that he'd prepared for a graphic design job the week before and we admired the desk and stool that he'd built himself out of 2X4's and plywood. We also saw the dresser that he picked up for free from Craigslist. That guy always was resourceful. We dropped off the new supplies we brought for him - new set of sheets and towels, and kitchen/cooking do-dads.

Then he gave us (and Dave & Sara) a quick drive-through tour of Cal Poly's campus, and we were off to the beach. We intended to go to Pismo Beach, but when we came over the hill, the entire coast area was fogged in, even though it had been quite pleasant in SLO. So Chase suggested we drive a few miles north and around a cliff to Avila Beach where it's often sunnier. Those micro-weather systems on the northern California coast are interesting. Sure enough, Avila Beach was sunnier....but very crowded. Sunday afternoons at the beach are obviously very popular with families.

We walked out on the Avila Pier and watched fishermen and had a good time watching the sea lions playing. This little guy (above)was begging for food. There were also birds do nose-diving fishing and we saw several catch and eat some. Then in the distance you could see some dolphins jumping in and out of the water too. Fun to just stand and watch.

 

We walked a bit on the beach, and then decided to go get some dinner. Took the recommendation of another student's parents and went to a restaurant right out on the historic pier. Very marginal and over-priced seafood. I wouldn't recommend it. But oh well, we tried it. Should have gone to McPhee's Grill instead because we KNOW that's good and they have more things on the menu for everyone's palate.

After that we took Chase to Trader Joe's to buy him some groceries to take home, and I stocked up on some Trader Joe's to take home in our cooler as well. Sure wish we had a Trader Joe's in Montana! Said our goodbye's to Chase (such a short visit this time!) and headed back to our hotel in Paso.

Monday we got up early and headed north - on the road to Twin Falls. A very long and boring drive! Then on Tuesday we went from there back to Billings. Road trip complete! We were lucky to have Dave and Sara along to keep it interesting!

SLO Trip - Concert at Downtown Brew

Continuing from my last post about our trip to central coast California a few weeks ago:

Chase McBride of San Luis Obispo
playing his vintage Martin guitar on stage at Downtown Brew

Saturday evening Sean drove from San Francisco down to meet us in Paso Robles and then we all five drove down to SLO to have dinner and see Chase's band in concert. It was a fun evening.

We ate dinner on an outdoor patio at Firestone Grill in SLO, a casual eatery that is popular with the Cal Poly students. Good sandwiches (tri-tip is the house specialty) and onion rings. That kind of place. A good sampling of SLO.

From there we walked down a few blocks to Downtown Brew which was hosting the Showcase concert for the SLO New Times Music Awards. We met the owners of the DB, which have befriended Chase and were very friendly. They said they consider him "part of the DB family" now. Then we went in and found all the tables and chairs to be taken - so standing room only for us. There were six groups playing in the showcase and the Chase McBride band was second to last.

They did a great job and were followed by the Damon Castillo band which is also great. It was fun to meet the guys, see the young college-age fans (those who were still around in the summer), and hear the bands play. Chase, Austin the bassist, and Jonathan the drummer, did a great job. We met the parents of the other band members also. It was really great to hear some of the band's new songs which had a livelier sound than their first EP. They're hoping to begin recording their second CD this fall. I really like the new tunes.

When it came time for the awards announcement at the end of the evening, Chase's band won "Best Solo Artist" as selected by the judges, and the Damon Castillo band won "Best Band" as selected by the judges. They both won a package of prizes including brand new electric guitars, recording time at a studio, and other merchandise. Chase's band also won 2nd place in the "People's Choice" category which had been an online vote system on the local newspaper's website for the previous month. We were glad that we could be there for the evening.

It's was a bit surreal to remember moving Chase into his freshman dorm at Cal Poly just two summers ago, when he didn't know a single person there. And now, to be at one of his concerts, where he wins "People's Choice" award and gets to play at Downtown Brew (the top live-music bar in SLO). He's come a long way in just two years of college life in SLO. We're proud that he can balance his college program, have a social life, as well as continue to write music, rehearse and perform, as well as manage his music career. We met some of his friends as well as several of the kids who help sell his merch at his concerts, help him book shows, record and take photos at his concerts etc. We got to meet one gal has worked tirelessly to help promote his music for the last year. Just two years ago, Kev, and Chase, and I had walked around downtown, checking out Chase's new town the night before he started freshman orientation. Now he's definitely part of the community.

At the end of the night, the guys packed up with help from friends and went out with the band to celebrate, while us old folks drove back up to the comfort of our hotel at Paso Robles for the night. More fun tomorrow!

By the way - I've received some emails asking about Chase's music. Yes! he does have out a CD (his first EP) called "From the Mountains to the Sea". It is available on both iTunes and on Amazon as mp3 downloads. Just put "Chase McBride" into the search box on those sites and you will find it. If you're in Billings, we have some hard copies of the CD at our house - just give me a call and I'll get one to you.

It's been fun to run into Billings people in the past few weeks and have them tell us that their kids are playing Chase's CD "all the time" at their houses. Parents of Chase's high school friends, old teachers, even the doctor that I went to recently, all tell us that they're hearing Chase's music at their houses and love the sound! Apparently the kids in Billings West High Meistersingers (the choir Chase sang in in high school) are passing his music around this year as I heard from a parent at the grocery store. Fun!

Paso Robles - Wineries Galore

When our friends headed to San Luis Obispo (hereto further known as SLO) for the concert a couple of weeks ago, we also planned a day to visit some wineries in the Paso Robles area just 30 minutes north of SLO on Hwy 101. K and I have been here several times, exploring the back roads and tiny boutique-type wineries, but this time we had some friends to share it with which, of course, made it even more fun.

For those of you who have dreamed about going to Napa Valley area, I challenge you to try Paso Robles area instead. There are over 230 wineries in a small area that surrounds Hwy 101 in the Central Coast of California. There's the west side (prob my favorite) and the east side. There's the big guys and the small one-man operations too. Where else could you talk for an hour with the owner-winemaker-grape grower-bottle washer himself while you sampled his creations? Certainly not in Napa Valley. We've been there, done that, and didn't care for it. Giant tasting rooms with crowds elbowing each other to get a space at the bar, which are served by disinterested people who know nothing about what they're pouring. Paso Robles is a much different, personal, and adventurous experience! We compare Napa Valley touring to being in Disneyland on a very crowded day, while Paso Robles touring is like being on an exciting-and-laid-back-at-the-same-time adventure through the country backroads.

Anywhos. We spent Saturday, while Chase and his band were rehearsing for their concert, visiting a few of our favorite places so that Dave and Sara could see what we're so excited about. We started at Jada on the westside. Seriously awesome place with FRIENDLY servers and you get gourmet cheese courses with each sample. We were there, when they opened the gates at 10 a.m. I know. Embarrassing, except we had so many places to go and so little time. These winery tasting rooms are only open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a tasting room license. So, counting driving time and lunch, you have to plan your route carefully.

And then there was Denner right next door. With their fancy new building, it would have been hard to drive right past it. So we went on it and checked out their beautiful new patio, garden, and picnic area. Gorgeous! Some places you want to visit because of the wine itself, others because of their beautiful buildings and gardens, others because of their lovely and unique setting, others because of their special tours. They each have something unique to offer.

From there it was off to Cass on the east side - quite a drive through winding roads, but worth getting there. We sat on the patio there where we were served  a gourmet lunch while we sampled. A relaxing break overlooking their vineyards.

From Cass we drove even further out east, until we finally arrive at Chateau Margene, which is actually a family farm/vineyard. Here, owner and winemaker, Mike Mooney, works his precise magic from planting, growing, irrigated, and then harvesting, pressing, blending, and aging to create really special wines under his own label. Kev has wanted to visit here for 3 years and finally made it. The tasting room is nothing special - a tiny square. But it's all about the wine. And pouring samples behind the counter was Mike himself, and so Kev and Dave got to chat with him...in detail...about the wine-making process.

After that we were all too pooped to go further. (Calcareous was on our list just to see the amazing VIEW from the hilltop location on the westside!)  But instead we headed back to the hotel to rest up for Chase's concert that night. Bottles were carefully transported in coolers and then kept in our hotel rooms. No hot cars for them.

More about SLO, the concert, the beach, and Justin tomorrow!

How to Road Trip 101

Finally, I'm getting around to posting a bit about our trip to California last week. Been busier than usual with family visits, class homework, work for students, errands and tasks. About to begin a busy weekend too.

HOW TO ROAD TRIP 101

1) Consult a Map

 

This is just about my favorite photo from the entire road trip! We had a bad case of dueling navigator systems, as you can see! This was in the Sacramento area where we were unfortunate to hit about 4 pm on a Friday. Kevin had on our Tahoe navigator system which just shows basically "the way to go" and has a female voice call out instructions. The ultimate back-seat driver! Dave, on the other hand, brought his fancy dance hand-held Gramin which offered the options of "fastest, shortest, and most direct" routes on any given area. All across Nevada there were NO choices. But once we got into Northern California, his system offered lots of choices.

I, on the other and better hand, had Google Maps loaded on my Blackberry, and once I clicked on the "Traffic" option, MY navigator showed which route was showing the fastest moving TRAFFIC FLOW. It had red routes (totally stopped), yellow routes (slow going), and green routes (clear sailing). So, in my opinion, my navigator system trumped their's. Of course. I'm sure the satellites were going crazy for how many GPS signals were going in and out of our car.

2) Stop to Enjoy the Scenery Along the Way

We were lucky enough to be able to overnight in Twin Falls, Idaho at Kevin's brother's house. Who can object to a view like this? After driving through Montana, Idaho, and faced with the mind-numbing challenge of driving across Nevada the following day, it was a relief to be able to stay overnight in such a lovely setting. The Snake River Canyon overlooking Blue Lakes Country Club.

3) Stock Up on Nutritional Snacks

Since we'd been so good driving in the car and behaved ourselves all day long, we rewarded ourselves by going out for a nice dinner at Blue Lakes Country Club. And even had the most-butter-rich-Bananas Foster-known-to-man for dessert. We had to fortify ourselves for the extra lllllooooonnnnnggg drive through Nevada the following day.

4) Bring some Entertainment to Keep Yourself Alert

Our good friends, Dave and Sara, agreed (or rather asked) to come along with us. This made the trip so much more FUN than if just Kevin and I would have gone alone. I would definitely recommend bringing along some fun friends to keep things light when the road gets long. They did a great job of this too. Even Dave. :)

Actually Sara and I watched an entire Showtime mini-series on DVD on the DVR player in the back of the Tahoe while the guys drove for 42 of the 44 hours in the car. The Tudors was kind of a naughty, but it did indeed keep us entertained. But since it was also historical, based on the life of Henry the 8th, I considered it "educational" too. The guys in the front seat had a good time listening to the commentary and warnings that I would call out from time to time. "No! Stop! Get him out! He's stuck!" Don't even go there.

5) Stop for Recreational Breaks Along the Way

Unfortunately, we didn't do this enough and Kevin's back ended up going out big time after spending 44 hours in the sitting position of a Tahoe seat over the course of six days. Oh well, next time we'll bring the golf clubs and spend more time at courses along the way. That will make the trip even more bearable.

That's it for road trip instructions! More on winery touring in a couple of days!

Chase McBride Band wins awards!

Aaahh! I really have too much to do right now. Catching up from our short vacation, finishing up some work for clients, study homework for the class I'm taking, and cleaning up the house for my mom's visit. I'm going to pick up my mom from the airport in just a couple of hours. But in the meantime...

The main reason we took a quick road trip to California last week was to see Chase perform in an awards concert. The SLO New Times Music Awards sponsors an annual competition for local music and then hosts a concert with the top six musicians (3 bands and 3 solo artists) to perform at Downtown Brew in SLO. At the end of the concert they announce the winners of the Reader's Choice awards and the "Best Band" and "Best Solo Artist" which are selected by judges.

The concert was fun - Chase performed for 30 minutes with his drummer and bassist. I really liked some of the new songs - a bit more upbeat.

 Chase won 1st place for best new Solo Artist!

And they won 2nd place in the Reader's Choice awards!

It was fun. Check out Chase's band page and mySpace music page by googling "Chase McBride". Easy. We got to meet some of the people who are involved in helping promote his band, sell his merch, host concerts etc.

And Chase won a brand new guitar!

A fun night - more on the rest of the trip later. Gotta go.

 

Summer Road Trip!

What summer would be complete without some sort of road trip?

Tomorrow morning bright and early, we're hitting the road with another couple, heading to California. The main purpose is to attend an awards concert that our younger son, Chase, is performing in, but we also intend to have a little fun along the way.

We'll be hanging out at Pismo Beach, seeing the concert in San Luis Obispo, and visiting a few wineries in Paso Robles.

For the stuck-in-the-car portion of the trip (four long days worth) we've got movies to watch on the DVD player, books on my Kindle, FM Radio to listen to, I-pods with music, playing cards, and perhaps I'll throw in knitting project. Still, four people in the car is more interesting than two people in the car. The bad part is driving across...Nevada. Blahsville.

I will be taking photos and report back here when I return. Lots of prep and packing today.

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And also, just to keep you occupied whilst I'm away:

I LOVE reading a few good cooking/dining blogs and especially those centered in Seattle and Portland. This week I discovered a new one, Wright's Eats, a young couple from Seattle, and to my delight they posted an incredible entry about a weekend in Portland, sampling some of the best food around. It's so awesome with great photos too! check it out here: Portland Food Rampage