Maybe Someday…

When one approaches a certain age a “Bucket List” starts to form. Time’s a tickin’ away here, folks. I’ve crossed a few items off recently, well some just technically, but we’re forging ahead. Our goals for this trip were to see the Grand Canyon and experience Las Vegas, baby. We had just five days to accomplish this. I had hoped to see Sedona too, but time would not allow. Our flight over Nevada looked more like view of an alien planet.

The Sierra Madre or Mars?

Suburban Las Vegas.

On our road trip down south last fall, I dipped my toe into the world of Airbnb. Things went so well I looked into the same for Vegas. To my surprise, there are “owners’ suites” that can be rented right in certain hotels. This seemed like the best of both worlds. I secured a suite at the Trump Plaza. I can hear your collective groan.

Mr. Trump’s Hotel was really gorgeous.

Gorgeous lobby dining area.

The fixtures throughout were opulent.

I was more than impressed with this room. All the furnishings were solid and in perfect condition.

Comfortable Bedding

Storage Console.

Fully equipped mini-kitchen.

Large screen TV we never turned on.

Cozy living area.

Double sink bathroom. I cloud have done without the scale, thank you.

Ginormous Jacuzzi Tub. A Godsend after walking around Vegas all day and night!

High end toiletries.

A view right out to the strip!

Just don’t look down.

I was thrilled with this room. We will be spending two nights here, then later on in the trip moving to the world famous (and very expensive) Bellagio Hotel. Spoiler alert: I liked the Trump better. There were several points of comparison that we’ll explore once we get there, but one thing I loved about this hotel was that it was NOT a casino. It had a boutique feel and was very calm a quiet, unlike the other resorts here. It was very peaceful to come back to after all the over-stimulation of the strip.  Speaking of which, let’s check out out!

Trump provides a shuttle to the Caesar’s Palace every twenty minutes.

And we’re here!

We were pretty well starving at this point. Chef Gordon Ramsay has several restaurants on the Strip, ranging from a Fish and Chip Shop to “take out a second mortgage” fine dining type deals. We popped into his Pub right at Caesar’s. I wanted to do some  “celebrity dining” so I figured this might be a good middle ground.

The Pub

Nice enough.

Beer Keg wall decor.

Substantial Cutlery.

We were famished, but between the very high entree prices (thirty bucks for fish and chips) and trying to eat somewhat healthy, we ended up splitting a salad along with a couple beers. This set us back FIFTY DOLLARS! You don’t just loose your money at the slots here.

The first of many walks through casinos.

Finally we are setting out to explore. This was a simply gorgeous day!

Outside view of Caesar’s Palace.

The newest of Chef Ramsay’s properties. We will not be eating here.

The afore mentioned Bellagio.

The Paris Hotel.

Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM, featuring “World Famous DJs”. No, thanks.

We walked around a ton. I’m sparing you the hundred or so pictures I took so far. We were ready for a break from the sun, plus my very comfy shoes I walked all over Chicago in suddenly were attacking my feet.

Time for a (double) whisky.

Artsy photo of the ceiling as I recline on a couch.

Jeff getting a lesson in Black Jack.

Cashing in his winnings! This trend wouldn’t last.

All casinos packed all the time.

I don’t remember where this was. Everything was gilded.

I bandaged my poor feet and we headed out! I’m such a trooper.

Man, I love palm trees.

New York, New York. We never went in.

I later found out that the Tram system is comprised of former Disney Monorail cars. I would have gone on had I known! I know that’s weird.

We actually did have a plan, and that was to visit the Mandalay Hotel, to check out their aquarium.

We made it!

We bought our tickets and headed in. This place wasn’t huge, but the presentations were really impressive.

Oh, hello.

They were headed to school.

The initial portion had a Mayan theme. Really well done.

This next space made you feel you were in the skeletal hull of a sunken ship!

The piece de resistance here are the shark tunnels! This was as cool as it sounds. It was crowded with people, so for you to see it, I had to lift a pic from the interwebs.

A wee pic.

A view from within.

A favorite shot.

Jelly.

The gang gets back together.

We hung out for quite a while.

This was a great take. Had I done some more research I may have found a coupon, but even full price it was worth it.

Another view of Mandalay Bay hotel

Our next stop was at the Cosmopolitan hotel. This is where I had planned to have some dinner at another “celebrity chef” spot and have a drink at the swanky bar in the lobby. Our plans changed slightly.

Chandelier Bar, where would would decide not to have drink.

This was gorgeous!

Ooh la la. We decided the drink prices  here would be about as opulent as the atmosphere.

We made our way to David Chang’s Momofuki. I had looked online at their menu and saw a lot of affordable and tasty options I was pretty psyched about.

Momofuku.

We sat at the bar and ordered some wine. As I looked at the menu I just didn’t see the options I had remembered. It menu was quite schizophrenic. There were a few small bite choices and then went way high, like $48 for noodles on up to set meals in the hundreds of dollars. We decided to have a couple of those small bites and move on.

Pork Belly Bun

Shrimp Cake Bun

These two tastings were absolute perfection. They were seven bucks each and  just about two bites. Here’s the thing: Now that I’m home and reviewing menus for this post (yes, I do that), I’m seeing tons of choices and reasonable prices like I remembered. Maybe because the menu was different for the bar? Who knows?

So another fifty bucks and no full bellies. I know I’m sounding like a real cheapskate here. I’m not, really! It’s more about value. I don’t mind laying down the cash for a great meal but these two stops just seemed excessive. Lesson learned. Stay away from celebrity restaurants.

Speaking of value, I next set out to find something cool I read about. At the Cosmopolitan they have what’s called “Art Vending Machines”. They are converted cigarette machines which now dispense ciggie pack sized pieces of art for just $5.00!

Art-O-Matic

My Lil’ piece of art!

This is such a cool idea! I kinda wished I got a couple more. Next time.

We set about for some more exploring and pursuit of some actual dinner. We wandered into the beautiful Aria Hotel because a friend said there was an amazing whisky bar there. Don’t worry we didn’t have whisky for dinner.

I’m not sure what this is. It should be a bar if it isn’t.

We stumbled upon a this reasonably priced pub. Ahhh, an Oasis!

Can’t get much simpler than that!

The Pub Menu.

We threw in the towel on healthy for this meal.

Wings for the chaser.

In a turn of coincidence, again, looking up the menu for this place for our purposes here I discovered that it was opened by celebrity chef Todd English, but things didn’t work out so well. In short time they just dropped his name from the sign and re-worked the menu. I’d say it was for the better.

Now that we had a good meal on board, we were ready to venture off to old Vegas!

Up Next: The Search for Elvis begins!

We awoke from our slumber and set out to get some breakfast. Luckily our hotel was just steps from Chicago’s Eataly. This is a multi-story, Italian food extravaganza. There are several locations in the states, including their latest in Boston (of which I have not partaken), as well as around the world. If you enjoy meat, cheese and bread, this is your Mecca, my friend.

Eataly welcomes you!

Dry goods.

So much cheese, it’s hanging from the rafters.

How much cheese is too much cheese?

Cured meats

Jambon!

Tomahawk Chop!

Pastas of all sorts.

The most bedazzled pizza ovens I’ve ever seen.

Bread and chocolate, together at last.

Olive oil fountain. It’s like Italian Willy Wonka in here.

I guess some people need vegetables.

We enjoyed walking about and looking at all the goods. Unfortunately, all the little restaurants and cafés weren’t quite open yet. They were only serving breakfasty things. Don’t they know that pizza is appropriate anytime of day? We got some egg sandwiches and iced cappuccino and hoped we could swing back in later for some vino and pasta.

Boy, this hit the spot.

Lousy picture of a fabulous sandwich.

We once again got a small break from the rain. We took a stroll to observe more of the stunning to architecture.

Impressive Skyline

Amazing that I can get such artistic shots while running to catch up with the boys.

Old school.

The Trump Tower. We will get to know this brand a bit better on our next trip.

I’m sure it’s just Killing him that it’s the second tallest.

Got a quick glimpse of the “L”.

We made it to our intended destination, the Chicago Cultural Center. This building opened in 1897 as the city’s official reception center for dignitaries. It was converted into an arts and culture center in 1977. The architecture is classically stunning outside, and that’s just the beginning.

Chicago Cultural Center

As I stated.

A look up in the foyer.

On the first floor, they have created some clean white spaces for local art. Let’s have a gander.

Modern Paintings

I like it.

Abstract Painting and Sculptures.

This painting makes me feel…queasy.

Some questionable ceramics.

I’m always watching.

While the art exhibits were quite interesting (and free) it’s the building itself that is the star here. Every inch of the space is gilded, carved, or tiled to perfection. There were several surprises here.

Gorgeous, paneled ceiling.

I’m thinking of starting a blog called “Pictures of my feet” I have many.

This building houses the largest Tiffany Glass Dome in the world. We approached the hall not realizing that this was not the famed piece. This was the Healy and Millet stained glass dome. I was impressed enough, indeed.

Healy and Millet stained glass dome.

This dome was housed in a hall dedicated to the Grand Army of the Republic. The room is a somber and richly decorated memorial to the soldiers of the Civil War. The marble walls bear the names of 30 Civil War battles including: Shilo, Antietam, Gettysburg, Cedar Creek, Ft. Sumter. The coffered ceilings are encrusted with dragons, fruit, stars, and other designs. Yes, I looked this all up after the fact.

Details of the engraved walls.

We continued on, thinking that we already saw the prized dome, then we stumbled up on it.

My goodness.

This was just breathtaking.  At the top of the dome are the signs of the zodiac. At the base of the dome is a quotation from the British author Joseph Addison:  “Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.”   

While the previous room was stately and handsome, this one was rich and extravagant beyond what any picture can portray. The intricately tiled walls gleamed with opalescence. This room was dedicated to literature and religious philosophy. Inspiring quotes in a variety of languages embellished the walls.

The Cultural Center was not only a great take, but completely free. I would highly recommend making this a priority for those visiting Chicago. As we made our way out, the rain began again right on cue. We boogied across the street to a cafe to regroup.

A gloomy view towards Millennium Park.

We did not have pancakes.

We kicked around for just a bit, but we had an appointment to get to. We called a Lyft and waited in the shelter of a high rise lobby.

Monsoon level rain.

The boy requested that we do an Escape Room while here. Sounded good to me. We tried our hand at one in Boston a couple years back. Though we failed, we had a lot of fun. He picked this place, Fox in a Box, which is located in a former train station.

Dearborn  Intercity Train Station

This escape room was highly themed and the hosts were much more involved than my last experience. If you’ve never done an escape room before, I highly recommend having an engineer on your team! Honestly, we worked really well together. It’s not just about solving puzzles, it’s about figuring what the puzzles even are. I’m proud to say we beat this one with just one minute and eight seconds to spare!

Fox Got Outta the Box

Mastering a diamond heist can make a thief pretty hungry. Now is the moment we have all been waiting for…Chicago Deep Dish Pizza!!! All research pointed towards this place as the best in the city. It was definitely off the beaten path. The drive over here was a bit sketchy.

Do I?

A decidedly dive bar vibe.

IPA by the pitcher.

Being responsible adults, we started with a salad. You know, for health’s sake.

Guys, lean in closer and take a good long look at the most glorious pizza pie you’ve ever seen. That gorgeous, lacy burnt cheese crust was as fab as it looks and more! The spicy pepperoni was piled high. It was just perfection.

Let’s book our flight back to Chicago right now.

Whoa! That was amazing. I ate the whole dang thing, for the record. We had just a few hours left to explore this great city. Did we take in another museum? See a show? Nope, we went back to the Beercade again. We’re all perpetual fourteen year olds.

I’m here to help, boys.

Got to see the guts of a malfunctioning machine.

Dude, back off the Skee Ball. That’s my jam.

The last beer.

Our flight home was at an insane 6:00 am, so we needed to behave ourselves and return to our hotel. We did swing into Eataly once again. We got there just in time to see them closing everything down. We were there for the cannoli so, nessun problemo!

No vino for us

The second best kind of bar.

Shells, patiently waiting to be filled.

A perfect ending.

Despite the weather not cooperating, we had a blast exploring the city and getting to spend some time with our son. Coincidentally, as of this dateline, he’s just hours from moving back to New England! Now we need another excuse to get back there. Strike that, the pizza is excuse enough.

We had the briefest of a window with no rain, so we took advantage and headed over to Millennium Park for a stroll. This space was conceived to commemorate entering the third millennium…it didn’t open until 2004. Apparently the construction ran into massive cost over-runs due to poor planning and cronyism. Sound familiar, Boston?

Welcome to Millennium Park

This is where you can find the Cloud Gate, a 100 ton sculpture which has been dubbed “The Bean” for obvious reasons.

The city reflected in the Bean.

A little closer, my dear.

The underside is called the “Omphalos” which is greek for “navel”. I thought it looked a bit more like another piece of anatomy. Tee Hee.

Our room was due to be ready so we moseyed on over, enjoying a nice look-see along the way.

Looking real nice.

I considered getting AirBnB again for this trip, but the hotels were really reasonable. Probably because no normal person would visit Chicago in February. We ended up at a Homewood Suites. It was quite nice.

King Bed

Clean bath. No complaints.

A small, well appointed kitchen.

The boy slept on a pullout in the living room (not pictured), the dear. We took a load off and charged up our phones for a bit, then hit the town! Matt picked our next destination, Headquarters Beercade. This place was awesome!!! They had fantastic local craft beer on tap, as you might expect, but this place was chock-full of vintage pinball machines and video games!

One of two bars.

Pinball galore!

Skee Ball!

Classic video games

This is the “DJ” booth. DJ Macbook.

The walls here were filled with cassette tapes, for show, I’m sure.

My junior high sound track right there.

We conservatively spent about three hours here. There’s no cover charge and, get this, the games are free! No coins needed. The vibe here was so cool. They had a TV’s here and there, but instead of running CNN or sports, they ran 1980s movies! So cool.

No worries about where to set your beer!

Spent keg as a table. Clever.

Our tummies were starting to grumble. We considered just getting some food here, but we did have a whole city to see. Matt chose our dinner spot too.

The Purple Pig

This place was packed to the brim on a Monday night. It was very hipster-like with hightop communal tables. We got seated pretty quickly and started with a cocktail.

A very well crafted, but extremely small Manhattan.

Attractive Bar

The menu here is mostly small plates. The prices were not so small. Don’t get me wrong, everything was excellent, there was just no way were going get full without having to leave a limb behind.  The menu online doesn’t even have prices. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it, I guess!

I panic ordered a couple meats and cheeses.I believe this was about $28.

Everything was superb.

We moved on to wine.

Fired chicken Skins with White Beans and Anchovy

I think this was some sort of potato coquette dish with a fried egg on top.

We enjoyed all these dishes, but we decided to bail and find a place for a burger and a beer. We had spent almost twice as much as we had at the Dim Sum restaurant for a quarter of the food.

Matt took to the internet to find a dive bar. Boy did he ever.

This menu was a little less refined that the Purple Pig.

The guests were a bit rough. Jeff almost got into a fist fight. I’ll share that story with you over a beer.

This was a heavy greasy burger. Just the ticket!

We were all ready to cash in at this point. We finished up and then had a very damp walk home in the rain, getting pretty well soaked. There were some challenges, but really did have a stellar day hanging out together.

Up Next: Can we get out of the box?

Ever since our son Matt moved to Illinois for work a year and a half ago, we’ve been wanting to pay him and the city of Chicago a visit. Now, the boy doesn’t live in Chicago proper, his home is about an hour and a half west in a town which, by his account, is total dullsville. He took a couple days off to show us around town. I was concerned that it would be frozen tundra cold, as it right should be in February. The temperatures were in the forties and not a problem, the rain however, was another story.

A view of the city during a brief respite from the down pours.

First on the agenda was lunch, of course. Matt had visited this place before with friends and couldn’t wait to get back.

Imperial Lamium Dim Sum

It was barely past eleven thirty when we arrived, so we roped dropped the place! Keep in mind, we’ve been up since four in the morning. The place was empty so I was able to get some glamour shots of the dining room.

Lounge and bar area.

Main dining room.

Artsy birdcage /Edison light fixtures.

Menu

When Matt said he wanted to take us to an authentic Dim Sum restaurant, I pictured a run down, cafeteria type establishment, churning out bamboo baskets of deliciousness for business lunch goers. This place was really lovely and refined. The best part was the open kitchen which ran the length of the dining room. We requested a table right by the glass.

Shiny clean kitchen.

Dim Sum baskets piled high

It was nearly noon now.

Our first bite might have been my favorite. The flavors here were out of this world good!

Szechuan Wonton Pork, chili, sesame oil, black vinegar

As we ate we got to witness the chefs meticulously creating these dishes. Hand pulling noodles, filling and crimping dumplings and making paper thin wrappers for spring rolls. The did all this with such precision. I may have left a nose print on the glass.

Filling shrimp dumplings.

Here’s a quick video of some of the action.

Next up were the soup dumplings. Matt talked about these as being is favorite dish here. I don’t remember what the fillings were, but I was surprised by the neon bright color of the dough.

Basket of cherry red soup dumplings.

Oh my, thats some color.

There is a procedure required to eat these. They are filled with broth (hence the name) so one must manage to lift the dumpling with chopsticks, bite the tip off the top, suck out the liquid and pop the rest of the morsel in your gob. I watched an asian gentleman perform this dance with ease. This proved to be a bit more difficult for this lady. They were really fantastic and totally worth the trouble.

Our next dish was also a bit jarring when we lifted the lid. They looked a bit like extra-terrestrial eggs of some sort.

Carrots, royal trumpet & wood ear mushrooms

I’m really not sure what this clear wrapper was. The bite to it was slightly gelatinous and weird, and at the same time delightful! The filling was savory and so well balanced. It felt like we were eating something truly authentic. You surely can’t get these at the Happy Dragon down the street.

The next offering was a bit more traditional for the American palate, but again executed so well. The shrimp in these little crispy packages was so fresh and flavorful. Just perfect.

Crispy Wonton Shrimp, cilantro, carrots, sweet chili sauce

On to the entrées.  Yes, we’re still eating. Matt got noodles or Lamian, for his main dish. The noodles are nestled at the bottom of the bowl.

Pork broth, Chinese mustard greens, bok choy, coriander with a soy marinated egg.

There they are. I stole a taste.

There was a woman making these noodles in the kitchen, but I would have had to step over someone else’s table to get a video. If you’d like to see the process, you can watch a video HERE.

Jeff and I shared a salmon dish. This was simple, straight forward and gorgeous.

Salmon Wok seared, scallion ginger consommé, crispy leeks

We could have stayed there all afternoon sampling the entire menu, but alas, it was time to see more of this city. The rain began again in earnest. We hopped in a Lyft and headed to our next destination.

My kinda town, Chicago is.

Now we’ll be taking in some culture. Chicago has a plethora of museums to visit. With limited time for touring, we decided on the most iconic, the Art Institute of Chicago.

A stately facade.

“No pictures, please.”

Even if you’ve never been to Chicago, you’re probably familiar with this museum from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. In fact you can take a self guided tour of all the sights from the movie if you’re so inclined.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat, 1884

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat, 1884 with Cameron.

We totally could have re-enacted this scene.

Bedroom in Arles by Vincent Van Gogh

In the past one was not allowed to take photos in museums, presumably because of the flash photography compromising the canvases. Now, with the iPhone cameras, that doesn’t seem to be an issue. Now it’s encouraged.

What do you think about this?

We had done a fair bit of touring and we were all starting to drag a bit. We stopped in the the museum cafe for an over priced cappuccino.

Just the ticket.

With a bit of a pick me up on board we moved on to the Modern and contemporary sections of the museum. Matt and I were a bit at loggerheads about the definition of each. I took to the internet to find out: “Modern art is that which was created sometime between the 1860s (some say the 1880s) and the late 1960s (some say only through the 1950s). Art made thereafter (e.g., conceptual, minimalist, postmodern, feminist) is considered contemporary.” 

I have to say that I’m am totally on board for modern art.

Jackson Pollack

Andy Warhol

Pablo Picasso

Contemporary art, not so much.

Is this an upscale recycling bin?

Okey dokey, then.

Matt was familiar with the artist, On Kawara. He told me that he painted one of these “Today Paintings” everyday (unless he didn’t) from 1966 until he died. He also did a project called “One Million Years” which consists of volumes of books listing every day from a million years back and them a million years forward. There are exhibitions wherein a man and a woman will sit in a glass room reading these dates for one hundred days. Is it art? Surely it is, but I guess I’m just a simple gal that enjoys a painting or statue much more. 

We just don’t get it.

Up Next: We’ll checking out our digs for the next couple nights, but not before catching a little walk about between down pours!

We bid adieu to Nashville. Our next destination was a mere twelve hours away! Can you tell I’m getting road weary? Thankfully we had some kinfolk at the halfway point who were kind enough to let us breeze in, mess up their spare bedroom and zoom on off in the morning. The next leg took us through some beautiful vistas.

I wish I was in the land of cotton!

A close-up view.

An even closer-up view.

Friends, I must admit that I not only had never seen a cotton plant before, I didn’t know how it worked. Inside the poofs of cotton are their seeds. The puff will eventually breakaway and roll about like a tumble weed awaiting a fertile purchase. That is, of course, if they are not first wrenched from their mother plant by a combine and processed into fabric. I may have taken a ball or two as a souvenir. If your new Fruit of the Looms seem a bit threadbare, It’s because of my filching.

Our record of poor eating continued. However, I did not regret this stop one bit.

Know where we’re at?

Chick-Fil-A! Oh my I enjoyed this immensely.

For our last night of the journey I booked a bonafide hotel. I just wanted a safe place to land in case our Air BnB experience was harrowing. It was not, but this hotel also worked for us because they were willing to hire us to play in their lounge. Bonus!

Clean and neat.

Very spare.

All the necessities.

These soap dispensers didn’t do their job very well. I just opened the tops and scooped it out with my paw.

All set up to Rock at the Chesapeake Aloft Hotel!

This gig met my expectations. The hotel manager was gracious enough to hire us to play on a Monday night, but this also meant that the bar was pretty well dead most of the evening. However, we got to hang with our dear friends Ashley and Sam. This was essentially the whole goal of visiting Chesapeake. You may recall them from our  October Walt Disney World visit. We had a blast hanging out and catching with up these guys.

Aren’t they the cutest?

Being that we finished up after 10:00pm, our choices for food were limited, so we ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings. This may have been our lowest culinary point. We ate fried cheese curds with…caramel sauce. We need a salad! STAT!!!!

We rested easy at the Aloft Hotel and gathered up for our final trek home.  Now, when we went north for our last tour, I knew full well that we would be driving over the Confederate Bridge which spans the twelve miles between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. This meant that I had had plenty of time to hand-wring and be all kinds of nervous about being stranded in the middle of the ocean. It could happen! However, I had not one clue about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel. People, this a twenty-three mile bridge with not one, but two mile-long tunnels under the freaking ocean!!!

Guys, why didn’t you tell me?

Sweet Baby Cheezits.

It was pretty, I guess.

Land!!!!

We were about ready for a rest and some lunch by the time we got near Delaware. I set about scouting a suitable watering hole.

This’ll do!

“Woman, would you please stop taking pictures of everything!”

The place was HUGE!

Adjacent dining near the bar.

This brewery was in a waterfront district comprised of converted old factory buildings, a lot like many of the areas we visited. I just love when cities can pull together and re-imagine desolate areas and make them vibrant again.

Beautiful, well-groomed plantings.

Gorgeous waterfront pathways lined the shoreline.

These kids were quite rude. They wouldn’t say hello.

A secluded bench for resting.

This was another discovery where we would have spent more time if we had it. On to lunch!

At last! A Salad!

The pizza was merely ok.

We headed back on the road and made a pact that if either one of us had had enough, we would find a place to crash. The miles wore on and before we knew it we were just a couple hours from home. A quick bite in Providence was just what we needed to carry on.

Federal Hill is always a good bet.

We made it just before the kitchen would be closing. Whew.

Sheesh, how ’bout doing some dusting? JK, it was still Halloween.

One XL glass of wine, please.

A trio of Tacos. Delectable!

So there you have it. The Joneses’ second tour has come to an end. There’s no doubt that we had an absolute blast. There’s also no doubt that these endeavors are totally exhausting!  It was wonderful to see friends and family along the way and I thank everyone who hosted us, joined us for food and drinks and especially those who came to our shows. We’ll do it again I’m sure, but in between then, I need a vacation where we lay in a lounger  drinking rum from a coconut and stay in the same zip code for week!

Up and At ’em and six hours later, you know the drill, we arrived at our next destination, Nashville Tennessee. Ok, not quite. Our room was in Murfreesboro, about thirty minutes away. We chose this spot because my daughter stayed here the previous August during the  eclipse. This was the whole reason I gained confidence in staying Air BnB. She just loved the space and her hosts.

High end hotel quality room.

In-room water and snacks.

Unlike the rooms I had reserved on my own, this one did not have an ensuite bathroom. We had to share with another guest. Not a tragedy, but not what I was used to. Also, we could have stayed a lot closer to Nashville if I had chosen for myself.  These inconveniences however, were totally negated by the kick-butt coffee station provided by our hosts. Finally, we get some coffee!!!

Are you kidding me?

Flavoring, for those inclined.

This, my friends was a game changer.

The Nepresso machine made the best cup of coffee topped with an amazingly creamy foam. Delicioso! We may have gone back for a second cup.

We took a  little rest and then headed off to a date with Jeff’s sister, her husband and their adorable son. These guys live in Indiana, about two hours from Nashville. We were so looking forward to meeting up with them. We planned to have dinner at the Opryland Hotel, a place I’ve been dreaming about visiting for decades. We had made our plans weeks before to meet on this Saturday night. So, picture our complete horror a week beforehand, while we were still back at home, when  Jeff’s sister Sarah texts us saying they were ten minutes from the hotel!!! Oh My Gawd! We gave them the wrong date. They drove two hours to meet us and we were still in Massachusetts! We felt just horrible. They not only forgave our blunder, but were willing to make the trek again just a week later. The Opryland Hotel was beyond my imagination! I won’t burden you with commentary, the pictures speak for themselves.

There are so many choices for dining here, but this spot was just perfect. A nice view of the conservatory along with an enticing menu.

Ravello Italian delights!

I didn’t require the other members of the party to take pictures. Luckily, Sarah and I had the same dish. Here’s our very well chosen entrée.

Orrechiette Pasta, pancetta, mushrooms, carrots,  mustard greens, poached egg.

Jeff’s selection.

Angel Hair Vongole white wine, garlic, lemon, clams, shrimp

Update on my dish:

The breaking  of the poached egg!

We had a tremendously good time catching up and enjoying the glorious environs of the Opryland hotel, but it was time to bid adieu. We had enough steam to get a quick preview of the famous music row in downtown Nashville.  There were three very good reasons why this was a terrible decision: 1. It was a Saturday night, not intentional, just a bad timing. 2. There was a hockey game at the local arena that just finished minutes before we arrived. The streets were flooded with disappointed fans. Lastly, it was Halloween weekend. Oy vey.

We circled the block for nearly a half an hour before we found a spot that we were reasonably sure wouldn’t get us towed.  Finally we set about to see the Holy Land of Country music! Dreams do come true!

Update: It was a nightmare.

A musician friend who now lives in Nashville recommended this Honky Tonk for an authentic country music experience. This was helpful seeing that many of the bars had bands blasting Bon Jovi or Guns and Roses. Not what I came to Music Row for! However, there was no earthly way we were getting in any of these places.

Maybe next time, Bob.

We had to go by the famous Tootsies… and go by we did.

The neon was impressive anyway.

We stayed long enough to see a drunk girl throw up on the steps of the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Probably not what Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe had in mind.

We walked far enough off the main drag to find a much more chill bar, with some live music!

Puckett’s

Not insane, yet a good crowd.

The music was alright, sort of a Robert Johnson blues vibe. We enjoyed a beer and some chit chat and moved on.

Probably an IPA

We made one more stop back in Murfreesboro at a bar we accepted a gig at and then declined after we discovered that this was a smoking bar. Ew. Now, we would normally never even set foot in here, but because of an unfortunate event in the town square which forced all the small businesses to close earlier in the day, we wanted to patronize the bar. Not only CAN you smoke in here, EVERYBODY smoked in here.

The place stunk.

Beer was knocked back quickly.

The next morning, we said goodbye to our BnB host and trekked back to Nashville. We would have had the whole day to explore and tour around all the sights if….the New England Patriots weren’t playing. Yes,  once again this football team has kiboshed my plans. Grrr. Our friends, Rachel and Joe had been, ahem, good enough to find a bar where the game would be playing. At least there would be beer.

Said Bar.

A warm welcome…

Turns out, this bar wasn’t just throwing on the game, this was the home of the “Nashville Patriots Fan Club”. EVERYONE was here to watch the Pats.

The place was shoulder to shoulder.

These folks mean business!

This Joseph Gordon Levitt look-a-like is the president of the club.

Addressing the fans.

Despite my whining about being out of tourist commission for several hours, we really did have great time. Watching the game with such rabid fans in a state thousands of miles from home was a real hoot.  I had a distinct vision that this bar was a mirage meant for Jeff and would soon disappear after we left. They won, by the way.

It was fun, I guess.

Ok, it was pretty awesome.

After the game, Rachel and Joe indulged me and came along to the aforementioned Robert’s for a beer and some real country music.

The more financial looking type area.

If we had more time…

These boots are made for walkin’

That’s just what they’ll do.

One of these day these boots….

Honky Tonk!

The grandest of country music legends!

After we finished our dranks and good times music at Robert’s, Rachel and Joe recommended taking a stroll on the Cumberland River Bridge, for some stunning views.

Stunning views indeed.

My impression of Nashville was a wee bit conflicted. I was so stoked to finally see the Holy Land of country music! But Music Row was not what I had anticipated. To be fair,  it was crazy crowded and a weird weekend for an optimal visit so I guess l could give it some grace. Plus, if we had had some more time to explore museums and other points of interest we may have had a better more rounded experience. I guess the take way is that we should try again for a longer visit??

We had a good night’s sleep at our Air BnB, but there was no coffee to be found.  A quick visit to the local Starbucks and we were off on a six hour drive to our next destination, Mount Airy North Carolina.

On the road again…

We drove through the most beautiful vistas.  However, there weren’t many  safe places to pull over and take pictures. This spot was pretty, but not nearly as majestic a scene as we encountered previously.

A safe place.

Just like that, a mere six hours later, we rolled into our next stop, Mount Airy North Carolina. We will be playing at a brewery here later tonight. We procured this gig through a musician friend and really knew nothing about the area. Turns out, this is Andy Griffith’s hometown. Yup, essentially this is Mayberry. 

Mayberry RFD. A town preserved in amber.

I don’t think the boy himself worked here.

From what I’ve read, textiles, more specifically socks, were one of the chief local exports. More recently wine (shock horror) and the highly impressive World’s Largest Open Face Granite Quarry. 

A good representation.

I had in my notes to have a famous fried pork sandwich from Snappy’s Lunch, a place Andy himself used to frequent. There were two problems. One: we couldn’t seem to find it although the town center was barely a 1/8 mile long. Second: there would be no beer there, so that idea was abandoned.

We ducked down an alleyway to find the “Loaded Goat”.

This goat seems to make poor decisions.

Speaking of bad decisions, This trip’s food consisted of 85% french fries. Vacation is all about food for us, but from the time we left Baltimore, we just seemed to be grabbing a burger or something fried. I’m not proud.

Pulled Pork Sandwich and Tots for Jeff.

Fried Green Tomato Sandwich for the lady.

We strolled down the main drag after our cholesterol laden lunch.

Of course he found a music store.

For all your Radio Flyer needs.

For the sweet tooth.

There seems to be a duel meaning to this.

Freeze! You’re under arrest!

Oh, the reason we couldn’t find Snappy’s? It was right behind us.

It was time to get settled into our next Air BnB. This was by far, the most pricey location we stayed at. Most likely due to the scarcity of homes. However, it was just beautiful.

The house was unassuming.

Bright and airy living room.

The owner is also a touring musician.

Beautifully appointed room.

Meticulously clean bathroom.

Nice details everywhere.

Cute accsesories.

Jeff didn’t enjoy the paint scheme on the closet door.

We freshened up and trucked on over to the Thirsty Souls Brewery. This was so brand new, they did’t have proper signage out yet. The place was super cool.

A recently converted garage space houses the brewery.

It was a little to chilly to open the bay by the loungers.

What’s happening.

Beautiful patina on brick walls.

Yours truly, curated the perfect song list.

To say the founders of this brewery were interesting would be the most major of understatements. This beautiful couple immigrated from Slovakia. They are both physicians. He runs sleep studies and she works for a teaching hospital. They are parents, she teaches yoga and oh, they run a working farm. Even with all this, they decided to open a freaking brewery! We had such a wonderful time getting to know Maria and Jan, and their wonderful friends.

Not a great photo of any one of us. Oh well.

We had a good night’s sleep, then it was time wash, rinse and repeat. Another six hours on the road to Atlanta Georgia. No BnB this time though, tonight we’d be slumming with friends.

A Georgian home.

We met our hosts up in Massachusetts when they lived there for a time. They have two adorable children.

We booted this one out of his own room. Sorry, Charlie.

I have no idea what we were doing here.

Tonight’s show would be in another old factory that had been reclaimed.

Tannery Row

This place was huuuuge! It was hard to take a panoramic photo. The main dining area could easily hold over 1,000 people. There was another, smaller space as well.

Just a portion of the room.

This gig had several challenges. It was way too big for an acoustic duo. The bar wasn’t even within view of the stage and oh, the world series was on this ginormous TV screen behind us.

You guys like music?

An artful shot during a commercial. Thanks, Carl.

We got through the night just fine, plus we had the pleasure of meeting up with friends and family in the area. It just wasn’t ideal.

In the morning we shared coffee and homemade banana bread while watching a bit of Spiderman with Charlie. As we said our goodbyes we asked if there was one quick thing we should see or do before leaving Atlanta. They suggested the Ponce City Market.

Yup, another factory.

This one formerly housed Sears and Roebuck up until 1987. It’s two million square feet of indoor/outdoor commercial space.

It’s a bit raw above, but swanky stores throughout.

Our friends suggested this as a great place for lunch and a view of the city.

On the roooof.

This young man gave us the deets about the place on the way up. He just played on his phone on the way down.

It’s getting colorful in here.

Yup. So far as I’ve seen.

So, up on this roof top you’ll find a fully functioning mini-amusement park.

Put Put.

The grandest view.

A whirly thing that whips kids around.

So you have to pay to get up on the roof, but that goes directly towards lunch, if you choose to have it, at Nine Mile Station.

This place was hip.

Formidable beer selection, but why do I need to know what’s next? Just tell me what you have.

This beer is one of those on the “right now” list.

I take back my french fry lament from earlier. I forgot about this delightful, semi-healthy meal.

Caesar Salad with Succulent Grilled Shrimp.

Smoked Turkey, Tomato Jam, Pesto, Young Pecorino Panini.

We really enjoyed our lunch. Everything was tasty and well presented.  If it had been a just smidgen warmer we would have dined outside. I can see that this place would really be hoppin’ in the summer.

Lots of lovely planters.

another city view.

Getting loungey.

I’m trying to be creative here.

Beautiful fall blooms.

This place worked overtime on the plants.

If only I had a big enough purse…

It was a whirlwind forty-eight hours of gigs, but our next leg of the journey will be strictly for fun!

Up Next: Music City U.S.A. 

This morning we were planning to have coffee in the room and then truck on off to our next destination, Washington D.C. However, we couldn’t get the coffee maker to work for us. Not to worry! This gave us an excuse to check out a diner that a friend was telling us we absolutely HAD to visit.

The Blue Moon Café

Funky Menu

Our friend suggested the Captain Crunch French Toast. That seemed a bit too intense for me, but it looked dang good.

File Photo, for your ocular pleasure.

Normally, I’m not too much for sweets, but I spied a gorgeous tray of humungous cinnamon rolls behind the counter. This immediately brought me back to the long gone old Main Street Bakery in Walt Disney World. I just had to get one, even if we just had a bite or two, you know for nostalgia. I wish I put a coin or some other object next to it for reference. It was basically the size of a toddler’s head. This thing was absolutely HUGE! I figured we’d each have a bite or two and then wrap it up, but it was so light and fluffy we just couldn’t stop. We didn’t finish it, but it was close.

I regret nothing.

Being that were were in Baltimore, some more crab was in order. Jeff got the Lump Crab Benedict. It was lovely, but the star in my opinion was the hash brown potatoes.

Would you look at the crust on those spuds???

I went with over easy eggs and bacon, and some fresh fruit because, you know, I’m being healthy and all.

The fruit salad was cut on the spot.

I chose a biscuit instead of toast. It was again, a fluffy masterpiece.

Size reference: the head of a newborn.

Now that we’ve had our ahem, coffee, we were ready to hit the road. Within  just about an hour, we were in our nation’s capitol. Jeff had been once, but I’ve never spent any time here. We found a choice parking spot and headed to the Lincoln Memorial.

The weather was just perfection, by the way.

We climbed the steps and paused at the spot where Martin Luther King made his “I Have A Dream” speech.

A view across the mall.

If we only saw this, I’d would have been happy. It was a moving moment.

A look back at the city from the monument.

We walked across the mall towards the World War II Memorial.

This was just stunning.

The Greek goddess Nike heralding the dawn of a new era of peace.

Looking back towards the Lincoln Memorial.

Atlantic and Pacific pillars flank each side of the memorial.

The inside of the Atlantic pillar from the ground.

The fountains are beautiful and add a peacefulness to the whole area.

Each state is represented here.

This was, for me, the most powerful part of the memorial. Each star on this wall represents 100 Americans killed in WWII; there are 4,048 stars total. “Here we mark the price of freedom.”

The Washington Monument

Black helicopters were about today.

There was some sort of an event at the White House on this day. I could find zero info about it, but a great deal of the area was shut down and redirected because of it. We saw some sharp shooters atop the buildings in addition to the helicopters sweeping around the area.

There were shooters way up top there, honest.

We took a stroll around and admired the majestic architecture and statueary. Let me point out a few for you:

There’s this one…

…this other one…

…this guy here

Oh, and this white one.

As we continued our loop around the district, I spied something that made my heart skip a beat. Ever since I was a middle schooler I have been fascinated by true crime stories. I used to tote around thick paperbacks by Anne Rule and Joe Mcguinness to read between classes. This was probably not appropriate reading for a twelve year old, but I digress. Recently I started listening to a true crime podcast hosted by a couple of lady comedians that has become wildly popular. It seems that there are literally millions of women obsessed with serial killers and unsolved crimes, just like me! Who knew? From this group I learned of this amazing woman, Frances Glessner Lee. You can read more about her HERE. In her time, women were not welcomed into criminal justice or the sciences. However, she managed to apply her specialized skills in a unique way that changed forensic detective methods forever. You’ll never guess how…

“Murder is Her Hobby” was on display at the Renwick Gallery at Smithsonian. Squee!

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

Frances Glessner Lee meticulously crafted what may, at first glance, seem like doll houses, but upon closer inspection you’ll find something more macabre. These tiny rooms and houses were loosely based on real-life crime scenes. Frances constructed these “Nutshells” beginning in the 1940s to teach investigators to properly canvass a crime scene and to effectively uncover and understand evidence. The Nutshells are so effective that they are still used in training seminars today at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. I strongly suggest you read more about this amazing woman and take a look at more detailed photos online.

Parsonage Parlor (23 August 1946)

Barn (15 July 1939)

Striped Bedroom (29 April 1940)

Blue Bedroom (3 November 1943)

The lady herself hard at work.

It was getting on into the afternoon and we needed to think about getting ready for our first gig of the trip! I snapped a few more anonymous government buildings along the way.

Head drove just a bit farther to Fall Church Virginia and our next Air Bnb.

Seems homey.

Comfortable bedding.

This room also had a private ensuite bathroom.

Shower was fine.

The room fit the bill, but the hosts didn’t mind the details like the previous spot. This was less like a Bed and Breakfast and more like crashing at your cousin’s house. This family had at least three small children, so they didn’t have time to carefully fold towels or put out basket of snacks and bottles of water. All in all though, nice people and a good stay.

We made our way to the Open Road Grill & Icehouse for our first show. So, did you know what an Icehouse was? Neither did I.  My research (Googling for 5 minutes) didn’t really clear things up: An icehouse is an open-air beer joint, a cross between a saloon and a convenience store. I didn’t see any loaves of bread or milk, but there was lots of beer!

Open Road Grill & Ice House.

Music every night!

The area we played was indeed, open air.

Hardcore decor.

We are always pleased when friends take the time to come out to our shows at home. But we were just thrilled when someone came out to see us in all the way in Virginia! This lovely lady, Tania, is actually a friend of a friend. Her sweetheart is someone we met through music and he let her know we’d be in the area and she showed up! Amazing!

Our new friend, Tania.

We had a really great show here. It started out slow but thanks to a couple work gatherings and birthday parties, it really started hoppin’! After a great night, a burger and a couple of beers, it was time to crash.

Cheers, Falls Church!

We enjoyed our mini “International Tour” last year immensely. We have many friends and family dotted along the southern corridor, so it made sense to head that way this time. We fixed on dates and began the task of calling, e-mailing and messaging prospective places where we could play some music and drink beer. This proved much more difficult than expected. Let’s just say that the “Southern Hospitality” of lore wasn’t readily availing itself. We nearly gave up but through some friends connecting us and some random good luck we were able to book enough gigs to subsidize a (working) vacation!

Over the next seven days we’ll be playing four shows, driving through twelve states, staying in four different Air BnB’s and crashing with some very gracious friends and family.

We loaded up the car with gear, luggage and an obscene amount of snacks and headed out. Our first stop was chosen simply because of its location. We would drive about seven hours and land in Baltimore for an overnight rest.  Strategically this made sense. However,  the only knowledge I had about Baltimore was from watching  “The Wire”, which wasn’t so glowing. I chose an Air BnB in a seemingly safe area and hoped for the best.  This was the first of many delightful surprises awaiting us on this journey.

The neighborhood was…adorable!

Ok, so this isn’t our Air BnB. I forgot to take a picture, but it was just as cute as this, I promise.

Front door facsimile.

To say I was nervous about staying Air BnB would be an understatement. My daughter recently had a great experience, which made me lean towards going for it, but I had also heard some real horror stories. Our first stop on the list put me at ease. My priority for booking rooms was to have a private room and bath. For this stay, we had the whole lower level to ourselves. It was clean comfortable and had nice touches from the hosts.

Coffee Station

Snacks and Water

Nice appointments.

Mr. Jones approves of the bedding.

Clean and modern bath.

Plenty of clean towels, and bath amenities, if needed.

Now that we were settled in, we set out to explore the city. I had no idea what we would discover. This area was just beautiful! It reminded me of my favorite seaside city, Portland Maine.

Stunning views.

Cafés abound.

Wine Bar!

Maybe you shouldn’t use “Lush” as a descriptor.

It doesn’t get much more glorious.

We savored our wine until the sun disappeared over the skyline and took a walk about.

Stoic brick store fronts.

You are *Here.

An unseasonably warm fall allowed for the window boxes to continue to thrive.

More flowers and a funky stained glass art store.

The Baltimore state flag is among the coolest.

Just before our trip I met a super nice lady from Baltimore. I asked her where we could get some stellar crab cakes and she set me up with a short list, one of which is right here in the neighborhood. This was a Tuesday night, post tourist season, yet it was insanely busy! We put our name in and hopped next door to the bar to wait it out.

Gorgeous refurbished factory bar.

Artsy as all get out, right?

We just barely downed our local beers when our text sounded.

Another well composed shot. I may be getting good at this.

Our table was not great. We basically were surrounded by waiting customers. I’ll deal with it.

Thames Street menu. We knew what we were after.

Cast Iron Crab Cake

Pickled Cucumber Salad

We must have gotten the last of the summer menu, because our accompaniments were quite light. The crab cake was satisfying, but less “Lump” than I hoped. The wee bit of sauce was watermelon, weird but it worked. The current menu listing is served with squash and brussels sprouts. I’m glad we got this version.

The lobster roll was supposed to the the kicker, but it overshadowed the crab, by a mile.

Gorgeous, unadulterated lobster meat in a perfectly buttery toasted roll. See the little cups, the one on  the left is more butter!

Look at this! Look!!!

Our adorable server cleared our empty plates and asked us if we were up for dessert. I started to give our pat answer of “no, thank you” when Jeff shut me down. What? We never get dessert!

We sipped a bit of Grand Marnier whilst we decided.

We went with this masterpiece: Vanilla Bean Fritters, Brùléed Banana, Guava Ice Cream, Toasted Coconut Sorbet, Pecan and Coconut Praline, Rum Caramel. Whew!

This was just a dream. My only regret was having the super sweet Grand Marnier with it. An Espresso Martini would have been perfection!

We took a stroll and circled back to  check out a couple bars that advertised live music, enjoying the beautiful city along the way.

The Pendry Hotel. Wow. Check it out HERE.

This joint touts live music from open ’til closed, EVERYDAY!

See.

We just stumbled upon the place, but it turns out it has quite a HISTORY, Including the fact that it was Edgar Allen Poe’s last stop before he fell ill and died days later.

The man himself watching over the bar.

It seems like the may have over ordered on the Jack Daniels…Just kidding, it’s a Bottle Club.

We enjoyed a couple beers at the Saloon and stayed through two music acts, so we got to hear “Wagon Wheel” twice! Seriously, we had such a great time here. We will no doubt be back sometime, and plan to do more eating, drinking and maybe playing some music too.

We’ll be moving on to Washington D.C.  in the morning, so we best get some rest.

Goodnight, Baltimore.