How We Chow
Posted on February 28, 2009
Filed Under Food | 2 Comments
Posted by Daria
Those of you who know us personally know that food is never far from our thoughts. We eat most of our meals in the RV but like to eat out, too, especially when there’s “roadfood” available.
We have been devoted fans and buyers of Jane and Michael Stern’s Roadfood books for 20 years; in fact, we keep the older editions of the books and cross-reference them with the new ones. And we’re regular lurkers at Roodfood.com. The Sterns’ philosophy, that one should “eat local” (as one of the S.S. Destination’s bumper stickers says), i.e., partake of the food of the region, meshes with our desire to drink local beer.
So it’s really frustrating to visit a much-anticipated restaurant and leave feeling disappointed. Yes, the barbecue at such-and-such is tasty, but is it worth trying to park the RV for?
Roadfood.com is really useful because it includes not only the Sterns’ reviews but comments from more recent visitors. Sometimes the reviews help, sometimes not. For example, we just visited a place in Brunswick, Georgia, called the Ga., or Georgia, Pig. The Sterns love it, but recent reviews have been mixed. Another BBQ place in Brunswick got good reviews, but it was closed, so we decided to roll the dice and try the Ga. Pig. It was really good. Sierra’s sausage was really smoky, Stan’s chopped beef was tasty, my chopped pork was very good. I really liked the sauce. The beans were too sweet, but a dollop of hot sauce fixed that. So, if we had believed the recent comments, we would have missed out.
On the other side of the coin was a visit to Abe’s in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Stan and I had been there about 16 years ago, and it was pretty good. The Sterns still love it, but we didn’t think it was all that special.
Likewise with the Arcade Restaurant in Memphis. I was smitten by Roadfood’s gushing about the plethora of Southern-style vegetables. We got there at 1:15 p.m. and were told that the lunch specials were all sold out! Stan and I ordered breakfast, which was perfectly fine but nothing compared to the one (pictured at the top) we had the next day at the Blue & White in Tunica, also a Roadfood recommendation. Sierra had a wood-fired pizza at the Arcade, which wasn’t bad, but it was a little disturbing to see wood-fired pizza, not to mention items featuring goat cheese and brie, on the menu. We like those things, just not at a Roadfood stop.
Our most recent Roadfood stop was at Bertha’s Kitchen in Charleston, S.C. My fried fish and Sierra’s fried chicken were really good, but the sides were only OK. And Stan made a mistake he won’t soon forget, ordering pig’s feet. Let’s just say they looked better than they tasted. And they didn’t look all that great.
We check other food review websites, too. Chowhound is regularly reliable, and Trip Advisor sometimes has worthwhile posts, but both of them deal more frequently with upscale dining than we RVers can regularly afford. All in all, I’d have to say that figuring out where to eat is largely a crap shoot, no matter whose reviews you go by.
Process of a Post
Posted on February 23, 2009
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Posted by Sierra
I bet you probably read a post and think, “How do they do that?” or “How did that clever Sierra ever come up with that clever phrase?” Ha ha, I’m quite the joker. Anyway, let’s be realistic. You’re all probably wondering about the process of writing a blog post. Well, I give you a chance to see the process of writing a blog post! I wrote down a minute-by-minute description of what I do.
Minute One: I sit down with nothing but my notebook, a pencil, and the idea in my head. NOTE: On special occasions, my head is empty, and I spend a few hours trying to think of an idea.
Minute Three: After spending a minute finding a clean page, I spend a few more minutes attempting to think up a clever title.
Minute Five: I give up on the title, scribble something boring, and move on to the opening sentence.
Minute Eight: I practically leap with glee when a good beginning pops into my head. I write it down and go from there.
Minute Twelve: I decide I have enough and stare into space for five minutes, attempting to think up a few more clever sentences.
Minute Seventeen: I snap back to reality and stare at my half-blank page. I search my memory for related subjects and write down a few results.
Minute Twenty: I doodle a little, then remember I’m supposed to be pretending to do some actual work.
Minute Thirty: I write my final sentence, then pass my notebook to my editor (Mom). My editor makes a lot of edits and passes the paper back to me.
Minute Thirty-Three: I question a few edits, then pass the notebook back to my editor.
Minute Thirty-Five: My editor makes more edits and passes the notebook back to me.
Minute Thirty-Seven: We continue like this for eight minutes.
Minute Forty-Five: I turn on the computer to type up my beautiful newly edited masterpiece.
Minute Forty-Eight: The computer is fired up and I’m typing away.
Minute Fifty: I type.
Minute Sixty: I type more.
Minute Seventy: I silently cheer as I stretch toward the finish line of my post.
Minute Eighty: Ding! All done! I’m happy as a glee club. Only forty minutes of school for Mom left to go!
Not all posts take this long to write. Many take longer. And there are a few rare ones that take less time. Such as this one.
Mardi Gras in N’awlins
Posted on February 18, 2009
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Posted by Sierra
As the marching bands pass by, people scream at floats, waving their hands for beads. The crowd cheers and gasps as a teenage girl twirls a flaming baton high up in the air and catches it. They jump up when they see the “throwers” on the floats are about to toss something cool. Where are you? At a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.
Since New Orleans (pronounced New Orleeens by ignorant tourists and N’awlins by locals) is the rainiest major city in the country, it often literally rains on your parade, but true parade-goers don’t care. They wave and catch (and, in Dad’s case, get hit on the head while trying to take a picture) beads. They end up walking away with more than a few strands.
Mardi Gras parades started as small celebrations held by a secret society of rich Caucasian men. Then came the first all African-American parade, Zulu, which mocked the secret societies’ parades. Eventually the first all-woman parade, Isis, came along. Then everyone decided “What the heck, all this segregation is dumb!” and let women be in men’s parades, African-Americans be in Caucasian parades, and so on.
We saw about 6 parades:
*Two at night (Excalibur and Atlas)
*Two during the day (Pontchartrain, theme: Can You Name That Love Song? and Carrollton, theme: A Fair to Remember)
*Two that we didn’t see all of (Barkus, theme: Batmutt and the Dark Knight, and King Arthur)
My Favorites: Favorite Nighttime parade: Atlas
Why: Each float represented a different place (e.g., Hawaii, Hollywood). There were great beads, fantastic floats, and good non-beads (e.g., cups, fake roses). It had marching bands and dance teams with creative costumes. Floats were thematically decorated. For example, the Hollywood float had a giant film reel in the front and the Hawaii float had lots of flowers. The parade had this special nighttime touch so they sparkled under the lights.
Favorite Daytime parade: Carrollton, “A Fair to Remember.”
Why: Each float represented a different part of the Louisiana World’s Fair (e.g., Petroleum Pavillion, Nightly Parades). We got a TON of beads, and I caught a plastic lobster. I liked the Eiffel Tower, small as it was, and the way that the “throwers” costumes matched the themes of the floats. For example, the people on the Japan float wore (somewhat grotesque) Japanese masks.
In addition to many strands of beads around our necks, we also have hundreds of strands in a bag. This bag weighs about ten pounds. We also have cups, a few stuffed animals (including a crab), a plastic lobster, and some Moon Pies. But remembering jumping up and down for beads, I think, “What could be more fun.
Please, mister, throw me some beads
Posted on February 15, 2009
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Sierra pleads for beads Friday during the Excalibur Mardi Gras parade in Metairie (just west of New Orleans).
This was the first of two parades, back to back, in Metairie, and Sierra brought home plenty of beads. In part, as you can see from the second photo, she’s much better at catching them than she was in 2006.
Worth getting soaked by a series of rain showers.
A Rain Slicker Fell on My Head
Posted on February 14, 2009
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Posted by Sierra
Life is different when you’re on the road. That’s just something you accept.
When we recently got back in the RV after spending a week at home, there were a few factors we had to get used to, such as:
* The “injuring ourselves every day” factor. Types of injury include stubbing toes, bumping knees, having books fall on head.
* The “public bathrooms” factor. The good, the bad, and the stinky.
* The “remembering we forgot something” factor. E.g., books, hanger of clothes, fleece (again), quarters, presents (that was me).
* The “crampedness” factor. Tight bed, having to step over Mom, cramped fridge, closet, and drawers.
* The “having anything and everything fall” factor. Pencil off table, towel off clothesline, clothes out of pockets.
* The “noise” factor. Clang, bang, slam, rattle, click.
* The “Surprise! factor.” Surprise! A book just fell on your foot! Surprise! A rain slicker just fell on your head!
So, as you can see, it takes a lot of adjusting. Luckily we are completely settled in and—hey! A rain slicker just fell on my head!
One Week Off
Posted on February 12, 2009
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Posted by Daria
We just got back on the road after spending a week visiting our home in Corrales. It really did seem like a visit, because when someone else is living in your house—in this case Ryan, 31, son/stepson/half brother—it’s not quite the same. Our stuff had to make way for his stuff. And let’s not get into the mess factor; let’s just say things could have been worse but could have been better.
Driving west from Texas, I didn’t feel the excitement I usually feel when re-encountering the New Mexico landscape after being away, probably because I’ve seen so much other magnificent scenery in the past nine months. How’ya gonna keep ‘em on the farm when they’ve seen Pa-ree? Or Banff, or Tuscany, or Prague …
It was nice to be able to cook complicated food again, to shower in our own shower and sleep in our king-sized bed. To visit friends, eat carne adovada, green chile, tamales. It was also a relief to unload our cargo of Christmas presents and European souvenirs—items marked “fragile,” like the papier mache Plague Doctor mask and the ceramic chicken water jug—and determine they were still intact.
But it’s great—and normal—to be on the road, sleeping in bunks and makeshift beds, slipping on shower shoes, cursing the crummy wi-fi connections, washing our undies in the sink, avoiding Jack Johnson on the Sirius, watching “Homicide” DVDs, seeing what there is to see. We’ve got our sea legs (RV legs?) back.
Did I mention we visited a famous barbecue place for lunch?
Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
Posted on February 3, 2009
Filed Under Call us tourists | 3 Comments
Posted by Stan
How many times have we driven by the Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo, Texas, without stopping?
Today we stopped. Nobody had this one on their list. And the early morning temperature was below freezing. But we parked and hurried out to the curious monument. Perhaps that’s the point of our adventure.
The cars are located a little bit west of where we first saw them in 1992 (blame urban creep). By then they’d been around for 18 years, but the first place we stopped for directions we got blank stares.
In subsequent trips along Interstate 40 we’ve usually seen several cars parked along the frontage road that parallels the interstate, with tourists headed out toward the cars. Surprisingly we’ve never noticed cattle, but today saw plenty of cow pies waiting to punish those not paying attention where they walked.
Lost in Paris, Texas
Posted on February 1, 2009
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Posted by Stan
We weren’t exactly lost. But we did spend 45 minutes today driving all over the not-so-big town of Paris, Texas, looking for this mini-Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top.
Why? Every member of our traveling team got to pick a certain number of essential stops — 20 in North America, 10 in Europe — and Paris, Texas, was one of Sierra’s. Because you can never visit too many Eiffel Towers.
We didn’t realize how hard it would be to find. We Googled it just the other day, saw photos and expected the tower to be visible anywhere in town. Not true. It’s not as big as it looks in this photo. I had to stop twice to ask directions, indicating the tower is not that big a deal to the average resident of Paris.
Tomorrow we are off to Archer City and Booked Up, Larry McMurtry’s bookstore. That’s one from Daria’s list. But I wouldn’t be surprised if everybody walks out with a book or three.
Sierra’s countdown: One state to go
Posted on January 31, 2009
Filed Under Call us tourists | 2 Comments
Posted by Stan
We’re sleeping in Alabama tonight, which means that Sierra has now set foot in 49 states. What’s left? Montana. She suggested we go there next, but it will be in July, after they clear the roads at Glacier National Park.
Quick aside: If you happen to be in Mobile head for the Brick Pit. Great barbecue, slow cooked with a mix of pecan (75 percent) and hickory (25 percent).
Ten Thousand Islands Wildlife Boat Tour
Posted on January 22, 2009
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Posted by Sierra
“Ten Thousand Islands” sounds like a misnomer to me! Actually, it is. Located partially in Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and partially in the third-largest national park in the lower 48, Everglades, there are more like 14,000-16,000. It depends on the tide. At high tide there are more, at low tide fewer.
There are many animals to see on the Ten Thousand Islands Wildlife Boat Tour. Here are a few
(asterisk denotes that we saw that particular animal):
* Bottlenose Dolphin: We saw two! They use echolocation in the dark water to find food. When a baby is born it is about 2 feet long. It can reach up to 9 feet long and 500 pounds. The dolphin can stay underwater for 7 minutes, although 2 minutes is more common.
* Vulture: There are two kinds of vultures, black vultures with black heads and turkey vultures with red heads.
* Cormorant: A cormorant is a bird that resembles an anhinga. There are a few differences: A) The cormorant has a longer neck and B) the cormorant grabs fish instead of spearing them.
* Snowy Egret: This bird has yellow feet. In the 1800s its feathers were very sought-after. It almost became endangered! Luckily, the snowy egret is saved now.
* Osprey: These birds nest in winter. The male and female take turns incubating the eggs. Ospreys are found on every continent except Antarctica. Florida has the largest concentration of ospreys. The female has a white chest with brown spots, the male has a solid white chest.
* Pelican: A pelican can hold 2-3 gallons of water.
Raccoon: Raccoons on the islands are smaller than ones on the mainland. They only weigh
about 2-3 pounds. Their hobbies include licking dew off leaves and stealing people’s water.
Manatee: Manatees are an endangered species. They are 9-14 feet long and can hold their breath for 20 minutes, although 2 minutes is more common. They are herbivores. Their closest relative is the elephant. They have similar skin, mouths, and 3-4 toenails. Eighty percent of manatees are identifiable by boating scars.
* Mosquito: There are 43 different kinds of mosquitoes in the Everglades. I can just picture a mosquito with a megaphone calling, “We have your RV surrounded. Come out unarmed, without bug swatters!”
Hawksbill Turtle: This turtle got its name from its pointed beak. The turtle weighs 90-130 pounds. It has no teeth. Tiger sharks, other fish, and humans eat adult turtles. Crabs, birds, and raccoons eat hatchlings.
So that’s the dynamic and wild ecosystem that is Ten Thousand Islands. My only questions is: who counted all those islands?
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