Saturday, May 4, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Fullsteam Brewery
Last night -- my last in Durham -- I decided to go out to the Fullsteam brewery. I had tried their Working Man's Lunch beer at the tasting on Monday, and decided I should check them out on my free evening.
Their brewery has a nice pub, with their beers as well as those of some others. They espouse what they call "plow to pint from North Carolina" brewing, which means that it's all locally sourced. Even the chocolate that goes into the WML beer is from a local chocolatier. They don't serve food, but they invite local food trucks to come. And last night, Chirba Chirba was there.
Chirba Chirba make tasty dumplings, including a vegan "veggie-ling" with a mushroom filling. AWESOME!!
Their brewery has a nice pub, with their beers as well as those of some others. They espouse what they call "plow to pint from North Carolina" brewing, which means that it's all locally sourced. Even the chocolate that goes into the WML beer is from a local chocolatier. They don't serve food, but they invite local food trucks to come. And last night, Chirba Chirba was there.
Chirba Chirba make tasty dumplings, including a vegan "veggie-ling" with a mushroom filling. AWESOME!!
There's something about a train...
Just boarded the Amtrak Carolinian for what I believe is my first ever Amtrak ride. It is a little different... My "reserved" seat was hand-written on a slip of green paper and seemed somewhat arbitrary. Bit the seats are comfy, there's plenty of legroom, and my neighbor's snores aren't too loud. ;)
Monday, April 22, 2013
Air travel is hell... but O'Hare is heavenly
Okay so it's not hell. But why do I always end up next to the hulking guy with no personal space issues? Why is his elbow a good three inches across the arm rest? It's a damn good thing that I don't want to watch anything, because his arm is pressing down on the volume control, which would be deafening if I had headphones in...
Of course, perhaps that would lessen the annoying tinny "oontz oontz oontz" coming out of his crappy headphones RIGHT NEXT TO MY HEAD.
Just once I want to sit next to someone else who thinks, wow, space is tight, I'll try to keep to myself and not press against the person next to me. Rowr.
Luckily this is the short flight -- this is just 90 minutes from beautiful O'Hare airport to Raleigh-Durham airport. A few minutes to get above 10,000 feet, a drink service, a cleanup round, and then we'lre headed back down. Then the real fun begins.
But back to O'Hare, which is quite possibly my favorite airport in the US. It's freakishly clean -- even the bathrooms are a delight. And who doesn't love the little tubular plastic covers on the toilet seats? In my brief stopover I grabbed a hummus and veggie wrap -- I figured this might be my last opportunity to eat fresh vegetables for a while! Of course, Wil later reminded me about the awesome veggie dogs we had one time through... as well as the mighty fine pizza we had another time. Well, maybe on the way home...
My favorite part of the airport is the "giant pinball machine" tunnel between concourses B and C. I love the neon, the music, the lighting on the walls. It's always a pleasure to go through it, whether I'm in a hurry or just taking my time, like I did today.
I'm en route to the Bronto Summit, where I am... gulp... presenting tomorrow. I'm feeling pretty nervous about it, but I've been practicing my presentation today and it's getting better. I think Steve, my Bronto strategist, is actually the one doing the heavy lifting -- he's talking about the metrics and the nuts and bolts about how we set up all of the campaigns... I just get to show off the creative parts and talk about Brooks.
The hotel where the conference is being held is the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club (sit up straight when you say that!), which looks pretty lush. I'm looking forward to getting to the hotel and maybe going for a little shake-out run on the cross-country course that skirts the edge of the golf course. A nice 5K might be just the thing to work out the kinks from my compressed day. Plus it will take the edge off before i go to the "partner reception" where there will hopefully be some vegetarian food on offer. If not, I guess it's Red Vines for dinner. ;)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Canyonlands Road Trip Day 2 - Zion
Today Wil and I got up to go for a long run -- which we're calling the Zion Half Marathon -- #22 out of 40 in the 40@40 project. Fantastic!
Then we met up with Tony and Sue and spent the day in the park -- we shuttled to the Temple of Sinawava and walked the Riverside Walk -- gorgeous! -- then shuttled back to the lodge for lunch, then out to pretty weeping rock, which made Sue weepy.
We then shuttled to Canyon Junction, where we got off the shuttle and walked the 1.7 miles back along the Pa'Rus trail -- perhaps even lovelier in the sunshine?
After enjoying Frescourbons in the garden and watching the sun set and the rocks turn fiery orange, we went out for fasty Mexican food. Wil and I left a little early to go back to the outfitters to buy me a nice water belt like Wil bought yesterday... I had been feeling envious of it all day, and rationalized that it will make a useful souvenir from the park. Perfect! The only bad part was that the woman who helped us last night -- and whom we saw running today -- wasn't there... but we told the woman who was there about the previous night, and our run in the morning. So she liked that.
Then home, where we've had another drink and a quick hot tub. It's so funny that it's really early, but feels so weirdly late.
Tomorrow we'll leave in the morning for our trip to Bryce Canyon!
Then we met up with Tony and Sue and spent the day in the park -- we shuttled to the Temple of Sinawava and walked the Riverside Walk -- gorgeous! -- then shuttled back to the lodge for lunch, then out to pretty weeping rock, which made Sue weepy.
We then shuttled to Canyon Junction, where we got off the shuttle and walked the 1.7 miles back along the Pa'Rus trail -- perhaps even lovelier in the sunshine?
After enjoying Frescourbons in the garden and watching the sun set and the rocks turn fiery orange, we went out for fasty Mexican food. Wil and I left a little early to go back to the outfitters to buy me a nice water belt like Wil bought yesterday... I had been feeling envious of it all day, and rationalized that it will make a useful souvenir from the park. Perfect! The only bad part was that the woman who helped us last night -- and whom we saw running today -- wasn't there... but we told the woman who was there about the previous night, and our run in the morning. So she liked that.
Then home, where we've had another drink and a quick hot tub. It's so funny that it's really early, but feels so weirdly late.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Canyonlands Road Trip - Day 1
The alarm went of VERY EARLY today ... but we got the family up and out the door on schedule -- "wheels up" at 4:45. Yeah, that does seem absurdly early for a 6:40 flight, but hey...
No weirdness at all -- dropped the car at MasterPark (NEVER AGAIN, WallyPark!), got to the airport, dropped the bags at the counter, snaked slowly through security, AND still had time for an egg and cheese biscuit before scurrying to the gate.
Let me say this -- spending $10 for the "preferred boarding" (or whatever they call it on Southwest) is AWESOME. We were literally the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh people on the plane... which means we sat in the front row. Sure, we had checked bags... but I think I would be happy -- for shorter trips, at least -- to pay the $10 and get our carry ons up in the overhead in the front rows.
Flight was pretty uneventful -- a bit of turbulence, but nothing like we've had before coming in to Vegas.
Then a quick hop onto the shuttle to the rental car center, and then -- (cue angelic choir...) -- Gold Canopy Service at Hertz.
I don't often use Hertz. Perhaps because I'm cheap. But I went with Hertz to have a better chance of actually getting the car I reserved -- a "mid-size SUV... RAV4 or similar". We went to our parking spot and found a Ford Escape. Perfectly comfortable, plenty of room for the bags... though we did manage to fill it up on the first day! (Oh dear...)
Then we got on the road and headed to Springdale. We stopped once for a soda before leaving Vegas, then once on a reservation, where we bought liquor tax free and contemplated buying massive fireworks... Then we stopped again at a gargantuan Wal-Mart -- which WAS still in Nevada, but we weren't sure. So that gave us an opportunity to buy mixers and bread and, yes, carrots.
I nearly forgot -- we went to get some brunch in St. George... trying first at the Cracker Barrel, for sheer entertainment value.... until we looked through the menu and discovered that they really don't have anything vegetarian. In fact, on their "vegetable plate" they pointed out that "many of our vegetable dishes aren't strictly vegetarian". Oh. We asked the server for advice, and she recommended the pinto beans... which, according to the menu, aren't "strictly vegetarian". Oh. So we decided to bail on that, and then ended up at an Olive Garden for salad, soup, and breadsticks. Perfect, simple, and potentially slightly healthier?
Then we arrived in gorgeous, adorable, Springdale, which makes me want to sell up and move to this cute little town. We checked in to the Canyon Ranch Motel, which we love, and get a little settled before heading across the street to the shuttle stop to the park.
Let me say this -- I LOVE the Canyon Ranch Motel -- it's a cute, older motor hotel court arranged around a lovely grassy park. The hot tub and pool have spectacular views, and the staff is really friendly. So I love staying here. I do worry that there is construction happening next door, but I guess that's to be expected. Just don't ruin this little gem!
We went across the street and waited 5 or 10 minutes for the shuttle into the park... largely because we couldn't remember how far away the park entrance was! Well, let's just say it's a 10-minute walk. But now we know.
Got to the visitor center, poked around a little bit, and then decided to leap onto a shuttle bus. But the weather wasn't perfect, and the people on the bus were SHOUTING about nothing... which made us a little crazy. So we got off at the first stop -- the little museum -- and decided to go in and watch the orientation film. Because, well, I love an orientation film.
We had a little time to kill, so we listened to a ranger talk. And... well... not all rangers have great and fascinating things to say. 'Nuff said. So then we saw the film -- very pretty! -- and the day sorta caught up to me. I was fighting off sleep. We decided to have a quick look in the gift shop (LOVE a gift shop!), get our National Parks passport stamped, and then get back on the shuttle to the visitor center.
We plotted out a great run for tomorrow -- hoping we have better weather then -- and then realized we needed some way to carry water. This led us to two different outfitters, and to a new and awesome product by a Utah-based company. Tomorrow we'll run with it -- fingers crossed!
Of course, next to the outfitter was the Zion Pizza and Noodle Company -- hooray! We had decided we didn't need proper dinner, but some beers and one gorgeous garlic and rosemary pizza were perfect. Then back to the hotel, where we made some fresquourbons and had a chat with Tony and Sue. Then Wil and I got into our swimsuits and sat in the hot tub, enjoying a drink.
Perfect first day of a road trip! Tomorrow we'll spend the day here in Zion. Wil and I will do a half marathon in the morning, and Tony and Sue can take the shuttle or whatever. We'll meet up after our run (perhaps for FOOD!).
Excited about the vacation -- I feel like we need one!
No weirdness at all -- dropped the car at MasterPark (NEVER AGAIN, WallyPark!), got to the airport, dropped the bags at the counter, snaked slowly through security, AND still had time for an egg and cheese biscuit before scurrying to the gate.
Let me say this -- spending $10 for the "preferred boarding" (or whatever they call it on Southwest) is AWESOME. We were literally the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh people on the plane... which means we sat in the front row. Sure, we had checked bags... but I think I would be happy -- for shorter trips, at least -- to pay the $10 and get our carry ons up in the overhead in the front rows.
Flight was pretty uneventful -- a bit of turbulence, but nothing like we've had before coming in to Vegas.
Then a quick hop onto the shuttle to the rental car center, and then -- (cue angelic choir...) -- Gold Canopy Service at Hertz.
I don't often use Hertz. Perhaps because I'm cheap. But I went with Hertz to have a better chance of actually getting the car I reserved -- a "mid-size SUV... RAV4 or similar". We went to our parking spot and found a Ford Escape. Perfectly comfortable, plenty of room for the bags... though we did manage to fill it up on the first day! (Oh dear...)
Then we got on the road and headed to Springdale. We stopped once for a soda before leaving Vegas, then once on a reservation, where we bought liquor tax free and contemplated buying massive fireworks... Then we stopped again at a gargantuan Wal-Mart -- which WAS still in Nevada, but we weren't sure. So that gave us an opportunity to buy mixers and bread and, yes, carrots.
I nearly forgot -- we went to get some brunch in St. George... trying first at the Cracker Barrel, for sheer entertainment value.... until we looked through the menu and discovered that they really don't have anything vegetarian. In fact, on their "vegetable plate" they pointed out that "many of our vegetable dishes aren't strictly vegetarian". Oh. We asked the server for advice, and she recommended the pinto beans... which, according to the menu, aren't "strictly vegetarian". Oh. So we decided to bail on that, and then ended up at an Olive Garden for salad, soup, and breadsticks. Perfect, simple, and potentially slightly healthier?
Then we arrived in gorgeous, adorable, Springdale, which makes me want to sell up and move to this cute little town. We checked in to the Canyon Ranch Motel, which we love, and get a little settled before heading across the street to the shuttle stop to the park.
Let me say this -- I LOVE the Canyon Ranch Motel -- it's a cute, older motor hotel court arranged around a lovely grassy park. The hot tub and pool have spectacular views, and the staff is really friendly. So I love staying here. I do worry that there is construction happening next door, but I guess that's to be expected. Just don't ruin this little gem!
We went across the street and waited 5 or 10 minutes for the shuttle into the park... largely because we couldn't remember how far away the park entrance was! Well, let's just say it's a 10-minute walk. But now we know.
Got to the visitor center, poked around a little bit, and then decided to leap onto a shuttle bus. But the weather wasn't perfect, and the people on the bus were SHOUTING about nothing... which made us a little crazy. So we got off at the first stop -- the little museum -- and decided to go in and watch the orientation film. Because, well, I love an orientation film.
We had a little time to kill, so we listened to a ranger talk. And... well... not all rangers have great and fascinating things to say. 'Nuff said. So then we saw the film -- very pretty! -- and the day sorta caught up to me. I was fighting off sleep. We decided to have a quick look in the gift shop (LOVE a gift shop!), get our National Parks passport stamped, and then get back on the shuttle to the visitor center.
We plotted out a great run for tomorrow -- hoping we have better weather then -- and then realized we needed some way to carry water. This led us to two different outfitters, and to a new and awesome product by a Utah-based company. Tomorrow we'll run with it -- fingers crossed!
Of course, next to the outfitter was the Zion Pizza and Noodle Company -- hooray! We had decided we didn't need proper dinner, but some beers and one gorgeous garlic and rosemary pizza were perfect. Then back to the hotel, where we made some fresquourbons and had a chat with Tony and Sue. Then Wil and I got into our swimsuits and sat in the hot tub, enjoying a drink.
Perfect first day of a road trip! Tomorrow we'll spend the day here in Zion. Wil and I will do a half marathon in the morning, and Tony and Sue can take the shuttle or whatever. We'll meet up after our run (perhaps for FOOD!).
Excited about the vacation -- I feel like we need one!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
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