St. Louis Architecture

The Laclede Gas Building

11th and Olive

Durango

Colorado! A couple weeks ago I headed out to Durango for a long-planned fishing vacation. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures, so you'll have to make do with what's here. 

I arrived mid-morning Wednesday and brought the gray, drizzly St. Louis spring weather to Colorado with me.  (Though it had been about a hundred degrees in St. Louis when I left.)  As a consequence, we didn't do much Wednesday or Thursday morning except watch the rain wash out the river down in the valley below -- which actually was pretty cool to watch, but it did put a damper on the lovely view.

If you have to work while you're on vacation,

this isn't a bad place to do it.

The view, after the rains.

Thursday around lunch, things finally cleared up.  We offered the trunk to Roxy and headed off up the Colorado Trail for a hike.  Not too far from the parking lot there was a photographer camped out, waiting for the finish of the Colorado Trail race.  The Trail runs nearly 500 miles from Denver to Durango, and these guys had been riding for just over 4 days.  Can you believe that?!  100 miles a day on a mountain bike?  I can manage that on a road bike (for one day, or maybe two if I really hate myself), but 4+ days on a trail?  That's insane.  But they were doing it.

Dad, Me, and Rox at the turnaround

Unfortunately we finished our hike about 20 minutes before they expected the lead rider to come barreling through.  Patient though we are (haha), we didn't feel like waiting around.  We headed home, showered, ate dinner, and capped it all off with some delicious peaches which D turned into cobbler.

Friday was Fishing Trip #1, and Dad and I set off early for New Mexico (not as far away as you might think) and the San Juan River.  We met our guide, C, who had the unenviable task of rowing us around the river all day in the blistering sun.  (Apparently the St. Louis summer weather followed me too.)  Despite the heat, we got in a couple good hours of fishing and caught some decent, lazy trout before they settled in for their midday siesta.  About the time they did that, we settled in for lunch, in the form of some sandwiches we had picked up at Bread on the way out of Durango.

That night, we headed to dinner at a local favorite: Seasons. We started with calamari, and D and I both had the chicken saltimbocca (and each took half of it home).  Between the four of us (C went too), we shared two desserts and two delicious bottles of wine.  And as a testament to how good the peaches were, I got the peach shortcake rather than something chocolate!  (It's true; there were witnesses.)

After our very tough day of sitting in a boat on Friday, we opted for something a little more aggressive on Saturday.  Boy, did we get it.  We rented me a mountain bike and headed out to ride the Hermosa Creek Trail, which D assured us was "all downhill."  Uh huh.  Not so much.

It was 20 miles of up and down, or a "death march," if you prefer/are Dad.  While a topo map will show that it was more down than up, I'm not totally sure I believe it.  The bike I was riding was a Rocky Mountain, which was pretty badass.  If I find myself in the market for a mountain bike, I might look into that.  (The truth is, I already did look into it.  The closest retailer is in Bloomington Indiana.  Road trip, anyone?)  Plus, it looks especially awesome when it's covered with mud (which we all were, pretty solidly up to our knees, and intermittently thereafter).

A hard day's work

Dinner that night was delightful: steak, local corn, and wasabi mashed potatoes, and some killer wines.  It was a perfect night, and we ate outside on the back patio taking in the stunning view, and later relaxing by the fire.

After our beater of a bike ride on Saturday, we decided to do as little as possible on Sunday.  We started out with brunch at the Kennebec Cafe, which was pure delight.  The weather was lovely, there was a shady patio, and the scones were to die for.  From there, we cruised the mountain roads for a bit, then just relaxed.  I worked, we took Roxy for a walk.  We ate.  There was another delightful patio dinner: this time, salmon, corn, quinoa.

The amazing sky after dinner.

Fishing Trip #2 was Monday, and it was a stunner.  We had C as our guide again, and went as far the other direction from Friday's trip as it was possible to go.  Friday on the Juan had been packed with boats and people.  Monday we left the parking lot and hiked about four and a half miles up a little piece of paradise called Cascade Creek. All four of us went on the trip, but just a few minutes before lunch, we got separated while fishing two ends of the same pool on the creek, and mysteriously didn't see each other again until the end of the day!  C and I were fishing together, and Dad and D were fishing together, and we were each looking for the others, but the others were nowhere to be found.

A neat spot to fish on the way up

I can think of worse places to take a walk...

No matter for C and me.  C had the sandwiches in his pack, so we had a lovely lunch break, complete with chips and cookies.  Aside from the swarming, carnivorous flies, it was a perfectly civilized meal.  We fished our way back down the creek to find Dad waiting patiently in C's truck, having eaten every morsel of food he could find.  D was long gone with the other car to rescue poor Roxy from her house-bound isolation.

...and also worse places to fish.

We all went out to dinner again Monday night, to an open-air dive call the Balcony Bar.  I don't think I ate a thing that night that wasn't fried, but it was all crunchily delicious - fried pickles, fried okra, a burger whose sourdough bread trappings were slathered in butter and grilled (so, basically fried), tater tots.  Really, what's not to like?  (Perhaps the heart attack I'll have in 15 years?)

My last day ended up being far longer than intended.  But before I discovered those misfortunes, Dad and I took Roxy for a hike at Falls Creek, a lovely little spot just perfect if you need to stretch your legs for an hour or so.

The Falls

Just before I was getting ready to leave for the airport, I got the first text message that my flight from Denver to St. Louis was delayed. Then I got another.  I called the airline to figure out whether I'd make it back to St. Louis that night as planned.  Of course, no one had any idea, so off we went to the airport, fingers crossed.  Then this happened:

Eventually I did make it home, at about 2:45 in the morning, but I made it.

Random Links

Bananas, as it turns out, are berries.

Vigilante justice, fast food-style.

Nutella catastrophe!

They mystery of ballpark hot dogs.

If you're an LA sanitation worker, you may now return to your nap.

"Only the Americans could do it."

Goal #35

Goal #35: prepare for the hutch.

One piece of furniture I'm getting from Mom is an old hutch.  I think I know where I'm going to put it, but maneuvering it into place is going to take a fair amount of rearranging of other furniture.  If the hutch doesn't arrive this coming week, it should be here the following week, so I might as well be ready.

Recap of goal #34: I considered.  I read a bunch of articles.  These are some of the ones I think will be most useful to me as I tackle this beast:

I Don't Want Stuff Anymore, Only Things
101 Physical Things That Can Be Reduced in Your Home (and the rest of the Becoming Minimalist blog)
More Experiences and Fewer Possessions
52 Weeks to an Organized Home

I think one of my biggest challenges in trying to clear out stuff is that I'm a tactile person.  For example, lots of sites say "digitize your pictures and get rid of albums." But I sometimes look at my albums.  I never look at the pictures stored on my computer unless I'm looking for something in particular. Same with books.  I like to read actual books.  I've never been a good e-book reader, or much of a reader of articles online (this post notwithstanding).  The last time I moved I pared down my books pretty drastically.  But of course, I'll try it again.

I guess it's important to remember that what works for some of these pundits won't work for me, and vice versa.  I read one post written by a British woman.  She said she got rid of her hot pot and just heats water on her stove.  That might work well for her, but when my stupid electric cooktop is so slow that I have to heat water in the hot pot and then pour it into a pot just to get it to boil in less than 30 minutes, well -- we're in different worlds!  (And besides, how can you honestly call yourself British if you don't have a hot pot for making tea?!)

Regardless, I will give it my best shot.  Wish me luck!

What I'm Reading Now -- Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption came out almost four years ago to phenomenal reviews.  I've been meaning to read it ever since, and the movie coming out has finally pushed me to it.

A couple of things before I get started about why this book is going to be awesome no matter what:

1) I love WWII stories.

2) I love Laura Hillenbrand, or at least the way she tells the amazing stories she uncovers.  Remember Seabiscuit?

3) I love adventure, and this book promises a lot of it.

4) I love the Oxford comma in the subtitle.  I am a staunch supporter of the Oxford comma.

So, here I go, off on adventures with Louie Z.

Goal #34

Goal #34: "Consider the benefits of an edited life."

I was going to start 2015 with this goal.  (Yes, I thought that far ahead.  Can you believe it?)  Each week of next year, my plan was to have a themed goal related to streamlining my life and cleaning up my apartment.  But, as I was talking to E while I was stuck in the Denver airport for hours and hours and hours, we concluded that you need to jump on these things when you're feeling motivated.  And since I'm feeling motivated right now, let's do it!  There's no time like the present.

I have decided (as you might recall) to stay in my little one-bedroom apartment for the time being.  There was an interview on NPR last spring with Graham Hill, who is the source for the above quote.  If you want to watch his TED Talk from 2011, it's available here.  I'm certainly not going to go to his extreme of cutting down to 420 square feet (yes, he really did that; you can see pictures of the super-functionality of his apartment here), and I will be keeping many of my books.  But he's got the right idea, anyway.

So, I guess for as long as it takes, each weekly goal will be tied to the general theme of getting my apartment and my stuff and my life in the condition that I want it to be in.  And by the end of 2015, hopefully I will have succeeded!  (That's more time that I had originally planned, but honestly less than I probably need!)  How will that success be measured?  Your guess is as good as mine, but I have time to figure it out.

Recap of goal #33: within the last week, I've worked up ideas for about 4 vacations between now and the end of the year.  Too ambitious?

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe -- Take 2

While on vacation in Colorado (more on this to come), I finished listening to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

I remember the "facts" of the story (such as there can be facts in a work of fiction), but I didn't remember them unfolding in quite the order that they do.

As with most stories which have multiple story lines running through them (think: Return of the King, Love Actually, Paris), over time I come to like one story line more than the other.  In Fried Green Tomatoes, I cared a lot more about Idgie and Ruth than I did about Evelyn and Ninny.  If it weren't for the great movie performances of Kathy Bates and especially Jessica Tandy, which constantly ran in my mind whenever Ninny spoke, I probably wouldn't have cared about the more contemporary story at all.

There were some moments of brilliance in the writing, though most of it was good if somewhat unremarkable.  My favorite quotation focuses on one of the secondary characters, and describes one of those moments that happens often, but is rarely so well-encapsulated: "Smokey Lonesome looked up and said nothing.  The rest of them said the same."

This is one of those stories that just a little bit past believable, but so entertaining and easy to listen to that you don't care.

Quote of the Day

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.  We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.  And the human race is filled with passion.

Medicine, law, business, engineering -- these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life.  But poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for.

To quote from Whitman:
'Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,
. . .
What good amid these, O me, O life?
. . .
Answer.
That you are here -- that life exists, and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.'

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.  What will your verse be?"
  -- Robin Williams as John Keating, Dead Poet's Society

Atlanta!

At last, my long overdue post about my recent trip to Atlanta to see J&T!

I was met Friday at the airport by T, who made the long trip on the MARTA to pick me up.  She and I wasted no time upon our return to their house and immediately jumped in the hot tub, because we had what appeared to be the only rain-free window of the weekend hovering over us right at that moment.  In fact, it didn't last long, as it started drizzling in our drinks not too long after we got in.  Never to be put off a relaxing afternoon in the hot tub by some silly rain, we stuck it out until we were sufficiently dehydrated.

T had dinner going in the crock pot, so we had some delicious pork steaks before heading off to a late performance at the Velvet Note, a local jazz spot.  The musician that evening was Trevor Wolford, a local boy.  He played a few famous pieces, but a lot of his own compositions.  I especially liked his Cuban-themed pieces.

This is a not-great clip (but the only one I can find) from another show of his trio playing "Cuban Lullaby," a piece he composed.  At our show, he played some songs with a couple other musicians, and a fair number of them on his own.

Saturday we were greeted by pouring rain, which facilitated my sleeping until 9:00, a luxury I am rarely afforded.  I munched on a bagel that J picked up at the store and did a little bit of work before we headed off to tour Barrington Hall up in Roswell.

I LOVE tours like the one we took of Barrington Hall.  You get to see the old buildings, the old furnishings, the architecture, and get the story, all led by a knowledgeable guide full of fun facts and answers to your questions. 

The front door of Barrington Hall, in the damp, drizzly suburbs of Atlanta

The lush gardens

When we finished with the Barrington home, we headed into Roswell proper for lunch at Roux.  With the full understanding that I was in the south and should behave as such, I started with a bowl of gumbo, and followed it up with a plate of fried green tomatoes, and an Old Roswell to wash it all down.

After we were properly sated, we headed down to the river to see the remains of the Roswell Manufacturing Company Mills, which are expansive in area and impressive in size.

Remains of the mill

One way to cross the river: shimmy across this sewer pipe

 

The City of Roswell apparently tired of people shimmying across the pipe, and decided to build a covered bridge

After this day out, we headed back to J&T's to let the dogs out, and T&I headed out again for a traffic-slowed trip into Buckhead to visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden -- another break in the rain!.  The "Imaginary Worlds" exhibit has been going on all year, and the garden is studded with enormous plant sculptures.

Our dinner that night was at Wisteria, a favorite of J&T.  One of the specials that night was a first for the chef: fried green tomatoes!  Of course I had to try these too (the breading was better).  And for my main I had the vegetable platter, which was a delight.

We finished off the lovely day with a stop at Crema for coffee.

I slept in again on Sunday, then got on the treadmill long enough to watch an episode of House of Cards, then joined J&T in the kitchen for a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

We set off for Turner Field despite the threat of rain to see the Braves take on the Phillies.

We had enough time to enjoy some pulled pork nachos, a drink or two, and a few innings of the game before the Biblical downpour began.  We left at a (slight) break in the rain, and eventually the game did wrap up, several hours past the scheduled time.

I watched some more House of Cards that afternoon (I was in the middle of a tense few episodes), before we decided it was time for more food, this time from Eclipse di Luna, a tapas restaurant.  I sampled the fried goat cheese, hummus, chorizo-stuffed dates, avocado salad, and some of T's paella.

We finished up the trip by listening to the Cardinal's game.  Then I packed and set off for the MARTA station early the next morning.

Thanks to J&T for a great trip!

Goal #33

Goal #33: consider my next vacation.

"Wait, didn't you just go on vacation?" you might ask.  In fact I did, a couple of them.  But half (okay, maybe a quarter) of the fun of going on a vacation is looking forward to it.  So, I need a place to go.  Suggestions?

Recap of goal #32: shipping arranged (and half paid for)!