A Profusion of Art

While we spent plenty of time at the beach in Clearwater, art museums were probably our largest activity. Over the course of seven days, we managed to hit five art museums. Did I mention it was rainy and cooler most of the trip? But the real reason is that my family loves art museums. Well, museums of any kind. Growing up we would hit most of the major museums in a city. Tampa and St. Pete were no different.

One of the main reasons I got invited on this trip is because my mother noticed that St. Petersburg is the home of The Dali Museum, a beautiful modern museum featuring almost 100 of the master surrealist's works. I've been a Dali fan since I was a child. At one point I saw his Cannibalism in Autumn and was instantly hooked. Over my life I've had nearly a dozen books of his work. So we spent our first full day at The Dali. Sadly I couldn't take any pictures of the actual art. But I did get the picture from outside (above) and the joy of standing in front of his work. It was amazing to see the individual brush strokes for some of pieces. I could recite titles (and Dali has some wild ones) for most of the paintings. There were only a few images that I hadn't seen. There is something breathtaking about standing in the presence of such masterpieces as The Hallucinogenic Toreador or Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko). These are huge wall sized works and each brush stroke is so incredibly precise. Even his small works are filled with little details that made me take my time with each painting. It was well worth the visit for this fan. And my sister said she was an avid fan by the end of the museum.

The exhibition across the hall for Andy Warhol interested us far less and we only gave the pop culture icon a cursory glance. Then we headed a couple blocks away to the Chihuly Collection. Dale Chihuly is the master of glass. Every time I've gotten to see his work I've fallen more in love with his colors and shapes. We moved from room to room, just gasping at the large installations. The museum offered a lovely setting for his work. My favorite has to be the one below. The boat was the size of a room and filled to the brim with glass. Thankfully I could take pictures in there. And I took many. I'll have them spread out throughout the post, because this was really one of only two museums that allowed pictures.

Emilie left us very early on Thursday morning and took all of the best weather with her. So we headed indoors to the Tampa Aquarium (that will be its own post) and the Tampa Museum of Art. The museum is in an incredibly modern building that was a work of art in itself. The antiquities were what drew us the most. It's hard to not be awed by pottery and sculpture from before the common era. A marble bust caught my eye quickly and I was shocked to see how good it looked considering it was 1st century c.e. The rest of the museum is currently featuring an exhibition from GraphicStudio, a print studio that operates out of University of Southern Florida. Some of the prints were fascinating. It was certainly more my style of art than my parents. I found and fell in love with the work of Christian Marclay. I loved his mixture of prints and sound effects, particularly a room long scroll of sounds. I'll be looking at more of his work. My favorite piece of the day was the statue in the second story balcony, In Mortal Repose by Diana Al-Hadid.

The next day we finally made it back to St. Petersburg for the recommended Museum of Fine Art. This lovely old museum was filled with antiquities, modern art, impressionists, and some fantastic sculpture. They had three Monet's that quickly caught my attention. I've become fascinated with the Impressionists lately and Monet in particular. I was also reading a book about his Seine series and was delighted to find one in the museum. The Asian collection was wonderful although my favorite may not have been the most exotic. There was a collection of materials a scholar would have. I spent at least 20 minutes looking from object to object, just enraptured. Leave it to me to find the book/learning related art. It was probably the most diverse, and most interesting collection we saw the entire week.

The last museum we saw was the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. And yes, that Ringling. John Ringling founded the Ringling Brothers Circus and went on to great fame and fortune in the circus business. He turned that profit into a very lovely house and rather extensive art collection. We drove down to Sarasota the last day of the trip to view the Circus Museum and the art museum. I have to admit that by the time I got here I was a little tired of art museums. So I didn't give this museum quite as much attention as it deserves. I wrote down three different artists I liked but mostly I just moved from room to room, seeing what caught my eye. My absolute favorite was the piece below from an artist I'd never heard of. I'll be checking out more of his work. It was a lot of art over a couple of days but looking back, I was glad we saw so many different types of art and find something to inspire at each one.

Roman Courtship by Sir William Reynolds-Stephens

I've Still Got Sand in my Shoes

It was cold but felt wonderful

I've been home for a week now and am only finally readjusted to life. I spent the week before in Clearwater Beach, Florida and am missing the beach so badly it's painful. Back in December my parents mentioned that they were thinking of taking a trip in February to get away from the cold and snow. I happily volunteered to keep them company. My little sister and I ended up accompanying my parents to one of the prettiest beach I've seen in a while.

My parents in front of our beautiful hotel

We stayed on Clearwater Beach, just outside of Clearwater/St. Petersburg. The hotel was amazing, the kind of place that gets featured in Travel and Leisure magazine (a magazine I love). It was the Sandpearl Resort, and it was every bit as lovely as the pictures. The weather was warm and lovely the first two days and then became cooler and rainy. Of course by cooler I mean 50s, which was at least 50 degrees warmer than it was here.

The view from the balcony

We had an amazing trip. We swam with manatees, saw some incredible artwork, ate great food, and spent lots of time relaxing. I'll be sharing most of my pictures over the next couple of days. But today is all about the beach. Clearwater Beach is a pristine stretch of white sand. This is sand so soft that your feet melt into it. There is nothing course in this sand. There are shells everywhere. I brought back a small collection of them. It was one of our favorite pastimes to walk the beach and collect shells. Most of the time, with the mist and rain, we had the beach to ourselves, as my sister demonstrates below.

My sister enjoying the beach to herself

My sister on our long walk

The Gulf was way too cold for swimming but we walked in the water. I spent half of my time with the bottom of my pants soaked. But I loved the feel of the water on my feet. I'd forgotten that the sun could provide warmth. I'd forgotten that there is water that didn't freeze in the winter. I sat out on the balcony in the room and wrote and thawed. A wonderful trip.

 Watching the sunset as we did every night. 

Thanksgiving Trip

Jeff and I spent the holiday in St. Louis visiting family. We drove down on Thursday and made it just in time for dinner. We left Sunday morning. In between we spent tons of time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their adorable little guy. Here they are below. This is Jeff's younger brother's family. They hosted us this trip and did so wonderfully.

We did some shopping on Friday. Not much (I'm not a Black Friday fan) but trips to JoAnn's and Barnes and Noble made me happy. My sister-in-law wanted to make a couple fleece tie blankets as gifts. We managed to get the fabric and complete both blankets in one weekend. Here's my wonderful sister-in-law playing around in JoAnns.

Friday night we went to Jeff's older brother's house for dinner and some wonderful wine. My sister-in-law has introduced me to a number of great wines over the years and this night was no exception. I think between us, she and I must have drank a bottle and a half each. Great conversation, great food. A fun night.

Saturday we went to the zoo with my little brother and his fiancee. It was a bit cold out so the zoo was really quiet. But the animals were active and we made good use of the heated indoor houses. The bird house was Jeff's favorite, it was so quiet you could hear even the quietest birds call. We were the only ones in there for most of our time. The lions were playful and fun to watch. It was a great trip.

The weather was perfect the entire trip and it was great to see family. We don't get down to St. Louis near enough so it was nice to have a longer visit to catch up. We'll hopefully get back down in the spring. But it was a wonderful trip.

3 Weekends in 3 Paragraphs

I'm going to try to fill in the gaps of the last three weeks using only my weekends. My weeks have been nothing but work and writing but my weekends have been filled. The weekend of May 12th and 13th included the culmination of three years of very hard work for Jeff. He graduated as an actuary that weekend. To celebrate, Jeff's parents came in to visit. We spent Saturday at the Farmers Market, shopping, and then having dinner and playing games with my parents. Sunday was the graduation and then we spent the evening at my parents house to celebrate mother's day with both mothers. My parents cooked steaks and we had a wonderful feast. Both sets of parents, both of my sisters, and Jeff and I spent the rest of the afternoon eating, talking, and playing games. It was a fantastic weekend. I couldn't be prouder of Jeff. He's worked very hard in school and I was proud to see him walk across that stage.

Jeff's parents left Monday morning and on Friday morning Jeff and I jumped in the car to head south. My nephew Callen was celebrating his first birthday and his parents were throwing him a party. We got down to St. Louis just in time for dinner and then a movie with Jeff's parents. The next day was the party. There were quite a few people there, including some family I hadn't seen in awhile. They provided lunch and then cake. Callen got his own cake to destroy and eat. Below is one of my favorite pictures from the day, although the picture I got of the cake in his bellybutton is right up there. After cake we relaxed on the front lawn, talking and sitting in the shade. Callen wasn't terribly excited about opening presents so we helped out a bit. And then had dinner. It was one of the most relaxing afternoons I'd had in a while. The next day we had breakfast with everyone and then headed home.

This last weekend was of course the long holiday weekend. Friday night I left work for join my brother, his family, and my parents for dinner. We sat and chatted after dinner until late. The next day we met for some shopping and lunch on the patio at PF Chang's. While sitting there, a heron landed at the pond. We all had a wonderful lunch and then some book shopping (my favorite). After lunch we headed to my parent's house for nerf wars, sidewalk chalk, and fun. I have a blast playing with my nephews and niece. I got shot with nerf darts, started a pretend bakery with my niece, and decorated my parent's driveway. The next day was lunch at a taco place in town, then I went to the theaters with everyone to see Avengers. The movie was incredible. I loved the humor and the dialogue. Joss Whedon is a genius. It was one of the first action movies I've seen where the banter was not only good but actually overrode the action. It was hilarious. I hadn't been to a theater in years but this was worth seeing on the big screen. After dinner that night my brother and his family left to head home. I spent Monday reading and Tuesday at the golf course with Jeff. Four days of fun. I came back to work relaxed and refreshed. These last three weekends have been busy but wonderful. And those are my last three weekends. Trust me, my work week have been much less interesting.

Library Hotel

There's a line in an INXS's song Heaven Sent that goes "She says she works in the library uptown". For the first dozen or so times I heard the song, what I heard was 'she says she works in the library hotel.' The line used to confuse me. Library Hotel? What was that? I did know that as a librarian, and a book fanatic, the idea appealed to me. This afternoon I found out that the Library Hotel actually exists. I think I'll start planning my trip now.

The Library Hotel is a small boutique library in Manhattan. The lobby is decorated with bookshelves. The public areas are filled with reading chairs, lamps, and more bookcases. Each room is filled with books by subject. And even more fun, the ten floors are themed on the Dewey Decimal system. One floor is filled with History and Geography themes, another focuses on literature, the fifth floor should be science related.... I'm so in love with the idea of staying in my favorite classification section (we all have them).

I love the card catalog wall behind the reception desk.

To add to that, the hotel is beautiful. The Poetry garden below is the kind of place I could imagine sitting with a glass of red wine and a book of Shakespeare sonnets or Charles Bukowski poems. There is a writers area which includes some rather spectacular views. Or sit down in the medieval themed restaurant and watch the people go by which reading Chaucer (not that I've ever read Chaucer). This is my type of place. I really do need to plan a trip. Although Manhattan has never really drawn me in, this hotel would be worth the visit.

1200 Miles

Jeff and I have traveled 1200 miles since Thursday. We've see three capitol cities, we've attended both a juggling festival and a pinewood derby. We were stopped by three different cops (all three without tickets, thankfully). We had some great time with old friends and met a couple new ones. It's been both an incredibly enjoyable and incredibly stressful weekend. I'm exhausted.

We left on Thursday for Springfield, IL, a city that neither of us has ever been to. We arrived late and headed out to a late night dinner with a student that Jeff had just met at a conference. We were out until after 11. The next day, after lunch with another new friend, Jeff had a meeting and I wandered around around the city. After the meeting, we headed out of town. This was at 4 p.m. We were supposed to be in Minneapolis the next morning, a drive of nine hours. With the exception of getting a little lost once or twice, most of the drive went fine. Most of it...

On Thursday we had been driving down to Springfield when we had missed a turn in the road. It was dark and we hadn't seen the signs. Jeff pulled over on the side of the road with the idea that when it was clear we would turn around. There was only one car that we had to wait for. Then the car pulled in behind us and turned on its flashing lights. When we explained to the officer what the issue was, he said we should just u-turn and be on our way. We thanked him profusely and headed out. On Friday night we were almost to the Minnesota border when we were stopped for going 6 over the speed limit. The officer sweetly gave us a warning. Not three minutes later we passed a car that also pulled a u-turn and flipped on his red and blues. This time we had been going the speed limit but Jeff had forgotten to turn off his brights and had blinded the poor cop. By this point we were shaken. Jeff was apologizing the moment the window was rolled down. The officer laughed at our poor blubbering selves and send us on our way. We finished the rest of the drive at or below the speed limit with the feeling that we were cursed.

We arrived at the hotel in Minneapolis at 2 a.m. and dropped into bed. I was out in seconds. The next morning we picked up our friend Josh and headed over to Mondo Jugglefest. We go every year and always have a blast. This year I didn't take any pictures but we still had a great time. We met our friends Lon, Lisa, Dan, and Lon's parents there. It was a bit more low-key than usual but still did a fair bit of juggling. And watched lots of great tricks. After that ended we introduced Josh to Ticket to Ride while waiting for Dan to rejoin us. We had dinner with the two of them and then spent the rest of the evening telling stories, laughing, and enjoying. At 1 a.m. we reluctantly headed back to the hotel. I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard or talked that much. Fun!

This morning Josh met us for breakfast at our favorite french bakery Chez Arnaud. The pastries and desserts are just as lovely as they are tasty. I had a fraisier which is made of layers of almond sponge cake mixed with cream and strawberries. Mmmm. I also picked up meringue cookies and some cream puff pastries without the cream. Then we headed north to watch Lon and Lisa's children participate in a pinewood derby. My brother was a scout but I'd somehow never attended one. We had fun and got to see Logan win Best in Show for his angry bird car. After lunch it was finally time to head home. After the terrible driving and long rides, four hours home didn't seem so bad. I'm exhausted but it was well worth every moment. A busy weekend but one I won't forget for a while.

New Years

I like transitions. For some reason new years and birthdays fill me with the same type of hope and wonder. I believe that all things are remade. For a couple days I believe in omens. Two years ago I posted about how the moon would be strange that new year. I joked about omens. Now I'm more of a believer. Two days later I broke my ankle, an injury that will continue to impact me for the rest of my life. Tomorrow I'll look for omens that will signal how the new year will go. Today was a beautiful way to end a year.

I had amazing day with the love of my life. Jeff and I relived the old days by waking up and suddenly deciding to go out of town. We used to take spur of the moment trips all the time. The plan was that we would hit the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge to do some birding and hiking (for me). Then take the back roads to Tanger Outlet Mall and to Iowa City for dinner (for him). Before we could get out towards Neal Smith, Jeff said that we had to take a detour. He wouldn't tell me where. I had to wait to find out. I didn't have long.

Every bird you see here is an eagle (some juvenile, some mature)

There is a lake between Des Moines and Ankeny where we had seen a ton of American Coots a couple summers ago. We headed out there, not for the coots this time, but for eagles. There were hundreds of bald eagles spread throughout the trees around the lake. We had the camera and tripod and were able to take some pictures. I hadn't seen this many bald eagles since our trip out to Rock Island. And the weather was perfect for viewing. If I was looking for an omen of a good year ahead, this was it. That many eagles in one place, and right along the road, was incredible.

After some time (and way too many pictures) we hopped into the car to go out to Neal Smith. We're blessed to have this fantastic refuge so close. Neal Smith has been working for years to bring back the prairie to Iowa, something that had been nearly eradicated by development. Jeff and I hiked the long trail at the refuge because it takes us right down next to the enclosure where the buffalo roam. We were rewarded with a huge herd. And some good position for pictures. With the tripod I could take some nice close-ups.

After Neal Smith, there were back roads drives, tons of shopping (I picked up some books and a really nice new robe). Then we headed to Steak N Shake for dinner. Neither Jeff nor I had eaten today so this hit the spot. Steak N Shake is a guilty pleasure. We don't have one in Des Moines so it seems more like a treat. Then we headed home talking the whole way. It was a fantastic day. And a nice way to end 2011. I had a ugly piece of mail (a rejection letter) but I'm trying not to let that damper the day. Now to see what 2012 has to offer. Hopefully plenty of days like this. Happy New Year all.

Disney History

When it comes to childhoods, I know that mine was spoiled. I had amazing Christmases with piles of presents. I had a small children's books library that I only had to share with my brothers and sisters. I had two amazing parents who adored us and spent time with us. But when it comes to vacations, we were well past spoiled. We dragged my poor parents to 6 Flags, Busch Gardens, any amusement park we could find really. We spent time out West and down South. But our favorite (or at least mine) was going to Walt Disney World in Florida.

I think I've been to Disney World 6 or 7 times in my lifetime, most of them as part of family trips. One year Jeff and I went by ourselves but a majority of them were during my childhood. Even now I get the urge to go every three years or so. I am a Disney World fanatic. And it doesn't stop with just visiting. I read books about the design and engineering that went into the parks. I read about the history of the Disney Corporation, Disneyland, Disney World, and about Walt Disney himself. 

Recently I went through a bag of stuff that my parents had found in their house and packed up for me. Much of it was old school papers and things but I found a couple of books that I thought were fun. I found my Birnbaum's Guide to Disney World for both 1985 and 1993. I found some vacation guides I had picked up while in the parks back on the 1994 trip. It included information about the new MGM Studios. The 1985 book covered the newly opened EPCOT center. I found both of these hilarious. So much has changed for the parks since then. So much has been added or changed. 

But my favorite find was an old souvenir map that I had brought home from one of the trips. It shows the resort area, as it was at the time with some of the popular characters of the day. The funny part is that many of the character featured were 80s and 90s TV characters that were big then. The characters from DuckTales, Gummi Bears, TaleSpin, and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers make an appearance along with Figment, the long defunct (but still beloved) character from Journey into Imagination. Many of the hotels and recreation areas picture above don't exist anymore. But the big change is the expansion. The park has spread and changed. New things have popped up all over. So even though I know the map is outdated I love it. I know the book I bought in 2007 will soon be outdated in the same way. At Disney World things change constantly. But it was nice to find this bit of history to remember the parks of my youth. And look forward to going back. 

Then I'm Happy and Sad For You

It's been an odd weekend. A really odd weekend. It's been a weekend of both extreme happiness and extreme sadness. I've laughed heartily and I've cried miserably, within hours of each other. I've had warm bear hugs that warmed my heart and I've had consolation hugs that offered comfort.

My weekend started on Friday much like so many of them do. I had taken a half-day so we could drive up to Minneapolis for a friend's birthday party. The half-day was more fortunate that I realized. At 11:30 my department was called into a meeting to say that our boss had been let go. Now this was not just a boss the way I've had bosses before. This was a friend. We were all in shock. Some of the department was going out for lunch, just to get out of the office. I called Jeff to see if he could pick me up a bit early. I sent my now former boss an email to see if he needed anything. Jeff came right at the perfect moment, just in time for me to start crying. The office won't be the same without him around.

The drive up was okay but I was still pretty upset. Once we got up there though I was distracted. There was dinner at a sub place with a good friend of ours before heading over to the birthday party. We saw a ton of  people that we only see twice or three times a year. So it was an evening of hugs, good conversation, plenty of food and friends, with some Rock Band thrown in. Jeff and I stayed late into the morning, finally leaving the party around 3, which is only about six hours after my bedtime. It was a great time.

The next morning my body woke me up at 8 a.m.. Stupid internal alarm clock. We had plans to take the birthday boy out for lunch. Partly to celebrate his big round number birthday (which will remain unnamed) but partly because the party had also been a going away party. He's moving south. I figured that this would be the last time I'd see him for quite a while so I wanted to squeeze as much time as I could out of the weekend. Lunch was filled with great conversation. When we walked out to the parking lot I was sad again. I gave him a long hug and a Take Care but there was so much more I would have like to say. While I know we'll keep in touch via emails and phone calls, it will be a while before we get to spend time in person. And I'll miss him.

My sadness was short lived though as we headed up to watch the Huskers destroy Minnesota. I'm not really a Huskers fan but we were actually surrounded by them as we watched the game. It's odd to be in a house in Minnesota rooting for them to be crushed. But root we did. And crush they did. We had a wonderful dinner with friends, talked about sports and babies and knitting, then we headed back to our friends house to watch the Cardinals game and talk. We talked about some tough subjects but they were amazing. Jeff and I slept in the kids rooms that night, so I can now say I've slept on Dora the Explorer sheets.

They woke us for breakfast of homemade french toast and the chance to go see a trapeze school do some flying. On Friday at the party we had met one of their friends who trapezes as a hobby. He invited us out. Jeff and I had planned to leave on Saturday but watching trapeze outdoors was too much to pass up. We stayed. But our times were off. We arrived after they had taken down the net for the season. No trapeze for us. Instead we gave hugs and headed home. It took us two extra hours. The poor kitty had licked her food bowl clean by the time we had gotten home. We had only expected to be gone 24 hours. I hadn't been home in almost 72. And it was a weekend filled with highs and lows. It went from one extreme to the other. And sometimes that's okay. I know that this will work out. It's just odd right now.

Wine and Beer

Jeff and I spent the night last night in Omaha. He had a cricket match early this morning and rather than drive in at 5 this morning, we headed there last night. We stayed in my favorite hotel. An old Embassy Suites that has become a Doubletree. The rooms are huge and beautiful. The hotel was quiet. And breakfast was free. Even the pool and the hot tub (which we took advantage of) were warm.

The match was not warm. It was freezing. Drizzling and about 50, I spent most of the time huddled in my sweatshirt or watching from the car. It was not the best weather for a match. Jeff's team lost but they put up a great struggle. It could have gone either way.

But the weekend trip was invigorating. Jeff and I had some incredible talks this weekend. It was nice to just get away from everything together. I came home ready to do things. I've cleaned the kitchen, gone through some paperwork, started a box of things to get rid of, and finished putting away dishes. Right now I'm working my way through a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio, one of my new favorite wines. It's a bit too dry for Jeff but I'm not complaining on having the bottle to myself. The other thing I'm doing is baking. After last week's banana bread I decided that I need to make more quick breads. This week it's beer bread.

I'm using the Super Secret Bierling Recipe for beer bread. It is:

3 cups Self-Rising Flour
4 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
12 oz Beer

Mix together until moist. 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Make sure to flour your loaf pan before baking.

Yep, that's it, that's the list. It's such an incredibly simple recipe and it's so tasty. Both Jeff and I prefer this yeasty bread a little undercooked. I love the soft interior and the slightly crisp crust. It has a unique flavor. I'm sure you can vary that depending on what beer is used. Most of the time I just use whatever is in the fridge, tonight Bud Light. So it's a wine and beer night. Following an incredible day. I'm so lucky. 

The Best Week in Gaming

I got back in town last night after spending the week in Indianapolis, IN for Gen Con, "the best four days in gaming". It's a convention for games and gamers. There are video games, role playing games, miniatures games, board games, and any other type of game you could imagine. It's a weekend filled with geek t-shirts, cool costumes, and the sound of dice. For me, Gen Con lasted a week. And it lived up to its name. This week has been a fantastic week of gaming and geekery.

Some well-known characters

The trip really started last Tuesday, when our friend Jon and my brother John and his family arrived in town (we had three Johns/Jons in attendance, which was a tad confusing sometimes). After dinner we headed home to start the gaming right. Our friend Jon had brought down a ton of board games which we made good use of. We spent the entire week playing board games, playing role playing games (D&D, Shadowrun), and walking around the convention hall. Oh yeah and a lot of eating (if you're ever in Indy stop by Palamino for fantastic meal).

The group at dinner at the beautiful Old Spaghetti Factory.

Games conventions are fun because of all the great people. Almost everyone is friendly and most are doing something interesting. We demoed games, checked out some great costumes, and just spent time soaking up the energy. There were people everywhere in the convention hall, sitting down to game, talking games. Everywhere you looked were unique t-shirts and fun. And the party never seemed to stop. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which was connected to the convention center. At three in the morning there were still gamers playing down in the lobby. One of my favorite comments was Wednesday night at 2 in the morning when my friend Jon looked out the window of the room and said, "there are people still down there playing. These are my people." I'll second that, these are my people. I've come back energized and excited.

Life-sized Robo Rally, a game Jon brought but we never got a chance to play.

We spent all our time with my family and most of that was playing game after game. We wandered around the city a bit, walked a lot, attended a live action dungeon, but the rest of the time was spent sitting at a table rolling dice and laughing. My mother even joined us for a D&D run (something she's never done before). Two of Jon's games, Pandemic and Betrayal at the House on the Hill, became instant favorites with my nephew (and the rest of us). We played a great Shadowrun adventure that had most of us on the edge of our seats at the end. And no matter what we played we laughed and had a fantastic time. One of the best weeks I've had in a long time.

Stupid Messed-up Internal Clock

To my sleep deprived brain, the clock read 6:30. That would have made me late. I hate to be rushed in the morning but I jumped out of bed and hopped in the shower. It was only after I'd rushed through my entire morning routine that I realized that the clock had actually been reading 5:30. So I'm up. Early.

I have veggies to cut for a cookout we're going to tonight. I have lunch to pack to get me through the work day. I should be playing with the cat (she's been starved for attention). So the extra hour is actually a good thing. But there was a moment this morning when I realized my mistake that I just stood and said Damn. That sleep would have been nice.

But I'll have time. I have two days of work until one of the longest vacations I've ever taken. Eleven blissful days of vacation, seven of which will take place in Indianapolis for "the best four days in gaming". I'm so freaking excited that it's been hard to focus on anything else. Of course once Gen Con comes I won't get any sleep. I know me. I have a family who are early rises. A friend who's going with us is a night owl. I know I'll burn the candle at both ends. And for once, I'm cool with that. I'll sleep sometime. It clearly wasn't today.

Wanderlust

We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls--Anais Nin

I need a vacation. I actually have one coming up. I'm going to Gen Con in August. It's a gaming convention in Indianapolis. I'm so incredibly excited that I've started a countdown. And of course time slowed down. I realized today that it's been an entire year (almost to the day) since my last real vacation. And for a traveler like myself, that's a long time. I'm not really a gypsy but I have an odd wanderlust. I don't like to stay in one place too long.

I have lived in my house for six years. That is way too long by my standards. I'm not a nester. I once told my boss that I'd prefer to move every year. Not just because I like the change, but because I'm more likely to live simply that way. I've worked at my job for five years and I find myself longing for something new. I once read a writer say that she wrote so that she could live many lives. That's how I am. I tell myself stories so that I can live multiple lives.

When I found the quote from Anais Nin, it just struck me. This is why I travel. This is why I tell stories. This is why I move. I'm searching. I'd say that I hope I find what I'm searching for but I don't really want. It's the search that draws me. To borrow another quote from another brilliant (and feisty) writer: The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity--Dorothy Parker.

Eatin' in St. Louie

That was supposed to be a play on Meet Me in St. Louis, but I'm not sure how well it worked. Oh well. I just got back from St. Louis about an hour ago. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are expecting in June so Jeff and I made the short drive down to attend a baby shower. I'm rather excited for them. They are both very happy about the baby and, if the volume of presents is any indication, this will be one spoiled little boy. It was fantastic to see everyone. I spent only a bit of time with the mom-to-be and my other sister-in-law but got to spend a ton of time with my in-laws. We played dominos and talked and of course ate.

Jeff and I travel a lot but there are very few places where we have so many must-eat foods. St. Louis has some amazing eating, even for a vegetarian like me. So without further ado, here are Jeff's or my top 10 foods you must try in St. Louis. Note that since both Jeff and I contributed this will be a mix of vegetarian and meatatarian fare.

10. White Castles. I know that there are White Castles all over the country but this one of the only places where we ever seem to get them. Both Jeff and I are Castle fans. I've found you either love them or hate them passionately. There is no middle ground with White Castles.

9. Chiliman Chili is also national but we can't seem to find it anywhere but St. Louis. We pick up a case every trip we make. I'm not normally a fan of canned chili but this stuff is good, particularly over macaroni noodles.

8. Fried Pickles at J. Bucks. Having spent years listening to Jack Buck announce the Cardinals games I knew I had to try the restaurant named after him. And after trying their fried pickles, I knew I'd be back. Jeff will argue but those are some of the most amazing pickles I've ever had (Jeff hates pickles so he'd argue no matter what).

7. Vess Cream Soda. Where else can you find a syrupy sweet, bright pink beverage that I would go crazy for. Vess is a local soda company that makes one of the most interesting and tasty cream sodas around. They have tons of other flavors but Jeff and I used to fight over the cream soda. Another one of those things we grab a case of most trips.

6. Toasted Ravioli. This St. Louis tradition is always meat filled (rather than the more common cheese-filled) which is why it is Jeff's favorite meal.

5. The Pasta House. I was introduced to their salad long before I ate at the restaurant and from that first taste I was hooked. This St. Louis company has everything from sandwiches to rich pastas. Although I've eaten my fair share of meals on The Hill (the Italian district), the Pasta House is a great go-to meal.

4. Gerbers at Ruma's. Ruma's Deli makes the best Gerber sandwich in town. A Gerber is a St. Louis tradition. You take garlic bread, add thinly-sliced ham, mound on Provel cheese, bake, and then dash with Paprika. It's one of the few sandwiches where I break my vegetarian fast to have a bite of ham and cheese goodness.

3. Imo's. We had to get pizza this weekend. Like Fox's in Chicago I have certain pizzas that I crave. Imo's uses Provel cheese on their square-cut thin crust pies to make the perfect balance of cheese and crust. Add their cheese covered house salad with the celery seed dressing and I'm in heaven. My only worry is about saving some for anyone else.

2. To be honest almost anything with Provel makes my list. This St. Louis based cheese was created specifically for Imo's Pizza and has spread throughout the city. It is a mixture of swiss, cheddar, and provolone and is quite possibly one of the greatest things ever. Our local grocery store has just started carrying it (on request) and we buy a carton at least once every two weeks. Mmmmm

1. And last but not least...Ted Drewes. If I had access to this iconic ice cream stand on a regular basis, I would weigh well over 300 pounds. I'm addicted. Ted Drewes is a frozen custard stand on the old Route 66 that specializes in Concretes (think Blizzard but only better). Their Apple Pie concrete (with apples and pie crust and whipped cream) is my downfall, my Kryptonite. I am powerless to stop myself from eating it. We didn't get a chance to go this past trip but I'm sure we'll go down after the baby is born.

The typical nighttime crowd at Ted Drewes

Like any top 10 list, I'm sure that there will be disagreements. I didn't even mention the world-famous St. Louis style barbeque. I didn't talk about all the fantastic restaurants on The Hill. I was told that there is a pretzel place down by the Anheuser-Busch brewery that I would love. I've eaten some amazing meals in St. Louis. These are just the ones that instantly come to mind when the great city is mentioned. We travel down to visit really, but we also make the trek for the food.

Why the Circus Has Been Spoiled for Me

This past weekend we went to Mondo Jugglefest up in St. Paul, MN. It's an annual tradition for us. We started going at the insistence of our friend Lon, who has been going almost since the beginning. It used to be in February, right around his birthday, which made for dicey traveling but we always went. About two years ago they moved it to April (thank god) and we find traveling much simpler. It's a great trip filled with great friends.

Our group, not juggling

Mondo is the reason that circus jugglers don't amaze me quite as much. The festival is filled with people trying out new tricks, showing off old tricks, and learning from each other. At any one time there are probably 800 things flying through the air. Not surprisingly, you have to sign a waiver just to be in the auditorium. I've been hit by so many IFOs (identified flying objects) I've lost track. A majority of them have been from my own hand sadly, but you spend some of the time on the look-out for juggling props.

I've seen hundreds of unusual tricks done at Mondo. I've seen people standing on other people's shoulders and passing clubs to each other. I've seen odd object juggling (imagine juggling a feather, a potted plant, and a toaster at the same time). Every year I find something that amazes me. The hard part is that now when I go to circuses or see street jugglers, I'm not quite as impressed. My poor mother tried to point me to a gentleman juggling clubs one evening. All I could think is that unless he's on a unicycle or standing on a balance board, clubs don't really count.

I can currently only juggle three balls and do some basic contact juggling. I would like to learn clubs as well. I don't put in the time to get good at any of them, but each time I go to Mondo I come away inspired. These things are learnable. I've seen them done.

Ranting

I have a rant that I simply have to get off my chest. It's from this weekend. Now first I should let you know that I had an amazing weekend. I headed up to Minneapolis for the annual juggling festival up there and had a ton of fun. I got together with friends for dinner on Friday night followed by some geek shopping at a games store. We ended the night with video games.

The next day we met more friends up at the juggling festival and I spent the whole day working on my contact juggling. I've picked up a passing trick but its still so rough that I'll have to work on it for a while before I'm ready to show anyone. After the festival and the raffle we headed back to our friends Lon and Lisa's house for dinner, good conversation, and more video games.

Sunday we headed out of town about 11 and had lunch with my brother and his family. They bought a new house in September and I had to admit that it was our first visit up to see the place. It was amazing. The decorating they have done is just perfect. My sister-in-law (and brother) have great taste. We ate lunch with them but most of the afternoon was spent climbing trees, playing card games, and just talking.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend. It was only spoiled by one thing. The one thing I have to rant about. The hotel. Jeff and I stay in the same hotel every time we go up there. This time was a bit different though. There was a convention of Minnesota Football Coaches at the hotel. I was a bit worried when we checked in but the concierge put us up on a private floor. You know the kind you have to swipe your key to get the elevator to take you to. Yeah, swanky. Except that when we came back on Friday night we were shocked, and a bit disheartened to see all three rooms adjacent to ours open with the coaches drinking beer in the hallway. Now normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, but it was nearly 1 in the morning. Gone was the idea of a quiet night.

I put in my earplugs and tried to get some sleep. No dice. My anxiety had already kicked in. About 1:30 they decided to head off to a different party (woohoo) but the damage had already been done. I lay in bed from 1:30 to 3:30 in the middle of a massive anxiety attack. From 3:30 to 5, I simply forgot how to fall asleep. The anxiety had passed, I was just too tired to sleep. I finally dropped off for about an hour and a half but was up again at 6:30. This time I just stayed up. I was exhausted on Saturday but still had a good time. It just makes me angry though.

My mother would shush us children in hotel hallways at 9 o'clock at night. "Be respectful, people may be trying to sleep." She'd say to keep us from running and yelling past rooms. It was the same in the morning. We were always taught to be aware of how our behavior affected other people. We were quiet to be nice to them. I'm slowly learning that a large portion of our population was never taught this valuable lesson in common courtesy. Jeff called the front desk one night on a group that were yelling to each other down the halls after getting home from the bars at 2 am. That one had woken me up from a sound sleep with earplugs in. Another night we called the desk about the room above us where the group was blaring some sort of thumping bass music and jumping on the beds. It sounded like a full marching band.

Perhaps I'm an old grouch. I certainly feel that way calling the desk to complain about my neighbors noise. I keep thinking that I'm too young to be bothered by this stuff. So I pack my earplugs and pray for a quiet night. But I'm beginning to wonder if this has nothing to do with age. And everything to do with respect. I was taught to be respectful of others sleep and piece of mind. I was taught not to disturb people. That was just common courtesy. Lately I'm wondering if I'm in the minority on that one.

So if you happen to be vacationing in a hotel, and you see a women walk past with earplugs in and a grim look on her face, know that it's me. And try to keep it down.

My Mother is More Adventurous Than Me

I had a whole post-it note worth of things to write about today. I simply have to tell you about the play I saw this past weekend in Minneapolis. I have to tell you about the weekend. I should mention the two straight days of snow that will hit us tomorrow. But all that changed with a phone call this morning. Now I have to tell you my mother's story.

My sister called me this morning and the conversation went a little something like this.

Alissa: Have you talked to our mother recently?

Me: I haven't talked to her in about a week or so. Why? What's up?

Alissa: Mom's had a bit of an adventure.

Me: (worried) What type of adventure?

Alissa: Well she drove to Florida this week...by herself.

Me: Ah ah ah (that's the sound of me being speechless.

And the story only got better. My family had been down in the Turks and Caicos islands over the holidays and my mother had fallen in love with a wild little dog she found down there. She contacted the rescue league on the island and told them to keep an eye out for it. Well I guess last Monday they called her to tell her that they found the dog and were shipping it to Miami for her. Would she be able to pick it up?

So my mother did what any animal lover would do. Or maybe not. She jumped in the car and drove to Florida. By herself. She didn't take a cell phone or make any plans. She just jumped in the car and drove. After three days of 12 hours of driving, she arrived in Jupiter, Florida and picked up her new puppy. Then, without even much of a stop, she turned around and headed home.

Since my mother doesn't drink caffeine she simply didn't eat so she could stay awake, only eating when she reached her evening destination. She drove through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Iowa. In Illinois, at a rest stop, she found another straggler. A young kid looking to get to Minneapolis and she picked him up for the drive to Des Moines. My mother!!!! My mother picked up a hitchhiker. This is the same woman who has warned me for the last 30 years not to trust strangers. Not to talk too freely with odd people. And to never pick up hitchhikers. When I asked her about it, she says that he was such a sweet kid. When she dropped him at the rest stop in Ankeny she gave him a bit of money and her phone number with the promise that he would call her when he got home. She got her call at 8 that night.

As I talked with her this evening I had conflicting feelings. My mother is more adventurous than I am. And that makes me incredibly proud. She's normally very reserved and a bit suspicious. She's normally a stay at home person. And in the last week, she's broken all of my impressions. She's had the kind of adventure that only college kids tend to have.

And at the same time I'm furious with her... for acting so rashly. For putting herself in harms way. For being so much of an animal lover that she would do something this crazy. But what can I say, my mother may be becoming a vagabond. My mother!!! If you know her you'll be shocked by this story. Shocked and a bit awed. I'm just excited for her. She's had an incredible adventure and I could hear the pride in her voice. She'd done it by herself. She did it for all the right reasons and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Procrastination and Wanderlust

I should be working on a work project but instead I've spent most of the day reading and writing. I had the evening to myself last night so I poured myself the hottest bath I could stand and settled in with a book and a glass of wine. Apparently my book choice was good because the moment I opened my eyes this morning I started reading again. And didn't put it down until it was done.

I have wanted to read Desert Places by Robyn Davidson for a long time now. I'm a big travelogue fan but this one had a further irresistible draw. It was about nomads and the desert, two things that have drawn me since I was a tiny child. Ever since I was young I've been fascinated by the desert, those hard inhospitable places where you need your wits and a bit of luck to survive. I have devoured stories about Egypt and the Sahara but I was always the most interested with the nomad people who traveled the trade routes. Like the gypsies of Europe, the Berber people have filled me with a strange feeling of longing and wanderlust. I want to be a nomad. I want to travel and move. To constantly shift scenery. We've been living in our current house for five years now and I'm dying to move. Since college, I've never lived anywhere for longer than 5 years. I'm not a huge fan of setting down roots, at least not yet.

Davidson's book follows the Raika or Rabari people of India, a camel/sheep herding nomad group who are facing challenges to their way of life. Like nomads worldwide, land is become scarce and herders tends to be driven out by the farmers and agriculturalists. Davidson decides to document the people by traveling with a family on their migration. She goes to India to find a group and instead finds a number of false starts. It requires greasing the right palms and plenty of timing to find a family willing to take her. She discusses buying her own camels, living communally, the devastating poverty of India, and the beauty of the nomad people she spends time with. It was an honest and fascinating book. And after finishing it, I'm filled with wanderlust. I want to be like Robyn and set off to explore the world. I want to see more of the planet than my tiny corner. And I want to be an adventurer.

I've become caught up in work and earning money. I've become more sedentary and afraid. I've become complacent. All that disappeared today. I want to wander and explore and see what there is to see. The book brought out the nomad in me. And while I won't be changing home anytime soon, I will be venturing further afield from home and seeing more of the world. It was a great day for procrastinating. Tomorrow will be a day for adventuring.

Bird Books

Over the last couple years I've become a birder. It started innocently enough when I began reading the Birdchick's blog and learning more about birds. I've always wanted to take nature photos and loved her images. But after reading for only a couple weeks I started noticing the birds around me. I bought a bird guide, which eventually became three or four bird guides. I bought a cheap bird feeder and have gradually moved up to good feeders. I can now recognize all the birds that come to my feeder. And I'm starting to venture farther afield to find more birds. I've become a birder.

So it's no surprise that I've started buying nonfiction titles about birds. This past week has been bird book week. I started with Hope is the Thing With Feathers by Christopher Cokinos. Cokinos tells the fascinating and tragic tale of six bird species that have gone extinct: the Carolina Parakeet, Passenger Pigeons, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, the Labrador Duck, the Great Auk, and the Heath Hen. I was well aware of the Passenger Pigeon but knew very little about many of the other birds. Cokinos points out that Passenger Pigeons were described in the early 1800s as wonderfully prolific. Within 50 years, they were extinct. An amazing reminder of how fast a species can go from populous to gone. Cokinos includes history of the birds, speculation about their extinction, and his own personal journey to recapture the essence of these birds. Many of the birds have been extinct for a hundred years but Cokinos tracks down old specimens, old environments, and personal descriptions written by the people who actually saw them. An amazing book, sad but inspiring.

After the difficulty of extinction, I wanted something a bit more uplifting. Tim Gallagher's In Search of Birds and Wild Places fit the bill. Gallagher is a falconer, a photographer, a birder, and an adventurer. Tim takes the reader along on some amazing journeys to some of the more remote places on earth. He describes traveling in Iceland and Greenland, searching for gyrfalcons and peregrine falcons. He describes hanging off cliffs in icy weather, boating past icebergs, and trekking in places that few people have every walked through. He describes the beauty of North Padre Island, Texas and Churchill, Manitoba. He visits California to try to save the California Condor and Alberta Canada to watch Prairie Falcons. These stories made me want to get out exploring. I want to photograph birds and nature and spend time in places that no one else have visiting. A fast read that inspired.

My next book is A Year on the Wing by Tim Dee. I've heard good things about this one and am excited to start it. I wonder if I should branch out into other types of books. I figure eventually I'll hit bird overload. But for right now I'm enjoying the birds.

Take the Long Way Home

Robert Frost famously wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." And I've finally realized how true this statement is when it comes to traveling. I'm a huge fan of the back roads. The blue highways if you prefer. I'm a fan of any road where I don't have people flying past me at 90 and where I can actually see some sights that aren't billboards. In the last year Jeff and I have started traveling where we never take the interstate if we can avoid it. And that one move has completely changed road trips for me.

I love to travel but I'm not always happy with long car trips. They tend to be more stressful than they are worth. Or if nothing else, they are boring. We would arrive at our destination cranky and tired. And the miles seemed to drag on. That is until we started taking the back roads. When Jeff and I went to Iowa City a couple of months ago, we started out on Interstate 80. It was a crowded Saturday and we were both tense. The traffic was going 85 or faster and we were struggling to stay with the pack. We were also exhausted after a late night. About Newton I suggested getting off the interstate. We'd take Highway 6 over. The moment we drove off the interstate we went from tired and tense to relaxed and happy. We passed farms and towns, little produce stands, and plenty of wildlife. Suddenly the journey didn't seem quite so long. Or so terrible. We added a half hour to the trek, but it was well worth the happiness.

So our recent trip down to St. Louis was a bit longer than normal. We took Interstate 35 down to Kansas City since Jeff had to be there at 2 and we didn't get on the road until 10:30. Too close for a back roads trip. After the stop, we headed onto Highway 50 rather than Interstate 70. Highway 50 runs through Warrensburg, Sedalia, Jefferson City, and the unfortunately named Knob Noster. We stopped along the way for dinner but most of the drive was uninterrupted. After Sedalia, it was rare to see another car and even more surprising to see a billboard. We saw a ton of cows, many small towns, the state capitol, and enough trees and creatures to keep me constantly pointing out the window. It added an hour to the drive, particularly with the winding road after Jeff City. But we were happy and still smiling when we arrived in St. Louis.

The city of St. Louis is built around a great interstate system. We took the highways and interstates everywhere in the city. So when it came time to drive back, Jeff and I were looking for something even smaller than our typical drive up Highway 61. I found it with Highway 79, or the Great River Road. Listed as one of the prettiest drives in the Midwest, the highway lived up to its name. It was filled with scenic overlooks of the Mississippi, beautiful towns like Clarksville and Louisiana, and lots of hills. Even better, there was no traffic and no real rush. After reaching Hannibal, we took Highway 6, a mostly flat road across the middle of Missouri. But flat was short lived. Highway 149 has to be one of the most winding roads in Missouri. We drove up and down hills and were constantly turning. About halfway up through the drive I could no longer tell which direction we were going. By the time the road ended, both Jeff and I were feeling a little sick from all the twists and turns but I'd taken plenty of pictures of the beautiful fall colors and the rolling hills.

We could have taken 61 to Interstate 80 and most people would have thought that was varied enough. We could have taken Interstate 70 to 35, a route we have taken on bad winter days. But we would not have had near as much fun. The drive ran 7 and a half hours (about an hour and a half longer than normal) but I arrived at home relaxed and refreshed. I wasn't stressed at all. "I took the one less traveled," has become my mantra. You never know where the blue highways lead. But they are well worth the trip.