Saturday in Cincinnati

I'm ashamed to admit that we've been here two and a half years and never driven the 50 miles to Cincinnati. Quite a nice city, actually. Brian and I had a lovely day there on Saturday, starting at the legendary Jungle Jim's. They don't allow photography inside, but we managed to sneak a few pics. (If you don't know about the shopping extravaganza that is Jungle Jim's., go to www.junglejims.com.) Being out for the day, we couldn't buy any frozen goods or perishables, and still somehow managed to spend nearly $100. No one needs four million different kinds of tea (or hot sauce - see below), but it sure is fun to look at them all.

Then we went for a hike and some birding at Winton Woods (lots of Blue Gray Gnatcatchers and Blue Winged Teals, among others). Met our friend Patrick and went out to dinner with him and his daughter, Emma - yummy Indian food! Their dog, Eloise, was quite enamored of me. (OK, I was quite enamored of her.)





The hot sauce aisle at Jungle Jim's.
















Springtime at Winton Woods.















Brian checks out the bat box at Winton Woods.















Eloise wants to sit on my lap.















Eloise sits on my lap.

More Travel Adventures

Had a really fun weekend in Denver with Shelly (my sister, in case you don't know). We met up there for a (relatively) cheap weekend getaway. The hotel I picked wasn't quite as close to all the fabulous shopping action at Cherry Creek as I thought, but then that's probably why it was under $100 a night. Nice hotel, though. Desk staff very blond and did their best to be helpful. Cranky old Greek man running the breakfast buffet. Nice view, Mongolian BarBQ and Barnes & Noble a few blocks away, Cherry Creek proper less than a mile away with a nice hike-bike trail taking you there, what more could we ask for?

Added plus, a quite hoppin' pub called the "Bull and Bush" nearby, where we had fish & chips and microbrews and watched the Kansas/North Carolina game (at least I think that's who was playing). Very animated crowd, one woman had to have her infant daughter taken away from her by a concerned friend.

On Sunday, we went to the new REI store. It's in a restored vintage building that used to be a train station. It's HUGE, and packed with tons of stuff, and has a park, hike/trails, a bike testing course and a kayaking practice area on the grounds. It's situated right at the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, and they really make the most of it. It didn't hurt that the day we were there was a glorious spring day, sunny and temps in the 60's, and everyone out on their bike or with their dog (or both). A little shopping, a nice stroll in the park, a visit to the on-site Starbucks, a quick cab ride back to Cherry Creek. That night, a truly exceptional meal accompanied by a nice chianti at an Italian place called NoRTH (don't hold the pretentious spelling against it, the food was terrific).

Breakfast buffet and flights out on Monday. TCBY at the Denver airport. Air travel is so tedious these days, but it was worth it!

Here's a sampling of my pictures from the trip:






The view from our hotel room.

















Outside the REI store.













Tyler, the nice Bernese Mountain Dog we met at REI.













Inside the store, a view from the Mezznine.



















The Strait sisters in the park outside REI.
















Inside "NoRTH, Modern Italian Cuisine"

Drop it!

Dear Steph,

Took Mort on a long trip to campus today and played fetch on the front lawn for a while on our way back. He had a lot of fun running around. We all miss you, and Peteena says you're in big trouble for not taking (one of) her with you!

Drop it!
Originally uploaded by splaestro

Frisbee?
Originally uploaded by splaestro

Frisbee!
Originally uploaded by splaestro

Fries Are Up!

Well, it's taken forever but I've finally got the bulk of my photos from the Asia trip up on Flickr. A few of them you've seen (if you followed the trip) but there are lots you haven't, so feel free to take a look! Go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21380180@N08/ to check them out.

I've still got more to add, mainly the ones with my colleagues in them, which I wanted to add better captions to, so stay tuned!

It's a Freakin' Winter Wonderland!

Well, it looks like the weather hysteria that grips this town every time there's a little snow in the forecast was right this time. Apparently this is the biggest snow we've had here in 10 years. Had to cancel our trip to Cincinnati, which was just fine with Morty until we took him outside with us when we tackled the shoveling. Got the car out and went for groceries, then stopped at the new Chinese buffet place over by IUEast (mixed bag, let's hope for improvement).

Notes From a Perfect Weekend

Well, near-perfect, anyway. Getting towed on Friday evening was the only sour note, but I think that if that hadn't happened I might have had to kill myself. Because of the perfection of my weekend in Chicago and all and the impossibility of ever topping it, you understand.

There was shopping. There was great food. There was more shopping. And more great food. And great company throughout.

Had lunch on Friday at Tamarind in the south loop with Howard from Columbia College Chicago. Highlight was when one of the bamboo pieces adorning the wall fell off and hit Howard in the head (not to worry, no admissions personnel were harmed during the course of the meal). Then saw the new ceramics exhibition at the Cultural Center, "People of the Mud, II (in which I just happen to be close personal friends with one of the artists).

Got together with some other folks from Columbia College on Friday evening (too busy gabbing to take any pictures, though there was a moment when we all got out our cell phones and showed each other pictures of our pets). Great to catch up with everybody. FYI: the Pomegranate Marguerita at Bar Louie is much better than the Black Cherry Cosmo.

Got towed from Wabash and Balbo, though I swear I read every sign and even got out of the car to check. Unplanned expense, but surprisingly minor hassle - took me about half an hour to get the car back, and had the pleasure of being entertained by one of the guys working the desk at the impound lot with stories of animals encountered in towed cars (including two doberman pinschers, a thirty foot boa constrictor, and fifty rabbits). Picked up my dear friend Jason (the aforementioned artist, who always lets me stay with him in his fabulous condo on the Drive) and headed to Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston for some vegetarian Bibimbop (as good as I remembered it).

Went to Mitsuwa Market (www.mitsuwachicago.net) in Arlington Heights in the morning on Saturday (had a few things to pick up for Art Is... Japan, a program I run at the Richmond Art Museum that starts in less than two weeks). Then Jason had the brilliant idea to go to American Science and Surplus (www.sciplus.com). Looked up the address on Google with my Treo, then went to mapquest and we were off. More shoppping ensued.

Found a really great place for dinner and drinks that night. The Violet Hour, in Wicker Park. Who would ever have thought to make curried rice krispie bars? Sounds terrible but they were fantastic. Followed those with the deep fried bread and butter pickles with chipotle aioli (also fantastic). Cocktail wise: the 41 Jane Does was better than the Yellow Rose of Texas, but they were both terrific. Then we ordered the eggnog and achieved Perfect Happiness.

Way over the top and delicious breakfast at Tweet Let's Eat on Sunday (we had the vegetarian biscuits and gravy as an appetizer, let's just leave it there). Very cold but lots of sunshine on the way back to Richmond. Made good enough time to be able to stop at Trader Joe's in Indianapolis. Warm welcome from Brian, Violet, and Morty.







View from the gallery in the Cultural Center.













Very Scary Person of the Mud.















Too dark to photograph anything else with the Treo in the Violet Hour.














A view of Lake Shore Drive at Belmont on a very cold day. Steam rising off the water, very beautiful.

We Are Resplendent

It has taken us some time to adjust to our inexplicable return to our previous abode in the U.S. Needless to say, we look back on our travels fondly, but also with a tinge of regret at missed opportunities. It seems that just as the world began to comprehend our greatness, we have been whisked back to obscurity, and our previous life, which once seemed so wonderful, strikes us as somewhat restrictive and shabby. No doubt the time was not right for our triumphal appearance on the global stage. Either that, or our control-freak of a manager has sabotaged us out of jealousy.

Rest assured though, dearest legions of fans, that we treasure the comforts of home. And we have at last managed to acquire an addition to our wardrobe that will always remind us of our great adventure in the Far East.