Chicago, IL September 2023

 With Saylor engaged at the U and Hudson busy with school and a girlfriend travel for just us parents is becoming the norm.

 

I had a late September business trip to Chicago and Cindy had the flexibility to join me. We flew in early for a few days on our own.

 

The first stop on the trip was of course food related. We heard about this place called Manny’s that is an institution of a Jewish deli. Cafeteria style eating with trays you slide past the cooks who will assemble your meal. They offered everything from chop liver to a whitefish platter. The pastrami sandwich and matza soup were 10s and the potato pancake with sour cream on the side is a new favorite. Had to have round two and opted for a corn beef sandwich which met New Yorker standards.

 

Our hotel was a very vanilla Sheraton. Fortunately, they put us in a high up room with big views of the river and the lake. A great perch to watch the marine activity go by from. We took a quick nap to recharge after the early flight and then headed out to explore. 

 

The river is a wonderful walk along people watch and stop for a drink or a bite. Being boaters, we thought it would be so fun cruising along with friends looking up at the city. Many people were doing this on private boats and we in turn jumped on an architectural river cruise. Such an appealing city and no better way to see it from the water. Lots of great stories on historic events, transformation of the city and rundown of who’s who. We would totally recommend the tour to anyone visiting.    Tip: be sure to get in line early to board the boat.  You will want to sit in the middle. We sat on a side and always seemed to be cranking our neck back and forth. 

 

We had to try some pizza and heard the locals don’t eat thick crust all the much. Following some good reviews, we found a place for a beer and a pie. Very good although the view over the water was even better.

 

As always, I never seem to find time for a haircut and tend to squeeze one in on travel. Finding a place at short notice was harder than expected with nowhere to take a walk in. We finally found a place that was very middle eastern in flavor and service a clientele that was predominantly Iranian. At least according to the barber. The haircut cost a whopping $60 and included the best edging job ever!

 

A Seafood tower has been a bucket list item for Cindy forever. We had dinner at the steakhouse Mastros and our host was kind enough to indulge. The multilayer display showed up billowing smoke and was covered in lobster, oysters, shrimp, and crab Lemke. Without even the little-ist bit of shame team Lemke did their part!

 

London house for a drink overlooking the river at night which was spectacular and god awful expensive.

 

Dot Dot Dash was a speak easy underground bar known for sugary and wacky Polynesian drinks. A fun place but self-proclaimed Chief Lapalapa hosted the event for us. He also happens to make his living running the sales department at Andy’s company.   

 

For our last meal we in the city we stopped in the Stumbling Goat. An old school haunt under street level where reporters, lawman and celebrities came to trade stories. It’s also SNL famous for the Chee burger Chee burger Chee burger line. We of course grabbed a couple of cheeseburgers but missed the reputed salty wait staff service.

 

With a long flight ahead, we grabbed a quick bite at Rick Bayless’ airport outpost, Frontera something or other. His restaurants in town are renowned for upscale Mexican and Andy’s 2^nd favorite margarita. The airport location was loosely related although very good. While at our table an elderly women lost her balance and took a tumble. She came up bloody and shaken and fortunately with her wits intact. A passing veterinarian did what he could to take care of her and we were able to track down her husband. After a bit it seemed they were ok to continue with their journey. Inspiring to feel some good in the world with people willing to help a stranger in need.

 

Cousin Felix says there is no better place than Chicago in the summer. We thought it was great although it’s not about to displace July in Seattle and our beloved islands!

 

I have been to Chicago many times, and this was the first time I got why so many people love it. Spectacular weather and a gamer of a travel partner made it that much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United Kingdom: London & Ireland - April 2023

 

Spring break family trip to the UK!

 

As with many of our trips this one kicked off with an incredible deal on airfare to Dublin. It took adding a few days in London for the rest of the family to be convinced.

 

Things were on the way to starting out perfectly with an early arrival at the airport. Only to find our flight had been moved up an hour. Scrambling and in long lines we asked every person to let us pass to make our flight. Everyone was very kind and it turned out all to be for naught. The flight was when it was supposed to be, and the board was just wrong. Hate burning up good will on something that wound up not mattering. So proud of the family for packing lite. Literally small day backpacks all around and one rolley!

 

Our place was a lovely 1800s brick walkup Airbnb that was featured in the Meryl Streep movie Suffragette. It is in the Shoreditch area which is edgy, artsy, and cool.  Thoughts from the area include: Dark Sugars Chocolates was something new with unusual treats such as chocolate covered honeycomb. The best Indian food ever on Brick Lane, with one restaurant after the other telling you why their Masala is better than all the others. Bagels in England are so overrated and unbelievably inexpensive. The salt beef was fun. Great vintage clothing shopping and an amazing international food market.

 

Beyond our home base there was plenty to explore.

 

Borough Market could occupy every Saturday with so much good food. We loved the cheese toastie at the Kappacasein Dairy.

 

Sunday roast at BlackLock was perfect. An English tradition in a pub and we took them up on the offer of unlimited gravy!

 

Riding the tube with 4 credit cards. Hand them out, scan in, hand back to dad and repeat to get out. It was like watching a racing pitstop.

 

Saw the Musical, Heathers, which was intense, graphic and a lot to take in.

 

Kensington affluence with the wealthy kids dressed better than we ever do. Fun to eavesdrop of the doings in London society while sipping a glass of claret.

 

So fun to roll around upstairs on a double decker, could do this for hours.

 

A great little Chinatown area as a break from the requisite fish and chips, bangers and mash.

 

The flower market in Shoreditch made for a lovely morning and was so English.

 

Found Gunpowder Gin which is a new favorite.

 

Stumbling onto a street busker playing great music in one of the empty markets

 

The usual suspects of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, London Tower, Buckingham Palace, the museums and Harrods were fun to tick off the list of places to see.  

 

The Churchill War Rooms were an opportunity for some history and perspective on WWII.

 

The Soames Museum is intimate and highly recommended. He’s known as the Architect of light. Chatting with the host was wonderful and the Egyptian sarcophagus was amazing.

 

Happy to have seen London. Grateful for the perfect weather. Would love to visit again. So much more to see in the city and beyond. More distinct cultures than we have ever seen anywhere. Even more than NYC.

 

Ireland

Stops include Galway, Dingle, Dublin, Kilkenny. We grabbed a car and moved every few days. Our stays were nice and the Southington Arms was a raucous pub with rooms above.

 

Along the way we found:

 

Irish trad music is a great place to run into Americans and tourists.

 

Pub life

On the subject of pubs, They are everywhere filled with locals. Kids are welcome and both of ours tried their first Guiness and are in no hurry for their second. The food starts to blur together and all the menus start to look the same. Fish and chips, Shepard’s pie and burgers. Surprisingly every last restuarant has lasagna. One rule we were taught was go to a place for food or for music, but never one place for both.

 

Striking up a conversation is easy as sit there waiting for someone to speak with you or taking the initiative. The result will be the same. Our experiences:

What do you do. I am an engineer, oh that’s a cheating profession. Always telling people it needs to be yay thick when that’s not true at all. How about you sir, well I am an attorney, a truly respectable profession.

 

With a guy at a bar. Buy him a drink, he buys you one. Why are you bleeding, oh cut myself shaving can’t seem to get it to stop. There is a 20-minute conversation on that. Then a religious discourse on Guinness. At the good places they clean the taps all the time. The glasses it seems add their magic. You see they get microchips in them from cleaning. This of course affects the taste and appearance of the pour. Must throw them away to get a proper Guinness. After 2 hours of chatting he then jumps in with the band and turns out to be a phenomenal musician.

 

We skipped the Guiness tour at nearly $100 a head and self-toured a distillery instead. A beautiful facility and re-purposed from an old power station.

 

Sheep dogs were fun to watch do their thing. Literally a side of the road demonstration on the way to Dingle in some guy’s field. The views from his sloped fields were gorgeous of the water and a good sales pitch for the life of a Shepard. A bit sad of a reality to hear about how the lifestyle is not perpetuating. He also shared sobering stories on the impact and severity of the potato famine.

 

The Temple Bar was picture perfect and overflowing with patrons. Our style was two spots down on the right at a table on the street for a glass of wine and people watching. We did step in front of the TB webcam for a moment of fame.

 

The jail was a great tour since we always like to see the jails.

 

In trip preplanning we had thoughts of surfing. Unfortunately, was cold, wet and unbelievably windy.

 

With our second Sunday we did another round of Sunday roast of course! How can you not love a plate of meat, potatoes, some veg and gravy!

 

Driving was manageable and not as hair raising as other places. It’s narrow and folks move quickly. At the same time, we were never fearful for our lives.

 

We stumbled upon a lovely castle where they were kind enough to take us on a tour. It seems you can’t go 20 miles without running into a castle. Some truly amazing properties and a number of them provide lodging. Some are very lavish and provide a night or two of living like a Lord.   

 

The cliffs of Moher were fun for a hike and the rain stopped just long enough for us to enjoy. It was mind boggling windy which whipped the sea into a froth to go along with the rugged land scape. So we windy in fact we worried we would be blown over the edge.

 

Great to check Ireland off the list. For lovers of the pub and impromptu conversations with a local it is a mecca. The landscape is beautifully green, green, and more green. A lovely place to tuck in and slow down!

 

 

 

 

Austin, Texas June 2022 - Belatedly Written

Our first trip on a plane away from the kids in 18 years. Combining a business trip to San Antonio for Andy we tacked on a couple of days to explore Austin. Hope everything is intact when we return. Feeling pretty good as the neighbors promised to keep an eye on things. They also then strangely asked what type of beer the kids like??

 

To make the most of our time we took the early flight which meant a 4am departure from the house. We had a reservation with spot saver for security which makes it just about walk through. The whole process was less than 30 seconds. Our flight was uneventful, and everything was running like clockwork until we hit Avis. Walking to space c-5 we noticed our silver Altima was conspicuously gone. Over to the counter by the cars where a guy was hashing out what the best deal he could get for someone without a reservation. Rookie! After becoming bored we went back to the counter where we picked up the original car. “I can’t help you sir, you’ll have to go back upstairs”. Our buddy still hashing out finally settled on an Escalade. Guess the price wasn’t that big a deal. Into our red non-descript can’t remember what it was car and headed to Black’s barbecue. We’d probably be a little less sour if it wasn’t 100 degrees out.

 

It was a difficult decision picking where to get BBQ in Austin. Franklin’s is legendary although it comes with a 4-6hr wait and the real possibility they run out by the time at your front. Other possibilities were the Salt Lick which is equally famous and another place with a woman for pitmaster that has been doing it for 70years. After reading countless reviews we figured the difference between 4.7 stars and 4.4 was a tossup. We wound up at Black’s which is known for the luscious brisket and for being a local’s type of place. The place looks to be built out of barnwood, with a line that weaves around giving plenty of time to look over Blacks gear, grab a beer out of the ice tubs and think about what to order. The patrons were along the lines of out for a good meal and not too worried about a little BBQ sauce on their shirts. We didn’t see it, but a sign about not serving hipsters may have been posted. Our timing was great and we showed up as the lunch rush slowed and dinner rush hadn’t started. We still waited 20 minutes in line before placing an order. We chatted up our line mates and confirmed the brisket was the thing. After making our way through the line we were directed to one of the cutters to place our order. It’s all pretty straight forward and no nonsense. Guy cutting and weighing meat on to cafeteria trays and a helper ringing up the till. Our guy looked the part with cowboy hat, giant knife and dreamy, good looks. At least according to Cindy. $125 got us a generous portion of brisket, a colossal rib and some pulled pork. A few sides and drinks also, but they were un-noteworthy next to the meat. To be honest, after tasting the brisket nothing else really mattered. It might be top 5 meals ever-ever. Fatty, bad for you on another level. We left so full a split a salad at dinner 9hr later seemed like a lot. After finishing the meal, we went back to tour the pits and speak with the Pit masters. Really nice guys willing to talk through the whole process and what they do to get it so perfect. The top tip was varying temperature through the smoke to avoid stalling. These were genuine guys utterly passionate about the art of smoking meat and sharing it with people. Another highlight that makes Black’s an easy recommendation.  

  

 

Well-fed to say the least we headed to our hotel. Zsa-Zsa, a bit of a splurge and as it turns out where all the hipsters go since they aren’t welcome at Blacks. Kidding aside, the hotel was a score, furnished with vintage movie art and just the right amount of swank it made these parents of two teenagers feel like they had a little cool left in them. The room felt great with many thoughtful touches and some blasting AC that made getting under covers cozy. We settled in for a quick siesta to find some energy and work off the food coma. One of the selling points of this place was a roof top pool with views of the city. Into our suits we headed up for cocktail and a dip. Lots of lounge chairs to be had and we were one of two couples to actually get into the pool. A steamy evening with cocktails in the pool was just about perfect. There was great people watching at the bar with everyone wearing nice threads and looking good made for a nice start to our evening.

 

A unique occurrence in Austin on summer nights as the sun sets are the bats that emerge in a swarm. It turns out this bridge they built over the river just happens to be what Mexican fruit bats look for when finding a place to chill during the day. We found a place about mid span and joined a good number of people waiting for the bats to show. Sure enough as the sunset the bats started coming and coming out from under the bridge. To put swarm in context the thought is something approaching 1.4 million bats. The whole thing only takes about 15 minutes and with the cloud of bats disappearing upriver. Beyond being a spectacle with people watching from the bridge, shore, and boat, it’s not creepy like we expected and turns out the bats do a great job of keeping the bug population down.

 

Still full we walked town a bit and headed to the Rainy St area. This is a place of older home homes that have been converted into hip bars and fun restaurants. Can’t remember where we wound up, but it seemed like you couldn’t miss.

 

We started our next day at Valentina’s Tex Mex. On the side of the road and more of a parking lot serving food out of a trailer on picnic tables. Fun to check the Tex Mex box

 

 

. From there we headed to the river to cool off with a float. Tubes were easy to rent at the local Lions club and they provide a free ride back making our escape from the 106 degree heat perfectly relaxing! The pace was something short of walking and there was not much to do other than chat and take in the scenery. Just what two parents on furlough needed although some might say a bit redneck? At the end there was a set of rapids you could opt out of or tackle. Andy took a few trips down to get the energy back up.

 

 

Along the way we found some ice cream and stumbled across the Austin Motel. From the outside it looks to be super gay friendly and might be the most fun to place to stay. On the list for our next visit.

 

Aba was a Mediterranean vibey place that feels very grand for dinner and a drink. We couldn’t get a table, so we just sat at the bar and enjoyed the outdoor scene which turned out to be the best location. Loungey chairs, lots of plants and groups of people having a fun afternoon.

 

 

After some downtime at the hotel, we headed out for dinner, which turned into two places. Vic and Als for some Cajun and then the unexpected surprise that was the Vortex. The latter is visual and almost impossible to capture with words. A mix of violet and white colored lights, open with communal dining in the middle, surrounded by walk up restaurants and places serving drinks. Very cool and filled with young and hip people.

 

For some late night entertainment, we made it to the Broken Spoke. A beat-up place that has been around forever, specializing in live music cheap drinks and dancing. They might even serve food, but it would be food you would think twice about. Lots to watch from the edges with couples dancing on the floor. We took our turn and equally enjoyed watching. There were two older gentlemen, like 70s older that would go up the prettiest of girls and ask for a dance. They were so smooth and seemed to make sure their partners had a great time. What was astonishing was to see them shift from hobbling around on sore joints to gliding once they started dancing. So in the moment.

Austin is ever creative with places like Mean eyed cat, Suns out buns out and the Vortex. A lot like Portland, but less aware of itself and with mor than a little Texas cool.

 

Our next stop was San Antonio, which was way toned down after Austin, although we managed to find some fun things to do. We were in an Airbnb and Andy juggled business so it was more about time in the pool and a nice meal in the evening. The place we stayed was an upscale building surrounding a pool area. The various young professionals would show up in the evening with drinks and friends read to just chill. We of course joined the party and could happily see doing so for an entire summer.

 

Along the way we managed a second round of BBQ at Blacks. This time driving close to an hour. It was still amazing although it seems a month between visits makes sense for the body to recover! A new place for Cindy was Buc-ee’s. This is an enormous convenience store. There are   100 gas pumps, 50 stall bathrooms, every Slurpee flavor known and any other thing one might need on a road trip.

 

 

The Elsewhere bar was a surprise find. Cindy described it as a permanent burning man installation. There were swings, artwork, trapeze performers under a canopy of trees fitted with a million beautiful lights. A place to connect with a different level of energy.

 

It was just short trip and so fun to just get away as adults. Always something to find along the way and places we could easily go back to.