Thursday, April 8, 2010

enough already....

Alright, so I never had any intention of this blog being about sports...but I've really just had enough of people and their crap, so here goes. I come home from work and turn on the Bruins game (which is on my DVR, I'm on the west coast) I already know the score and saw the tweets about Wideman getting booed. Let me start by saying that I'm not a Wideman fan, but...I'm not on the Ryder or Wheeler (sorry, chica) bandwagon either. But, you're probably not going to like everybody on your said team, and that's ok. So while I sit here and drink my beer I mute my television when Wideman gets the puck because I'm sick and tired of listening to the low class Bruins fans on my TV.
Let me ask you a question, did you boo when Manny Ramirez took a phone call in the scoreboard during the middle of a game? Or how about every time he had error? Oh, I'm sorry, is that part of "Manny being Manny"? Did you boo Jason Varitek last year which was arguably his worst season with the Red Sox? Now let's get closer to home. Do you boo Zee? He's not performing like he did last year. How about Krejci? It took half the season to see him back to his old ways. So why Wideman? If he an easy target? As I said, I'm not a fan and I see why people are upset with his performance, hell, I am too. But booing, really? I'd say that's almost as bad as Canadiens fans booing during our National Anthem. It's just plain disrespectful. How can you expect the guy to better his game when you greet him with disgust? Do you think that's inspiring? Sure as hell shut you up when he scored that goal though, didn't he. You do realize that he won the game for us, right?
I'm not saying that the Buffalo game is something for the history books but don't boo them. They're your team. You claim you bleed black and gold well fucking show it. A real Bruins fan wouldn't boo any member of their team. You can call it whatever you want, blind faith, for the love of the game, undying love...I call it being Bruins fan. It's a bit like marriage, through richer, poorer, sickness, health...you don't give up on them. At least, that's what I was always taught. So please, if you're going to boo them kindly take your ass to Yawkey Way you can stop slumming it with us on Causeway, you were just waiting for baseball season to start anyway.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Boston

I just realized I never posted from my most trip to Boston in January...will be doing that either later today or tomorrow! How could I not post on my FAVORITE CITY??? I must be losing it!

Stanley Hotel

So last weekend we decided to take a road trip with my "little brother" and his gf. I love road trips. I just don't love road trips that we only spend 1.5 days at our destination and it takes 13 hours to get there and another 13 to get back home...most of which spent in the backseat of a Monte Carlo Coupe. Needless to say...we're flying next time. We left Vegas around 2am on Friday morning and arrived in Estes Park, CO around 4pm mountain time (3pm pacific) Friday night. The drive down I-70 was great when it was light enough to see. The scenery was a welcome sight from the desert Vegas views. Once we arrived in Estes Park we were greeted by the wonderful Stanley Hotel (Stephen King's muse for The Shining). www.stanleyhotel.com

We had hoped to stay on the 4th floor which is supposedly haunted but instead were put in the back of the hotel on the 2nd floor. We were disappointed. We're mildly addicted to Ghost Hunters and had hoped to have some personal experiences or at least a view of the mountains and not the parking lot. The room was a little pricey considering the lack of amenities we had. We're shooting for the manor house next time...3rd floor. WE WANT A FULL BODY APPARITION!

All we really felt like doing on Friday was having some dinner and hitting the sack, so we did just that. We dressed up a bit and headed down to the hotel's restaurant, Cascades. Dinner started with fresh bread, olive oil, and Dukkah (an Egyptian nut dish)
http://www.bigoven.com/143564-Dukkah-%28Egyptian-Nut-Mix%29-recipe.html
and a wonderful bottle of Riesling. Then the boys had onion soup and we all shared the chopped salad which had apples, pecans, and bleu cheese crumbles. It was a delicious way to start off the meal. For dinner Bonnie and I each had Trout encrusted in cornmeal, served with pinot noir grapes, green beans, and potatoes. The fish was absolutely wonderful...cooked to perfection and seasoned perfectly as to not overpower the fish. Matt noshed on Elk with pasta and Bart had Crab pasta Alfredo. Matt's dish was very yummy and not too gamey, just had a good flavor. Bart's dish was very rich. I had been debating between the trout and the crab and I thankfully took the trout. I had a bite of Bart's and between the butter and the cream I wouldn't have been able to eat the crab dish, though it was quite tasty! After dinner we retired to the room and played cards while watching Ghost Hunters on the flat screen. BTW...the Stanley runs The Shining 24 hours a day on channel 60!

I woke up first on Saturday and took my time in the shower then I headed out to take some pictures of the hotel. I decided I needed some caffeine and luckily there is a Starbucks and I found myself a cappuccino and explored more of the hotel with Bonnie. Once the boys were awake and moving we decided to check out the wineries and brewery in Estes Park. The first one we hit was Snowy Peaks Winery http://www.snowypeakswinery.com/
It was a small tasting room with plenty of wine. For a small fee you got to try 6 or 7 wines, including desert wines (their Port is SUPER yummy!) The service here was outstanding, it wasn't stuffy or uptight, just a laid back atmosphere with a great tasting host who loved her job. Matt and I got a couple of bottles and so did Bart and Bonnie. After Snowy Peaks we headed to Valley of the Wind Winery. http://www.valleyofthewind.com/
This place was bigger and more commercial, I guess. The same deal, nominal fee...and you could try 6 or 7 wines. Although, you couldn't try the port and it was extra for the eiswien. While they had some nice wines (especially the apple) we were much more impressed with Snowy Peaks. Valley of the Wind was a little stuffy, plus Snowy Peaks had better wine. All in all it was a fun afternoon and we enjoyed the time we spent at both places. After the wineries we were in need of some food. We headed to the Estes Park Brewery http://www.epbrewery.com/
for burgers, pizza, beer, and pool. After lunch we went to the beer tasting. FREE! and you could try all the brews. I was partial to the blueberry wheat and the stout (which is strange because I usually like lighter beers but lately I have been succumbing to the dark side...Guinness has been working its way into my beer montage.) Our beer taster was great! He had a great attitude and gave us a great suggestion which was to mix the porter and the raspberry wheat. It was AWESOME!

After our time drinking we were in search for the Estes Park YMCA. Bonnie had seen an ad for some community theatre and we wanted to check it out. The Estes Park YMCA has to be the nicest that I have ever seen, it was more like a camp. It was beautiful. We found the theatre and we psyched to see the show that evening. Tired from the drive the previous day and the wine afternoon we headed back to the Stanley for a nap and reading on the porch.

We had a very quick dinner at Grubsteak http://www.grubsteakestespark.com/
and then headed to the show. Along the way Bart got pulled over by a very nice policeman who let him off with a warning. No more speeding for the Las Vegans! The show was exactly what we expected and what we were looking for...bad, community theatre. After the show we retired to the hotel for a couple of bottles of wine and a little ghost hunting. We hit the sack around 2am and were up early on Sunday for the drive back to Vegas.

Sunday morning in Estes Park was beautiful...further down I-70 was not. Bart hit a lot of snow and I hit ice after dark. By midnight we were home.

It was a great get away from Vegas. I loved the old hotel. It really was beautiful and so was the surrounding area. The food was great and so was the wine. We want to go back in the summer and have time for hiking and more outdoor activities. I highly suggest the Stanley Hotel and the restaurants, wineries, and brewery. I can't wait to back!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

just got a gift from the my in-laws.... Mastering the Art of French Cooking and My Life in France by Julia Child........ France has been moved up on the list of places i must visit....

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

future places of interest/future blog posts

Phoenix
Delta
Continental Airlines
Logan International Airport
Boston Bruins
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Stanley Hotel

Monday, November 9, 2009

Las Vegas to the Gorge, George, WA

Ok. So I started this blog and I have never updated it. Now’s the time. First up on the chopping block…Seattle and beyond. And beyond I mean the small haven of George, WA…home of the Gorge http://washington-state-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/visit_the_gorge_amphitheatre and all the temporary hippies that follow around DMB. (So not an insult…I’m one of them, and PROUD of it!)

The trip started with a flight from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Parked the car in the economy lot, not a bad place to park the car and it’s cheaper than a taxi/limo from the house. (I think its $8 a day) We left out of the international terminal because we were flying Virgin America to Seattle. I gotta say, for one of the busiest airports in the US, McCarran isn’t half bad. Security didn’t take too long and the flight left on time (more than what I can say for Newark and Miami…but that’s another story)

Virgin took us to San Francisco first…no direct flights to Seattle as of yet but the price was right. $75 to Seattle and like $60 back to Vegas…not a bad price and it’s a great plane! The service rocks, they’re on-time, clean, comfy, and they have Absinthe on the plane. I suggest getting it with Sprite and a lemon wedge due to their lack of sugar cubes and an eye dropper for proper Absinthe consumption. We landed in Seattle a bit early and with baggage and rental car started out on the 2 hour drive to George.

We were lucky and had a Subaru Outback for our rental. It made the 4 days of camping a little easier seeing as though we weren’t really prepared to camp. The whole flying thing and having to pay for baggage really made us pick and choose what we brought with us. Next year…CHAIRS! (And an air mattress that the cat didn’t claw up.)

So…2 hour drive to George. We stopped at a Trader Joes and met someone who had just been to La Push the weekend before…GOD I LOVE WASHINGTON! If you’re using a GPS input George, Washington…not the Gorge…the GPS get’s all confuzzled and will make you get lost. It was a pretty easy drive. We pulled into the “campground” (I use that term loosely) after dark and were greeted by many people knowing what they were doing! (score huge!) We parked our outback amongst the campers, tents, camp compounds, etc. We set up shop in the dark and hit the hay. It was a long day of travelling. When we awoke the next morning (to the glorious music of DMB…provided by the pimped out camp compound less than 100 yards away) and found what was advertised as a “campground” to be more like a giant back yard full of 12,000 of your closest friends. I highly suggest the premier camping, the bathrooms, showers, and sanity are worth the extra cash. They also provide a shuttle to and from the venue if you don’t feel like walking the ¼ mile + to The Gorge itself. Aside from the rain and heat it was an amazing place to visit and see a show. It was absolutely stunning. Beautiful views, amazing acoustics, great people…I can’t say enough about the Gorge or the DMB shows that we were witness to. The whole thing was amazing and I can’t wait to go back…hopefully next year!

The last DMB show was Sunday and Monday morning after tossing the leaky air mattress we headed to Seattle for the day. We called ahead and were able to get into the hotel early… http://www.hotelvintagepark.com/. We had a real shower (sans shower shoes) for the first time in 4 days, dressed and headed out for a day in Seattle…..

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Mission Statement

I want to create a blog that simplifies traveling for normal people. Most of us don't fly first class or stay in four star hotels but everyone deserves to have a good time and have a little luxury on holiday. I hope to bring a little of that to people. My husband and I always try to infuse some luxury to our vacations and we definitely always have a good time. I hope I can help you do the same.
I notice that you arrive in a new place and you wonder well what's good to eat or is this really a good attraction or is it just going to waste my money? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Travel books are great tools but they're expensive and there's always too much to them. So I figure why not simplify it and write about what I know and have experienced first hand.
My husband and I absolutely adore traveling and I always come home wanting to tell the world about the wonderful food, cozy hotel, the locals, the views, the neat little coffee shops, the list goes on... So we/I decided to start this blog. We definitely don't travel as much as we want to but we always make our trips worth while. I hope this reaches someone...even if it's just one person. Eat, drink, and be merry!