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Archives
Category Archives: Travel
1985 & 1985 Bordeaux
Every year Hart Davis Hart hosts a comprehensive Bordeaux retrospective, and this year’s event focused on 1985 and 1986 Bordeaux. HDH pulled out all the stops, with two bottles of almost every notable wine, including the first growths. There was … Continue reading
Tru
Five years ago Dani and I visited Tru while on her college tour, and we had one of the greatest meals of my life. But then a year later Linda and I returned, and had seven courses of glop in … Continue reading
NU
I took a walk with Dani around the Northern Evanston area and the North part of the Northwestern University campus so she could put up flyers about her thesis project. I hadn’t been on that part of the campus before, … Continue reading
Kitchen Remodelling
Our final remodeling project for the summer was the kitchen. It was Dani’s idea to add stone to the walls above the backsplashes, and she also picked the ceramic murals for above the sink and stove. Quite a difference! Before: … Continue reading
Posted in Evanston
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Wynton Marsalis
We decided to check out the downtown venue used by the Chicago Symphony, but since they are playing opera at Ravinia, we went to a jazz concert by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet. Before the concert we had lunch at one … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Evanston, Music, Photography
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Roller Derby
Last night Dani took me to her highly anticipated roller derby game. She explained the rules before we went, which helped me to understand what was going on. It was a little hard to understand the announcer, so things were … Continue reading
Gotye and Missy Higgins
Last night we went to Chicago’s other outstanding outdoor performance space, The Charter One Pavilion near the Field Museum, to see Missy Higgins and Gotye. Charter One Pavilion offers a great view of the city, and you can walk along … Continue reading
Road Trip: Iowa
There is a lot of corn in Iowa. Seriously. I think we might have crossed back into Wisconsin when this photo was taken, but you get the idea. Actually most of the day we were driving through southern Minnesota, and … Continue reading
Road Trip: Minneapolis
State two in our three state road trip: Minnesota. First stop: The Mall of America. Well, it’s really big. The usual mall stores, some home grown ones, and a lot of restaurants. Many restaurants. Many chain restaurants. And a theme … Continue reading
Road Trip: The Wisconsin Dells
Dani and I are on a quick weekend road trip to add three states to our list. I’d always thought Orlando, and especially its International Drive (the old section) was the tacky capital of the universe, but I’d never been … Continue reading
Arizon and Utah Art Photos
I usually only post photos with people in them to my blog, as over the years I’ve found those are the only ones I really care about later. But these five turned out so well, I’ve decided to put them … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, The West
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Restaurant Michael
Last night we went to Restaurant Michael in Winnetka, about four miles north of Evanston. The original plan was to take the Metra train, but it was a cool, rainy and blustery night, so we opted for a cab. The … Continue reading
Terra
A few nights ago we visited Terra, an American bisto just north of Central Avenue in Evanston. It’s about two miles from the condo, so we took the Metra train up, and then walked back. It’s a small plates sort … Continue reading
Evanston Remodelling
This week we remodeled Dani’s condo, replacing the carpet with wood flooring and painting all of the rooms. We actually started by having the two bedrooms repainted in early July, getting rid of the horrible hospital green color. The painter … Continue reading
Crosby, Stills and Nash at Ravinia
This was one of the best shows I’ve seen at Ravinia. I liked the band’s 1969 and 1970 albums, and their individual solo albums, but haven’t really followed them. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover they are a … Continue reading
Roasted Cauliflower Pizza
Dani and I decided to try to duplicate the roasted cauliflower pizza from Anthony’s in Orlando, and we came darned close. We started with some pizza dough from Whole Foods, which I rolled out repeatedly, really thin, and then baked … Continue reading
Las Vegas Dining
We had a jam packed week of fine dining in Las Vegas. Here are some brief thoughts about the various restaurants. Verandah at The Four Seasons This is the coffee shop at the Four Season. The weekend brunch, included in … Continue reading
The Vdara
Dani and I completed our tour of national parks, finishing with two days at the Four Seasons Las Vegas, which is the top five floors of the Mandalay Bay. Then we moved to my favorite (non-smoking casinoless) hotel in Vegas, … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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Vdara Window Washer Rescue
We had a bit of excitement outside our hotel yesterday. Firefighters had to be lowered from above our 56th floor suite to rescue three window washers when their basket got stuck and started to slip. TV crews gathered down on … Continue reading
Posted in Las Vegas
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Tour Wrap-up: Blogging in the Sticks
Our Tauck Tour is wrapping up, and we reached our final destination: The Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. It’s my fourth Tauck Tour, and they just seem to get better. I wouldn’t change a thing about this one. Each … Continue reading
Posted in Technology, The West
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Zion
If it’s the only park you go to, Zion is incredibly beautiful, with its contrasting red and white peaks. But it’s always seemed a bit of a letdown to me, after going to Grand Canyon (which is far bigger) and … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Bryce
I’ve always thought Bryce is the most beautiful of all the National Parks. Our room was at the Bryce Lodge, which is newly refurbished. The weather was perfect, and the sun was just setting as we arrived to take photos. … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Colorado River Rafting
I’ve been without Internet for one day, and I sure have a lot of updates to do! This trip is definitely keeping us busy, in a fun way. Wednesday morning we checked out of Lake Powell and drove to Page, … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Monument Valley
I’ve always wanted to visit Monument Valley, but it’s not the easiest place in the world to get to. Even though as a kid I vacationed all over the Southwest, I don’t recall ever passing through. So today we did … Continue reading
Morning at the Grand Canyon, Evening at Lake Powell
This morning I happened to wake earlier, so I went out a little after 5am to photograph the sunrise over the canyon.Clouds to the east provided a dramatic backdrop, but only a few rays managed to hit the canyon walls, … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Grand Canyon 2012
What a great day! We set out with our Tauck group from The Four Seasons Scottsdale and headed north through the saguaro-littered desert. Soon we had ascended far enough for the cactus to disappear, to be replaced by scrub and … Continue reading
Posted in The West
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Scottsdale
We had a relaxing day at the Fours Seasons. After breakfast we went for a short walk through the desert and took some photos, then back to the room to cool off. Even though it was overcast and in the … Continue reading
Four Seasons Scottsdale
We had an uneventful flight from Chicago to Phoenix (best line by the Southwest pilot: “Well, we’ve found Arizona, now we’re just looking for Phoenix”) and a 45 minute limo ride from a real tech-head that involved discussions of tablets, … Continue reading
5-Spice Apples
I invented this simple recipe to use up ingredients before leaving town. It turned out delicious. Ingredients 2 apples 3 Tbsp brown sugar 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice Preparation Peel and chop up apples. Dump in a covered casserole dish, add … Continue reading
Pan-Seared Chicken with Balsamic Fruit Glaze
I fiddled with this recipe so much I’m calling it my own. This is a really good way to cook boneless, skinless chicken; it ends up crisp yet moist. And the glaze can be prepared in a leisurely fashion while … Continue reading