US Adventures

Getting Away From It All

2011-01-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

We changed our plans and extended the vacation another day so we could go out on the water

That proved to be a great idea

Because wherever we looked

To the right or the left

Up or down

It seemed the wildlife was out enjoying the sun, too

Off-season

2010-11-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

Tiana Beach, Hampton Bays, NY

Cupsogue Beach, Long Island, NY

Seattle: Public Places

2010-11-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

There were a few hours on our Seattle trip when we were bug free and we made the 3 minute journey from our hotel room, down the elevator, across the lobby, over the street to the place I've had on my must-visit list since 2004: Seattle Public Library.

Apart from the cool Rem Koolhaas architecture, there's the fastest, smartest book location system, a "living room", banks of computers, dedicated teen section, a writer's room. I could go on for ever... I could have stayed forever

The children's section that has the best language resources I've ever seen

and great art, too: Mandy Greer's "Babe"

The Guy and I did a self-guided tour (there's even a podcast) but there are guided tours available that last about an hour, too.

We split up eventually and met later outside the meting room. I recognised The Guy because he was the only non-rouge item on that floor.

The library people are so friendly - they really seem proud of their library and want to show it off - even security was happy. If I worked here, I'd be pretty damn buoyant as well.

Seattle: What happened?

2010-11-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

I'll just say that if you have to get 24 hours of unrelenting stomach 'flu and if you are unfortunate enough to be away from home, I would recommend the Seattle Renaissance, Suite 2710 as the place to be because when you're eventually able to open your eyes without the room spinning you will have this fantastic view of the city.

And this one, towards Pioneer Square, too.

You can watch the weather roll in from every angle for the next day or so while you recover. Looking across Puget Sound by day

and night

until it's time to leave.

Seattle: Where Are You?

2010-11-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

An hour ago we could see Puget Sound and The Space Needle, now we're cocooned in the clouds up here on the twenty-seventh floor.

Weekend Off

2010-10-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

We worked hard on the house the previous two weekends so we decided we deserved a couple of days free. Bonus: the weather was perfect - blue skies and temperatures in the 70s.

What better relief from renovation and maintenance stress than to spend Saturday looking at someone else's construction? Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú at the Metropolitan Museum of Art .

It would have been remiss to visit the Met without touring the world and indulging in a little time travel. So we let the parade go by and spent couple of hours wandering amazed through The World of Khubilai Khan, popped by Ringo Starr's Golden Drum, stopped at the Sachsen-Teschen Silver Service Vienna Circa 1780: An Imperial Silver Service Rediscovered to see how a napkin should be folded and ended the day at The Palace of Versailles.

Androgynous

2010-09-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

This confused The Guy no end. One of a pair marking the restrooms at our hotel in Paris. Très chic mais pas évident.

Sunday Morning Belgian Style

2010-09-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, there are stalls selling socks - and even mattresses - but Belgian markets are first and foremost about the food,

shopping for lunch, brunch or the rest of the week

mouthwatering rotisserie chicken

something sweet and nutritious for dessert

choosing flowers for the table

and enjoying a treat while you browse.

Strip Feest

2010-09-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

That's strip as in comic strip or BD (Bande Dessinée) Brussels 2010, not the kind you catch at the "gentlemen's club".

A two-day celebration of comics starting with a balloon parade through the centre of town on Sunday afternoon. This gets better and better every year.

If I had better planned my life I would be there this weekend through the next so I could join in the fun and catch Josh Ritter at the Botanique on Thursday. Next time!

Aligot, aligot, aligot

2010-09-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

In the 1ere arrondissement in Paris stands a brasserie, Chez Flottes, that offers good reasonably-priced traditional food and specialities from south-west of France, including aligot, a comforting combination of mashed potato with Tomme or Cantal cheese, garlic and butter. It's easy to make at home and now that cooler weather is coming I can contemplate a plate of cheesy mash.

Aligot
Peel and boil a couple pounds of baking potatoes, drain, return to a low heat and mash with half a stick of butter and a good tablespoon or so of cream or creme fraiche, Stir in one finely chopped garlic clove and 8 oz of Cantal, tomme de Savoie or sharp cheddar cut into tiny cubes. Season with salt and pepper. The secret is to have enough heat to melt the cheese but not to overcook the mixture. Pull the spoon up out of the pot as you stir. As soon as the mix becomes glossy and forms big strands pour it into a serving dish.

You can serve it with pretty much any well-flavoured meat, Confit de canard, pavé de boeuf or sausages. It would also work as a base for a filet of firm white fish such as cod, haddock or monkfish. If it's done right and you like mashed potatoes and fondue you'll love this hearty dish, cooked too long and it's like glue & sits in your stomach like the hills of the Auvergne.

Bare Naked Ladies

2010-09-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

Look it's Paris and it's art, so no modesty patches or drapes and no stupid pixels disguising the beauty of the sculptures.

No sensibilities offended, no youth corrupted, just the artist's interpretation of the female form. Enjoy!

Slow Food Belgian Style

2010-09-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

"What are "petits-gris de Namur"? I asked the waitress at Le Trois Chicons in the Marolles district of Brussels
"Escargots, madame" she replied
All the years I'd lived in Belgium I'd never seen this offered as an appetiser. Normal sized escargots - in or out of their shells - I've been eating since I was a schoolgirl; les crevettes grises, those tiny pinky brown morsels of shrimpy deliciousness often served in croquettes, I'd first consumed even earlier in my childhood on the edge of the North Sea, sold fresh the off shrimping boats in "pokes" but the tiny petits-gris, a delicacy of Namur in Wallonia, I'd never come across let alone sampled. "I'll try those" I said.
They were served in a puff pastry shell with a sauce of white wine, finely diced mushrooms, garlic and herbs; tiny, tender and delicate they were much superior to the escargots I'd eaten the previous Friday in Paris. The farm "Vieux Tilleul" in Bierwart near Namur has been raising these snails in a sustainable manner since 1987 and appropriately enough they are part of the locavore or Slow Food movement. I discovered many recipes for the speciality but for me the simpler the better to allow the snails to shine.

Petis-Gris de Namur
First procure your snails (6 per person), rinse them and warm very gently - you don't want to boil them or dry them out - above all avoid making them explode! Set them aside. Heat four individual puff pastry shells. Finely dice a mirepoix of two carrots, one shallot and the white part of a leek, sweat this in an ounce of butter until the vegetables are tender but still have a little bite. Add salt and pepper and 7 fl oz dry white wine, then carefully add the reheated snails and another ounce or so of butter to make a homogenous sauce. Divide between the pastry cases and dust with finely chopped parsley or, for an extra crispy topping, garnish with fried parsley. I'm going to sprinkle a tiny pinch of the Sel Fumé HALEN MON I bought on the market at Watermael-Boitsfort over mine.

Like home - but with better service

2010-07-19T13:25:00.001-07:00

Camden Harbor Inn, a traditional waterside house with views across the harbor and Penobscot Bay

The surprise is inside; modern furnishings mix with historic architectural details to create a signature style

The elegant and extremely comfortable rooms are named after trading ports of the Dutch East India Company. We stayed in Deshima - Audrey kept an eye on us

After a hard day's sightseeing, water sporting or menu-tasting in the gastronomical paradise that is Natalie's restaurant, it's so relaxing to find slippers laid out and gourmet chocolates on the pillow

This inn is going to be hard to beat, it sets the standard for all future hotels -luxury all the way.

2010-07-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Whatever

2010-07-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

The weather didn't necessarily cooperate every day but there was always something interesting to do in while recharging our batteries and regaining our sense of fun

Build-a-boat in Portland. ME

Spotting exotic animals

experiencing the town art

or admiring the town architecture - Belfast, ME

Travel in the Rear View Mirror

2009-12-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Manchester, UK

A quick round-up - without commentary - of the towns and cities visited during 2009

Mystic, CT - twice

Lawrence, KS

Kansas City, MO

Cleveland, OH

Newport RI - twice

Los Angeles, CA

Palm Springs, CA

Brussels, Belgium - twice

And of course - Paris, France

It was a good year...

Surrealism - not only about art

2009-09-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Petit Tour

2009-09-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

I'm hopping the Atlantic for a week; three countries in seven days. Apart from the necessary plane travel, I'm hoping to do it all by public transport - so it will be a cheaper, more eco-friendly version of the Grand Tour "Le petit tour light"

First a little planning

then... the first stop

a weekend here

culminating in a night of romance in the city of lights

Postings as and when... but watch out for a book review on the 14th.

Cleveland: Breaking it Down

2009-08-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I upped and left on for a couple of fun-filled days of travel. I provided the interwebs with a few clues but the teaser I left posed a few problems and no one got the answer from that post so let's break it down. First the visuals the montage of images consisted of landmarks cultural and iconic, musical and artistic, kitchsy and culinary:

The Free Stamp, outdoor sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Mall, a great public space with outdoor art.

The newly opened East Wing of the Museum of Art

The iconic lampshade light from A Christmas Story, which was shot in this city.

Iron Chef Michael Symon whose restaurant Lola served up the best oysters and yellowtail (above) I've eaten in the US and a smoky, chile-flavored Berkshire pork chop that made me wish we'd had time to visit his other restaurant, Lolita, for the Tuesday Night Pig Roast.

Then there was that verbal clue about "using your ingenuity". That refers to the Ingenuity festival of art and technology, held in July.
In retrospect it was easy, wasn't it? More to follow soon from my trip to the positively fabulous city of Cleveland.

Tomorrow's Travels

2009-08-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm traveling out of town. I'll be visiting somewhere on a lake, known for its theatres, music venues, modern art and, of course, for its foodie scene. Where in the world am I going?

A few visual clues:

And one verbal one: You'll need to use your ingenuity to find the answer.

Warhols!

2008-10-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jenni over at ThirteenEleven commented recently that I get to go to wonderful exhibitions, and she's right I do. Wherever I'm traveling I try to build in time to see something special and, hopefully, spectacular. Sometimes, though, it just doesn't work out. For example I flew out of Montreal one day before the Warhol Live: Music and dance in Andy Warhol’s work exhibition opened at the Musee des Beaux Arts.
I would have loved to see the portraits of Aretha Franklin, Liza Minelli and Debbie Harry and all the pop art but even more, something that hasn't been shown before, a private collection of album covers Warhol designed, including the iconic Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers.

Other rarities on show will be this video for The Cars as well as films and art installations. It runs through January 18 2009, and during that time, over at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal there will be another music inspired exhibition, Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be finding myself back in Montreal that soon. Dommage!

The only way to travel...

2007-06-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Graceland
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I'm never ever getting on another airplane again, even if it's my own personal plane. Memphis to La Guardia took 20 hours, including two terminal changes at Atlanta, two sessions of more than an hour waiting for clearance to leave the gate, after having waited three hours to board the plane and no food or water, I had seriously had enough. All this because of thunderstorms and the fact that they cram too many flights together, so when things get delayed there's a chain reaction.
Yep, and the music and bbq vacation in Tennessee? I think we had fun in Nashville and Memphis, but I need to get some distance from the journey home to be sure.

Here's The Catch

2006-10-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

I got a notice from NY State Department of Motor Vehicles the other day reminding me that my driver's license expires on my birthday and I need to renew it. As I don't have a social security number I have to go down to the DMV and wait in line, have my photo taken and pay $50 for a five year renewal. (I know, to Europeans this is a bizarre idea. There you take a test and if you pass you are pronounced competent to drive- unless you have an accident or injury you are set until your crusty old age, and they don't fleece you $50 bucks every few years either).
But, whatever, you do what you have to do. I gather my 6 points of ID necessary to get my new license, plan a trip to the Dept of Social Security to get a letter that states I am a legal alien and an appointment at the hairdresser so I don't look like an alien when they take my photo for the license and then I read the fine print.
As part of the Patriot Act and to ensure the security of the USA I have to have a passport valid for a year; check, and a visa valid for six months. No. No. No. My visa extension was granted for nine months in July. It expires in March 2007. Our immigration lawyer assures us we will have our I 140 approved by February and that will give me my own SS number (which by the way is the same as the Taxpayer Identification Number I was given when I arrived, so the authorities know who I am and where I live and they collect taxes from me every year).
What am I supposed to do between November 25 and sometime in February? Drive on my international license? Stay at home?
If anyone in Congress really thinks that this will prevent illegal aliens from getting to work then they are delusional. It will only encourage people not to get driving licenses or insurance. It won't prevent terrorism it will simply drive people underground and piss off people like me who do everything by the book and still end up being punished.

You don't exist

2006-08-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Is the worst thing about voter rights in this country not that you can't get a voter registration card in Missouri without a birth certificate but that you can be denied a copy of your birth certificate because you were abandoned as a child? Or that you can be refused voter registration even though you have a social security number?
You can't vote but you can pay taxes. Oh yes, I'm sure that's fair.

Real capuccino, Caffe Artigiano

2006-08-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Real capuccino, Caffe Artigiano
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

This is another reason for never leaving Vancouver. There are four branches of Caffe Artigiano serving excellent coffee in downtown Vancouver. A different design every time. And it tastes like coffee, and they serve it in cups, and their scones aren't sweet.
I miss Canada.

They let us back in

2006-08-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

We successfully jumped another hurdle and got our passports stamped with the new visa. This one expires on March 9 2007. That's right less than seven months to go. And then we go through the whole process again. Is this a sensible use of US resources I ask myself. It worked out well for the Canadians as we stayed dive days in Vancouver but apart from our $100 (in cash) what did America get? $100 wouldn't pay for the administrative and security costs associated with the process especially with the increased security over the past weeks.
The trip did give us the chance to compare and contrast the immigration departments of Canada and the USA. First off although we arrived in Canada only a couple of days after the latest terrorism plot to blow up planes using liquids, there were no lines at immigration. Every booth was manned and the officers were extremely friendly and cheerful. Because we were there just to get our visa from the US consulate the officer asked us to "Do (me) a favour, take a jog left and check in with Immigration Services". They were also delightful and even appeared interested in our responses about how long we'd been in the US, what we were doing. Everything was completed with a smile.
Returning to the US was the exact opposite. As usual the lines were long and only a third of the booths were manned. People were shouted at because they were not moving fast enough to the correct line and when we got to the immigration officer we were greeted with a snarl. Charming. The questions were the same but the tone of voice suggested that the officer didn't believe a word of it. Our fingerprints were taken (again) and our papers were stamped (again) and returned without any form of greeting or instruction about what to do next.
It was a joy to visit Canada and depressing to reenter the US. It doesn't have to be like this. Good manners should be mandatory and a smile costs nothing but goes a long way to engender goodwill. If the problem is understanding, USCIS should invest in more immigration officers. But I don't believe it's that. I think they are afraid that kindness would be mistaken for weakness. And that theory's not borne out by any psychological study or by history. If their attitude doesn't change, I'm not looking forward to reentering the country again next year.

Vancouver here we come

2006-08-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

We have to get our latest visa put in our passports. The last time we were able to send them to somewhere in deepest make work country but now USCIS insists we visit an embassy outside the US. Given a choice of Canada or Mexico we opted for the nearest, Canada. But there were no appointments at Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City or Ottawa. The first available appointment was in Vancouver pretty much immediately. The next was over a month away. Guess which we are going to take? An 8 hour flight across country to get a stamp in a passport. A stamp that expires March 30 2007. Whereupon we will have to go through this performance again.
We have to be at the US embassy at 8 am with our documents, be fingerprinted and if our fingerprints don't match some criminal or terrorist we can collect our newly visa'd passports the next day. The embassy website says to allow three days just in case. I'm unhappy about the whole thing especially as we are leaving the dogs and cats here. I've always wanted to go to British Colombia but the circumstances are stressing me out.
All being well we'll be back in a few days. Oh, and don't even think about burgling the house, we have a pet sitter.

Where have I been?

2006-07-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

create your own personalized map of the USA
I've been through lots of other states on my way to these but I chose to highlight only the ones I set out to visit.

I think it's my theme song

2006-05-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Not Ready To Make Nice

24 hours cursing

2006-05-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Crap, rats, damn stupid m*therf**ker, bollocks. Before you flag this post as offensive hear me out.
A month ago we booked tickets to Stuff Happens a drama about why we went to war in Iraq, and I rashly made a bet with Steve. Now, people who know me know I NEVER BET UNLESS I AM CERTAIN OF WINNING. When we booked the tickets it was mid April and four generals had come out and called for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. And Dick Cheney's poll numbers were in the 20s. So I felt very safe making a bet that they would be out of government by the time we saw the play. If Steve lost he would have to wash all the windows in the house, and there are forty windows here so it was some hard labour. Steven then searched for a suitably arduous task for me: in the totally unlike event that I lost I would have to be nice for a week. I had to ask for some clarification because I don't know what "nice" is. He specified that I wouldn't be allowed to lose my temper or swear for an entire week.
The bet expires at 2 pm tomorrow and it looks like I will be the loser. Doubly a loser because Rumsfeld and Cheney are still in power. So I am going to get all the anger of my chest in the next 25 hours.
F**king b*st*rd bet.

And now for the good news

2006-05-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Central Park is going wireless. So in summer if it finally stops raining we will be able to sit on the Great Lawn and surf. Finally something for free.

Presidential Pass

2006-05-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

According to GW Bush immigrants should be able to get in line for citizenship if they can prove they have learnt English and have been working and paying taxes. Now I think my English passes muster and I've been paying taxes, many taxes, way more taxes than I paid even in Belgium, land of the tax burden. But I am expressively forbidden by the terms of my visa from working until we have our green card.
So my question is: did the Prez just give me permission to go out and break the law?

Rain

2006-05-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

It's not just Raining in Connecticut but also Huntington, NY. Our weather here like our cell phone service is more aligned to CT than NY. Bands of rain cause flash floods along the Nassau/Suffolk border and particularly over the beautiful Incorporated Village.
I am again a prisoner in my own home, the courtyard is flooded, the north drive is flooded and its teeming down. Also, Steven took the hard top off my jeep two weeks ago and hasn't had time to put the soft top on. So I'm topless, which with this weather means I'm also carless. I was so bored I created this movie for you. Maybe I should have a nap like all the animals.

green card update

2006-05-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

We knew it was too good to be true. Our application was approved by the Dept of Labor and the lawyer filed with the appropriate Case Office in Vermont. Now we had a visa application number (yes it has taken 5.5 years to get a number) we could check progress on the USCIS (US Customs and Immigration) website. Excitedly we typed in the number and immediately had a timeframe for a decision: 90-400 days. BFD!
Still, we signed up for automatic email updates and hoped it would be low end rather than the high end of the estimate. A few days later we got an email to say our documents had been sent to Texas as, in the interests of streamlining and efficiency, they would be handling all I140 (green card)applications for the East Coast. Once again they urged us to check the case status online. Great news. Texas was handling cases from January 2006. That didn't seem too bad.
Then we got another email to say our documents had been received in Texas, and once again to check the status of our case. Bad news. Estimated time for the Texas Case Office to make a decision: 400-450 days. WTF?
No wonder people come here and wander out of the system. Bureaucracy sucks. I can only wonder what will happen to the immigrants here, legal or otherwise after Congress passes the proposed Immigration Bill.

No spa

2006-05-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

No US adventures again this month. We were supposed to be off to New Hampshire for a weekend of pampering by the sea but we had to cancel it yesterday. Steve phoned me from work to tell me he had to be on the 7:15 pm flight from La Guardia the day we got back form the spa.
The spa is in Wentworth by the Sea, New Hampshire and we live on Long Island, New York. It takes 2 hours 30 mins to get from the spa to the ferry in New London, CT. The ferry takes an hour and three-quarters. We live a couple of hours form the ferry terminal at Orient Point. Then it takes an hour to the airport and check-in is an hour before take-off. So we would have to leave early in the morning, drive like crazy (worse than Steven's usual driving) and hope nothing went wrong. Not very relaxing! Plus we would have had to cancel the treatments we had booked for that morning. So it didn't seem worth it.
I'm pretty pissed off at this point, and even more stressed than I was when Steven first suggested the break as a way for us to get some R&R.
Rats!

Road Sweeping

2006-04-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

One of the weirder things about living in our beautiful incorporated village is how it works. We live on a road that stretches from the Town of Huntington all the way to Long Island Sound. The Town is responsible for the road up to the village boundary a couple of hundred feet from where we live. The Town paints double yellow lines down the centre of the road, puts in storm drains, and sweeps the road regularly. As soon as you reach the village all of this disappears. Every time it rains, our road floods because we have no storm drains. The road is full of debris because it is rarely swept. And we pay extra village taxes for this, happily of course because we live in a beautiful incorporated village. Nuts, but not especially weird.
But wait. Once a year, after all possibility of snow has evaporated, the road sweeper is hired to sweep the beautiful village road. Back and forth it goes, for several days, sweeping the sand, mud and leaves left behind after the ravages of winter. All day long I hear it, sweeping back and forth, back and forth, leaving our road so nice and clean befitting the beautiful incorporated village. Except that it only sweeps the village roads. Our house is on the corner of a cul-de-sac and the main village road, and the cul-de-sac, despite the fact that it has the same name as the main road, is in fact a private road. So it doesn't get swept. At all. Ever.
At sometime Steve will go out and scoop up the mud and grit by hand, and sweep the road with a broom, and clean out the grate to the storm drains that we have because we are on a private road.
Nuts and weird and very expensive.

Crazy cocktail time

2006-04-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

6:30pm is cocktail time here and I was just cutting up limes for a well-deserved vodka and tonic when the dogs started barking like crazies. As this happens roughly ten times a day: the UPS guy, Fedex gal, Rob the mailman, landscaper, neighbor's landscaper, other neighbor's landscaper, the neighbor opposite's landscaper, their contractors, a jogger, a dog walker, I tend to ignore them. But this was late for any one other than a walker so I looked out and I could see someone or at least the shirt and tie of someone who I presumed had something to do with my neighbor's renovation project. SO I yelled at the dogs to shut up and went back to mixing the drink.
Then I looked out of the window and I saw a bunny streaking across the lawn with Jefke in hot pursuit. I didn't want the cat to get the rabbit so I ran outside in my fluffy slippers and sweats screaming at the cat in the hopes of distracting him. That was when I became aware that another neighbor was driving up the cul-de-sac and can see me in my fluffy slippers having a meltdown on my drive. So dignified. Anyway, his car got between the rabbit and the cat and he sat there long enough for the rabbit to get away. I waved and the cat followed me back up the drive towards the house. Whereupon my other neighbor came to see if I was ok as she heard the screaming. OK by now I am mortified.
However, it turns out she was coming over anyway as she saw someone lurking about my property (which was what disturbed the cat) and wanted to check if I was alright.
Well I think whoever it was was probably just lost and my screeching scared them away.
But the weirdst thing was she said it was "a black kid" and I thought "oh, no not a missionary at cocktail time".
I think I've got a little racist living here and I really need that cocktail now.

Happy Birthday?

2006-04-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

As if turning 50 wasn't traumatic enough, Steven received another poke up the arse from his HMO in the form of a birthday letter. In addition to wishing him many happy returns, they also urged him to go get a colonoscopy. A truly depressing letter within an accompanying leaflet that portrayed six elderly people all happy and smiling; presumably at the thought that a tube up the anus would protect them from colon cancer. Go tell that to the forty year olds who died of the disease.

Home alone

2006-03-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

Steve is in California again, but I couldn't face the six hour flight and three hour time delay again. Twice in two months is enough. It's enough for me to know that once again the weather in San Diego is worse than it is here.
So I get to spend some quality alone time with the animals and to notice how much cleaner the bathroom is when Steve takes his grooming kit away with him.

La Jolla Beach

2006-03-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

03-12-06_1154.jpg
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

It's cold today, ironically it's 10 degrees warmer in New York. We walked through La Jolla, which is kind of like Palm Beach without the humidity (or today the warmth). We did have a great meal at George's on the Cove, particularly memorable: the dungerness crab salad and beef shortribs on smokey mashed potato, and especially the sparkling Schild shiraz.

Cape Cod Vacation

2001-08-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

A vacation in Cape Cod is the perfect way to cool off this summer. And what better way to spend the holiday than with old friends. This is just what the Jaggers, Steve and Jane, did during one hot week in July this year.
A relaxing week at the Village Inn on the Green in Falmouth, Mass combined with the celebration of twins Elliott and Samuel Thygessen's christening made it one of the best summer holidays we have had.

Jersey Shore

2001-07-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

A Jersey beach vacation has been planned for this coming weekend thanks to the kindness of John and Betty H, who have extended their hospitality to Steven and his wife Jane. Asked to account for his generosity in inviting the us to become houseguests this weekend he said: " The boy looked like he needed a break".

Heatwave Wipes Out Cleaning

2001-07-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

The recent heatwave has caused another case of "dirty house syndrome" in the beautiful harbor section of Port Washington, NY.
Mother of two, Jane Jagger (42) stated that the rising temperature led her to stow the vacuum in the closet , pick up the suntan lotion and head for the beach.
With the mercury reaching 101F yesterday and the hot weather set to continue until the weekend it looks like Mrs Jagger won't be cleaning until the kids go back to school.

arizona

2001-02-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

Arizona was the first state we visited (apart from New York) and we went there in February 2001. People told us we were mad to go to the Grand Canyon at that time of year as it was often closed due to snow. In fact we were on the South Rim and the weather there is much more clement. There was some snow on the ground but the temperature climbed to 70F and we took off our coats. Nothing had prepared us for the scale or the beauty of the Canyon. We parked the car and walked less than 200 yards to a cafe in search of coffee. We wanted to stoke up before we hiked along the trail to the Canyon, which we imagined was way off in the distance. We were really surprised to find that the gorge was just behind the restaurant, breathtaking and unlike anything we had seen beforeWe stayed in Flagstaff for a couple of days using it as our base to visit the Painted Desert and Meteor Crater . I really loved Flagstaff, not least for the quality of its restaurants. Try Mountain Oasis on Aspen Ave for an eclectic Southwestern/ international mix in a laid back, romantic setting. reasonable prices, too. Flagstaff also had a young feel, partly due to the Northern Arizona University campus. Its height, 7000 feet above sea level means that it's a four season town and its size, approximately 63.000 make it easy to live in. We couldn't have liked it more.
One of the most appealing things about Arizona is the contrast in scenery within a few hundred (vertical) feet. North of Flagstaff is the Grand Canyon, to the east lies desert and spectacular rock formations and the south has ponderosa pine forests, cool and green. Along the Verde River the vegetation is lush, watered by many creeksand streams. We stopped along one of these, Beaver Creek , to see Montezuma's Castle , a cliff dwelling built by Sinagua Indians 600 years ago. The five-story, twenty room structure has nothing to do with Montezuma or the Aztecs, being abandoned before Montezuma was born.

Four hours' driving took us to Tucson and the desert grasslands. We fell immediately and heavily in love with this part of Arizona. In particular the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Not only was this a great introduction to the wildlife of the region, which extends across the border into Mexico, but it has the best restaurant of any zoo, museum or art gallery we have visted. Ever. I wanted to move here immediately. I was fascinated by the hummingbirds, cactii and the Life Underground exhibit.