I flew in to Kansas City a few hours ago. On the flight, I watched 2 1/2 episodes from the first season of Grey’s Anatomy. I heart this birthday present. I found catching up on prime time sitcoms is a nice way to get through the trip back to the Midwest.
We packed a lot of great food, friends, dogs and road trips into this Golden State vacation. I think I clocked in more than 500 miles of driving over the last 4 days.
“Your travel life has the aspect of a dream.” - Agatha Christie
Like all good things, I had to return to life in Kansas: the newsroom, co-workers and Daisy! Crazy puppy. I wonder what she would think of my home state. California seems like a dream. Did I really walk through a farmer’s market selling orchids, white apricots and duck balut? Did I savor Serrano ham and sipped lemonchella mixed with grappa at a hip San Francisco bistro? Yes. I have the pictures to prove it. And I can’t wait to do it again.
Mark has one more week in beautiful California. Lucky guy.
FREMONT, CALIF — I went jogging around Mission Blvd this morning. I forget about eating healthy on my Cali trips. So I try to burn off calories with my running shoes.
I’ve also managed to keep up my Eat Local Challenge in the Bay Area. It’s easy to do when so many vegetables and fruits are in season. (I know, California doesn’t have “seasons”….but I think it’s so frickin’ cool we can have roses blooming in the winter.)
I spent my first day in Cali at the best public university in the world: the University of California Berkeley. I knew I was in Berkeley when I walked into this ladies restroom at Kroeber Hall.
Go Bears! Today, we’re rooting for our #6 football team to take down Oregon. That’s #6 in the COUNTRY. Go Bears!
Before my Cali trip, I had major cravings for Cheese Board Pizza. Baked with fresh, local ingredients and cheesy goodness. I also loved it when they brush olive oil over the thin crust pie. Basically, this is California gourmet food with a Berkeley attitude. Their daily specials are always veggie and they always taste good.
Bottom line: Cheese Board makes my favorite pizza in the WORLD.
And I knew my first Cali dinner had to be at this North Berkeley institution.
There’s always a wait for Cheese Board pizza. Most folks know it’s worth standing in line 15-20 minutes and then biting into one of the best pies in California, if not the world. The Cheese Board Co-op has been around since 1967 and they started making pizza in 1985. When I used to work at Haas, I’d stop by the Cheese Board for fresh baked goodies, like the sourdough cheese rolls and coffee. I remember they had an opening for the co-op. They asked for a minimum commitment of five years from any candidates.
Everyone who works at the Cheese Board is a member of the collective with equal decision making power. There is no boss, manager, or non-owner worker. Everyone makes the same hourly wage. - from the Cheese Board web site
I’m amazed by how much it has grown while at the same time maintaining the quality of the food.
On my last trip to Cheese Board, they were serving slices out of a closet-like space. Folks found al fresco dining on the median. Now, the space has expanded for indoor dining and restrooms. But I wanted the old school dining experience. So Mark jaywalked with me to a grassy table.
Unlike other pizza joints, Cheese Board offers one type of pizza. The daily specials are based on what’s seasonal and what taste good. Our dinner special was made with corn, zucchini, onion, feta, mozzarella cheese, garlic, olive oil, cilantro and lime. I liked squeezing the lime juice over me cheese, tying in nicely with the veggie flavors.
FRESNO, CALIF — I’m sipping a Tamarack Ale at the Seqoia Brewing Company in Downtown Fresno. A tasty local specialty, with woody tones and some nice hoppiness. My co-workers would think I’m starting TGIP early. (AKA Thank God It’s PayDay).
I love driving around my home state. This morning, I took Highway 99 down to Fresno. I passed signs for Yosemite, Modesto and other points beyond the highway. I passed an overturned semi trailer. I passed dozens of workers picking grapes. In fact, I passed countless acres of farmland, rich with harvest.
I’m always amazed by the diversity of the California landscape. I can drink in the beautiful cityscape of San Francisco, rising boldly from the bay waters. Then I can wander through quaint East Bay neighborhoods, like Rockridge…doing Thai food for dinner and sipping a Black and Tan with Betina and her teaching friends. This state lets me be a city girl from a small town world. Really.
Yesterday morning, I took the 680 up to Sacramento. As a I crossed over the Suisun Bay, I watched the sun rise over the water. And on the other side of the freeway, I watched the full moon rise. Beautiful. I love being home.
BERKELEY, CALIF — I made it to California. It feels amazing to be home. When I got off the plane at Oakland International, I was dazzled by the blue water out on the bay.
Mark’s still working, so I’m chilling on campus. I had a Carne Asada burrito from La Burrita. I had a picnic with the bees…on the field next to Morrison Hall. I listened to a 15 minute concert of bells at the Campanile. It felt like my college days…taking a break between classes under the beautiful blue sky…70-degrees, sunny and no worries.
Now on to visiting co-workers and my college radio station.
We had so much fun at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchison. Amazing exhibits plus I thought it was wicked cool to be up-close-and-personal with stuff that’s been in space. Mark is the Bay Area and I’m about to follow in his footsteps.
And this is me, standing next to Apollo 13. Cool! According to the museum exhibit, NASA convinced the Smithsonian to ship Apollo 13 over to Paris instead of putting it on display. Apparently the space agency was embarrassed by the whole drama. I’m quite happy the Kansas Comosphere has the chance to honor the amazing adventure of the Apollo 13 crew and the folks in Mission Control.
Right now, I’m taking-off from Kansas City International. My jet plane is pointing west, towards home. Thanks to marvels of scheduled blog publishing…you’re reading this entry around the time my plane should be taxing on the runway.
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
Last weekend, we stopped by Local Burger in Lawrence.
“We support local farmers, advocate for the humane treatment of animals and workers, recycle right in the dining room, and compost our organic waste, all while serving food that tastes good and is good for you.” - from the Local Burger web site.
According to the menu, the meat is from grass-fed elk out of the Rocky Hills Elk Ranch at Winchester, Kansas. I also adore the cleansing side of brown rice. Sometimes I mess around with garlic powder, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar…to see if I can reproduce my favorite side dish. So far, I’ve ended up with spicy rice without the melt-in-your-mouth goodness in the bowl picture above. Sigh.
There are some interesting changes underway at my alma mater. I happen like the idea of expanding the journalism program to the Middle East. The students would gain so much insight and experience in that part of the world — more so than reading about it in the Times or watching reports on CNN.
“O’Keefe confirmed that the contract has not been signed, and wrote that NU is still in discussions with the Qatar Foundation but more “definite news” might be available in October.
If a contract is signed, NU will open a school in Education City, a complex of campuses located in Doha, the capital of Qatar.” - from Daily Northwestern
I enjoyed taking advantage of our global journalism program at Medill. It was hard work but it gave me the chance to produce news and features for an international wire service in London. Mark and I are grateful for our European adventure.
Almost two years ago, I snapped a picture of a dying sunflower on I-70 in Denver. That was in the middle of our moving trip to Kansas. Ever since then, I’ve been hunting for a field of sunflowers in the Sunflower State. I also found more fields in Upstate NY.
Sure, it may be the touristy thing to do…but I felt like that was essential to my Kansas experience.
Oh sunflower! The queen of all flowers,
No other with you can compare,
The roadside and fields are made golden
Because of your bright presence there.
Above all the weeds that surround you
You raise to the sun your bright head,
Embroidering beautiful landscapes
Your absence would leave brown and dead.
…by Ed Blair
On our way to the State Fair in Hutchison, I saw one at K-State Salina, just off of I-135. Hooray! Mark took the next exit. We drove by the campus and stumbled on my first field of these namesake blossoms.
We found this field near the K-State airport hanger. When I was moving to Kansas, I imagined fields and fields of these golden flowers…as far as the eye can see.
Last weekend, we took a road trip down to Hutchison. We wanted to check out the Kansas State Fair and the Cosmosphere. We had a rockin’ good time at both venues.
We kicked off our road trip with a local favorite in T-Town: Bagel Express. They make the bagels the night before…letting them chill overnight in refrigerator. Then in the morning, the bagel are allowed to rise….and then they bake the doughy circles of goodness. I ordered the Jalapeño Bagel with vegetarian cream cheese. A nice, light way to start of my morning…and very local.
Later on, I was determined to find a healthy, local option for lunch at the State Fair. That’s when we found a trailer for Krehbiels Specialty Meat. They’re based out of McPherson and they boast of the ability to track down the origins of their meat products. I tried out the Buffalo Burger. I was pleasantly surprised by its lean and hearty flavor. It satisfied my meat cravings without weighing me down. I also added their tasty sweet and spicy BBQ sauce. Yum!
I could not resist the Fried Green Tomatoes. This summer, a few food blogs posted memories and recipes about this garden treat. This booth had quite a few people lining up for their deep-fried specialty. They served it up with a salty Ranch dressing. I’m not a fan of tomatoes, but I liked how the batter highlighted the savory tones of the tomatoes. I’m pretty sure these are local tomatoes….from somewhere in Kansas.
We had a taste of the Consumers’ Favorite at the State Fair: Simply Red. This sweet and fruity wine is from the Smoky Hills Winery in Wilson. I’m more of a dry wine gal, however, I enjoyed some of the complexities in the Simply Red. One guy who ran the wine booth said fruit, sweet wines were typical for Kansas. That’s because the climate makes it difficult to grow more temperamental grapes, like a Pinot Noir. He also said the average Kansas wine drinker wants something sweet and user-friendly.
