United States – Page 14

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Museum Cafe at OKCMOA

December 9, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: DELICIOUS LUNCH AT OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART’S CAFE

One thing I’ve learned over my years of travel is to eat at art museums whenever possible, or at least check them out. If you find a service window, a chalkboard and bare table tops, move on. However, if you see crisp white tablecloths and a printed menu, you’re in luck. The Museum Cafe at OKCMOA is one of the good ones.

We’d Seen It All

Deb and I had been sightseeing all morning. We’d had a good breakfast at the hotel, but that was several hours and many, many steps ago. As we left the OKCMOA’s gift shop I suggested the restaurant in the museum for lunch and Deb didn’t argue, but she sort of used her go-along-to-get-along voice, instead of her I-can’t-wait-to-do-that voice. We wandered toward the end of the building to look things over. It was possible this was just an add-on opportunity with bags of chips and over-priced sandwiches.

When you enter the cafe from inside the museum, a sign tells you to find the hostess at the other entrance. As we strolled through we saw upscale patrons enjoying delicious-looking platters at tables covered in white tablecloths. The more she saw the more amiable Deb was to having lunch there. We were seated at a table near a large plate-glass window, looking out over a nice patio. Then we ordered wine. It was going to be a good lunch.

Tough Decisions

Whoever put the menu together knew all about us. We could have closed our eyes and pointed indiscriminately. We would have still come out with something we loved. Instead, with eyes wide open, we opted for the soup and salad platter – a generous cup of lobster bisque with a house salad on the side.

As we waited for our food we chatted about the many beautiful things we’d seen that morning and anticipated the event we’d be attending the next day. Then the food arrived. It was as delicious as its descriptions were. We loved every bite.

The lobster bisque was hot and creamy with huge chunks of lobster floating around with the tasty puff pastry disk. And let me tell you this was no iceberg lettuce and carrots salad. Oh no, this was spring mix, apricots, blueberries, grape tomatoes, candied walnuts and boursin with creamy champagne vinaigrette. The meal was perfect.

(Hello, Dallas Museum of Art, are you out there? I miss Seventeen Seventeen! I am not enchanted with standing in line and sitting at those bare-topped tables in your less-than-comfortable metal chairs. It may all look very cool and modern, but I haven’t eaten there in years. I’m a loyal patron and partner, but your cafe is not the reason. Give me back my restaurant!)

Let’s Hit the Road Again

We’d parked just outside the museum, so when our lunch was done we were just steps away from the car. We stopped on the patio just long enough to get this great shot of Deb. I was having a bad hair day. It was my own fault and I don’t want to talk about it. Come back next week and I will talk about Wichita.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Chihuly at the OKCMOA

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CHIHULY IS ALIVE AND WELL AT THE OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART

We were in Oklahoma City to see Chihulys. You might say Deb and I are Chihuly Groupies. It doesn’t bother us to go a little out of our way to add a piece to our collection of Chihuly sightings. We know we are not alone.

My Love Affair with Chihuly

Though Chihuly was not unknown to me, I really didn’t pay that much attention to him until 1995 when one of his creations was added to the Dallas Museum of Art. All of Dallas became Chihuly crazy and we just haven’t gotten over it. That love affair was renewed when the Dallas Arboretum featured him throughout the garden in 2012. In my opinion, the garden has never looked as good. Were I one of those mega-rich people, I would have just bought the whole collection so it could stay here.

In my wanderings I’ve seen Chihulys in the Bellagio in Las Vegas and in the Casino at Atlantis in the Bahamas. He’s graced gardens from San Antonio TX to St. Louis MO. I saw him in a museum in Portland OR and in Flint MI. Once in California Bill and I were taking a little vacation in Palm Desert where he played one of their golf courses. While he signed up for his game, I stood awestruck looking at the chandelier. I asked just to be sure I wasn’t mistaken, but yes, a Chihuly graced the clubhouse.

OKCMOA’s Chihuly Collection

Bill and I made a pilgrimage to OKCMOA back in 2011-12, while the museum was celebrating the re-installation of their Chihulys. It’s one of our favorite shared memories. I’d raved so long and so hard about it that Deb was dying to go. The Trip With No Name gave us a reason to satisfy her longing.

Chihuly takes up most of the third floor of the museum. In the exhibit area, the ambient lighting has been turned way down and bright spotlights on the art makes it seem to reach out and grab you.

If you haven’t seen Chihuly in OK City, then you haven’t seen Chihuly at all – and since I’ve seen a lot of Chihulys, I know whereof I speak. At the gift shop I bought a package of cards decorated with photos of his pieces at the museum. I told myself I was getting them to share with you and then I could use them for correspondence. Well, here I am, sharing them with you, but I somehow doubt they will ever make it to the mailbox. I’m thinking they will make spectacular pages in my scrapbooks.

So enjoy these wonderful postcards and then come back next week. We’re going to have a fabulous meal at the Museum Cafe before we head off to Wichita.

ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: OKCMOA, FABERGE AND CHIHULY, WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

OK, I’ll admit a lot of things didn’t go very well as I planned this trip, but one thing went very right. I discovered a collection of Faberge artifacts were on special exhibition at the OKMOA. We would have gone to the museum anyway, because they have wonderful, marvelous Chihulys, but to also see Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs? We were in heaven. I don’t want to go all nanny-nanny-poo-poo on you, but the exhibit ended back in September.

Faberge Eggs I Have Seen and Loved

The story of the Romanffs and their Easter Eggs are not exactly a hidden gem of the art world. I can’t remember not knowing about them. However, my first opportunity to get up close and personal with them was at the Kimbell Art Museum in 1982. Sometime around that time I also saw some Faberge items in New Orleans, but back in those days I had no idea I’d be a blogger one day and I can’t find a shred of evidence to prove I was there or exactly where I found them. I’m guessing they were a few items on loan to the New Orleans Museum of Art from the famous Hodge collection which were later featured in a full blown exhibition of the collection back in 2008.

I do however cherish the book I got at the Kimbell exhibit. I have read so many books and watched so many movies about the Romanoffs that I can’t tell you what I’ve actually seen in person and what was delivered to me via various media.

The OKCMOA Exhihibition

The signature item of the OKCMOA Exhibition, featured on banners throughout the city, was a lapis lazuli egg decorated with gold filigree. I made the mistake of assuming the entire exhibition would be eggs, which was not true, but we were in no way disappointed, because the exhibit was full of spectacular, awe-inducing items collected by an avid American fan of Faberge.

The first egg displayed in the galleries was this darling piece with the pelican on top. It was a gift from Nicholas II to his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Pelicans are not exactly my favorite birds, but according to the information provided by the museum, they symbolize motherly love and care, so that makes it more charming. It was displayed as it is shown on this postcard, but a video showed how it opened up into a series of frames holding pictures of members of the royal family. Quite a remarkable feat.

Along a wall, magnificent religious icons dripping in jewels and precious metals filled a case. The lighting was low to preserve the artwork, but it also made it difficult to appreciate all the details. However, you didn’t need much light to tell you they were spectacular.

The next case had a grove of gold, tree-like arms holding miniature eggs exquisitely decorated by Faberge. The Pelican Egg, the icons and the miniature eggs filled the first room of the exhibition, but there were four other rooms full of treasures to enjoy. There was everything from furniture, to serving pieces, to animals, to lots and lots of frames, to cigarette cases, to…well pretty much whatever you can imagine. Photography was a new fad in those days, so a frame from your sovereign with a family photo was a real treat. Pre-rolled cigarettes were newly fashionable at the time too, so cigarette cases are well represented. I think the items which sparked the most interest for me were parasol handles. Fashion demanded the well-put-together woman complete her ensemble with a parasol and woe to the woman who didn’t have an assortment of parasols to chose from. Similarly, men carried canes with handles to rival the women.

The Technology

Audio tours were available on your smartphone and the museum provided earphones to cut down on the noise. The information available, some of which I have shared here, is quite interesting. However, the Kimbell has spoiled me. Their acousti-guides are a little more user-friendly, because you don’t have to go in order. You just input the number of the item you’ve happened upon and listen to what is said. You really had to follow the order of audio guide on your phone at the OKCMOA, because there was no way to select a specific item. You also used up a lot of phone juice. I had to charge up after I left.

I also felt like they were stingy with their information. There were so many wonderful items in the show and only a fraction were touched upon in the audio guide. I know they can’t tell us everything about every single item, but the guide only explained 14 of the 230 items. That’s not even a tithe of the objects.

Upstairs was a hands-on craft area for families to enjoy. Many people had designed plans for their own Faberge Eggs using colored pencils and glued on rhinestones. There was also a timeline with photos of all the Romanoff Easter Eggs. The rest of the floor held the bulk of what was being displayed from their permanent collection. We strolled through, but we were getting antsy to see the Chihuly’s

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I hope each and every one of you has a marvelous day. I hope you come back next week and check out the Chihulys.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City OK

November 18, 2015November 18, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: MYRIAD BOTANICAL GARDENS, A GLORIOUS OASIS IN DOWNTOWN OKC

Warning! Downtown OKC is under construction. Your GPS won’t like it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. It just means you need to be ready for it. We found parking close to the art museum and walked the few short blocks to Myriad Botanical Gardens.

An entire city block, being prepared for implosion.

There’s a Conversion Happening

Five or six years ago Bill and I took a few days in OKC in the days before blogging. Much of what I planned for this stopover with Deb came from my memories of the trip with Bill. I remembered OKC having a decidedly turn-of-the-century Western charm, but it was the turn from the 19th century to the 20th. OKC is moving into the 21st century whether I approve of it or not.

The two buildings above may deserve the makeover, but there were others we were sorry to see included in the “improvement”. They sported signs of architectural interest that will be lost when antiquity is replaced with skyscrapers.

The inscrpition says we are what we do. What has someone done? — The inscription says, “We are what we do.” I wondered “What has someone done?”

At least the city is trying to incorporate natural beauty in between it’s glass boxes, but Deb didn’t think much of it. This small architectural feature was carved with a platitude and accented with a large stone. In Deb’s opinion, it looked as if someone had failed to clean up after their pet dinosaur. When Bill saw this picture, he felt the same way.

The Myriad Botanical Gardens had also changed. I remembered them as having more green grass and less hardscape. Not that they haven’t created a beautiful place. It’s just not as botanical as I remembered.

The Conservatory

The gardens outside were different and I was still trying to decide how I felt about that when we arrived at the entrance to The Conservatory. The last time I’d visited there had been a festival going on and the entry area was congested with small costumed entertainers. This time everything was serene.

We made our way to the garden area and entered a wonderland. It was amazing. I won’t bother you with my ecstatic ramblings. Instead I’ll just share my pictures.

Come back next week and I’ll share another downtown treat with you. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States, WRITING

Country Inn & Suites in Oklahoma City

November 11, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

No prickly problems at the Carlson, then on to the botanical garden

TRAVEL THERE: CARLSON’S COUNTRY INN & SUITES IN OKLAHOMA CITY,OK

The primary reason we stopped in Oklahoma City was their art museum. We also wanted to visit Bricktown and the botanical gardens. All of these sites were downtown, but for a quick overnight stay I thought the downtown hotels were a little pricey. So we opted for the Country Inn & Suites on NW Expressway. Downtown was mere minutes away and the reviews sounded pretty good.

Can You Say Mustard?

Nancy the Navigator told us the Country Inn was nearby, so we started scanning the area for a sign of our hotel. There are several in the general area. To help Deb locate it I said, “It looked yellow in the picture.” Suddenly a mustard yellow tower with brown mustard trim came into sight. We’d found our accommodations. If you have an aversion to shades of mustard, stay away at all costs. You will see more variations of mustard yellow at this hotel than you ever imagined were possible.

However, if you just need a place to spend the night in OKC, then this is a great place to stay. We got the room with two queen beds for under $100 on Expedia. With the exception of the pervasive mustard yellow and some renovations, everything about the stay was fine.

Compact But Adequate

When we first arrived all we did was throw our luggage into the room and head back out to Bricktown. Registration had taken only seconds and they had plenty of luggage carts. Our room was right across from the elevator. We noticed the bathroom had been specially equipped for handicap access, which meant a roll-in shower with no bathtub. I can’t tell you whether it’s that way in all rooms or just the bargain room we got, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. It meant I wouldn’t be having my usual bubble bath, but I’m a big girl, so I could live without it.

The other thing we noticed was that the room was tight. The sitting area is completely separate from the sleeping area, which was nice, but there’s not much space. Not a problem for overnight, but I’d want more space if I were going to be there for several days with a companion.

When we got back from Bricktown we were exhausted and hit the sack pretty quickly. I woke up about five and decided to go ahead and write the article that had given me such a fit before we left. I dreaded fighting the log-in on the hotel’s wi-fi, which is usually a hassle, but I wanted to unburden myself from my perceived obligation. If you want to read about the exhibition I previewed, you can do that here. Being able to close the door and leave Deb sleeping peacefully while I puttered around made things easier and that wi-fi log-in? Piece of cake.

About the time I finished my article, Deb was up and about. We got ready and headed down for breakfast. Breakfast was great. The area set aside for the breakfast bar was actually quite nice. The buffet offered everything from make-it-yourself waffles to bacon and eggs to fruit and yogurt. I confess, I had the waffles. Deb opted for the protein. There was a baby who was making a lot of noise, but he was absolutely darling and it was happy noises, so we actually enjoyed him.

By nine we’d loaded up the car and headed downtown. Let the fun begin.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Mantel Wine Bar & Bistro – Oklahoma City, OK

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: BULLS-EYE ON BRICKTOWN – LOOKING FOR FUN IN OK CITY

It’s about three hours to Oklahoma City from Dallas and we needed every minute of that to shake off all the frustrations which tried to keep us from leaving town. Deb and I both needed this trip. We were seriously devoted to radical attitude adjustment. That’s why we put the pedal to the medal so we could start our adventure in Bricktown.

Bricktown

Though we were on our way to Wichita KS for a Women’s Ministry Event we were determined to have some fun along the way. Bricktown was a great place to start.

Oklahoma City is a conglomeration of several interesting neighborhoods and I thoroughly recommend giving yourself several days to visit the city so you can enjoy them. Bricktown isn’t a neighborhood though. It’s an entertainment area. There’s a baseball stadium, tons of restaurants and even a Riverwalk. It’s not exactly San Antonio, but it’s well worth your time.

Deb and I blasted into town, threw our stuff into our hotel room and headed to Bricktown. Along the way, Deb read through some of the brochures I had on the area and decided The Mantel Wine Bar & Bistro sounded like our kind of place. Boy was she ever right.

Dark and Cozy

There was still daylight left when we got to Oklahoma City. The GPS took us close to our destination but construction thwarted Nancy the Navigator’s efforts to get us to the restaurant. After a little wandering around, Nancy decided she knew where she was again and she delivered us to the front door. The exterior of the building is nothing to write home about, but there was a parking space right out front so we felt like we’d come to the right place.

The moment we stepped inside all hints of sunshine disappeared. The place has a clubby, steakhouse vibe. We were seated at a banquette. I can imagine that being romantic for a couple, but Deb sat on the upholstered seat and I opted for a chair across from her.

The waiter promptly arrived and offered drinks, but we hadn’t figure out our game plan yet, so he left us to peruse the menu and wine list. We decided to share an appetizer and an entree. The entree was fish, so we chose a nice bottle of white to go along.

Seriously Delicious

I obviously left my bad luck in Dallas. The wine selection was crisp and refreshing. The appetizer was to die for. Baked Brie is one of our favorite things in the world and when Mantel’s version of it was put down in front of us we wondered why we didn’t order two. It looked perfect and tasted even better.

The entree was every bit as good. The grilled mahi mahi was cooked to perfection and rested atop a scrumptious risotto banked by stalks of grilled asparagus. The more we ate, the more we wanted, so we allowed the waiter to show us the dessert menu. Everything sounded amazing so we asked for help. Before we could finish the question he took the dessert menus out of our hands and told us we wanted the Lava Cake.

I’m sorry to report that I failed to get a picture of the dessert. Two balls of ice cream were served next to a large ramekin of chocolate stuff. He told us it was hot, but we just had to dump it out on the plate to mix with the ice cream. The poor waiter nearly fainted when he came back to find us trying to handle the ramekin with our napkins.

Waiter Love

The waiter whipped up our plate and disappeared. He returned moments later with our freshly dumped lava cake rolling around among the ice cream balls and he was obviously amused. He told us we were the first patrons he’d ever seen try to attempt the feat. We reminded him we’d warned him about ourselves. He laughed and confessed he’d been very wrong about us. He’d pegged us as salad-with-a-glass-of-wine types. Then we’d ordered a bottle of wine, an appetizer, and an entree. He hadn’t been surprised we also wanted dessert, but us playing hot potato with the lava cake had made his evening.

A Stroll Through Bricktown

Oklahoma City is not exactly the Big Apple and Bricktown on a Thursday night with no baseball game is a ghost town. Still we decided to wander down to the Riverwalk and take a stroll. I imagine that it can be a pretty exciting place to hang out, but it was eerie to be the only ones down there.

With nothing to distract us we went back to the car and returned to the hotel. We had a fun day ahead.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States, WRITING

Continuing on the Wrong Foot

November 4, 2015October 30, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: THE TRIP WITH NO NAME GETS BOGGED DOWN IN BIG D

So, I’m suffering from a case of the blues, I’ve had a crazy week, my computer is all screwed up, there’s a certified letter at the post office and I need to attend a media event so I can write an article before I head out of town. Easy peasy, right?

On the Way Downtown

At least Bill was up and he was working on my computer. I coached him along by running in between the master bath and my office while I got ready. Of course, the office and the master bath are on separate floors at opposite end of the house. I was a little bit late, but I had to go to the post office first, because Bill wanted to know the story behind the certified letter and he was working on my computer after all. So, I make a mad dash to the the post office in Rockwall, called Bill with the bad news the letter reported (certified letters always have bad news) and pointed my car down I-30.

I had smooth sailing all the way to Fair Park which lulled me into thinking that I might actually make it on time. Suddenly, the road ahead was filled with red brake lights. Almost simultaneously my bladder informed me that I needed to make a trip to the restroom and I needed to go as soon as I could.

Oh, and did I mention that I’d gotten a new GPS for the trip, because a map update for my old one was going to cost almost as much as a new one. I knew how to get from my house to the Arts District, but I wanted to get familiar with the new instrument’s idiosyncrasies. The GPS, which I named Nancy the Navigator, dumped me in the middle of downtown and then got mad when barricades wouldn’t let me follow her instructions. I picked my way through the construction alone and made it to the museum. My watch said I’d only be a minute or two late. I just hoped they’d have a slow start so I could visit the facilities.

Let’s Park

I pulled into the appropriate parking lot, but chose the wrong lane. Seconds ticked by as I held a frustrating conversation with the woman in the attendant’s booth. Mechanical noises flooded out of the underground lot and the woman’s speech sounded like I would if I had my mouth full of pebbles. She finally left her booth, walked over to the lane I should have entered, pulled a ticket for me and handed it to me. Then she said the only thing I had understood in the whole exchange, “Park down on level six.”

The voyage to level six was excruciating. I still needed to use the restroom in the worst way and the ramps were so steep and tight that if I’d gone any slower I would have been going in reverse. I parked the car on six, hoped I didn’t look as manic as I felt and started searching for the elevators. If they had any signs pointing to them, I didn’t see them, but then I hadn’t seen that I was entering the garage in an exit lane either, so who am I to complain.

On to the Museum

I rode up on the elevator, crossed the lobby to the mezzanine outside and then hurried down a set of stairs to the museum. They’d move the door on me since I’d visited the museum last, but I finally made my way in. I was less than ten minutes late, but the event was in full swing. The artist and a curator were in the exhibit introducing it to the assembled members of the press. I had hoped to fit right in with my peers, but I’m sure my hair was flying in all directions and I looked like a deer staring into headlights. And I was dying to go to the restroom.

I bravely attempted to ignore my personal needs and pay attention to what the artist was saying, but my bladder was having none of that. If coming in late wasn’t embarrassing enough, I had to wander away from the group and find a restroom. While taking care of the necessities I practiced deep breathing exercises and then patted my hair into place. I kept telling myself all of this frustration was not the end of the world, but right then it felt like it was.

The Day Continues

Though I felt as if I’d been wandering around down a rabbit hole, only a few moments had passed and the artist was still in the same corner he had been when I left the group. I started taking notes and making pictures like a pro. In spite of it all I had enough to write a good article – if I had a computer to write it on when I returned home.

No such luck. I had a text from my bestie letting me know she could leave work early and the day had not exactly gone as planned, so I still had things I needed to do. I resolved to focus on the trip and if the article was posted on Monday instead of Friday, then who but me was going to care. It’s not like anyone was paying me for writing about the exhibition opening. This blog is a labor of love.

I changed out of my member-of-the-press outfit and put on my traveling clothes. I loaded up the car and had some lunch. I fritzed around with my computer some more, hoping beyond hope that it would just miraculously fix itself, but in the end it didn’t and I had to start Norton again. I gave it up and left the house.

Is it any surprise that when I got to the 7-11 to fill up my car the 7Rewards app wouldn’t open up, so I had to pay for what should have been my free soda? Are you at all surprised that traffic was awful and even though I’d left with time to spare I barely got to my friend’s office at the appointed time? Or that I turned on the wrong street even though I actually knew where to go? Or that my friend had fallen the night before while packing and was barely ambulating?

The Trip With No Name hadn’t even begun and I already had a few choice appellations for it! Come by on Wednesday and we’ll head off towards Oklahoma City.

ART, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States, WRITING

Starting Off on the Wrong Foot

November 3, 2015October 30, 2015 Jane Sadek

AT HOME IN HEATH: THE TRIP WITH NO NAME STARTED OUT ON THE WRONG FOOT

It’s not unusual for someone to go on a long weekend to brighten their outlook on life, but along with failing to inspire me to come up with a better name than The Trip With No Name, things seemed destined to get more frustrating for this recent road trip.

Booking a Room

After I ordered tickets for Living Proof in Wichita, KS, I sort of ignored the hotel information in my confirmation packet. I’m such a huge fan of Expedia and Trip Advisor that I assumed I’d be able to get a great room at a bargain price which would blow away the conference’s negotiated deals. I was wrong.

What’s worse is that my assumption led me to put off making my reservations. I mean really, who was going to go all the way to Wichita for a Bible Study? Well, it turns out thousands and thousands of ladies from all 50 States were going to make their way to the city and thousands more were going to watch on simulcast.

But I didn’t know that, so I waited until about a month before the conference before I finally sat down and researched rooms in Wichita. I quickly found out that the conference had negotiated some pretty amazing deals, but I also found out most of them were already booked. My first inclination was to find a room within walking distance of the arena. Total fail. Then I cast my net further. I ended up getting the conference rates, but they were at a DoubleTree at the airport. Not the end of the world, but not exactly my vision for the weekend either.

An Exciting Invitation

As I continued my planning for Wichita, I received an invitation to a media event from one of the local museums. I’ve been blogging about local attractions for quite awhile now, but until recently I hadn’t made it to their media list. I have a few publicist in New York and Chicago who send me invitations from time to time, but my budget doesn’t exactly cover flights to the Big Apple or the Windy City. Gas to the Dallas Arts District is much more affordable. Since Deb and I weren’t leaving until after she got off from work, I’d have plenty of time to pop by the museum and write the article, right? Well, not exactly.

A Mixed Up Week

I don’t exactly live in a rut, but I do seem to get along better when things happen according to routine. The week of the trip had nothing routine about it. Monday was a holiday and my videographer client was having a picnic for all of us who work for him. It was just the beginning of a strange week. Tuesdays are the day I usually go into the videographer’s office, but Bill was having dental surgery, so I went in on Wednesday instead. As I pulled into the garage Wednesday afternoon I had the realization that in a mere 24 hours I’d be picking up my bestie and we’d be heading north. I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to wear and I hadn’t done the laundry either. It was going to be a long evening. At least I’d picked up sushi on the way home, so I didn’t have to fix dinner.

Dinner was easy, but other things challenged me. Things like my dog, who chose that particular day to have gooped up eyes. And things like the certified letter notification that had been in the mail. Those never have good news, so I promised Bill I would go by the post office on the way to the museum. It should have been easy. The media event didn’t start until ten. It would be a cakewalk – right?

Good Morning Meltdown

I’m an early riser. On the morning of the trip I was in my office about 5:30, even though I’d been up late getting ready to leave. The first thing I did was open up my email. As I perused the inbox, it seemed as if an email from my husband was the most important item, so I clicked on it. Suddenly, a weird article about some celebrity opened up. At first, I assumed I had just clicked the wrong thing, but it was quickly apparent that something was seriously wrong.

My husband is not an early riser. At 5:45 he would not have welcomed a hysterical bedside visit, so I ran Norton while I tried to work around the fact that I had no computer. I did have the laptop from work, but it’s not optimized for all of my sites and passwords, nor is it synched to my printer. So I limped along hoping everything would be alright.

Norton got through at just about the same time my husband woke up, but I had a sneaky suspicion Norton had not killed the beast on my drive. A few clicks confirmed my fears. Then, I broke one of the sacred laws of our house. I told Bill about my problem before he had his coffee. Then I spent the next hour or so trying to get ready to leave while I coached Bill through saving my computer.

Things only got more interesting, but I’ll tell you more about it next week.

DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

The Trip with No Name

October 28, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

Hibiscus, Myriad Botanical Garden & Conservatory, Oklahoma City OK — And where did we find this in Oklahoma City?

TRAVEL THERE: THE TRIP WITH NO NAME, OKLAHOMA CITY AND WICHITA

It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I was in a funk. The funk had been building for a long time and wouldn’t seem to go away. I kept trying to think up things that would make it disappear, with little success. My usual chipper mood would bob to the surface from time to time, but I couldn’t shake off the funk. I even thought about going to Mastermind, a motivational event I used to attend back in my real estate days. If anything from my real estate days seems desirable, that means I am in bad shape. That’s when I got the email from Lifeway. Beth Moore was having an event in Wichita, Kansas. Certainly that would beat a real estate seminar!

I Love Beth Moore

If you are a real estate agent I thoroughly recommend Brian Buffini’s coaching system to you and Mastermind is a wonderful event. But I hated real estate, in spite of the fact that I was making more money than I’d ever made in my life. So wanting to go to Mastermind was a weird thing.

On the other hand, I love Beth Moore. She’s a Bible teacher from down Houston way and she gets me. I can’t think of any other way to put it. She’s real, she’s honest and she’s transparent. Her Bible teaching is well researched and well prayed-over. Her teaching gets inside me and squishes around on my private places. Then she makes me do something about all those things I was trying to ignore in the first place. After all that uncomfortable stuff I feel much better. What I love most about her is that she keeps me laughing all the time she’s squishing around in my hidden sins.

I Love My Husband

Bless his heart, he was completely over my funk. He’d sent me off to San Antonio not so long ago and I came back worse than I’d been. He knew I needed something, and he didn’t think it was Mastermind, but he was willing to send me. When I found out about the Beth Moore Event he was like, “Go! Please go. Do something anything to help me get my wife back.” Oh and he wanted me to take my bestie with me.

I Love My Bestie

“Hey, Bestie! How would you like to drive six hours to Wichita, Kansas, spend all day closed up in an arena and then drive six hours back home?” How could anyone resist an invitation like that?

And here’s why I love my bestie. The answer was yes and she wanted to stop in Oklahoma City to visit the Chihulys at the art museum there. I’d told her about them years ago, before I even started blogging, and she’d been looking for an opportunity ever since.

The Trip with No Name was launched. We left on a Thursday after work, spent the night in Oklahoma City and then drove on to Wichita. We stuffed all the fun we could have into those three days and when it’s Deb and me, we can do a lot of stuffing. Come along over the next few weeks and I’ll share the good times with you.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Strolling Away from San Antonio

October 21, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

Gristmill Restaurant, Gruene, TX — Lunchtime in Gruene, TX

TRAVEL THERE: FROM SAN ANTONIO TO DALLAS VIA GRUENE

All good things do eventually come to an end, one way or the other – even a girl’s trip to San Antonio – but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun on the way home!

Though everything had not gone exactly as planned, Deb and I had a pretty amazing time in San Antonio. Now it was time to go home. We left San Jose Mission after the Mariachi Mass and headed north on I-35.

What’s for Lunch

I’d suggested a few lunchtime possibilities which would be within striking distance of our ride home. Deb agreed they sounded interesting and we decided on the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar in Gruene.

Back in 2013, on my South Texas Ramble, Bill and I stopped by Gruene – a place I’d heard of but never visited. We enjoyed the town for several hours, but we’d just had a late breakfast in Austin and weren’t interested in a meal. We did meander through the Gristmill and I made a mental bookmark, because it looked like my kind of place.

Small Town Traffic Jam

When Deb and I pulled into Gruene on the beautiful Sunday afternoon in June, we realized just about everybody else in Central Texas must have also decided it was a good day to visit. We inched along at a snail’s pace until reaching the public parking lot, found a spot and headed toward the restaurant.

Watch the Board

The Gristmill has no pagers, they don’t call your name over a PA system and you don’t have to wait in line. You head over to the outdoor stage to enjoy a little music and keep an eye on the board. This was by far the most unique, most elaborate and most entertaining seating method I have ever seen or heard of.

Cute young things in cut-off shorts work themselves to death in this particular arrangement, but it’s a lot of fun. One group of girls stay busy writing names up on this board of folks whose tables are ready and erasing names of seated parties. Another group of cute girls play messenger between the hostess stand and the board monitors. I was just beginning to get the rhythm of the set up when they added my name to the list of parties being seated. Since I was hungry, I was glad to see it, but I confess I’d hoped to watch the activity just a little bit longer. I’d been so engrossed I hadn’t even paid any attention to the musician who was supposed to be entertaining us.

Onion Rings, Gristmill Restaurant, Gruene TX — Be Sure to Order the Onion Rings

The Gristmill really is an old mill, but it was a cotton-gin, not a place to grind meal. I’m still wondering why they didn’t call it The Cotton-Gin or just The Gin, but who can argue with success – and are they ever successful. The riverside venue was just made for throwing back a few cold ones while you nibble away at tasty vittles. Folks of all ages are gathered around the tables, but it did appear the lion’s share were college-aged or recently-college-aged. I’m not sure how they managed to get an occupancy permit, because the place looks like it might fall down during the next rainfall, but so far it hasn’t.

I had the Chicken Salad Sandwich. I think Deb had something with lettuce and chicken too, but in another configuration – though it might have been a burger. Before the main course, we did indulge in the house specialty – fried onion rings. It’s a good thing we declared the weekend a “no-calorie zone”. Even with all the walking we did, I’m sure there was the potential for more calories than our steps would have walked off.

Ready for the Last Leg

After our pleasant respite on the patio with great food and warm sunshine, it was time to do get back to the Metroplex. We did stop at the Buc-ee’s in Temple, but soon afterwards we were home. There’s no place like home, but there’s also no place like a road trip with your best friend.

Come back by next week and see what other kind of trouble I have managed to get into.

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