2014 ROAD TRIP SUMMARY

My name is Maggie and I’m 68. My husband’s name is Bill and he’s 70. And we spent most of 2014 on a road trip using airbnb lodgings.

The idea got started after saying goodbye to  our daughter, Alicia, at the airport several years ago  as she flew back to Charlotte. All our visits with her since she moved from home  were fantastic but for some reason this particular visit, was super great and our hearts ached way longer than they usually did and we kept talking about never having enough time with her. But neither of us wanted to move to the East and neither of us wanted to spend weeks in a sterile motel room and Alicia lived in a one bedroom small apartment.

So  I think it was Bill who read about airbnb and he immediately liked the idea of staying in a condo or house but having a middle man regarding deposits and reservations and damage deposits.  Bill tends to be a bit conspiracy minded and paranoid so never felt comfortable about a disembodied voice on the phone or words in an email talking about the great house they owned (was there REALLY a house or just a field?) and wanting us to send money. and with airbnb, there was protection since they held the money in sort of an escrow account until we saw the place and it matched the owner’s description of it.

Our initial forays were 2 in number for a week each to facilitate hiking in the area. We were really surprisingly pleased at how pleasant it was  to start our day from an actual bed in a real bedroom and to make breakfast in a kitchen while surrounded by walls filled with beautiful art work (not those dime-a-dozen pastel abstract smears of paint found in motels) with fluffy towels in the bathroom and an actual color on the walls (instead of utilitarian off-white) and lovely dishware and unique lamps; staying in a REAL house with character and  lots of space.

So the decision was made; and then started the planning.
We turned in our notice to vacate our rental house and started packing. Always big discussions about what we were going to bring with us versus what we would put in storage. I wanted the security of all my stationary things (i have a 12 step worthy addiction to paper, pens, note paper, stickers, stationary, cards, etc. etc.) so i insisted on a big big plastic bin and everything accompanied me.

We sold our vw. and had our Toto checked out for road worthiness by our trusted mechanic. Toto is a 2006 Toyota Tacoma with a custom canopy which has a sloped and raised roof so we can sit upright on our porta-potty, an essential on this trip. Though to tell the truth we’ve had it for years; comes in handy when driving on state highways or when the Walmart bathroom toilets are broken. We rented a 10 X 10 storage unit and it is packed to the rafters with clothes, all our furniture and tv and cooking stuff and beds and STUFF. how did we accumulate all this stuff? and WHY? what’s sort of funny is that except for a very few things (more about that later) we have missed nothing.

We then had to decide where we wanted to go and what was available on the airbnb site. The main goal was to spend quality time and a long amount of time in Charlotte, NC to see Alicia. but we also wanted to include Bill’s relatives and his dad (Wisconsin, several places in Michigan, Arkansas, Chicago area,), my sister in New Mexico, friends in Portland, Oregon but also ‘free’ time for us; hiking in areas we have always wanted to go to like Big Bend, Texas and necessary no-drive or small hours of driving days. Neither of us like to spend over about 6 hours in the truck and this 6 hours has to include rest stops to stretch our legs and lunch and a stop to pick up some Cheetos which is our travel treat. (we have since expanded it to Fritos also)

Bill used the location map on the airbnb site to find specific areas where we wanted to stay. then he used Google maps to help pinpoint the house or condo. and this is because we wanted to be close to what we like to do: book stores, coffee houses, parks, hiking trails, movie theaters.

Bill also uses the same tool to keep track of our money. As soon as we make a reservation the money for the time reserved (or the first month of a multiple month stay) is taken out of our account and ‘held’ by airbnb. So Bill kept track of that on the google spreadsheets. We have a credit card that didn’t have any interest for the first 18 months which made making reservations way in advance possible.

Also using that same internet tool, he kept track of exactly where and when we were checking into and out of places on a colored calendar. even though airbnb gives a lot of reminders about upcoming reservations, our own calendar/reminder system helped a lot.

so in early February we were off! We stayed at apartments, condo’s or homes (except for the motel stays during the travel days and during the month of July when we did a lot of relative hopping). Since we were carrying our ‘entire home’ in the back of our truck, we tried to stay in places with 2 bedrooms; one bedroom being for our suitcases, computer stuff, my books, extra kitchen tools and spices and the ubiquitous and increasingly burdensome STATIONARY BIN.

Before we left Tucson in February we had made reservations at airbnb places through May. It was and is a balancing act between deciding months and months in advance where we want to be and for how long and making it set it stone by a reservation (for rentals of a month or more, the cancellation policy is always strict which means unless there is death or dismemberment or maybe a major mauling, there is no refund) or waiting  till closer to our arrival time but then having just the perfect place at a good price with excellent reviews disappear and be taken by someone else.

For the reservation in Charlotte, NC it was really essential that the place had 2 bedrooms at least because we wanted alicia to be able to sleep over when her boyfriend keith was driving (he is a long haul flat bed driver). so when we saw the ideal  one located  with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, we grabbed it. Plus it was in a great neighborhood and very close to Alicia’s apartment and it was also conveniently located on her way to work.

The trip was absolutely wonderful; better and more fun and enjoyable than I  had imagined and hoped it would be. The weather was perfect  every place we went; it was like being in endless summer. We hiked many new trails. I met a lot of Bill’s relatives that I had never seen. We ate at great restaurants and saw new cities and met a lot of nice friendly people.

i fell in love with Southern drawls and story telling and helpfulness from strangers. The only 2 situations that happened that were not planned for or especially enjoyable (but, hey, this was life; not a road trip novel made into a movie) was my  fall on a trail outside of Atlanta, Georgia resulting in a few fractures (elbow, ribs). I was totally mesmerized by flowers along the trail and dogwood trees in the woods and was oblivious to obstacles like stones on the path.  Being from the desert, there are mainly shades of brown. and  the other unexpected event was that Bill backed into a car - again outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Smyrna to be exact - while we were discussing money.

the main reason for the trip was the crowning glorious days spent with our daughter, Alicia, and her boyfriend, Keith. Besides seeing each other daily when we were in Charlotte, Alicia and sometimes Keith drove to Asheville, NC each weekend to stay with us and we went on a week’s vacation together to Pawley’s Island, SC and Kill Devil Hills in NC.

All the places we rented were exactly as described. There were no surprises or shocks necessitating the mediating arm of airbnb. Communication both before and during our stays was very good with all our hosts . All my questions or concerns were answered promptly with great good humor.

Checking into a house is always interesting and sometimes challenging.  and its way more physical work than we thought. so much so that, now,  staying a month at one place doesn’t seem long enough; at least 2 months would make the effort of hauling and unpacking and lifting worth it. and maybe it takes as long as it does (i clocked checking into and getting organized into a condo we had stayed in before; it took me 4 hours of pretty steady work.) because we are carrying too much stuff.

However, to buy, for instance, aluminum foil, cleaning products, toilet paper, vegetable oil, spices, honey, balsamic vinegar, etc. etc. everytime we move to a new place doesn’t make economic sense. so we needed to carry some basics with us. (as an aside, all the houses have had the ‘necessities’; toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, but the amount has differed and staying at least a month certainly meant we needed to replenish those supplies and to buy more.)  By the end of the trip,  I had gotten pretty skillful at judging the amount of kitchen food needed so perishables wouldn’t be wasted when we moved on. I noticed that each house, though, (amount varied) had leftover food in the refrigerator or pantry; half packages of noodles, opened jar of jelly, a jar of pickles.

 I also became adept at  planning our meal menu depending on how many new ingredients or staples i needed  to buy and balancing that with  how much longer we were staying at the current residence.

Another thing that affects our meals is what the host has for cooking equipment because again, we don’t want to be outfitting a kitchen every time we move. Though we have purchased a crockpot (this makes up for a lot of “missing” pots and pans and bowls), and a large frying pan and a saucepan with a lid; oh and a grater also.

There is never (almost) any baking supplies so we have been carrying around two  cookie sheets since we bake our own cookies for hike breaks. and the Dollar Tree carries disposable cake pans, sometimes muffin tins and pie plates. The only house we stayed at with baking equipment was in Tucson and there was a beater, a spatula, lots of mixing bowls and even a loaf pan; oh i was in culinary brownie and truffle cake heaven.

Sticking with the kitchen and food for a bit, it takes a while to make room for our own groceries and staples. Most lodgings don’t leave much or any empty shelf space. This happens in the bathroom area too but sometimes that’s because the host has kindly set out a basket or other container filled with small scented soaps and hand lotions and shampoo. I love those little treats.  Some hosts have basic breakfast food in the kitchen like bagels and cream cheese and orange juice or a bottle of wine or a bowl of fruit.

I absolutely love seeing how the hosts have decorated their house; what pictures, posters, artwork is hanging; are there unusual lamp shades?; colored towels or sheets; an eclectically decorated table; pottery; the selection of coffee cups and the pattern on dishes. Its just fun to see how other people outfit their house. and of course, its really nice to be able to visit all these new places.

I fell in love with North Carolina and was really impressed with Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was also fun to finally see Mackinac Island in Michigan and the Outer Banks.

For Bill, it always stretched his computer skill and knowledge regarding the various hook-ups in each house and in interpreting passwords. “is that a zero or an O? small letters or capitals?” Most people had phone line wifi access and the speeds varied from 1 mbs/sec to 35.

we realized at the end of the trip that we had packed too many clothes and I did NOT need the “security” of my bulky and large plastic bin of stationary. But we also became aware of just how much our homecooked meals involve either bbq-ing or a crockpot. Most places didn’t have a bbq grill and no one had a crockpot.

 we have decided that yes, resoundingly yes, we are hittin’ the road again in 2015 using airbnb. Right now we are in Tucson staying at rentals and then in early March start Toto heading Southeast because once again we are spending a nice loving amount of time in Charlotte with Alicia and Keith. This time we’ll take a different route and we won’t be visiting the Aspell clan. We’ve been talking of looking at airbnb’s in Vancouver, B.C.

We may as well keep this traveling going while we can still walk and drive and see and hear and taste all the wonderful food at restaurants across the country.

Alicia; here come the parents!

POTBELLY SANDWICH SHOP - TUCSON, AZ

This is a new soup and salad and sandwich shop near the corner of Broadway and Craycroft. Its pretty good and really cheap.

Most of their sandwiches are between $4 and $6 and the salads are about
$7. We split a chicken salad sandwich and a veggie salad. Bill had ranch dressing and i tried the house dressing which was a champagne vinaigrette.

Now the sandwiches were not huge; not like Jerzy Mike's or even Subway but the bread was really fresh and the taste was wonderful. and the salad was very big and it had lots of chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, feta cheese and spring mix. I loved the house dressing too; had a real sweet/sharp flavor.

Oh and Bill had a chocolate milkshake (he graciously shared it with me to the tune of ONE sip!) and that was less than $3.

So this place is now on my list of salad and sandwich places. and they are open till 10 pm too which is nice since my other favorites like Fresh Greens and Beyond Bread close at 8pm.

THE IMITATION GAME

This is a movie about Alan Turing who built the first computer during WWII which enabled the Allies to decrypt Nazi codes used for communication and battle plans. He is played brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch who portrays Turing as the reclusive, socially awkward homosexual who was also arrogant and not very easy to like.

There are flashbacks in the movie which show Turing as a school boy first discovering his fascination with codes and ciphers and math and also experiencing his first crush.

After the successful creation of "Christopher" (Turing named the machine), the team realized that they could not immediately interfere with attack plans from the Germans because they would then know their code was broken. So for the duration of the war, they used mathematical analyses to determine which  Nazi battle plans would be thwarted.

This was kept secret during the war from the military and instead a sham intelligence unit was set up and occasional and sporadic "real" Nazi plans were fed into this unit. After the war the team broke up and under orders had to destroy everything and not speak of what they had done.

turing was eventually arrested for indecency (homosexuality was illegal in England) and he chose to be chemically castrated instead of going to jail. One year later he committed suicide at the age of 41.

This movie was a solid 10!

BROTHER'S NOODLES - TUCSON, AZ

Except there were hardly any noodles on the menu! Just a few fried noodle dishes and noodles in the soup selections.

Its located on Speedway in the strip mall near Craycroft that also has Big Five. Every other restaurant in that location has failed and i expect the same for this one. The atmosphere is warehouse utilitarian  blinding light sparse.



We were very disappointed in every dish we ordered (though I have to say  that Jean and Tim both enjoyed their dishes; a noodle soup and curry chicken.)

The egg rolls were Great Value Walmart brand frozen tasting. The steamed dumplings were horrid gelatinous pale white balls of funny tasting leeks. (again, Jean and Tim's dumplings - the cabbage and pork- tasted better but you still had to get through the old thick jelly like dumpling cover to get to the filling)

and then we shared a pork and potato rice plate. Lots of rice; no vegetables and not much sauce. The taste was not very appealing and you had to search for the edible pieces of pork.

Very unsatisfactory dinner experience. 

TOP FIVE

Another Chris Rock movie that fails to produce consistent laughs or have an interesting plot. We both rated it a 4.

The story line is semi-autobiographical.  Rock is a popular actor-comedian who has starred in a series of movies in which he is a big talking bear; Hammy. He wants to branch out and get away from comedy so he produces and stars in a movie about a slave rebellion in Haiti.

Naturally it bombs and the media ignores it and instead focuses on his upcoming public relations wedding. There is a negligible and 'almost annoying and cloying but not quite' subplot involving a relationship he has with a journalist played by Rosario Dawson who for some reason has half her head shaved ala Hunger Games.

The movie's humor spots were mainly when Rock and his homies adlibbed and teased each other and rapped before his bachelor party and in the club where the bachelor party was held. There was some great rapid fire repartee from Tracey Morgan and Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler and several SNL cast members.

Other than these 2 short interludes, the film was ploddingly and minimally entertaining. Plus as much as i love Chris Rock's wit, he is NOT an actor in any  sense of the word.

BAI THONG - TUCSON, AZ

We used to go to this Thai restaurant all the time but the food started losing some quality. The chicken wasn't all white meat and it wasn't tender and there was a lot of gristle in pieces. Plus the general flavor of the food just didn't have the zip.

So we boycotted it for more than a year; went back and the same assessment. So then we avoided it for about 3 years. Last night we decided to try again and oh are we glad!

We shared a Mussaman curry with chicken and Pad Woon Sen with chicken. Both dishes were outstanding. The chicken  was plentiful and tender and there were lots of veggies in the noodle dish which had the very thin glass almost translucent noodles. We ordered the curry dish medium and it was just on the edge of my heat tolerability.

The service has always been good even when the food was not and this continued on our recent visit. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with lots of temple posters and landscapes of Thailand and beads and red and gold hangings and tinsel.

We are so glad we took the risk and gave this place "one more try". Its located on Speedway close to Swan right next door to the 99c store and the New Life Health Center.

ST. VINCENT

Bill Murray is Vincent an elderly crabby drunk who lives alone with his cat. Melissa McCarthy is Maggie, a single mom, who is Vincent's new next door neighbor. and Naomi Watts is a prostitute and pole dancer who is pregnant and who services Vincent weekly. oh, and Terrence Howard is Vincent's bookie (cuz of course Vincent also gambles) who is owed money.

All the acting is good. Murray has the foul mouthed fast witty rejoinder sarcastic role down pat. McCarthy plays her role 'straight' and is very good though her humorous way of expressing thoughts is still, fortunately, present. Her 8 or 9 year old son, Oliver, was perfectly cast; not too cute or too wise. Watts was in a role that was only there for filler plus to add some pathos to the already over-mushy ending.

Its basically a tale of how all the characters affect and change each other. The first half is hilarious and there was a lot of out loud spontaneous belly guffaws from me and Bill and the rest of the small audience. The humor was very good and the dialogue fast and the 3 stooges bits (there were a couple of scenes; one involved Maggie's movers and the other was vincent over the top inebriated;) were very funny.

However, after a medical event happened, it got pretty unbelievable and way too obvious in its pulling out all the kleenix stops. and i kept wondering how everything could have ended so well and where the hell did the money come from? (Vincent had no money in the bank and owed a lot from lost horse bets.)

Though i have to confess I cried just where the director wanted me to. Because the acting was so good and the fact that in spite of the Pollyanna ending, i was entertained, we both gave this film a 6.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 1

We both gave this movie a well-executed and entertaining 7. We were expecting a 3 or 4 so we were really pleased at the level of enjoyment and the movie's pace and plot.

We loved the first Hunger Games but was sorely disappointed and bored by #2 so didn't think we'd see this latest sequel. However, I was under the impression that The Imitation Game (story about Alan Turing) would be released right after Thanksgiving and that would be our movie of the week but it didn't come out in the theaters here in Tucson. So this was the substitute movie.

I had read a few reviews that said there was not enough action and too much talking in this film but i don't agree. The plot was simple; the have-not's who are all living underground in Districts and whose 'supervisor' is Julianne Moore with her assistant Philip Seymour Hoffman (may he RIP) are rebelling against the have's who live in resplendent wealth and privilege in the Capitol and who are led by a wonderfully cruel and cold Donald Sutherland.

Really the story of the one-percenter's and the almost poor.

The acting was good and the action was exciting and moved along at a tense fast pace.  Pleasant Surprise!

CODY'S BEEF AND BEANS - TUCSON, AZ

yep, this ain't a vegan gluten-free calorie conscious restaurant. but oh, it is GOOD. its located on Fort Lowell between Country Club and Tucson.

We've been eating here since Tucson #1 and the food is always of great quality, the service is exemplary, the prices are reasonable and the atmosphere (dated cowboy) is soothing and never noisy.

Bill had baby back ribs and french fries and coleslaw and a salad. All the portions are big and this cost $14. I had my usual; a codyburger (the meat comes from Dickman's Butcher shop. We used to get all our beef needs met at Dickman's when we lived on the NW side but now it's too far away.) which is absolutely delicious; moist and flavorful inspite of my "real well done" request.

And they have the best Thousand Island dressing; even better than Beyond Bread. I always order a side salad because of the awesome dressing but there is a choice of beans or soup or coleslaw or fries or - i forget what else. And this meal is only $8.

SCORE.

PIONIC PIZZA & PIZZA - TUCSON, AZ

a great addition to the Campbell avenue restaurant row.

You go up to the counter and order your pizza or pasta or salad and you can pick any ingredients you want including the type of sauce on your pizza. this is like the subway of pizza.  This also includes fresh basil options and different cheeses and the type of thin crust; traditional or whole wheat. All the pizzas are 13 inches which is a great size for 2 people to share. The choices of salad dressing is limited to balsamic viniagrette, ranch or poppyseed.

and the price for anything you order no matter how many ingredients is $7.45.

and the food was delicious. The pizza crust was crispily tasteful without being dry like a saltine cracker and the ingredients were fresh - if not particularly plentiful. The salad was great. Though it was served in those over large bowls that have a walrus sized rim that's slanted upwards and the base is tiny so to me, it always seemed like the bowl was ready to tip over.

The salad was also big enough for 2 people to share which is what Bill and I did.

We will be back.

B.K.'S - TUCSON, AZ

First time back at this fabulously delicious Mexican restaurant since the end of our road trip (or is it REALLY the end?). Its on 1st between Grant and Glenn. The service has always been excellent and friendly and their prices are incredibly low. they have a great salsa bar; several different kinds of both chunky and 'liquidy'; cheeses, radishes, cucumbers, limes, coleslaw, cut up olives, onions, cilantro, and then about 8 dishes which i don't know the name of but are wonderful. The heat quotient of these out of the norm salsa's differ from visit to visit so i always taste judiciously and with caution. Oh, they also have a huge warmer of grilled peppers and large white onions (chives)?

We are stick- in- the- mud orderers at this place. Bill always gets a bowl of their charro beans (more like chili) and 2 carne asada tacos. I get a sonoran hot dog and 2 shrimp tacos. But the next time here, i'm going to be "adventurous" and not get the hot dog but instead get the beans.

Dare I be that culinarily risky?

PAPPOULE'S - TUCSON, AZ

A good pick  for dinner after our Sportsman Warehouse stop to get Bill some hiking clothes and then to Walmart Supercenter for some groceries. (going into this Walmart which is where we - well, bill - shopped regularly during Tucson #1 made us even more aware of what a sad store the "new" super center is that was built on Broadway after years of wrangling and legal fights and lawsuits started by the residents of the surrounding area. That store is small and doesn't really have a  good variety of either clothes, appliances, pharmacy items OR food. a real disappointment. like a supercenter wannabe.)

Ok, back to dinner. This restaurant is located in the Foothills Mall but not part of the food court. Excellent food that you order at the counter; friendly staff and reasonable prices.

We shared a starter appetizer plate with warm delicious pita bread (some pita is too doughy and thick and once those triangles get cold, forget about it; its like chewing flour.) and 3 kinds of hummus and grape leaves and a big greek salad with delicious dressing and lots of feta cheese.

The other entree we had was a chicken platter. the tzatziki sauce was incredible; very thick and smooth and overcomingly garlic. This also came with pita bread and a large salad.

Too bad this restaurant is so far away from where we are living now.

INTERSTELLAR

What an unholy cosmic stew of a movie! From the very first trailer we saw with Matthew McConaughey in his serious mumbling profound prophetic  observation mode, we looked at each other and with spousal wordless communication shook our heads NO. but we became victims of the mass media onslaught praising this piece of solar system garbage as the best movie of the CENTURY.

The plot involves finding a place in outer space where all the people on a rapidly deteriorating earth can live. and that's it. The only tension in the movie was when the spaceship landed on one of Saturn's moons and a tidal wave came close to destroying the ship. Other than that, it was a plodding exercise in space related jargon and slow movements. The movie was almost 3 hours long and i felt like it was over 6 hours!!

I took several lengthy bathroom breaks and  each time came back to find the same nonsense on the screen as when i left; a lot of equipment fiddling and instrument panel prodding and intense stares among the astronauts  and shots of the sky and endless chatter about black holes and worm holes and relativity and perception and gravity and time warps.

Nolan, the director, seemed to want to put everything he ever knew in one movie; space exploration,  a thwarted romance, a widowed parent, a coming of age tale, Einstein's theory of relativity, supernatural goings-on, wise old grandparents and the importance of NASA to our continued prosperity.

I gave this movie a 2 and Bill gave it a 6.

FRANCISCO'S AND FRANKIE'S - TUCSON, AZ

We love this restaurant and have been eating here since the beginning of Tucson #2. Its a small hole in the wall place with all that description entails. Everything is slightly dirty and no one knows the word updated, the tablecloths are worn, there is no decoration to speak of except for family photos on the wall and a list of their specials. But my oh my their food is good and very reasonably priced and the service is always excellent.

There's a few counter seats but mostly tables in the L shaped room. The salsa bar is good and there's always a big pot of charro beans.

My usual order is the tacos dorados plate. very good rice and beans with queso fresca on top, lettuce and tomato and avocado and 3 of the best crispy tacos with sour cream, chicken and potatoes. The flavor is incredible.

Bill's usual order is 2 soft tacos Francisco's style (which means the meat is grilled with peppers and spices and onions) with carne asada.

During the day, this restaurant goes by the name of Frankie's and the atmosphere is so very different than the evenings when it transforms to Francisco's. When we go for dinner, there are always other patrons but it is quiet and laid back and everyone moves at a leisurely pace. but during the day (i've been here twice for breakfast and once bill and alicia and i came during one of her visits) it is bustling!!!! it is packed and there is usually a wait.

There is a small outdoor seating area and that is full also. The waitresses are moving at a rapid clip and the noise can be overwhelming but the food is just as good as the evening. Usual breakfast fare with Mexican dishes too. They bake their own raisin cinnamon bread and for a QUARTER extra you can get that toast instead of the usual white or wheat.

A great place. Its located on Pima and Alvernon.

NIGHTCRAWLER

wow what a movie; a resounding 10 from both of us and a 26 for Jake Gyllenhaal's acting.

He is Lou a petty thief with deep sunken unfeeling dead eyes and a ready smile to go along with his super overpoliteness. Coming home from a robbery, he happens upon an accident and meets Bill Paxton who is a stringer providing sensational footage for TV news; i.e., accidents, stabbings, burned houses, car wrecks, dead bodies, screaming women and lots of blood.

So Lou decides he's going to do the same thing so he buys a cheap video camera and a police scanner and starts. The woman who is head of the news department and who enters into this parasitic relationship  when she starts buying what he brings in  is Nina, played by Rene Russo.

Since Lou has no morality or conscience, he goes farther and farther afield to get the best shots. And the movie expertly and with much tension and suspense,  shows Lou's ever more manipulative ways to get better and better footage.

His "relationship" with Nina is very interesting because as she becomes more and more dependent on Lou's video and the TV station - her boss- gets more and more of a viewer's share and her value to the station increases, Lou also uses that for his own ends of bizarre and twisted  ideas of 'teamwork'. because his goal is to own his own widely known and popular video business.

His "relationship" with Ric, his assistant, is also very interesting because Ric keeps wanting a regular job and a normal relationship with an employer and Lou is sociopathically unable to connect with people on that level.

I love movies with a great story, with ever building tension, with superb acting, with complex characters and a jab and comment at society and its voracious appetite for disasters.

PHO #1 - TUCSON, AZ

i love this restaurant. Its located near the intersection of Grant and Stone. Its a large space with lots of tables and booths and the service has always been great. The room is decorated very nice; colorful with dragons and gold and red tassels and pictures and those Oriental cats with big round eyes. oh, and the bathroom is always spotless.

We shared a Bun dish which is vermicelli noodles on top of cucumber and lettuce and bean sprouts and then topped with a variety of stuff depending on what you order. Last night we had spicy lemon grass chicken (super tender) which also had crushed peanuts and hair follicle thin slices of carrots. We've had their spicy chicken twice before; once on a Bun dish and the other time with rice and it has never been really spicy so with casual disregard we ordered it this time and wow; it was SPICY.

I only could 'handle' 2 pcs. of chicken but it was ok with Bill so he gave me most of the egg rolls which we had also ordered. They were the best I've ever eaten   so the dinner was a success and we left happy and full and satisfied.

CAFE FRANCAIS - TUCSON, AZ

What a horrid experience!

The prices here are so expensive and the service sometimes friendly (which it was on our yesterday visit) and sometimes haughty and arrogant with an attitude of "i've really got a lot better things to do than serve you a meal" and the food not very good. and you might ask, why in the hell did you go back?  I'm asking myself that without a good answer.

My almond croissant  was almost $6. Every other bakery that makes croissants are #1 cheaper and #2 larger and #3 better. Even Trader Joe's frozen almond croissants (for  $1 each) put these to shame. I also ordered scrambled eggs (ok), hashed browns (tasted frozen and they were greasy) and bacon (ok.) My bill was $15 and change.

 my friend, Chris, ordered a spinach quiche and it resembled a compressed spinach garden; very unappealing. She couldn't eat it so asked the waitress if she could have the quiche Lorraine instead. Well, the next thing we knew was the owner, Nicole, telling the waitress (why she didn't have the courtesy to talk directly to Chris i don't know since she was only like 4 steps away from our table) that she would have to charge for a substitute meal. that "she ordered it and she must eat it." and if she allowed an exchange for Chris she'd have to do it for everyone.

Does this happen that often? and if it does, wouldn't a restaurant owner want to know that because it just might be a clue that food quality is lacking. I've never never been in a situation where i've heard  the equivalent of "you've made your bed and now you lay in it". Isn't it illegal to charge for something the customer didn't get?

The owner repeated all this scolding a second time too. The waitress was very very apologetic.

Very unpleasant experience. Maybe this is why their other restaurant La Delice on Tanque Verde closed. Off with her head, I say!!

THE JUDGE

I wasn't expecting a great movie but i certainly expected an entertaining one since it stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall. my expectations were dashed (though Duvall was pretty damn good).

Run of the mill story. Father (Duvall) is a judge and hates his son (why was never thoroughly explained). Son (Downey) is a big city attorney who hates his father. Mother dies. Son comes home for funeral and ends up representing his father who has been charged with murder for running over a man who he had once sentenced.

Nothing was new or unique or in fact, really believable.  The crumbling marriage of Downey (the opening scene) was so forced and surrealistic. The 7 year old daughter of Downey was so mis-cast because she was part Hawaiian or Asian and didn't match or even come close to the pure causasian-ness of Downey and his wife.

The music was a lot of caterwauling. Naturally, one of Downey's brothers was retarded but in a "charming" and "funny" way. The other brother had his baseball career crushed because of a car accident and it just so happened that Downey was driving the car.

There was a big screaming emotional cathartic psychodrama scene in the courtroom. The father was dying of cancer. There was a long lost high school flame who ran the local tavern. There was a plethora of home movies showing the "good ole days" when everyone got along.

Oh, i disliked immensely this movie. and Downey's rapid fire witty sarcastic patter was wearing thin by the end of the first hour. and at this point the film still had over another hour to run!!!!!!!!!!

I gave this movie a 5 (though now as i'm rethinking it, i am tempted to lower the number). Bill gave it a 7.

LE BUZZ CAFFE - TUCSON, AZ

I can't remember when  i last had an enjoyable, reasonably priced, and delicious restaurant breakfast. Le Buzz did not break this stalemate.

Carol and I sat outside in their fairly large patio area. The tables inside were pretty close together and it was noisy also. This place seems popular with  young  modern mothers with several  babies (the ones who hold down a fulltime corporate job, are on the board of directors for a local charity, bake and cook and also re- decorate their house and work on their husband's genealogy chart) and bikers coming down from Mt. Lemmon.

You order at the counter. I felt rushed. I got a frangipane pastry and an omelet with sourdough toast. Cost? $13.50. I had to return the pastry 3 times to the counter so that it would be adequately heated up in order for my multiple tablespoons of butter to melt and pool in the sweet dough crevices. and why do restaurants serve rock hard butter? tiny rectangles of yellow ice.

The pastry was large and filled with an almond and ricotta cheese mixture which was delicious. The ends of the pastry that had no filling were just ok; nothing special or light and fluffy going on.

The omelet was a joke; a small rubbery piece with shards of tomato, bacon and i forgot what else. also on the plate was 2 pieces of lukewarm toast served with cement butter and a tiny tiny oh so small and petite white dish of maybe 1 tsp. of raspberry jelly.

Oh my!!

I must add, however, that Carol really liked her breakfast; 2 slices of extra crispy bacon and a big slice of an apple crisp which she said tasted like a compressed apple pie.

I'll be buzzing elsewhere.

KILL THE MESSENGER

Jeremy Renner has never been better; great job playing Gary Webb, an investigative reporter for the San Jose Mercury-News who researches a story on the connection between the government and crack cocaine. This is based on a true story. the story of the Reagan administration wanting to oust the Freedom Fighters in Nicaragua but not being able to get Congress to ok the money to do this. So Reagan goes for off-the-book financing which involves the CIA buying massive amounts of cocaine and importing it into this country; mostly in the South Central L.A. area.

The money made from the drugs were used to buy guns for the Contra's with a little help from Ollie (oliver) North. Remember him? He's now a political commentator and author of thriller's.

Anyway, these printed revelations make the government very nervous so naturally, there is pressure put on the San Jose paper as well as the LA times and Washington Post to discredit Webb and his findings as unsubstantiated. Also there is a character assassination  campaign waged against Webb.

When it was revealed many years later  that everything and more was true about this conspiracy, there was already a huge Wag the Dog production going on in the government as the whole world was focused on Clinton's blow jobs and not the documents backing up the newspaper story Webb wrote.

Excellent movie; fast paced; easy to understand and once again, Jeremy
Renner was mesmerizingly wonderful. I rated the movie a 9.6; Bill gave it a 9.

GREAT AMERICAN STEAKBURGER - TUCSON, AZ

We ate here after coming down from a hike on Mt. Lemmon. Its located at the intersection of Tanque Verde and Catalina Highway; where Chuy's (RIP) used to be.

Its a really large place with a separate bar area; lots of tables and booths. We got a great out of the way booth; not near the noisy large family tables right by the front door. The menu is huge; in addition to burgers, they have steaks and salads and sandwiches and ribs.

We shared a blue cheese burger with grilled onions. It was a delicious 1/3rd of a pound hamburger. Very tasty and the bun was good and fresh and warm. We also ordered a side of steak fries which were hot and well seasoned and crispy and California veggies with butter sauce. The veggies were carrots and cauliflower and broccoli; however, there was only 1 broccoli floret; the rest was all stems. The portion was fairly small too; unlike the brimming basket of fries.


The burgers are all around $10 but sharing one and then ordering the sides kept the meal tab down with tip to $17. SCORE.

RELISH - TUCSON, AZ

 This is the second and last time we will eat at this restaurant located on the corner of Camp Lowell and Swan. When we ate here before it was newly opened and we could understand the lack of patrons. Now 3 or 4 years later, being about the only diners, we know the answer. the food is not very good and the customer service is lacking.

I had pulled pork which i didn't want but there was absolutely nothing else on the menu which interested me; the menu is not big and i remembered having this same decision problem the first time we were here. at that time,  i ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and was duly unimpressed; same gustatory result this time.

Bill ordered the Chef's special which was a New York strip steak mounded on a a pillow of blue cheese infused mashed potatoes surrounded by a pale green sauce. The steak was so tough he could not even cut into it. So he told the waitress and asked for the pulled pork which she brought piled on top of the same mashed potatoes moated with the green sauce.

We were charged for the steak though which was double the price of the pork. The very rare times we have returned an entree; the manager has always come over, apologized and either gave a discount on the meal ticket or offered a free dessert.

We will not be coming here again if they are even open much longer. There was never more than 1 other table of diners in the large  with patio restaurant. and this was over an almost 2 hour span of time on a Saturday night.

WINGS AND RICE - TUCSON., AZ

I love this restaurant. Everything we've ordered here has been really good. and i like the atmosphere; casual; never very noisy, nice outdoor sitting area and reasonable prices.

I got my usual (though i have tried their chicken katsu - excellent - and the Philly cheese steak; also very good.) shrimp combo. 5 gigantic shrimp grilled and basted with the glaze of my choice (sesame teriyaki; honey sticky sweet with a hint of spice) and a salad with miso dressing and a logger and long distance trucker size pile of shrimp fried rice with hibachi sauce. This is sort of like a thousand island dressing. I always order an extra sauce.


The rice has lots of veggies in it plus the tiny shrimp and there is always enough for me to share with Bill plus have a lunch the next day.

Oh, i have also had their steamed veggies which are delicious; carrots, cabbage, onions and broccoli in a light butter sesame sauce.

The restaurant is open 7 days a week and is on the corner of Pima and Craycroft.

THE EQUALIZER

We both rated this movie an 8. It was a well-acted action flick but knowing Denzel Washington was the lead already tells you its going to be well-acted.

A simple plot with several "holes" and inconsistencies through-out but then again, for me, Denzel cancels out all those minor cinematic details.

He is a retired CIA operative, living austerely in his OCD fashion, and working at a Home Depot and going for tea every night to the same diner. Its funny to see all his compulsive rigid actions from lining up silverware to when he drops his tea bag in the cup. At the diner he gets casually acquainted with a prostitute who gets beaten up by her Russian pimp. Well, that's all Denzel needs to know. He wreaks revenge.

But in a deliberate, almost choreographed, highly efficient, unusual methods way: complete with gore and lots of blood and inside body parts.

I'm glad we saw this movie because it was very entertaining. We debated in a similar OCD way about seeing Gone Girl instead but having been celluloid-ish smited the last 2 times we went to the show, we didn't want to have that experience repeated. I have read reviews of Gone Girl which were sterlingly wonderful and other reviews saying what a disappointment it was and predictable.

And because we love Denzel and hadn't ever seen him in a movie we didn't enjoy, we picked The Equalizer. and didn't regret it.

DON'T RUN THROUGH THIS MAZE GETTING TO PREP & PASTRY

Another loser of a movie. This one was even worse than last week's The Drop because the acting was so bad. It was like a high school play gone awry. The name was The Maze Runner. The movie ended in a bald unsophisticated proclamation of sequels yet to come. Mercy!

The "plot" is contained in the title. Its about a group of kids who live in an enclosed by high stone walls area (all boys except toward the end of the film, a female character was introduced.) and to get out you have to go through a maze. Only everyone knows you can't make it through the maze and no one knows why they are there. Until our plucky lead actor decides he wants to try. Yawn. The special effects were so incredibly cheap.

This movie was preceded by a brunch with my friend Chris at Prep & Pastry which inhabits the recently departed Amelia Gray's Tea House or Shop. The food at that incarnation wasn't very good but way better than at P & P.

The place was crowded and noisy but we had a pretty good seat in the corner by the front door. We ordered the same thing; scrambled eggs, country potatoes and toast which came dry! So i had to ask for butter and they only have  black berry jam. Nothing was really hot and nothing was especially tasty.

We also shared a football of a croissant which was filled with raspberry, goat cheese, lime and honey. The croissant was a grenade of heavy dough: no lightness in that pastry heft. The filling was very good but there wasn't enough of it.

The service was good and friendly and efficient but not enough to tempt me to come back.

THE DROP

I was really really bored during this film. Rated it a 3 and Bill gave it a 6 and all the reviews i've read give it almost a 10 hailing it as a gritty and tightly plotted crime drama. I found it to be muddled with poor acting and annoying characters (the detective and Bob played by Tom Hardy who is the main actor) and a predictable plot and accents that went in and out of Brooklyn-speak.

The story is simple. Marv played by James Gandolfini (this was his last film and he should have stopped with the greatly unexpected pleasure movie Enough Said) runs a bar which is an occasional drop spot for gang money. Because Marv used to own the bar, he's harboring a growing resentment against the gang so he decides to rob his own bar and leave town with the money.

and Surprise! Surprise! everything goes awry. Yawn.

However, the night before (out on DVD) we saw Jim Jarmusch's latest film Only Lovers Left Alive. and that was a 10; from both of us. It was a vampire movie but unlike any vampire movie you've ever seen. Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston (he played Loki in the Thor movie series) were excellent playing elegant sophisticated witty and talented vampires who kept themselves apart from the zombies (all non-vampires) because their life style and the messes they created in the world were unappealing. They get pure blood from secret sources; never stooping to partake of potentially unclean or tainted  zombie blood.

Lots of 'inside' vampire blood humor and the love between Tilda and Tom was sensual and romantic and deeply affecting. The atmosphere and music was mesmerizing; part of the movie took place in Tangiers and the other part in a rundown part of Detroit.

and the ending was perfect which in my opinion often is not the case nowadays.

BOYHOOD

i cannot describe how wonderful and uniquely illuminating and interesting and poignant and funny and sad and bittersweet and scary and loving this movie is! well, that sort of describes life doesn't it?

and that's what the movie is about; life over a 12 year span involving the mother and father of a boy and a girl. But the amazing thing about this film is that it was actually filmed over 12 years! so we get to see aging and physical changes and  alterations in communication styles "for real" and not through costume or makeup.

Ethan Hawke (Mason, Sr. the dad) and Patricia Arquette (Olivia, the mom, though they are already divorced when the film starts) are simply marvelous in their roles; stunningly brilliant. They have 2 children, Mason, Jr. and Samantha (who happens to be the director's daughter).

And the story is about empty nests,  and growing old and moving on and getting divorced and divorced again, and making economic ends meet and adolescents getting interested in sex and drugs and deciding what the future will be and relationships between spouses and siblings and boyfriends and girlfriends and the rules one lives by and how those rules get put into your life.

Oh i could go on and on. Words do NOT express how magnificent this film is and how totally engrossing. The movie running time is almost 3 hours and i was disappointed when it ended.

THE GIVER

Really enjoyable movie and it wasn't too long either. Plus it was suspenseful with great acting; though Jeff Bridges over did the growly mumble voice.

He was the Giver in this film which was adapted from a young adult novel written many years ago. Bridges optioned it and wanted his dad to play the Giver but Lloyd died and Jeff had trouble getting the money guys interested in the film until now.

The society that is the backdrop of the movie is a monochrome city with everything and everyone looking and acting the same. everyone took daily injections so they wouldn't question anything plus it dampened any feelings that would arise. The reason for this was the elders plus The Teacher's  (Meryl Streep) belief that pain and war and poverty and torture would be eliminated if emotions were erased and if there was no competition between everyone; if everyone wore the same clothes and had no religion and obeyed the same laws etc. etc. there would be no
DIFFERENT
to rebel against or to be jealous about.

This also meant no one had any memories of how things used to be except for the Giver who every so often would give the collective memories over to a Receiver. However, in the film the receipt of those memories to the Receiver had unintended consequences for the community.

So the message in the movie was that this new society was NOT better than the old and when one takes away all pain and difficulty, one also takes away compassion and love and joy.

We both rated it an 8.

ENOUGH SAID

Wonderful heart-warming melancholy poignant bittersweet funny movie starring James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. They are both excellent actors and played divorced people who begin a relationship; however, Julia's new massage therapy client is the ex-wife of James and gradually her perspective and feelings about the relationship change as she takes in all this negative stuff spewed by the ex.  And to make things worse, Julia doesn't tell either the ex-wife or her new boyfriend.

The movie is not predictable and doesn't paint any of the characters as all good or all bad. The dialogue is beyond perfect and there are no scenes which are unbelievable. and its not just about the new relationship; its also about friendship and neediness and parents and children.

This has now become my favorite Nicole Holofcener film. But her other ones are very much worth seeing; especially Friends with Money.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

We weren't going to see this movie at all but the reviews that i read and heard from friends were so good that we changed our minds. Both of us were disappointed and rated the movie a 7.

Even though one doesn't really expect a plot or coherent story line in these types of movies (uniquely freaky creatures with extraordinary powers gamboling in the universe creating havoc or restoring calm), the story in this movie was especially garbled and silly.

I like when songs are placed in a movie in places or situations where you wouldn't expect to hear such music. This happened in this movie A LOT; too much, in fact, so instead of being humorous or adding to the scene it got annoying.

Also Chris Pratt was a bad choice for the most human of the guardians because he can't dance and there were 2 parts in the film; one that was right at the beginning setting the 'mood' that required him all by himself dancing and he moves similar to Al Gore - very wooden and self-conscious.

There certainly were funny parts and dialogue during the entire movie but they could have been more frequent with a corresponding decrease in the fight and battle scenes which got tedious.

The best characters were Groot and Rocket, the weasel. Rocket had the best dialogue but it  should have been even more irreverent  and sarcastic and cocky. (like that cigar chomping dog, Triumph).

So we finished the evening with a meal at Elmer's which was one of our frequent dinner haunts in Gresham. The quality has gone down and the prices went up.

GET ON UP

Great lively musical toe-tapping, shoulder rolling, arm flailing movie about James Brown. I rated it a 9.

 Mr. Brown (as he insisted everyone call him except for his manager played by Dan Aykroyd and his right hand man, Bobby) had a horrific upbringing. He was born in poverty in South Carolina in the 30's. His father beat him and his mother and the mom  eventually left and moved to town where she was a prostitute. His dad also left him in the care of an aunt. The aunt ran a whorehouse where young James saw his mother with some 'clients'.

So this background, which is interspersed with current scenes, explains his larger than life ego, his control freak ways which included fining members of his entourage who didn't obey his rules, his sudden bursts of violence and his casual firing of his band when they protested not getting paid and having to work on "off" days. James was always only  interested in James Brown.

I was totally mesmerized by the movie and the 2 plus running hours went by unnoticed. I didn't even get up to pee; not even ONCE. (rare for me).

The music and dancing was fantastic. I never really appreciated James Brown's incredible talent and variety of songs and great great voice. He danced better than Michael Jackson.

And we then finished our date night with a delicious dinner at a Russian restaurant on Division and 111th. The market was huge and they had their food offerings on top of and inside a big glass case. Then they heated everything up and we ate in their small restaurant. We shared a samosa which was a delectable multi layered dough pocket with 4 kinds of cheese and meat and onion. wow; this was absolutely delicious.

Then we had chicken kabobs; very tender and flavorful and the best cabbage roll i've ever had and some rice which was sooooo good. It had garbanzo beans in it and veggies and  pieces of the most tender beef. Everything was spiced just perfectly. and all of this food (oh, a big pot of sour cream; Russian sour cream is less sour and more creamier than the kind you buy in the dairy case at grocery stores) was only $17.

We are going to come back and get a bunch of food to bring home and eat. The restaurant was noisy because it fronts Division Street which always has loads of traffic on it. There were 5 or 6 women/girls in the restaurant/market but only 1 had a smattering of English so it was interesting and fun to have the food choices identified.

MT. ST. HELENS, WASHINGTON

 hiking out of Cougar, WA. We wanted to do the Plains of Abraham which we last hiked with Alicia 21 years ago. It was very very hot and exposed to the sun so we didn't finish the loop. Both Bill and I were surprised there wasn't more vegetation in the area because it looked the same.  We found the ONLY shade for lunch; hunched under a tree by the side of a dry creek bed. but there were no bugs and it smelled heavenly; must have been some kind of wild herb.

This is Spirit Lake and all the logs that got blasted into it during the 1980 eruption. They are slowly sinking to the bottom.

DRIGGS, IDAHO - TETON VALLEY

 This was our warm-up hike which we needed after hours of sitting in the truck driving. It was flat and smooth. Started raining in the last 15 minutes of the hike but it remained warm. The trail followed Aspen Creek.

 Leaving our lunch spot on the top of the Teton Shelf; gateway to all the high mt. meadows and cirque lakes. This was a brutal hike called the Devil's Staircase. It started out teasingly easy with only a gradual elevation through fields of flowers and a creek and towering cliffs. I stopped counting flower varieties after i got to 20. But then the trail switched 'moods' and in full blazing sun without a breeze (the black flies were horridly pesty) we climbed 1000 feet in 0.9 miles. It was worth it though once we got to the top.

Both these pictures were taken from the Bannock Trail which is one of the many hiking trails that start at the Grand Targhee Ski resort. It goes to the Dreamcatcher ski lift so most people we met were coming down as they rode the ski lift up. We hiked up as i was not real comfortable with my skills in getting on and off this moving seat that swingingly goes up 2000 feet.

The trail goes along the ridge after traversing fields of flowers and through groves of aspen trees. This area is known for its abundance of mountain biking trails so it was fun to look down and see the lines criss-crossing far below. No bikes were allowed on the Bannock Trail.

The views were incredible including all the mountains in the area including the Tetons. It was once again a hot day and the hike was in unrelenting sun and both Bill and I had a spell of not feeling well from too much sun; nauseated, headache, weak, mentally unfocused and I had a lot of GI upset. By later that night, however, we were feeling pretty normal. The absolutely delicious burger and hand-cut fries we had for dinner helped a lot. The place was called Basin Burger and was in an Exxon gas station. Ya never know where gourmet food lurks.!

CHEYENNE, WYOMING

we stumbled into Cheyenne not knowing it was the start of their gala 118th celebration of Frontier Days which brings over 200,000 people to the area and which is also where the finals of the National Rodeo Circuit are held.  Motels like the  Day's Inn were going for over $200 a night!!!!!! The Day's Inn?????

However, we didn't do too much better; finally settled on the Sands Motel; a notch above what would be politely called a "fleabag" sort of place. Thursday night was only $70 but Friday night was $130 and at best the place is a $50'er.

And then the next day, knowing we didn't have to drive anywhere and after a good night's sleep, Bill looks at the map and sees that just an hour or so farther down I-80 was Laramie and we could have stayed there!

However, except for the motel, it was an enjoyable stop. The downtown area is darling and has the oldest train depot in the states and Cheyenne was important in the history  of the Transcontinental Railroad so there are lots of historical buildings and placques. Because of the Frontier Days, downtown had a gala festive air with all shops open late and gunfights on a lot of corners and guitar players and some pretty good looking cowboys too.

We did a lot of sightseeing and the library is awesomely big and well organized with great spots all through the 3 floors for sitting and perusing some of their thousands of magazines. We went through the Botanical Gardens which had been decimated from a recent hail storm (Cheyenne gets the most severe hail storms in the whole u.s.- 13 per year.) and then did a great walk around a lake.

We saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and loved it. Caesar, the head ape, and his family are great with wonderful expressive faces. The moral of this film was apes can be bad and good and humans can be bad and good. No group of people is all saints or all sinners.

Then ate at Qdoba Grill. Its like a Chipotle Grill which means they slop on the food in whatever tortilla shape or texture you want and then you watch it get cold as the people in front of you can't decide between cheddar cheese or queso.
I had 2 ground beef tacos and it was too spicy for me to eat.

So as consolation we had to go to Spooners, a yoghurt place where we had chocolate and raspberry lemonade with a side of hot fudge. Delicious.

Very very glad to be exiting this motel this morning and heading down the road; closer to our 4 day rest in Driggs, Idaho where we are going to hike in the Bridger-Teton Wilderness.

FINAL ACT WITH ENCORE - CHICAGOLAND

 Marie, Rich's wife, and film sound celebrity to be, Becky, preparing the salad for dinner.

Richard

 Katie, making a delicious salad dressing.

sitting around and talking with the family plus Alex.

I have to apologize for the poor set of pictures on this visit. I was so caught up with the high energy bantering and verbal jousting and inquisitive knowledge sharing that i lost control of my meager camera skills.

THIRD OR IS IT THE FOURTH ACT - GRAND ASPELL-ATOR MARATHON

 In Mauston, WI to see Darren and Amy and their daughter, Kara, who visited on her way home from work. This is the back porch on their lovely secluded private home.

Kara and her fiance, Tadd, who she will marry in September.

FORTUNATE BLESSINGS - SUN DANCE (HUNGER-THIRST) - UPPER PENINSULA, MI

 Mary outside one of the tepees on the grounds of the Sun Dance.

 Don geared up to fry the wall-eye during this welcoming festivity.

 On our way to have lunch at Subway with Bill's dad, Bud, and Mary.

 Corey, Mary's son. I had never met him so was glad he was at the Sun Dance.

CONTINUATION OF THE U.S. ASPELL-ATION TOUR

 In Chelsea, MI with Joan and Jon. one of our morning walks; this is the library which was very impressive since the town is small. We were on our way to the farmer's market.

 Their wonderful son Jeremy with his vibrant and vivacious girlfriend Pam.

 and we were lucky enough to see Joey who had driven almost non-stop the day before from the L.A. area. This picture is in their driveway by their lovely back deck.

The restaurant which Bill and I went to a lot in Portland had this same 'in your face' boy but the name was Bob's Big Boy. Bob has moved on i guess and now the restaurant is just Big Boy.

RETURN TO WHITE CASTLE

We have talked and dreamed and planned this moment for a long time. We have perused maps and locations and driving directions. We have altered routes and changed times and amounts of breakfasts eaten. but the moment finally arrived!!! In Cincinnati!!!

All the workers knew we had come all the way from Tucson to eat here and that we grew up in Chicago devouring these sliders as often as we could and that my sister would kindly drive me to a White Castle after picking me up at the airport when i would fly in for a visit and my first date with Bill ended with chomping down on White Castle's.

I only ate 4 and 1/2; the rest of the boxes were Bill's and 1 held fries. (as lackadaisal as ever.) But the boxes are a little more corporate looking and the to-go bags are no longer white. The waitress said the company has gone green. Boo!! Also their menu has a lot of chicken stuff on it; including a breakfast sandwich of a fried piece of chicken smothered with country gravy sprinkled with bacon bits and stuffed between two grilled waffles. Oh no; back "in the day" you got your grease and saturated fat and grilled and oiled onion fix from the burgers; not all this extra 'fancy' stuff.

The restaurant we ate at wasn't quite dingy enough and there were no shady characters and you didn't get to watch the cook spatula up your order from the vast grill table with all those sizzling patties with the 4 holes and the onions below it.

But the taste and smell was the same and bill and i were very very happy.

P.S. Later on we both confessed to each other that our stomachs were upset. Bill kept burping the lunch and i had to take a Tagamet and some Gaviscon. Now i'm not saying i wouldn't forgo the discomfort for another slider experience but i need to let this senior GI system calm down.

It was a lot of fun though and the colonic churning was worth it.

MAMA'S CARIBBEAN GRILL - CHARLOTTE, NC

We finally ate here; last dinner in Charlotte and we wish we had eaten here earlier in our stay. Excellent food and large portions and reasonable prices and great atmosphere with Bob Marley playing, of course, on an endless loop. The waitresses were all friendly in their laid back Jamaican reggae way.

We had plantains done perfectly, nice and crisp on the outside and soft but not mushy inside with just a hint of sweetness. Bill and I shared our main entrees. I had brown stewed chicken with veggies and Bill had glazed beef. Both meats were so tender and flavorful and each had a distinctively different spicy gravy/marinade/sauce. Not spicy like too hot but spicy like complex flavors and richly seasoned.

Both entrees came with a side (i had sweet potatoes and Bill had collard greens) and a huge rastafarian pile of delicious rice.

SAYING GOODBYE

My eyes are wet with tears as I'm writing this. even when i got up at 4am to pee, i was awash in grief before thoughts could enter my mind. I'm permeated with sorrow.

Today i took a final (this is how it feels to me: final, the end, finish, no more) marathon walk around all my old walking route haunts; checking out the gardens and seeing what's new on people's porches and checking out the parks i walk through. When i was here in April and May, the main flowering trees in the park were magnolias and now they are crepe myrtle.

All over Charlotte, even vacant lots; tall trees or short bushes filled to bursting with white, purple, orchid, pink, red flowers.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening with Alicia and Keith. Ate pizza and watched Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland. (this movie was scarier than i remembered it and very well done and  the music was an excellent addition to the tension of the pods)  getting to spend time with Keith and meeting him and talking to him was great. He is a super guy and just perfect for Alicia. They complement each other very well.

Today we are spending the day with Alicia before she goes to work and tomorrow morning we leave Charlotte heading to visit Bill's siblings and dad in the midwest. (is michigan in the midwest?) I don't know when we'll see alicia again. I can hardly swallow with the heaviness of not seeing her. We spent an entire season with her and daily too except for when we were in Asheville and  that was every weekend.  I am suffused with Alicia-ness and don't want this to end.

but it is ending. and my "escape route" from these overwhelming painful emotions is to plan; so already i'm thinking of when we might be able to visit North Carolina again; also thinking of seeing old friends in Portland. But the future fantasy tripping ain't workin' and i'm devastated.

This visit which was the main goal of the road trip has exceeded my expectations and imagination by 1000-fold.

Onward. It is, what it is. (damn it.)

SOME FINAL MOMENTS IN ASHEVILLE

 A view of Beaver Lake - my morning walk route and our evening stroll route. This picture was taken from the Bird Sanctuary.

 This is the metal bird that is at the front of the Sanctuary and is on top of the bike rack.

 Alicia in her new outfit that we got at an arts and crafts fair. We had so much fun. Bill for the most part took refuge on a bench in the shade and i would periodically visit him when i needed cash replenishment. It was the perfect weather day  for an afternoon of commerce.

On our front porch (we ate all our meals here) having a final spaghetti and 'kitchen sink' salad dinner.                                                       We have eaten twice at a wonderful restaurant called HomeGrown. Their motto is "slow food right quick". Their menu changes daily since they cook dependent on what's available from the local markets and farms. They have outdoor seating and also lots of tables inside. It is a converted house so there are several different and separate eating areas with different feelings.

Last night Bill ordered escarole in a bitter tomato vinaigrette. I had fried chicken one time and yesterday had a farmer's salad with fresh peaches and sunflower seeds and a wonderful creamy tomatillo and bacon salad dressing.

And our last hike here was in Dupont State Forest. It is crisscrossed with trails and some are forest walks and others go to viewpoints and the ones we took visited lakes and waterfalls. The forest is in the town of Brevard which is the waterfall center of North Carolina. I did better on this hike in spite of the humidity which had my fingers dripping! I think because i slowed my pace.

And we had the best most perfect lunch spot; all alone, deep in the forest by Lake Julia. On a clean non-buggy deck overlooking the lake. AHHHHHHHHHHH

CHEF

A great high energy, lively movie. We both rated it an 8 and the audience clapped with delight (as did we) when the credits rolled.

The plot was very simple; a chef at a high end restaurant in L.A. (Jon Favreau as Carl) was culinarily stifled by the owner of the restaurant (Dustin Hoffman). So after an argument in the kitchen and after a scathing review by a food critic (Oliver Platt), Carl quit the restaurant.

His ex-wife asked a favor of one of her other ex-husbands (played deliriously manic by Robert Downey, Jr.) to help Carl out. So he outfitted him with a food truck. This started Carl back on the road of cooking and serving food that he liked; in this case Cuban and South American food. He was joined by his young son and one of his cooking crew in L.A., John Leguizamo (Martin).

And that was it. Any criticism of the movie would be based around the absolute feel-goodness of it, the lack of reality in many scenes, the ex-wife who was beautiful and wealthy and had some sort of mystery important job, the perfect son. sort of like comfort food: filling but not very nutritious.  But the acting was excellent and all the characters were likable especially Martin (Leguizamo). He brought a lot of spiciness and verve to the scenes.

and speaking of spicy: that was the main attraction to the film. It was colorful and had lots of music; salsa, blues, soul; there was singing, the dialogue was snappy, it was the perfect length and the food!!!!! oh, the food!!!!! the buying of it, the preparation, the serving, the plating, the tasting, the cutting.

It was mouthwatering; there were a lot of times when me and the audience just groaned with hunger. One of the times was when Martin marinated a pork butt and roasted it for Cubano sandwiches. I felt like i wanted to snatch a slice of that meat right off the screen.

Even the sappy and especially fantastical ending, didn't detract from my love of this movie. I left the theater with my stomach rumbling and my toes tapping and my face in a huge grin.

MAGICAL DAY AT NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM WITH ALICIA

Bill and I at the garden part of the
arboretum.
Fantastic flower displays. We hiked the shady trails first and saved the sunny gardens till late afternoon; very humid out this day.







Alicia at our lunch spot which was a small stoned in "cul-de-sac" area off the main Carolina Mt. trail.










Some bonsai displays in the gardens. We  thought the ones below looked like the Oregon Coast.

Alicia and I in the quilt garden.