Homeward!

So after having a short but sweet visit with Auri's cousin Jana in Philly we set off for home....or so we thought....little did we know that as soon as we left the state of Delaware and went into New Jersey that we would enter the twilight zone of the driving world. We got lost for about two hours there....
if you can notice by this picture....95 (on the left hand side) goes north and south...but then miraculously....if you are traveling north on 95 it turns into 295 south.....not good planning methinks....though we did have a fundamental flaw...we were relying on mapquest (don't get me wrong it works most of the time but not so well this time) and did not have a map of our own. After getting directions twice...we managed to get on track. We got to Auri's Parent's house at around 8-8:30pm.

Today we got back to school and made the trip full circle. Total milage: 4,861. We are getting settled back into the apartment (as we took it apart for painting) and just gonna try to take it easy for a couple days.

more later....

Onward and northward!

We left New Orleans and made our way to Lexington, South Carolina. My Aunt Lisa lives there and I had also never met her. She was very excited to see Auri and I after our 10 hour drive. We are getting to be pros at long distance now. We spent a lot of time talking and sharing stories. I won't go into the details of the stories on here but I assure you....some were juicy family stories. We often stayed up until 2-3 in the morning just chatting. Lisa brought us to get some authentic South Carolina BBQ. That means a mustard based sauce instead of tomato based. It was delicious: Ribs, pulled pork, chicken, beef, rice and hash with a side of fries, cole slaw and a huge glass of sweet tea. I also met my cousin Stephanie, but she was a bit absentee for my visit (she is young and was out having fun as she should). It was a lot of fun to get a little taste of SC fare. They also had a Krispy Creme Factory....that....was...amazing....fresh off of the line....is the best way to eat them....anyways

Our last night in SC we headed to Beaufort, SC where my cousin Alex lives (I had never met him in person) and works. He is a Navy Sailor who will be shipping out on the USS Nimitz (the aircraft carrier)soon. He's supposed to be on the boat for 7 months but it could be extended. We don't know exactly where he'll be stationed but we think it will probably be in the waters off of the middle east. He's working on taking the steps to become an officer I believe, and he's already recieved his masters degree through the Navy.

We left SC this morning at around 6 am and it took about 12 hours to get to Philly. Auri's cousin is living/studying here and we wanted to come visit before we make our way finally back home to Vermont. After unloading our things we went for a nice walk (after being in the car for a while) to get some Ethiopian food. You get a huge communal plate with this great tasting bread that is like a sourdough crepe. and you have piles of vegtables, beans, and meats all spiced wonderfully eaten with the fingers. No forks necessary. It was delicious.

We're planning our day here in Philly for tomorrow. We're hoping to hit up the Italian Market and get some authentic Philly Cheese Steaks. I am pumped....

(pictures coming soon I left the camera cable at Aunt Lisa's :( )

A few nights in the big easy

So New Orleans was an experience....
When we first got there we took showers (seems to be the arriving ritual) and wanted to head downtown to get some food. Since we didn't know our way around we called a cab. My uncle Randy had suggested we go to Central Grocery to get a Muffaletta Sandwich, so when the cab got their i'd figure they'd know where central grocery was..but unfortunately the cabby must have been new cause he barely spoke english and he had no idea where one of the most famous places in new orleans was. He had to ask another cabby on the street. It would have helped if we had known the address but either way...it was an adventure. We got there eventually, but to our disappointment we were way too late to get any food there and almost anywhere. It was pretty late (around 10pm) and apparently a lot of places close early and bars open. We eventually found a little place called "Oceanas" It was a great little place where we got Po-boys and a platter of oysters on the half-shell (which I love by the way).
After that we made our way around trying to find the venue "The Blue Nile" to go and see a Reggae Turntablist called DJ T-Roy. The Blue Nile was a bar that...has really no rules. The Reggae "Culture" was pretty alive there. I was there to watch, listen and review the music, but it was difficult with how much smoke was in the air. We stayed for a few tunes so I could see how "Legit" T-Roy was. He totally was, but it was hard to stay there. So after I was able to get enough material for me to write a review we left and headed back to the hotel we walked about a mile and a half first because we didn't have much cash and wanted to take a cab, but we were probably too far initially.
The next morning we were set up to do some volunteer work through a connection I got from my independent study supervisor. We got there at around 9am (got a little lost on the way) and we immediately went over to a mans house that we called "Rev" (because he was a reverand). We were going to help him tidy up some land that will be property for a future home. (here are some before and after pictures...if they aren't up yet I am uploading them). This was pretty hard work but for the most part rewarding. The reason I say for the most part was because we were doing some substantial landscaping that was difficult and tiring...as well as containing a few poisonous plants of sorts because for the first time in years I have a rash that was brought on from something...
We did a lot of work for him and we went back to the hotel to clean up and go see some Cajun/Zydeco music at the famous Mulates. There was some time to spend in the city before the show so we got to go to get a Muffaletta finally from Central Grocery. We split a bunch of appitizers including such cajun fare as: Sauteed Crab claws, Zydeco Gumbo, and shrimp Ramoulade. We also shared a Zydeco Tornado and a Plantation Tea (both louisiana cocktails). The band we saw was called La Touche. We attempted to get out on the dance floor and though we had some fun, we couldn't seem to get into sync for the 3 step cajun waltz.

After all this we went back to the Hotel again to take it easy and sleep relatively early because we were planning on heading to south carolina to visit my Aunt Lisa.

New Orleans was a great experience and i'd like to go back someday.

Nawlins

We're here!!! We are going to get some Muffaletta at Central Grocery and then we are going to see some reggae at the Blue Nile. More later!

Houston

The drive seemed as if it barely happened. Auri was surprised when we were already there. We got to Houston at around 10-10:30pm and went right to where my uncle Randy Manages a Little Caesars. We drove back to his Apartment where we just kinda took it easy and passed stories (I played some songs) back and forth and I let Randy know what had been happening with the family for the past umpteen years.


The following morning we were treated to a huge breakfast of eggs, French toast, home fries, biscuits, bacon, and a glass of Orange juice. It was marvelous. Our first stop for the day was Guitar Center….I can only describe it as a Texas-sized music store. I played acoustics first, then electric guitars, followed by playing some keyboard. I could probably spend hours in that place, though I know it wasn’t as exciting for Auri so I wrapped it up. After leaving guitar center we went to pick up Gloria and Sarah. Gloria is Randy’s new wife from Argentina and Sarah is her younger sister. Sarah doesn’t speak much English, Gloria speaks a little, Uncle randy speaks Spanish pretty well and Auri and I both understand Spanish pretty well (her much better than me). It is fun to be able to listen and understand because we don’t get much opportunity to practice up in Vermont. After we picked them up we headed off for the NASA space center. This…..was…..awesome…….not only is it NASA…the place where they like talk to spaceships and whatnot…but…they have themes for their exhibits/museums….this year’s theme……STAR WARS(and the other films of George Lucas….yeah..this made my day. The fact that they had many original props from the productions from Star wars including Luke Skywalker’s Light saber, they had Bail Organa’s entire speeder as well as the cockpit of General Grievous’ Ship. They had Indiana Jones’ Harley, a car from American graffiti, and the wand from Willow. Oh yeah…did I mention there were space ships? Like….real ones? Yeah….I <3 spaceships. Randy brought us to a little mexican place called "Mexico Deli" All portions were massive and delicious. We were all stuffed by the time we had to go and pick up Gloria and Sara(they were at rehearsal). On the way home uncle randy grabbed a bottle of Argentinian Melbec (a delicious slightly acidic red wine). We just sat around and shared pictures and talked for the rest of the evening.
This morning we woke up and I decided to try and fill in some of the gaps in my blog. A huge omelet interrupted my blogging briefly, but today we are planning on going for a bike ride to burn off some of the calories we’ve been taking in. Tonight there is a bossa nova show we’re going to that I can use for one of my reviews. Should be a good time.

The past few days in a nutshell....

So we've had a pretty sweet last couple of days that have been packed full of things so I haven't been able to write as much as i'd like to. We had a wonderful time in Austin Texas with our friend Erin and her boyfriend (our new friend) Mike. We stayed pretty busy eating good food and seeing the sights. We got to go to the Botanical Gardens in Austin that was part of a HUGE park. There was a wonderful group of exotic plant life and some animals. The heat was never that pleasant for me but it was a little more tolerable in the shade of the giant palm trees or bamboo. It was nice to take a walk amongst the plants though, in a way it reminded me of walking through the woods at home (although there are less bugs because it's so hot). After circling the botanical gardens we walked to the other side of the park where there is a local swimming area where we didn't swim but we bought snow cones and did some people watching. Apparently it costs money to swim there but just to the end of it there is a body of water (the same water) where people swim for free and bring their dogs to get some social interaction with other dogs. It was a happy sight...but there were a LOT of people....so we just waded in the water a bit and then headed back to town and went to an amazing store called "Whole Foods". It was a massive store full of super fresh produce, meats, seafood, and really....anything you could think of...if you can eat it....it is probably there. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a particular affinity for a certain mineral: NaCl - Also known as Salt. They had a large variety of unrefined salts from around the world. I ended up getting a little over a pound of some gorgeous Sal Gris or Gray Salt. This made me a pretty happy camper. I then went to the meat section and decided that I had to have two of the grass fed beef tenderloin filets. I grabbed a small peice of blue cheese that I thought would be excellent for making a sauce from the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan. We went back to the apartment and I did the following.

I seasoned the beef with some of my new gray salt and some black pepper while I was pre-heating a nice thick-bottomed pan and added olive oil to the pan and I seared the tenderloin on all sides just until all sides were browned and left the inside of the meat hot, but rare (the way I believe all tenderloin should be cooked). After this I plated them in the center and I proceeded to make the sauce. One of the easiest and tastiest sauces to make. I deglazed the pan with some Oregon Pinot Noir (thank you Eli for turning Auri and I onto this), after the wine and all the little brown bits from the meat were co-mingling nicely as a dark brown sauce on their own I added some heavy cream to the mix and stirred it with a wisk until it was thoroughly emulsified and then added about a teaspoon of liquid aminos (similar to soy sauce or worechestershire sauce) . Finally after all of that was a smooth light brown color I crumbled in the already creamy blue cheese I had cut smaller (to help melt in). I tilted the pan over the heat so all the sauce would go into the corner of the pan and started to whisk in all of the cheese to help it melt and make the sauce a little more emulsified. After it was all combined I turned off the heat and let the residual heat condense the sauce a little further. I brought the pan over to the plated meat and with a tablespoon I spooned a ring around each of the tenderloins and added some cut chives to the top for a slightly oniony garnish. We then proceeded to induldge...partnered with the oregon pinot, this was our mid-afternoon "meal".
Following our food we played another game of quiddler and got ready for our nightime plans of going to the Alamo Drafthouse. It was a theater that was also a full service restaurant. We got there a little early to make sure we could get seats (it gets sold out pretty fast) and while you're waiting there is a full bar with drinks available so I had a local beer that Mike had bought for me. The orders were taken during the previews and was delievered once the movied started. The movie was probably one of the most comical "make you jump" horror movies i've seen in a long time. It was called "Drag me to hell". Just so you all know....it was terrible....and if you like getting startled and then laughing.....then maybe you'll like it. The theater was an overall fun experience though because of the pure novelty.
We went back to the apartment and watched an episode of the original miniseries "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." It was...brilliant...they just don't make TV/movies like they used to. Yeah there are scale models, yeah there are terrible special effects, but the movies had definitive atmosphere, style, and general good taste.
The following day Erin had to work so we hung out Mike and just kinda took it easy. We had a small snack instead of breakfast because we slept in for a little while and we were going to have lunch with Erin when she got on break. We went to a really tasty place called "Magnolia's." I got a couple chicken enchiladas that were covered in queso and a chipotle sauce with a side of black beans and spanish rice. We went to check out a store next door afterwards that was kindof a gift/novelty shop. I got something that I could not resist getting because myself and many of my lunchtime compadres from school had spoke of just such a thing as being a fictional desire: Bacon flavored gum balls. Yes....I found it....and if you want some....I will share it with you...
When it was time for Erin to go back to work for another appointment we went with her to check out the shops around where she works. I ended up getting one of those elastic bands that goes into the poles for my tent (one of them snapped and they are a pain to fix). We also got the audiobook "Lies my teacher told me" which is about all of the political biases that are in American text books. After shopping Erin was done and we went to a little ice cream shop similar to cold stone called "Amy's." I got a sundae with gingersnap cookies, heathbar, and Chocolate whipped cream all in mexican vanilla. We went home to pack things up as we were hoping to take off for Houston at around 7. The short 3.5 hour drive would be a breeze after driving 17 hours straight from Illinois. It was a great experience staying with Erin and Mike, they were great hosts to us. We only hope when they come to Vermont we can do something similar for them.
Austin was great....now on to meet my Uncle for the first time (that I can remember) in Houston!