vacation

Kickin’ Up Route 66

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After Vegas, we headed down to the Grand Canyon. Um, wow.

GCGrand Canyon

Yep, we went there. We stuck around til the sun went down, and saw one of the most beautiful night skies on the planet. Sadly, I’m not skilled enough in photography to have captured it, but this is the idea:

stars

We didn’t see a whole lot of wildlife on this trip, but one thing we did see was…. Elk. One one of the heavily populated walkways at the Grand Canyon, a big ol’ Elk was just hanging out, people-watching. At night as we drove through the Coconino National Forest en route to Flagstaff, we had to slow down twice for Elk crossing the road.

Flagstaff was FREEZING. Seriously, between the cold and the reindeer I could have sworn we were at the North Pole.

For breakfast, we decided to warm up at Brandy’s, a wonderful local restaurant and bakery that was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. What a place! Just a small hole in the wall place with great people and absolutely delicious food. The best pancake of my life. And the best pumpkin spice latte I’ve ever had. I ordered a chipotle scrambler (eggs, chipotle, cheddar, and a tortilla). James had eggs and a pancake. Oh. my. gosh. I would almost move to Flagstaff just to be close to this place.


Brandy'sBrandy's insidePumpkin Spice LatteChorizo Scrambler
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And with our stomachs full, we hopped in our car and headed for the Pacific!

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Copyright 2010

Lunch on a Greek Island

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With Maryland being absolutely freezing today, I’m wishing I was back in Greece.

In August of 2010, I visited the Greek island of Aegina with some friends. For those of you unfamiliar with Aegina, it’s an island that’s about 45 minutes away from the port of Piraeus, the port of Athens. The island is rather large compared to its neighbors, but aside from a busy street of restaurants right near the dock, it’s a warm, sleepy paradise of pistacio trees and bright blue water. I can’t wait to go back!

Approaching Aegina

The day we were there, it was about 100°F. We had lunch in the shade of a big blue tent overlooking the marina, and it was DELICIOUS.

First, we had some really awesome tzaziki. You can get this stuff here, but it’s nothing like the creamy flavor you get in Greece.

We put our tzaziki on this bread, and it was fantastic:

Then I ordered Calamari. I always love calamari, but this was exceptional. Soft and buttery, like they just caught it that morning.

Best Calamari Ever

Lucky for me, there’s a fantastic Greek restaurant down the street from my house. I might have to go there tonight.

New Year’s in Colonial Williamsburg

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To ring in the New Year, James took me to Colonial Williamsburg. I have always loved that place. This time we both enjoyed it so much we even thought about moving there.
One of the most fascinating things about Williamsburg is the food. They really do their best to make you feel like you stepped back in time. Friday afternoon we had lunch at Shield’s Tavern. What an atmosphere! We were led down into a brick-walled cellar lit only with candle light, where a gentleman was playing 18th century tunes on a fiddle. It was so much fun!

Sunday morning we went to the Governor’s Palace and saw a woman cooking in the kitchen there. She was following an 18th century cookbook and using a huge fireplace to cook. She was telling us that one of the crazy things about cookbooks in the 18th century is that they leave out “obvious” details. For example, she was making a chocolate pudding, and the recipe didn’t mention sugar, because you’re supposed to know that it’s supposed to be sweet, and be smart enough to add sugar. She said a lot of the recipes are like that. They all say “Cook until done” instead of giving you actual times, for example.

To remember our gastronomical experiences at Williamsburg, we brought home Johnny Cake Mix, gingerbread cakes, Virginia sparkling cider, Virginia peanuts, and a cute kitchen towel with the tavern logos on it. I already have their Raleigh Tavern Bakery Cookbook.

If you’ve never been to Colonial Williamsburg, you really have to check it out. I can’t wait to go back!