One of the downsides of my aunt’s otherwise fantastic gold coast neighborhood in downtown Chicago, the only downside actually, is that it is often hard to find a parking spot. So after a six hour drive from Iowa we can spend another hour driving around and around the same blocks trying to find a spot. Even with overnight parking restricted to cars that show a residents guest pass, the spots can be scarce. But not at 5 pm on a Friday, apparently…tonight there was one spot after another available, I am guessing because it was just before the 6 pm bewitching hour when only cars with passes can park. Good to know….
2012 in review – Thank you to my most “active commenter”: Dad
Some strange stuff worth reading here – who knew I had readers in Afghanistan? (Although I could have guessed my most “active commenter” was….”Dad.”) Thanks to one and all!
Happy 2013! Betsy
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 20,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 5 Film Festivals
Filed under Iowa
Dog stops on highway 54 east of dodge city, I-35 north of emporia
We found a good park to walk Ernie on highway 54 in Pratt, Kansas, the halfway point between dodge city and Wichita (roughly.) it’s called Zenger Park, a small patch of yellowed frozen grass with a classic wind whipped Kansas tree and some antiquated playground equipment and an empty concrete wading pool. perfect…
And then of course there is the rest stop north of Emporia on Interstate 35 just past the Flint Hills…
Filed under Kansas misc
The welcoming committee in wright Kansas
The canine welcoming committee was waiting for Ernie, our vizsla, when we took our first walk in the small town of wright, Kansas where my husband grew up. Three dogs were waiting in a pack in the driveway as Ernie came out on her leash, pulling me behind her. Although Ernie seemed game, I wasn’t sure our city dog was ready to roam with these townie scruffs so we stared each other down for a few minutes until they appeared to lose interest and trotted off down the dirt road toward the church.
Today it was so cold and windy and snowy that I never made it out the door and Ernie took a few very brief walks with other attending adults. Back to Iowa tomorrow. Below is a photo of my other in law on her 89th birthday (Xmas eve) with some of her grandchildren….
Filed under Kansas misc
Nothing like a Kansas sunset/classic scenic overlook dodge city
We drove into a very dramatic sunset yesterday on highway 50 near Spearville and Wright Kansas, with a wide shelf of purple/pink clouds pierced by a bolt of bright blue, all looming above massive whirling turbines of a wind farm and the occasional grain elevator. today we had a clear cold morning and three neighborhood dogs were waiting right outside our door when I took Ernie out to walk. Word travels fast, apparently in a small town when there’s a new dog around. We didn’t trust our city dog to run wild with the neighborhood pack.
We did take in the view – and the pungent smell- at dodge city’s scenic overlook just east of town.
Filed under Kansas misc
Politically incorrect tank/good stops for dogs in Kansas
Found a good place to walk Ernie near paxico Kansas on interstate 70 west of Topeka in the flint hills (supposedly…doesn’t look much like the flint hills here. It’s a rest area with a strange concrete bunker -like structure built into a hill. There is a nice hilly stretch of land for a dog to do its business. None back on the road. We were not sure how Ernie would do hanging out in the car by herself so we ate in shifts at the chipotle in Topeka. If the weather was warmer we might have been able to sit with ernie on the outdoor patio. Are there any chain restaurants that permit dogs? I know this is Kansas not France but maybe there are.
And for those few of you driving further west, there is a dandy little rural park off highway 156/96 just before Great Bend, kansas where we had the good sense to stop and let Ernie out to stretch and, as fate would have it, throw up. One more hour in the car and then we are in…Wright, Kansas. our destination.
Hours later and we just had to stop with Ernie at one of highway 50’s highlights in the small town of Offerle…the tank in the local park, a memorial to Vietnam vets. With Santa aboard. And a politically incorrect name painted on the barrel. We are not in Iowa any more.
Filed under interstates, Kansas misc
Suggestions for taking kids to New Orleans and Plantations
My sister and her husband are going with their three kids to New Orleans over New Years so here’s some thoughts on things kids in particular might like or find interesting:
– Near the Garden District, the famous Camelia Grill is a great place to get a burger or omelette smothered in chili, sitting at the curving counter watching the entertaining waiters. (see photo above) You can take the street car almost all the way there, I think, although the St. Charles line may still be under repair so you may have to transfer to a bus. Camelia Grill isn’t far from Tulane.
– Walk along Frenchmen Street at night to hear some live jazz (the kid are probably too young to get into the bars but there are often musicians playing on the street who sound just as good…to this untrained ear at least.) St. Louis Cemetery #1 ( think it’s #1) worth a trip as is French market and nearby Cafe Du Monde for beignets (touristy, yes, but for good reason.) For a look at the lingering devastation of Hurricane katrina, take a tour led by someone at lowernine.org. (You’ll need to call ahead to book and have a car so the guide can drive you around.(504) 278-1240)
– For good neighborhood place famed for Cajun classics, try Mandinas (excellent gumbo and po-boys)…or Luizza’s By The Tracks (it was closed when we went due to a power outage but the owner pointed us to Mandinas nearby.) Both are out-of-the-way and you have to take a cab (so you may not want to do but does give you a feel for real life beyond the French Quarter or Garden District.
– In Plantation County, near the fabulous Laura Plantation is B&C Seafoods where you can try several local delicacies including an alligator burger or boudin balls (deep fried balls of a creamy sort of sausage.) You can also more familiar stuff like a crab cake with hush puppies. A great down home atmosphere. (see photo below) The kids will probably like Oak Alley Plantation perhaps better than Laura. Oak Alley is more touristy/with people dressed in period costume (hooped skirts) while Laura is more humble but gorgeous and tour is more focused on history and realities like slavery, from what I recall.
Filed under Louisiana, New Orleans
Choosing down home vs. gourmet food (and music) in Nashville
After several recent trips in major foodie towns (New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Lima, Cusco, Arequipa) where I’ve eaten my share of gourmet meals at upscale, creative restaurants, I’m thinking I’ll stick more with the more down home simple stuff in Nashville. Not that the city doesn’t have its share of upscale creative restaurants but it also seems to have some great bbq and fried chicken joints – and to be honest this simple stuff is often my favorite when we eat out here and there. Even in Peru and New Orleans, I often was just as happy – if not happier – with a cup of gumbo or some chiccarones (fried bits of pork) than I was with the more complicated fancier fare. So here are some of my preliminary picks for Nashville: – Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack – where I’m told the medium spicy fried chicken may be too hot to handle (so maybe I’ll play it safe with the mild.) And the chess pie sounds like a must.
– The Loveless Cafe (because I’m pretty sure this is where I went years ago with my dad) for fried chicken, homemade biscuits etc.
– Ellison Place Soda Shop for a chocolate shake. Retro before there was retro (in biz since 1939.)
For music I’m thinking: The Family Wash for alt-everything or the 5 Spot for rockabilly, rock and country; or Ryman Auditorium; or the Bluebird Cafe; or the Wildhorse Saloon (if I can convince my husband to go line dancing…and maybe even if I can’t.) And yes, I’ve been to the newer Grand Ole Opry once – and that was probably enough (although we’re staying in the mega hotel where the theater is located.) I’m also intrigued by the Cowboy Church – which has a gospel show on Sunday mornings. One of the best places I ever heard music was at the Memphis church of Rev. Al Green (yes that Al Green).
Filed under Nashville
where to stay along the Mississippi in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota
One of the worst nights we’ve had was staying aboard a boat that doubles as a hotel of sorts along the Mississippi River in Dubuque Iowa. It seemed like a good idea but the quarters were cramped and strange; the boat was docked beside not only a busy road but a railroad track so it was noisy; and we were the only people aboard. Given that this boat was among the recommendations listed for where to stay along the Mississippi in a 2009 issue of a Minneapolis based mag, I’m not sure how the other recommendations will be. But here they are just in case:
– Golden Lantern Inn, Red Wing, MN
– Tritsch House B&B, Alma, WI (this is a really nice little river town!)
– Alexander Mansion, Winona, Mn.- Wilson Schoolhouse Inn, LaCrosse, WI
– The Hancock House, Dubuque
– Mont Rest, Bellevue, Ia. (long been curious about this place)
– Tatanka Bluffs, Redwood Falls, MN
– Belle Rive, Lanesboro, MN
– Oakenwald Terrace. Chatfield, MN
– Woodland Trails. Hinckley, MN
– Inn at Sacred Clay Farm, Lanesboro, MN
– Solglimit, Duluth, MN
– Blue Heron, Ely, MN
– Loon Song Bed and Breakfast, Park Rapids, MN
– A.G. Tomson House. Duluth, MN
– Covington Inn, St. Paul, MN
Collecting string – so to speak – on Nashville
It’s looking like I might tag along on my husband’s business trip to Nashville in January so I’m starting to collect some string on the place. I’ve only been there once – very briefly during a road trip with my dad in 1989, although long enough to go to the Grand Ole Opry and to a really cool old roadhouse for dinner. I found two Nashville ideas in a recent issue of an inflight magazine during our trip to Peru (and since I’m starting to write for inflight magazines I like them more than ever!) Here they are:
– Arnold’s Country Kitchen for roast beef, onion rings and tomatoes…and one of my husband’s favorites, chicken fried steak. also known for fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, cornbread (grilled or baked) and banana pudding. 605 8th Avenue South; 615-256-4455
– Layla’s Blue Grass Inn for live music!
Filed under Nashville
TakeBetsywithyou 
