burlington, vt

vermont, its beauty still takes my breathe away, the lake, the mountains, and the colorful trees, i've come at the right time of year.

this is the last stop for me until we find a home of our own. i've spent my first few days here just taking it all in. on a walk by the lake i discovered burlington has it's own andy goldsworthy. these pictures don't do it justice, they were taken with a phone. its really a site so if you're in Burlington i recommend checking it out. i have to wonder if it was all done by one person or if one person started it and others added to it.

i'm not really sure how long i'll be in vt but while i'm here i'll be working @ bluebird tavern, feel free to stop by the foods really good!

chelmsford, ma

my hometown... it was good to see friends and family

western, ma

aka the place we'd like to call home someday soon. i wished i had taken some pictures it's just so beautiful out there. i know that seems surprising because most of mass isn't that pretty but the hardwick area is.

two nights with good friends and the largest pizza i've ever encountered, 24 slices, no small ones either! i'm not really sure what to write about this leg of our journey so i'll leave it at that.

detroit (well roseville), michigan

we decided to hit up milk & honey before departing for roseville and yes i got the pancakes again, i just couldn't resist. chicago to roseville takes about 3.5 hours which is our shortest drive to date. in case you are wondering why roseville, tom's sister and her soon to be husband live there. we arrived around 6 and had our first home cooked meal in what seemed to be weeks. the vegetables and herb were picked from their garden so everything tasted so fresh and delicious. shortly after dinner we went to bed because we had an early morning and long drive ahead of us...

chicago day 2

the morning started with brunch @ milk & honey. it was a bit of a wait due to the holiday but we decided to endure it. their pancakes with granola are to die for (they are still on my mind a week later). after brunch we made our way downtown with no real plan in mind. as we walked around we happened upon an urban garden in grant park which i found very exciting. the garden is used as a source of education and vegetables are sold as farmers markets. i began to wonder why there wasn't more of this in places like san francisco, golden gate park has so much free green space. we spent a good chunk of time walking on a bike path along the water, it was a beautiful day and it was somewhat funny to see people sun tanning on the boats like they were on display. we stopped into the original uno's for some real chicago deep dish pizza. it was ok but i'd recommend going somewhere else it just felt like we were in a regular old uno's chain.

later in the evening we had dinner at publican which seems to be getting a bit of press these days. the noise level was off the chart so it was hard to have a decent conversation, the decor was not quite our style and despite the fact that we had a very strange dining experience the food was good and i personally would go back to give it another shot.

chicago

i heard through the grapevine that someone was interested in hearing more about chicago...

we arrived in chicago on a sunday night, it was a long drive from sioux falls and we were both really excited to park the car for a few days. i had done a bit of research on hotels in chicago and had decided to book something a little more unique then your standard hotel. neither of us having spent much time in chicago were pleasantly surprised as we pulled into the wicker park area where the inn was located. it was a cute little neighborhood with a number of restaurants and boutique shops. the place we had booked was called the ruby room their tag line being "the style of wellness" due to the fact that it had it's on spa and yoga studio. it had no more then 12 rooms on the 3rd and 4th floor (the yoga studio was on the 2nd and the spa on the 1st) and in my mind i couldn't think of a more perfect place to stay. the room was a good size for 2 people and there was a kitchen down the hall if you wanted to cook. our host was gracious and let us know that the public transit was just a block away, again we didn't plan on driving for a couple days.

after we got settled we took off for our first city adventure. the public transit was fairly easy to find and quite different from what i was used to in SF. you could here it coming long before you could see it, as it got closer it got progressively louder like it was about to erupt and it was so fast. anyways we made our way to custom house for dinner without getting lost. both the menu and wine list look good and we were both looking forward to a good meal because as most of you can image sioux falls wasn't a food mecca. though a little of the pricey side the food was good and we left feeling satisfied.

Now in Chicago

sioux falls, sd

a stay in sioux falls broke up the 15 hours inbetween devils tower and chicago.

Devils Tower, WY

today is my birthday and as we depart livingston i can only image what exciting adventure the day will bring. we are off to camp at devils tower national park which i'm very excited about because i loooove camping.

a little ways into the drive we decide to stop in billings, mt for some coffee for tom and gas for the car. billings has a bustling downtown and to our delight we discovered a natural food market that sells local produce and meat which we'll need for cooking at the campsite. we also make a quick run through albertsons because the natural food market did not have graham crackers or marshmellows and i had my heart set on birthday smores.

we arrive at devils tower around six, anyone ever see close encounters of the third kind? well i haven't but this is where some of it takes place. anyways we pick a campsite and start to unload our tent both of us are so happy to be out of the car. this is when i notice the red tape across the grill at our site. i quickly do a servalance of the grounds and notice all the grills at all the sites are taped, there's a fire ban:(

my birthday dinner quickly turns form kabobs, salad, corn, wine and smores to steaks, fries and beer at fort devils tower. i don't even know where to begin on how to describe the restaurant/food. it wasn't that bad though owner/cook went on and on about how he doesn't purchase grass feed beef because it tastes like grass. what?

regardless of dinner and not beable to find our headlamps we managed to have an enjoyable night of camping, the weather was perfect and the moon was full. in the morning we had a great run up to the base of the tower and then were on our way.

Forest Fires - Montana

Livingston, MT

small historic western town, with a historic hotel. as we entered the lobby i thought to myself i really hope the rooms don't have stuffed animal heads mounted on the wall as they are in the lobby because i'll have nightmares.

we spent less then 15 hours here so i don't have much to say but here's a couple pictures...

Walla Walla: Extra Day

tom joined me for a run, we grabbed breakfast (abeja wasn't serving it) and then went to the saddest little farmers market we ever encountered. there sat 5 booths in a little park, one of which sold crafts and there wasn't anyone but us there. we purchased some berries and apples and wondered what motivated them to come back and sell every week.

after a relaxing morning/afternoon at the bunkhouse we decided to do a couple more tastings. pepper bridge was our first stop, its one of the largest/oldest wineries in walla walla. their wines were ok but extremely over priced so aren't really worth writing about. after pepper bridge we crossed the border to milton freewater, or for a tasting at Zerba. neither of us had ever tasted any of their wines so we were pleasantly surprised that they were excellent. i had, had my doubts when we pulled up to the log cabin in the middle of nowhere with the salesman boasting about metals the wines had won. but these wines were very nice, we liked all 10 of the wines that we tried, including the whites. needless to say we did not leave empty handed.

Change in plans...

I had alluded to a change in route in a previous post...

Day 1: San Francisco - Portland, OR
Day 2: Portland, OR - Walla Walla, WA
Day 3: Walla Walla, WA
Day 4: Walla Walla, WA (added an extra day)
Day 5: Walla Walla, WA - Livingston, MT (to saw an episode of no reservations on Livingston while running on a treadmill in Portland)
Day 6: Livingston, MT - Devils Tower, WY
Day 7: Devils Tower - Sioux Falls, SD (just to break up a 15 hour drive)
Day 8: Sioux Falls, SD - Chicago, IL
Day 9: Chicago, IL
Day 10: Chicago - Detroit
Day 11: Detroit - Hardwick, MA
Day 12: Hardwick - Chelmsford
and finally...
Day 12-14: Chelmsford - Burlington, VT

Walla Walla: Winery Visits

my morning started off with a run along 5 mile road. as i run there is almost no one around it was just me running down a quiet road lined with rolling hills of wheat that shined like gold in the morning sun. the air was warm and dry and i could tell that it hadn't rained there for a long time because i could taste the soil/dirt in the air with every breathe i took in.

after the run was a pancake breakfast in the barn of the vineyard followed by a wine tasting (a couple hours later) of the abeja line up. Our hostess was very knowledge and the wines were decent though we walked away empty handed.

next was rulo, who makes an amazing syrah. They are a small production winery and keep their bottle prices low by self distributing which means unless you are in the walla walla area you most likely won't get a taste of their wonderful syrah. Unless of course you happen to come over to dinner on a night we decide to pop one open. Our visit lasted about an hour and was a pleasure, we walked out with a few bottles we purchased plus an 07 syrah that vicki (co-owner) gave us as a preview of whats to come! thanks vicki

Later on in the evening we hit up saffron for some dinner. if you ever find yourself in walla walla this is the place to eat. i'd have to say that it's the best place in town, not that the others are bad by any means its just amazing!

Walla Walla, WA

after we moved our belongings into the bunkhouse, which was beyond perfect we headed into town for dinner at whitehouse crawford. the restaurant is housed in a beautiful 100 year old building, as you walk in the door there is an antique boiler so tom was naturally thrilled and spent several minutes inspecting it. we sat at the chefs table because we enjoy watching the chefs cook the food. tom feeling adventrous ordered the cured foie gras with brioche toast, hazelnuts, and roasted peach and feeling a bit adventrous myself I gave it a try. i must say it may have been the most digusting thing i ever put in my mouth (the cured foie gras). the consistency and taste was so gross i don't dear to even describe it now.

Day 2, 3, & 4: Walla Walla, WA

walla walla, wa is only a 4 hour drive from portland. we'd visited once before almost a year ago to date. walla walla is a quaint little town that is home to wheat fields and vineyards. we first came to walla walla in search of charles smith of k vintners but that's a story for another time.

this trip to walla walla was all about relaxing we rented the bunkhouse (basically a 450 sq ft cottage) at abeja winery the whole property was absolutely beautiful. upon check in we were served a glass of their 04 cab, we got a tour of the property and were told "feel free to sample the grapes" which made both tom and i smile. we need to take off again so i'm write more on walla walla later. it's an amazing little place and look forward to writing more...

Dear Portland...

Dear Portland,

i heart you, which is why it is so sad that i won't be staying. it's not you, its me. i would have loved to continue to explore your city streets, there seems to be something exciting at every corner. i love that you are forward thinking, that your people are quarkie and oh so very friendly, the food, what can i say it's amazing. i love the open kitchens, the renegade chefs, the use of all things local, and the fact that working in a restaurant is seen as a profession (nobody asks the waitstaff what their real job is or if they are students).

it was a very hard decision to make but what it came down to is that it is time to plants some roots and be closer to the friends and family we love some much.

so this is good-bye but i promise to visit real soon.

good-bye le pigeon, beast, pok pok, ken's artisan pizza, cacao, forest park, little red bicycle cafe, powells and owen roe

Day 1: SF to PDX

a 9 hour drive and totally exhausted we check in to our hotel, shower, and venture out for a dinner at le pigeon. realizing it's only 3/4 of a mile away we opt to walk because the thought of sitting in the car for another minute wasn't too appealing to either of us. sitting at the bar which lines the open kitchen we read the menu, order, and then watch the 3 chefs prepare our food. i'm a sucker for gnocchi theirs is accompanied by frogs legs which tom and i discuss for a moment and decide why not give it a try. in case you are wondering it tastes like fresh water fish, i wasn't that into it but the gnocchi was quite enjoyable. our main courses come and go and i'm too tired to even think about dessert (i know turning down dessert is something i never do). we walk back to the hotel on streets that are oddly familiar for somewhere we've never lived, its warm outside but there's a cool breeze that reminds us of fall. as we walk the buzz from the city is all around us and we once again fall in love with portland and start to wonder why it is no longer our final destination.

the next morning we sleep in for a change so we have to bypass our run in the park and hop on the treadmills instead:( tom watches an episode of no reservations which somehow manages to change our cross country route. after the run we are off to breakfast and a quick, well sort of quick trip to powells books and then we are on the road again.

The Cross Country Trip

Day 1: San Francisco - Portland, OR
Day 2: Portland, OR - Walla Walla, WA
Day 3: Walla Walla, WA
Day 4: Walla Walla, WA - Craters of the Moon
Day 5: Craters of the Moon - YelllowStone
Day 6: Yellowstone - Devils Tower, WY
Day 7: Devils Tower - Chicago, IL
Day 8 & 9: Chicago - Detroit (tom's sister lives there)
Day 10: Detroit - Hardwick, MA
Day 11: Hardwick - Chelmsford
and finally...
Day 12-14: Chelmsford - Burlington, VT

ode to san francisco

after almost 3 years in the city we've decided to travel back to new england. though it was a fun adventure there's no hiding the fact that i had a love/hate relationship with the city. so it felt strange to feel sad as we drove away.

good-bye san francisco, good bye califoria...

top 10 things i'll miss (in no particular order)

• the ferry building farmers market


• runs through golden gate park (all year round)


• dara and britt - our foodie friends, we'll be hard pressed to find anyone who enjoys talking food as much as you and who reacts to a duck farmer the same why most people would act if they met a famous actor.


• blue bottle coffee - i may never drink another hot chocolate again, nothing seems to stand up to theirs


• della fattoria - best bread i've ever had


• no car, it was so great not driving


• paso robles, bike riding, camping & vineyard - what more could you ask for?


• eos, its was fun being "regulars"


• fresh local fruits/veggies all year round


• omnivore books