Fort Worth & Austin

Fort Worth (Cowtown) is a great place with a vibrant downtown! And who better to visit with than your favorite travel partner? On a recent TDY, the stars aligned and Elizabeth was able to come with me. The double-edged sword here was that now Elizabeth knows just how nice a town Fort Worth is. So when I go TDY without her, I won't get any sympathy.

While I was at work during the day, Elizabeth was able to do work for her job and spend time exploring the city. And in the evenings, I was finally able to take Elizabeth to the restaurants I've wanted to try - but didn't want to enjoy with the fellas (sorry Jesters).

Before returning back home, we were able to take a side-trip to Austin. The Congress Street bridge was a highlight. Each evening at dusk, a million or so bats fly out. Unfortunately, mid June is breeding time, and the wave of departing bats (from under the bridge) was minimal. Also in Austin is a destination I highly recommend: The Cathedral of Junk (4422 Lareina Dr). It's in a fella's backyard and is closed for now, but you can check it out from the road.

For a midday snack, try Hey Cupcake. Best cupcake ($2.75) I've had that came out of a trailer. They've got a main store and several satellite trailer locations. When you go, be sure to ask for the whipped cream special. It's no additional cost.

The highlight of the trip was the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. We started in Johnson City at the NPS visitors center (so Elizabeth could get a National Park Passport stamp). LBJ's boyhood home is there, as is a 0.8 mi path thru his grandparents' homestead. Lunch at Cafe 290 (no website, but you'll find it) in Johnson City was a treat. Then we drove 14 miles west of Johnson City to the LBJ ranch. You can get a CD for the driving audio tour (free) and check out the little White House, Johnson's Cadillacs and the show ranch animals. The LBJ experience takes a whole day but is a tremendously cool time.

The LBJ library in Austin and the Texas state capitol building are both very cool too. The Austin music scene is renowned and the town has enough excellent restaurants for many future visits.

Big Bear Lake

2.5 hours southeast of Edwards - just 111 miles away, you can find yourself at 7,000 ft elevation in Big Bear. This place has trees, hiking trails, a lake and so much more. While there are plenty of cabins and hotels surrounding Big Bear Lake, consider the Miramar Marine Corps cabins. They have a handful of cabins that vary in price depending on the season - plus there are a few peculiar rules, so check their website.

Miramar's cabins are fully furnished and have a room for 6: a master bedroom downstairs and two beds in the loft. There's a grill out back, a great playground for the kids, a veritable movie collection and board games to borrow. If you're in town during the summer, rent the facility's pontoon boat or canoe for the day.

Our recent trip to Big Bear was a blast; shared with a family in our squadron who brought their two fabulous kids. Big Bear was a cool 75F in June and we enjoyed all the area had to offer. Our favorite stop (a great stop even without kids) was the Alpine Slide, a quarter mile track of pure downhill joy. $4 per ride. We also checked out the Big Bear Discovery Center and went on several short hikes.

It was loads of fun to cook at our cabin, we did stop in to the Big Bear Mountain Brewery. It was 11:30am, so I can't say much about the beer - but the lunch plates were eclectic and satisfying. Incidentally, the weekend we went was also bike weekend in Big Bear and the bikers swarmed the brewery. So it must be good.

LA Derby Dolls

Whip it! has nothing on these girls. One Saturday in June we were in the area and decided to check out the Derby Dolls. Pull out your favorite booty shorts and knee socks and you’ll fit right in! If you enjoyed the movie then you will likely enjoy a visit to the L.A. Derby Dolls Doll Factory. I was initially a little hesitant to go to a roller derby worrying that the crowd would be too rough – I shouldn’t have worried. The play is rough but the crowd is there to have a good time and cheer on the girls. Its defiantly not scripted and there are plenty of spills to prove it. Note: if you want to sit down you will need to purchase a VIP Ticket. All other tickets are standing - there isn’t a bad seat/standing spot in the house though.

Alaska by Land

Our big trip this year was to Alaska for 2 weeks! We got a great deal on a 7 night cruise on Princess for $399 per person, so we decided to spend a week driving around the interior before getting onto the cruise ship.

It started with a flight from Burbank, thru Seattle to Anchorage. In the Seattle airport, we had fish tacos for lunch at Anthony's restaurant. They were excellent! Once in Anchorage, we were hungry again. Our Moon guidebook recommended the Moose's Tooth Brewery. It was also an excellent choice. We shared a pizza and drank a couple of pints of the brew. Unfortunately, we didn't pick up a 'growler' (jug of beer to take home). We stayed at Elmendorf AFB lodging, which enabled us to splurge later in the trip.

Our first day was spent going to church and tooling around Anchorage in our rental car (Alaska Railroad Depot, Visitor's Center, Local Farmer's Market and Star the Reindeer. In the evening hours, we hiked to a scenic waterfall (Thunderbird Falls) in Chugach State Park.

Day 2 on the ground, we drove 127 miles along Turnagain Arm from Anchorage to Seward. En route we checked out the Girdwood ski area and nearby gold mine, then stopped in to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (Bear, Caribou, Moose, Oxen, Bald Eagles). Then we dropped into the Portage Glacier visitor center and arranged a boat tour across the lake to the glacier face. This was a fantastic beginning to our overall glacier experience. Most of Portage Lake was still frozen, giving it a truly 'explorer like' feel.

Then we stopped at the Exit Glacier visitor center (and got a N.P. stamp) where the National Park ranger told us it was one of just a few days a year when you could hike to the toe of Exit Glacier. The reason was that runoff hadn't yet increased, so you could still ford the stream to get to the toe. What she didn't say was that we had to wade through 24-inch deep snow to get there. We were soaking wet, but we touched the toe of the glacier (see above photo). Amazing!

In Seward, we stayed at Hotel Seward for 2 nights. Food and lodging in Seward is tricky as its a small town. We ended up picking up some food from the town grocery store. On day 3, we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center and opted for the "Behind the Scenes" tour. It was $12 pp extra, but we ended up as the only two on the tour. So it was neat to see what goes on behind the tanks. We also did some local hiking in Seward, spotted sea otters and enjoyed walking around a bit.

Day 4 took us from Seward, up Rt 3 to Denali N.P. On the drive, we stopped to see a salmon hatchery, then visited the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla. For lunch, we checked out the Road House in Talkeetna (MKJ recommendation). Five stars here for excellent atmosphere and superb food. It's also walking distance to a Denali N.P. ranger station, where Elizabeth could stamp our National Parks passport book. We checked into the Dome Home B&B, 12 miles North of Denali and realized that in the land of the midnight sum, 8pm was way to early to turn in for the night. And luckily, the Denali Park Road was still open to milepost 30. It is normally only open to milepost 15. So we jumped in the rental car and drove into the park. We saw Moose, Caribou and a porcupine.

On day 5, our first stop was to the Denali sled dog kennels for a pretty cool demo. Humorously enough, a moose was on the sled dog trail, so the park rangers called for a 'Wildlife Technician' to scare off the moose. Otherwise, the sled dogs wouldn't run the path. On the long walk back to our car, we too ran into the same moose.

Our afternoon activity was the 8 hour bus tour of Denali. We had mixed feelings about an 8 hour tour before hopping on. But it was truly amazing. Our guide was a very bright fellow and taught us so much about the landscape, flora and fauna. We saw the 'Big 5:' Moose, Bear, Caribou, Wolf, Dall Sheep. Jeff's favorite part was the erratic boulder - a 25' tall rock placed into a field by a prehistoric glacier.

Our second day in Denali was gobbled up by us driving into the park for several hikes. All meals in Denali were eaten at the Denali Salmon Bake - an eclectic local joint 1.5 miles north of the park entrance. We normally eat at different places on our trips to get a flavor of the locale, but after our first meal at the salmon bake, we were sold! Try the salmon on a cedar plank, the BBQ pulled pork or the fish tacos.

The last treat of our land portion came in an unassuming way. En route back to Anchorage before getting onto our cruise boat, we stopped to see a mother black bear and her two babies. They were only 15 feet away (we stayed in the car, then quickly moved on). We spent another night at Elmendorf AFB, then took the Whittier Shuttle to Whittier to board our boat. Of note, the road to Whittier goes thru a mountain on a 1-lane road shared by northbound traffic, southbound traffic and the Alaska Railroad. Each of the 3 get 15 minutes of transit time per hour so you have to hit the tunnel just right.

Observations: Alaska is America's Last Frontier. We were very lucky to have the chance to visit the interior to see the beauty.

Professing My Love for Stamps!

Ok. I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with National Park Passport Stamps. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly worse things to be obsessed with, but I've heard the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. As with any obsession I blame my parents. From as long as I can remember my parents have been planning trips around National Parks and letting me stamp my National Park Passport Book. When I was little I stamped without regard for the organization of the book - now I try to figure out a way to fit the most stamps into the regional color coded pages.

For those of you that think I'm joking about being obsessed I present the following evidence.

1. When planning a trip my first stop is the National Park Service.(Upcoming Wedding in Boston - we add a week to the trip to visit Acadia. Wedding in Naples, FL - we add a few days to hit Everglades NP.)

2. I have googled National Park Stamps enough time to know there is actually a web page that lists All possible National Park Stamps. (Its important to know that I have not yet applied to be a "Master Traveler" but I've given it serious consideration!)

3. I know and address each region by color instead of location within the country. (For example you tell me your going to Oregon and I begin to refer to it as your trip to the light blue area.)

4. I carry my National Park stamp book "just in case."

5. On our most recent trip to Alaska a timid parent approached me to ask where he could get "one of those nifty stamp books" for his kids.

I don't see myself giving up my stamping habit anytime soon.
And why should I?
The National Parks are one of the greatest treasures we have been given from generations past. I can only hope that my enthusiasm for the National Parks (and their round stamps) rubs off on my children the way it rubbed off on me. Thanks Mom & Dad - An America the Beautiful Pass and Stamp Book are certainly much cheaper and more enjoyable then Therapy.

24 Hours, One City, My Whole Family.

Vancouver

My parents had plans to visit my sister in Seattle for Memorial Day weekend. Jeff and I were disembarking the Coral Princess in Vancouver and were leaving the next morning by train for LA. So a plan was hatched for a mini-family reunion in Canada.

The Coral Princess docked in Canada Place, the cite of a Worlds Fair and now one of the worlds largest docks. We were booked at The Fairmont:Waterfront, thanks to a family and friends discount from Jeff’s Cousin, conveniently located across the street from Canada Place.

We stowed our baggage with the bellman and went to explore Vancouver. With my parents still working their way up from Seattle we walked through the light mist (which is normal Vancouver weather) to the Gaslight district to see the Steam Clock. The Steam clock was built in 1977 and uses both a steam engine and electric motors. The clock announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters. I was less then thrilled to be walking through the rain to see a clock – but when we arrived I who wanted to wait another 25min to hear it play again.

The meet up with my parents turned out to be rather complicated. It included me going into the ladies room of the Fairmont, which my parents assured me contained my sister, calling my sisters name and being silly in general only to find a rather sassy old lady. Turns out there are four Fairmont’s in Vancouver and they were at a different one. We did finally find each other and Jeff and I scrambled into their car at a red light.

We decided to spend the morning on Grandville Island. Grandville has a farmers market and so many little shops you could easily spend a whole day here. On a previous trip, with better weather, my parents took bikes to Grandville and around the city. On this rainy day we parked in the public parking lots on Grandville and explored the island (that is actually a peninsula.) The Farmer’s Market is a must. We could have spent hours wondering around looking at all the produce and flowers.

We stopped by the Grandville Island Brewing Company for a tour. The tour will run you $10/person – so if that seems steep just stop in for a brew. The tour includes 4 beers to taste and a comprehensive explanation of how beer is made. The brewery’s main operations have moved away from this location but they still make seasonal brews here that you can only get at this location.

After a brief lunch of fish tacos we were off to Stanley Park. Typically you could enjoy a walk around the whole park on the seawall,but due to the weather we decided to drive around the park with intermittent stops. The totem poles are a must see, even in the rain.

We also drove over to Vancouver's Olympic Park. Again the rain thwarted our plans to explore the city- but we still got to see all the venues in BC place from the car.

We ended our Vancouver vacation with dinner in Gastown and a stop at a little shop so I could get the Olympic Mittens I have been craving since the Winter Olympics!

Go By Train.

My husband and I had this crazy idea to take the train home from Vancouver. Ever since I was little I had this romanticized view of traveling by train. There is just something about cruising down the coastline with the scenes passing by the window without worrying about traffic or trying to find somewhere to stop and eat. While living in Washington, DC I took a few train rides with Amtrack – mostly just the high speed Acela train to NYC for a long weekend – but it didn’t have the same allure as the “Coast Starlight.” The Acela spends most of its time speeding through small towns on its way from big city to big city – not at all the pacific coastline the Coast Starlight follows on its way to LA. So when we had a few days to get from Vancouver back to LA – we booked the tickets and a sleeper car.

So here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Everyone should take the train – even if you only do it once. It is reminiscent of an earlier days where getting to and from the location was part of the journey.

The Coastal Starlight is not a fast train. The train’s top speed is close to 80mph, but you spend most of the journey putting around 40mph. The slow ride makes for gorgeous views but a slow journey down the coast. If you are in a hurry get on a plane.

You should also be aware that the train does not go down the coast per se. It parallels the coast but you won’t see much water till you hit Santa Barbara. While there are not “stunning coastal views” for the entire trip, we rolled through some beautiful parts of the Northwest.

Book a sleeper car. If you are going to do the entire route it is well worth the money to book a sleeper car. We booked the smallest option “the roomette” and it provided enough space for us to store our book bags (large luggage is left on a rack downstairs), sit and even sleep. I am not claiming that this was a lot of space – its about 1/3 of the with of a train car – but it was shockingly comfortable. A door and curtain provide some privacy from the other passengers. We used some of our 36 hours to return phone calls and talk with friends from the East Coast – the roomette kept our conversations private and prevented us from disturbing other passengers.

The sleeping quarters are tight – but surprisingly comfortable (I had the bottom bunk).

The sleeper car not only gives you a space to call your own, but it also opens up the “Parlor Lounge Car’ for your use and includes all your meals.

The meals are fine. Not good, not bad – just fine. If you need any sort of specialty meal you will need to call well in advance to make sure they have it on the train for you. We had the same choices for lunch and dinner both days – I ate the salmon for dinner both days – Jeff had the steak. Its one notch above airline food – but it is included in the cost of the Sleeper Car.

The other people on the train were an interesting bunch. Those who had sleeper cars seemed to be riding the train for the experience – those who didn’t have sleeper cars seemed to be riding the train because they couldn’t fly. If you plan to take the train for more then just a few hours you may also feel more comfortable in a sleeper car.

The National Park Service does their “Rails and Trails” program aboard the Coastal Starlight. You are able to get two unique train NPS passport cancellations from them and also hear their narration. We found these programs to be very hit or miss. The Ranger that was on board from Seattle to Portland was great. The ranger that joined us in San Luis Obispo left something to be desired.

While I am not sure we will be taking the train up the coast again any time soon, we did enjoy the experience. There was something romantic about sharing a small sleeper car with your spouse and playing “Yahtzee” with new found friends in the Parlor Car. I can’t lie – it was a LONG ride – but I am glad to have knocked it off my list of things to