I'm an expat Californian who is obsessed with traveling to strange and exotic destinations in the former Communist Bloc. I also like tacos, surfing, and the geopolitics of oil. Washington, D.C. is currently my home, but I'm looking to break out of this fetid swamp someday. Read more about me here, check out my photo album, or send me an e-mail.
I am flying out to San Antonio tomorrow for work. Again, just doing my part to ensure America's energy needs are met. My parents are meeting me in San Antonio over the weekend, as they've never been there and I think they will enjoy the city. I told my mom I would be done with the meetings around noon on Friday, just in time for lunch. Her response?
Eating like a Texan, part II: Chicken fried bacon roadtrip
Perhaps I should preface this entry with an email I received from my mom in regards to my Sunday night dinner in Houston:
Subject: Texas food
Lindsay,
Are you nuts! If you move to Texas, I hope you don't eat like that all the time. You will be huge, not to mention your arteries clogged.
[...]
Love,
Mom
Mom, as a warning, you might want to stop reading this post now.
When I go to Houston, our meetings are occasionally held at the IAH airport Marriott. It's convenient; your plane lands, you grab your luggage, hop on the mini subway that runs between the terminals, and shortly thereafter find yourself at the hotel. You have breakfast at the hotel, meetings at the hotel, lunch at the hotel, and, since there are no restaurants within walking distance of IAH, dinner at the hotel. The end result is that for a day and a half you exist in this airport/hotel bubble and never actually once step outside (although with Houston's poor air quality, that's probably a good thing).
This most recent trip to Houston, however, involved a roadtrip to Snook, Texas, a small town (population 568) located 100 miles northwest of Houston. I went to Snook with two highly entertaining engineers/bacon aficionados: my boss, and Dave, one of our Houston-based member company guys who heard about a restaurant in Snook and its holy grail of bacon several months prior to our trip. The drive didn’t take very long at all, and the countryside was actually quite beautiful. Trees, farms, cows, bluebonnets, that sort of stuff.
Still, I know what you're thinking. Lindsay, dude, WTF? Why would you drive 200 miles roundtrip, to the middle of nowhere, for dinner? Simple: chicken fried bacon. Let me just emphasize this one more time: CHICKEN. FRIED. BACON.
The restaurant that serves this delicious, artery-clogging appetizer is Sodolak's Original Country Inn, a small establishment where the walls are lined with firefighter gear and the borders of the menus feature ads for funeral homes and gun stores. The staff is friendly (it is Texas, after all), some of the locals are dressed in cowboy boots and hats (again, Texas), and stacks of official Sodolak's Original Country Inn t-shirts and camouflage hats are piled next to the cash register.
We ordered three servings of Sodolak’s infamous appetizer. Chicken fried bacon, as you’ve likely already gathered, consists of long strips of bacon coated in chicken fried steak batter, deep fried, and served with a generous side of cream gravy. It was amazingly delicious, and the fried consistency was perfect (i.e., not too overbearingly thick.)
In addition to the chicken fried bacon, we each had a filet mignon, served with a baked potato, Texas toast, and a side salad that was drowning in ranch dressing (as it should be). For a brief five seconds, I had considered ordering chicken fried steak, but figured that would be pretty intense, especially after the chicken fried bacon. You may not believe this, but even I have limits.
So was Sodolak's worth the 200 mile trip? Yeah, most definitely. I have already found myself craving chicken fried bacon and will be visiting Sodolak's again after I move to Houston (and no, Mom, I won't be eating chicken fried bacon everyday, alright?).
For more on Sodolak's and chicken fried bacon, check out this YouTube video from Texas Country Reporter:
I am in Houston for work, but met up with some Cindy and Ann for dinner tonight. We ate at Goode Company BBQ on Kirby Drive. It's a really chill place where you grab a beer from a huge cooler, order your food cafeteria style, and then take your tray outside to the long wooden tables. I had a delicious BBQ beef brisket po'boy, jambalaya texana, Shiner Bock, and a Saint Arnold's root beer. The best part about this place, though, is that there is a gigantic armadillo statue, complete with glowing eyes and longhorns, directly across the parking lot. You really cannot explain such things, as it's to be expected in Texas.
Following dinner, we hit up House of Pies, where I had a slice of "Texas" pecan pie a la mode (of course).
And that's one of the good things about Houston - it's easy to find good and cheap food throughout this city.
I'm in Denver for a few days for a work meeting. I've been to Colorado a very long time ago, but don't recall ever coming to Denver. My first impression of the city is that the airport seems very far away and everyone drives a gigantic truck or SUV. Very observant, I know.
While I was waiting to board my flight out of DCA, I noticed this guy waving in my general direction. At first I did not recognize him from afar, but then realized it was Paul, a longtime family friend. I think my parents have known him for around 30+ years. He was in Washington on business and stopping in Denver for another business trip before heading home to California. As it turns out, he was also in the seat directly behind me. Small world, eh?
We took an early morning whale watching tour on our last full day in Hawaii. I was skeptical that we would actually see whales, but in reality there were over 20+ sightings while we were on the boat. It was pretty cool, and I would definitely recommend it if you are ever on the Big Island.
Our guide had a great sense of humor and was brimming with facts (which I can no longer remember) about the whales that were surfacing just yards away. She spoke with an accent, and when someone asked where she was from, she replied Budapest, Hungary (which, by the way, is completely landlocked).
I really wanted to take an air tour of the Kīlauea volcano while we were vacationing on the Big Island, so we booked a flight with Sunshine Helicopters and drove across the island to the Hilo airport.
It was raining when we took off, but this is Hawaii, so wait a few minutes and the weather will change.
Approaching Kīlauea
Lava flows. I was lucky enough to be assigned the seat right next to the pilot (granted, the photos still suck...taking photos while in a helicopter is not as easy as I had imagined).
More lava. We spent a few minutes hovering over the area, which smelled strongly of sulfur.
The lava fields stretch to the coast. Several small towns were destroyed by eruptions in 1990, and some residents rebuilt their homes there against the wishes of the Hawaiian government.
The coastline. 2km of prime real estate added, courtesy of the current eruption.
Waterfall spotted while returning to the airport.
Obligatory family photo in front of helicopter. In case of a crash landing on the volcano, the inflatable life vests we had to wear around our waists would not be of much help.
Hawaiian islands beckon, and I'll be back here someday, I reckon
In exactly one week, I'll be here:
I fly back to California this Saturday, and on Tuesday my family and I will board a flight to Hawaii, where we will spend a few days on the Big Island's Kohala Coast.
This will be my third trip to Hawaii, but my first to the Big Island. I first visited Hawaii back in November 1997 (gah, was that really 10 years ago?!) on a family trip. My brother and I were under the impression that we were going to Sparta, Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with our relatives, but when we arrived at LAX my parents said "Surprise, we're going to Hawaii!" (yeah, they are pretty awesome). My little brother, ever the family man, was devastated, and replied "But...I want to go to Illinois." I very clearly remember yelling "JOHN ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" and pummeling him while we stood in line to check-in. We spent a few days on the North Shore of Oahu and then flew to Maui, where we stayed for the remainder of the week. For Thanksgiving dinner we went to a ridiculously cheesy luau (my idea) that was interrupted by heavy rain showers. In that year's Thanksgiving family photo we are soaking wet and decked out in multi-colored disposable ponchos. It's a classic.
My second trip to Hawaii was in June 2000, when my friends and I flew to Oahu a few days after our high school graduation. If I remember correctly, there were eight of us on that particular trip. I'll make a long story short and just say that while the trip definitely had its fun moments, as a whole it was pretty FUBAR and I think we were all relieved when our return flight landed at LAX so that we could go our separate ways. Some of the personalities on that trip just didn't...mesh very well. The resulting video footage of a fight over a surfboard and towels (and Ryan can attest to this) is hilarious, however.
Nevertheless, I have a feeling that this upcoming trip will be considerably better.
I got back from Scottsdale last night around 10:30pm. Returning to DC is always a bit depressing, especially when the temperature has dropped to a level in which flip-flops are no longer feasible, and the bullets continue to fly in your neighborhood. Also, there is no one to clean your room, bring you cappuccino at seven in the morning, or lay out your robe and place chocolates on your pillow. You have to do that yourself.
Early morning in Scottsdale, as captured by horrible camera phone
Arizona, and especially Scottsdale, reminds me a lot of the SoCal desert where I grew up. Our hotel, situated on a beautiful golf course, could very well have been in La Quinta or Indian Wells. The weather was perfect - sunny and temps in the 80s. We went horseback riding through the desert one afternoon. I used to ride a lot when I was a kid, but can't remember the last time I've been on a horse. The ride itself lasted about an hour and a half, and led us through valleys filled with giant saguaro cacti and across the Verde River, where wild horses lounged on the banks. Admittedly, I felt incredibly city-slickerish riding a horse while dressed in Puma sneakers and a polo shirt, with a Treo repeatedly buzzing in my pocket. It's a good thing my grandfather, an Oklahoma born, cowboy boot and hat wearing, ranch-owning rodeo participant, was not around to see this faux pas.
While in Arizona, I also learned how to play tabletop shuffleboard in the hotel bar. I even somehow managed to win a few games despite having had seven pints of beer by that time. We ended up playing a bunch of guys from Honeywell, who were also in town for meetings, and I won a home security system off them (which would be quite useful in my current neighborhood - more so that a missile guidance system, anyways). When we moved on to pool, however, I lost both games so our wagers with each other ended in a wash.
The food at the hotel was delicious, but after three days of eating like the bourgeoisie, I started to crave something with a bit more of the proletarian ambiance I am accustomed to. Thankfully, the good people at In-N-Out were kind enough to export California's finest to the citizens of Arizona:
No, this was not all just for me
We stopped at In-N-Out on the way to the airport. I got my usual double double, fries, and chocolate shake.
Yeah, life in the energy industry is rough, I tell ya.
"I have heard of 'the dead lying in heaps', but never saw it till this battle. Whole ranks fell together." - Captain Emory Upton, 2nd U.S. Artillery, at Antietam
I visited Antietam back in August, but didn't get around to uploading the photos until now. I've been to Gettysburg a few times, but have never made it out to Antietam (or Manassas, for that matter) despite its proximity to Washington DC.
The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with 3,600 killed and over 17,000 wounded.
"Every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they stood in their ranks a few minutes before." - A Union officer
Here is my first attempt at customizing Google Maps. It basically chronicles the majority of my travels (all international, some domestic) from 2002 to the present.
It's viewable in Google Earth (KML file) as well. Granted, it still needs a bit of work, but overall I think it's rather useful in giving a more "geographic" feel to the travel entries and photos on this site. A few examples:
1. Abundance of cheap Mexican food
2. BBQ. Like, reeeeal BBQ.
3. Apparently you can surf in Galveston...sometimes. That's what I've heard, anyways.
4. Average temperature for the month of December is 53.5ºF, which is still considered "flip-flop weather". Washington, on the other hand, is 35.4ºF. (I'm from SoCal, OK? I can't stand cold weather)
5. Number of self-important assholes is significantly lower
6. If you are stuck in a fire, these dudes rescue you
7. It's a few hours closer to California (but Continental please bring back year-round service to Palm Springs!)
8. My SUV fits in very well. Actually, compared to everyone else's vehicle, mine is small.
9. There are lots of parks and trees, and stuff.
10. Cost of living is ridiculously cheap compared to DC. A one bedroom apartment with all the amenities, located in a neighborhood where 14 year olds aren't killing each other, costs less than what I pay now. Whoa.
I compiled this list last Sunday, on my return flight from IAH to DCA. Laura and I flew to Houston to visit Ann, who recently moved there to start a new job. I know what you're thinking..."What the...who visits Houston for fun?" Well, I'm always looking to get away from DC as often as possible, and I had a great time last year when I traveled there for work and stayed over for a weekend with a former LSE classmate. So what the hell, why not visit again?
We went to Galveston. There are lots of oil rigs and stuff there, and really good peanut butter. I was, however, disappointed when I walked into a "surf shop" and there were NO SURFBOARDS. Huh.
Later that night we watched the Astros beat the Pirates at Minute Maid Park, which is still the most bizarre ballpark I've ever visited. Great chili cheese dogs, though.
So there's this train, right? And when the Astros hit a home run it chugs down this length of track. Totally cute. I will not disclose which member of our group stated, "Ohhhh, I just realized why the train is filled with oranges." One wonders what the train was filled with when the ballpark was named Enron Field. Probably cash stolen from the citizens of the Great State of California. But I digress...
Seventh inning stretch and sing along to Texas propaganda
I realize ice cream sundaes in mini helmets are for 5 year olds, but I can't pass them up...come on, it's ICE CREAM in a MINI HELMET, how effin' sweet is that?! This is also the only photo you will ever see of two die hard Cardinals fans (Laura and Ann) wearing any sort of Astros gear.
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