We Survived

One month ago we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary.  I've been a little bit busy since then and haven't had much time to post.   We celebrated this milestone by spending a weekend in Kentucky.  Dave was there for work and this was one of the remaining states I had to visit so it sounded like the perfect place to celebrate.

Our first stop after meeting up in downtown Lousiville was to see Churchill Downs.  One of these days I will go to the Kentucky Derby but this trip I would have to settle for sneaking onto the grounds.   We didn't really have the time or energy to do the organized tour of the grounds but for $2 we could go into the OTB section.   We were just supposed to be able to have access to the betting sections but we wandered around a little bit outside and found that there were some open gates so we explored a little bit.

1973 was a very good year.

Racing is a very old sport. 

This is the walkway that jockeys and owners walk down to get to the track. 

View of the track!

I think I like Churchill Downs better when there is nobody there than during the Kentucky Derby when it is packed.   After exploring the track we headed off to our accommodations for the weekend but first we had a little stop to make.   Our first distillery.

I didn't know Jim Beam made all these brands. 

Guess how many bourbon barrels are in this warehouse?

At this stop we found out that you are only able to sample bourbon if you go on a tour.  Luckily Jim Beam allows you to do a self guided tour and then sample 2 bourbons at the end.   After a little nip we were off to our B&B.



Dave found us lodging at The Maple Hill Manor an amazing bed and breakfast.  This exceeded all of my expectations with gourmet breakfasts, homemade jams, and desserts available all day long.  In addition to being a great inn it is also a llama and alpaca farm.  In addition to being on the bourbon trail the manor is also very near some historic civil war sites as well as Abraham Lincoln's birthplace.  

Before we hit the bourbon trail we did manage a quick stop at the Perryville battlefield

We didn't get to do a lot of exploring at the battlefield as we were being picked up to tour the distilleries in style.  I don't often drink bourbon in Kentucky but when I do, I do it in a limo.

We wanted to see some craft distilleries as well as larger ones so on the tour we visited Makers Mark and Limestone.  Limestone was very cool and small.  For those of you that watch the Discovery show Moonshiners - Limestone bottles some of their moonshine and this is it. 

We got to try a bunch of their moonshine and even bought a couple of bottles to take home with us.  After Limestone we were off to another big distillery

This is what we came for.  The tasting!

To cap off the weekend we finished with a dinner at Circa.  We have eaten at hundreds of restaurants around the world and this is place makes the top 10 list.

For starters we had to have the chicken and waffles.

Duck - yes please!

And finally to commemorate our first anniversary and the trip Dave bought me what every wife needs a baseball bat.  

Eating and Drinking Our Way Across 4 States

Yakima

In Yakima we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. When I travel I try to stay loyal to certain brands in order to accumulate points that can be redeemed for free travel.   This coming September we head to Europe for 2.5 weeks and quite a bit of our hotels are free as a result of my points.   This emptied out my points so for the road trip we decided to stay at Hilton properties to start rebuilding the account.    The hotel was in a great location easily walkable my only complaint was that we did not get a free breakfast.   I know, rough life.   

Normally I would just go out to a local diner or bakery to grab a bite but unfortunately we were in Yakima the night of July 3rd and the majority of the town was closed on July 4th, so we had no other options for food.   I wanted to stay in Yakima the first night to try some of the wine.  There were only 2 tasting rooms in downtown seems like all the other tasting rooms you have to drive to get there.  Given how much time we were going to be in the car over the next 4 days I didn't want to spend more time in the car.   We visited Gilbert Cellars and Kana winery.  I liked Gilbert Cellars a little bit more as we could get a full glass or just tasting and we munched on a little cheese plate.  After Kana we stopped by 2nd street grill as we were hoping that they would have more local wines for us to sample but unfortunately they did not.    

For dinner we went to 5 North I was very excited to try an item on the menu called "sexy fries"  these are truffle fries, garlic, Parmesan and curry ketchup.  Sadly these were not as good as I thought they would be.  It was a few too many competing flavors.   

The next morning we were on the road for Boise - I was hoping the city wouldn't be closed for the 4th like Yakima was.  We did get a recommendation to stop at the Geyser Grand Hotel in Oregon on the way down for lunch.   The hotel did not disappoint it is a historic landmark with beautiful stained glass ceilings, crystal chandeliers.  It was a very cool setting.  I don't remember what we had for food but it was a fine lunch.  

Boise

We got into Boise an hour later than we had originally planned - this was mostly due to the fact that we forgot that Idaho is in the Mountain time zone.   We inquired where the fireworks would be and headed out to see the town.  First stop was Bitter Creek Ale House where we enjoyed some fine local brews and poutine.   We then went wandering in search of dinner, sadly given that it was the 4th of July many of the restaurants were closed or were closing early.  We ended up grabbing a couple of slices at Pie Hole if you are ever in Boise you must stop in and try their crazy slices.   Toppings I would never imaging putting on a pizza.   Some of their specials that day were green bean casserole - yes they made green bean casserole and put it on a pizza, potato & bacon and one with mac&cheese on it.  Dave dined on a Hawaiian slice with mango added to it.   I wouldn't have thought of putting mango on pizza but it worked.    

By this time we were getting tired and headed back to the hotel, we decided to pass on the fireworks as it would mean going to bed too late and we wanted to hit the road early.  Luckily we were able to see the fireworks from out hotel room.   It was very nice to watch them in our PJs and then fall into bed immediately afterwards.   

Salt Lake City 

We decided to do a picnic lunch on the way to Salt Lake City a quick stop at Whole Foods on the way out of Boise and were on the way.   Dave is  huge history buff so we detoured from the highway to visit the Golden Spike.  It was a lovely place for a picnic lunch and we got to see the steam engine in operation.   One of the park guides was nice enough to remove the sign from the wagon so it would not ruin my picture.   I didn't even have to ask him he graciously offered and suggested where the best place to grab a photo of the train and the wagon. 

In Salt Lake City we were looking for something a little bit nicer for dinner.   The Copper Onion sounded just about right - yummy cocktails and an interesting menu.   We started with a charcuterie plate what's not to love about cheese and meat.    For dinner I had the duck cassoulet while delicious I would not call it a typical cassoulet it was really duck cooked three ways.  I love duck so I wasn't going to complain.   Dave opted for the poutine yet again - he was going for a record of how many days in a row he could eat some form of french fries.   

Denver Bound

The longest stretch of travel was ahead of us 8 hours of driving and that was if we didn't stop.  We needed to stop I can't do that long in a car without stopping.   We used the trusty GPS in the car to find food along the route.   I have to say there isn't much between Salt Lake City and Denver.  We ended up just grabbing some fast food.   Dave couldn't believe I had never eaten at a Taco Johns before, now that I have eaten there once I don't think I need to again.  It wasn't bad I'm just not a big fan of fast food.   

We briefly toyed with the idea of stopping in Boulder but that would have added more time onto the trip and I wanted to be out of the car.  Instead we had a delicious home made dinner with family - our final destination.  

From Seatown to Mile High

On July 3rd we packed up the car and hit the road, on the agenda was stops in Yakima, Boise, Salt Lake City and finally Denver.  There was a lot of ground to cover on the way to our new home and we wanted to enjoy the trip down.   We tried to break the trip down into smaller chunks of driving so we could take some detours along the way, some stops were planned and some stops were unplanned.

We stopped for scenery:

We stopped for history:

Much of our route followed the Oregon Trail.  We stopped a couple of times along the way. 

Fort Bridger - site of the first schoolhouse in Wyoming as well as a fur trading outpost.

Visiting the Golden Spike - where the first transcontinental railway was completed.  Unfortunately the golden spike is no longer at the site, it is in California.   

We stopped for random stuff on the side of the road

Farm equipment museum on the roadside

We didn't expect to see rockets in Utah

 We stopped for food & beverages

Finally we arrived in Colorado after 1500 miles and 5000+ feet in elevation gain.

I prefer the sign on the right than the one on the main highway below.

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Ike enjoying his first sunset over the Rockies. 

T-1 and Counting

The movers are here and the house is getting packed up and loaded.   I have moved many times but I seem more emotional about this one and I'm not sure why.   Instead of dwelling on the things I will miss about Seattle I am going to focus on the positives about Denver.

1. Spending more time with family.  
2. Direct flights from Denver to Albany - Only 5 hours instead of the 8-10 it takes to get home from Seattle.
3. Non-stop flights from Denver to Cedar Rapids.
4. 300 days of sunshine. 
5. The Rockies. 
6. 300 days of sunshine.
7. Exploring the southwest.  
8. Concerts at Red Rocks. 
9. The Patriots come to Denver more frequently than they come to Seattle. 
10. The Cubs play in Denver every year (this makes Dave happy).

One of These Days I'll Settle Down

Turns out I have itchy feet.  After only 4 years in Seattle I am on the move yet again.   It happened quickly but Dave & I decided to move to Denver.     I've moved long distance before but somehow this seems more complicated than my previous moves.   I guess that's what happens when you get a cat, a dog and oh yeah a husband.

We decided to try and enjoy our drive to Colorado so we are making 3 stops along the way.  This also meant trying to find a way to get the animals there.  The idea of hearing Paddy and Koda sing for 20 hours did not sound appealing.  They fly down a week from today, we start on our great road trip on July 3rd.  

Things have been a whirlwind lately trying to get ready for everything.  Here's what I did this weekend:

It may not look like much but that's about 20 or so boxes packed.  There was lots of purging, donating and selling of items as well.

Here's what Dave did this weekend:

That's a picture from the O.A.R. concert at Red Rock.  I think I drew the short straw here.

Honeymoon Highlights - Grand Teton National Park

Day 5 - I'm goin' to Jackson, I'm gonna mess around.

After 3 days in Yellowstone it was onto Jackson to see the neighboring park - Grand Teton National Park. But first on the drive down we had to stop and see the continental divide. This the continental divide passes through the park in a couple of places but where we stopped was extra special. A single lake that flows into both the atlantic and the pacific.

There wasn't much else to see on the way down until we hit Grand Teton park. The mountains are definitely something to behold. We made a couple of stops along the way to take pictures of course. Two stops are tied for my favorite stop of the day.

Stop 1: This was one of our first full views of the mountains. But it wasn't the view that made this one of my highlights of the day. After we took the pictures Dave went to get in the car the problem was he got in the wrong car! He couldn't figure out why I didn't get in the car with him. I had to open the door and tell him he was in the wrong car. As this is happening the family who the car belonged to is staring at us. Dave apologized and luckily they laughed about it. I don't have a picture of Dave in the car the view of the mountains will have to do.


Stop 2: This stop is tops on the list due to the view. We went down to Leeks Marina for lunch at the famous pizza shop down there. The pizza was good but the views and the fact that we were the only ones at the marina for a while made it even better.
We continued the drive down stopping occassional at some historical places in the park like Cunningham's cabin and Mormon Row heading for our residence for the next 3 days was the Rusty Parrot in Jackson. Since we roughed it at Yellowstone we splurged on a suite and package in Jackson. Our package included dinner at the inn. We opted to have it the first night and it was amazing. I had leg of lamb which was enough to feed at least 2 people, Dave had Wagyu steak, we shared an amazing bottle of wine before we hit bed for a 6:15 pick up.

Day 6: Big Game Hunting
For the wedding Dave gave me the gift of a sunrise photo safari to capture some wildlife shots. On our agenda was to try and see moose and bears. First stop was to look for moose, we were lucky. Actually beyond lucky. We did see a big bull moose that was losing the velvet on his antlers. This is a very rare thing to encounter, as the velvet is shed on 1 day and every moose sheds on a different day before the fall rut season. Our tour guide, Paul, said that this was one shot that has been on his list for years that he hadn't yet gotten. Paul asked us if we wanted to walk down to the river instead of staying up on the bank to get closer and some better pictures. I unfortunately was nursing an injured ankle (walking 26 miles in 3 days took a toll on my body) and had to stay up on the bank. I wasn't able to get the greatest shots from my vantage point. These will have to do.



After the moose we did go looking for bears but unfortunately didn't see any. That will have to wait until another trip.


Day 7: Unexpected surprises.
The day didn't start out the way we expected. We had booked a hot air balloon ride for the morning which unfortunately meant anouther 6 am pick up. As I finished getting dressed the phone rang, the excursion was cancelled due to weather. Dave says we're up and ready pick a spot in the park we haven't seen yet and let's go take some sunrise photos. I decided we would head to Schwabacher's landing. We pulled off the main road onto a gravel road saw this view of the mountains and had to stop to take a photo. As we we set up the tripod and drove we saw a number of cars driving past. This was a good sign that the landing was going to be a good place to photograph. When we got down there the parking lot was full and we saw a number of people - surprisingly they all had cameras and tripods. Given that they were all photographers even though we weren't alone it was very quiet and peaceful. The location was serene with the mountains reflecting in the lakes and perfect morning light. I can't decide which one of these photos I like better so I'm including both.





The last thing on the agenda for the last day was a trip to Victor, Idaho. It's only about a 30 minute drive and this would allow me to hit my 40th state. Dave so far had been very cooperative with getting up early and doing all kinds of crazy things for me so I had to entice him to get in the car and drive to Idaho. What did it take to convince him - BBQ, Huckleberry milkshakes and beer. BBQ at Big Hole BBQ , world famous milkshakes at the Victor Emporium and beer at Grand Teton Brewery all well worth the trip. I can know say I purposely travelled to 2 states just to eat BBQ.

I am sad to say that this brings to a close the honeymoon. Not quite the traditional beachy/relaxing honeymoon but it was perfect and we enjoyed every minute of the trip. These are definitely 2 places I would go back and visit again.

If you are intersted in a few more photos than what was included in these blog posts you can check some out here. I managed to select less than 100 photos which wasn't an easy task considering I took about 1000 over the span of the 7 days.

Honeymoon Highlights - Yellowstone

Day 1: A little R N R
We flew into Bozeman late on Thursday night so we could have the day Friday to relax a bit. After breakfast at a cafe with about 30 different loose teas to choose from (a place made just for me) we headed down to Livingston.

The plan was just to wander around the village for a little while before proceeding to Chico. We ended up meeting a couple as we started our walk and chatted with them for about 20 minutes. They recommended that we stop at The Old Saloon on the way to Chico and check out an old mining village. Both turned out to be great recommendations.

The local legend of the saloon is that it was the inspiration for Cheeseburger in Paradise. Wikipedia has indicated that this is not in fact the case.



After lunch at the saloon when Dave lost a bet to me we checked in at Chico Hot Springs Resort . A great spa and resort with an amazing restaurant. After some relaxing with a massage and lounging at the pool we headed to the old mining town. One of the highlights of the day.


Day 2 - We're the 5%

Sleeping in on vacation is not something I am known for and this was no exception. We were up bright and early to get into Yellowstone early and start hiking. The majority of tourists don't stray very far from the main attractions which means the hiking trails are relatively empty. They say only 5-10 % of the visitors see anything outside what is 1 mile from the road. We definitely found this to be the case on our hike as we only encountered 1 other couple on our entire 6 mile hike at Mammoth Hot Springs.

The views from the hike were spectacular. Dave rated this as one of the best hikes he's been on of all time. Definitely the highlight of the day for us.

After the hike we headed down to Old Faithful Inn - our base for the next 3 nights. Day 3: The Early Bird Gets the Photo Op I managed to convince Dave that getting up to try and watch Old Faithful go off at sunrise from Observation point was a great idea. Never mind that we didn't know exactly what time the geyser would go off as they stop tracking around 9PM and start again at 8 AM. We had to estimate and try and compute about what time it would erupt. Sunrise was scheduled for 6:45 and we estimated Old Faithful would go off around 7:30. We left the inn around 6:40 and started walking. Beautiful out there with so few people around. As we headed up we thought we heard a geyser erupting and were a little disappointed but we continued on our way. More disappointment when we get to observation point and there are 3 other people there chatting away. After a few minutes they tell us that it wasn't Old Faithful that went off but another geyser - relief. But wait I hope they don't stay up here. Since we couldn't tell them with certainty what time Old Faithful would go off they headed back down to the inn. Luckily we didn't have to wait that long for the eruption.

It's amazing to have so few people around and be the only ones watching the geyser from where we were. For comparison this was during lunchtime, there were also probably about a dozen people up at Observation point during this time.



Day 4: Bison, Bison everywhere
Another day, another hike. Today was off to the south rim of the canyon and Uncle Tom's Trail. Uncle Tom's trail is down a set of about 350 stairs, quite the harrowing walk but the view is worth it. There were more people hiking along the south rim than at mammoth. The views of the falls and the canyon were worth sharing.

As we finished the hike and started walking back towards the car we noticed a little traffic jam and thought it was just people that were heading to artists point. Imagine our surprise when we walk up to the bridge and see this.



This wasn't the last bison we would see today. After canyon we headed down to Yellowstone Lake to rest and have dinner. There were a bunch of bison sleeping at the side of the road. They were causing traffic to slow down but they weren't moving around much. After dinner it was a different story. We saw them across the street and headed a little closer to get some pictures. Shortly after we started taking photos they began moving across the road into the hotel's parking lot and approaching the front door of the hotel. Three park rangers fly into the parking lot trying to move the bison in a different direction as it wasn't the safest environment. The bison did cooperate and move on and we were able to hit the road.



Surprisingly the hike and the bison weren't quite the top highlight of the day. We started the drive back to the inn in time to see the sunset as we drove. We found a spot to pull off the road and take some photos.

Not a bad way to end our stay in Yellowstone. Stay tuned for the highlights from Grand Teton National Park