Category Archives: Travel

Our World – Houston

If you are in the energy biz you probably spend a lot of time in Houston. I know that I do. It is only a 75 minute flight from Tulsa so most of the time I just run down and back for the day.

Last week I spent a rare overnight trip there. I spent the night downtown. It had been years since I’ve done that. I thought I would go geocaching. I found one and then was done. It was cold, I mean freezing.

So I retreated to the tunnels. Downtown Houston has about 6.4 miles of tunnels downtown. I called it quits after a dozen blocks or so. The thing about tunnels. They all look the same. Especially after hours. During the day there is a lot going on and lots of shops and restaurants and such. After work it is all deserted and not very much fun. It is warm though!

I finally found a decent sushi place and had me some very good raw fish and a couple of malted beverages for dinner and then made the long, cold, windy, dark, deserted walk back to my hotel.

The next morning I had a meeting with a customer and then headed back to Tulsa.

Our World

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

“Wild” is Cheryl Strayed‘s memoir of her 1995 journey along the Pacific Coast Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Oregon-Washington border. I love travel books and this is heck of a travel book as she talks about the challenges she faced and the people she met as she spent several months walking the 1100 miles of the trail. The book is also about her personal journey from a really messed up childhood to a really messed up self destructive personal life as an adult. As she walks along the trail overcoming her challenges and enjoying her adventures she also learns a lot about herself. She appears to have gotten her act together.

The word for this book is compelling. I really got into the book and many times got so engrossed I lost the awareness of reading. What more can you ask of a book. Her description of the life that she lived before the hike is painful to read. So is her lack of preparation for the hike. She picked out her equipment and made her way to California and started hiking having never done any hiking before. Her body had to toughen up on the go. By the time she finished months later she could hike “the big miles.”

I give the book five stars out of five. It is really a great read.

I read the book on my Kindle. It is the first library book I’ve read on the Kindle. To buy the Kindle version costs over $12. Wayyyyyyy too much for a Kindle book.

Friday Fences – Lafayette Square

The fence around Lafayette Square in New Orleans.

I hope that everybody who celebrated Thanksgiving had a good one. Me and my family sure did. Lots and lots of people, with good food, football games, and conversation.

Friday Fences

Our World – Leedey, Oklahoma Tornado Monument

Work took me way out to western Oklahoma last week to the oilfield and ranching town of Leedey. I got there a little early and so checked out the local city park.

In amongst the war memorial and playground was a seemingly friviolous steel structure. It was twisty and turney (that is a word here in Oklahoma) and had Christmas lights on it and several everyday objects.

It turns out that it is not frivolous at all. It is a memorial to the six people who died in a tornado that hit Leedey on May 31, 1947.

What a memorial. Apparently it was built by school children aged seven through eighteen during art classes. I think the monument is a tribute to the kids as well as the victims of the storm.

And guess what there was a geocache hidden right nearby named “Leedey Park” placed by kbaldeagle and Jeritexas.

(I actually don’t think this is the real jail.)

Another sight in town is the Jail. It seems pretty secure although they have a little work to do to get it up to standard. If you are a person that likes to engage in criminal behavior, western Oklahoma is not the place for you to be.

Our World Tuesday

Getaway to Eureka Springs

This past weekend Sweetie and I took a much needed trip together to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

In a town of great B&B’s I think we stayed at the best. They brought a delicious hot breakfast to our door every morning.

We’re going back later this year. Check out Evening Shade for details.

We had a great time. We saw some funky old buildings.

Sweetie found a yarn shop

We each got a new hat

We checked out the treasures at the local history museum.

We saw some of the local couture

Checked out a local watering hole

And tried some of my favorite adult malted beverage

Shoot, we even saw Humpty Dumpty

We had a great time this weekend. We’re going back. Tell me about your last getaway.

Check out That’s My World

Saint Louis – Where to Eat

During a Fall Break Trip to Saint Louis in October we had a lot of fun covered in previous My World posts and now I’m going to tell you a little bit about where we ate. The Yogi’s try to eat well on trips. Luckily Saint Louis has lots of great places to eat.

Of course, we start with desert. We love frozen custard. We were clued in by some friends to try Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard.

It’s really good. I mean really really good. We went there a couple times. It is on old Route 66. I would give you the link to their web site but the site locks my PC up. So I’ll spare you.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
4224 S Grand Blvd
(314) 352-7376

Saint Louis has a section they call the “The Hill” with lots of Italian Restaurants. The two we tried were wonderful. The one we liked the best is Cunetto House of Pasta.

My favorite was Cunetto on the Hill. They are noted for their house salad. It was great! It was as pretty as it tasted good.

For the entree I asked the waiter what their customers liked the best. He recommended the Linguine Tutu Mare, pasta with clams, crab, and shrimp in a broth. It may be the best pasta dish I have ever had. Maybe, I’ll have to go back and check it out again.

Before,

After,

Cunetto House of Pasta
5453 Magnolia Avenue
(314)781-1135
http://www.cunetto.com/

The Yogi’s, at the least the two oldest of the three of us, love brewpubs. Tulsa, to my shame, has not had any for some time. Tulsa is a “Bud Light” kind of town. (Even the Garden of Eden had thorns) Anyway we tried the Saint Louis Brewery & Tap Room. The beer and the food were both great. Nothing like a brew pub for the visuals.

Saint Louis Brewery & Tap Room
2100 Locust Street
(314) 241-2337
http://www.schlafly.com/

You know something though. The best meal we had was at a place called Sweetie Pies. Do you watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network? Well if don’t check it out some time. That is where we learned about Sweetie Pies. It is home style cooking and it is wonderful. It was the last place we ate on our trip and was it ever memorable. Check out their mac and cheese.

Sweetie Pies at the Mangrove
4270 Manchester Avenue
(314) 371-0304

We give Saint Louis four stars out of four for food. Which is wonderful. The only places better, that we have been to, are San Franciso which we gave five stars out of four and New Orleans which, I don’t know, gets maybe forty stars out of four?

After Sweetie Pies we loaded up and headed down I44 back to Tulsa.

Here is SuperPizzaBoy in travel mode.

He can do that for hours.

Sweetie was in charge of the camera.

For other views of our world check out That’s My World.

Dental Geocaching

I know that you are tired of Idaho. Too bad, because I’m not done with it.

It was pretty wet and rainy much of the time so I didn’t get any caches out in the woods. The last full day there I found some urban caches.

My favorite was a cache that a premium emergency dentist from Westinghouse Dental placed right outside his window. I was there on a Sunday so there was nobody there. I know three dentists in Oklahoma. Randy, Bert, Michael you guys step up! Geocaching dentistry is the latest thing!

I found my first LDS (“Mormon”) Church cache. I’ve done about every denomination cache that there is except Orthodox, Islam, and, Buddhism. Anybody know any such caches I could go find?

It’s amazing how the various church caches are consistent to their religions. For example this LDS Church cache was in vary good condition and was spot on with the coordinates. The rules are changed but used to be men could have many caches but women have just one. However it is still the rule that a wife can find a cache only after her husband finds it first. Baptist caches have strict rules but at least once you find it you can just log it and forget about it. Methodist caches have to make sure that you understand just what the cache is about and you can lose credit for the cache in the future if you forget. Episcopal caches are very complicated because Whiskeypalians are much smarter than anyone else. Unitarian caches are a mess, they are way off on their coordinates and they keep yammering on about peace cranes. Enough already with the peace cranes!

I hope nobody took the previous paragraph seriously.

This cache is called “The Drink is on Me.” Only two guesses why. It is out in the middle of a wheat field.

Speaking of drinking, take look at a small portion of a grocery store beer case. More variety there than in an Oklahoma liquor store. Notice the “1554” and “Fat Tire” beer. You can buy them almost any where in the country except Oklahoma. I’m not sure why but I’m positive that keeping it out is keeping me safe. I guess. Same as the law not allowing strong beer to be refrigerated at liquor stores. Keeps Okie children from being born naked.

Not into beer? How about some Yogi Tea?

Trail Ride

On our trip to Idaho we took a two hour trail ride

SuperPizzaBoy about to mount his horse under supervision of Gramps, his grandfather.

Sweetie, always has a smile.

My cousin Merri Ann is all set to go.

We crossed a little stream.

My sister, Ellen, brother Bob, and cousin Karol.

I liked this picture mainly because of the horses ears.

It was a cool misty afternoon and we all had a pretty good time.

Graduation

As previously reported SuperPizzaBoy and I flew to Colorado to attend and celebrate his cousin Jillian’s graduation from Colorado State University at Fort Collins.

Jillian graduated with dual degrees. BS in both Agricultural Business and in Equine Science. She is very smart. She has loved horses her whole life and has one of her own. She was also on Colorado State’s horse judging team and won many individual and team awards.

The Ag Department at CSU hosted a breakfast for the graduates and their families. Below, from left to right, is Jillian’s dad, Irvin, sister Marian, and Jillian herself. Both sisters are very pretty. Good thing they took after their mother and not dad. When Marian was younger she and I used to partner up and kick butt and take names in all sorts of games, Scrabble, Monopoly, whatever. Our motto was, “You know what you call a good loser? A loser.” We were very obnoxious. Eventually nobody would play with us. I understand that, I mean, why keep beating your head against the wall?

Jillian’s friend, Megan, and Jillian with “Cam the Ram.” He is a sheep I called him a goat, I thought I was going to get escorted off the campus. They take sheep and goats very seriously at an Ag school I found out.

Its a good thing they didn’t hear me earlier. SPB asked me why the animal was there. I told him that they were going to barbecue him to serve the graduates after the ceremony. He asked me if he could have the horns. I said sure little dude, but you have to share with Shiloh.

Sisters Jillian and Marian (with Marian’s son Shiloh in the background.) He is looking kind of thoughtful.

Another shot of Shiloh. Shiloh is a great soccer player and is very athletic. He and and SPB get along very well. SPB is very laid back, slow moving, and bright, Shiloh is very energetic, active, and also bright.. (In the background in the red coat, is Shiloh’s great grandfather (my Dad) Gramps.

Graduation picture, sorry, dim lighting, cheap camera, and distance are a bad combination.

Afterwards Jillian’s parents threw a party in honor of Jillian and her friends. We had quite a time. They cooked fajitas, malted beverages were available.

My brother-in-law Irvin, the master chef at work.

They had games like the sack race below. Also three legged race, spoon race, volleyball. Everybody had a great time.

SPB and Shiloh with their Bakugan. I don’t get it. What’s the deal with Pokemon, Bakugan, and Bionicles? It has its own language, SPB can lecture for hours on the subject.

All good things must come to an end. Sunday, my Dad, Gramps left to go back to Idaho. My sister Ellen, next to him. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t look like me.

My World – Denver Museum of Nature and Science

SuperPizzaBoy and I were in Colorado attending the graduation of my niece Jillian. On the way back we had a few spare hours in Denver before going to the airport. We decided to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I had high expectations and they were exceeded.

We were there about 2 hours and maybe saw a fourth of it. Plus they have a planetarium and an Imax Theater. We did mainly the interactive science exhibits, the wildlife dioramas, and the Native American gallery. SPB and I strongly recommend this museum as a place to go. Budget all day if you have it.

Infrared image of SuperPizzaBoy.