To Reno and Back

This is the time of year when my sister Vicki flies down from Seattle to spend a couple of weeks in Southern California. She usually does “the rounds,” visiting family and friends, but spends most of her time with my parents, who live two hours away. Our lives have taken distinctly different paths—Vicki is now a grandma (yikes!). Still, we have much in common and always have lots to talk about. The older I get, the more I miss my sister and wish we lived a lot closer.

On her way home, Vicki often stops in Reno to see our uncle Louie, who will be 88 in September. I have flown to Reno with her in the past, only to fly home as she hops a plane to Seattle. But this time I decided we should drive so we could have some quality time together. In my youth, I loved to drive the I-395, on the eastern slope of the Sierras, and once drove all the way to Idaho by myself for a five-day whitewater-rafting excursion. It’s been a loooong time since I’ve done anything so adventurous, however!

We left Wednesday morning and headed north. What a relief to leave the traffic behind as we turned onto I-14 to the desert. I love living three miles from the ocean, but there is something so liberating about the desert—though I certainly wouldn’t want to live there, it is nonetheless very beautiful in a stark, ancient way. We marveled at the landscape as we connected with the I-395: prehistoric lava beds and red cinder cones. They reminded us of the geography field trip we each took in junior college almost 40 years ago.

After a couple of hours, we could see evidence of the southernmost tip of the Sierras on our left. Majestic granite peaks accompanied us the rest of the way. We wondered aloud how the pioneers could possibly have traveled over such rugged terrain. Hungry just thinking about it, we found a small park in Independence and ate the sandwiches we packed before leaving that morning. Hot and tired (it was well over 90 degrees—far hotter than either of us is now used to), we rolled into Reno around 6PM. After checking into our hotel, we went in search of dinner.

As I’ve reported many times before on this blog, Tim and I are big fans of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; so before Vicki and I even left L.A. I had Tim check Guy’s website for good eateries. With directions in hand, we made our way to the Gold ‘N Silver Inn, Reno’s oldest family-owned restaurant, just four miles from the hotel. We avoided the casino entrance and entered on the restaurant side.

Open 24/7 since 1956, the place looks the way I suspect it looked the day it opened 54 years ago. The menu was traditional “American,” but my eye was immediately caught by the picture of Guy Fieri recommending the lemonade pork chops. I couldn’t resist. They came slathered in a tomato-based sauce with a hint of lemon and were absolutely delicious. I know exactly where we’re eating the next time we're in Reno!

We spent Thursday morning with our uncle, who reminded me to lock my car doors and not pickup any hitchhikers (that’s why I love you, Unc!). I then took Vicki to the airport and bid her a teary-eyed adieu. We made tentative plans to do Disneyland together next summer.

Since I’d driven all the way up to the 39th latitude, I decided to go home via Sacramento, where I have a second office that I rarely use. I checked-in to let my coworkers know I’m still alive and made arrangements to have dinner and breakfast the following morning with separate colleagues. Remarkably, they both chose to meet at the Tower Cafe, an international restaurant that was once the site of the original Tower Records store. The breakfast menu was a tad limited, but dinner (lemongrass chicken on jasmine rice) was tasty.

By 10:30AM, Friday, I was on the road again, heading south. I cranked up the iPod, sang as loud as I wanted and was home in time for dinner. I did not pickup any hitchhikers along the way.

Summer Vacation

About 6 months ago Tim announced that one of his favorite singers, Stacey Kent, was scheduled to perform in New York City the first week in June. Kent, who lives in England, rarely comes to the U.S., so he wanted to see her. I agreed to go with him, but insisted we spend a couple of days in Philadelphia beforehand. I fell in love with Philly when I was there on business (by myself) two years ago and knew Tim would love it, too. He agreed and so I made reservations accordingly.

Sunday

Although we weren't flying to Philadelphia till Monday morning, our vacation actually started Sunday night at California Adventure, where Disney's 3rd annual Food & Wine Festival was being held. The featured food and wine expert was our fave, Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The meal was casual and good (pulled pork sandwiches, lettuce cups, pasta, etc., and an assortment of desserts); but the best part was listening to Guy chat for two hours about the show, his family, friends, and food. He was funny, cute, and down-to-earth. I would have loved to talk to him afterward, but still had packing to do, so we left as soon as folks started to queue up for autographs. We left for the airport 9 hours later.

Monday

Horrors! As soon as we arrived at our Philadelphia hotel, I realized I hadn't packed my mascara. So off we went (on foot!) in search of a drugstore that Tim remembered seeing on the way into town. A mile later, we were standing in the cosmetics aisle of an inner-city Rite Aid. Tim waited patiently while I decided which mascara to buy. It had been 30 years since I wore anything but Mary Kay products, so I was completely flumoxed by all the different make-up brands and types. After much silent deliberation (did I mention that Tim is a saint?), I settled on Maybelline, the kind my sister and I wore in high school. (More about this later . . .)

We next went in search of dinner. Despite complete exhaustion (in our family, food trumps sleep every time), we found a cute sidewalk cafe called the Kite and Key (I swear, Benjamin Franklin is The Man in Philadelphia!), where Tim wolfed down the “three slider sampler” (pork, beef and crabcake) while I devoured a most scrumptious pork shank. We stumbled back to the hotel, forcing ourselves to stay awake for Conan O'Brien's debut as Tonight Show host--it's impossible to miss home when every other TV show and commercial is filmed in Los Angeles. We passed out in our Sheraton "heavenly bed" at exactly 12:30PM.

Tuesday

With little more than 48 hours to enjoy the sights of Philadelphia, we decided to take one of the numerous tours of the city. First stop: the Liberty Bell, which had moved me to tears the last time I was there. Not so much this time. Apparently every student on the east coast learns about the Revolutionary War in June, because the entire colonial part of town was overrun with kids on field trips. It was fun watching them react to the historical monuments, etc.—some were excited, others were just plain bored--but the sheer number of people sometimes cramped our style. Although we arrived at Independence Hall (across the street from the Bell) at 10AM, we weren’t able to get tickets to the tour until 3:30PM. We opted to go elsewhere instead.


One of our favorite things to do on vacation is sample the local cuisine at large (usually) indoor markets typical of most metropolitan cities. Toronto, for instance, has the wonderful St. Lawrence Market. Seattle has Pike Place. Even L.A. has Grand Central and, of course, the world renowned Farmer’s Market on Third and Fairfax. One of the best, though, is the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia. Home to some 80 shops, this former railroad terminal offers everything from ice cream to gyros. Tim waited 20 minutes for a Philly cheesesteak, while I made a beeline straight for the pastries at the Flying Monkey Patisserie (yum!). Bellies full, we then hopped back on our tour bus and headed north.









I was intrigued by the Eastern State Penitentiary the last time I was in town, but had no time to visit, so decided to make it a priority this time. It ended up being a true highlight of the trip. Completed in 1836, Eastern State was the world’s first “penitentiary” where both men and women were brought to do meditative penance for their crimes. A high-concept masterpiece in its prime, the prison eventually became outdated and severely overcrowded and so was closed in 1971. Today it is a fascinating relic that hosts tours and art installations. I highly recommend spending a couple of hours there the next time you’re in Philadelphia.










Although it was starting to drizzle when we reboarded our double-decker bus, we decided to sit top-side for its better view. Within minutes we were drenched. I looked like a wet raccoon by the time we returned to the hotel. Now I know why Maybelline mascara is so cheap!

Raccoon or not, our day wasn’t quite over yet. At 5PM I remembered that Macy’s, which houses a 1904 30,000-pipe organ, features a live recital every day during rush hour. We got there just in time to stake our claim to a piece of balcony directly across from the massive pipes. Soon the store’s marble atrium was filled with joyous music. We gasped as locals continued to shop below. What a wonderful way to end our first full day in Philadelphia.



More soon . . .

Eating Our Way Through Arizona

It’s March, so of course that means we spent last weekend in Arizona watching spring training baseball. As usual, we stayed at the Sheraton within walking distance of Diablo Stadium (over the I-10 freeway and through a cemetery), home of the Angels. The hotel’s food is adequate to sustain hungry baseball fans. But this year we decided to sample some of the local cuisine and so drove the six hours from L.A. to Phoenix so we wouldn’t have to rent a car.

Our first stop was Joe’s Farm Grill, one of Guy Fieri’s featured spots on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Located in Gilbert, about 25 miles southeast of the hotel, the Grill was built in the shell of what used to be the farmhouse Joe Johnston, the owner, grew-up in during the 1960s. In keeping with the retro theme, Joe runs continuous-loop videos of one of my top childhood TV shows, Fireball XL5, in the bathroom, which is decorated with enshrined Barbies and GI-Joes. If the food wasn’t so good, I could have easily spent the entire day in the bathroom watching TV, but didn’t. Instead I got a salad and Tim a hot dog with real potato French fries, which they serve without salt, if you ask. Heaven on earth!

The next morning, we tried to get into another Guy Fieri favorite, Matt’s Big Breakfast, in downtown Phoenix, but the wait was too long (20 people ahead of us!). So instead we headed over to The Waffle House, a national chain of greasy-spoon restaurants not available in Southern California. Despite the name, the best thing on the menu is the hash browns, which are served in a round patty in three different sizes (single, double and triple), with or without four different types of toppings! Like a fool, I got a plain single, but am already smackin’ my lips in anticipation of next year when I’m going to order a double serving smothered in onions. Talk about your morning wake-up call!

For lunch, we ate both days at the ballpark. Tim couldn’t get beyond his ubiquitous sausage hot dogs (b-o-o-o-ring!), but I ventured forth and discovered the machaca beef tacos. Though I stopped eating beef almost 20 years ago, I’m still a sucker for a good taco and so I was in my glory. Who cares about baseball when there are tasty tacos to eat? I have no idea who won the games.

We went to a movie Saturday night, followed by a quick meal at Johnny Rockets. Quite a comedown from the rest of our dining experiences. But then suddenly, at 8PM, the jukebox started blasting the Village People’s “YMCA” as the entire wait-staff dropped what they were doing and began dancing a choreographed routine! Afterward, I asked our otherwise mild-mannered server what the deal was. He told me they dance every half-hour. So if you’re ever shopping at the Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, run over to Johnny Rockets at the hour or half-hour to see the staff dance. They do a pretty mean boogaloo.

We drove home Sunday morning, but not without first eating breakfast at Matt’s. Even though we arrived before 7:30AM, there was still a bit of a line. Since there were only two of us, we were able to squeeze in ahead of several large parties. The restaurant is tiny, but the food is good. Tim had the salami scramble. The weekend had finally caught-up with me, however, so I just ordered oatmeal.* We were back on the road again by 8:15AM.

Lots more diners, drive-ins and dives to sample in the Phoenix area, so we can barely wait to return next year.









*If you follow this blog, you know I’ve been battling the ear disease Meniere’s for the past few months. This trip was the first big test of my newly regained health, though I’m still very careful about what I eat, especially in restaurants. Luckily, most places are willing to prepare certain foods without salt and there’s always the option of eating a salad without dressing. My ear and I passed the test without any serious side effects. I continue to cautiously edge my way back to normal.