My favorite online daily, The Morning News, just posted a clever collection of personal essays about
holiday travel. TMN contributing writers share
Holiday Travel Hell
stories about the almost unavoidable ritual of the season — getting to where you have to/need to/want to (??) be for
the holidays. Unless, of course, your holiday is, like Pitchaya Sudbanthad’s,
“…about going nowhere.” From Altoona to Adelaide, there are experiences shared in these vignettes that I’m sure many
folks can relate to. I enjoyed reading these, and particularly liked Paul Ford’s piece, in which he wonders “…what
it’s like to look at the world and see a recipe.” Take a few minutes to read a few before you head out the door to
begin your own great holiday escape.
Cool Gear: Brewmug
For years and years I’ve pondered how to make a better traveling coffee maker. The ones I’ve seen at places like REI
and EMS are always big and metal and not very ideal for backpack camping. So it was a surprise today to stumble upon
the Brewmug, a handy coffee making apparatus that not only has a sleek design,
but comes with some serious designer credentials behind it.
The mug is the brainchild (presumable a brain high on caffeine) of
Reg Lake, a pioneer of North American
whitewater kayaking, and an early purveyor of outdoor gear in CA. The solution here seems very clever. The brewing part
of the mug fits inside the mug itself when not in use, and then a thing called the JavaTube, a polycarbonate plastic
tube with a conical fabric filter attached to one end, allows you to put in coffee and pour hot water to make a hot cup
of Joe.
This is one piece of gear that an outdoorsy coffee fan like myself can really use.
North Fork Wineries
I’ve got North Fork wines on my mind this morning, but it’s too
early to be drinking, and it’s not really the right time of year. But last night we sipped a flavorful
Sunflower Chardonnay over dinner, a bottle my
parents bought for me when they visited Peconic’s Pindar Vineyards earlier this
year. Then, after dinner, I came across The Atlantic Monthly’s
recent article praising the merlot of
Shinn Estate Vineyards, located in nearby
Mattituck. These are just two of over thirty
vineyards located on the northern tip of Long Island. My parents did a quick getaway to the
North Fork to celebrate their anniversary earlier this year. They
went mid-week, to take advantage of reduced rates and less crowds, although it’s pretty peaceful out there year-round.
(Here’s a list of B&B’s in the region.) The landscapes are beautiful
almost any time of year, and worth a visit, especially if wine is your thing. There’s not too much happening out there
in the off-season, unless you want to take a drive to pick up some of that merlot, but I’m already thinking of spring,
aren’t you?
How Would You Like Your Goat, Sir?
When I was living in Chile, I’d be driving along the highways out of Santiago and would see women on the roadside
holding up fresh goat corpses. The corpses were usually small, and their red meat glistened in the sun, and the women
holding them often smiled broadly, giving the same effusive salesy expression of a concierge at the Four Seasons. It
could be quite a pretty sight, I assure you. Now, it’s not that you’ll be seeing goat meat along the road that I bring
this up. But, you MIGHT be seeing goat meat at your dinner table. Yes, it turns out that goat meat, once reserved for
third world tables only, might slowly becoming a part of the American diet, or
so says this piece in the LA Times.
let me say that I have tried goat. Many times. I’ve had goat tacos, and goat meat cut right off the spit. It is pretty
good. It’s got its own zing, but the taste is very pleasant. According to the article, goat meat imports to the U.S.
jumped about 140% over the last seven years. And that means that (who else?) Californians are getting into the act, um,
beefing up goat farms and sending the meat to the local market. So don’t be surprised if sometime in the near future
you happen hear someone order a McKid.
Tourist in my own Town
This past weekend I was lucky to have a travel partner willing to explore my own city with me. My brother Mike, who
also lives in Baltimore, set aside some time to play tourist around town, something I’ve wanted to do before I leave
for good at the end of the month. So, if you’re planning a trip to Baltimore in the coming months, here’s a quick
summary of some things you can do that it took me SEVEN years to get around to:
We started out at the Waverly Market off of
Greenmount Avenue. Now, I’ve actually been to this wonderful year-round market before, but on this busy autumn Saturday
morning (the week before a holiday), it seemed like the perfect time for a farewell visit. We then headed downtown for
a walk through Lexington Market and a visit to
Trinacria, the best Italian deli in the city, where Mike
loaded up on discount wine, fresh mozzarella and homemade pizza dough, while I just enjoyed the colors and aromas of
the city, and wondered why the heck I had never been to either of these places?! On Sunday we roamed around Mt. Vernon,
climbed 288 steps to the top of the Washington Monument,
toured the Maryland Historical Society and grabbed lunch at the famous
Hollywood
Diner on Saratoga and Holliday. FINALLY! It’s amazing how many things there are to do right in our own backyards
that we just don’t get around to for one reason or another. It took leaving town to get me to do these things. And made
me realize just how much I’m gonna miss this great place and its colorful mix of people and traditions. Oh, and boy how
I’ll miss those Berger Cookies!