Into the Grand Canyon -- The Adventure Begins

Last weekend Paul began a trip into the Grand Canyon with his brother Jim. The start of the trip was, itself, an adventure.

We were originally scheduled to start our trip into the Canyon Saturday morning. Paul was scheduled to arrive in Phoenix on Friday at 2 PM and then to spend a leisurely afternoon at the Biltmore in Phoenix before leaving for the Canyon. We even had a nice pedicure scheduled (gotta cut the toe nails before hiking down!).

But the Federal government was NOT going to cooperate. As the week went along the prospects of a Federal closure loomed. We learned from the US Park Service was going to close the park at 9 PM Friday. If there was a shutdown, then anyone inside the Park could stay. Those outside would not be allowed to enter. So we made a radical change of plans and beat feet for the Canyon direct from the Phoenix airport.

Little did we know that we were driving into a snow storm. The drive the last hour into the park was a real blizzard with snow making visibility almost impossible . As we tried to climb the hill up to the hotel, our car nearly rolled backwards down the slope. But we made it (and lucky thing too since even though the Federal government did NOT close, the roads behind us were iced in miserably and we might not have gotten to the Canyon the next day anyway). Safely ensconsed in the Kachina Lodge we had a pleasant (non-alcoholic) dinner and went to bed.

We awoke to find that between 10 and 15 inches of snow had fallen. The canyon was beautiful in the snow, but it was continuing to come down as we had breakfast and prepared for the hike. Candidly, both of us were a little nervous.

Our nerves were definitely NOT made any better when we had to make another change of plans. We had intended to hike down the South Kabib trail. But the roads to the trail were no plowed and we couldn't get there. So we had to change our schedule and, instead, hike down the Bright Angel trail -- about a mile longer.

But, in the end, we were ready to go. With 32 pounds each on our backs (our guide, Ryan, was carrying 50!) we began the hike. as you can see, the trail had been broke a little -- but not terribly much and it was tough going. But the adventure had begun!

Seattle -- Rugby and Friends

Paul took a short trip to Seattle this weekend. His main reason for going was to watch a rugby game. It was quite an exciting match. Seattle beat Denver by 2 points, and the match ended literally with Denver on the 1 yard line trying to score. The weather was surprisingly delightful -- high around 55, crisp clear and sunny.

That made the vistas just stunning. As always in Seattle, when the weather is good you can look west across Puget Sound to the Olympics and then a few seconds later, you can look east to the Cascades. This was one of those days when you really couldn't ask for better views than this. Plus a nice look at Seattle's iconic skyline and "bingo" you have near perfection.

By far the highlight of the trip, however, was getting to see an old friend, Kevin Wood, his wife, Kelly and their two young boys, Ryan and Galen. You know it is going to be a good visit when the door opens and Ryan greets you with "I have a surprise." You ask "what is it?" and he says "two worms." Perfect.

Ryan is, indeed, a 4 year old pistol -- all boy with energy to match. He looks particularly good in the Batman costume that he wears. Galen, at age 1, is less well defined, but he seems to like laughing. It was a special pleasure to meet Kelly, whom I had not met before. She seems like a perfect fit with Kevin (but I guess they know that already!). They were kind enough to host a dinner at a local restaurant, St. Clouds, where I had a wonderful fish entree. And I highly highly recommend the coconut, chocolate chunk ice cream.

On the whole, a grand time was had.

Sacramento -- Old Town

So, this weekend I was in Sacramento to watch a rugby match. It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area -- temperature in the mid-60s, a cloudless sky, and a beautiful new rugby pitch. The game itself left something to be desired (the final score was 106-0 which even people who don't know any rugby at all will understand is a wipeout), but we can't have perfection can we.

Afterwards, the referee Aruna Ranaweera, and I used Yelp to find the "best bar" in Sacramento. We were directed to the Back Door Lounge in Old Town. I'd never been to Old Town before but the city has a "cowboy" theme to the old town, complete with horses, carriages, hitching posts and a bunch of tourists. It was a hoot and a half.

The Back Door is a "perfect" dive bar. And I do mean perfect. When we wandered in, we were caught up in a "pub crawl" to celebrate St. Patrick's day, amidst a crowd of drunken, singing Irishmen all wearing the green. Great fun.

Aruna and I were joined by two other rugby folks -- Kat Todd-Schwartz and her husband Ray Schwartz, both of whom are larger than life characters. At Ray's urging, I tried a Golden Cadillac, which is a wicked drink made with Galliano, Creme de Cacao (?) and some other stuff. Tasted yummy, but watch the kick. In any event, a joyous albeit slightly inebriated time was had by all.

Katy's in Costa Rica; Paul's Off to Sacramento

Katy is in Costa Rica for two weeks at a Spanish language class. She'll post on that when she returns. Meanwhile, Paul is headed to the West Coast to watch a rugby match -- U.C. Berkely v U.C.Davis in Sacramento. Off to the flight .....

On the Road to Chicago

Well, we've made this trip 3 times in the past month and we've got it down to a science. Door to door from DC to Evanston is 732 miles and it takes us 12 hours and 40 minutes when we work at it. Some highlights and lowlights from the trips:

Highlight: Sunrise over the Allegheny mountains as you head west from DC

Lowlight: The Gateway Restaurant in Breezewood, PA -- why oh why have I 70 and I 76 not been connected with a highway connection?

Highlight: Listening to US history tapes from the Teaching Company

Lowlight: Ohio is very, very flat

Highlight: Finding a Panera Bread outlet in the highway rest stops in Ohio [Yes, not really that high, but the scale is a relative one!]

Lowlight: Gary, Indiana still smells

Really Lowlight: Arriving in Chicago on a Friday rush hour where the express lanes are closed with snow and being at a standstill, totally, for more than an hour

Highlight: Arriving at our own apartment, not a hotel, in Evanston

Real Highlight: Seeing our kids and grandchildren 3 times in the first week.

Rasika -- 3 1/2 Stars

Yesterday was Katy's birthday. We had dinner with her son, Mike and our daughter in law, Debbie at Rasika's in DC. Once again, the dinner was a home run. Rasika is an Indian restaurant that uses a more nouvelle fusion style for its food. You just couldn't have beaten it with a stick!

The appetizers were wonderful: Katy and Mike both had the Wild Mushroom Uttapam (a pancake) with coconut chutney. Debbie went for the Mango tandoori shrimp and Paul had the most unusual fig & lentil combination with marscapone cream. Each dish had the "zing" of India, but put together in a totally new way.

The entrees were even better. Debbie says that her Tandori lamb chops were "exquisite." Tender and succulent with just the right level of spice. Add some paneer cheese over the rice and she was in 7th heaven. Mike had the mixed grill and was especially pleased with the tandori salmon. Katy had a goa fish curry that made the steam come out of her ears -- to her great pleasure. And Paul had a lamb roganjosh that was just the right degree of spicy.

Of course we also had the traditional accompaniments of Naan and Roti breads, but this time with the homemade chutneys -- one tomato; one mango; and one eggplant. These are MUST try taste sensations.

We owe a special thanks to the sommellier. We asked for a good fruit-forward wine that would stand up to all the tastes and spices. He brought us a wonderful gewirtzendaner (I can never spell that right) from Germany that had just the right touch of orange and berry in it to make a statement but not overwhelm the spices of the tandori and curry. If you go, and don't know what you want, you can safely put yourself in his hands.

Dinner was followed with deserts that went to the next level. Katy had the chocolate samosa -- the chocoholic's delight. Mike and Deb both had the apple jalebi (essentially a begniet) with cardomon ice cream. And Paul had a Nougat Kulfi with brandy sauce that tasted like a cross between caramel ice cream and fine liqour.

We leave tomorrow for Chicago, where we hope to have similar gastronomic pleasure with our other kids. This was, however, a nice way to leave DC and we'll remember the meal fondly.

Kaz Sushi -- 3 1/2 Stars

We go to Kaz Sushi fairly often. Its an avant garde sushi place that tries to combine traditional tastes with new ones. And it just keeps getting better every time we go. This time around Katy had a yellowtail ceviche that was a uniquely Japanese take on the Spanish classic. Paul started with a traditional hijiki salad that was just perfect in texture.

As always the sushi selections ranged from the typical (California roll and eel) to the sublimely different. We had one of Kaz's signature dishes -- salmon with a dollop of mango on it -- that we always enjoy. But the surprises were in some of the other, equally wonderful novelties. We shared a seared scallop sushi covered in lemon salt that was just the right combination of salty and charred. Paul had the super-fatty tuna, that had more marbling than we've ever seen on a fish. And Katy had a side dish of shaved brussell sprouts, seared with onion and some kind of sauce we couldn't identify that was as good a veggie dish as we've had in a long time. To top it off, Katy had a wonderful New Zealand savignon blanc that was fresh on the tongue and a great match for the quiet tastes of the sushi.