KCMO

The dude and I are heading out of town in a couple of weeks to continue our journey to taste the great variety of barbecue in the U.S. Our next stop is Kansas City, Missouri. According to the research we have done, we are in for brisket and burnt ends with sauce that is thick and spicy and sweet. Burnt ends--I love burnt food so I am really excited to try this!

We began our BBQ quest on our cross-country drive in 2005. It all started in Memphis where I ate my first rib. (I'm picky about the meat I eat, and I thought I wouldn't like them.) We plan on visiting N.C. and possibly re-visiting Texas as well for this journey. Of course, it will be a lifelong adventure, but these are the four states we're starting with.

This visit will mark the second stop on #64 "Visit four of the following states overnight: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, or Wisconsin." (These are all the U.S. states I haven't yet visited; I've shopped in Delaware, flown through Minnesota, and driven through Arkansas, but I don't think that counts.)

#66 Visit Newport, RI

I left my house at 6:00 am to fly up to Providence to interview the donor, and boy, what a trip.

Our hostess showed us her private home, offering us a picnic, and brought us to visit "The Farm".

By the time we got to town, we only had an hour or so before we were scheduled to head to the airport. We did walk a bit down Thames and Bellevue, but we didn't have enough time to tour any homes. But then again, I mentioned the tour of the private home, right?

As usual, Philadelphia airport SUCKS, and ATC had to delay our flight two and a half hours. Apparently they can schedule flights, they just can't stick to the schedule. Even our pilots were perplexed because there was no weather in Phillie. It's just the crappiest major city in America.

# 66 Visit Newport, RI

I just got word from my boss--the president said we should go!

We have a major donor who we will feature in the next issue of the alumni magazine because the building that bears her name is opening. So we have to interview her. In person. And it just so happens that she summers (c'mon, she's a major donor and she "summers") in Newport. I am going for an overnight trip for a what, one hour, interview. YAY ME. Total score, I get to do one of the things on the list, and someone else is going to pay for it. I'd never have imagined it when I wrote the list.

I hope she has one of those major houses that I want to see inside of...

#64 Visit four of the following states overnight

I have been to Texas, and I stayed. The office sent me to a conference in San Antonio. The dude came and we extended our visit so that I could get out of the hotel for a while. We stayed on the Riverwalk, which is fine and totally prevents the downtown from being an armpit, but is of course totally touristy, which is where I belonged because I was the total tourist. I have been to the Alamo. I have been to El Mercado. I have been to the King William historical district, but there's really only so much you can do in a day and a couple of nights.

I did almost plow into Jeff Van Gundy when I was getting off the elevator. We had seen him on Friday night doing an ESPN talking head thing on the river in front of our hotel (the official hotel of the visiting team--I shared space with Steve Nash!). Then on Saturday night, he was planning dinner with some ESPN producers right in front of the elevator. He was pretty humble ("I'm the new guy. I'm a team player," he said as they tried to decide where to go...)

On the way out of town, our taxi driver was telling us how much house we could buy for what we paid for our tiny treasure in the burbs (two words: gated community). We were jokingly thinking about it, but since we don't have jobs in Texas, there's no point. When we got to the airport, there was an advertisement for a job opening for what my husband does.It was like a sign. Except the job was at the University of the Incarnate Word. Oh, it was a sign all right. A sign to go home to Philadelphia.

More Photos:


The ubiquitous river cruise boats.


Day of the Dead figures from El Mercado.


San Fernando Cathedral

#61 Slovenia: From the Alps to the Mediterranean

Slovenia is a beautiful country. Here is a brief snapshot from the 200 photos we took.

Day One

Centromerkur (1903). Department store, Ljubljana.

In order to eliminate jet lag, we kept ourselves awake by taking a walking tour of the Secessionist (Art Nouveau) Buildings of Ljubljana (the capital).

Day Two

View from the grad (castle), Ljubljana.

More of Ljubljana. Today we visited the castle and the history museum in a beautiful park.

Day Three

Lake Bohinj, view of Ukanc.

We drove up to Lake Bohinj, in the Julian Alps. Hiked around the lake.

Day Four

Farmer scything grass, near Lake Bonhinj.

Hiked around Lake Bled, then took a boat tour of Lake Bohinj before riding a gondola to the top of Mt. Vogel.

Day Five

Boats in the Adriatic, the view from our hotel, Strunjan.

Started the day with a hike to Slap Savica (waterfall) before getting in the car and driving over crazy mountain passes so we could eat one of the particularly national foods, zlikrofi, in Idrija. Ended the day in Strunjan.

Day Six

Boats in Piran, view from the Maritime Museum.

Hiked from our hotel to Piran along a treacherous ocean-side path strewn with rocks and boulders. Basked in the Mediterranean glow of Piran.

Day Seven

Lipizzaner horses doing "light carriage work."

After a stop to see the Skocjan caves, we drove to Lipica to see the horses. Treated to a bunch of young women hoping to become Miss Hawaiian Tropics. They had to dress like that to show off their tans. Wondered that I was old enough to be their mother. Considered giving them a talking to about projecting the right kind of image.

Day Eight

Peppers for sale at the market in Vodnik Square, Ljubljana

Drove back to Ljubljana. Shopped. Had my 40th birthday dinner.

Why Slovenia?

Cheryl asked.

The long and weird answer is that when I was five, I told my parents I wanted to ride the bus for my birthday. I was fascinated by the city buses but had never ridden one. This was my big chance. My parents, completely perplexed by my desire to ride a bus, thought big. My dad took me on a Greyhound bus to Boston so I could see the Lipizzaner horses.

Well, the Lipizzaner horses are from Lipica, Slovenia. So, it's like going home again. Except I get to ride in a big plane.

Other reasons include: it is the size of New Jersey, so we can see most of it in the week we have to travel. It has beaches, mountains, and an incredible cave system (karst). And I know a woman who keeps going back to Ljubljana because she's so in love with the place. She has me swayed.

You gotta love a city whose every "L" has it's own "j." I'm a woman of simple pleasures.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

We bought tickets! We are going to Slovenia for my 40th birthday (pause here so you can argue that I am not really 40. Go ahead, everyone else does.) We go October 6 and return October 15.

I'm too excited to sleep!