Travel
ABAA's 51st California Book Fair
Mark your calendars! It’s going to be fantastic. Especially with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the very first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (one of my favorite books). The show will be in Pasadena from February 9th through the 11th in 2018. For more information, visit 51st California International Antiquarian Book Fair.
History of a Six Weeks' Tour ... by Percy Shelley & Mary Shelley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m a big fan of Mary Shelley and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley so I had to read their travelogue of two separate trips to Europe in 1814 and 1816. I was a little disappointed, mostly by their condescending remarks about the people they met in France, Germany, Switzerland and Holland. They also weren’t too happy with the towns and accommodations along their trip. It reminded me a little of Mary’s mother’s travelogue: Letters Written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
However, the descriptions of nature are striking, especially Percy’s thoughts in his second letter about Mont Blanc and the glaciers around Chamouni (called Chamonix today). Of Mont Blanc, he writes “Nature was the poet, whose harmony held our spirits more breathless than that of the divinest” (p. 152). And reflecting on a glacier, “there is an awful grace in the very colours which invest these wonderful shapes” (p. 155). I actually enjoyed Percy Shelley’s prose descriptions of nature more than his poem, Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni, which closed out this volume.
Bookstores in Colorado
Diane & I had an excellent and productive time shopping for books on a recent trip to Colorado. I stopped at antiquarian stores in Colorado Springs and Boulder as well as an indie shop in Boulder that sold new and used books. The last place, Boulder Bookstore, was a place we’d hit back in 2009, and I picked up Jane Bowles only novel,just reprinted. The two other used and rare stores were new to us, partly since I only got the serious collecting bug in 2012.
Doug Clausen runs Clausen Books in Colorado Springs. He’d been trained in the business by his father and opened the place I visited in 2000, I believe. It’s a small store along the road, but on the inside, there are wonderful shelves of pre-loved books from all segments of the Dewey Decimal system. I gravitated to his literature section (two cases), then almost a whole case of Modern Library books. I came close to picking up another Modern Library copy of Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle with original dust jacket, but I passed since I have a copy, plus several other versions of that fabulous book. In an enclosed case I found some of the pricier items, all beautiful but nothing that was on my list. Toward the back was a miscellaneous section of antiquarian books. Beautiful bindings vied for my attention and I peeked at about a dozen of them. This is the section from where I selected my treasure, a full off-white leather bound, 1841 edition of Chapters on Churchyards by Caroline Southey. The author inscribed it to her cousin. Bliss.
Finding a beautiful book is one thing, but having the opportunity to chat with the owner about other books and our interests is something I treasure. I had a chance to talk with Doug about my collecting interests, his store and his background. We didn’t talk for long but it’s a memory I’ll treasure and recall whenever I pick up the book I purchased from him.
To me, my books are not just valuable for their contents and bindings, but also for how I acquired them. Whether it was a great interaction, stumbling upon a treasure, or finally finding something I’ve been looking for, that makes these bound wonders all the more special to me.
In Boulder, I visited Red Letter Second Hand Books on three successive days. The first two times I picked up great volumes. On my first visit, I bought a first edition of Paul Bowles short story collection, The Delicate Prey and Other Stories. I also saw a beautifully bound edition of Longfellow’s Tale of Miles Standish. I picked it up, put it down, picked it up and put it down. The exquisite binding tempted me but it was just eye candy. I didn’t want the poetry contained within. I only collect what I really want and will use (i.e. play with and read). On my next visit, I did find something that was both nice and on my list. It was a 1949 reprint of Boccaccio’s Decameron, with a slew of full page illustrations by Rockwell Kent. I also found the Golden Book of Coleridge, an Everyman Library collection of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetry. It has the three pieces I had been seeking: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Christabel, and Kubla Khan (???). I would love to have found it in an older binding, but it was in good shape and only $10. I’m so happy to add it to my collection. On the final visit, I looked quickly since we were headed out of town. I didn’t see anything I could justify. Like with Clausen Books, we spoke with the people who worked at Red Letter. I think one was the owner, but they were all really friendly, especially after we said we’d come back and actually did, twice!
So, all in all, a wonderfully productive trip for my collection and two new stores and people with whom to keep in touch.
Letters on Sweden, Norway & Denmark by Mary Wollstonecraft
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I really wanted to like Mary Shelley’s mother’s historical travel letters from Scandinavia, but I just couldn’t. I finished it due to reader’s guilt, pushing through on the Tube, while walking and before bed. To be honest, she read like the typical American tourist of today: arrogant, self-important and unwilling to look at others through any lens but one’s own conceit.
To be fair though,, Mary Wollstonecraft had some amazing zingers and some good commentary of the problems of lust for property, social convention and justice. She also throws a harsh light on some of our cultural practices. On hospitality: “a fondness for social pleasures in which the mind not having its proportion of exercise, the bottle must be pushed about.” On justice: “a man may strike a man with impunity because he pays him wages, though these wages are so low that necessity must teach them to pilfer.” On thinking for oneself: “What, for example, has piety, under the heathen or Christian system, been, but a blind faith in things contrary to the principles of reason.”
And finally, did Wollstonecraft write the best diss of a person, when she said of a horsesman: “Nothing, indeed, can equal the stupid obstinacy of some of these half-alive beings, who seem to have been made by Prometheus when the fire he stole from Heaven was so exhausted that he could only spare a spark to give life, not animation, to the inert clay.”
Maybe I could give this book 1.5 stars…
Top five meals
I haven’t posted a list of my top five meals in my life in awhile. A recent trip to the island of St. Martin produced a culinary delight that I just had to add to this list. A friend encouraged me to post my thoughts, so here they are.
A top five meal for me isn’t just about the food. It’s the total experience: the food, drink, service, ambience and my own mood. So, obviously, this is a very subjective list. But, in the many years since I started thinking about top five meals, I’ve only replaced one entry on the list. So, on to the list, which is not ranked, but ordered by date.
- Chez Girard, Lyon (France), 1995
- Yacout, Marrakech (Morocco), 1997
- NOLA, New Orleans (US), 2001
- Gary Danko, San Francisco (US), 2005
- La Villa, Grand Case (St. Martin), 2013
Chez Girard was a perfect “hole-in-the-wall” that Diane and I found on our first trip to Europe together. We stumbled upon this tiny, two story restaurant and were escorted upstairs, via an old stone wall staircase. This was my first three hour meal in a restaurant. It didn’t feel rushed, nor slow, but perfect. It was almost like we were at a friend’s place for an evening. The food was excellent and our server left us be. When we were seated, there was an American couple next to us. They seemed very impatient in both their talk and body language. The man was even running his knife through his fork tines over and over. We spoke French with our server, as best I could with just a short course from the local college, and he treated us great while the food and check arrived very quickly for our neighbors. The funny part of the evening, which I remember fondly, was when my French skills weren’t enough to surmount a cheese course selection. I had to choose between fromage sec and fromage blanc. I went with the blanc (white), assuming it was a white cheese selection. Nope, more like a cottage cheese or cream cheese. I had meant to order the “sec”, which means hard. But it was still yummy and I can recount it with a smile today.
Yacout was the epitome of a top five meal for me. Located in the old, walled city, it had a nondescript entrance that opened up onto several floors of dining experience. The roof was also open and from there, you could see the whole medina. There were Sudanese musicians playing in a corner and we just soaked in the warm night air and looked at the stars above and the city below. The food and drink came often that night, in course after course of deliciousness. The staff were there when you needed then and then blended into the background when you didn’t.
NOLA’s was a fantastic event, but it illustrates the fleetingness of this type of list. We were in New Orleans for a conference and were able to get a reservation here for dinner. This was after the hotel concierge laughed openly at us when we asked around 5:30pm if there would be anything available that evening. But, it turned out there was a cancellation, I think maybe at 6:30. A little early, but we wanted to try one of Emeril Lagasse’s restaurants while we were in town. We chose the chef’s menu and a wine pairing to go with each course. We had a nice table upstairs, overlooking the entrance and elevator from the front part of the floor. Very romantic and private. Each course was described by the food server and the sommelier came over to describe each wine and why it was paired with that particular course. A fantastic evening, evenly paced and just perfect food. However, we went back to NOLA’s a few years later and left disappointed. The food was okay, the service not as good, but the ambience was just dead. We were on the second floor again but not a great table. And I think part of the excitement of our first experience was because it was the first experience. It’s still on our list because looking at the one meal we had in 2001, it was definitely a top five.
We went to Gary Danko’s for our 15th wedding anniversary. Diane had found it and it was rated the number one restaurant in San Francisco by a bunch of organizations. We got 9:30pm reservations about three or four months out, and even that was hard to get. But it was well worth it. There was a small waiting bar where we had cocktails before our table was ready. We then got seated in the more quiet room off to the left from the main entrance. They pulled the table out for us and we sat side by side, looking out at the room. We were introduced to the restaurant by one of our many servers during the night. The food was to die for, especially the cheese course. They rolled a trolley to our table with about 30 types of cheese from California, Oregon and Washington. This meal could have made it into the top five with just the cheese course!
Finally, I can add La Villa to this list of top meals. We were cruising Restaurant Row in Grand Case, stopping to look at menus and see what the restaurants looked like. Some had touts or overeager staff begging you to come in. When we stopped at La Villa, an older gentleman came out to us and we expected the same spiel. But, he just pointed out the menu, said he had space inside and the first drink would be on him. He then said he’d leave us to look things over. Wow, just that won me over to at least eat there. We went in and were seated at a nice table near the entrance and our first round of drinks were provided, gratis. We had a lovely meal with various wait staff popping into and out of our vision, never too far away, never dallying. At the end, the man who first welcomed us came back. Turns out he was co-owner, along with his wife. He presented us nice after-dinner drinks of local banana rum and something else. When we finished that, he reappeared, poured another and left the bottle on the table, telling us not to be shy. We were a little shy and he came back later and poured more. We begged him to take the bottle away for fear of drinking it all, but he said that was no problem and we had another! But, we needed to be able to see to sign the bill, which was never produced until we asked for it. Perfect. Such wonderful service, quality of food, presentation and drink. A fitting entry on this list.
In closing, I do have to add that we went back to La Villa two nights later. Unlike our experience with NOLA, La Villa remained an excellent choice on the second trip. In fact, if possible, it was better. We met the other owner, had wonderfully different food and then ended the night with an even nicer, and a bit more refined, bottle of after-dinner liqueur.
Must do's on the Big Island of Hawaii
Having just returned from a fantastic trip to the Big Island of Hawaii (also called Hawaii), I wanted to list a few things that are must do’s if you go there. Well, they are must do’s for Diane and me, but I think others would like it.
First, you have to visit Volcano National Park. There’s nothing quite like it that I’ve ever seen. To see how an eruption can utterly change the landscape, and then see how nature fights back to regrow grass and trees is incredible.
Second, the most southern point of the entire US is on the Big Island. In the Continental US, it’s Key West in Florida. But, for the whole country, you have to head out to South Point, Hawaii. The first thing that’s cool is the lack of commercialization of the spot. It’s tacky as hell in Key West but not a single marker in Hawaii. I guess we can thank Buffett for that. :-)
But, what’s really impressive is the wind farm. It’s very breezy there and there are four tiers of wind turbines on a cliff near South Point. Some of the farm has been in disuse, evidenced by broken turbines, missing blades, etc. But, the line of turbines closest to the cliff were in full motion while we were there. It was amazing to see cows laying in the grass below the field, trees whose limbs were bent by the wind for years and nature being turned into power with nary an impact on the environment.
And, if the blending of technology and nature isn’t enough, along South Point’s cliff is a place for campers and cliff divers. A woman had jumped into a lava tube that lead out to the ocean while we were there. There are ladders to climb back up. A little too much for me, but definitely cool.
The next must do is to take the northern highway, Rt. 19, from Kona to Hilo. You are on an island, but as you travel the coast, up into the mountains and then back down to Hilo and Volcano National Park, you travel through an amazing changing landscape. We felt like we were in Ireland, upstate New York, Maryland, southern Arizona, Boulder (Colorado) and various ocean communities.
Along this route, you will pass another must do for dinner. Go to Merriman’s, a fantastic restaurant that tries to draw all its menu ingredients from locally sourced places. They boast 90%+ of their ingredients come from the island. Their fish and salad specials are killer, their wine list broad and affordable, the desserts utterly sinful and the service top notch. What a fantastic place to have a romantic evening meal.
Finally, and this is for the beer fans, you have to visit the Kona Brewery. Amazingly, it’s in Kona, on the northern side. They brew kegs onsite but the bottled stuff is all done in Washington and Oregon states. I appreciated their integrity and honesty in explaining all this during the brewery tour we took (daily at 10:30 & 3 pm). Funny thing was, I bought some Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale about 6 miles from our hotel and about 25 from the brewery. It was brewed in Oregon I think. But, we drank great stuff on tap that was brewed not more than 50 feet from where we were sitting. If you go, try their Fire Rock Pale Ale, Castaway IPA and Diane’s favorite, Wailua Wheat Ale.
Great gallery in Rehoboth Beach, DE
While Diane and I were in Rehoboth Beach this week, celebrating our 18th anniversary, we stumbled across this fantastic art gallery along one of the side streets. Detail has been around for awhile, but only moved to this location earlier this year. They have lots of different artists, some local, some as far away as Denver, Chicago and Mississippi. They have traditional paintings (oil and acrylics), photography, mixed media, assemblages and other formats. We talked with Michael, one of the owners, and also met the stores mascot Mirabelle, a cute little Boston terrier.
I picked up a piece called Juice while I was there. It’s a fantastic photo mounted in a wood frame that juxtaposes classic 50s iconography with a more contemporary flair. If you have the chance, visit Detail at 54 Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, DE.
Indie Indy and my connection
As a writer, I’d have to be excited about how Indianapolis has recreated itself. But, I’ve got double reason to be excited. My father-in-law had a great letter published in response to that article (see the first letter on the web page). It was published in today’s Travel section in the Washington Post.
Jamaican run times
We’re back and I wanted to highlight my workout times from Jamaica. I was a total geek and worked out while on vacation. But, it helped keep in check the frozen drinks, beer and food I ate day and night! I worked out three times, which sync’ed with my home pattern. I ran five miles around an asphalt track at the largest sports complex in the Caribbean. Each lap was 0.5 miles, so 10 times was all it took. The first day, I ran in rain for about 1/2 of each lap and in the sun for the next half. Island weather! The second day was great and cool as I was up around 8 to run. The third day killed me, as the times show, possibly due to the extremely high humidity that day. The times below are for each mile, first through fifth.
Jan. 3rd: 7:46 .. 7:45 .. 8:24 .. 8:56 .. 8:54 Jan. 5th: 7:27 .. 7:59 .. 8:28 .. 9:03 .. 9:02 Jan 7th: 7:44 .. 7:59 .. 8:16 .. 9:34 .. 10:04
What’s amazing for me is that I’d only run six individual miles under 8 minutes since I started running in June of last year. On Jamaica, I ran six miles under 8 on three consecutive workouts. I’m off for a run now, so hope that the trend continues!
Small world
At breakfast this morning, Diane & I ran into a couple that we’d been eyeing for the last two days.
Turns out, while I was waiting to get my omelet, they got seated right next to Diane and it was Chris and Dan. We fell right back into good times. They said they’d even thought/talked about us last night, reminiscing about us coming to the wedding in the garden veranda back in 2004. We always remember that wedding, it was beautiful and simple and a perfect cap to our first trip to Jamaica.
They’ve moved out of Nebraska and now live in Missouri. They’re both doing great, and Chris was actually teaching all week over at the workout center. I even passed her this morning on the track as she was warming up her Step class and I was doing a five mile run.
We talked for about an hour and a half and had an awesome time. [Updated] I was able to upload the picture just now.
My official Komen 5K time
Komen published their official race results for my first 5K back on October 14th. Since there wasn’t any fancy finish line or electronic tracking, I think these times are a bit fuzzy. They did collect racers' bibs, which had identifiers, but I’m not sure how they tracked specific times for individuals. But, it’s close to my own estimate of 28:30. It took me about a little over one minute to go from the finish line to where I actually handed over my bib, since everyone was merging into several lines to be processed.
But, without further ado, here’s my official stats:
Place: 1,355 (out of 4,240)
Age Group: 40-44
Time: 30:50.2
Pace: 6:10/K
I was 28th best of the Columbia contingent, and 5th best for my age group from Columbia. But, it was a lot of fun and it was for a great cause. Congrats to everyone who participated!
Live: Komen 5K Race for the Cure
I just finished my first 5K race! Im blogging from my iPhone! We are up in Hunt Valley, MD, for the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Race for the Cure. I ran it in 28:30, a little off my mark of an 8:30 mile. Running in a crowd is difficult!! Diane’s doing her 5K walk with coworkers right now!
Big shout out to Barb & Bob for their generous pledge for our participation today. We love you!!
A little travel, and see what happens?!?
I’m out of the States for less than a week and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigns and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), one of the most vehemently anti-gay legislators around pleads guilty inwhat the Drudge Report has labelled “Brokeback Bathroom.” I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow. (As an aside, I really have to wonder if every conservative or Republican who rails against gays and lesbians is really in the closet themselves and either hates themselves or doesn’t want anyone else to have the type of relationships they have?)
Quick DC photo
I was in DC yesterday (Tuesday) for a meeting and then lunch with a colleague. In between, I stopped by the White House, cutting through Lafayette Park. In all my time in DC, I really don’t think I’ve been to north side of the White House, viewed from Pennsylvania Avenue. I guess it makes sense since almost all of my DC-based work has focused on Congress. Anyway, here’s a cool self-portrait by the fence.
Fr. Bill's Golden Jubilee
This past weekend, my mom’s cousin, Fr. Bill, celebrated 50 years in the Catholic priesthood. Our family got together in Scranton (PA) to celebrate over the weekend. It was a blast!
Trivia: Fr. Bill had married my parents one week after he was ordained. They’d waited for this to happen. Fr. Bill also married Diane & I, though obviously not at the same time. :-)
It's been awhile!
I haven’t posted in a long time and it’s because I was out of the country on vacation. We went to Greece, visiting Santorini, Mykonos and Athens. It was a fantastic trip with ups and downs. I’ll be pulling together a robust report with pictures and reflections soon, but for now, here’s one of my favorite photos, taken in Santorini. This island is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever visited. It’s dramatic landscape is due to a volcanic eruption that blew away most of the interior of the island, leaving a wonderful caldera. As you walk the area, you’ll see many vistas like this one, where doors seem to lead off cliffs. But, in reality, it’s that the homes are below, built directly into the cliffs and the entrance is from above. Stay tuned for more!
We're back in the States
Our trip to Jamaica was wonderful! As always must happen, vacations end. It’s harder, though, when you go into the airport and the sun’s out, it’s in the mid 80s and humid, and you deplane at your destination and find it’s in the 30s, windy, and dark. But, we’re back, we’re unpacked, and plowing through messages, both physical and virtual!
On a cool note, I didn’t smoke on vacation…the first time in ages and definitely the first time I didn’t smoke in Jamaica. It was hard a times, mostly just remembering doing it. But, if I gave it a thought, i.e. if I had one, I realized in my mind that it wasn’t what I really wanted. And, waking up each morning having survived the previous day’s challenge, I was more empowered. 52 days and counting!
And, on a really sad/pathetic note. After Diane & I got through immigration control at the airport, we were still in the secure pre-Customs baggage claim area. I looked around the huge, very modern looking facility at BWI Airport. Not one sign was in any language other than English. Not even anything in Spanish! What shocked and upset me was that this wasn’t a local mom & pop store in the ‘burbs, or the turbo-flop wing of the airport. It was the international arrival facility. One would think that it’s not just English speakers who’d be traveling through this area. Why not a few signs with multilingual instructions?
Update from the island
Having a ball in Jamaica still. What a trip it’s been, with me drinking Guinness @ the sports bar and pretty much drinking my way through all the types of gin they have here. I hated gin, and now I’m making choices between Tanquerey, Bombay Sapphire, and one or two others. Gin martinis and G&T’s rock (less sweet and still great tasting!).
On the non-drink front, heading out to go snorkeling in a few. Should be a relaxing and beautiful day today!
Photo from my talk in LA
Our regional director sent me this photo from the speech I gave in LA. I was so in the zone during this speech that I don’t even remember anyone taking it!
