MN State Fair…

I should have worn my pedometer today, because I’m sure I got way more than 12,000 steps in. Whew! I’m tired, I’m stuffed, my ankles are swollen and I’m going to bed, now, at 21:00.

We had a good time though. We got an early enough start that we were able to find a place to park on a neighborhood street by the north entrance and the Pet Building. We got to see Australian shepherds run the agility course. There was an older, slower dog and a wildly excited, very young dog, one wouldn’t complete the teeter totter, one went through the wrong end of the tunnel, twice, and others were so, so, fast. I thought of Kate from http://chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com/ because of her George. He’s a border collie, but I know they are known to run agility courses too.

We took the sky ride to the other side of the fair grounds just so we could get our Turkey Sandwich and All You Can Drink for $1.00 milk. I don’t think it was even 10:30 yet, but we couldn’t even think of looking at a thing until we had that sandwich in our hands. Mmmmmm, delicious, it’s one of the foods that we always get.

We visited sheep, goats, pigs, cows, llamas, and horses. There were no chickens, rabbits, or turkeys yet, probably later on this week. Did you know that Belgian horses are HUGE? We decided to sit for a bit and watch the teens and pre-teens perform English riding. They did such a nice job, even if some of the horses had other ideas in their heads than performing correctly. There always has to be at least one, doesn’t there? Before the show, I was able to get my raspberry malt from the Dairy Building, which happens to be the other food that I always get.

Lots of walking through various buildings, Horticulture, Fine Arts, 4-H, Education, and the one that has all of the quilts, clothing, jewelry, jams, jellies, breads, cakes, and demonstrations, and of course, we walked through tons of people, and ended up going to the Northern Equipment building that has tools, and gadgets and log splitters. Did I just say log splitters? Yup, they even had a State Fair sale going on, and one of them just happened to be the log splitter David wants so he can split all the wood at Barb’s cabin in Wisconsin. It sort of followed us home and is right this very minute sitting in our garage. It’s a very pretty log splitter, blue and silver. Ha! Well, we figure if we use wood to heat our house the majority of the time, why not have a log splitter? David isn’t a spring lumberjack anymore.

We ate and wandered a while longer and now I’m sitting here writing this when I told myself I was going to bed. So, goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.

Oh, one more thing…I got to see my favorite thing while we were passing the Pet Building on our way out, the Police K-9 dogs in action. Take a young, handsome, extremely fit ( in a tight t-shirt ) Police officer, with a padded arm, and a Police dog trained to attack on command, or when their partner is threatened, and mmmm, oops, sorry, ouch!! I tell you, it sure is a good thing I never do anything wrong, because  I would NOT want to get attacked by a Police dog.

Chicago 2011…

Crossing the street to work today, I realized that it’s been less than a week since we were in Chicago, but it seems like much longer. Why does that happen? As soon as I get back into my usual routine, I seem to forget all about the fun I just had, it almost seems as if it were a dream. It wasn’t a dream though and we had FUN!

We got to our hotel on Friday about 14:00 and were able to check in right away. I like to feel as if the hotel room is my home, so I unpack my bags and make use of the dresser and closet, then I arrange all my bathroom supplies neatly on the counter, stow my bags away and subtly urge David to do the same. The first thing he did was try out the single serve coffee maker. Priorities! We looked through the visitor information and saw there was an outdoor concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park at 18:30. We walked by a concert the year before that was packed solid, so we thought we had better get there early and get a decent place to park ourselves. I was starving, as usual, and I wasn’t about to wait until after the concert, and we didn’t feel we had enough time to find a restaurant, order, eat and get there early. We ended up getting delicious sandwiches from a little shop on some street that I can not remember. Once at the park, we chose a grassy spot to lay our blanket (we were prepared) and chowed down. David got us each a glass of wine, it was okay, then decided he had enough time to find a store a buy a bottle, which was way better than okay, so much better that I ended up drinking over 1/2 the bottle myself. Yikes! (that was Okay too!)

The concert was the Verdi Requiem, which I thought we had sung in church, but I was mistaken, it just had some of the same lyrics. They did a beautiful job, the soloists, the choir, the orchestra…the Pavilion has wonderful acoustics. It was a beautiful night and a great, fun, relaxing way to spend our first night in Chicago.

 

 

I decided on Chicago because I knew the 53rd Air and Water Show was being held this weekend. I’ve seen it with Kira by accident, then with David on purpose two years ago, and I’m like a child in a toy store when I hear those jets fly overhead. I get giddy and giggly and break out in a huge smile. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see an airshow up close, I highly suggest you do. There is nothing like it! It runs every year, both Saturday and Sunday and you can be sure it’s going to rain one of them. This year it rained Saturday, so we decided to go the Adler Planetarium. We both gave that a thumbs down. It was expensive, boring, and each different show of stars was an additional cost. We got two general admissions, one star show and spent $46.00. Way too much for what we saw. The sky cleared while we were in the planetarium, so the Thunderbirds, not wanting to disappoint people, did their part of the show, which ended up being longer than the next day. We were happy we got to see both days. 

We were trying to decided what to do that night, David wanted to go to a Jazz place and I wanted to go to Howl at the Moon. We passed by the Jazz place and looked at the menu and entertainment, then we passed by Howl at the Moon, walked in, looked at their menu, got our hands stamped so we could get in without paying a cover, walked back to the hotel, cleaned up and walked back to Howl at the Moon.

We ordered exceptionally good nachos, beer and Long Island Iced Tea. David had the beer. I had two Long Island Iced Teas. Normally one just about does me in, so these must have been pretty weak!! This place has two pianos, a drum set and guitars. They take requests, we sing along and the more people drink, the more fun it is. Chicago was having quite a few weddings coming up, there was one bachelor party and at least ten bachelorette parties. There was even a Mom’s night out group of eight wild Mom’s. I will definitely go back next time I’m in Chicago.

 

We got an early start on Sunday, because I wanted a good seat. We sat on a ledge, on our blanket, right by the boardwalk, (concrete walk actually). We were smart enough to bring along sunscreen, but not smart enough to use it properly. Did you know that you have to cover your skin with the spray on kind??? Just a quick spray doesn’t cover everything. I ended up with a blotchy leg, and because I didn’t use enough on my upper chest and shoulders and none on my face, I was a crispy critter. Never even crossed my mind to put any on my face, because I had my visor on. One would think I would have already learned these things at my age. hahaha

There were an assortment of planes and lots of parachuters, both the Army and the Navy. They were jumping from 10,500 feet because it was a nice, calm day, and we could barely see them at first. They would group together in twos and sometimes threes, with colored smoke trails, sailing in loops and tight circles. Once closer to land, they would split up and some would make really fast landings while others would take their time. One man was out over the water when he jumped, his chute opened, then kind of folded up, opened again, then folded and he started falling in circles. Next we knew, he let his chute go and he was falling like a stone. We were all staring with our mouths hanging open, gasping, thinking that we were going to see something very awful happen before our eyes, when he pulled his second chute. Oh my, what a relief that was for us. We were thinking that he did this on purpose to show what can happen if your chute folds, but after talking to a co-worker who knows jumpers and planes, he said that they don’t let their chute go just for show, he was really in danger and it’s a good thing his second chute worked.

 

    

    

There was a man and his son of about 15 yrs. sitting next to me and he was interested, but mostly bored though the show until the Thunderbirds made their first pass. When you hear that booming sound, it is such a rush. He was smiling ear to ear. Pictures just don’t do justice and I decided I didn’t want to lug around my big camera so these are not the greatest pictures, but they are a memory.

 

After the show, we slowly shuffled through a mob of people and walked all the way back to our hotel. The buses were packed like sardines, so it was just easier to walk. We showered the grime off, marveling at our sunburn and stupidity, got dressed and took the bus to Second City. Home of famous comedians like, Dan Aykroyd, Jim and John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Alan Arkin, Catheine O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy and many, many more. We saw Sky’s the Limit (weather permitting) Hysterical! I’ve been wanting to go for years and I will make that a for sure stop next time I’m in Chicago.

 

The only other place I really wanted to see, was the Brookfield Zoo. We’ve been to the Lincoln Park Zoo several times, and because Kira is a zookeeper, I wanted to see what the Brookfield Zoo was like, just in case she sees an opening there. They happen to pay much better than other zoos (they’re Union), and while it is a good distance from the part of Chicago we love, it’s close enough. It’s and old zoo with newer parts. I’m so partial to the Minnesota Zoo and Como Zoo that I have a hard time being objective at other zoos I visit. I tend to compare them…tsk. It was nice though and I think she would be happy there.

Cincinnati…

Last Saturday, after the Jethro Tull concert,

         David and I packed up my new car and drove 13 hours to visit Andy in Cincinnati. We had an easy time staying awake, because we were excited to be visiting, even though it had only been three days since he was here visiting us. The Sync in my car works pretty well once you get used to how it works. The voice that answers first is a sweet, nice voice and the voice that gives the actual directions is just a little bit stern. (I think she could take a few pointers!)

We got settled, left David sleeping on the sofa and Andy and I went grocery shopping. I always buy groceries for Kira and I wanted to buy them for Andy too. It was kind of funny trying to get him to put things in the cart. I had to ask, do you need this? do you need that? He thought the Kroger’s was expensive, but they were cheaper than Cub and he had a Kroger’s card which gave him pretty good discount on some items.

There is a hamburger place called Terry’s Surf Club that Andy takes all his visitors to. A tiny little place that makes Great burgers. We had a 45 minute wait, so we grabbed some beers and stood around outside, watching people while Andy took Fat pictures of us. Apparently this is what one looks like after consuming a burger at Terry’s Turf Club!!

     

After dinner we walked around the Fountain Plaza and had an ice cream. Hmmm, maybe I should have looked at the pictures before the icecream!! Oh, my poor, poor tummy!! 

Monday, we planned to go to the zoo, and we started out, but it began to pour and Andy was feeling crummy. We decided to go back home and let him sleep while David and I did some shopping. We soon got bored shopping and the weather had taken a turn for the wonderful, so we left Andy a note and off we went to the zoo. We are MN Zoo members, so we got 50% off reciprocity on admission…nice! We got about 1/2 way through when Andy called wondering where we were. I told him the zoo was open till 6 and he should come meet us, which he did.

     

      

Earlier in the day, David and I had gone into the Lorikeet exhibit, where all of these beautiful, colorful birds are just flying around free. There are some Keepers in there with birdseed sticks and cups of nectar to give to visitors to feed the birds with. We just watched and took pictures.

     

Later when we went back with Andy, all visitors were gone and most of the birds were back in their cages, but the ones that were still out were quite friendly. All you had to do was put out your hand and you had a bird on you.

           

Andy got the pleasure too…

   

I don’t think he was quite as Okay with it as David was. Notice there are no pictures of me wearing a bird….uh, uh, nope, not for me.

As we were making our way to the exit, we noticed we missed the Children’s Zoo, so we wandered through there and look what was showing off.

       

We did see one more animal that wasn’t really a zoo animal, but because I love them and I think they are cute and fun to watch, I took this photo…

Andy made some wonderful chicken, mushroom, tomato pizza with a white sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum! We watched Pulp Fiction till we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.

Tuesday David and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum specifically to see the Circus Poster’s they had on exhibit. They were pretty cool and I found out that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey traveled together for a few years. I never knew that. They didn’t allow any photography, so I didn’t get to take any.

 

The Amazing American Circus Poster
February 26, 2011 – July 10, 2011
Organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Strobridge Lithographing Company
Living Pair of Full Grown Hippopotomi.1882
Color Lithograph Poster
Gift of the Strobridge Lithographing Company, 1965.685:47

Organized by Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Kristin Spangenberg, The Amazing American Circus Poster features 80 circus posters created between 1878 and 1939, along with materials related to circus advertising.
Cincinnati-based Strobridge Lithographing Company, which created all the posters in this exhibition, and became the leading printer for the major circuses of this time. The posters designed and printed by Strobridge were unrivaled for their quality, and contain a detailed portrait of the American circus in its “Golden Age,” when it flourished as a vital institution for cultural entertainment in this country.
This exhibition will travel to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.
Sponsors:
“The Amazing American Circus Poster has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom.”

 

Tuesday evening we had reservations at Boca, http://www.boca-restaurant.com/which is the restaurant that Andy works at. We started with an appetizer of 

SEARED DAY BOAT SCALLOP ***I had never had brussel sprouts and I don’t care if I ever have them again.
caramelized brussels sprouts, parmigiano regiano
& brown butter truffle vinaigrette

and our entrees were…

David

WOOD FIRED BRANZINO
mediterranean sea bass, grilled zucchini, zucchini mint salad & lemon oil

Janet

ROASTED FOSTER FARMS CHICKEN BREAST    
lemon arugula risotto & chicken jus

We also had some fabulous wine. Above was all we ordered, but it wasn’t all we got. We got gifted the following…I requested small portions, because I get way too full. We ended up taking 1/2 of our entrees with us and ate them on the drive back to MN.

MARSHALL ISLANDS TUNA CRUDO
compressed watermelon, avocado, jalapeño & house made ponzu

WOOD FIRED LEMONS                                       
ortiz anchovy, basil, tomato, buffalo mozzarella & grilled bread

BAVETTE CON BOTTARGA
linguini pasta, oven roasted tomatoes, cured tuna roe, chili oil,
flat leaf parsley & breadcrumbs

CAPPELLACCI DI MAIS CON TARTUFO NERO  *******My favorite!!! Geez, these little things are addictive!
sweet corn & mascarpone filled house made pasta,
summer truffle & brown butter

Then for dessert, we had an almond cake with berries and an ice cream on top. (Andy will cringe at my description, but it’s not listed on the menu and I can’t remember what all was in it….I just know it was scrumptious) and of course, coffee, wonderful coffee. It was even decaf!!

We got to see the kitchen, which is right there in the open, quite small too with five stations and up to eight people back there at all times. It must be like a ballet when they’re cooking. All I have to say is…if you are ever in Cincinnati, you Must eat at Boca!!

Wednesday we packed up and took a walk downtown, stopping for a bagel and coffee along the way. We ended up at a park in front of P&G building where Andy joined us after he woke up.

         

All of the greenery on the arbors are Trumpet Vines. Of course they weren’t in bloom, but I can just imagine what they must look like covered in orange blooms1

We had a wonderful visit! The long, long, drive home was boring and long, but we got fabulous gas millage even with the air on for 1/2 of the trip, 37.5 was the average! So, now I guess we wait until Lauren finds out where they are planning on sending her (hopefully someplace good), then we will have a new place to visit. I do miss him, but at least there are cell phones and Skype.