The Gourmez

After a great brunch, Ben and I decided to take a stroll around the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson. President Jefferson also designed most of the notable architecture on the main campus, which is where we took that stroll. No official tour; we went where the pretty buildings and Ben’s Ingress portals called. [...]

Last year, Ben and I spent a weekend in Charlottesville, VA, which I blogged about previously here, here, and here. We happened to pick the weekend a derecho hit the East Coast, which is only relevant to this blog because we got a free hotel stay from that natural disaster. Yay? I use the question [...]

I bet you never thought I’d finish my New Orleans series! This is the fifth and final installment. Blog #1 was on sights to the north of Lake Pontchartrain, Blog #2 was on dining at night, and Blog #3 was on drinking at night. Blog #4 took us through the Honey Island Swamp. This time [...]

This is the second travelogue on my adventures in Washington State in October 2012. The first covered my suggestions for a great day trip in Yakima, and this one is in the same vein. So spend a day with me in Ellensburg, located smack dab in the middle of the state. But first, we must [...]

This is the third and final set of panoramas from my California trip in mid-July. The first was views of Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills and the Getty. The second was Yosemite Part 1, with images of the meadows, Bridal Veil Falls, and Vernal Falls. This final part covers the multitudes of panoramas I [...]

As promised in last week’s Los Angeles panoramas post, here are the first panoramas from my Yosemite trip in July. My sister and I and my aunts’ and uncles’ families spent 4 days in the valley at Camp Curry, and it’s such a breathtaking experience. I had been in Yosemite before, but not since I [...]

In July, I spent two weeks in California, my home state and heart state but a place I haven’t lived since college, almost a decade ago now. I was in Los Angeles for the first and last few days of the trip, and so I thought I’d share with you the few panoramas I took [...]

Monticello is located just outside of Charlottesville, VA. It took maybe fifteen minutes to get there from the town. You drive up a small country road and eventually park at the visitor’s center. The large center houses a gift store, museum, theater for viewing Monticello’s history, and a café. It’s also where you buy admission [...]

Welcome to the second half of our Charlottesville weekend trip! My local friend had recommended a slew of restaurants for a nice dinner out in Charlottesville, but Ben rejected them all, settling instead on L’Étoile (817 West Main Street). Because it had been his birthday a few days earlier, he got to choose, and I [...]

  In the last Minneapolis Blogging post, we had some tasty treats on Eat Street after an afternoon spent at the Sculpture Garden. What could possibly be left to do in Minneapolis on this five-day trip? A stroll through Lowry Hill and around the Lake of Isles and a few more memorable meals, that’s what. [...]