It was 15 degrees this morning in Boston, and it’s not even winter yet. I’m inside by the fire, drinking a cup of coffee, and remembering a warmer day in Rockport, Mass., just a few months ago.
Trip taken June 2014.
U.S.
Talking Turkeys | Snapshots and Sojourns
I visited the turkeys again this year. One turkey in particular looked quite forlorn and seemed to be asking, “Have you seen my brother?”
Finding Gluten Free at the Denver International Airport
While searching for a safe gluten-free meal at the Denver International Airport, we were surprised and excited to find an Udi’s Cafe on Concourse B near Gate 22.
That was in 2013. In April 2014, the company changed the name of its restaurants to Etai’s. I guess after 20 years in business and the success of their bread, they decided it was time.
Although I haven’t been to the cafe named Etai’s, it appears that there is no change from the cafe named Udi’s, at least according to the company’s website and Yelp. Most everything is gluten free or can be. There is no online menu for the airport location, but you can get an idea of the dining options by checking out one of the menus for the other restaurant locations on Etai’s website.
If you want some ideas for eating in other airports, check out this blog.
Trip taken July 2013.
How to Get Across the GW Bridge
The road was red on the tiny screen of my phone. The directions said “rerouting.” We followed blindly, exiting 95 to avoid a congested highway stretch just before the southern entrance to the George Washington Bridge.
Off Route 95 and onto Route 46 then right on North Avenue, one small road led to another equally small road but not a through street. Other cars merged in front of us and suddenly our detour was as congested (well, almost) as the GW Bridge. And we realized that we weren’t the only cars being rerouted by Siri!
Getting off the well traveled route around New York City always makes me a little nervous. I think of Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities and the fateful wrong turn the main character, Sherman McCoy, makes.
Slowly we made our way to the traffic light and back onto 95 where all lanes crawled across the bridge, and our view was marred (or enhanced) by the fog.
Are we better off with Google Maps? Showing us traffic and detours, updating our routes with ETAs? Or we were better off in the old days with just maps and AAA TripTiks to show us the way?
On Board the Queen Mary
I grew up hearing about the RMS Queen Mary, a British passenger ship with an aura about her not unlike the RMS Titanic (but without the disaster tales). On my last visit to California, I promised myself I would make a trip to Long Beach and climb aboard. Why? After years of reading and writing about the ship, I wanted to see her for myself and to visit the first stop on The Tucker – Tyler Adventure.
For $29.95 I bought a “First Class Passport” for a day on the ship which included a self-guided audio tour and a behind the scenes tour of the Queen Mary on the “Glory Days” tour. (Although also included in the First Class Passport ticket, I ran out of time and never made it on the “Ghosts and Legends” tour or on the adjacent Russian submarine, the Scorpion.) The next day, my friend and I drove to Long Beach, parked, and walked toward the ship looming before us.
She is big. Longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, the Queen Mary is 1019.5 feet in length. She is tall. From her keel to her smokestack, the Queen Mary is 181 feet high, 49 feet above the water line. She is big enough that during her hey day she carried as many as 1,957 passengers on her 12 decks. For five days in September 1954, my mom and her friend, Rusty and Kit, were two of them.
The Queen Mary is also elegant. The tour took us to the ship’s ballroom and through the art deco bar. We peeked in at a first class cabin, now a hotel room.
After the tour, we wandered on deck, looking for the location where one of Rusty’s photos was taken.
We explored the souvenir shops, ate lunch in the Tea Room, and took the self-guided audio tour, finally finding a replica of a tourist or third class cabin, the cabin in which Rusty and Kit stayed during their 5 days aboard the ship.
If you go, allow yourself plenty of time to explore and to discover. You might even want to spend the night. And if you want to know more about what it was like to travel on the Queen Mary in 1954, read the book, The Tucker – Tyler Adventure.
Trip taken July 2013.
Touring NBC Studios
Have you ever wondered what it was like to go back stage at NBC? To be in the studios of the “Today Show” or “Saturday Night Live?”
In 2012, I toured NBC Studios for the second time (the first time was in 1988) and thought of my mother guiding people through the studios back in 1952, the year she arrived in New York City, before she embarked on The Tucker -Tyler Adventure.
Although you can’t tour the studio now (it’s being renovated and won’t be open to the public until mid 2015), you can book tickets to be part of the audience on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”
Trip taken February 2012.
Photo from Eddie-S licensed by CC 2.0.
Classic Movies to Watch from the 1950s | The Tucker ~ Tyler Adventure
Classic Movies to Watch from the 1950s | The Tucker ~ Tyler Adventure.
Which ones have you seen?
Where to Eat Brunch on the Upper West Side
Although Yelp and Trip Advisor do a good job of helping the tourist discover those out-of-the-way and less touristy places, sometimes it’s nice trusting a native.
I looked in the window at Cafe Lalo where Meg Ryan waits for Tom Hanks in “You’ve Got Mail.” but decided to eat at Good Enough to Eat, just a short walk away. Both serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and include a plethora of yummy looking baked goods.
What to Eat? There were apple pancakes, waffles, omelettes, and French toast. After much debate, I chose the Gramercy Park omelette – slices of Granny Smith apple and Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese served with buttermilk biscuits. Mmmmmmm.
Trips taken July 2008 and July 2012.
What Did They Cook in the 1950s? | The Tucker ~ Tyler Adventure
Thinking about having a 1950s cocktail party or just curious about what people were cooking in the 1950s? Read this.
What Did They Cook in the 1950s? | The Tucker ~ Tyler Adventure.
How to Style Your American Girl Doll’s Hair
When your daughter, niece, or granddaughter’s favorite doll is injured, it’s time for a visit to one of the American Girl Places.
Kaya’s hair was a wreck. So matted and snarled that we thought she would need to go to the American Girl Doll Hospital (to get a new head!). Instead, I was assured that an appointment with the American Girl Doll Hair Salon on 5th Avenue in New York City ($25) just might do the trick.
Kaya (the doll!) sat on a stool while her hairdresser worked patiently and carefully on her hair. My daughter and I watched as her hair was unsnarled, unmatted, and braided. Although she wanted to get her ears pierced, we decided that she was too young. Instead, for an additional $5, we gave her the pampering plus manicure and facial.
To celebrate Kaya’s recovery, we ate lunch at the American Girl Place restaurant. Kaya was seated in her own attached high chair. She was served in tiny tea cups while my daughter and I ate a gluten-free lunch and gluten-free birthday cake.
We skipped the show, electing instead to see Mary Poppins on Broadway.
Trip taken 2008.
Snapshots and Sojourns 