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Thursday, June 1, 2017
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
We're on the move again...
If all has gone well, we are in the air and on the way to our latest adventure. Where are we this time?
Here's the skyline:
We'll be spending the majority of our time visiting Cathy's best friend from junior high school (who is inadvertently responsible for Kirk and I meeting in college and getting married!) Cathy's "other parents" are also in Georgia part of the year, so it will be just like 'ole home week. We can't wait!
Here's the skyline:
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| "Atlanta Skyline" by seanpinto, Flickr is licensed under CC BY 4.0 |
Sunday, February 12, 2017
We're in Pawhuska, OK at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile and Restaurant!
My (Cathy) parents were in town for the weekend, so we decided to head over to Pawhuska, OK to check out the new Pioneer Woman Mercantile and restaurant! Mom and I are big Pioneer Woman fans, and we both have husbands who humor our crazy whims to drive to the middle 'o nowhere to visit one place.
We set out with the idea of having lunch there, then coming back before it got too dark. We boarded Bessie the Happy Hound in case our trip took longer than expected, and we ended up being glad that we'd done that!
Pawhuska is in the middle of nowhere. Think two lane highways, tiny (tinytinytiny) towns, and the occasional small casino. That's where you are going. Fill up on gas before you really need it! (The Mercantile has some directions if you want to plan your own visit.)
We pulled into the tiny town and found some two hour parking on the street. We figured two hours would be plenty...until we saw the line.
Mom and I had to use the ladies room, so we popped into a nearby hot dog buffet to buy a drink in exchange for the use of their bathroom. (All the nearby businesses had NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS signs on their doors. I don't really blame them.) If you decide not to wait in line for Pioneer Woman's food, try the Prairie Dog Hot Dog joint across the street. Their toppings bar looked awesome, but we stuck with lemonade.
While Mom and I were on our lemonade adventure, Kirk texted me the ETA. There were two lines. The line to the store was about half an hour long. If we wanted to eat at the restaurant, we were looking at a 3 hour wait. Three. HOURS. Hours. Wait. THREE. Did we want to do the rock star ticket line circa 1995 wait for some down home good eatin', or should we just go to the store and call it a day?
My parents had come from Colorado, and we drove two hours to get there, so dang it, we were eating at that restaurant. They had workers come talk to us throughout the wait, bring us bottled water, play trivia, and sometimes bring out sample snacks. Mom and I went to the store line and scooped out the store while Dad and Kirk held our places in the food line. (Totally allowed, btw, until you get to the special velvet rope area. By then, your party needs to be together according to a worker wearing a wooden sheriff badge.)
Upstairs there was a bakery (with a long line) and a lot of comfy couches and big windows. It was a really pretty area. When (if) the crowds calm down, this would be a nice place for locals. This would be just the kind of place I'd take my laptop to so I could get some grading done while getting out of the house.
We headed upstairs first because one of the workers had told us that Ree might be upstairs. We did not see her, but her husband Ladd was in the store and bumped into my mother. ("Excuse me, ma'am," said Ladd to my mother, his new best friend. He looks like he does on her blog and TV- truth in advertising! Very polite dude.)
The store had something for everyone for sure, in all kinds of price ranges. If you like the plates that they use in the restaurant, you can buy them at the Merc. If you want to dress just like Ree, you can pick up some of her favorite pieces at the Merc. Did your husband humor you by driving you to the middle of nowhere Oklahoma without complaint? Buy him a 'lil present at the Merc. Want to be reminded of the splendor and bloodshed of the French Revolution? The Merc's got you covered.
It was hot, it was windy, and it was sunny. We were all so glad that we did this in February (albeit it a hot February- the high was 86 degrees, and we felt it.). I cannot imagine what they are going to do in July! The Food Network was there filming that day. My family is a bit camera shy, so you may see us carefully studying the brickwork with our backs to the camera in a future episode of Pioneer Woman! They did trivia questions and handed out prizes to the first people to answer. We did not win any of the cute prizes- whisks, adorable ramekins, and cute kitchen towels.
We FINALLY got to the front, and the host dramatically opened the door to reveal the INSIDE line that we were going to stand in for the next half hour! At least this line was air conditioned.
Was it worth a three hour wait? Before I say, I have to make a confession. I don't really like the majority of Pioneer Woman's recipes.
It's true. She's a fun personality and has a great blog, but I find most of her food "eh" at best. (Except this lasagna. This lasagna rocks my world!) Take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Here's what we ate between the four of us:
We set out with the idea of having lunch there, then coming back before it got too dark. We boarded Bessie the Happy Hound in case our trip took longer than expected, and we ended up being glad that we'd done that!
Pawhuska is in the middle of nowhere. Think two lane highways, tiny (tinytinytiny) towns, and the occasional small casino. That's where you are going. Fill up on gas before you really need it! (The Mercantile has some directions if you want to plan your own visit.)
We pulled into the tiny town and found some two hour parking on the street. We figured two hours would be plenty...until we saw the line.
 |
| Oh HAI, giant line and blistering sun! |
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| Huckleberry lemonade is pretty good. |
While Mom and I were on our lemonade adventure, Kirk texted me the ETA. There were two lines. The line to the store was about half an hour long. If we wanted to eat at the restaurant, we were looking at a 3 hour wait. Three. HOURS. Hours. Wait. THREE. Did we want to do the rock star ticket line circa 1995 wait for some down home good eatin', or should we just go to the store and call it a day?
My parents had come from Colorado, and we drove two hours to get there, so dang it, we were eating at that restaurant. They had workers come talk to us throughout the wait, bring us bottled water, play trivia, and sometimes bring out sample snacks. Mom and I went to the store line and scooped out the store while Dad and Kirk held our places in the food line. (Totally allowed, btw, until you get to the special velvet rope area. By then, your party needs to be together according to a worker wearing a wooden sheriff badge.)
 |
| Mom and I both really liked the sign. |
We headed upstairs first because one of the workers had told us that Ree might be upstairs. We did not see her, but her husband Ladd was in the store and bumped into my mother. ("Excuse me, ma'am," said Ladd to my mother, his new best friend. He looks like he does on her blog and TV- truth in advertising! Very polite dude.)
 |
| This was taken from the stair landing. |
It was hot, it was windy, and it was sunny. We were all so glad that we did this in February (albeit it a hot February- the high was 86 degrees, and we felt it.). I cannot imagine what they are going to do in July! The Food Network was there filming that day. My family is a bit camera shy, so you may see us carefully studying the brickwork with our backs to the camera in a future episode of Pioneer Woman! They did trivia questions and handed out prizes to the first people to answer. We did not win any of the cute prizes- whisks, adorable ramekins, and cute kitchen towels.
We FINALLY got to the front, and the host dramatically opened the door to reveal the INSIDE line that we were going to stand in for the next half hour! At least this line was air conditioned.
Was it worth a three hour wait? Before I say, I have to make a confession. I don't really like the majority of Pioneer Woman's recipes.
It's true. She's a fun personality and has a great blog, but I find most of her food "eh" at best. (Except this lasagna. This lasagna rocks my world!) Take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Here's what we ate between the four of us:
- Appetizer 1: French Onion Soup (forgot to take a picture!)
- Verdict: Pretty yummy, if a bit salty. Would order again. Kirk and I told them that we were splitting it, and they brought it in two separate bowls. That was pretty great. :)
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| Not very wedge-y, but still delicious. |
- Appetizer 2: Wedge Salad.
- Verdict: Both my parents had this, and both reported that it was good. The bleu cheese dressing was great, and the waitress told us that they made all their dressing fresh in house.
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| This picture does not really accurately convey how huge this meal was. |
- Main Event (Cathy, Mom, and Dad): Chicken Fried Steak w/ Mashed Potatoes
- Verdict: We were mixed here. Dad liked it, but said it did not compare to the Holy Grail of Chicken Fried Steaks at a place that he used to eat at in college. He has been searching for the CFS Grail since the place closed 40 years ago. Mom liked it a lot. I thought the steak was "eh." It was not bad, but it was nothing to write home about. It was also HUGE (and at $17, I expected nothing less) so you might consider sharing unless you are realllllllyyyyy hungry. We all agreed the mashed potatoes were delicious. They were real mashed potatoes- none of that powered potato just add water nonsense in Ree's restaurant! The parents would order this again, but I would try something else next time.
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| This sandwich was also HUGE. |
- Main Event: Marlboro Man Sandwich with Potato Chips
- Verdict: Kirk really loved this. It was also HUGE. It was too big for him to eat with his hands, so he ate all the filling with a fork and knife, and then ate the bread. We all tried it- if you like Worcestershire sauce, you will like this sandwich. We all really liked the homemade potato chips.
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| Cake so good that we only have an empty plate to show you. |
Dessert: Tres Leches Cake
Verdict: Delicious! We shared one slice, and after the huge meal we'd just eaten, one slice was enough. We would order this again. I think it was my favorite part of the meal. It came with two churro pieces and a pool of caramel.
The coffee is also delicious, so be sure to order a cup with dessert!
So was it worth the three hour wait? Yes, but mostly for the experience. It was a fun day. We had a good time, but we all agreed that it was a one and done experience. While we had a lot of fun and enjoyed it, we don't anticipate doing it again.
Since we did not think we'd be in Pawhuska again, we took a quick walk to check out some of the local businesses. The Buckin' Flamingo was just down the street and around the corner, so we checked it out.
If you're in the market for some yard sculpture or a BBQ shaped like a buffalo, look no further!
The line was still there when we left. When we were at this point in the line, we had about an hour left of waiting.
One and done- but what a day!
Tips:
Verdict: Delicious! We shared one slice, and after the huge meal we'd just eaten, one slice was enough. We would order this again. I think it was my favorite part of the meal. It came with two churro pieces and a pool of caramel.
The coffee is also delicious, so be sure to order a cup with dessert!
So was it worth the three hour wait? Yes, but mostly for the experience. It was a fun day. We had a good time, but we all agreed that it was a one and done experience. While we had a lot of fun and enjoyed it, we don't anticipate doing it again.
Since we did not think we'd be in Pawhuska again, we took a quick walk to check out some of the local businesses. The Buckin' Flamingo was just down the street and around the corner, so we checked it out.
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| You can't miss the place. |
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| This sculpture is over six feet tall. |
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| Buffalo burgers, anyone? |
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| Line at 5pm |
One and done- but what a day!
Tips:
- Plan for the weather. We were thankful that we had sunblock. In the summer, you might want bug spray as well. They were kindly handing out water, but you might want to bring your own as well, especially on a really hot day. There is no shade or protection from the wind or rain, so be prepared. (Cathy wished she'd brought her sun hat.)
- Be prepared to WAIT. We waited over 3 hours to eat in the restaurant. The store wait was about 1/2 an hour. Mom and I went to the store while the guys held our place in the restaurant line. If you eat at the restaurant, you can go into the store right after without having to wait in the store line.
- They do have a port-o-potty trailer, so don't worry about the long wait if you have a small bladder or kiddos with you. They've got you covered.
- The street parking was 2 hours, but the line helper told us that they do not enforce it.
- We were told that there are long lines EVERY day, but Friday and Saturday have the longest lines. A middle of the week trip might yield you the best results.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Day 6: The Winchester Mystery House
Cathy has wanted to go to the Winchester Mystery House ever since she saw something on TV about it years ago. It is in San Jose, so we planned a trip for today. Yay!
We've traveled in many different cities and countries, and we've never been as confused about a subway system as we were about the BART. BART was both confusing and expensive. We spent a futile fifteen minutes attempting to buy tickets at the vending machine. Kirk's card kept getting rejected for some reason, which we took as a sign that we should not spend two hours on an expensive subway train. Kirk had some promotional credit on his account, so we hit up Lyft. It was more expensive than BART- but not by an insane amount. (Thank you, Lyft calculator!) The car was clean and the driver was very pleasant.
We got to the house, bought our tickets, and waited for our turn. There were about 20 people on each hour long tour, and tours were booked back to back. It was a busy place!
We stopped for coffee, then grabbed a Lyft back. We called the guy who drove us in, but he was too far away to pick us up, so we used the app. The woman who showed up happened to be his wife! She called him and we all laughed together. It was a good ride- Carol was really nice, and her car was super clean.
It was our last dinner, so we had seafood on the wharf. Kirk had swordfish, and Cathy had seafood risotto.
We can't believe that it was our last day here! This week has FLOWN by. We are hoping for an easy trip back, but we're preparing to be stranded in Dallas, as the weather is going to be awful in a lot of places. We will let you know how it turns out!
We've traveled in many different cities and countries, and we've never been as confused about a subway system as we were about the BART. BART was both confusing and expensive. We spent a futile fifteen minutes attempting to buy tickets at the vending machine. Kirk's card kept getting rejected for some reason, which we took as a sign that we should not spend two hours on an expensive subway train. Kirk had some promotional credit on his account, so we hit up Lyft. It was more expensive than BART- but not by an insane amount. (Thank you, Lyft calculator!) The car was clean and the driver was very pleasant.
We got to the house, bought our tickets, and waited for our turn. There were about 20 people on each hour long tour, and tours were booked back to back. It was a busy place!
The house was HUGE. There are 160 rooms. The house was worked on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year while Mrs. Winchester was alive. She was crazy rich. When her husband died, she inherited 20 million dollars AND stock in her husband's company that earned her about $1000 a DAY. Plus she earned extra money by growing and drying fruit from the orchards she planted on her property.
The house was weird- stairs going nowhere, giant cabinets that had half an inch of "storage" space, a seance room that had one entrance but three exits, doors that opened to 8 feet drops, windows everywhere (including the floors) and references to spider webs and the number 13 in lots of things. Many of the doors were very low- Mrs. Winchester was only 4 feet 11 inches tall. She also had arthritis, and had "easy riser" stairs installed. Those would be useful today! There were also three elevators. New servants had to use a map to get through the house. She seemed like a difficult person to work for- she liked to spy on her servants to make sure they were not talking about her, and set up parts of the house so she could do so undetected. However, she paid her servants 3 dollars a day, which was twice the going rate, and their servant quarters were very comfortable. She also added thoughtful touches to make their work easier. For example, the laundry room had hot and cold running water AND built in scrubbing boards in the sinks. There was also removable flooring it the conservatory. Under the wood, there was zinc, which is rust resistant, and a drains. There was also running water in the conservatories so the servants could water the plants with minimal work.
She was an extremely private person, and did not really have guests. Her niece lived with her as her companion. The niece inherited most of the money when Mrs. Winchester died. She also got her furniture. She took what she wanted, and auctioned off the rest. While all of the furniture is period specific, none of it was original. Only 1/3 of the house had furniture in it, but it took the moving men six weeks of eight hour days to remove the contents.
It was a fascinating tour. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but we got a few shots outside.
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| Modeling the house |
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| Cathy was taken by these lemons. |
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| The house |
After a quick break at the hotel, we popped by Lombard Street. It lived up to its crooked name. It was also extremely steep. We walked down it. The houses were beautiful, but if we were going to spend 5 million dollars on a house, we would not want a billion tourists walking by our windows every day.
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| Cathy is basically standing in someone's yard here. |
We can't believe that it was our last day here! This week has FLOWN by. We are hoping for an easy trip back, but we're preparing to be stranded in Dallas, as the weather is going to be awful in a lot of places. We will let you know how it turns out!
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