Category Archives: Travel

2023, Food, Travel, Uncategorized

A Little Tipple

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If you don’t count the wine advent calendar, I probably have three or four alcoholic drinks a year.  It’s just not something I think about often.  Even when I’m out and about, I often abstain since I’m usually driving (although YA drinks less than I do and can be counted on to drive if necessary). 

So why I thought I wanted to go to the Old Smokey Moonshine Distillery when I was in Nashville.  A friend of a friend had gone there and mentioned it on social media; when I mentioned it to Pat, she said she’d never been and would like to see it as well.  When she told her son Chad that we were going, he volunteered to drive if he could join us.  Voila, a party of three.

Old Smokey is in a huge building: half large bar and half tasting bar and merchandise.  It was a gorgeous day and there was a lot of outside seating with music as well.  It had not occurred to me that we would be tasting moonshine, but apparently it’s “the thing to do”.  Four bartenders serve the tasting, one takes care of one quadrant of a big rectangle bar, serving 8-10 people at each tasting.  Each moonshine is served in a teeny little shot glass – can’t hold more than a couple of teaspoons – and there were five flavors of moonshine that day: apple pie, peanut butter, peppermint, butterscotch and eggnog.  Then there was also a piece of moonshine pickle and a piece of pina colada pineapple.   The bartenders have their schtick down pat – fairly enjoyable.  I didn’t eat the pineapple and I only had a small sip of the peppermint (it was 100 proof) but even considering that and the tiny size of the offerings, the alcohol went straight to my head.  I was really glad somebody else was driving.

It was a fun experience and the moonshine tasted better than I had expected but it didn’t convince me that I should buy a bottle of my own.  They make a huge variety of moonshine and they have the bottles all strategically stationed along the windows so that the sunshine lights them up.  Harriet enjoyed sitting among bright colors.  She’s underage, so while she could look at the week’s flavors, she wasn’t allowed to imbibe!

What did the bartender say after Charles Dickens ordered a martini?

2023, Food, Nature, Travel

Henrietta Makes a Pig of Herself

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I love bakeries – you all know this.  Luckily most of my close friends are also bakery fiends, so I never have to worry about any bakery withdrawal when I travel.

Long before I visited Pat in Nashville last month, she had emailed me a link from a bakery that she wanted to try with me.  Most mornings we made breakfast at her house but one morning we did save for The Franklin Bakehouse.

Franklin is a small community about a half hour from Pat’s home in Nashville.  I expect that the folks in Franklin would bristle at being labeled an outer-ring suburb, but as Nashville has grown, that’s exactly what it has become.  It is the epitome of a small town – lots of little shops, wide sidewalks, picturesque streets.  It didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful fall day in Tennessee, making the drive very pleasant.  There were huge pots of chrysanthemums at every corner of the “downtown” – just gorgeous.

The aroma inside The Bakehouse was amazing and the array of pastries and sweets made it really hard to choose.  I ended up getting a massive cinnamon roll and a beautiful blueberry tart, knowing I couldn’t possibly eat it all (I asked for the to-go container right away).  Pat had the dutch apple pie/bread pudding.  It’s in the picture above and was almost as big as her head.  She also ended up taking some home.  We also ordered coffee and sat at a window table and watched the world go by.  It was a fabulous was to spend an hour that morning.

Henrietta didn’t really make a pig of herself; she actually bristles at the idea as she is a peccary, not a pig!

When was the last time you were able to really relax over a nice meal?

2023, Business, Food, Kids, Travel

Goo Goo’d

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One of the places that Henrietta and I visited in Nashville was the original Goo Goo Cluster store – it’s downtown just a block off of  Broadway. For those of you not from the south, a Goo Goo Cluster is a candy bar, similar to a Nut Goodie.  Instead of the maple center of a Nut Goodie, Goo Goo Clusters have a nougat/caramel center.  Goo Goo Clusters are VERY Nashville and you can find them everywhere, even at the register of a pizza place where we ate one night.  I knew about Goo Goos from programs that I’ve run in Nashville – it’s a fun welcome gift and I’ve purchased them for groups several times but had never actually tried one. 

The storefront isn’t a large space – most Goo Goo Clusters are made in a huge factory these days – but they make premium Clusters at the storefront and have some historical photos and old equipment on display.  And merchandise, of course.  Like usual, I sent several photos of t-shirts to YA to see if she liked any of them.  She thought about the long-sleeve cream version but eventually decided against it.  Just as well, because I got one of that design and she probably wouldn’t have been excited about us wearing matching shirts!

I also purchased a couple of boxes of Clusters to take home.  It wasn’t until I was home that I noticed that the Peanut box was mis-printed.  That’s a pretty big fail in my book.  Hopefully no one lost their job over it.  I thought about saving it – maybe someday it will be valuable – but decided against it.  I’ll have photos and a nice t-shirt to remember my visit.  (They tasted just fine despite the misspelling.)

Do you have a favorite candy bar?

2023, books, Mysteries, Travel

Hurry Up and Wait

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My mother trained me well.  Get to the airport with PLENTY of time.  My travel career cemented this for me.  2 hours for a domestic flight, 3 hours for an international flight, 1½ hours for a connection – this is my general rule.  Too many variables, too many possibilities for things to go wrong (flights late, long lines for security, people behaving badly, etc.)   I will admit that I do make an exception for flying out of the Humphrey Terminal – usually just 1½ hours prior is OK for me. 

Last week as I was heading to Nashville it seemed as if every employee at Humphrey was in a hurry.  I stopped at a check-in kiosk to get a paper boarding pass (just in case) and when the attendant saw that I had my phone with an electronic pass, she tried to shoo me through (unsuccessfully).  At security, where you normally have to wait behind the line until it’s your turn, they were pushing folks up in line – like social distancing had never been a thing.  Then the TSA folks were practically putting your stuff into the plastic bins themselves.  They did still make everyone take their shoes off (except the man in front of me – not sure he could have stooped down to take them off anyway) but they were gung-ho in arranging your stuff and if it was too crowded, THEY were grabbing an extra bin to accommodate things.

Of course it meant we all got through check-in, security and TSA in record time.  In time to sit at the gate for 1½ hours!  Oh well, I had a good book. 

Tell me about your travel habits!

2023, Travel, Uncategorized

Preconceptions About Place

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My wife and I love Canada. We’ve visited our neighbor to the north some ten times, traveling through the lower tier provinces from Vancouver Island in British Columbia all the way across to Quebec City in Quebec. Last month, we finally achieved our goal of visiting one of the maritime provinces. Our choice—as you may recall—was Nova Scotia.

When I plan a trip to a new location, I develop preconceptions about the place. Will it be flat, hilly, green, not so green, grassland, have lots of lakes and rivers, a damp climate, an arid climate? Some of those preconceptions you can resolve by looking at maps and reading about the climate and landscape. But there are also preconceptions about the people. Will they “be like us?” What will the demographics be? What’s the personality of the place? (Think tough, urban New Yawkahs vs. small town super-howdy friendlies.)

My preconception of Nova Scotia was one of a terrain similar to the last place on the Atlantic we visited—Acadia National Park in Maine. Rocky coastline, sparse population, flat terrain inland, and a predominantly white Anglo population. I also imagined the northern half—Cape Breton Island—to resemble Cape Cod: flat, sandy, full of dunes, no farmland to speak of, and lots of fishing villages and quaint little towns. I was half right on that, and half right on the whole of Nova Scotia.

We were surprised to find some amazing resemblances to Minnesota. Some areas in the southern part of the province are full-on farmland, like southern MN. The end of one drive from the Bay of Fundy on the north coast to Lunenburg on the south coast reminded me of descending the Gunflint Trail into Grand Marais. We saw many more lakes than I expected. Not as dense as lakes in the Brainerd area, but enough to notice.

 Cape Breton Island was far hillier than I expected. Many roads had grades from 5% to 10%. If you’ve ever driven in the Rockies, you know a five percent grade is common, 7% to 8% less so, and 10% rare. Cape Breton Island pretty much matched that ratio. We actually drove on one 10% grade for a short distance and traversed many 5% to 8% grades.

The Bay of Fundy is awe-inspiring. Low tide must be seen to be believed. Nova Scotia is home to SIX UNESCO World Heritage sites plus two other UNESCO supported sites. There are many wineries in the province. Halifax, the capital city, is as urban and sophisticated as any city in the US. It’s also hilly, with old narrow streets not conducive to car traffic, and has one of the most impressive harbors I’ve ever seen. The boardwalk near downtown is a must-visit. The historical significance of the city since colonial days is well-remembered and preserved. One thing that didn’t surprise me was the quality of the seafood. It was every bit as outstanding as you’d expect from a maritime location that has hundreds of miles of coastline.

Finally, everyone we met who lived and worked in Nova Scotia was as friendly as could be (other than a few stuffy hotel staffers). Even in Halifax, a big city where it’s easy to encounter people who are aloof, mistrustful, and too much in a hurry to chat or help.

I’ve attached a few pictures of our trip. If you want to see more, simply sign up for my website newsletter and you’ll get access to many more. Since I just published my latest missive, I’ll even share the password with you now: ChrisN2021. But don’t tell anyone! 😊

Sunset at Inverness, NS

Halifax boardwalk

Lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove

Chris and his caddie

What are some of your preconceptions of a place that got blown out of the water after you visited there? What places exceeded your expectations in the same way Nova Scotia exceeded mine?

2023, History, News, Travel, Uncategorized

Close Call

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The big news in Fargo this week has concerned the fate of a group of 85 local Roman Catholic parishioners, clergy, and their relatives who were on a pilgrimage to Israel.

The group was in Jerusalem when the bombing started, and for some reason they fled to Bethlehem where they holed up for a few days with the fighting happening just 45 miles to the south.

Yesterday they managed to get on three buses and made their way through multiple checkpoints until they were able to walk to safety in Jordan. I can’t imagine how frightening that must have been. They are scheduled to be back home in the next couple of days, many of them facing 40 hours of travel with their plane connections. It could have all gone so much more badly for them.

When have you or someone you know had a close call with disaster? When have your travel plans changed significantly?

2023, Theatre, Travel, Uncategorized, Words

Wicked in Swedish

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Last year our church choir director and her husband sponsored a foreign exchange student from Sweden. She was a lovely girl named Hedwig who fit in very well with the host family and the community. The family has stayed in contact with the girl and her family in Sweden.

Hedwig’s mother is a costumer for a Swedish opera company. Recently, the opera company put on a production of Wicked translated into Swedish. Our director heard a brief recording of the production, and said it was very odd to hear Defying Gravity sung in Swedish. I guess Stephen Schwartz, the composer, even came over make necessary changes in the production.

I can’t imagine how a person could translate lyrics from one language to another if the lyrics had to rhyme. I don’t know if I like hearing productions in their original languages with subtitles. I don’t know if I like translations from the original language. Such a dilemma.

What English theatre or opera production would you like to see translated into a different language? What non-English production would you like to see translated into English? Where would you have wanted to be a foreign exchange student?

2023, Gatherings, Travel, Uncategorized

Picking Up Where We Left Off

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When we were in Cleveland last week, a dear graduate school friend drove two and a half hours from her home in western Ohio to see us. We met in the mid-afternoon on Thursday, talked and talked, had dinner at a wonderful Portuguese restaurant, went back to the hotel, and talked for several more hours.

I offered to get her a room at the hotel so she wouldn’t have to drive back that evening, but she said she was used to day trips to Cleveland, and had to get back to do a medical treatment to one of her cats. She drove back home safely.

It had been 35 years since we had seen one another. We had only kept in contact with Christmas cards. Our friend commented that it seemed like we had just seen one another yesterday. Our conversation was mainly about the present, with only a few references to the past. It was delightful and heart warming. We promised not to wait another 35 years before we met again

Who are the people you can just start up with after a long time not seeing? What do you think makes for a good friendship?

2023, animals, Automotive, Family, Farming Update, Travel

Road Trip

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

I took tires down to Millville MN last Saturday morning, then over to Plainview for parts.

A few days later, went back to Millville to pick up the tires.  Millville is the location of Appel Tire; they’ve been fixing our farm tires, and replacing car or truck tires, since I was a kid. I’m not sure why or when dad started using them, it’s one of those family-owned business we like to support, and we have always used them.

If you’re in a hurry, it’s a bit of a drive; about 25 minutes from our place. But all country roads and usually not much traffic. And there’s about 3 ways to get there so it satisfies my desire for a different route each way. 

One of the routes is a bit out of my way, but when it works, it’s worth the trip. Wabasha County Rd 11 goes off Hiway 63, through the village of Hammond,

where it picks up the Zumbro River,

and follows that to Millville.  I go in the shop doors of Appel Service, (the doors are always open unless it’s winter), I talk to the guys working on cars, and then into the office. Joe is working today. It’s his grandfather that started the business in 1948. 

Around the corner is Whiskey Dicks, and further on, the Stumble In, but that’s only open for breakfast and it used to be owned by a guy named Jim, who helped on the farm when my folks went to Europe for a three week vacation when I was 16 years old. They’d never been out of the country before–especially not for three weeks– and I’d never run the farm alone for 3 weeks!  Whisky Dicks used to be the Lucky 7 and they had grape pop, but not anymore. 

If you’re in a hurry, Appel’s will fix your tires while you wait. At least some of the of the lunch crowd have vehicles at Appel’s and the rest are locals. I was gonna just do a cheeseburger and fries, but the special was a chicken sandwich. Millville is way down in a valley along the river; looks like an offshoot of the driftless area. Cell service is non-existent, so that’s nice over lunch. A slice of butter toffee cake for the road and to share with Kelly. The sandwich and the fries were fresh out of the fryer and so hot I had to let them sit a while before eating. I admired the flour sacks and burlap seed bags stapled to the ceiling. A pool table took up the middle of the main room. I didn’t get over to the bar area. And the bathroom mirror made me look real good.

I made a loop around the cemetery on my way out of town, said Hello to some of the dead relatives and thought about them. Millville also has a gun shop that I’ve only been in once when I bought a shotgun at an auction. 

Forty years ago, when I was measuring grain bins and fields for the ASCS Office, I’d drive a few of these roads. Driving to Millville that day I went past Larry’s place. He sold Pioneer seed and he had the first Cellular phone I had seen. Hooked to his truck and the lights flashed and horn honked when it rang, and he’d run back to the truck to answer. He was a lot of fun to work with. I drove past another place where I measured the grain in some bins, mixed up the numbers on a measurement, and the boss had to go back out there and verify. That’s just up the road from the place dad bought a lousy snow blower, and across the road from the guy everyone knew was a lousy farmer and how junky his place was and still is. Not too far from the place where the ladder fell over after I got inside the grain bin. I was able to get out and jump down. Forty years younger remember.

Closer to home is Norms, where I watched him pull a tractor stuck in 18” of mud with his pickup truck. Norm taught me how to drive a grain truck, too. “Drive this to Viola, kid.”

Crops are maturing. Been raining most of the week it seems. Rye is growing. We got 9 guineas, which is a surprise because we’ve only had 7 for a long time. Two must have been on nests. No word on the other chicks this week. One of the June pullets we ordered turned out to be a rooster. I’ve said sexing male or female chicks isn’t a perfect science. And they all look the same for 4 months. And now they’re in puberty and his voice is changing and he’s still learning how to crow. Imagine trying to figure out HOW to crow and your voice cracking at the same time. That’s what he sounds like.

Kelly thinks she’s spotted him. I haven’t yet.

Whats the worst sound you’ve heard?  Best?

2023, Family, Technology, Travel, Uncategorized

Low Tech

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Wednesday was the most frustrating day. I drove from St. Cloud to near Oshkosh, WI to visit husband’s sister and BIL. I have never encountered such road construction for so many miles. The trip took about six hours. The day before our trip to St. Cloud took seven hours. I haven’t encountered such traffic for a long while. Where are all these people going?

One of the detours near Watoma, WI took us past several huge fields of cabbage. That was lovely to see. When we arrived at the family house, I found that they didn’t have wifi, so I couldn’t use my computer to show them the Ancestry info I had promised them. They have a computer and pay for wifi but have it all unplugged and turned of. This is a low tech household. We will go to the local library to access the wifi there. Whatever works, I guess. One problem is that I couldn’t figure out how to insert a header photo on my phone. Maybe I will add it tomorrow at the library.

Tell about your most memorable trip? How do you deal with being off-line?