Some thoughts on Cornish Pasties

Traverse City's Pasty Shop serves the tastiest pasties "this side of Cornwall."

So where's Cornwall and what is a pasty?

If you take a look at a map of England, you'll see that a peninsula juts out from the westernmost part of the country, extending into the Celtic Sea and the English Channel (which divides England from France).

Cornwall is considered a "Celtic nation," and has a unique cultural heritage. There is even a separate Cornish language.

The pasty is the "national dish" of Cornwall. Indeed, it has "Protected Geographical Indication" status, which means in essence that the name "Cornish pasty" is trademarked in the UK.

Golden, Colorado: Where the West Lives!

Another opportunity for a local road trip has come our way. No airport hassles, just a beautiful drive through green Colorado mountains with an azure colored sky to accompany us during this summer month of June. We had two mountain towns to visit for our travel assignment; the first is Golden. The second is Frisco (not to be confused with San Francisco), which I will cover for next week's post.

Colorful mural on the side of a building in Golden

I decided to pack the very same clothes as I did for our recent trip to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (post is below). Colorado mountain weather can be tricky ranging from cold rains to high altitude heat. Yup, it all worked out just right though I did add a tube of sunscreen lotion.

Golden is about a two-hour drive from our home town. It lies along the Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Nearby in the hills, gold was discovered in 1850. Golden became a commercial center where miners could stock up on supplies before heading for the hills. During the 1860's the city was considered the Territorial Capital until Denver took over the title, to the dismay of Golden's citizens.

We checked into the Table Mountain Inn located on the main street, Washington. The decor of the Inn is southwestern with all the lovely colors of sienna, golden yellows and turquoise. Golden has a definite western feeling to it that attracts hundreds of foreigners all year long, hoping to spot a real cowboy. 

I like bicycles so I quickly noticed that Golden is one of Colorado's small towns (population: 19,400) that embraces bikes. There are 24 miles of biking trails. Five shops offer a wide range of bicycles for recreational use or serious race cycling.  A beautiful sculpture of a cyclist adorns a corner on Washington Street.

The street bike racks throughout town are welded in the shape of red, yellow or blue. The Golden Fran Fondo National Championship Series "takes bicycle racing to the next level." The event is held in several locations throughout the U.S.A. One of these will be in Golden on a June weekend. The trail runs through country roads and consists of different lengths of 30, 60 and 100 miles. Some people ride for a personal goal or a particular cause or competition. An electronic timing-clip is attached to the rider to help keep track of one's progress. Indeed, Golden is truly a bike-lover's town!

I strolled through the downtown area and stopped at the Gold Mines Cupcake shop. After surveying the array of delectable cupcakes in the bakery display case, I chatted with the pretty blonde, Sara, standing behind the counter. Along with her mother, Janeen, Sara shared with me that she grew up in the area of Golden and always wanted to have her own business. Together mother and daughter catered for weddings and special events for three years before committing to a retail location.

All the cupcakes are made from scratch daily and come from their own family recipes. The shop has a clean fresh look with cafe-style red chairs and tables that add a rustic touch. I ordered a yummy Turkish Delight cupcake for me and a Snickerdoodle cupcake to take to Ron. Among other creatively named flavors are: Cookies n' Cream, Birthday Cake, Toasted Coconut, and Diamond White. I think their very clever motto, "Sweetness served in a cupcake" says it all!

Me looking at a great view of downtown Golden from the balcony of the Astor House

In the afternoon I walked to the Astor House, an historic stone hotel built in 1867. This house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The hand-cut stone house was built to last for years and as a result has changed hands of many owners. One notable landlord, Mrs. Ida Goetze bought the building in 1892 for  $907.75. She ran it as a boarding house with family members until the 1950's. She added a state of the art kitchen in 1890 and installed the first bath tub in town. She would "rent" the tub for 25 cents a bath and made a pretty penny from that alone. The outside upper floor balcony has the best view of downtown Golden.

Miss Colorado  Crown on Display

Ron and I took a tour at the Colorado School of Mines Museum located near their beautiful campus. The school was established in1870 to help train geologists and mining engineers. It has since expanded its curriculum as new technologies have evolved. I was impressed seeing a moon rock and located in another room, the large, jeweled, " Miss Colorado" crown was on display in a locked glass case. Oh, so very pretty!

Golden is a great place to visit for shopping, dining, and lingering. In 1949, the citizens of Golden erected a large arch over the town's main street to solidify its status as an authentic western town. The motto painted on the arch says: "Howdy Folks! Welcome to Golden, Where the West Lives". Now, where did I put my cowgirl hat?

This is one of the carved bears sitting in front of the General Store in Golden

Some thoughts on Traverse City, Michigan

A few years ago, I went with Ron to Traverse City, Michigan on a foodie extravaganza.

http://justsaygo.com/travel-stories/traverse-city-michigan-city-of-delcious-secrets is the URL of Ron's story.

If you're looking for restaurants in Traverse City, Michigan you'll find that Ron's article covers the gamet.

But what else is there to do in Traverse City, Michigan besides eat?

Traverse City, located in Northern Michigan, has about 15,000 people.

From their website (http://www.traversecity.com/):
Summer’s endless days are made for making memories. Play along miles of sugar-sand beaches, visit the magnificent Sleeping Bear Dunes, or sail on a Tall Ship.

You can also watch a parade, go to a drive-in movie, or eat cherry pie from the Cherry Capital of the World. Ride bikes along miles of breathtaking trails or play a round of championship golf.  Then revel in a farm-to-table meal, sip local wine or beer, and watch the sun go down. It’s summer in Traverse City!

Some thoughts on Durango, Colorado

Durango, located in the southwest corner of Colorado,  is home to about 17,000 people.

It's 134 years old this year, having been founded in 1881 as a railroad town. It was named Durango after the town in Durango, Mexico. And as a matter of fact, Durango in Mexico has been designated as a "sister city" of Durango, as has the "granddaddy of them all," Durango, Spain - after which the Mexican city was named. (Durango, Spain has been in existence since the 1100s.)

The Coloradan city is situated beside the San Juan Mountains. One of Durango's many claims to fame is that it has dozens of local restaurants - per capita it has more restaurants than San Francisco! - and they are pretty diverse.

So, what else is there to see in Durango Colorado, and what is there to do and eat in the city.

I went along with Ron on his trip to Durango, which he covered in his article Durango, A Small Colorado Town With Big Eats.

Looking for things to do in Durango Colorado? Well, it's not called the "City of Brewerly Love" for nothing. There are four brew pubs in the city - go ahead and check them all out.

Still looking for things to do in Durango Colorado. Well, Durango is also known as The Hollywood of the Rockies - a lot of movies have had scenes filmed in this area, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to City Slickers.

Here's a contest - plan a visit to Durango and see if you can identify the locations were various scenes were filmed.

The Tube Story

Most of the big cities in the world have their own system of a subway. Some of the subways are plain and functional; some are beautifully decorated to impress visiting tourists  (i.e.: Paris's Louvre Station). I have always loved riding on subways while sneaking in some  people-watching. I find it interesting to see how each city has the train lines all laid out.

This is a little experience I had on London's subway, known affectionately as "the Tube".

Typical Tube Station

This one is in Notting Hill

When I was an art student living in London, I would haul all my art supplies and drawing board then proceed to squash my body  into a train car during peak hours. Because it was such a unique way to travel across town, I never really got tired of riding the tube. Sure beats the gnarly Los Angeles freeway driving I did before moving to England.

One of the social manners I had to get use to on the tube was the unwritten etiquette rule of speaking very softly or not at all.That was okay with me, I really didn't want people to hear my American accent. I wanted to pretend I was one of them. I did a lot of people-watching and even eavesdropped on some their conversations.

Several months into being a seasoned tube-traveler, I was riding back to my flat in Earl's Court after a long day at art school. It was a very cold day. So along with my usual haul of art supplies I was wearing a very  thick heavy coat with required winter accessories of a scarf, hat and gloves.

When the train got to my stop, I exited off with everyone else. Some construction work was going on in the underground areas. So we all had to follow "detour" signs that led to a huge old fashioned caged-style lift (elevator) that would take us up to the street level exit. Our large group squeezed tightly shoulder to shoulder into the lift. I felt a bit sorry for the person standing right next to me because my drawing board kept stabbing into his knee.

The lift proceeded to carry this load of "sardines" northward. Halfway between levels, it stopped
cold.  I could hear the person who was standing by the emergency buttons, frantically pushing the red button to no avail. Again, the rule of silence apparently applied for this situation too. I kept quiet. It was starting to get very hot. There was no elbow room, whatsoever, to remove my heavy coat.

Everyone was tired from their busy work day and like me, just wanted to get home. Any minute now, I expected someone to faint, cry or go over the edge as a result of our imposed claustrophobic situation. This is when I began to perceive the popular 1940's British war-time motto, "Keep Calm ad Carry On".  Makes so much sense in many ways.

 Big Ben refers to the bell inside 

this clock tower.

The official new name is

The Elizabeth Tower.

Just about when I felt that something really bad was going down, we heard footsteps running in our direction. An underground construction worker came running to our temporary hanging jail. He yelled up politely with a Cockney British accent, "So very sorry, we do apologize for any inconvenience. Is everyone alright?"

One man, who quickly decided to be our brave leader, called down to the worker, "Yes, quite. Thank you!" The worker then asked, "Are you in need of anything?"

Brave Leader replied, "Could you be so kind to bring us 30 cups of tea, please?"

There was a soft chuckle among our group of lift-captives. I personally thought it was hilarious and I had to suppress a hearty laugh. I didn't want my newly acquired hanging-lift friends to think they would be stuck with a brash American.

After a couple of minutes, we heard a machine-sound clunk and the lift proceeded upward to street level. Everyone quietly departed and continued on home in their different directions.

I just stood there thinking what a unique London experience that was, don't think I'll ever forget it.

And I didn't. 

10 Best Travel Quotes

by Barbara Peterson

Here are the ten best quotes, in my opinion, in why it is necessary to travel.

1. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
St. Augustine

2. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
Henry Miller

3.  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow-lines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain

 4. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.”
Paul Theroux

5. “Not all those who wander are lost.”
J. R. R. Tolkien

6.  “Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.”
Mark Jenkins

7. “Focus on your destination but enjoy every sacred moments of the journey”
Laila Gifty Akita

8. "The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready. "
Henry David Thoreau

9.“It is necessary to sail, it is not necessary to live.”
Pompey

And perhaps the most important and crucial of all...

10. "Eat dessert first. Life is uncertain"
Anonymous

Packing for a 3-Day Weekend

Aw, packing,sweet packing...the dreaded chore that obviously must be done before departing for a trip.

Whether that trip is a short weekend nearby or a two week's stay in Europe, it must be done, and for sanity's sake: correctly.

Often times I am asked how I pack for various trips. After many past attempts and horrendous mistakes, I believe now "I got it nailed!" One of my previous blog entries was about our trip on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (a restored Victorian train).

For this three-day car trip, I could pack just about as much as I wanted but I decided to stick to my usual plan to see how it would work out.The weather was questionable so I wanted to be prepared.

Rule #1: ONE carry-on size suitcase and ONE shoe bag.

Rule #2: Choose minimal colors: two neutrals and one color. I went with black, white, and a touch of red.

 3-3-3

Rule #3: Select 3 each of the following:

3 TOPS:
1 long sleeve white blouse
1 black sleeveless top
1 red short sleeve T-shirt

3 BOTTOMS:
Black leggins: They are comfortable to wear for the long car ride and for lounging in the hotel room. Black jeans: Comfortable, warm and can camouflage train soot.
Black skorts:(culottes) Cooler to wear for hot weather, also to be worn at the evening's Press Dinner. My black sleeveless top, pearl earrings and pearl necklace give the outfit a dressier look.

3 PAIRS of SHOES:
Black,flat, ballet-style shoes: These can easily be slipped off in the long car ride and can be worn as    slippers in the hotel room. They are also suitable with any of the "bottoms".

Black walking shoes: Although we didn't do much walking on this train excursion, these shoes are comfortable and I was able to walk on rain-soaked ground surrounding the train. They also proved to be good sturdy shoes to wear on a very rumbling train.

Black boots: Ankle-length with low heels. They look great with jeans and I always allow myself  3 pairs of shoes.

1 Black sweater
1 Red, trench-style rain coat

Into my suitcase I also tucked in:
3 pairs of travel-washable panties
1 nude-colored bra and 1 black bra
3 pairs of black socks
1 nightgown and fuzzy warm bed socks
3 scarves (rolled up and tucked into shoes).

I have a black shoe bag that can hold 3 pairs of shoes, but since I am wearing of of those pairs, I pack the other two pairs of shoes. I then have 4 empty slots to hold:

1 Small bag of toiletries (baby powder, perfume, sewing kit and band aids)
1 Small bag with hairbrush & hair accessories
1 flat-iron
1 cosmetic bag  (It's a good idea to have a travel cosmetic bag kept separate from your daily cosmetics).

I finished up my packing with a good reading book and my ever-present travel art journal. This may sound like a long list, but as you can see from the photos it all packed up nice and neat. I was challenged to think about the possibility of weather changes (and that did happen!).

All in all, my choices worked out well. I was happy!