Cookin' Like a Native

"Bork!  Bork!  Bork!" ~ The Swedish Chef

After my trip to IKEA, I decided I needed to do a little more research in preparation for my trip to Lindsborg this fall.  I am taking an online Swedish Cooking Class.  

Here is my first lesson:

Gotta Mosey!

California Cool

"I don't mind not being cool."  said no one EVER in California.

As I continue to wait out the bad weather, I am perusing the California Pinterest Boards.  There is one thing I am reminded of when I look at all the pins.  It may have its problems, yet nothing but NOTHING says "Cool" the way California does.

The state's name comes from a Spanish romance novel set on an imaginary paradise island called, California.  The name seems to continue to mean "extraordinary" to this day!  If you want to make something better, brighter, cooler...tag it "California".  It's kind of the Elvis Presley of US States!

Need more convincing?  Consider the following:

Ferrari CALIFORNIA Convertible

1968 CALIFORNIA Special Mustang

Convertible CALIFORNIA Car Beach Cruiser

Baja (CALIFORNIA) Bug

Affordable CALIFORNIA Housing

Disney's CALIFORNIA Adventure

Vans CALIFORNIA

This is probably a good time to mention that while adding the label, California, to tennis shoes, pizza, amusement parks, cars and houses makes them jump multiple points on the Coolness Factor Charts, it also makes them about 300% more expensive than say, Osh Kosh (Wisconsin) clothing.  Because, really, what cool stuff ever came from Wisconsin?  Cheese?  Turns out California has the market on Cool Cheese, too.  Don't believe me?  Check it out...

One last thing to take note of is the California Cool food subculture.  

CALIFORNIA Grilled Cheese

CALIFORNIA Hot Dog

CALIFORNIA Clam Chowder

CALIFORNIA Rolls

CALIFORNIA Eggs Benedict

CALIFORNIA Roll CAT FOOD!!

All of these meals and more have a distinctly California flavor to them.  And by California, I mean "avocado".  And by "Avocado", I mean, "add 2.00 to any menu item".  Just another pitfall of enjoying the special culture that is California.

I have to admit, all this cruising Pinterest is leaving me hungry (literally) for California! I need to work on planning some more.  What is your favorite California Cool?

Gotta Mosey!

Wild Game Hunting with Jilly

"I'm an outdoors girl.  I like to go fishing, riding four wheelers and hunting." ~ Miranda Lambert

"Me, too...but I USE my four wheeler to hunt!" ~ Me

When you travel and expand your cultural horizons, you learn a lot of lessons.  I am not an exception to this rule, however, on a road trip last summer I learned lessons that I did not expect.

I am a super market, Costco kind of food provider, so it is interesting to me to know people who hunt.  I actually envy them.  The thought of someone in my family actually providing food for us without a trip to the grocery store is empowering.  Alas, being raised in a somewhat metropolitan suburb, hunting is something that alluded my husband and I growing up.  We tend to live vicariously through all the teenage young men we know and their dads.

BUT...on my trip last summer, I learned that I am a pretty good hunter.  After all, it takes real talent to kill animals without even trying!

I have never hit anything with my car.  Ever.  Well...okay...some bugs, but they don't count.  I mean that no human or animal have ever touched the front of my car, while it careened toward them at high speeds.

Until West Virginia....

Before I go on, I need to say that I was doing pretty well, because judging by all the roadkill on the sides of the roads in Missouri and West Virginia, every other car was hitting something!  I had not hit anything!  Not even close.  Not even a raccoon, which, according to the population of their corpses on the roadside are either the dumbest or slowest animals in the country.  (maybe both!)  So, I should have suspected that sudden death was lurking just beyond the next highway turn.  I was due.

West Virginia is the most beautiful state that I have been to outside of Hawaii.  So, there I was...driving along, enjoying the gorgeous view of the green, green mountains and untouched nature surrounding me, when it happened.  My friend made a slight move in her super sleek new car ahead of me. I thought she was just testing her new precision steering.  But, upon closer examination, there seemed to be something lolling in the roadway.  I might add at this time, that, while West Virginia is extremely lovely, their highway laws are ridiculous.  At any given time I have been on their highways, I have shared the road with approximately, 4 other cars, and still they have a 55mph speed limit!!  EXCEPT on the stretch of road we happened to be traveling at the time this story took place.  At that time, we were traveling a stretch of 70mph highway.  But, I digress...

So back to the story: something was in the middle of the highway lane and as I came closer, I could see it was some type of woodland creature.    A sort of sasquatch, giant squirrel-rodent-thing.  As I approached it, I tried to slow down, but my other friend was behind me.  And OF COURSE at this time, the normally deserted highway had cars surrounding me on all sides, so swerving was not an option!!  As I got closer to the fuzzy obstacle, it stopped and met my eyes with great fear...and he FROZE in one place.  THANK GOODNESS, because this allowed me to aim my car right over him so I would miss him completely.  This would have been the perfect measure to save the rodent's life, but at the last minute, he darted....and I hit him.  In my rear view mirror, I saw him tumble in front of my friend's car, as she narrowly missed him, and off the road.  I spent the rest of the drive mortified, even though the teenage boy in my car espoused my great aim!  

I spent the following week at Regent University where I did not need to drive my car, and therefore, spared any other wandering forest animals.  But...on the way home....I was unintentionally on the hunt again.

I had made it within 3.5 hours of home without mangling any other mammals.  That is when I switched to bird hunting which takes real skill when you are in a car.  I wasn't wasting my time with big birds like ducks, geese, pheasants, emu's....I was after more of a challenge...SPARROWS!  

I know we have all played Driving for Birds before but usually at the last moment, the bird excels upward and avoids impact with the car.  Birds tend to save real impact for more demanding objects, like sliding glass doors.  But not that day.  That day, as I drove through a swarm of sparrows, one was a little too slow.  Ugh.  It was quite tragic.

Because I had become such an excellent marksman on this cross-country jaunt, I actually employed quite  complex hunting proficiency.  I didn't just plow over the bird, I exercised real competence.  I first hit the poor, winged creature with the lower part of my windshield and bounced it to the hood of my car, where its remnants can still be viewed. Then I trounced it with my wheels, where I left the bird flailing in the middle of the road for the next car to barrel over.  

While I admit my hunting prowess seemed to have been taken to a higher level on this trip...before this, my hunting only included trying to find organic apples in a regular grocery store...hunting by car is not a pastime I would like to continue.  I found myself sympathizing with the animals, and also feeling guilty and wasteful that I did not eat what I hunted.   And also, cleaning my car after using it to hunt is really gross.

So, from now on, I intend to use a gun to hunt animals.  

I just need someone to hold the wheel while I aim out the window!

**This blog post brought to you by Dodge.

Gotta Mosey!

Kentucky Yucky

 "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 If you are considering some Road Trip Fun anytime soon, I think it is only fair to warn you that road tripping is not for the faint of heart.  You need to be flexible, polite...and...well....quite brave!  If you read my posts from the past couple of days, you have learned that eating on the road requires a bit of courage sometimes.  But, dining out isn't the only act that elicits bravery when you are on a road trip.  If you are traveling overnight, you also need to consider accommodations.  Hotels and motels can be far scarier than the eating establishments when you are traveling.  And if you are in Kentucky, eating AND sleeping is challenging!


Last summer, after we left the Awful Waffle, we made our way to Williamsburg, VA.  After a few GLORIOUS days there, we left Williamsburg and headed to Norfolk where Kahuna was catching a flight home. And leaving us to fend for ourselves. Before we dropped him at the airport, we stopped at a hotel to book a room and were surprised to find that the hotel had NONE.  This had never happened to us before.  When we asked if the hotel could recommend another place, they said anywhere NOT in Virginia Beach or Norfolk, as the Navy was deploying and everyone and their brother had rented every single room in every single hotel for miles around.  We sat in our car for the next half hour calling around and trying to find a hotel.  We finally got one.  Clear back in Newport News, near Williamsburg.  We went all the way up there, had dinner, and then I took Kahuna all the way back to Norfolk before driving all the way back to the hotel.

Travel Rule #1: Be flexible....and make sure you book in advance.  

Before I took Kahuna to the airport, we all went to a restaurant for dinner.  The hotel manager suggested Taco Bell.  When we asked if there was anything else, he told us if we were looking for "fine dining" we should try Luigi's.  We weren't looking for a fine dining experience, since that is virtually impossible to enjoy with 5 and 7 year old boys who have been cooped up in a car all day and really just want to go swimming in the hotel pool (because the one in Williamsburg was being repaired)...but our only other option was "Chinese Food".  That was the actual name of the restaurant....Chinese Food.   We were almost willing to ignore the complete lack of creativity in the name of the restaurant, but the description made us think twice.  Philippino (Filippino), Chinese and Thai.  Since my husband and children are Chinese, and since I am an educated person, one thing I know is, not all Asians are the same.  Stick with one food and do it well...don't try to appeal to the masses.  So, given the choices, we opted for Luigi's Fine Dining.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Luigi's is that one of the owners of the establishment looked a lot like my Great Aunt.  That is a good thing.  My Great Aunt Mary was an amazing cook!  The second detail that caught my attention was the overwhelming aroma of mothballs.  Ugh.  Everything about the restaurant smelled like it had been sitting in an attic somewhere for decades, but what are you going to do when you skipped lunch and everyone is starving?  Our waitress, Helen (not her real name), greeted us and was quite knowledgeable about what we would and would not like.  Such as her determination that we would NOT enjoy the Greek Salad, because it was "boring" and that instead we would want an Antipasto Salad.  Helen, our 5' 10" blond waitress then proceeded to educate me, the Sicilian, as to what Antipasto was!  I mentioned that since we were having a lot of the same meat on our pizza as was in the Antipasto, we probably were good with the Greek salad.  She insisted this was a waste of her time to make and of our taste buds.  We got the Antipasto.  Once Helen settled what kind of salad we would be having, we asked her what the "Sicilian Special" pizza was.  She answered with a burly, "You don't want that."  Really?  How did she know that?  She then explained that it takes 45 minutes to make the Sicilian Special because, "they have to make the dough".  Hmmmmm....what were they using for the regular pizza we were ordering?  I decided not to ask, as Helen had already made up her mind what was best for our family and how much would be required.  Once we polished off our salad and pizza, Helen continued to remark on "how much" we ate!  She told tales to us of every patron who came in and had to take boxes of food home because they couldn't finish all the food provided.  Now, I ask you, WHY was she surprised that we ate it all?  SHE is the one who told us how much to get to feed our family.  There was no choice involved.  She wrote it on the order pad and TOLD us what we were getting!  She went on and on about our ability to do what no one else could and I began to weigh the pro's and con's of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutri-System.  Surely she was saying I needed to be doing one of them!!  She remarked about "all the kids" I had, and was surprised to hear we had one more.  She asked about her, and as I started to tell her that our other daughter was our oldest she just walked off.  Clearly, there was no love connection between our family and Helen, which is why I was totally caught off guard when she brought us our check with a pouty lip about how sad she was that we were not coming back.  Pretty sure she was just trying to boost her tip.

Travel Rule #2:  Be polite to the locals.  And never bet against a Sicilian in a food war!

The next day, our ride was completely uneventful and easy.  No problems or challenges.  Even with Kahuna gone.

And then we got to the hotel.

Our hotel tonight was wonderful!  Two queen beds that were actually QUEEN size beds and not doubles.  A lovely vanilla smell.  Comfy quarters and Little House on the Prairie playing on a continuous loop.

So....imagine my surprise, when late at night after all my kids have bathed and gotten into bed, I pulled out the nightstand to search for an outlet for my phone charger and found a MOUSE TRAP instead!!!!  WHAT?!  It was a glue trap, not the conventional snap-o-the-neck kind.  I could see little droppings!  YIKES!  I refused to look inside the torture device.  Of course I called down to the desk to see if there was any way I could move to a room that did not have a mouse issue.  OF COURSE, every room was booked!  REALLY???  Is the Navy deploying from Kentucky, too????  I hung up the phone and the kids and I proceeded to flip every mattress and checked every single square inch of the room looking for more signs of rodents.  At this point, I find it necessary to tell you that we had been listening to Redwall with the boys on this drive and Spidey thought it was quite sad that there might be a chivalrous mouse stuck inside a rodent tent trap.  The girls and I worried more about Cluny the Scourge (a rat) being on the prowl.  The kind desk gal did tell me that they would discount my room....DISCOUNT?  It should have been FREE!  I was stuck in a strange, small town in Kentucky for goodness sakes!  Too late to go anywhere else!!  Discount???

I called back down to the desk and asked them to send someone up to at least take the trap out of the room.  The girl at the desk kindly offered to come get it herself since she was "not afraid of it".  I am not afraid of it either...I just don't think I, a paying guest should have to deal with it!  Gross.  Once she came upstairs, she removed the trap and looked inside and pleasantly said, "See?  Nothing inside."  Ummmm....I think that was supposed to comfort me.  But it didn't.  Doesn't an empty trap mean that there is still a mouse on the loose????  I had nowhere to go and it was too late to pack the car and head for who knows where.  I mean...it was Kentucky!  The place that as we crossed the state line, inspired my seven year old to say, "Welcome to Hellburg!" because "that's what it looks like!"  It isn't like there were a lot of choices close by!  Ugh!

So....there I sat all night.  Unable to sleep.  Listening for the pitter patter of tiny feet.  Which brings us to....

Travel Rule #3:  Challenges on the road grow your character and your courage and make GREAT blog posts!

I can't wait to see what my trip to California brings.  Time to get a move on because I

Gotta Mosey

The Awful Waffle

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "What is the first thing you ask yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh.  "What do you say Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what is going to happen exciting today." said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.  "It's the same thing," he said.

~ AA Milne

Yesterday's post about Cracker Barrel should be enough for you to realize that our family of Trendy Travelers fears not when it comes to eating on the road.  But that was Cracker Barrel.  Other than risking life and limb sitting under combines, plows and other assorted farm equipment, there isn't too much to worry about when you eat there.  So, for those of you who desire more adventurous eating adventures on the road, I submit today's Road Trip Food for Thought.


Last summer, the kids and I drove out to Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA for conference.  All the kids except Butterfly, who, after several months last year traveled the US and lived out of a suitcase (a SMALL suitcase), has vowed never to travel with more than 6 people for more than 500 miles again in her life.  Ever. No matter how big the vehicle is.   She flew back east before us to help prepare for the conference and  then met us at Regent.

It was a wonderful conference and I look forward to attending again this summer...but I had an experience unlike any other and that commentary has to come before I write about anything else.  While the conference itself was exciting, informational and fun, breakfast on the first morning after the conference was something I cannot keep to myself.

That morning, for the first time in my life...I experienced the phenomenon known as 

The Waffle House.

Perhaps you have seen these establishments before.  They are small restaurants that appear more frequently at every single freeway exit, on both sides of the freeway, the further east you go.  For example, in Colorado we have a Waffle House about every 4th or 5th freeway exit on one side of the freeway.  By the time you reach Tennessee, there are 3 to 4 Waffle Houses on EACH SIDE of the freeway at every single exit...usually right next to the Cracker Barrel.  

While Waffle Houses are everywhere, I had never been to one. I had never even MET anyone who had eaten at one.  Then I went to Tennessee in the summer of 2011.  I stayed with my friend, and her charming father spent a bit of time with us as well while we visited.  He always came over in the morning, but he never ate breakfast with us.  He had already eaten at the local Waffle House.  In fact, he ate at the Waffle House most every morning he proudly told us.  

So as I remembered my friend's father eating at a Waffle House every morning, I bravely thought, "How can you mess up breakfast?" and we made our way to the yellow hut.

If you have never eaten at the Waffle House, I need to tell you that you are missing a unique breakfast experience that has nothing to do with food!  

Upon our arrival, Sandra (names have been changed to protect the ignorant) greeted our party of 7.  She seemed to have difficulty counting past one handful of fingers because I THINK she then asked us how many were in our party but it was hard to tell through the whistling sound of air passing through the blank spaces in her mouth where her teeth should have been.  In any case, The Waffle House was bustling with all kinds of interesting patronage and Sandra eventually did enough math to know she had to seat our party at two different tables.  

As we sat,  Kevin asked CynThia if she would like the opportunity to serve us.  She naturally answered, "Not really," because our tables were separated by one table.  At this point, I need to explain the layout of our Waffle House.  There were three booths all in a row and CynThia stands behind the counter that is behind all three booths to take the order.  Therefore, instead of taking ONE step to take an order, she would actually have to take two and that seemed to be more than poor CynThia could handle this morning.  So, Kevin was the chosen wait staff for our two booths.

Kahuna, Lizard Boy, Spidey and I waited a long time for Kevin to take our order.  This was awkward, because, the set-up of the Waffle House means Kevin was standing right in front of us on the other side of our booth.  He seemed to be avoiding eye contact.  Finally, he set some coffee cups down and said he would be right with us.  Then he added, "I am trying to find some clean silverware somewhere around here."  HUH?  This begged a whole new answer to my original, simple question, "How can you mess up breakfast?"

As we awaited "clean" silverware (and I use that term, oh SO loosely), I looked around at the rest of the greasy spoon.  I lost hope of ever seeing clean silverware. Sandra kept leaving her trash can at everyone's table and forgetting where it was.  I found this amusing since the Waffle House only has about 6 tables in it.  Then she left the trash can near our table.That wasn't so amusing.  The waffle irons sported caked on, baked on "dark waffle" batter.  And Jocelyn assured me I did NOT want to see their back room which she kept getting a good view of when the workers on break would throw out another carton of hash browns to the waiters.

I never did find out what a dark waffle was.  Honestly, I was afraid to ask.  Waffle House has its own lingo and I couldn't tell what ANYONE was eating.  CynThia was just standing behind the counter barking out demands for dark waffles, hash browns that were scattered, smothered, covered and diced, while Kevin pleaded for hash browns "all in a ring".  While my brain was busy trying to decipher how a dive like this made enough money to bribe the health inspector to overlook the lack of clean silverware and anything else clean, my boys were thrilling to the aroma of their waffles and bacon!  Lizard Boy said the waffles smelled and tasted like marshmallows, and he meant that in a good way.  I put aside my reservations and tried to see things through my niece's eyes.  She thinks it would be "fun" to work there.

In the end, we were well fed.  The boys were never happier over eating breakfast out.  And I remembered something I wish I would have thought of when we were making our morning meal plans.  And that is:

My friend's dad, who eats at one of the little yellow diners most every morning, affectionately referred to the Waffle House as the Awful Waffle.  He got a biscuit and gravy for a buck (maybe he is the health inspector and that is the bribe.  I don't know).  And my friend?....She and her husband make moonshine in their bathtub.  I probably should have taken all those things into account and found an IHOP, where the classy people go for breakfast.

I will try that next time because right now, I

Gotta Mosey!

Road Trip Dinner Party

"Eating in Sweden is really just a series of heartbreaks." ~ Bill Bryson

"Yeah?  Try Utah." ~ Jill Yuen

As I prepare for my trip to California next month, I am lamenting the fact that I must fly.  Not just because I don't like to, but because there are certain road trip "perks" you just don't get to experience when you cut 18 hours off your travel time.

My family has been on enough Road Trips to know the ins and outs of many things.  But, perhaps the greatest knowledge we have obtained from all of our travels is how to spot a unique dining experience.  And it doesn't get too much more unique than Cracker Barrel, or, as we affectionately call it, "The Barrel".  Cracker Barrel may not be unique to, say, my Tennessee friends, where they are at every freeway exit...on both sides...but for someone who grew up in the Cracker Barrel Wasteland of California, it is definitely special.

I love Cracker Barrel.  Even though you fear for your life the whole time you are at your table, due to the farm equipment and horse buggies hanging over your head, their food is decent.  But my favorite thing about "The Barrel" is that no matter how  gross I feel from sitting on my butt for 11 hours eating junk/fast food...I always feel better about myself when I go there.  Any self-image struggles I had before walking in there, are gone the minute I sit down.  Let's face it, even with their down-home comfort goodies, they are still the WalMart of restaurants.

By the time we stop for dinner on the road, I am usually downright frumpy.  All messy-haired, make-up drained, stinky-breathed and stretchy clothes.  But, as I watched the hostess seat the other guests (Man, as I watched the HOSTESS), I began to feel as hot as any Hollywood starlet around today!  I mean, at least I have all my teeth!

And then it happened.  I sat there feeling all smug.  I felt confident in my intellect.  How could I not?  I was surrounded by bumpkins.  And not just one or two.  WHOLE BUMPKIN FAMILIES!  Not only was I HOT...I was a GENIUS compared to the company surrounding me!  And so to try to douse my ugly, prideful attitude and distract myself from it, I picked up that little golf tee game thingy that they have at every table.

Not only could I NOT win that game...I became consumed by it! I almost didn't eat for want of proving myself better than The Barrel Tee Game!  Jump, jump, jump, FOUR left!  Jump, jump, jump, THREE left!  Jump, jump, jump....aaaaackkkk!  Curse you Golf Tee Game!

But the worst part was....as I looked around at all the toothless, hairless (or hairy, depending on which cousin married which) folks around me, I noticed one thing all of them had in common.  They continually played the Golf Tee Game of Death, too.  But, while I took 10 minutes to finish a round, they casually completed theirs in a minute or two.  And. They. All. Had.

ONE.

Tee. left in the board!

Today, at The Barrel, I had a life changing experience.  Yeah, yeah..".don't judge a book by it's cover."  "Grace, grace."  "It's what's on the inside that counts."  yada yada.  I learned that junk lesson, too.  But more importantly, I learned that perhaps healthy eating and good dental care are overrated.  That hair, whether on your head or only under your arms,  is of minimal consequence to your reasoning ability.  That cousins may just make GREAT spouses.

You ponder that one on your own, because now I

Gotta Mosey!

Valkommen! Ja!

"This doesn't look like Kansas, Toto." ~ Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz

Well, here we are on Day 2 of my Dream Destinations week.  I hope that yesterday's jaunt to Graceland didn't cause you to lose faith in journeying with me.  I know that Graceland is the epitome of gaudy ostentatiousness, but, come on....it's Elvis.

However, for those with more sophisticated tastes, who desire culture and refinement, today's foray may be just the thing to redeem myself!  

Dream Destination #2:  Svensk Hyllningsfest in Lindsborg, Kansas

Lindsborg is a town in Kansas that was settled by Swedish pioneers in 1869.  To say it is a small town is an understatement.  As of 2011, the 1.5 square mile town had just 3,465 residents.  But it is rich in Scandinavian tradition!  And every fall of odd numbered years, Lindsborg hosts Svensk Hyllningsfest - a festival to honor the town's Swedish heritage.  There is traditional folk dancing, music, arts, entertainment, Dala Horses and smorgasbord!  Pure culture.  No kitsch here!

It is my opinion that nothing screams cultural diversity more than a town of 3500 Swedish descendants celebrating their heritage at a traditional Swedish Honoring Festival in the fall.....in KANSAS.  Seriously speaking,  I am sure that our Amer-Asian family will drastically change the town's demographics when we show up, just by increasing the number of brunettes in Lindsborg. But, I am also sure that Lindsborg may be the closest retreat we have to a foreign country and well worth the travel into the flatlands of Kansas.

I look forward to attending the festival in October of this year.  They already have a whole schedule of events for the weekend of the Svensk Hyllningsfest, including, but not limited to smorgasbord, folk dancing, clogging (by a traditional Swedish group from the booming metropolis of Marquette, KS, population 641), folk dancing, arts and crafts, folk dancing, smorgasbord, folk dancing WITH the audience, smorgasbord and folk dancing!  Yes, there'll be swingin', swayin', records playin'...."dansing" in the street!  And food.

And apparently a Dala Horse hunt.  Not to eat.  Just to find.  There are many, many Dalas all over town and so the challenge is to see how many you can find.  Including the City Hall Dala - Fala, the Dala Brick Road.  No joke.  That is the town's most famous Dala Horse!  In Kansas....get it?  Oh those riotous Swedes!

Besides going to Lindsborg for their festival and their obvious sense of wit and whimsy, I would like to visit some of their Top 5 Attractions (which actually lists dozens of attractions, which tells me the Swedes of Lindsborg know how to have a good time...but not how to count).  Fine dining abounds in this quaint village on the prairie, with the #1 offering on Lindsborg's website being Bethany College's cafeteria.  The only pitfall here, besides the fact that it is a school lunch, is that you can only dine here during the school year. If you visit Lindsborg during the summer, you will have to settle for fare from one of the other fine eating establishments, such as Casey's Carryout Pizza.  I wonder if Casey serves that with Lingonberry jam.

Number 2 on the list of attractions in Lingsborg, or Little Sweden as the locals call it, is Coronado Heights.  This winner of one of Kansas' 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography is supposedly a historical and natural delight.  My guess is that it is on the 8 Wonders list because it is Coronado HEIGHTS, which in a state as flat as Kansas, is saying something.

The third attraction list is of art galleries in the town.  After all the dancing and smorgasbording I intend to do in October in Little Sweden, I do not know how much time I will have to observe art, but I am going to be sure to make time to visit Hemsljod, "An Adventure in Swedish Tradition", which made the list of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs list, for it's traditional and pop art Dala Horse Factory!  This gallery also makes the #4 attraction category of Swedish Gift Shops.

And finally on their top 5 attractions list, Lindsborg has many historical buildings and walking tours to offer.  None of which sound as fun a ride on Fala, the Dala Brick Road, or smorgasbord.

As you can see, Lindsborg, is in no shortage of class and culture.  Enjoy the following video so you, too can plan a visit to Little Sweden on the Prairie.

  Let me know what you think in the comments because right now, I 

Jag Maste Mosey!  (Gotta Mosey!)

Walkin' In Memphis

"I'll stay in Memphis." ~ Elvis Presley

Over the next few days, I will be sharing my Dream Destinations with you.  They are all places I am either already planning on visiting, or am hoping to go to soon.  

Vacations are as unique and distinctive as the individuals who plan them.  Some people look forward to theme parks with the kids, others desire a restful, tropical beach, and still others look for mountain get-aways with plenty of hiking and fishing.  All of those places are enjoyable destinations, but for me, I like kitsch.

I am all about the people,food and storymaking when I travel!  It seems the more unusual the venue, the more incredible the people that you meet. It takes a certain genius to make an industry out of brazen tastelessness.  That kind of genius attracts the most extraordinary audience.  And I want to meet that audience!

Anyone can hang out with a bunch of beach bums in Hawaii.  But where is the conversation in that?  Everyone has the same story.  Honeymooners, newlyweds, oldlyweds on an anniversary trip.  Same stories, different faces.  Forget the mundane - Give me the brazen, the tasteless, the extraordinary!  

First stop:  ELVIS PRESLEY'S GRACELAND

I have actually been to Graceland already.  Well, okay...not in Graceland, but I have been to the gift shop.  We took a side trip to the Elvis shrine that is Elvis Presley Blvd. just so I could see it.  But there were 8 of us traveling...and at 37.00 a pop to actually go in the gates - well, you do the math.  It was gas to get home or Graceland!  Gas won. (but only because Kahuna insisted!)

Junior and I will be traveling to Virginia this summer and are hoping to make a stopover at the King's residence on our way home.  I am only taking Junior because she is the only one in my family that truly appreciates Elvis like I do....though, I suspect it is for this reason only....

What can I say, she has good taste!

I really want to take the Graceland tour.  I want to see the Jungle Room.  I admit it.  No shame.  None.  Because the beauty of Elvis Presley is that you could never be born too late to be a fan!  

Elvis died when I was 9 years old.  But that means nothing.  He was bigger than life, and we still have access to him through music, movies, and books.  We can choose an instant play movie of his on Netflix, iTunes is rife with his music...performed by he and many others... and we can Google a gazillion images of him in one keystroke.  Instant Elvis keeps us as perpetual fans!

And then, there is that chance, that once in a lifetime possibility that we...just...might...meet...him.  Though many people think that Elvis began being sighted in Kalamazoo, MI in 1987, according to the Elvis Information Network, spiritual and live sightings of Elvii began occurring immediately after his "death".  

I don't want to overstate the obvious, but if you owned this....

Peacock Room in Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion

Would you be hanging out here......

Kalamazoo, MI

Just sayin'....I will take my chances trying to sight Elvis at Graceland.  And if he "isn't home", as they like to say at his estate, I will just trek down to Democrat Road in Memphis and check out the King of the World: Elvis Tribute Artist World Championships!  Here I can meet literally hundreds of Elvii!    You can, too!  From the rules of the contest, it seems every forethought has been meticulously planned to give the most authentic Elvis Experience...including rules number 3 and 11 which strictly mandate the use and sharing of scarves during a performance!

I am thinking that after a hard day of touring the King's Rock 'n Roll Palace and investigating his disappearance, Junior and I are going to need some serious nourishment.  I am hoping to catch us a great PB&B sandwich (Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich...yes, I know it is unhealthy, but yolo..unless you are Elvis, who may or may not be on his second life according to this information).  It seems to me, in my research, that the best place to try this hip shakin' super sandwich will be at the oldest restaurant in Memphis, the Arcade.  They bury the sandwich on the last page of their online menu, but most reviews say, this is the place to go for Presley's favorite num num!

I hope to end the day with a good night's rest.  Where, you ask?  Well, where else would an Elvis fan stay?

Perhaps in one of the Elvis-themed Suites here...

I hope to make the pilgrimage visit in June.  Any helpful hints on tracking down the King or other things to do in Memphis that are Elvis related, are greatly appreciated!  Leave them in the comments section because right now, I

Gotta Mosey!

Daytripper - Denver Dim Sum and the Art of Family Bonding

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." ~ Lao Tzu
"...unless you are a good traveler in Colorado searching out good dim sum.  Then a good traveler is VERY intent on arriving."  ~ Jill Yuen

Sometimes you don't need to board a plane or attach the car top carrier and drive for two days to take a really meaningful trip together.  While most times, I agree that the journey is where the real family bonding occurs in traveling, there are times when the destination is the true experience that fetters us to one another.

This weekend was one such time for us.

Our family hails from California, where Kahuna and I spent around 40 years of our lives before moving to Colorado.  We were ready for a lifestyle change, and after a great adventure to Colorado, we bought a house, moved and never looked back.  There are only three things we really miss about living in California.  Family. Friends. And really good Chinese food.

Really good Chinese food is not readily available on every corner in Colorado, like it is in many parts of California.  And even if you find credible Chinese food, you can rarely find dim sum.

Dim sum literally means, "to touch your heart" and I cannot think of a better description.  Dim sum are like Chinese hors d'oeuvres.  They are steamed or fried "dumplings".  Just three or four to a plate, but the choices are endless.  But for our family, dim sum is more than that.

Chinese families do a lot of bonding over food. Going out for a dim sum brunch, in Kahuna's family, meant everyone...EVERYONE....met up and ate together.  Seventeen of us would meet up and get a giant table and the feasting would begin.  Waitresses push carts full of bamboo steaming baskets or little white plates and show you all the cart's offerings.  One simply points at the dishes they would like to try.  The food is small and the carts meaner slowly through the restaurants. This gives family time to eat, and wait.  And while waiting for the next cart to arrive, there is time for discussion, for talking about what is new and important in our family members' lives and what plans they are making and what the kids are up to.  In other words, you eat a little, you bond a little, you eat a little more, you bond a little more.  While there are not 17 of us here in Colorado, we still do the eating and bonding on a smaller scale of our immediate family.

So...the quest for authentic and delicious dim sum is more than just eating a plate of egg rolls (which really good dim sum restaurants won't serve a lot of, by the way.).

Leaving in Sundance, the Dim Sum Party Car!

The closest dim sum restaurant to us is in Denver.  In possibly one of the worst areas of town.  You drive past scary abandoned warehouses with broken windows to get there.  But Star Kitchen is well worth the trek through unsavory areas.  The restaurant's website itself admits it isn't much to look at by the strip mall that contains it, but it does have amazing dim sum.

The restaurant had 2 caucasians in it, besides me.  Most people are Asian and speaking everything but English (which, if you don't speak the languages, can make for a fun game of Guess What They're Talking About). Families were all meeting up for a special time of eating and bonding.  It is noisy.  It is pungent. And it is heavenly!

If language barriers are intimidating for you, but you are adventurous in your food explorations, then I can't think of a better choice than a dim sum outing for you.  At Star Kitchen, many of the waitresses speak English and all the table captains do.  But, the beauty of dim sum is that you just look and point at the things that look interesting to you and the waitress will serve it up.  You can't go wrong!  We had one waitress that after a while of serving us knew just what to offer.  She didn't take no for an answer.  She would say, "You try.  You WILL like." and she was always right.  Star Kitchen offers some of the items that Kahuna grew up on and some new fares.  In particular, their seafood offerings are wonderful.

Spidey liked the Fried Shrimp Ball best.

Jef and Junior with an array of baos, meatballs, shu mai and ha gow.

Having a dim sum meal was like coming home for us.  Most of our friends here in Colorado don't know the magic that is dim sum, so it is something special just between the members of our family.  A familiarity and intimacy we have together that others just don't get. And it makes us think of our family and Kahuna and the kids' childhood.  It is a fine reminiscing that happens when our family eats dim sum.  For you, it may be like visiting an exotic locale.  Or maybe somewhere in between!  The point is, if you are missing excellent dim sum, Star Kitchen will not disappoint.  If you have never had dim sum, this is the best place to give it a shot!  Dim sum, like our  favorite, Yeung Qi Dze (eggplant stuffed with shrimp) can be quite challenging to pick up with chopsticks for some people (including our #2), so brush up before you go, or your better prepared dining companions will get all the goodies before you get a taste!

Aiya!  Still can't get it!

My advice if you go is to try everything!  The waitresses are good about letting you know, "pork", "chicken", "sweet", "red bean", "seafood", etc.  Whether you like the particular dish that you ordered a lot or a little, it will give you plenty to talk about.  

Where do you travel to enjoy food and life together as a family?  You'll have to leave your answer in the comments section, because, right now, I

Gotta Mosey!