Texas State Fair

For the past several weeks almost every trip I've made to Dallas involved a visit or two to this year's Texas State Fair. As one of the biggest Fairs in North America, one can spend an entire day, if you pace yourself, wondering the fair grounds. Since Mike lives in walking distance to the Fair, every time I've visited I smelled the cotton candy and could faintly hear the rides from the Midway. I am quite sad that the Fair will be over after this weekend. However I got my money's worth this year. Here are my personal highlights:

I finally got to go on the infamous Swan Paddle Boats with my dad. For only $6 a person we had unlimited time paddling around the little lake out behind the Natural Science Museum. Dad became a kid again. He would slowly paddle up to perching turtle and scare the bejeesus out of them, laughing maniacally afterwards.

The Texas Star was also as wonderful as the previous years. On a nice day you can view down on the entire Fair Grounds area and Downtown Dallas. The lines were not as bad as in previous years. It pays to visit at the right time.
I got a glipse if not sat through much of the entertainment this year including the dog show, puppet show, and various musical acts (including En Vogue!), but the Bird Show was by far the best. There's nothing like birds from all over the world swooping over your head and performing tricks.

Speaking of tricks, I had a few tricks of the gastronomic variety with the ever curious deep fried concoctions. I had a taste of the famous Deep Fried Butter (which tasted mostly like a warm biscuit with a buttery center). In addition, let me run down the reasons why I will soon be going on a diet: Deep Fried Cookie Dough, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Curry Chicken, Greek Salad, and of course Jack's Fries. I'm a little upset I didn't get a corny dog at some point. I think I did enough damage though.

I had some great fun at the Midway, mostly sticking to the simple games like Duck Pond and Skee ball. I seem to charm carnies, as I got to play many free games and often got free upgrades on prizes. Mike and I won two addition 'Duck Men' to add to last year's Duck Man (further explanation... We call these guys 'Duck Men' because they have the arms, legs, and hair of a man but the head and color of a duck).

Last of note was the wonderful job DART did with the new station out front of Fair Park. It was beautifully done, even art-deco style to match the gates surrounding the park. Parking and traffic was noticeably reduced thanks to this new way to get to the Fair!

The famous Tower Building in Fair Park (Morning, Noon, Twilight)

In conclusion I was very happy with both the comforts and surprises of this year's Fair. I will leave you with photos I took from last year's Fair versus some I took from this year.

2008 State Fair Versus 2009 State Fair:

John Deer Tractors


Mike posing with Duckmen


The Duck Ponds



The Butterfly Exhibit


Big Tex

Related Articles:

• Serious Eats - Deep Fried Butter Dance
• Oprah Winfrey tapes show at Texas State Fair
• Art&Seek's History of Fair Park's Art
• "A Fair To Remember": A documentary about the Texas State Fair
  

Fall Time is time for Baked Apples

I get on these kicks of buying healthy produce at the store and watching them go to complete waste in the refrigerator in favor of convenient store snack visits. I decided enough was enough. I will not let this beautiful batch of pink lady apples sit in the fruit bin any longer. Figuring that the temperature dropped a good 30 degrees yesterday (Texas weather... enough said), it was high time to try a new Fall themed snack. Here is my recipe for Baked Apples -

Ingredients

• Three Apples (I used Pink Lady variety)
• 1 cup of sugar / 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (I discovered this was too much but used the extra in some coffee served on the side)
• 1 tbs butter
  

Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Core the apples (I used a knife) - if you cut through the bottom just patch it up with a little bit of butter.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon and pour into the core of the apples.
divide the tbs of butter over the tops of the filled apple cores.
cook for 30-40 minutes.

Viola!

Neither my father (pictured) nor I have ever had baked apples before. He told me that growing up one of the comic series he often read was Hot Stuff the Little Devil who was always on a quest for baked apples. Dad always wanted to try baked apples growing up but was too embarrassed to admit this was why.

These apples tasted just like a warm more solid form of apple sauce. The skins were soft and I just gobbled my apple down. It's been the most unusual breakfast of the Fall so far. I forgot the joys of cinnamon. Errr, and apples!

Ode to Photo Booths

Photo taken at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk on the first day I am 25.


Photo taken at Coney Island near the Wonder Wheel


Photo taken in mall in Fort Worth with Michael Napodano Sr. & Jr.


Photo at the Drag Show in Portland, Oregon in January. Weird mixture of characters, that's for sure.

For some odd reason I've only discovered the awesomeness of photobooths this year! It's become my new obsession. Texas State Fair is next...

Birthday in Northern California, Day 6: Highway 1

Although I didn't get to sleep in, I was extremely invigorated from the rest I got at the Jabberwock Inn. Those sleep number beds are great! The fog in Monterey was very thick today, despite news that a heat wave was supposed to come through and burn it away. I am not as depressed as I thought I'd be now that the celebrations are over because in a sense, I have one more day to explore then back to the comfort of home! Sitting on the window bench, enjoying the sounds of seagulls and smells of coffee brewing in the kitchen below, I witnessed the city come alive. I heard the bells ring at the school down the street and faintly a kid leading the Pledge of Allegiance over an intercom. Talk about nostalgia...

Breakfast was phenomenal! We started off with some wonderful coffee, an apple danish, an quiche-like egg dish with peppers and beans and lots of greens (served with salsa and sour cream), a side of fruit, and AMAZING orange juice smoothie. I will have to get the recipe for that. An elderly lady helped serve the guests, making sure everyone's coffee was always full and by the end I was wired on caffeine. I realized now it had been a few days of not having any coffee or caffeine due to the flu. Now it was hitting!

This morning I walked down to Cannery Row for one last view of the coast, dropped off the postcards at the post office, then headed up Highway One back towards San Francisco.

There is only one word to describe the drive - FOG. I was insistent that if I couldn't see the beautiful sights due to this thick mass of water vapor, I was going to stop at every little stop along the way. I visited some Artichoke and Strawberry farms, a creepy little pumpkin patch, and spent some time at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Surfing Museum. The Boardwalk, though deserted and under much construction, made me excited for the up and coming Texas State Fair. I'm not quite sure why I love amusement parks and fair grounds so much. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk (being one of the few beach-side amusement parks left in California and being 100 years old at that), was definitely worth the stop.

(Views from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk)

At one point I stopped on the side of the road because I saw a discernible sign that had a hiking symbol near Half Moon Bay. After the rich breakfast and driving all day, I decided to pull over and go for a stroll. It was one of the more surreal experiences of the trip... walking on these huge cliffs with nothing but the sound of cars and waves crashing on the supposed beach, none of which you could see. The path had no signs and visibility was limited. I decided to take off my shirt as I had complete privacy. It was like my own little playground!

The day winded down with a drive back to San Mateo. I didn't quite want to leave nature, and even started to grow fond of the fog. In perspective I only left the city for less than two days but it felt like a week's escape. I spent the rest of the evening packing up and preparing for my flight the next day, watching classic movies on the television.



As a summary, my vacation was amazing. Though short and becoming infected with the flu, I proved to myself that I could push through it and see and experience some amazing things. I wouldn't make a single change, except to share it it someone else of course :-(. That will definitely be taken into consideration for my next travels. Until then, it's blogging and dreaming...

Birthday in Northern California, Day 5: Monterey & the Jabberwock B&B

I booked a room at this very well-reviewed Jabberwock Inn, tucked away near historic Cannery Row in Monterey, as a birthday present from my mother. This place was just amazing. The minute I arrived I was greeted by Dawn, one of the owners. She first gave me a tour of the place, showing me the beautiful little common areas (where there was always free freshly baked cookies laying out, complimentary teas and snacks, little Alice & Wonderland knick-knacks and later in the evening free wine and sherry). She pointed out the little garden that had two standard poodles, an oyster-shell Bouche Ball court, and wonderful landscaping. On the way up to my room, there was a secret closet that housed a refrigerator with complimentary soft drinks and juice for the guests. What a charming place!

My room was the Mimsy Room (from the poem Jabberwocky) on the third floor that overlooked the entire Monterey Bay with complete privacy. I learned from the other owner, Bill, that it's one of the most popular rooms, one in which his own mother wants to stay whenever she gets sick and needs to recover (which is exactly what I need after this flu!). I opened the windows to the sounds of seagulls and the smell of the ocean, only a few blocks away. There was a nice little window bench I sprawled out on and just watched the outside world. The weather was perfect.

(Photo One: Peeking out the window, Photo Two: View from the Mimsy Room, Photo Three: Jelly beans and scotch next to the bed!)

I decided to walk down to Cannery Row, the historic namesake of the Steinbeck novel I have yet to read. The area had become extremely commercialized and developed and it was very difficult to get access to the beach or even a view of the shore. I wonder what Steinbeck would have thought of all this. It reminds me of many places I visit that just don't hold the charm that they either used have to or were intended to have (like Bricktown in Oklahoma or the Strand in Galveston). I did manage to see an otter or two by the beach, they were so cute!

(Photos of the shoreline in Monterey)

On the way back I bought some extremely cheap pizza and some liquor, although I wish I'd had waited since at the Jabberwock a couple of the guests as well as Dawn and John were mingling in the little indoor porch area, eating appetizers and drinking wine. I noticed the dry erase board that had the names and origins of all the guests. There were couples from Long Island, London, and Berkeley, and we all chatted that evening about things to see around the area, photography, Irish music, Obama, accents, TV Shows, NYC, and beyond. I was so appreciative to have people to talk with on my birthday and to be in such a welcoming warm place. The sun set and we all retired to our respective rooms.

I spent the last remaining hours of my birthday laying on the window beach writing postcards to friends and taking a nice little shower. The fog crept in and soon you could not discern details outside for more than a block away, which was great for me because that meant lots of privacy. It started to get cold, despite being wrapped in some blankets, so I closed the windows and headed off to my sleep-number bed (which I had never experienced). I had a night cap of complimentary Scotch and jelly beans which was provided at the bedside and had a great night's sleep.

"My wife cried when we left, what else can I say" - Review about the Jabberwock.

I am a little concerned with my psyche tomorrow. The day after my birthday is sometimes depressing, like the party is over. My day is over. We'll see how it goes.

Birthday in Northern California, Day 5: Big Sur Beauty

Happy Birthday to Me!

I rented a car this morning and headed off to Monterey blasting New Wave and Alternative music playing on one of the local radio stations. The weather was perfect, I was feeling much better, and there was not a bit of traffic. Driving on 101 South the valleys eventually rid themselves of houses and civilization and I could smell cypress and pine from my rolled down window. Freedom and celebration for me!

Nearing the Pacific, I saw the dreaded sea mist / fog start to creep in. At first I thought it was smoke from a forest fire with the strange brownish tint but after much asking around I eventually learned this was par for the course. Since I made very good time, I decided to drive past Monterey to Carmel and beyond to Big Sur. At about that time the radio station receptions completely died except for one channel that had this strange british voices talking about Abba and getting sick on mussels. Completely bizarre but I had no other options. I zoomed through Highway 1 as there was really nothing to SEE due to the very thick fog. Highway 1 I learned is not the place to drive fast and I almost scared myself a few sharp turns.

I drove on past Garrappata State Park, past seemingly beautiful views. I was on a mission to see two sites I remember from my childhood that caused my insane fascination with Big Sur. First stop was the Henry Miller Museum in the Big Sur Park. Surrounded my tall trees, this little cabin store had a few new features, including a gigantic stage and some art work in the back. I bought a commemorative book for my father, who introduced me to this when I was little, explored around out back, and finally relaxed and listened to a local guitarist play acoustic Beatles songs. I think Henry Miller would have been proud of this place.

(Photo One: Henry Miller Museum, Photo Two: Me playing among the art in the back, Photo Three: Clovers in the back area!, Photo Four: The Bathroom)

The second place of interest is this wonderful little restaurant overlooking the coast called Nepenthe. Parking was brutal as was the wait. Apparently I was not the only one who was a fan of this place. I ordered myself a Bloody Mary and sat out on some cushions and stairs and soaked in a bit of the sun shining through the fog. I met a man named Noel who asked so very politely to borrow my phone to make a call, to which I agreed and the person on the other line eventually wished me a very Happy Birthday. Worth the risk of helping out a stranger right there! While talking to this lady friend of his, he joked, "If I die young, tell my mother I was gay!" Not sure what that meant but it was humoring.

(The patio at Nepethe / Bloody Mary Time!)

I stopped along the way back to Monterey at a few 'vantage' points just so I knew there was a damned ocean out there through the fog. I don't know what attracts me so much to this area. Perhaps it's the violent beauty of the ocean battling the coastline... of the forest inching it's way to the very edge of the sea. The California fauna that stays vibrant all year long is so very different from that of Texas that a patch of wild grass I could investigate for quite some time. Next stop is the infamous Jabberwock Bed & Breakfast.

(a good peak I had of the Big Sur bay through the fog)