On the Road Again

Jeff and I leave for vacation tomorrow. This year we've decided to take advantage of our location and explore the Northeast, an area neither of us are too familiar with. As usual, we've packed a ton of stuff into our days. We're thinking of this trip as a sampler, a highlights tour. Try a little bit of a lot of places, and if we find something we really like, then we can always go back. Here's the general itinerary.

Friday, August 10: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
We hope to arrive in the early afternoon and will spend the day exploring a few towns and maybe checking out the beach (although it looks like it might be a bit cool). In the evening, we plan to catch a Cape Cod League baseball game. We'll be camping that night at Sweetwater Forest.

Saturday, August 11: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
We're planning to spend the day biking the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which will take us to quite a few towns and by the National Seashore. We will also visit Provincetown.

Sunday, August 12: Burlington, Vermont and Lake Champlain Islands
We'll leave the Cape early and head for the Burlington area of Vermont, where we plan to check out the islands in Lake Champlain and do a bit of wandering around the "big" town of Burlington.

Monday, August 13: Northeast Kingdom, Vermont
Our first stop on our way out of Burlington will be at the Ben & Jerry's factory for a tour. Then we'll head up into the Northeast Kingdom to check out some cute towns and do a bit of hiking. We hope to go up Mt. Pisgah for the stunning view of Lake Willoughby. We'll spend the night in the town of East Burke

Tuesday, August 14: New Hampshire
We'll spend the day making our way across New Hampshire, spending most of our time in the White and Presidential mountains doing some hiking. We'll then cross into Maine and stop for the night somewhere along the path to Acadia.

Wednesday, August 15: Acadia National Park
We'll spend the day exploring Acadia...hiking, checking out the rocky beaches, pounding lobster, biking. We'll then camp at Blackwoods Campground.

Thursday, August 16: Maine Coast to Portland, Maine
We'll make our way down the Maine coast to Portland (with a stop in Freeport for the L.L. Bean store).

Friday, August 17: Maine Coast to Boston
We'll spend the day making our way down the coast of Maine, stopping at any towns that catch our fancy before ending up in Boston, where we'll catch a Redsox game at Fenway.

Saturday, August 18: Boston to Connecticut
We'll spend most of the day seeing the sights of Boston before heading down to the area of Connecticut not far outside of New York City for the night.

Sunday, August 19: New York City
We'll head into the city for the 1:05 Yankees game, then visit a few sites and spend the night in the city at the hotel we booked for a whopping $19.31. (Don't worry, it's not sketchy, we just got one hell of a deal. It's the Tudor Hotel at the United Nations.)

Monday, August 20: New York City to Home
We'll see a bit more of the city that never sleeps before heading home, exhausted I'm sure and in need of another week off work just to recuperate.

It should be a lot of fun though. We'll get to see a lot, do a lot of outdoors stuff, and visit a few cool cities. Here's hoping for good weather and safe roads.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Alexandria, VA

I know you've all been curious forever. So check out my most recent article on my website or on the Frederick News-Post site.

Today I did an interview with a 92 year old former DJ and country musician for an assignment with the Frederick News-Post. I can't scoop myself, so you'll have to read the article when I get it written and it's published. Pretty interesting guy though, and all I can hope is that I am as sharp-witted, funny, and able-bodied as he is when I reach that age.

Happy Anniversary to Us

On Monday, Jeff and I celebrated our anniversary in style...presidential-candidate style. Just like John and Elizabeth Edwards, who happen to also have been married on July 30, we had our anniversary dinner at Wendy's. Ahhh. Romantic, isn't it?

Don't fret. The romance isn't already that dead. I was just out of town all weekend and didn't get in until late on Monday, so Wendy's was one of the few available options. And knowing that would be the case, we went ahead and celebrated on Friday with a big dinner out. Two years already. It's flown by.

Food is Good

This past weekend, Jeff and I went to Seattle for the wedding of Alison and Chris. I'm working on getting up some photos from that, but in the mean time, I thought I'd post some other pictures from the weekend.

One of my favorite things about Bainbridge Island is the food. Many yummy things can be found on the island, and I like to indulge in my favorites while I am there. So this is a post dedicated to pictures of food.

On Saturday mornings, there's a great farmer's market. There are all kinds of vegetables.

There's also really delicious bread. I like to buy chocolate croissants from this vendor.

And Jeff got a chocolate peanut butter cookie from this stand, which also sells some good looking berry pies.

Here's a close-up on some berries. Mmmm.


And here are some lovely flowers you can purchase.

If you watch the Food Network, you may recognize this place. Cafe Nola was featured on the very first episode of Giada's Weekend Getaways. We'd been going there long before it ever showed up on TV...I think I went on my very first trip to Bainbridge five years ago. She went for brunch...I've only been for lunch and dinner. It's been delicious every time. I had porcini risotto cakes this past weekend, and they didn't disappoint.


And what's a day without dessert? Jeff and I shared this three-scoop ice cream cone from Mora Ice Creamery. They really know how to do ice cream there. We taste tested just about every flavor before deciding on cinnamon, chocolate mousse, and mango. As much as I love chocolate, I think cinnamon was my favorite. Really, really good.

Remember When Summer Meant Doing Nothing?

Sorry for the lack of posts, but July is a crazy month for me. Last weekend I was in Atlantic City for Joyce's bachelorette party, I leave today for Seattle for Alison's wedding, and next weekend I'll be in Louisville for Joyce's shower. I've hardly had time to catch my breath, more of less do or read anything worth posting about.

I'm not convinced August will be any better, although at least some of the travel we'll be doing then is for ourselves. Jeff and I are taking vacation from August 10-19. We're doing a roadtrip from here to Maine and back. This is pretty much our last summer in the area (we hope), so we figured we needed to see it all while we are close. We're going to a Yankees game and a Red Sox game. We're hitting Cape Cod to catch the end of the Cape Cod League. We're camping in Acadia National Park. We hope to go to the mountains in New Hampshire, tour the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont, and see some cute little towns. Problem is, we haven't really had much time to plan. We have one hotel booked, one night of camping, and one set of baseball tickets. Eek! We don't want to overplan...it's a roadtrip afterall...but if you know me, you know I don't like not to have things figured out.

So help us out. What are your favorite places in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine? Any and all recommendations would be most welcome!

Down with the Pope

CNN Article -- Vatican: Non-Catholics Not True Christians

I find this to be so infuriating. Why is this what the church is concerned about? In a world that is so full of trouble, I find it disgusting that the church uses its energy and influence to dwell on such petty issues. It is simply another example of the church's intolerance and strutting I'm-better-than-you behavior.

And why is religion more important than faith? It seems to me that Jesus seemed to put more stock on faith. After all, he certainly didn't follow his own religion, Judaism, all that closely. It seems that the church is acting very much like the scribes and the pharisees that Jesus himself condemned, saying they were more concerned with appearances and the letter of the law than the spirit of the law.

I'm so down on organized religion. It certainly seems to cause more division than unity, to preach intolerance instead of tolerance, to offer much criticism but few solutions.

It's Live!

Thanks to my brother Gregory's assistance with design and HTML, I have a Web site for my freelance writing. Check it out at www.theresablackinton.com. Please let me know if you find any errors. There were some difficulties with embedded fonts (thanks, Word), and while I tried to catch them all, I was pretty tired towards the end of my work. I'll be going over it with a fine-tooth comb this week, but extra sets of eyes would be most helpful. I don't want to send it out to any editors until I feel pretty confident that there aren't any glaring errors!

Also, I have a new article out today in the Frederick-News Post. You can read it here on my Web site or here on the Frederick News-Post Web site.

Front to Back, Back to Front

If you're reading a magazine, do you read every article in it or just specific ones that seem interesting to you? I'm definitely a read-it-all kind of gal, which can make magazine reading a time-consuming process. We get a lot of magazines: The New Yorker, Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, and Budget Travel. None of which are particularly "light" reading, although only the New Yorker and Smithsonian are particularly heavy. Anyhow, I just can't retire a magazine until I know I've read every bit of it. I might not be especially interested in particle accelerators (the topic of a recent article in the New Yorker), but I read it anyway. I mean, if I only read articles about things that interest me, how would I ever learn anything new. Not to say I'm now an expert on particle accelerators or hedge funds or Richard Branson or glaciology or Alexandria, Egypt, but I do have a little tiny germ of knowledge and could say something semi-intelligent if any of the above ever came up in conversation. Or maybe by reading an article, I'll find out that I really am interested in the subject and seek out more information on it. Who knows?

Jeff, on the other hand, only reads select articles from each of the magazines. As I read (I almost always readthe magazines first), I turn down the corners to indicate articles that I think he might be interested in. Then he just peruses the contents page and my marked pages and picks out what he wants to read and reads only that. I think he's missing out, but considering he doesn't read as much as I do, he'd have huge piles of to-be-read magazines if he didn't. So I guess it works out, but now who am I going to discuss glacioloy with?

Name Our Child (Um, I Mean Web site)

Jeff and I are looking to start up a Web site for our upcoming around the world trip. It's still about a year away but we want to begin documenting the process and getting the site up to speed. But we have one big problem...we can't come up with a name. Seriously, I do not look forward to the day we decide to have a child. I can't imagine what trying to name one of those will be like!

So we're soliciting help. Please place your suggestions in the comment section (yes, lurkers too.) We need all the ideas we get. To see if your idea is a possibility, you can visit http://www.pcnames.com/, which lets you know if the domain name is available.

Some of the ideas we have come up with so far include:
laptheglobe
blowingtheinheritance
noplacetoofar

The name should be easy to remember, not look too odd when all the words are mashed together, and be descriptive of our trip (which will be backpacker style through Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America).

Go!

Thoughts of the Day

1. Happy 19th Birthday, Mark! Enjoy your last year of being a teenager. It won't be long before it will seem that the "teen" years were so long ago.

2. If I worked from home, I think I'd be fat. Whenever I get stuck with my writing or bored or whatever, I find myself munching. Two strawberries here. A marshmallow there. A handful of nuts. An olive. A piece of cheese. Anything small and bite-size is a prime candidate for a snack.

3. After this weekend, I only have one more weekend at home before my life gets insane. From July 14 to Labor Day, we're out of town practically every weekend...most of it for weddings or wedding-related events. I'm very happy for everyone whose wedding we're attending, but Lord, I'm a little overwhelmed. Remember when summer meant doing nothing?

4. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. 32 years (yesterday)!

Happy First Day of Summer!

I'm going to head to a farmer's market to get out of the office and enjoy a little summer sunshine.

I also have plans for tonight but they're not particularly summery, although fun. My friend Lisa got free tickets to a performance at the music center right next to my home and invited me to go along with her. So we're going to go to a performance in which the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra plays the soundtrack of the Wizard of Oz as it is shown on a big screen. Doesn't that sound like fun? I know Gregory, he of a million viewings of the Wizard of Oz, is jealous.

To Rice Be True

Yesterday, Rice played Louisville in the opening game of the College World Series. I clearly have ties to both, as Rice is my alma mater and Louisville is my hometown team (and the alma mater of my father and the place where my brother is getting his graduate degrees). And while I knew I was for Rice, I thought that I'd approach the game fairly even-keeled. I would be happy in some way regardless of who won, right?

Um, apparently, wrong. As soon as the game started, my true feelings burst out. I was for Rice, and I was for Rice totally and completely. When Louisville put that first run on the board, I was not happy. When Louisville looked like they were going to trounce Rice, I was pissed. And when Rice ended up pulling it out, I was completely relieved.

I guess alma mater does count for something. (Although I think what mattered most wasn't that it was Rice, but that it was Rice baseball, and that's probably the most intimate tie I have to my alma mater. I'm not sure I'd care so much if it were anything else.)

Anyhow, now that that game's over, Go Cards.

But most of all, Go Owls!

A True Classic

Isn't it nice to know that in a world where it's practically impossible to find something as simple as blades for your razor because after just a year it's considered an "outdated" model, there are some things that stand the test of time? Like Nancy Drew. Apparently a movie version of Nancy Drew comes out this weekend. I'm not a movie person, so I won't be going to see it, but I like to know that it's there, and that it's still considered relevant.

And what's most impressive about it is that Nancy Drew isn't just a relic of my childhood, but of my mother's too. I used to get new Nancy Drew books for my birthday or other occasions (I loved the ones that had two stories in one book, each starting from a different end of the book and oriented in the opposite direction. I keenly remembering having "The Secret of the Old Clock" and "The Hidden Staircase" in a version like that.), but I also remember reading my mom's copies of the books, the ones she'd had since she was a child. In fact, Nancy Drew's been around since my grandma was a child, debuting in 1930! And while she's evolved, and while a number of authors, all under the pen name Carolyn Keene, have penned Nancy's stories, I think it's pretty cool that she's managed to survive all these years. I hope if I ever have a daughter, Nancy Drew's still around for her to enjoy.

What Summer Tastes Like

If you have an icecream maker, then you need to make this. If you don't have one, you need to go buy one, and then make this.


It was so easy and so delicious. Light, sweet...just like summer.


Simply Strawberry Sorbet

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pints (about 1 1/2 pounds or 6 cups) fresh-picked strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, and hulled
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

preparation

Make the simple syrup: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, and salt. Cook, stirring, until the sugar and salt have dissolved, about 3 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.

In a blender, purée the strawberries with the syrup and lemon juice until very smooth (you may need to divide this into several batches if your blender is not extra-large). If desired, strain through a fine-mesh sieve for a smoother texture. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Store, tightly covered, in the freezer...if you don't eat it all right away.

The Best Popsicles Ever

This afternoon Jeff and I went to the Asian supermarket in search of dumpling wrappers so we could try our hand at making homemade potstickers. (I'll let you know how that goes.) We found the wrappers and all kinds of other goodies, many of which were quite unusual. The find of the day, however, was these.




I've been looking for these forever...probably even longer than I've been looking for the previously mentioned and miraculously found Pudding Pops. And although most of you just won't get it, I'm sure my family remembers these most awesome popsicles as might anyone who played t-ball, softball, or baseball in the Louisville CSAA during the 80s and early 90s.




Who would have thought that they'd sell them at the Asian market? And who would have thought the image on the package would be so, um, odd?

Off to See the Ponies...At the Beach

As it is Memorial Day weekend, we did what all people living within an easy drive of the ocean do and went to the beach...to Assateague National Seashore to be exact. And our plan was to go camping, not just join the legions of others being beachbums. And trust me, there were many, even though the water temperature hadn't even warmed to 60 yet. Only a few hearty souls ventured into the water...most bums were planted firmly in the sand. But it was sunny and warm, and is there really a better way to kick off the summer than by sitting on the beach, the sound of surf pounding in your ears, seagulls and kites overhead, and wild ponies romping across the sand?



Wild ponies? Oh yes, Assateague National Seashore is home to a colony of wild ponies, which really ups the ante on the whole beach experience. There might not be a boardwalk at Assateauge, but there sure aren't any wild ponies at Ocean City.

And wild ponies abound at Assateague. We caught our first glimpses as we drove into the park, right at the butt crack of dawn, in order to secure one of the last remaining permits for backcountry camping. In order to trudge 4 miles through sand with 25 pounds on our backs, we had to be at the ranger's station when it opened at 7:15am. Apparently there are many people like us who have warped ideas of fun. Trust me, 4 miles of hiking through sand carrying that amount of weight is not your typical walk in the park.

We then caught sight of two groups of ponies while renting a canoe and cruising along the bay side of the barrier island that is Assateague.






And later as we hiked off to our camp, a great procession of ponies came wandering down the beach, not the least bit bothered by the crowds. In fact, one of the ponies thought it a fit time to put on a show by engaging in a little bit of battle with another pony.





We ended up having a really good time camping among the dunes. Jeff built a great campfire of the beach and we had a delicious dinner of hotdogs, cherries, carrots, pretzels, trail mix, and s'mores. Mmm, mmm, good.

Giving Back

When Jeff and I made our budget for this year, we added a line for charity. We feel very fortunate to have the many advantages that we have, and we both feel that it's important to give back. As the adage goes, "To whom much is given, much is expected."

Unfortunately, we don't have the means to make the kind of substantial gift that most of us, I imagine, would like to make. We can't start a scholarship program, fund a building, or do anything on any sort of magnificent scale (at least not yet, right?). But at the same time, we wanted to feel that the money we could give would make a difference. We wanted to make sure the money we donated went to someone in need, not to paying some secretary to surf the Web at whatever organization we donated to. So we spent time coming up with a list of causes that were important to us, and investigating various charities to determine just how the money they received was spent. We each had a few pet projects that we donated to, but together we found one way of giving that we think is really something most everyone can get behind.

Our new favorite way of donating is through an organization called Kiva. What Kiva does is gather information from microloan organizations all across the world and compile it on one Web site. (You may have heard a lot about microloans this past year, as the Grameen Foundation, a microloan organization, was the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.) You can then browse through the site and read about people who are asking for loans. Most of the loans are for less than $1500. It's amazing what that kind of money can do in most of the world. When you find a project/person that interests you, you can click on various links to learn about them, the microloan organization through which they are applying, and the conditions in the country in which they live. Then, if you desire, you can directly become a lender to this person. You can do it either through a paypal account or through a credit card, but all of the money goes directly to the person requesting the loan. (In the checkout process, Kiva asks for a donation to the organization but you can skip this or give them a couple of bucks, your choice.)

So you're thinking, whoa now, $1500 is still a lot of money, and why yes, you are correct. The awesome thing is that Kiva is not asking anyone to fully fund any one project. In fact, they recommend that you split your money between various projects. You can donate $25 to a project...or however much you feel like. So each person is funded by a group of people, and the amazing part is that in the end, you are very likely to get your money back! This is a loan, afterall, and the recipients pay it back. (I think the default rate is under 1%!).

Once the person who you've given money to receives the full amount requested, the loan is disbursed, and then you can track the progress of their projects and their repayment process through the journal section of the Web site. Once the money is fully paid back, the amount you donate is credited back to your account. You can then take it back, but even better in my opinion, is that you can then donate it to another person/project. So with just a very small amount of money, you can help people all over the world improve their lives. I think that's pretty cool.

So I encourage you to visit the Web site and consider becoming a "banker" to people in need. It's really interesting to see the different kinds of things people are doing, and it will make you count your blessings when you see what you have in comparison to others around the world.

If you don't see a project that interests you right away, go back the next day. Most loans are fully funded in just a few days, so new profiles appear every day. Here are links to three people whose projects we've chosen to help fund.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=8987
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=10064
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=10647

Pomp, Circumstance, and a Few Good Laughs

This past weekend we traveled up to Urbana-Champaign with my family for Gregory's graduation from the University of Illinois. I'd never been up there before so it was nice to finally see where he's spent the past four years.

The highlight of the weekend was the graduation ceremony of the School of Architecture, primarily because Gregory was chosen to be the undergraduate speaker. I must say I was extremely surprised when I heard that he tried out. You see, Gregory's not one of those kids who does something because it will look good on his resume, because others think he should do it, or because of any other superficial reason like that. Gregory's never been one to aspire to be president of any such club or the most over-achieving kid in his class. He does what he wants, how we wants to do it. So that meant that Gregory must have really had something to say.

I must also admit that I was quite surprised to hear that he was actually awarded the job of speaker. Not, mind you, because I didn't think he had something good to say or because I didn't think he'd do an excellent job. Mainly, I thought he wouldn't get it because I know my brother, and I know how most schools work. Gregory is funny, witty, and often irreverent. He's not sentimental and would not be giving the type of "look at all we accomplished, I love everyone so much, nothing will ever be greater than this" speech that many administrators want. In the end, I was wrong about the school. I was right about Gregory, however...he was funny, witty, and irreverent. And his delivery was great. I was most impressed. And I heard many compliments throughout the day I suggest you go visit his blog to watch the speech.

He's headed to Chicago for the summer to work for a firm that does architectural forensics (intriguing, isn't it?) and then to Ball State in the fall to start work on his master's degree. When that first day of class rolls around, I'll have two brothers who are officially more educated than I am. Damn, I have smart siblings!

Anyhow, it was a fun weekend, and I just wanted to say one more time...Way to go, Gregory!

A Mother's Day Tribute

In honor of Mother's Day and my own very special mom, I wrote this essay which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on May 10, which also happens to be my mom's birthday.

Derby 133

It's been eight years since I've been in Louisville for Derby or even, for that matter, participated in any Derby festivities. During college, Derby always fell during exams, and in the places I've lived since college, it isn't quite the big deal that it is in Louisville. But this year I'd had enough of just turning on the TV for the two minutes and some odd seconds that it takes to crown a Derby champion, so Jeff and I threw a Derby party. Despite weather that wasn't as nice as we had hoped (cloudy and grey with temps maybe in the low 60s) and that thus kept everyone inside and not as mobile, we had a good time. Some people got their first taste of Derby and others were reacquainted with it. We had jackpots, trivia, and lots of food. I was off on Friday, so I spent the day cooking up a Southern feast. I thought everything turned out pretty good, and I guess our guests agreed as most of the stuff was gone by the end of the day. The menu included:

Cheese Tray (Goat Cheese, Brie, and Smoked Gouda)
Veggie Tray
Mini Hot Browns (I used rye and cut each slice into 3 to make them mini)
Chicken Salad on Cucumbers
Ham on Biscuits
Benedictine Tea Sandwiches
Deviled Eggs (1/2 Plain, 1/2 with Bacon & Scallions)
Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes (Bacon, Scallions, & either feta or goat cheese)
Strawberries
Derby Pie (my mom's recipe)
Bourbon Balls (courtesy of Kelly)

And thanks to my mom, we had plenty of authentic Derby decorations.

I invited people to wear either Millionaire's Row or Infield attire, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the fancy outfits...dresses and hats for the girls and button-ups for the boys. It was a fun chance to dress up.

You can check out my sweet hat in this photo.



Anyhow, I hope everyone out there had a fun time celebrating Derby and maybe even picked the winner and won a few bucks in the process.