Unlikely Adventures

18 Hours in Minneapolis

Sharon and Marian Carling — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:37:57 +0000

Sunday morning began as usual – toast and coffee and a decision to go to a concert in Minneapolis that night. We’ve known that one of our favorite performers, Toshi Reagon, was doing a midwest tour and we’d been whining about not being able to get to Chicago or Milwaukee or Madison. When Allison Miller was added to the show, that did it – we were on our way to Minneapolis. We got on the computer and bought tickets and made hotel reservations. We threw some clothes and stuff in the car and were on our way – road trip!

We got to Minneapolis around 5 and found our hotel with the help of our trusty Garmin. So far so good – a great room with a decent view (a decent view is other than the back of another building or an alley). We quickly changed clothes and were back into the car to find my favorite Thai restaurant – Sawatdee. So yummy – spring rolls and chicken sate and shrimp pad thai. After dinner we were off to find the Cedar Cultural Center.

The concert was wonderful – a young local singer, Chastity Brown, opened for Toshi. What a pleasure to listen to such great talent. She was genuinely humbled by opening for Toshi but I imagine she’ll soon have others opening for her. Toshi and Allison took the stage and rocked the crowd. They’re so amazing together…great synchronicity. Worth a 12 hour round trip car ride? You bet!

Monday morning we looked for a place for breakfast and decided on Hell’s Kitchen – had good reviews and wasn’t far. Breakfast was amazing and gave us a great start for our long ride home. Hell’s Kitchen makes their own peanut butter that is unlike any other – we bought a jar to bring home. Oh, and their potatoes…the most delicious hash browns you’ve ever had with bits of smoky bacon and onions and sizzled in butter. We walked downtown in the chilly late morning air and were struck by how much cleaner downtown Minneapolis is than downtown Omaha.

We took a different route home – rather than down I-35 and across I-80, we went down I-35 to I-90 to Minn 60 to I-29. It was a great change of scenery until we got to I-29 – 5 major construction zones in 100 miles…..pretty awful. But we arrived home to a happy kitty and warm house.

We’ve often talked about dropping everything and running to an out-of-town concert but our senses of order have somehow not allowed us to do that. We finally gave ourselves permission and had a great time – it’s a good thing to get out of your rut and do something out of character.

-sc

Posted in Food, Music, Travels Tagged: cities, Food, Music, road trip

Guess I won’t be voting much…..

Sharon and Marian Carling — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:29:36 +0000

Now, I’m not a political blogger – not at all – so this will be short and sweet. After seeing the final results of the election in Maine, I have become a one-issue voter. I will no longer vote for nor support any candidate for any office who does not publicly support same-sex marriage – period. End of discussion. -sc

Posted in Musings Tagged: politics, same-sex marriage

Simple Birthdays

Sharon and Marian Carling — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:39:32 +0000

Since we don’t celebrate the traditional gift-giving holidays, birthdays are pretty important. Last Tuesday was Marian’s birthday. In keeping with our desire to live simply, we don’t focus on gifts but on food and wine and candles and flowers and love.

We do give “consumable” gifts such as chocolate and wine….and this year Marian received a bur oak tree which will live in our side yard for decades after we leave Nebraska. The little tree is a birthday gift she will pass on to the future generations in our poor neighborhood.

We had a great day – went to M’s Pub for lunch and took a short walk in Omaha’s Old Market – it was pretty breezy!

After lunch, I took Marian back to work and came home and began cooking. Because we’re focusing on healthy, simple eating, I made a salad of fresh spinach, roasted yellow and red beets, and sweet potatoes topped with toasted walnuts and a maple sage vinaigrette and lamb chops with a port wine sauce. For dessert we had double chocolate raspberry and cinnamon pear truffles. The highlight of dinner for both of us was the bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir we pulled from our cellar. I’m sure we’ll visit the Bethel Heights Vineyards when we’re in Oregon in 2011. This was one of the best Pinot Noirs we’ve had in a very long time.

We had a great day, celebrating Marian’s birthday. Focusing on each other and the simple pleasures of food and wine, rather than piles of presents,

is the way we choose to celebrate each of our years on this earth. -sc

Happy Birthday, Marian

Posted in Family, Food, Holidays, Home Tagged: birthdays, flowers, happiness, salad, wine

Shedding Stuff

Sharon and Marian Carling — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:14:35 +0000

We took a big step over initeria and emotional attachment yesterday. We sold our bikes – one well-worn ten-speed Fuji with the coolest leather seat and a 15-speed Trek mountain bike which had enjoyed eleven years of basement storage. The proceeds started a new savings account dedicated to our future adventures. There are a lot more material possessions to let go of. I think this will be a good thing in itself.

- mc

Posted in Preparations

Spontaneous Saturday Fun

Sharon and Marian Carling — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:25:26 +0000

Last Saturday we planned a drive to Aurora, Nebraska to take local apples to Lois and Ron, Marian’s sister and brother-in-law. They had potatoes, onions, shallots and sweet potatoes for us, which they had grown on their farm. It was going to be a quick trip with lunch at a coffee house, Espressions, in Aurora. After making great time on the way out – amazing, since it was a football Saturday in Lincoln – we had lunch and chatted, exchanged produce, and hit the road again. On the return trip, we reached York, about 20 minutes from Aurora, when we looked at each other and said, “you know, we don’t have to go home right now; let’s just go exploring.” And so we did.

We pulled out a map and decided we wanted to be home by dark – that gave us about 6 more hours to drive the beautiful back roads of central Nebraska. We went north awhile then headed northwest. We drove through small towns and gorgeous fields and even skirted the edge of Nebraska’s so-called Bohemian Alps – named for the many eastern Europeans who settled the area.

At some point we decided we were close enough to Primrose to stop for a visit at Dublin Cemetery where Marian’s parents are buried. I think that was the most amazing part of our unplanned day. We hadn’t been there for a couple of years and really don’t know when we’ll get back. Dublin Cemetery is a classic small prairie cemetery – very peaceful and quiet. In all the times we’ve visited, there has never been anyone else there.

After the cemetery visit we headed further north, then east, then south, finally ending up in Omaha 10 hours and 420 miles after we had left early Saturday morning.

One of things that struck me on this great drive is all the place names that are shared among different states. Nebraska has Aurora (Colorado), York (Pennsylvania), Oakland (California), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), West Point (New York), Albion (Michigan and California), Madison (Wisconsin), Fremont (California), Columbus (Ohio) and Omaha (Arkansas) – these are just a few of the towns we drove through and there are many more. Geography fascinates me.

What a great day we had – scooting along in the Element, enjoying the wonderful sunshine and cloud formations. We always have fun days when we allow serendipity to guide our path. This day definitely foreshadowed our future freedom on the road.

-sc

Posted in Family, Food, Travels Tagged: cemetery, day trips, Nebraska, small towns

an unlikely start…..

Sharon and Marian Carling — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:04:04 +0000

As we begin the work of planning a life on the road, we naturally wondered how we would stay in touch with our family and friends. Blogging appears to be the best way although it actually seems a bit more complex than I first thought. Stick with us through the learning curve and I promise great stories and pictures about the unlikely adventures we are sure to have. Until we hit the road, we’ll update from time to time with news about our lives.

- sc

Posted in Uncategorized