Reverb10 - Soul Food

December 26 – Soul Food What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?

In no way am I a "foodie". I don't have near-orgasms when I indulge in something delectable nor do I go out of my way to experiment with gourmet-type cooking. I have, though, stepped up my cooking game and become more adventurous and injected some much-needed variety in the meals I prepare but the best food is often times something prepared by someone else and this year's most memorable meal fits in that category.

Again, flashing back to our early September vacation to the north shore of Lake Superior -- staying in Tofte, MN -- the first evening of our long weekend there we ate at the Coho Cafe and Bakery. I remember ordering a small wild rice sausage pizza. I'm a big fan of pizza and seeing the promise of homemade wild rice sausage, homemade sauce and a hand-tossed crust made my mouth water.

When the pizza arrived at the table, I stared at it. It was a work of art. Huge sausage balls atop what appeared to be cheese so fresh there had to be a cow tied up just outside the rear entrance to the kitchen.

Then I grabbed that first square-cut piece. The cheese was so perfectly stringy that it never completely broke free from the main pizza. I took one appropriately-sized bite and I knew at that moment that this was the single best food I had eaten all year long. Everything about it tasted fresh. The suburban stip mall pizzerias tasted like dog shit in comparison and the national and regional chains were utter garbage when compared to the pizza at Coho Cafe and Bakery.

In short, the Wild Rice Sausage Pizza at Soho Cafe & Bakery in the barely-there village of Tofte, MN truly did touch my soul this year.

Feeling alive in "The Moment"

Today's Reverb10 prompt is below:

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

The moment that stands out most for me this year was arriving at a long-deserved vacation in Tofte, MN. After spending eight hours slowly making our way from the southwest Twin Cities on a gray and rainy day, we arrived at our final destination in the small north Lake Superior village of Tofte, MN. The best part of this vacation was the fact that I won a three night stay at this fabulous resort and outside of meals and gas, this vacation was free and that is the right price for me.

I remember stepping out of our vehicle and finally being able to do something at a leisurely pace. We slowly unpacked our bags, we slowly explored the two-floor condo-style hotel room, we slowly figure out how best to occupy ourselves for the next few days.

The best part of the entire experience was sleeping literally a few dozen feet from Lake Superior. Until you've stood on its rocky shoreline, you don't quite grasp the power of this lake. A lake which has swallowed ships whole, a lake which had changed the fortues of the northern cities in Minnesota and a lake which, to certain extent, defines the state which I call home.

The fresh, crisp breeze blowing off the lake was invigorating. Even at a brisk 55 degrees, the air felt pleasant. It felt clean. It felt like I could move there one day and hone my photographic skills and make a meager, if not pleasant, living off of the area. The entire north shore of Lake Superior seems to be an artistic haven which centers around the hospitality (tourist) trade and seeing just what these artists do on a daily basis for their jobs makes a fellow "artist" like myelf feel inspired. I came back from this trip after experiencing pure relaxation and felt instantly inspired. I vowed to simply "get out". I plan to find art where others see normalcy. If you look at anything, there's always something -- when captured via a photograph -- that becomes art.

That moment, standing on the black, glassy rocks above the white, crashing waves of Lake Superior made me realize that this was much more than a vacation, it was the greatest form of inspiration I had experienced in 2010. In that very moment, as I snapped off photos of my surroundings, I knew that this was somehow a turning point for the year, if not my life. Seeing what inspires these northern Minnesota artists inspired me and that was "The Moment".

Belts of America

For many decades, portions of America have been identified by various "belts". These are large geographic areas of the country which share similar characteristics relating to geography, climate, inhabitants and a whole host of other items.

The accompanying graphic is by no means a comprehensive rundown of but I've done my research. Feel free to add other "belt" suggestions in the comments.
Then head to MinnPics later to see the freshest in Minnesota photography.

(11:10 AM: The newly updated map indicates newly discovered information that it is possible to be a perverted hillbilly who dabbles in/enjoys incestuous relationships)

I'm leaving on a jet plane, I don't want to fly again

Air travel. It's one of those modern marvels. It seems like only yesterday a Alexander Graham Bell put aside his attempts to invent the cotton gin and instead focused his efforts on a flying machine. It's hard to believe that the first flight happened so many years ago (was it really way back in 1945?) on the shores of the Mississippi River within sight of the famed Eiffel Tower in St. Louis, Missouri.

Well, the times have sure changed in those 60-plus years. We've just recently seen the invention of the iPod and then came the laptop computer. Whoa. My head is spinning just thinking about it.

The most amazing invention, though, had to be the jet airplane. Think about 80 years ago as this great country of ours was founded. We had just broken free of the oppressive Spanish rule and were instantly looking forward. Then came that triumphant day 63 years ago. Flight.

Times have changed, though. Nowadays it seems the agenda of the remaining airline conglomerates to takes us from point A to point B but never truly arriving at our ultimate destination. They always seem to get us to our destination without incident but getting home -- not so easy.

All told, we spent relatively little time in the air traveling to Hawaii. See, the handy little map tells the story.

Getting home, though, flat out sucked. United Airways just made the list. Delays are expected because frankly they have us by the fucking balls (or other genitalia) once we are inside these concrete, government-controlled islands of mindlessness.

Maybe it's the fact that you can't leave without having to re-enter the insane security lines staffed by people best described as pricks (ahem, Phoenix -- yes, security between their disconnected terminals).

This experience managed to sour the tail end of our vacation experience but at least I still have the photos.

Am I alone in getting screwed (not inthe Larry Craig sense) in my air travel experiences? Spew forth with your travel horror stories.

There will be photos (of Hawaii)

As promised, photos of our Hawaiian journey.
The price per night was well worth it at the Sheraton Keahou Bay in southern Kailua-Kona. A very open hotel with the somewhat inside pool as well as another outside where a couple nights were spent meeting chatty folks from around the country.
A photo (a tad grainy though) of the nighttime waves crashing against the lava rock shore at our hotel.
The best lunch I had the entire stay was at the Kona Brewing Company. Even the potato chips were superb.
Yes, there is snow in Hawaii. This was taken just outside Waimea looking south towards Mauna Loa where telescopes dot the mountaintop.
Umauma falls near the east coast city of Hilo. In this park we also hiked through a rain forest trail and took the rental car places I'm sure it shouldn't have been but we did keep it on the poorly paved "roads".
The grape vines at the Volcano Winery on Hawaii's south shore. At 4,000 ft. elevation it is supposedly ideal for raising grapes and our bottles of wine bought here arrived home in one piece despite being in our checked luggage.
The steam vents at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

A beautiful sunset on our final full day in Hawaii. If only we had a couple more days.
The pig at our Friday luau being removed from the earthen oven known as an Imu. I can only assume that this also translates to kick-ass way to roast a pig.


The sunset at our luau on the grounds of the Royal Kona Resort.
The performance at the luau was intense and included an amazing fire knife dancing demonstration. This isn't that photo.
The wall on our hotel room's lanai came complete with a gecko on this particular morning. No, he didn't try to sell us any insurance.
Of course here were tremendous waves crashing on the rocky shore.
This used to be a road. Now it's a road buried under a somewhat recent lava flow.
And our final day ended with us spotting sea turtles on a tucked away beach a few miles south of the Kona airport.

Come back tomorrow when I chronicle the flight. It's sure to be at least mildly entertaining.

Get your fresh points here

With correct guesses from last week's oh-so-mysterious guessing game about my vacation destination, I officially have winners.

Anonymous said...
I am guessing the you are going on safari in Africa to kill an the most elusive of all prey. Or else you are going to Hawaii, I am gonna guess the Big Island.

P.S. I want my grasshopper cookie


snowelf said...
I'm guessing Cali or Hawaii too!
And I'm totally playing this game on my blog sometimes this week too, cause I'm getting the heck outta here next weekend! :)

Regardless of where you're going, have a GREAT time!!

--snow


buffalodickdy said...
Have a nice trip to Hawaii....

The Future Was Yesterday said...
Hawaii, because "The rental car is probably a Hyundai." Nothing bigger will fit the parking spaces on that gawd awful rock (I was there three years with the Navy: sorry:) And you're probably flying USAir because one of their stops is in phoenix before jumping the mud puddle.:)

Hawaii is a dream vacation, but a hellish place to live. A beer was two bucks - and that was back in 1968


On the creativity front (because I am a sorta-creative type sorta kinda) I have winners as well...

Dorky Dad said...
I think that you're going to your Aunt Mildred's house in San Diego. You're taking your winter coat because Mildred keeps the freaking air conditioning at 40 degrees.

Whiskeymarie said...
I think you're travelling to beautiful Toledo, Ohio. You're bringing shorts 'cause you're just the sort of guy that likes to show off his gams. And, I'm pretty sure that EVERY car in Toledo is a Hyundai.

(no offense to any Toledoeans reading this.)

Yes, that's six (count 'em) winners sharing in the 1,500 point bounty. Watch your mailboxes closely for the official "A Day in the Life" envelope containing a voucher with the 250 points you have just won. As for the anonymous bastard who seems to have some sort of inside track (I think I know who you are) on the game, you know the rules for the elusive Grasshopper Cookie. It's 1,100,500 points until the big reward and F.Y.I., our package of nicely refirgerated Grasshopper Cookies was damn tasty as a treat in the Sheraton hotel room after we wandered about Hawaii's Big Island for the past few days.

In other awards news, the award for best damn meal in Kailua-Kona goes to Boston Basil's. Yes, the best Italian food two separate times now goes to a restaurant in Hawaii. The pizza I had beats my old hometown fave of Steve's Pizza but the guava cheesecake is what sealed the deal. Hawaii, you never cease to amaze me.

Hey, if the 250 points for each of the six winners isn't enough and you like to sit, waiting anxiously for what's next, stop back later for photos because what kind of cold heart would I have if I didn't share my photos with the world?

Guess my destination

I'm sick of this place called Minnesota. That's why on Wednesday I'm blowing this here popsicle stand. Yes, I'm leaving on a jet plane but I DO know when I'll be back again.

As I climb aboard a jet plane at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after the pre-boarding cavity search (sans lube) I'll finally be free (for a while) of the shackles that bind me. Oh sure, I have a budget like any thrifty mid-western traveler but at least I'll come back rested and ready.

But what does that mean for you, my faithful readers?

Well, I could write a heartfelt poem but poetry isn't my specialty. Instead, a bit of sleuthing. Take random but educated guesses where I'll be spending my week away from Minnesota. Speculate wildly about what I'll be doing. Let your imagination run wild and create the most far fetched story possible and share it. Of course accuracy is a must because as with any good game, points are at stake.

The winner, as judged by me, receives 1,500 points. Your entries will be judged on both creativity and accuracy when I return from my globe-trotting journeys.

I won't leave you hanging, though. A few hints follow to get you started on your wild guessing.

One airport I have a layover at is in Phoenix, Arizona.

I will be taking both shorts and my winter jacket.

Favorite foods at my destination include seafood and fruit.

My destination is at least one time zone away from that of Minnesota.

The rental car is probably a Hyundai.

Alright, speculate away and do your best to get those 1,500 points! See y'all on the 26th!