travel

London, Day Two!

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Good day, my friends! Phillip Davis here at it again sincerely and passionately to continue to be a Guest Blogger on the amazing and uncommon blog website of Kelsey V!

I am sure that you know by now that, yes, Kelsey and I love to eat and travel. So much that we basically have planned out our travel plans for 2025. Creating memories is very important in our lives, and for us, it’s been by traveling and spending that quality time together. So, with that being said, I present to you our London Day Two Blog!

Kelsey, Tori, Clark, and I woke up the next morning from our night “knight” caps and took the London Tube from Stratford to the Notting Hill Gate Station, which was about a 30-minute train ride on the Central Line into the city. After a short, brisk walk from the station, we made it to the popular Cheeky Scone, a bakery centered all around the scone and coffee scene that London has to offer. And, goodness did it offer! Kelsey and Tori tried out the Poppy Seed Scones while Clark and I went with the Chocolate Dipped Nutella scones, and boy was it all good!

Kelsey at the Cheeky Scone grand entrance!

Now each scone was offered with two huge (and I mean HUGE!) sides of our choice of jam and London’s clotted cream, which are both staples for eating with scones. At first, all four of us did not know how to eat the scones with the clotted cream and jam, but we saw some locals a few tables across from us. They broke the scones in half and then spread the clotted cream on each half first before putting the jam on the top of the clotted cream. So, an open-faced scone sandwich, if you will! We each had our own coffee to complement our scones, so we savored our lovely breakfast meal in this little cafe before we did other festivities for the day!

  • The scone lineup!
  • Chocolate covered scone & poppy scone!
  • My Hot Mocha, of course! 🙂
  • Scone + Clotted Cream & Raspberry Jam!

After our breakfast, we all decided to walk around foggy London town since we were in the heart of the city. Since we were very close to Kensington Gardens, and since the weather was nice, we decided to walk there and start there first. Upon entering the gardens from the West side, we saw the grand Kensington Palace and Queen Victoria Statue and walked our way around the Round Pond for a little while. After the Round Pond, we kept walking East until we made our way to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain and Hyde Park on the Eastern side. All of these scenes and monuments were very beautiful, and it really made us four reflect on just how much history London has (and we were just getting started on our trip).

While at the park, we also noticed that most of the locals were wearing grey and black apparel or more neutral colors. We also saw lots of dogs and folks riding bicycles, as well. It was all very picturesque in scene, and by this time around midday, we had walked over 20-thousand steps, but who was counting, ha! Then, of course, within minutes and out of nowhere, the rain started coming down so the four of us quickly made our way down to Harrods to, number one, get indoors out of the rain and two, to do some shopping!

We were inside Harrods for definitely more than an hour until the rain died down, but, of course, we purchased some London souvenirs there to bring home with us to remember the memories we created in London. Once the rain stopped, we left Harrods and continued walking East along our journey until we made our way to the Wellington Arch and Buckingham Palace! The palace was just as beautiful as I remembered from my very first trip to London around 20 years ago! This was Kelsey’s, Tori’s, an Clark’s first time to London, so to see their faces light up when we arrived to the palace was definitely priceless! We stayed there a while, sat around the Queen Victoria Memorial, and embraced the scenery all around us.

Kelsey. Looking up at the arch in awe!

As time seemed to fly by (like most vacations do), and since it was around mid afternoon as the day was getting wrapped up, we were definitely getting hungry at this point. So, we hopped on the Tube for a short ride to get some local fish and chips at Rock and Sole Plaice. We all got the Regular Plate of Cod Loin that came with their Signature Tarter Sauce. Kelsey and Tori got London Style Sides which came with homemade coleslaw, gherkins, pickled onion, pickled egg, and mushy peas. Clark and I ordered butter rolls with our meals. We all enjoyed our food with no leftovers at all! We washed our food down with their Rock and Sole Lager Beer and me with their Camden Pale Ale. This was definitely one of my favorite meals of the entire London trip, that’s for sure!

  • Rock and Sole rocked my soles off! 😂
  • Fish and Chips. What more can I say? Not much since I was devouring this!
  • Camden Ale of mine!
  • Beer. Enough said!

After our wonderful Lunch/Dinner (I like to call this “Linner) fish and chips, we called it a day out in the city and and took the tube back to the Moxy Hotel in Stratford where we, of course, took on some more rounds of What’s The Point and more drinks at the Moxy Lobby bar. After some games, we headed to bed to rest and prepare for day three!

My Moxy Welcome Drink, and what a big pour!

PS – I still have yet to beat Kelsey, Tori, and Clark in a game!! 🙂

Until Day Three blog, friends!

Love, Phillip!

a year of bakes-july

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a little over halfway through the year now, and the july bake definitely “takes the cake” in terms of fun. as you may have seen, phillip, mom, clark, and i visited london last month. as the plans started coming together (and knowing we were would be there on my birthday), i did a little looking and uncovered a little thing known as the big bakes. likely inspired by the great british bake off (but of course with no official affiliation), the big bakes makes baking classes accessible all over london and just happened to have some classes available while we were there. well, we knew what our plans would be that evening!

i won’t spoil for you what else we got to do that day, but after a lot of walking and a pint and a quick dinner, we took the tube to their east location off haggerston and stepped into our baking adventure. are you surprised to know i was squealing with excitement as we stepped through the refrigerator entrance? if you know me, you’re not surprised at all.

Read more: a year of bakes-july

we had arrived a little early so “oohed” and “aahed” as we entered their charming pantry bar. it’s like they know exactly what their clientele will like! with eats and drinks galore, there’s something for everyone, us included. we plopped in the corner booth and enjoyed coffees and champagne and bubbled over with anticipation. i think we were all still stunned that we were actually there, and it warms my heart immensely knowing that we can have such a blast just about anywhere we go. 🙂

oh, and in between sparkling sips, i squeezed in a little selfie session, too!

suddenly remembering we were there to bake and not just drink (which you can actually do), we were summoned to the tent! now, it was a typical rainy london day, so we hurried across the platform and to our stations. if you’ve ever watched the show, the format here is like the technical challenge. you don’t know what you’re making ahead of time, you’re given a recipe, and you have a time limit. it was exciting and terrifying all at once! now, to ensure these classes feel welcoming (and to ensure you tell all your friends about it and come back for more), the recipe is extremely detailed, the ingredients are premeasured, and all your equipment is already laid out for you. talk about being spoiled! oh, and to make it even better, you can bring your beverages from the bar with you and even order more throughout. this is my kind of baking!

following a brief explanation from the instructor, we suited up (i had purchased the birthday package so that we could don our hats and aprons, of course), and got to work. the theme that month was safari cakes, so we were tasked with baking our sponges, cooling them, and decorating them. oh, and then they would be judged in front of the entire class! although that tracks with the show, i definitely was intimidated. worry not; there were lots of home bakers and amateurs there, so we were in great company.

with only two hours on the clock, we dove on in and got to work. we mixed, we scraped, we filled, we baked. i’ve made countless cakes (excuse me, sponges) before, so that came naturally.

the part that stressed me out (and i sensed this in clark, too) were the choices we had to make. everyone got to pick their own flavors and decorations and finishing touches, and when you’re in a flurry of flour, sugar, and butter, it’s hard to focus! talk about being spontaneous. thankfully our partners were the calming force we needed, and soon enough our creations came together and were placed on the front table.

one by one, the instructor used an overwhelming large knife to cut an overwhelmingly large slice out of each of our cakes. each pair shared what kind of animal they chose, the flavors of their sponges and frostings, and (why not) the animal’s name. the instructor then provided a cursory judgment on our sponge textures, and a supporting applause was given to all. with so many creative and unique designs, it truly was such a cheery atmosphere!

now, are you dying to know what we made? mom and clark went for an almond sponge with orange zest and almond slices baked in and an orange frosting to create a tiger affectionately named aubie. phillip and i added some pink to our sponge to support the strawberry flavor we chose for everything on our zebra named woody. they make a dashing pair, don’t you think?

now, this whole “a year of bakes” blog series is focused on things i’ve not ever baked. the element new to me during this experience was the fondant we used on our zebra. i definitely don’t keep fondant stocked in our pantry so knew i wanted to include it. the eyes and nose and ears came about easy enough, although the proportions may have been a little off. where i struggled mightily, though, was with the stripes. i think my mistake was rolling the brown fondant too thinly, which caused it to tear tremendously as i tried to cut out each piece and lift if off the counter. i’ve a feeling it takes a lot of practice to really get the hang of working with fondant and don’t know if i’ll be trying my hand at it again any time soon. regardless, though, we got to use new ingredients and new tools and definitely make something i’ve never made before!

oh, and of course we had to see how they tasted! we lugged our cakes all the way back to stratford in their charming cake boxes and had a piece in the hotel lobby. writing about this bake makes me smile from ear to ear, and i will gladly cherish this memory for many years to come.

London, Day One!

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Hello there! It’s me, Phillip Davis again, husband to the amazingly uncommon, Kelsey V., who is the owner of this lovely blog website. It sure has been a little while since my last guest blog, and so, it is time to do another one! 😀

Kelsey and I have, of course, been doing some more traveling since we both have been having the urge to take some trips here and there since after the pandemic, and this lovely trip was one we were planning on doing a few years ago before the pandemic. So, what we decided to do, with the help from Kelsey and her side of the family, was to surprise Kelsey’s mom, Tori, and take her on a trip to London to celebrate her retirement! And, it was also really cool that Kelsey’s Birthday would fall during our time across the pond, so we had much to celebrate over there, for sure. So, without further, ado, let’s do this!

Due to the time difference between Atlanta, GA and London, which was a 5-hour difference, we decided to hop on a red eye flight through Delta Air Lines. We were supposed to take off around 5:30p.m. Eastern Daylight Time to arrive in London around 6:30a.m. British Summer Time (BST) the very next day on Saturday, July 6th, however we were delayed about 2 hours or so in Atlanta due to weather in the area and a minor fuel delay. Once the Atlanta weather subsided and our Boeing 767-400ER aircraft was fully fueled for the 8-hour night plane ride to London, we were on our way! What seemed like 8+ hours felt only like 2 or 3 hours because we were just so excited to get there! Oh, and the food on the plane was pretty good, as well! We could choose between a pasta dish or chicken, and since this was an international long-haul flight, drinks were included, as well! Thanks, Delta!

  • Our Delta B767-400ER that would take us “across the pond!” Relay For Life logo on the plane!
  • My usual drink choice from Sweetwater Brewing Company! 🙂
  • My pasta dish with tiramisu and quinoa on the flight back home. I didn’t get a picture on the way there since I ate my dinner rather quickly, ha!

We landed at London Heathrow International Airport around 8:30a.m. London time with some shuteye on the airplane. A few airline movies and music later, we felt a little bit jet lagged, but not too bad. Kelsey, Tori, and I got our luggage and went through immigration and customs, and shortly thereafter, met and hugged Kelsey’s brother, Clark, at the terminal’s arrivals and departures area! Since Clark lives in Chicago, he took a direct flight to Heathrow and arrived a few hours before us. So, what was 3 travelers became 4 when we met up with Clark!

Need I say more!?

Clark set up a shuttle service for us to get to the Moxy Hotel in Stratford, which is about a 15-20 minute London Tube train ride into London city. The Stratford we stayed at is East from London, and Stratford-upon-avon is West of the city. I thought they were one in the same, but they are not! Anyways, our shuttle driver was very kind and showed us some of the important landmarks throughout London and explained some other tips and tricks about navigating the huge city!

  • Jet lagged Phil!
  • Stratford, London!
  • The Moxy Hotel in Stratford!
  • Mamma Tori so excited to get on the London Tube for dinner!
  • The Elizabeth Line train we took for dinner on Day One!
  • The amazingly uncommon, Kelsey V, and me on the tube!
  • Tori and Clark excited for dinner on the tube!

Once we got to the hotel and checked in, we all decided to take a nap before our dinner reservation over at Dishoom in Shoreditch. Dishoom is a very popular Indian cuisine restaurant in London, and we ended up going to a location close by to the hotel and took the Tube to get there (see train pictures above)! It was INCREDIBLE! I had a chicken curry dish, Kelsey and Tori split a shrimp Indian dish with rice and curry beans, and Clark had a more traditional chicken dish. After dinner, we went over about a block away to a little alleyway that had multiple dessert shops on it. Kelsey and I headed on over to a little place called The After School Cookie Club Cookie Bakery where we ended up getting an ice cream cookie dessert while Tori and Clark got some ice cream at the dessert shop next door. Click on the pictures below for captions!

After our dessert, we took the Tube back to the hotel and sat down in the hotel lounge to have some drinks and the “cheers” to my lovely Kelsey’s Birthday and Mamma Tori’s Retirement. While drinking and hanging out, we 4 played one of Kelsey’s and my favorite card games called, “What’s The Point,” which was a game we found when we went to Albuquerque, New Mexico last year at that bar, Outpost 1706 – Downshift. The three of them won at least a round of card play each, but not me, haha! After a few rounds, we all decided to put on our night caps (or should I say knight caps) and head to bed. After all, we were still pretty jet lagged.

  • Ahhh, refreshing!
  • Classic Margarita!
  • I still have yet to beat them in a game! 😀

I will be back on Kelsey’s blog site here for London, Day Two soon!

Love, Phillip!

seattle – day 2

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our final day in seattle was a full one and started with a cozy breakfast at the condo. that is one of the advantages of a rental vs. a hotel: you usually have lots of space and kitchen access to cook for yourself if you care to. on our way back from the falls the day prior, we had stopped at the grocery store and scored a package of snoqualmie falls pancake mix! over sausage and pancakes and mugs of coffee, we gabbed and laughed and solved all the world’s problems. :)

we then washed up and made the short drive over to pike place market. the rain couldn’t keep us nor the locals and other tourists away. the streets were busy, and i can only imagine how swarmed it gets on the weekends and when the sun is out.

our first stop was a quick visit to the original starbucks. the line to order was stretched out the door, so we settled for a picture. i mean, a caramel macchiato here is a caramel macchiato there, right?

as we weaved in and out through the stalls and storefronts, we ended up joining in the fun at pike place fish market. this shop is known for its fish tossing attraction. yes, fish tossing! we did get to see some salmon thrown, and i decided it was time to face a decades-old fear of mine: eating a raw oyster. ages ago my mom and i were with some extended family for a west coast girls’ luncheon. the cousins insisted i have an oyster, and since my parents raised me to be a polite southern lady, i obliged. all i will say is that it’s a miracle i kept that slimy sucker down. now, older and maybe wiser, i figured if i was going to give them another chance, there was no better time or place. i paid my ten bucks, ripped the lid off the shot glass, and consumed that oyster with reckless abandon as the crowd cheered me on. the oyster was actually pretty small, and all the cocktail sauce certainly made the experience more tolerable. the best part, though, is that it was an historic moment that got captured in three parts. :)

i felt unstoppable and convinced mom and aunt cindy we should test our bravery with another seattle staple: the gum wall! folks, this thing is exactly what it sounds like and is as gross as you would think: two alley walls covered in gum. the smell is less than pleasant, but it was still fun to see it for ourselves (despite the faces i’m making here).

all this excitement had us hungry for a little snacky-snack, so we popped into piroshky piroshky bakery for some rolls. under flaky pastry were incredible aromas and big flavor, and mine reminded me of the meals you can get in the ikea cafeteria! the meatballs were well seasoned, but i definitely could have gone for more gravy. maybe a cup on the side for dipping? yes, i think that would have satisfied nicely.

now, what i have left untold until this moment is that aside from aunt nancy’s birthday bash and a general few days of pto, one of the next biggest reasons i was stoked for this trip was because of all the dates in all the cities in all the world, my favorite musician jamie cullum was performing in seattle that evening! the live music gods perfectly aligned all these things so that i could see him perform again. i’ve seen jamie’s concerts in atlanta, birmingham, chicago, and atlanta again. phillip and i had plans to see him in london once, but that trip was derailed due to the pandemic. so, i mean it when i say i’ve been waiting for years for this opportunity. now, we still had a couple hours until the doors opened and did not want to go all the way back to the condo and come all the way back out into town again. so, we spent some time nearby at pennyroyal. this spot is moody and dark but still inviting whether you’re there for a meal or just a cocktail. the drinks and food kept us warm, and it was the perfect way to bid the city farewell.

the time had come, so we hustled across virginia street and dodged the rain to arrive, at last, at the moore theatre for the concert. does this picture say it all? i was beside myself!

this intimate, old venue was full of character and drew a packed house to see jamie jump around on stage, dance with the crowd, hop on the piano, and sing all my favorites. mom and aunt cindy did not know his music and were so sweet to go along with me. as always, his performance was non-stop and energetic and reminded me why i love music (especially live music) so much. there was a lot of anticipation for this trip and this concert for so many months, and it delivered in every way i could have hoped.

seattle – day 1

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our first full day in seattle was packed with adventure and started with a proper french breakfast at le pichet. this spot had been highly recommended by several coworkers and was a delightful way to begin our morning. the space is narrow and cozy with tables close together. they have quite a spirits selection and proper espresso equipment, so i had the cutest cappuccino, and aunt cindy had a pretty and delicious latte.

our waitress mentioned the chef had a few buns left, so we ordered the last of them for the table. don’t these look food magazine worthy! they were slightly sweet and melt-in-your-mouth tender. so far so good!

we knew we’d need more than a little bread to hold us over for our upcoming excursion, so mom ordered the yogurt (a small serving but tasty, she said), aunt cindy enjoyed the oeufs plats jambon et fromage (i was grateful she offered me a bite!), and i ate the salad de tomates avec fruits a noyau, chevre et vinaigrette au jambon. all that produce was so fresh, and as fancy chefs say, a bite of it all at once just made everything “sing.”

with fuel in the car and our bellies, we drove east to tour snoqualmie falls. aunt cindy had heard of it and always wanted to visit, so visit we did! the fall colors were just starting to show off, and we lucked out with a warm (albeit windy) afternoon.

aside from the mighty power of these falls, my favorite element were these words all about the grounds. they were so playful and inspiring and very unique.

the clouds and rain eventually arrived, so we moseyed over to downtown snoqualmie and took refuge in snoqualmie falls brewery. i would have liked to belly up to the charming covered bar, but the weather just was not in the mood to cooperate. oh well, you can still drink beer and eat snacks inside! between sips of this and bites of that, we talked all about the latest in each others’ lives. it’s so interesting and fun getting to still be a daughter and niece to these ladies but having adult conversations. times change, life forms and reforms. i feel lucky to have this pair in my circle.

evening approached, and it was slow going back to seattle. by the time we shrugged off our coats and untied our boots, we were tuckered out and in no mood at all to head back into the city. cue doordash! since it had grown cold, we concluded big bowls of steamy ramen would hit the spot, and they sure did! we tried ramen-ya teinei, and our order was accurate and on time. while mom spooned up dinner, i worked my tech magic to get dancing with the stars streaming on the tv. the host didn’t have regular cable, so after logging into aunt cindy’s directv account and then airplaying her ipad to the tv, we were in business! hot ramen and reality tv. what more could we have wanted?

seattle – evening 1

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our visit to anacortes had come to an end, but we weren’t done with washington just yet! mom, aunt cindy, and i decided to tag on a few extra days and explore seattle. i’ve been to seattle once when my small group was passing through for a trip to alaska. so, it was like a whole new world!

we got a bit of a late start so only had time to really check into our airbnb and grab some dinner that monday evening. our airbnb was a clean, spacious, well-stocked condo in the queen anne area. the owner refers to it as the “kraken cabin,” and all the host instructions were easy to follow. i imagine this view west (and the sweet little porch) is even more pleasant when the sun is out. 🙂

we unpacked a bit and started to do a little online looking to figure out what we wanted to eat. sometimes you know just what you are craving. that night was not one of those nights, lol. so much sounded so good! however, the travel gods looked down on us because we found in the condo a binder full of recommendations from the host. what luck! page after page listed different types of food and different parts of town with all sorts of suggestions. you could find just about anything in there! with the rain picking up and our bellies rumbling, we decided the nearby queen anne beerhall was worth a visit. oh, and worth a visit it was!

as mentioned in another recent post, i have never had the pleasure of going to europe, but wow, this experience felt very authentic! long tables and benches as far as the eye can see, raucous kraken fans ready to root on their hockey team, and pint after pint of beer. what a find!

we squeezed into a table between two pairs of coworkers who were humorous and kind to us out-of-towners and all our questions. if any of you knows us three, you know we are not afraid to strike up a conversation. two of those folks we met were mustafa and christopher. mustafa is an attorney and christopher is a soon-to-be-attorney at a local law firm. throughout the conversation, we found out mustafa grew up in huntsville (what are the odds?) and that christopher has a little eastern europe heritage (again, who would have thought!). it was such a serendipitous meeting, and i could not have planned it better if i tried. we got their stories, they got our stories, and they were so sweet to recommend a whole bunch of local spots for us to try during our stay. i love that they obliged our “old school” request to write the restaurants down instead of just punching them into our phone. plus, this napkin will make for a great page in my scrapbook!

over our chatter and cheers and laughter, we shared the giant pretzel, grilled corn, beet salad, and cheese curds. everything was fresh and rich and flavorful, and i bet if i lived within walking distance i’d be a regular. even though it is good to go through life with a plan, sometimes the most unplanned things end up being the best. mustafa and christopher, thank you for tolerating our little trio. if you’re ever in atlanta, i’d be happy to return the favor!

an anacortes occasion

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earlier this year, i was pleasantly surprised and quite flattered to receive an invitation to my great aunt nancy’s 90th birthday celebration up in anacortes, washington. with plenty of pto and some miles burning a hole in my virtual wallet, my mom and i took a week off from work to venture up to and around the pacific northwest.

our flight saturday morning to seattle was, blessedly, uneventful. however, our luck was short-lived once we got to the rental car center. long story short, i couldn’t pick up the car my husband reserved for us because my name wasn’t on the profile. then, i had the pleasure of waiting for an hour to get a car from a different provider. after declining all the add-on insurance and taking the elevator down a couple floors, we threw our bags into the trunk of our zippy kia soul and hopped on i-5 to make our way north. you know, i feel like we got the true washington state experience right off the beat. downtown traffic, cloudy skies, and rain.

thankfully we weren’t really in a hurry, so it was nice to cruise along and take in the sights of the evergreen state. we all know atlanta is called the city in the trees, but everything here is just so lush. some leaves had started changing, but i think in a couple weeks’ time, the trees will really be showing off.

about two and half hours later, we turned into wisteria gardens. this place was just so picturesque! from the chic farmhouse to the nearby pumpkin patch, i couldn’t imagine a better backdrop for the evening, which was a whirlwind of hugs, meeting new people, re-meeting family i hadn’t seen in decades, eating, drinking, and dancing. the elvis cover band was a huge hit, and i am so grateful we were included in the celebration. aunt nancy, i hope i look as good as you when i’m 90! if you have any secrets to share with my generation, i’m all ears. 🙂

once the party wrapped up, we headed back to the cabin nearby. it had a peaceful view of skagit bay, and we spent the night enjoying some red washington wine while puzzling and solving the world’s problems. it’s so interesting to hear how our conversations have transformed over the years and through different stages of life. so grateful for these women!

sunday was our final day in anacortes, and we piled up and headed to mark’s and shamay’s for some brunch. there were cars and people and food everywhere, and i grabbed a seat out on the porch. what a pleasant view! i feel lucky to have family like this, where you are welcome to join the fun as you are and, generally speaking, the more, the merrier.

after brunch, mom, aunt cindy, sara, julian, and i went to fernhill cemetery to visit and pay our respects to some of the extended family. these grounds are so quiet, and even if i do not make it back up here in my lifetime, i am glad we took some time to remember where this side of my family comes from and who part of me is.

as i am certain i’ve written before, our family is always ready to eat. so, we met our cousin lorri in nearby la conner for a little small town afternoon. the drive there was so relaxing, and i cannot believe all the dahlias we saw along the way. i mean, these things were mondo-sized and everywhere and in every shade you can imagine. i didn’t get to snap a picture, but my mom was sure to because my sister-in-law kari loves these blooms. kari, you would have been in heaven up here!

we ended up having lunch at la conner seafood and prime rib house, which was the same place that catered the party the night prior. we started with the spinach artichoke dip, which was scarfed down quickly. i then treated myself to a cup of clam chowder and crab cakes. the chowder was fine, but the crab cakes were worth every penny and every bite (despite this poor photo quality, i promise).

while we’d been having lunch, phillip had separately mentioned to me that it recently was national ice cream day, so it was easy to convince julian we should go for a scoop! just down a block at lulu’s espresso & ice cream, he had a cone of cherry ice cream, and i went for a cup of triple chocolate. i think he liked his, yes? 🙂

that night was extra dreary out, so we stayed in and munched on leftovers. julian and i got to play in the loft upstairs, and i was quick to fall asleep after such a fun day. i’ve a feeling it’s easy to do that up here. thank you for the memories, anacortes!

new mexico – day 2

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our bodies were still two hours ahead, so when we woke up early friday morning, we decided to make the most of the day and start out with a workout at otf albuquerque. a short 5-minute drive away, we arrived at the studio and were politely cautioned by the front desk staff about exercising at high altitudes (less oxygen, folks). we did heed their warning and felt a big difference even in just the first few minutes of the warm-up! i quickly realized i needed to slow it down and pace myself if i was going to last the entire class, which i somehow did (even if just barely). coach greg was kind and checked in on us regularly and thanked us for joining him.

feel the burn!

with our bodies now feeling a little more tired but also a little stronger, we naturally now needed to refuel them. cue the next food scene! we were ready for some brunch action over at the range cafe. this place is funky and cozy and warm and open all at the same time, and the smells that hit our noses right as we walked in had me thinking, “yes, i think this is gonna be good.”

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new mexico – day 1

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like many folks, phillip and i had built up airline rewards over the past couple of years, and one of them (the companion certificate by delta) was set to expire soon. however, “soon” was sooner than we though, as instead of having to only have booked our trip by the end of january, we had to have taken our trip by the end of january. so, it was adventure-planning time!

we considered many possible destinations but very randomly decided to check out new mexico. aside from visiting a state we hadn’t yet, there were no specific reasons we chose the land of enchantment. quite different from the typical big city vacations we take, i’ll spoil it all for you now and tell you that new mexico did not disappoint.

we landed in albuquerque just before noon, checked into the hotel early, and then bundled up to begin exploring. we learned very quickly just how cold the high desert gets in winter; we had our boots and big ski jackets with us always! with it being lunchtime, we checked out the first of many restaurant recommendations: frontier right across from the university of new mexico campus (go lobos!). we’d previously been educated about proper chile-ordering etiquette so started with the breakfast burrito (per the cashier’s suggestion) and chicken enchiladas (with Christmas chile on the side). we were quite excited for our first serving of authentic new mexican cuisine, and although we did eat everything we were served and even ordered a sweet roll for dessert, everything tasted only fine (especially compared to the other new mexican food we would eat later in the trip). i don’t know if disappointed is the right word but do think phillip and i secretly wondered, “is this the best of the best?” good news, folks, it was not.

on our way to frontier (which, by the way, was via THE route 66), phillip had spied a cookie shop. you know what that meant, we had to stop in for some dessert (er, second dessert in this case). we popped into rude boy cookies and were extremely pleased. phillip had a deconstructed ice cream sandwich. it included a mammoth scoop of chocolate blue bell ice cream (although i would have liked some homemade ice cream, you generally cannot go wrong with blue bell) and warmed up and crumbled chocolate chip cookies and double chocolate cookies. i think his face says it all.

ice cream and popcorn (for national popcorn day!)
this was his “i’m getting full but still going to eat it all” face

i went for something a little less complex but equally satisfying: a homemade oatmeal cream pie. you read that right, folks, and although i would not call myself an oatmeal cream pie expert, i could find nothing wrong with this one. it had a perfect balance of slightly spicy but deliciously sweet flavors. and that filling? i could have eaten it by the batch.

we were a little tired from our travels so took a couple hours of rest back at the hotel. what i’ll say is that it is very easy to get around town. the duke city is essentially a grid, and so long as you can locate i25 and i40, you should be able to find your way. if you ever are in abq and have a car, though, heed this warning (which a local was kind enough to share): leave nothing visible in your car. apparently, there is a lot of property crime in the city. so, essentially anything not tied down can be a target. rest assured we stayed smart and never felt unsafe during our visit.

refreshed and not quite ready to call it a night, it was time for more eating! this next spot was highlighted on the local map, and little did we know we were trying a spot that had been featured on albuquerque’s “best of” list in 2022. i present to you clowndog hot dog parlor!

i know hot dogs gross lots of folks out, which just means more hot dogs for the rest of us! clowndog is as fun and circus-themed on the inside as you would hope it would be, and with an extensive menu, tvs, a bar, and outdoor seating, they have something for everyone. phillip and i started out with a couple of local brews and then dug into our generously-topped hot dogs.

phillip went for the tailgater clowndog creation. i promise there was a dog underneath all those pinto beans, coleslaw, bbq sauce, and bacon! these hot dogs definitely require a fork and knife, so don’t be shy to ensure each bite includes some of each mouthwatering ingredient.

i was inclined to try the frito dog but last-minute decided to build my own. mine included an all-beef hot dog on a traditional bun with heaping helpings of mac’n’cheese, bacon, and (per the waitress’ recommendation) green chile sauce. folks, don’t you dare make a grimacing face. this combination slapped (as the young folks say these days). to translate for those who don’t know the modern saying “slapped,” that means it was EXCELLENT. the rich mac’n’cheese with the zippy green chile sauce made for a heavenly bite so good to finish. if you ever visit albuquerque, i implore you to give clowndog a chance. you might surprise yourself how fun (and delicious) it is to go outside the box sometimes.

so, that was a wrap on our first day in new mexico. everyone we encountered was quite polite, the food redeemed itself by the end of the day, and we went to bed excited to explore more of this new-to-us state. stand by for what happened next!

greetings from greenville

kdavis Leave a comment

this post and this greeting are a little tardy, but happy new year nonetheless! and happy reading as i catch you up on all the things we did in greenville, sc for thanksgiving last year. as i often say, better late than never. 🙂

the company

phillip’s uncle steve and aunt pam hosted us, his sister natalie and her boyfriend dave, and cousin tony for thanksgiving. it was a day full of resting, football watching, spirit drinking, and delicious eating. i don’t mind getting fancy every now and then, but it’s so nice to be with folks who are happy just being together. can’t wait to see them all again soon!

the activities

of course we did do a lot of eating (more on that soon), but all things require balance, so we did stay active while on vacation. we squeezed in a couple classes at the local orangetheory fitness and enjoyed walking all the bridges and seeing the sights in downtown. i can only imagine how scenic it is in the spring and fall seasons!

the eats and the drinks

now, it wouldn’t be a phillip and kelsey trip if we didn’t eat our way through town, and greenville was no exception. some places the locals recommended, others we stumbled upon on ourselves, all were good enough to go back. check out these spots if you’re ever in town!

  • this bagel had honey and pecans and peanut butter and a banana. REAL GOOD. (coffee underground)
  • phillip ordered this fancy mocha with lovely latte art on top. (coffee underground)
  • can you guess where we were? (eggs up grill)
  • phillip loves coffee! and so do i. 🙂
  • we split some eggs benny. (eggs up grill)
  • we also split a side of salty, crispy corned beef hash. yum! (eggs up grill)
  • we lucked out with gorgeous weather this day. nice enough to enjoy a pint outside! (fireforge)
  • cheers! (fireforge)
  • pretzels, mustard, and pimento beer cheese. heavenly. (fireforge)
  • a nice little wine flight at foxcroft.
  • more carbs! truffle and parmesan french fries at foxcroft.
  • more smiles!
  • caprese salad at trattoria giorgio. the pastas were pretty good, too.
  • last stop, sully’s steamers!
  • I LOVE BAGELS.
  • more bagels! (sully’s steamers)

all in all, our visit to greenville was 100% enjoyable and made better by the fact that it is only a quick 2-hour drive from our house! i expect we will find ourselves back again in 2023.