New York, New York

Wednesday - I wake up at 5:45 a.m. and leave the house by 6:30 a.m. I’m off to the airport bound for New York City. Lots of storm clouds in the sky, so the flight is rough. I land to a gray, cloudy day in New York. I take a cab to the Ace Hotel on 29th Street between 5th and Broadway. The Ace here is just as vibey as the one in Portland, OR. Angie at the front desk checks me in, but I’m too early to get a room. I sit in the lobby and book appointments for another other hour or so. Would love to have some great New York food for lunch, but my time is short. I eat at Quizno’s across the street. It is actually still really good.

The Ace Hotel lobby:

It’s finally time to walk to my first appointment. It starts to sprinkle as I step out of the hotel and onto 29th. By the time I’m to 23rd, it is raining - hard. I check my phone to confirm the address and see an e-mail that just arrived from my appointment. He left town yesterday and forgot to tell me he needed to cancel. Now it’s pounding down rain twice as hard. Even with an umbrella, I’m nearly soaked by the time I get back to the hotel from the non-appointment.

More phone calls in the lobby. I check into the room. Very cool place. The room is small, but I expected that. Lots of dark gray and white. Kind of industrial in a cool way.

It’s now time to head to my next appointment. Even walking to get a cab, I get drenched. I have a good meeting at Atlantic records, then a good visit at BMI. On the way to BMI, I hear this much of a conversation passing a couple on the sidewalk: “The difference between what you think when you say you’re cranky and what I think when you say you’re cranky is…” I would have loved to have heard the rest of that conversation. It sounds like they are having quite the day.  It's now late afternoon.  A quick subway ride gets me to the thirties and I walk the rest of the way back to the hotel.  After a quick clothing change, I take the subway to 66th Street close to Lincoln Center.

I'm a fan of the various tile creations in the New York subways:

I have some dim sum at Shun Lee Café, an old favorite.

One of the paper sculptures that emerge from the walls and ceilings in Shun Lee Cafe':

Across Broadway from Lincoln Center:

Lincoln Center:

I cross the street after dinner to the Vivian Beumont Theater in Lincoln Center to see South Pacific. I take my seat in center orchestra row J, seat 304, right in the center. It’s a very different Broadway production than I am used to seeing. The stage is a full 180°, is very deep, and the set design is simple in some ways, but very effective. This show has a large orchestra as well. The show and performances are strong. I can see why it won some Tony Awards this year. It’s very well done. The only complaint for this theater is that my knees are squeezed into the seat in front of me. I overhear the same complaint from others around me.

I take the subway back downtown, have a slice of mushroom pizza and a diet Coke on the way back to the room, do some work and go to bed.

Another tile mosaic in the subways:

The view of the Empire State Building a block from my hotel:

The picture below looks like a framed photo of the Empire State Building, but it is the view from my room when I return from Lincoln Center:

Thursday - I worked late last night into the early morning hours. It’s tough to get out of bed this morning. When I do, I’m rewarded in the hotel lobby with a nice fluffy croissant served with butter and Bonne Maman wild blueberry preserves. The familiar red and white checkered lid is always a sign that something good is inside. I’ve never had the Wild Blueberry before. It is my new favorite. After my croissant and orange juice, I’m a new man.

Off to the Manhattan Espresso Café at 49th between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue to meet my friend Amy. We find a quiet courtyard to catch up on each other’s lives and talk music. After a lovely visit, it’s off to RCA records for a visit with my friend Keith. It’s always nice to come back to 550 Madison Avenue. I’ve spent many days working in here over the years. I catch up with him until it’s time for my lunch meeting.

It’s off to the west side to the BBC. I’m having lunch with my boyhood friend Brian. I haven’t seen him in at least fifteen years. We have lunch at Five Napkin Burger. The salmon burger here is killer. What a great visit with an old friend.

Now to Mercury Records. I have a good meeting there, then head to Universal Music Publishing to see another old friend, Tom. I’ve had bad phone problems all day. It may be from the soaking I got yesterday. Tom helps me find an AT&T store two blocks away. The people there are great, but they can’t replace my phone. This is a problem as I can only end calls by taking out the battery. They direct me to their service center near Herald Square to get a replacement. They’re short-handed with people leaving sick. Two hours of waiting later, I have a new phone.

Looking south from the corner of my hotel's street at the Flatiron Building:

I have dinner around the corner from the Ace at Wallys Wood Oven Pizza. It’s a flat crust pizza with very fresh ingredients. In fact, it even has a fresh herb bar. Pick up a pair of scissors and clip some fresh basil, rosemary, or other herbs to garnish your pizza. After the herbs, I pick up a shaker to cover my pizza with parmesan. This looks like very light colored parmesan to me, but other things are unusual here so I go with it. I sit down and take my first bite. That wasn’t parmesan in the shaker. It was salt. My beautiful pizza is ruined, covered in salt. I take it to the counter, offer to buy another one, but they won’t hear of it. My new pizza is fantastic.

The herb bar at Wally's:

Friday – I wake up, throw on some clothes, and head straight for the lobby. I’m hooked on the croissant with butter and Wild Blueberry preserves with orange juice for breakfast. Today is another good day of meetings along with a little shopping along the way. The perfect combination!

On my way to a meeting at Wind-Up Records, I notice a landmark I've only heard about as I come up out of the subway onto the street.  It's Les Halles, the french bistro where author and television host Anthony Bourdain worked when he was writing Kitchen Confidential.  I've always been curious about the food at Les Halles.  After my meeting, I have one of their classics, steak au poivre avec pom frittes.  The steak is very good, especially the sauce, and the fries are delicious.  I have to go for a another classic, the chocolate mousse for dessert.  I can't imagine a huge difference from one to the next, but this might actually be the best chocolate mousse I've had.

I meet friend and former band mate Rick at a salon he owns to go to dinner. We head to the lower west side of town for dinner. After driving around a while and giving this decision much consideration, we eat at a place he knows called Crispo’s. It’s one of the finer meals I’ve had in a while. We start with peaches layered with prosciutto, parmesan, and balsalmic vinegar – excellent. We follow that with one of my favorites, zucchini flowers. The main course is duck with leeks and figs in a port reduction. We also have some pasta with sausage and broccolini. We finish with a chocolate torte. It’s a fantastic meal combined with great conversation and overdue catching up between friends. We drive to the lower east side to see where Rick’s next salon location will be. Rick returns me to the hotel where I catch up on more work. It’s now 2:40 a.m. I’m going to bed.

Saturday –Finally a day with no rain. It’s beautiful today. I have a breakfast meeting this fine Saturday morning at Friend of a Farmer on Irving Place between 18th and 19th. The faux farmhouse décor is inviting and the breakfast omelet served in a cast iron skillet is tasty. After this fine start, I get in a nice walk, then head to the Hammstein Ballroom for Superchick’s concert. The afternoon goes well and show is powerful and exciting. I finish off the evening with one more pizza from Wally’s. How could this day end any better?

This has been a great few days in New York. I used to love to come to New York more than anywhere, then got more involved with travel to other places and didn’t have as much desire for it. The combination of staying at the Ace, not staying in a touristy section of town, and spending more time with friends here, has made it special for me again. I’m looking forward to my next trip to New York.

Times Square:

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

7.9.09 Today, I make a trip to the furthest north part of Wisconsin that I’ve ever visited, the town of Oshkosh. I land in Chicago, from where I will eventually make the three hour drive north. I first make a side trip from O’Hare to downtown for a meeting with a friend at an ad agency. The agency’s building, the Aon, sits on the north end of Millennium Park on Wacker. It’s been a few years since visiting here, and it takes a little longer than expected. I’m supposed to turn on State Street which I discover is closed for construction. I finally make my way around, miss the first pass at the parking area, but eventually make it to the right spot. I make my way to the 40th floor, enjoy a great view of the city and the park, and a great visit with my friend. It’s a quick stop in the city today, but I have a large window of time blocked off to come back tomorrow. Now to head north.

The three hour drive is fairly uneventful except for some very slow traffic coming out of Chicago. The scenery doesn’t change much crossing into Wisconsin until about a half hour south of Oshkosh. Here, the countryside becomes a little greener, the hills roll a little more, and more trees make up the landscape.

My first stop in Oshkosh is the place where I’ll be staying tonight, the Brayton Bed and Breakfast on Church Avenue. It’s even nicer than expected. It’s warm and inviting. It is an 1867 house built by a lumberman for his wife. I’m in the smallest room, the Brayton Suite, but it is not small at all. It’s a comfortable corner room with a very large bath. The public areas of the house, combined with the owner Nicole’s personal warmth and hospitality, gives me the feeling of staying at a family friend’s home.

On my way to the exposition center for the Lifest festival, I take a few moments to see the city of Oshkosh. There is great architecture here. In fact, it is the architecture that brought the makers of the current Johnny Depp-Christian Bale film Public Enemies to shoot some of the movie here in Oshkosh. I pass by the First National Bank (photo below), the library, and other buildings that are featured in the film.
It’s a beautiful night here. It must be about seventy degrees with a strong breeze. It’s a long night as well. I finally make it back to the Brayton about 3:00 AM.

7.10.09 - Even though I got in at 3:00 AM last night, I have to get up early for an 8:30 AM breakfast. I’m glad that it appears everyone in the house decided to schedule breakfast for the same time. There is a lovely family here from Wisconsin for Lifest as well as Sabra, a very nice woman from Texas here to compete in the distance events at the USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships. We have a delicious breakfast, I get some work done in the room, then it’s time to make my way south. I make two more stops in Oshkosh before leaving. I stop in Crescent Moon Antiques and Salvage to look at their architectural salvage. They have some great things, and I get some good ideas for our home, but I don’t find anything that I have to take with me today.

The next stop is the Paine Art Center and Gardens. I saw an ad at the B&B for the exhibit “Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography from George Eastman House Collections.” I decided that I would like to see that before I leave. The Paine Art Center turns out to be a beautiful mansion of Tudor and Gothic styles built by another lumberman, Nathan Paine. He was married to Jesse Kimberly, of the family behind the company Kimberly-Clark. The depression killed their plans for the home. It was not completed until after Nathan’s death, and they never lived in it. They had made plans some time before that for it to be the beautiful museum it is today. The exhibit is good, but the home, its furnishings, and its creatively designed gardens make the biggest impression. It’s definitely worth a visit when in Oshkosh.

It’s now time to make the trip to Chicago. On a gasoline break, I by chance pass the headquarters of Harley-Davidson. The place I really want to see, though, is a place I passed yesterday not too far from the Wisconsin-Illinois state line – Mars Cheese Castle. If you’re coming to Wisconsin, you want a cheese experience, right? I love road side Americana like this, and Mars is worth the stop. It’s a cheese store with a cocktail bar. Imagine Cracker Barrel with a bar in the back. A sample of four-year old cheddar is worth the stop. Wish I could take some of this with me.

Here’s where I make a truly long story short. The three hour drive to downtown Chicago takes six hours. I spend most of the day parked on roads and interstates in traffic. It’s fairly unbelievable. The time I had blocked to be in Chicago is gone. I literally pull onto State Street in downtown Chicago at the exact time I have scheduled to leave for the airport. I don’t even park. I keep on driving, pointing the car west, and make the stop and go in traffic drive to O’Hare. This has been one of the more frustrating days of driving I can remember.

At least I arrive at O’Hare in plenty of time. A treat of Garrett’s popcorn, a Chicago landmark, helps take the edge off. I get a diet Coke and The Mix – Cheese popcorn and Caramel popcorn combined. My day just got better. The flight home is a little bouncy, shaking up “The Flight of the Conchords” on my iPod Touch, but it’s good to be going home.

Harrisburg/Hershey, Pennsylvania

6.25-26.09 – I’m going to the Creation Festival in Mt. Union, PA today. United Airlines gets me to Harrisburg, PA via one small plane connecting to another small plane through Washington, D.C.  I get my Dollar rental car and take a quick spin around some local sites before getting to Mt. Union. I drive past the Pennsylvania state capitol, which is quite an impressive building and complex. When planning to come here, the other place I discovered is nearby is Hershey, PA. I can’t be this close and not see one of the capitols of chocolate.  I had to pass Cadbury World in England a few weeks ago.  I'm not making that mistake again!

Driving into town is lots of fun. I arrive on Chocolate Avenue. The street lamps are covered to look like candy kisses. This town is a great piece of history. I make a quick stop to Chocolate World on the Hershey property. There are a few things to do here, like a 3D movie and a factory experience ride. The main thing, though, is huge array of more Hershey-related merchandise than you can imagine; playing cards, salt and pepper shakers, you name it. The only thing I do is a quick ride through the Factory World experience. It is educational, but frankly a bit annoying as well. Imagine lots of loud singing cows mixed with a large dose of the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney World.

Off to Mt. Union, PA. The Pennsylvania countryside near Mt. Union is beautiful. The mountains and forests, the small towns –it’s all very peaceful and stirring at the same time. After Creation, I make a late night trip back to Harrisburg. It takes about two hours. I check in about 2:30 a.m., with a 7:30 a.m. wake-up call for the flight home tomorrow. Not much sleep tonight, but a good day here in Pennsylvania.

Next week: My 50th State - Alaska

There hasn't been a spare minute to write, but updates are coming. Look for posts soon about recent trips to Chicago, Harrisburg/Hershey Pennsylvania, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, New York City, St. Louis, and more.

I'm very excited about next week's trip - Alaska. I've been to forty-nine wonderful states. This trip will complete the set. Stories from the great state of Alaska, my 50th state, coming soon!

Bonnaroo: Manchester, Tennessee

6.14.09 My friend Jon came in from LA late last week for Bonnaroo. He gave me a call and said that I could have his laminates for Sunday. I’ve always wanted to see Bonnaroo, so I’m glad to take him up on the offer. I call my friend Jimmy to come along.  We drive down to Manchester, TN late in the afternoon. It’s warm, but still a nice day. We’re expecting lots of traffic since over 70,000 people are expected to attend. Fortunately, we drive straight down I-24 East with no traffic problems at all. We take the Manchester exit, venture off the main road into farmland for about ten minutes, then pull right into a parking area in a field. We do our best to determine some kind of bearings, then head for the stage area.

We pass some unique concession marketing

Passing through the tents a large variety of unusual items on the walk to main stage

 

After walking forty-five minutes through camp sites and vendors, we make it. There are a few bizarre sights to be sure, but it is a surprisingly chilled environment. No real pushing and shoving or attitude, despite there being tens of thousands of people.

Looking over tens of thousands of people facing main stage

Then looking back at thousands more behind us

Not long after our arrival, Snoop Dog launches his set on the main stage. We walk around to the other stages and see Coheed & Cambria, Neko Case, and others, all playing at the same time.

Coheed & Cambria

This Tent stage with Neko Case

With the laminates, we get access to back stage. It’s fun to see some people like Kristen Schaal, who plays Mel on Flight of the Conchords, standing near us sidestage watching Neko Case. The top benefit of having backstage passes, however, is having access to the Port-o-Johns backstage that aren’t sitting in water of unknown origin like the ones in the public area.

There’s a great vibe here. I’m really enjoying myself. Around 8:00 p.m., we head back to the main stage. Tonight’s headliner is Phish. They play well and are obviously a favorite of this kind of crowd. Bruce Springsteen will join them onstage later for a surprise guest appearance, performing “Mustang Sally,” “Bobby Jean,” and “Glory Days.”

We decide it’s time to start heading toward the car. We start walking in generally the right direction. Things look quite a bit different at night. We ask a couple of people who work there who assure us we must be in day parking. It sounds reasonable to us, although there was nothing that said what the names of the parking was.

After one hour and forty-five minutes of walking in the dark through fields and campsites, we finally find the car. It turns out we weren’t in the day parking area after all. We are beat. Fortunately, although we had some times of frustration, we’re in good spirits. Bonnaroo was a great experience. We both want to come back next year.

Ireland: Dublin to Home

6.3.09 - Posting on this coming soon! To read about this trip to England, Scotland, and Ireland from the beginning, go back in the older posts until you reach the first one and work your way up from there. Alternately, you can click on the labels to your right, clicking United Kingdom first, read that, then click on Ireland, always starting from the bottom and working your way up to the latest post.

Click on any picture to see it larger.

More photos will follow soon!

Ireland: Dublin

6.2.09 - We wake up this morning to another gorgeous day of sunshine and mild weather in Dublin. We’ve been told often what unusual weather this is. It is apparently rainy or overcast in Dublin, and Ireland in general, most of the time. We’ve had beautiful weather every day of our trip, with just a touch of rain the day we were in Thornbury.

We enjoy a relaxed morning in our room at the Shelbourne Hotel and depart a little after 11:00 a.m. for some sightseeing. We walk along St. Stephen’s Green past Dawson Street and Kildare, then turn north on Grafton Street. We stop by Brown Thomas department store to window shop. Brown Thomas carries clothing by many well known designers as well as home furnishings. It’s interesting to see. Our next stop is Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. This ancient book was created around 800 A.D. by monks in Iona and contains the Bible embellished with finely detailed art. The pages are vellum, created from calf skin. The inks and paints were created from various minerals and plants. It is quite something to see. There are just four pages available to see at any one time along with four pages from similar books of that era.

From Trinity College, we shop a little at House of Ireland, enjoy something to drink at Insominac Coffee Shop, then walk several blocks to Dublin Castle. We take a forty-five minute guided tour though this unexpectedly grand building. Our guide is excellent and brings the stories and history of the castle to life in her telling and obvious pride in her country.

After a late lunch in the castle café, it is now 4:15 p.m. We still want to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, so we must fly to get there. We walk quickly and arrive at 4:40 p.m. The castle is supposed to be open until 5:15, but we are told when we arrive that it closes at 5:00 p.m. today. We are out of Euros for the admission, so I run to the grocery store across the street, get cash, and we sneak in for the last few minutes. It is quite a place. St. Patrick is said to have baptized from a well in this area. In 1901, the well was discovered in an excavation along with a stone marking the site.

After shutting down St. Patrick’s, we realize the shops will be closing soon and Teresa has one more stop she would like to make. We are fans of Butler’s Irish Chocolate. There is a Butler’s Chocolate Café on Grafton near our hotel. The streets are anything but a grid, so there is no direct route there. The GPS I brought along helps guide our walk there and we arrive before closing. With a stock of chocolate in hand, we grab some food to eat for breakfast tomorrow and a magazine for the flight, then make our way back toward our hotel.

Later, we enjoy dinner at Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Seafood. It was recommended in a couple of different places and is just a few doors down from the Shelbourne. Our server, a lady from the Czech Republic, brings us the best foccacia bread I’ve had along with fresh butter ranking with the best as well. Next up, fresh Carlingford and Galway oysters are served with a half lemon, a red vinegar with diced shallots to drizzle on the oysters, and Tabasco sauce. The oysters are wonderful. The Carlingford are briny and the Galway, our favorite of the two, are mild and sweet. Next is a half grilled lobster with a side of basil and tomatoes for me, spinach with shallots for Teresa. Delicious. A couple at the next table introduce themselves to us. They are from New Jersey and saw us at the Book of Kells viewing today. They are sweet and give us their congratulations on our anniversary.

When we return to the Shelbourne, we stop at the hotel’s Lord Mayor’s Lounge for a tea on our way up to the room. It’s a peaceful relaxing time in this nearly 200 year old tea room. Our server pours me tea from a white china pot with silver trim through a strainer to catch the loose leaves. I top it with a bit of milk and sweetener and enjoy some freshly made butter cookies with currants. Teresa and spend some time soaking in the moment, relaxing, and talking about our favorite moments during the trip.

*Photos for this post coming soon!

Ireland: Kilkenny-Wexford-Dublin

Kilkenny Castle

6.1.09 - We wake up at the Butler House in Kilkenny, dress, and walk across the gardens separating the Butler House and Kilkenny Castle to the old stables. The stables now house a restaurant and galleries of Irish crafts. The breakfast is another amazing one. One, like the previous days, that will probably hold us all day until dinner.

After checking out of the Butler House, we walk across the gardens to take a tour of Kilkenny Castle. Kilkenny Castle has been standing in some form for over eight hundred years. It was privately owned for centuries until 1967. It is a beautiful place, as castles tend to be. There are some unique things about touring it, such as being able to see the foundation below ground and how it was built. It also contains the second longest room in Ireland housing paintings owned by the household, some dating to the 1600's. The longest room, by the way, is at Trinity College in Dublin. We hope to visit there tomorrow.

Our hotel, the Butler House

Kilkenny Castle

After the castle tour, we walk down Patrick Street to High Street, then cut across to see St. Mary Cathedral. Another spectacular building.

The floor in St. Mary's

It's time to head east. We get Teresa a quick lunch at the Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel, then get the car to drive to Wexford. The drive shows yet another part of Ireland that is just a little different than anything we've seen before.

Ireland: Ballyvaughan to Kilkenny

5.31.09 - The biggest news today is that there is now a real-deal post with pictures and everything below! Hopefully, more of that will follow soon - but it's not happening tonight. It's nearly 1:00 a.m., so here are the highlights of today:

We eat another amazing breakfast at Cappebhaile House. This time it is scrambled eggs with smoked salmon smoked in Irish oak at a town about twenty kilometers from here. It is the sweetest, silkiest textured smoked salmon we have ever had.

We fill up and head south throughout the south Burren. Some highlights:

Poulnabrone is a portal tomb dating to about 3,000 B.C.   The remains of thirty-three people are contained here.

This is the Carran Church.  It's a 15th Cenutry medieval church ruins. 

Located at the intersection of the R476 Corofin-Kilnaboy road and the R480 road is Leamanagh Castle.  The first section of the castle was begun in 1490.  It's most famous resident was Marie Rua, who was historically a remarkable person and by legend was a husband killer. 

After passing through the south Burren, we head east through Limerick toward Kilkenny. As we approach the town of Thurles, we come into thousands of people, some in red jerseys, some in blue, walking through the streets, taking all of the lanes of traffic, all walking toward Semple Stadium for the Munster Championship in hurling between Cork and Tipperary. Hurling, you say? Right. Not something everyone knows about, but it is indeed a very big deal here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurling to learn about hurling.

We finally reach Kilkenny. After circling different blocks many times, we finally find our hotel, the Butler House. Our room in this 1800's building is huge and great. We have dinner at Langston's and, funny enough, get to watch the Munster Championship on the television there. We then call it an early night. Tomorrow we see Kilkenny castle, drive through Wexford, then head to Dublin for our last two nights in Ireland.

Ireland: Ballyvaughan to Cliffs of Moher

Doonagore Castle near the Cliffs of Moher

5.30.09 - We start today with a full Irish breakfast here at Cappebhaile House. That includes homemade brown bread, which could be cake it's so moist and good, cereal, a fried egg, four Irish sausage links, two large slices of bacon (more like large slices of ham), both black and white pudding (pork sausage patties - black with blood, white without), mushrooms, tomatoes, toast and tea. There is so much left over that we make sandwiches out of the bacon, sausages, bread, and toast to have for our lunch today.

We drive into Ballyvaughaun for the Burren Valley Crafts Fair and Farmers Market that happens here on Saturdays. This is some very good fun, seeing the different types of people, food, and crafts.

At the Farmer's Market/Crafts Fair.

A black lobster at Farmers Market. I've never seen a black lobster before.

At breakfast, we met the owners and our hosts Connor and Margaret. We met their daughter Sinead last night when we checked in. Connor was very helpful in pointing out sights we should see today. He also tells that the Volvo Round The World yacht race will be coming around Black Head, a coastal point around 1:30 p.m. These are $20 million dollar yachts competing for a big title. Connor recommends we head up to Black Head, a point on along the coast, where we might see some of the race.

To Black Head we go, on the way to the Cliffs of Moher. Some wildlife we saw on the way there.

This area we are in is called The Burren. On the way to Black Head is where we see what The Burren is really about. It is like no land I have ever seen. Nearly everything is rock or rock formations of some kind.

Approaching Black Head.

The landscape along the water.

A keyhole walkway through a stone wall.

We do see the yachts, by the way. They were a ways off, but we could see them as they lined up to race.

The drive from Ballyvaughan to the Cliffs of Moher is unusually, ruggedly beautiful. There are lots of ruins of castles, abbeys, and churches along the way, some from the 12th century.

Kilonaghan Church

Ballinalackan Castle

We finally reach the Cliffs of Moher. As you can imagine, pictures don't nearly do them justice. They were spectacular.

After trekking around the cliffs, we return to Ballyvaughan. We have dinner one more time at Logue's Lodge, then head back to Cappebhaile House. We decided today that tomorrow we will drive to Kilkenny tomorrow. This is a surprise move as we had never discussed visiting there. However, it makes routing sense. About 11:00 p.m. after an hour or two of trying, I finally secure us a hotel room. It's a holiday weekend here, so everything is booked. Time for some sleep!