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A couple of weekends ago Alyssa flew east and I flew west and we met in Calgary. We went to visit our friends Lori and Paul and their girls, Erika, Marin and Nora. We had a great time. It was a weekend filled with relaxation and a few family outings.
We tried unsuccessfully to do some Christmas shopping. We didn’t get any gifts for others but we did pick up a few things for ourselves. It wouldn’t be Christmas shopping if that didn’t happen once or twice. We also visited the largest hunting and angling store I have ever seen. Even if you aren’t the outdoor type I recommend a visit to a Bass Pro Shop. It is quite a store.
Here are a couple of pictures from our weekend, including me beside one the many stuff animals scattered in lifelike scenes throughout the Bass Pro Shop. We also visited the Calgary Zoo. Check-out the picture of Alyssa, Erika, the hippo and the giraffe.
A few weeks ago, Andrew and I loaded up the kids and headed to Seattle for a family vacation.
Before we rolled into Seattle we made a very important stop: yep, the outlets! Even Matthew got into the shopping spirit and bought a spiffy jacket. No image available as MP isn’t fond of having his photo snapped.
First stop in Seattle was the Fremont neighbourhood where we scarfed down on homestyle Thai food at Tawon Thai. We made a beeline to Theo’s Chocolate Factory but, unfortunately, the factory tour was sold out. We still got to taste and buy a lot of chocolate including coconut curry and, my favourite, hazelnut crunch. We left happy and explored some of the vintage and secondhand stores in the area.
Next stop: downtown. We braved the gale force winds and walked around the shopping district. I did my sisterly duty and introduced Haley to Anthropologie. I would like to decorate our home like an Anthropologie store. Andrew isn’t so sure.
The next morning we met up at the market for an early morning meander. Our collective purchases included fruit strings, market spice tea and milk chocolate pumpkin spice hazelnuts from Chukar’s Cherries. Even broccoli looks fun at the Pike Place Market!
We sped over the bridge to West Seattle for breakfast at the Easy Street Records Cafe where we ordered off a menu that offered the Dolly Parton Stack, New Wave O’s Rancheros and Hall & Oates. As a bonus, I learned that Rachael Yamagata was soon releasing a new CD, which I since bought and am totally digging.
Any guesses?
I think Andrew fits in pretty well with the Polinsky kids. Perhaps he should consider taking the Polinsky name next May….
The destination for our summer road trip was my hometown, Theodore, Saskatchewan, where we spent a few days with Mom (the photographer of this shot) and my siblings. Our visit was short but sweet. We didn’t get enough quality time with the fam so when we packed up the car we took a couple of siblings with us. We dropped Matthew off at his place in Saskatoon (sniff, sniff) and Haley carried on with us.
After a Polinsky reunion, two Polinskys just aren’t enough! So, we made a pitstop in Waseca and had coffee with Auntie Bev, Uncle Vic, and cousin Crystal. From there we visited the Polinskys who started it all – Grandma and Grandpa! This was Andrew’s first time meeting Bob and Ada and our first time visiting their new city digs. We were very impressed with their new place with a prime location near Spiros’ restaurant.
With a long trip ahead of us we decided to push onwards to Alberta where we crashed at, you guessed it, another Polinsky’s place! Auntie Bonnie and Uncle Trevor were kind enough to let us crash at their place and we even got a delicious breakfast of pancakes with corn and cheddar.
And that wraps up this edition of Polinsky family tour. Stay tuned for future installment as Andrew begins to work his way through meeting Alyssa’s 30+ cousins.
It’s the summer of 2008 and gas has reached an all-time high. Our hero and heroine, who do not own a car, decide to embark on a 4,000 km road trip to Saskatchewan. Crazy? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.
En route to the Polinsky homeland, Andrew and Alyssa stop in Calgary to spend an evening with the Pichette family. Once a year isn’t enough but we take what we can get when it comes to this fabulous foursome.
Here’s Erika demonstrating a scientific principle to Alyssa who laughs and pretends to understand. The look on Erika’s face tells you that she takes science very seriously. Though she also plays a mean air guitar so perhaps her calling is the stage.
And this cutie – we’re not sure what she’ll do one day other than be a heartbreaker.
Long weekend = long border line-ups. After almost two hours in an idling car on Friday morning, we cleared the border and sped into Washington state, land of horn honkers and flower lovers. Our first order of business upon arriving in Seattle was lunch and we scored big time at the Steelhead Diner. Named one of Seattle’s best new restaurants, the Steelhead focuses on using sustainable ingredients in its unpretentious dishes. Food is simple, but well-prepared and presented, and the diner is located in the heart of Pike Place Market. I left feeling very happy with my order of the diner house salad.
The first stop post-lunch was the Elliot Bay bookstore where I picked up The Have-Nots by Katharina Hacker. Later in the evening we went to a Town Hall hosted by Elliot Bay bookstore to hear Samantha Power talk about her new book Chasing the Flame. Power is an amazing speaker, intellectual, and author. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Le Pichet for a nightcap and continued discussing her lecture and general brilliance.
On Saturday morning we hopped on the ferry to Bainbridge Island for Easter brunch at Cafe Nola. Andrew couldn’t resist the caramel pecan challah french toast and who could blame him? After breakfast, we meandered around the village where I discovered Grace & Company Paperie. In addition to the usual suspects, they sold several letterpress lines that were new to me including Smudge Ink from Boston.
Back on the mainland we went for a long walk through Myrtle Edwards Park that ended with a snack at Piroshky Pirokshy. I wanted to casually slip my last name into conversation to see if I would get preferential treatment but Andrew wouldn’t allow it. No fun.
On Saturday evening we went for dinner at Monsoon, which bills itself as Pacific Northwest meets traditional Vietnamese. This was a much-anticipated meal as Andrew and I had tried to dine at this restaurant on one of our first dates back in 2003, but couldn’t find the restaurant. It was worth the wait. I started with a fresh roll made with mint, tofu, shitake mushrooms and peanut sauce followed by a main of diver scallops, ginger, and squash. Andrew kept with his “I heart Washington pork” theme and had the crispy imperial rolls with berkshire pork, shrimp and glass noodles and chao tom (grilled ground shrimp and pork on sugar cane) pictured below. Fresh, flavourful, fantastic.
The Easter bunny didn’t find us at the Ace Hotel so we stopped at Theo Chocolate on our way out of the city and bought fair-trade, organic hazelnut crunch and vanilla chocolate bars. If it’s good enough for Oprah, it’s good enough for us.
On Sunday morning, we packed into Honda-Leeza and went to Poverty Lane Orchards in New Lebanon, New Hampshire.
The orchard had several varieties of heirloom apples, including Pomme Gris, Ashmead’s Kernel, and Golden Russett, set out for a tasting. This was my first time sampling different varieties one after another and I was amazed that I could pick out the subtle differences between the breeds.
Here’s Joe plotting his later theft of a single apple straight from the tree. Tsk. tsk. Stealing from Poverty Lane Orchards – where did we go wrong with this boy?
My American geography isn’t very good so I was delighted to learn that we would be crossing in-and-out of Vermont during our leaf peepin’ tour. Here we have Sandeep and Joe goofing around in front of the Cabot shop at the Quechee Gorge Village. No time for silliness – there is cheese to be tasted! The vintage choice was my favourite from the Cabot offerings.
Later in the afternoon stopped at the charming Norwich Inn for a pint and a round of trivia. The PhDs in the crowd cleaned up once again proving the worth of their degrees.
Even the parking lots are cute in Vermont.
Sandeep and Mike were the main draw but not far behind was the opportunity to see New England in all its autumnal glory. We spent Saturday touring the countryside looking at leaves with stops for antique shopping and lunch at the Woodstock Inn & Brewery. How civilized.
All photo credits to Joseph McPhee except the first one which was taken by a fellow leaf peeper. (Are you happy now, Joe?)
Before I was so wonderfully interrupted I was telling you about my holiday. Let’s recap. New York: big city, amazing architecture, sore feet, and lots of purchases.
On to New Hampshire! Janet, Joe and I packed up the car and drove through five states (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont) making stops to satisfy all vehichle occupants: the outlets for Janet and I and the North Hampton Brewery for Joe.
We arrived in Hanover on Friday evening and received a warm welcome from our hosts the lovely Dr. Tamber and her rockstar boyfriend Mike Lowden. Mike and Sandeep took us for dinner to Murphy’s on the Green and followed by ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s and a nightcap at the I.Q.
I spent my vacation in the United States with the exception of a few hours on Monday when I was in international territory at the United Nations. The United Nations has 192 member nations that work to promote international law, security, economic development, human rights, and social progress.
Joe and I toured UN headquarters where we got to visit council chambers and see some of the beautiful artwork given to the UN by its member countries. I was particularly taken by the broadsides created by a Brazilian artist to mark the acceptance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Can you name the flags below? I stunned Joe with my inability to identify even even the most common flags.
