Austin - May 2015

Southwest 737 at Austin Airport

Austin, TX was the first stop on my 2015 Baseball & Barbecue Tour of Texas. I briefly visited Texas several years ago, but I really have not spent much time in the state. This combined with the San Francisco Giants visiting Houston for interleague play made this trip happen. The plan was to fly into Austin, fly to Houston, then Dallas, then return home. Since I love some good barbecue, I also wanted to taste some Texas-style barbecue, especially brisket. I flew Southwest Airlines and experienced a lot of rain on this trip, so I had to use this picture to start the pictorial journey.

Shiner Bock Monte Cristo Sandwich and Mexican Coke

Austin is the state capitol of Texas and probably the most liberal part of the state. They are also well known for their diverse food scene - especially the ubiquitous food trucks - and their lively music scene. I made sure to sample both during the trip, including the above pictured Monte Cristo sandwich from Hey!... You Gonna Eat or What? made with pit smoked meats and a delicious fig and cherry jam. An excellent start to the city, especially acclimating to the humidity and heat of the Texas hill country. Fortunately, my first day was dry which would be a rare treat over the week.

The Sideshow Tragedy at The Continental Club

After striking out with the Congress Avenue Bridge Bats not swarming towards their dinner, I took a short ride to one of the better music clubs to see The Sideshow Tragedy play at The Continental Club. This local blues-rock duo rocked the house and were cooler than the Lone Star and Shiners in the audience. This SoCo club has rocked audiences since Elvis and still hosts some of the best bands in Austin. Many local and national bands love to play Austin which supports a fine music scene, even if the music caused this author to lose a bit of hearing for the rest of the weekend.

Gourdough's Sunday Brunch

After a long night of food, music, and adult beverages, a slow Sunday was perfect for some gourmet doughnuts and some Texas wine tasting. I know, gourmet doughnuts and wine? Is this Texas? Yes. Gourdough's makes gourmet doughnuts one at a time in a restored Airstream trailer and tops them with all sort of crazy and delicious goods; mine had maple frosting and bacon. Then the rain started. So I headed to the LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus. LBJ had a very interesting and controversial presidency including being a rather strong and colorful liberal politician from a very conservative state. Medicare and Vietnam, discuss.

Texas State Capitol

Once the rain passed, a beautiful May day arrived in the capitol. That gave me an excellent opportunity to visit the Texas State Capitol and take some great pictures. This is a large building for a large state and has been the host of some rather lively and controversial discussions. One of the unique features is the overhead lamps that spell out Texas with light bulbs. One thing you quickly learn visiting Texas is that Texans love Texas. There are Texas flags EVERYWHERE. I have never seen this much passion for a state, and it can be a bit overwhelming at times.

William Chris Vineyards

After a stop at the world's largest Whole Foods in downtown Austin, it was time for the short drive to Texas Hill Wine Country. If you look past the tourist traps and wineries using non-Texas grapes, there are several wineries making an excellent product. One of them, William Chris Vineyards, was recommended and worth the effort. Wines in Texas have a different taste and profile compared to the typical California and French styles, but these guys are slowly making waves in the industry and appealing to the local spirit and daring of the Texas spirit.

All You Can Eat Barbecue at Salt Lick BBQ

Nestled in the hill country is the Salt Lick BBQ near Driftwood, TX. This large ranch-style barbecue restaurant is sprawled over several acres and famous for the family-style meals of beans, potatoes, cole slaw, and all the barbecued meats you can handle. This was a good place to start my barbecue journey. Texas barbecue is focused mainly on beef, with much less sweetness and more spice. They are rightly famous for their brisket - a byproduct of the massive cattle industry and need to prepare lesser cuts of meat not desirable on the export market. The sausages were excellent, but most everything else would actually be one of the lesser experiences of the trip.

Excellent Brisket and Sides from Rudy's Country Store

Then the sky opened up and the rains began. Coming from California, rain is a rare commodity these days, but this week in Texas was literally flooded with rain. Most iPhones have Emergency Alerts for weather, but these are rare in California. When the phone blows up with flash flood and tornado alerts, you really take notice. I was planning on driving to San Antonio, but torrential downpours kept me in Austin which meant more barbecue and museums. I visited the Bullock Texas State History Museum and IMAX which allowed for a day of Texas history and the latest Avengers movie! Texas has a storied history under Six Flags - hence the name of the theme parks - most of which dealt with complex issues around slavery and settling the west.

The rain delay also gave me an opportunity to try Rudy's Country Store an excellent local barbecue gas station chain in Texas and several other states. This was far more typical of the pit-style restaurants in Texas where you choose your meats by the pound served on classy tableware like butcher paper and plastic trays. This brisket was light years beyond the Salt Lick with the famous smoke rings and excellent texture. Sauce was very optional and complimented the creamed corn nicely. This meat restored my faith in the barbecue potential of the trip.

Congress Avenue Bridge without the Famous Bats

With all the rain and severe weather, it was fortunate that I was flying high above it between cities. I had a really nice trip to Austin and will be back soon. Austin is highly recommended for everyone looking for a fun Texas trip with lots of good food, music, wine, and other Texas-style adventures. Please enjoy the rest of my pictures below.

UT Campus with Austin Skyline

LBJ Presidential Alligator Boots

Downtown Austin from Texas State Capitol

Texas State Senate with Overhead Texas Lamp

Maple Bacon Doughnut from Gourdough's

Becker Winery with Windmill

Artsy Shot of Windmill and Storm Clouds

Two Parks in San Francisco - April 2015

Ocean Beach in San Francisco

It was the best of weather, it was the worst of weather. Yes, this is Tale of Two Parks in San Francisco - Golden Gate Park and AT&T Park. Both parks are very popular, but for different reasons. On a sunny Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit both in one day. Living in Sacramento makes it a small journey to travel to the City, so I try to cram in as much tourist time as possible in each visit. BART is a fun, easy, and cheap way to enter San Francisco, and MUNI does a decent job of carting you around town.

Mixed Salumi Cone from Boccalone

Right next to the Embarcadero BART Station is the Ferry Building. Not only is this the main terminal for all the bay ferries, they house a wonderful selection of local, artisanal food purveyors and a Saturday Farmers Market. Ideally, everyone should arrive in San Francisco by ferry, like millions of past visitors, but limited schedules can make a night game a little tough. The building and market are justifiably popular on Saturdays, and the delicious food is only topped by the excellent people watching as the City heads to shop.

Japanese Tea Garden Pagoda & Waterfall

There are many things to do in Golden Gate Park, and I have done most of them. The park itself is very long, stretching several miles all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Nestled near the museums is the Japanese Tea Garden. San Francisco has a strong Japanese influence, and the garden showcases this heritage. They serve tea, of course, and have a small, but intricately ornate garden compete with Zen Gardens, waterfalls, and pagodas. It is a little pricy, but worth a trip once in a while.

Bison Paddock at Golden Gate Park

Near the ocean side of Golden Gate Park lies the Bison Paddock. This fenced area contains a herd of bison. The park originally had a menagerie with several areas with wild and unique animals, but the Bison Paddock survived and provides an interesting vista in a coastal California park. Notice that the sky quickly turned from sunny to foggy with just a short walk towards the ocean. At the end lies Ocean Beach and several interesting windmills. It is very tough to walk the entire length of the park; I recommend taking it in small chunks to prevent having tired feet too early in your day!

Skydiver with Championship Rings landing at AT&T Park

It was finally time for my true reason to visit San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants once again won the World Series in 2014, and this Saturday game was the distribution of the championship rings to the players. This is a highly coveted game with players wearing special gold jerseys and tickets only available by lottery. I won the opportunity and donned my special 2010 gold jersey to attend the game. The place was completely packed with long lines to enter, buy food and beer, and pretty much everything else in the park. But...

Everyone in attendance received a replica 2014 championship ring! I finally have a ring to add to my collection of free Giants stuff. The Giants even won the game in stellar fashion, scoring 4 runs including a 2-run home run by Brandon Crawford and a great broken-bat RBI from my personal favorite, Buster Posey. Traffic sucked, lines were long, and I had a great time! Please enjoy my pictures below.

Sourdough Cheese Wheel from Acme Bread

Tea Room and Lake at Japanese Tea Garden

Zen Garden at Japanese Tea Garden

Drum Bridge at Japanese Tea Garden

Wildflowers and Playground at Golden Gate Park

Have they had problems before?

Windmill at Golden Gate Park

Carved Rock at Golden Gate Park Entrance

Long Lines at AT&T Park

Ring Ceremony Scoreboard

Stadium Panorama

Sacramento Southern Railroad & Old Sacramento - April 2015

I actually get a lot of good travel ideas watching Good Day Sacramento. Each morning, the local TV station has a general interest program that travels throughout the Sacramento region highlighting new and interesting things. It is a nice addition to a weekend coffee, and this time they had a story about the California State Railroad Museum finishing the restoration of their steam-powered switcher locomotive and placing it back into service. Live steam in Old Sacramento, I am there!

The museum runs the Sacramento Southern Railroad - which is a real railroad - on an excursion train from the old Central Pacific Freight Depot down the Sacramento River for a couple miles. They have been using diesel locomotives for several years, but the steam is back and is expected to be around for a while. Interestingly, the locomotive uses recycled motor oil from local oil change facilities.

Video is the best way to capture the beauty and allure of steam locomotives, and I was able to capture several good videos of the newly restored No. 10 locomotive with Granite Rock Company livery. The locomotive runs backwards on the return journey since there is no roundhouse at the destination. This allows the train to leave Old Sacramento in a normal orientation. The video shows it chugging along just like thousands of trains since the Gold Rush. I posted several additional videos on my YouTube page. You can check them out here. I am also on Yelp.

Of course after a $12 round-trip fare, you should still be able to spend the rest of your budget walking the streets - or more accurately wooden sidewalks - of Old Sacramento. The historic downtown district still attracts many tourists and local families looking for a fun afternoon. The area still has a quirky vibe and it a unique destination, especially during special events. I enjoy just walking around watching the people and maybe stopping for a sweet treat in on of the dozens of candy and ice cream shops!

Sacramento was built in part by trains, and the region continues to embrace its railroad heritage. We have a light rail system, one of the largest freight rail yards, the second-busiest commuter rail system in the United States, and are building High Speed Rail connections to Southern California and beyond. Old Sacramento and the steam train are a great fit, especially for someone who enjoys them as much as me. Please enjoy the rest of my pictures (and videos!) below.

Phoenix - March 2015

Normally, March is an excellent time to leave the wet and gray Sacramento winters and head to Phoenix, AZ for a warm, sunny week of baseball. Our winter has been dry and sunny, so the baseball is still the main reason to pack the bags for a quick vacation to the Valley of the Sun for Spring Training baseball. Thousands of other people have the same idea, so be prepared to pay a lot of money and deal with massive crowds, especially when cheering on the 2014 World Champion San Francisco Giants!

On this trip, the weather in Phoenix was surprisingly cool and wet. The desert always smells great after a fresh rain, and the cooler temperatures made baseball much easier. The rain stayed away from my games and eventually receded. This made the desert come alive in spring colors and blooms unique to any other place in the world.

I decided to start my day with a nice day baseball game in Phoenix with my Giants playing the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers play at the Maryvale Baseball Park in West Phoenix. The stadium is very nice, but they quickly become overwhelmed with extremely long lines inside the park and difficult parking.

The neighborhood is not the prettiest or richest, so it does scare off some of those who cannot stand looking at reality on their vacations. After a few home runs and a sausage race, the Giants pulled off a 3-2 victory, and it was time to head off to meet friends and continue my quest.

The Phoenix Coyotes are now the Arizona Coyotes which now makes sense since the team has been playing in Glendale for many years. Maybe the San Francisco 49ers will take over the Golden State 49ers name if and when the Warriors become a San Francisco team?

The Gila River Arena is a beautiful place to watch a hockey game - probably among the best in the NHL - and should be a top spot for any visiting fans. Unfortunately, the Coyotes have been struggling for the past few seasons, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated us 5-2. And there was no fight. Boo!

With a day of sports out of the day, it was time to hit some museums and restaurants to complete the experience. I was staying in the northern part of Phoenix, so it was easy to pop over to the Musical Instrument Museum. This world-class museum is nestled in the desert of North Phoenix and is not only gorgeous, but houses an expansive collection of musical instruments from around the world and across all time.

The admission is steep, but includes an audio guide that syncs with the displays to allow you to hear the instruments being played. It is like a continuous concert and can easily suck you in for hours. They also have a section where you can play instruments yourself and many concerts. Always an amazing place.

I have been dreaming of a fry bread taco for several weeks. Fortunately, I was able to make the drive to the Fry Bread House to indulge. Above is a Combination Taco with New Mexico red chili beef, refried beans, cheese, and lettuce. The fry bread is tender, flaky, and perfect. Yum! They are moving in a few weeks, but find them. You will not be sorry, except if you forget your Zantac.

This trip was extra special in that I got to see one of my college friend's successful glass business in action. He operates Recast Glass online and at the Phoenix Open Air Market and recycles and repurposes wine and liquor bottles into many cool and interesting things. Make sure to check him out before they are all gone! The market is also really nice and a good option for anybody in Phoenix on a Saturday morning.

Vacations always end, but fortunately the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is always a nice place to begin and end your journey. Terminal 4 - where US Airways & Southwest operate - is the newest and nicest terminal with lots of public art and interesting shops and restaurants. The above mural decorates the hallway linking the terminal to the light rail station and other destinations. If you are ever stuck here, you can get a nice workout walking all the moving walkways around the terminal or exit security for a nice little art museum in the central area.

It is always a nice trip to see my old neighborhood and friends in Phoenix. Please enjoy the rest of my pictures below.