vacation mornings, magic in action

There is a magic in vacation mornings. I like to get up early, 5:30 this morning. I don't want a minute to sneak past. Waking up, taking my coffee onto the deck. Maybe even enjoying a dip in the hot tub before breakfast.  

Of course it does make for a long day, and night comes early and with a crashing suddenness, but that is OK. It is the morning that brings me the most pleasure. Life is easier in the morning, coffee, and sunrise, and simplicity. A powerful combination of life's greatest gifts.

They call an hour after sunrise, and an hour before sunset the "magic hour" for photography, and it is true, it is true, pictures turn out better. But it is not only for photography, the enchantment of life is more obvious in those fleeting moments.

Dreams are more fluid, thoughts are more peaceful, and reality is just better. Maybe it is not clear, but I love vacation mornings. I love looking at the mountains, the ocean, whatever background provides the scenery for our moments.

So, I will leave you for now, with this picture, and this thought,  "Nothing is worth more than this day." Goethe.

Life Explains Vacation Dining.

Today, on Life Explained, Explains Vacations we are explaining Vacation Dining.  Yes, that is right, Life Explained Explains Vacation Dining.  Yes, this is just another tawdry attempt to get some restaurant in some place that we might want to visit to give us a free meal, and possibly a cold beer (it could be domestic, if that is the best you will offer). And yes, we are all out of yeses.

First, let's cross off all the places that exist everywhere. Vacation dining should never involve McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, or Wendy's. For one thing they don't serve beer, unless you are vacationing in Germany, where rumors speak of beer on tap at the golden arches. Of course that is not really fair, we have a friend that lives in Germany and she assures us beer is not difficult to find. It is never a good idea to eat food that is readily available at home while you  are on vacation, it is an unwritten law, But, don't worry, we are taking care of that in our soon to be released Life Explained Guide to Life, Unwritten Laws Written smash best seller.*

Since we are going to be in Gatlinburg TN for a respite in September we will focus on dining in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Personally, we have always enjoyed the "Best Italian on the Parkway." The food is fantastic, and they advertise "The Best Bloody Marys in Town" which is a big draw. Of course there is another restaurant on the same street, we think it is Howard's, slightly east, or west or north, maybe south (we have no idea, but it is on the same street, in the same town, separated by very small distance) that makes the same claim.

We are going to take this trip to finally answer the question "who has the best bloody mary in Gatlinburg?" I know it is almost too good to be true.

Of course, every bloody mary we had was pretty good, so we have decided to make this contest a little different. The restaurant that is willing to buy us a meal and a couple of drinks (they don't even have to be bloody marys) will be declared the winner.

That's right, for the price of a few meals, and a couple of beers you can claim to have the best bloody mary in Gatlinburg as decided by the Life Explained University of Mixology. And if that is too steep throw a few appetizers and a pitcher our way, and you have an award.

See you in Tennessee for the award ceremony. I am so excited.

* Preorder yours now, or you might not get one, and man will you look foolish. Everybody in the neighborhood talking about the exciting rules actually written down (spoiler alert, page 37 will shock you), and you will be unable to join in the fun because you were too cheap to shell out a few bucks, plus shipping and handling.

Back, and a little worse for the wear.

Vacation is over, and I am afraid that spells big trouble for all of you hoping some terrible calamity had befallen me and you would be saved from this blog forever.  Life Explained has risen from it's shallow grave and is haunting the internet again, sorry.

We went to the Smoky Mountains, beautiful, scenic, and peaceful.  I like to vacation in the mountains, the seclusion is powerful, and the silence is
overwhelming.  But, I like to vacation in the mountains close to a town like Gatlinburg, or Estes Park (depending on the mountains) because I also like crowds, chaos, and commotion.  The mountains offer the best of both worlds.

I have not spent too much time in the mountains, anywhere, really just the Rockies, and the Smokys.  So, if you want expertise you are in the wrong place, as usual.  But, there are some noticeable differences, the Rockies are severe, forbidding, magnificent, stark, and beautiful, the Smoky Mountains are tree covered, friendly, wrapping you in a canopy of vegetation like a Mother's embrace.  It almost feels like you could just walk right up the side of the mountain, a casual stroll to the tree covered summit.  This is an illusion, of course, quickly shattered by hiking twenty yards or so down the road from the cabin, turning around and struggling back up.  After reaching the front door you sound like Darth Vader after a vigorous run on a treadmill.

"Luke, do you have some oxygen?"

There are many more posts to follow, but there was a tragic accident at work involving the drawer where my important stuff is stored, and I need to gripe and complain.

Before leaving, I would like to tell you about a touching moment shared with my oldest son on Father's Day, he told me "dad, you have always been like a Father to me."  It still brings a tear to my eye.  Last year, my son's gave me a coffee mug, some of them say "World's #1 Dad," this one had my actual ranking, "World's # 7,335,663,792 (the numbers wrapped around the mug several times) Dad."

Vacation, oh sweet, lovely vacation.

One day, and then vacation, those sweet days off where you get paid for not going to work.  It is a really good system, and I am not sure who thought it up, but they deserve a couple of extra votes.  I will donate mine.

This year is going to be fun, we are going to Louisville, KY, and Gatlinburg, TN and living the high life, and eating too much, probably, and not drinking quite enough, as we are now old, and tired, and will probably be pretty full.  But, my barber, the inestimable, undeniably intelligent, and very nice Ted told me about this place in Gatlinburg where you can sample several different flavors of moonshine.  

Honestly, I had never thought too much about the flavors of moonshine, thinking it was all just clear, really strong, burn the hair out of your nostrils strong, but depending on what they use for the sugar it can be quite different, according to Ted, whose opinion I hold in very high regard.  So, there is one fun activity.

Then, there is the donut place, the "Donut Friar" in Gatlinburg, it is a place where they take sheets of some sort of dough, spread it thin, using a rolling pin made from magic wood harvested in the Great Tasty Forest of Heaven, and produce what Dante would gladly call the "circles of Heaven."  When I was younger, and kind of dumb, no let's face it, really dumb, I would have driven down there, eight hours just for a mixed dozen, and that would have been pretty smart.

Of course, we are bringing our friend, my oldest and best friend, who is now completely blind, so I should offer my apologies to Kentucky and Tennessee, he is very able, and very careful, but he still runs into a lot of things, so we are sorry.

In retrospect, we wouldn't really need to take him all the way to Tennessee, we could just go to Yellow Springs (I've heard that is one cool place) and tell him we were in Gatlinburg, he wouldn't know.  But, I have started a facebook page for him, (if anyone is interested in keeping track let me know and I will add the link) so someone might notice and rat me out, and then there would be some explaining to do.  Probably not a good idea, after all.

For all of those who are interested I will turn this into a travel blog for a week or so, detailing the best things to do in the places I am at the moment.  For those of you who aren't interested, you probably quit reading a long time ago, maybe two years or so, and have continued to not read, so I won't worry too much about it.

Remember, in the words of the great Bob Dylan;

"Everybody get ready, lift up their glasses and sing
Everybody get ready to lift up their glasses and sing,
I'm standing on the table proposing a toast to the king"

No, it probably doesn't fit too well with this post, but man I can groove to that song, that whole album rocks.

The Trials of Friendship

Five days from today we will be having breakfast here.  Not just any breakfast, either, free, made to order breakfast.  Omelettes so tasty and delicious they are worth the price of the motel, and  they are free.  Normally I have the jalapeno, sausage (sometimes bacon, sometimes both), cheddar, and spinach, (spinach is so healthy).   They are all good though, and I will document my choices and share theme with you, you can hardly wait I am sure.

Five days from right now minus fourteen hours we will be having drinks right here.  Not just any drinks either, free drinks, Kentucky bourbon on the rocks is my choice, "if it isn't from Kentucky it's just whiskey."  Sometimes I will have a beer, frosty cold, refreshing and delightful.  Don't worry, I will photograph my choices and share them with you, I hope the anticipation does not kill you.

Free breakfast and free bourbon in Louisville, the Asgard of college basketball.  I need to apologize to Tim Miles, Tony Bennett and +christy barongan here, all of whom have a different opinion regarding the college basketball heavens.  And, I respect that. 

After our little pilgrimage to the Yum Center, where the Louisville Cardinals play their home games, we are off to the mountains of Tennessee, specifically Gatlinburg.  We have rented a cabin outside of town, and are planning a relaxing, fun filled trip.

What makes this trip so unique is the inclusion of our blind friend, who is right now being picked up in a small town in Nebraska by my sister (who is now my favorite sister, thank you, Candy) and whisked to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, to hop on a plane, and fly to Saint Louis, where he will hop off of that plane, set around in the airport until he can hop on another plane and fly here.  I have never flown often, and hate to fly so I avoid it like a spider covered canoe, (I hate being on boats, and spiders too) but, it seems unless you are going to Las Vegas you can never fly anywhere without flying somewhere else, first.  It is a nice way to see the inside of airports, and buy an expensive beer and sandwich though.

We are hoping Southwest Airlines takes good care of him, but, don't worry I will let you know tomorrow if he makes it unscathed.  You might want to do a little good luck dance, and throw some salt over your shoulder, and wish upon a star, and touch the horseshoe over the door, and whatever good luck ritual you can muster.