Grand A-Cheevers-ment

Ah, research, it's a tough job but somebody has to do it. And so I had lunch at Cheever's on 23rd Street in Oklahoma City. It's in a historic building -- built in 1927 for Cheever's Florist, a company that is still in business (12236 North May) and still owned by the same family. When the building was sold, the trademark Cheever's name stayed on the building and it was turned into a great little restaurant owned by the Good Egg Dining Company. Heather and Keith Paul, and Sean Ray, who founded the company, also own Red Prime Steakhouse, Iron Starr Urban Bar-B-Q, and Market-C (more about that later).

Robert Black is the executive chef for the entire restaurant group -- and he is a genius. I fell in love with his cuisine several years ago when he was executive chef for the Museum Cafe at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Ryan Lawson is executive chef at Cheever's. So there was a lot of experience behind my lunch!

My friend Melyn and I started with the bread basket as soon as it hit the table. It contained four dainty dinner rolls -- delicately flavored with rosemary and thyme -- served with a little tub of butter protected by a round of parchment with a scrolled C on top. My entree was Mixed Seafood Tamales -- chunks of lobster, shrimp, halibut and scallops with black beans and corn over a sweet potato masa tamale and topped with an ancho cream. Was it good? It was all I could do to keep from licking the plate!

The whole Weight Watchers thing kept me from ordering dessert but didn't keep me from going next door to Market-C and salivating over the choices. Market-C, which opened late last fall, was originally a Phillips 66 filling station. I'd guess -- but I don't know -- that it's about the same vintage as Cheever's. Good Egg has paid homage to the past with the traditional green and orange Phillips 66 color scheme.

Inside, you'll find take-and-heat goodies from the Good Egg restaurants, desserts, condiments and kitchen items. Here's a picture of the Giant Carrot Cake -- six layers of cake with cream cheese icing. You can see why I passed on dessert. Next time, maybe I'll go for dessert and pass on the entree!

La Fooda Loca

Well, I managed to stretch my birthday into a birthweek! A week after the actual day -- when we were all available -- I celebrated with friends Terry Earnheart and Beverly Schmoyer. They took me to the Paseo Grill, a great restaurant in Oklahoma City's artiest area.

Those of you who have been following this blog know that I have to work hard to balance my love of food and enjoyment of writing about it with my desire to fit in an airplane seat. Weight Watchers has been wonderful. I have to keep track of what I eat -- yeah, it's kind of a pain but not as painful as not being able to zip my jeans. By doing this, I can plan for special times and there's almost nothing I can't enjoy.

My choice today was the Crab and Avocado Salad -- jumbo lump crab meat and avocado served with a Parmesan crisp and mixed greens drizzled with lemon vinaigrette and garnished with capers, basil, red bell peppers and red onions. I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of colors, tastes and textures.

So I managed to have a satisfying lunch and still keep on the right track with my eating plan-- then the birthday treat arrived. And it was a wonderful little wine glass with fresh berries topped with just enough whipped cream to hold the candle. Hooray for me and hooray for Weight Watchers! And a really big hooray for the Paseo Grill.

More Foodie 101

One day on the Prince William County press trip, we had the option to take the train into D.C. to tour museums. Normally, I'd jump at that but, I reasoned, I wouldn't be spending enough time in D.C. to do the kind of story I like to do. So I, along with writer Shirley Moskow from Boston, opted to stay behind. Kathy Martin with the PWC/Manassas CVB offered to be our chauffeur for the day. We both wanted to return to Occoquan -- neither of us had had time to see the town on the first day of the trip.

After some other stops, we arrived in Occoquan in time for lunch at Madigan's. The day was gorgeous and eating outside was an appealing prospect. The menu offered a lot of temptations but this is prime crab country so my choices narrowed a bit. I asked for a taste of the crab chowder and our waiter brought me a small sample. I all but stuck my tongue in the cup! It was rich and creamy with plenty of crab meat and fresh vegetables. My ultimate choice was the crabcake sandwich with remoulade sauce on the side. Mmmmmm -- good choice. Lots and lots of crabmeat with little, if any, filler.

Great food, good company and the beautiful green river flowing by. It was one of those perfect moments you want to capture and save -- when everything in your immediate world seems perfect. My friend Betty Neal says this is a "Kingdom of God" moment. I love the idea that the Kingdom of God includes crabcakes!

Foodie 101

I feel a couple of food blogs coming on. On our recent press trip to Virginia, I started early one morning with a visit to the Manassas farmers' market. Are you old enough to remember the Alan Alda movie "The Four Seasons"? In it, Sandy Dennis plays a photographer obsessed with vegetables. That was me at the market. What gorgeous fruits and vegetables! And look at the size of this berry!

The array was amazing -- corn, eggplant, cantelope -- a rainbow of vitamins! And the tomatoes -- every shape and color.

And they had lots of heirloom tomatoes -- not as photogenic -- my favorites are Cherokee purple. I couldn't help myself; I bought three, not knowing what I was going to do with them. Patty Tracy of Historic Manassas stepped in and offered to take them to Robert Barolin, chef/owner of City Square Cafe where I intended to have lunch.

What a great idea! When we got to the restaurant, the waitress brought out this lovely bowl of tomatoes and we shared them around the table.


For my lunch, I ordered the Southern Shrimp Salad -- grilled shrimp over mixed greens with tomatoes, red onions, corn and a blend of Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. This was tossed with a chipotle ranch dressing and served with a crispy tortilla shell. And it was as good as it looks!

Iconic Architecture

We turned off the main road and up a curving driveway. There was no hint of what was ahead -- just tall trees and green grass. Then, around another curve, there was this amazing building. It was stunning -- an instant WOW, even before I understood the significance of the design.
This is the Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia. A striking shaft 210' feet in length shoots out of the base building at a 45 degree angle. Squint your eyes and it becomes the pole of the flag raised at Iwo Jima. And inside you'll see that flag -- now tattered. This fabulous building is a perfect setting for an impressive museum honoring "the few, the proud." The architect is Curtis Worth Fentress of Frentress Bradburn Architects, Denver. Among his other works are the Denver International Airport and the expansion and renovation of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center here in Oklahoma City.

Happy Birthday to Me!

The older I get, the longer I like to spread out my birthday. I just had the second day of it. Yesterday I was in Prince William County, Virginia, on a press trip. First big birthday treat yesterday was an email from Jack. Then, at the Marine Museum in Quantico, the press group -- and our Marine docent -- sang Happy Birthday to me in the rotunda of the museum. What a neat surprise. But then at dinner, the restaurant brought out a big dessert with extra spoons and the group sang again and gave me a neat card they'd all signed. So I felt well and truly celebrated yesterday.
I called Jay when I got into town today and he sang to me and he, Carolyn, Austin, Calvin and Alexander came over tonight with prezzies. Tomorrow I'll talk to Zoe and she'll sing to me, too.
I love my birthday!!!!

She's Baaaaaack

Ah, I'm having a life! Last Sunday night -- late -- I sent off the last of my 109,000 words about Tulsa. I know there will be more work to do on it but it feels good to have a little break. If I had my way, the book would never be done -- I really worked hard and put a lot into it but there's always more...... What a great town Tulsa is.

So Monday morning early, we left for Texas so I could catch up with some work that got pushed aside during the book. We spent two nights in Salado -- the most delightful little village. People speed by on I-35 -- it's between Waco and Austin -- and never realize what a historic and charming spot they're missing.

Jack and I finally got around to celebrating our 48th wedding anniversary with a sentimental dinner at the Stagecoach Inn. Part of this historic inn dates back to 1860. The recipes are pure 1940s -- they're so popular that the restaurant can't change them! Jack and I ate here the first time about 43 years ago. We were on our way to Padre with my folks. We've stopped a couple of other times -- once when Zoe was showing her horse in Waco over Thanksgiving. Jay and Carolyn were in Austin where Jay was finishing his master's. Mom and Dad were there and of course Zoe and Jack and me.

Honest to goodness, this place has the best hushpuppies in the entire world. We talked to Morris Foster who now owns the place and he told us that the only ingredients are cornmeal, water and oil -- but the water has to be 40 degrees and the hushpuppies must be hand-rolled. Whatever, they had the most delicate crust -- as thin as the first skin of ice on an October pond. And inside, hot, light and wonderful.

I managed to wade in the creek twice -- once behind our bed and breakfast and the next day to get a good photo of Sirena, the little mermaid who sits by one of the springs that feeds the creek. Today I interviewed Kay Campbell at Paint Rock. There are over 1500 Native American pictographs on the bluffs on their property. She and her husband have been married 59 years and they are the most delightful couple. Kay showed me an article Rogayle Franklin wrote about her in AAA Texas Journey. She got a kick out of the fact that the youngsters in California, who edit the magazine, were concerned about publishing an article about someone of her maturity -- figuring she had to be senile or dead! Leslie, no offense intended, but Kay and Fred are probably in much better shape than your staff members will be at the same age! They are a delightful couple and it was a real pleasure to visit with them.

Will you get to see a picture of them? Wish I knew. I'm still having MAJOR computer/photo issues and I couldn't get off the computer long enough to take it back to the guys who messed it up. As soon as I get these Texas articles, plus a Lake Charles/L/Auberge article done for Southwestern Pubs (all due Monday), the computer's headed for the shop!

Blind and Silent

Okay, it's been way too long since I've blogged -- but I have an excuse. First of all, I'm up to my armpits in the Tulsa guidebook project. Time is fleeting and the word count isn't rising nearly fast. But worse than that -- the last time I had my computer worked on, when it came back, the program that I use to upload my photos to the computer had disappeared. So I haven't been able to get my pics off the camera -- all nine million England photos are just sitting there. I'm headed to Tulsa for two days so Jack is taking the computer back to Computerzone. I'll keep you posted.

Legless but Smiling

That's the slogan for Scrumpy produced by Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm -- and how I feel about our trip. We've done a LOT of walking. Some days we'll get back to the flat and I'll think I can't possibly make it up the stairs -- but I always do.


The Cyder Farm was lovely -- with acres of trees in bloom. They produce not only Scrumpy -- a traditional hard cider which was actually, at one time, a method of payment for farm workers -- but a number of different wines, jams, jellies, chutneys and even straight apple juice.

Parts of the buildings are 100 to 150 years old and there is a small museum with antique tools and equipment on the property. We took the tour, sampled the products and spent money in the gift shop. Jack forgot to bring a hat and his head has been getting red so now he sports a jaunty, green baseball cap with the "Legless but Smiling" motto.



Zoe's a whiz at driving here -- we've ginned all over the countryside -- through large towns like Truro and Falmouth and tiny hamlets with names like Water Ma Trout and my favorite, Praze-an-Beeble. Sounds like a pentacostal church service.

This day we went to Mousehole (pronounced Mouw-zel) and, yes, that's a two-way street. Mousehole has a lovely little harbor, interesting shops and galleries and Nigel Hallard. We were lucky to catch him in his gallery/studio-- wish I could afford one of his paintings. Here he's working on a painting of St. Michael's Mount -- a favorite subject for painters including J.M.W. Turner.



As you can see, it was a beautiful day for walking. Weather watching here is frustrating because, even with a sky like this, it's just as likely to become totally overcast and raining in 15 minutes! I spend a lot of time putting on layers and taking layers off!




Meanwhile, back at the flat, we have a fairly regular visitor. Zoe's named him Bandit and he's a shameless beggar of bread.

I Promised You Photos --

And here are pictures of the ecclesiastical furnishings at Newlyn's Trinity Church. Copper work by Michael Johnson; woodwork by Dave Need.

Room with a View

This is the view that greets me when I look south out of my front window in the morning. That's Newlyn, the next village over. The last time we were here Jack and I went to church in Newlyn. Julyan Drew, the minister who did Zoe and Simon's blessing ceremony, is the minister at Trinity Methodist Church there. Julyan was just as impressive this time as the last time -- he's an intelligent, engaging preacher and his message was thought-provoking and inspiring.

On our last visit we were so taken with the beautiful copper and oak lectern, baptistry and furnishings that we wanted to meet the man who made them. We achieved half our goal. The coppersmith is Michael Johnson, a wonderful artist and craftsman. We visited with him in his studio -- Newlyn Copper Works -- on Friday. Michael worked with woodworker Dave Need who made all the beautiful oak pieces.

Newlyn was once noted for its superb copper creations and Michael is working to restore that reputation. Here he is with a monstrance he created in memory of a friend. We took pictures of the church pieces this morning and I'll add them when Zoe downloads my photos.



This is a photo I took on the walk back from Newlyn. We walked along the shore -- this is looking north to Penzance. You can see the steeple of St. Mary's church on the right.



One of the little shops along the way had fresh, Cornish strawberries and we couldn't resist. Every single berry was perfectly ripe and luscious -- unlike the ones we get at home where half of the berries in the basket are, if not downright green, at best a sickly pink! And these tasted as good as they looked.



For a report on our trip to the Seal Sanctuary, check Teddy's blog -- Teddietravel.blogspot.com

Garden Heaven at Heligan

Jack and I wanted to come to England in the spring because we love rhododendrons and today we saw some amazing ones. They towered over us -- one was 75 feet across at the crown. We visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan south of St. Austell -- I think it was about 40 miles from here. The day was overcast but didn't look threatening and we lucked out -- no rain while we were there. It was chilly, but we were dressed warmly enough -- in the 50s with only a slight breeze.

The first manor house was built here in the 12th century and was followed by rebuildings and alterations over the centuries. Earliest records of the gardens date back to the 1700s. They grew and thrived until World War I. Though the property remained in the Tremayne family for 400 years, for various reasons, the gardens were neglected following the war. The family now leases the gardens to a non-profit organization whose goal is not only to restore the beauty of the gardens, but to make it a working estate.


The Giant's Head, in the Woodland Walk, was created by local artists Sue and Pete Hill. Though a totally contemporary creation, it was done in the same spirit that Victorian gardeners had in creating features of interest to enhance the enjoyment of the natural landscape.


Although it is getting close to the end of the season for camellias, many of the plants were still blooming profusely.



Garden areas at Heligan range from exotic and wild to formal and utilitarian. These poppies were in the Flower Garden. Other gardens included the melon yard, vegetable garden, apple orchard and the oldest working manure-heated pineapple pit in England (since the 1800s).

Tropical ferns and giant rhubarb plants flourished alongside magnificent rhododendrons in the Jungle -- a tropical paradise in a deep chasm. The rhodies are definitely the stars of the show this time of year. Some of the plants are approximately 150 years old and were brought from Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal by Sir Joseph Hooker.

Pleased to Be in Penzance

After 22 hours of sitting, waiting, changing planes, sitting some more, running for trains, and sitting some more we finally arrived in Penzance. I slept for 11 hours and Jack slept for 12, then we got on with life -- starting with a walk downtown. This is one of my favorite corners in downtown Penzance.

I took Teddy everywhere we went and took lots of photos of him. Please check his blog at www.teddietravel.blogspot.com for more photos. The rhododendrons are just starting to bloom and we tucked Teddy onto a branch to take his picture. The result was a bit obscene so Zoe remedied the situation with a strategically placed blossom. Zoe and I picked up a couple more fallen blossoms and tucked them behind our ears. Look at the size of those things -- the blossoms, not our ears!


After dinner we walked down to the beach across the street. It was a bit chilly but still beautiful.

The swans didn't seem to mind.

Spring Has Sprung

Between my travels and working on the guidebook, I've been slacking on blogging. So here's a quick catch-up -- but please hang with me. I'm going to go silent again for a bit but I promise I'll be back and be better!
Last week I spent time in Knoxville. What a great town! The azaleas and dogwood were absolutely stunning. And we were there for the Rossini Festival -- ate some great Italian food. I didn't actually hear any Rossini (they're doing "Barber" next year) but I did attend a marvelous "Pagliacci." The voices and orchestra were wonderful and the Tennessee Theatre was a beautiful setting.
Knoxville was a real treat. For a town of about 200,000, it packs all the amenities of a major metropolis. Art, music, food, great public spaces, interesting museums -- wow! -- there wasn't enough time to do and see everything and I'd love to go back.

P.S. I'm having serious issues both with photos on the blog and with photos in general. If you have any suggestions -- I'd be most appreciative. I really want that poster picture at the bottom of the blog -- but I can't get it to move!

And when my computer came back from the repair shop, the program that used to pop up when I plugged in my card reader or put a CD with photos in the CD drawer now has disappeared. It had a blue border and choices like "View as a slide show" and "Upload photos to computer" and "Open a folder to view contents." I have no idea what the program's name is -- it just used to appear as if by magic. AND I WANT IT BACK!!!!!! I went to Moto-Photo and put my Knoxville pics on a CD so I could erase my card, but I'm having issues getting them on to the computer. The program I'm using I have to do one at a time and it puts them on the desktop! Since there are over 200 photos on that CD, this is not a good solution!

Am I Blue?

I am, as the French say, "a woman of a certain age" but I certainly don't feel old. So it constantly surprises me when other people treat me like I am. It happened the other night in St. Louis. And it's sort of a bad news/good news kind of thing. Fearless leader and hostess extraordinaire Mary Hendron took me and two other writers to a blues club -- Beale on Broadway. I must admit that 10:30 is usually my bed time so it did feel a bit odd to be heading out at that time of night (must be an old lady thing). The club was packed and Miss Kim Massie was ruling. The room was not large and we headed toward the back since there were no seats. As you can see, I had a pretty good view -- until the next wave of blues-lovers came in. I always hope for a convention of "little people" because, otherwise, I'm not going to be able to see over anybody. So I squeezed through the crowd and found a spot up by the front door. I stood there quite a while, totally enjoying myself, when the manager saw me, brought a chair and put it at a table (already occupied by another party!) right up in front. Now I was comfortable, happy and I could see. But it also bothered me -- did she do it because I look old? Nah! I'm sure she was just being polite -- nevermind that there were a lot of other women standing up -- and I'll continue to believe that until the next boy scout tries to help me across the street!

Big Hit in St. Louis

My SATW Traveling Teddy and I made a nostalgic return to the city of his birth! Teddy was born in the Build-a-Bear Workshop -- headquarters, St. Louis. Though we didn't go to the factory, we did go to the BABW in Busch Stadium -- the first ballpark location for the company. Teddy watched while I made a Fredbird (the Cardinals' mascot) and other writers (Bob made a bear and Phil made a big Clydesdale named Clyde and a little one named Dale) and Mary Hendron made their little friends.

Teddy's becoming my alter ego and does things I wouldn't have nerve enough to do -- like asking Albert Pujoles and Mike Shannon to pose for pictures with him. Since he was so bold, I got in the pictures, too.

Teddy also got a new outfit -- a Cardinals' uniform. And he modeled an All-Star shirt. What a little ham. He thinks he's a real celebrity now!

Georgia on my Mind

Oh, man, life is going way too fast. And I'm traveling way too much. And I'm writing way too little. But enough about me. Oh, I forgot, it IS all about me. So here's what I did last week -- went to Atlanta for the SATW Central States Chapter meeting. Was it fun? You bet.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for St. Louis -- think baseball, beer and botanic garden -- so this is a quickie with just a couple of the many highlights of the Atlanta trip.

The first full day of the meeting -- with professional development in the a.m. and city tours in the p.m. -- it was drizzly and rainy. And sometimes it just flat poured. We toured the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site and Birthplace and the Carter Presidential Museum. I was so looking forward to that -- only to be told not to bother with notes because they were about to redo everything but the replica Oval Office! The grounds were lovely, though too wet to get out in. Still, you can see from the picture that the azaleas and dogwoods were in full bloom.

The next morning -- 6 a.m. and 53 degrees to be precise -- we took a Segway tour of downtown -- went around the capitol and through the Georgia State campus. I was brilliant -- I wore long underwear under my clothes, put my knit bandeau (which Margo Lakin says looks like I have a maxipad tied on my head) under my bicycle helmet, pulled on my gloves and I was comfortable -- could have gone for hours. Some of my companions got a little cool. That's me -- just look for the lowest helmet in the group!

That night Zoe's and my friend, Jana Keeler, (who used to live in OKC but has moved back to her hometown of Atlanta) had a short visit before our Dine-Around. She suggested picking me up at my hotel and taking me to the restaurant early -- she could eat dinner and I could have a Diet Coke while I waited for the group. We had a great visit and the restaurant -- One Midtown Kitchen -- was a delight. I'm not a calamari fan -- but if I'd had theirs first, I would be and just realize nobody else fixes it as good. So I guess I'm a One Midtown Kitchen calamari fan.

Saturday was a really beautiful day. That was the day we went to Oakland Cemetery where Margaret Mitchell is buried. The photos might have been more effective if it had been rainy that day but still, the blue sky and the gorgeous flowers were awfully pretty. This lion statue, reminiscent of the Lion of Lucerne, represents the dying Confederacy and commemorates the unknown soldiers who are buried in this section of the cemetery.

Sunday I came home. I miss the great bed at the Marriott Marquis. I loved the hotel, loved my room on the 36th floor, but it's good to be home. Now I have to go pack!