Shorter Days/Cooler Nights - It's almost that time again

Not too much happening around here right now.

Family will take me to New England later this summer. Such a beautiful part of the country. I love visiting there.

Fall is right around the corner. Hard as that is to believe. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to the Smoky Mountains this fall. It's been a while since we last visited and fall is the perfect time to be there.

Speaking of fall. There is a town in Georgia (Helen) that has been hosting an Oktoberfest celebration for at least the last 45 years. It claims to be the longest running Oktoberfest in the US. I really want to check it out. The promise of beer and brats amid cries of Prost! What's not to love. Next best thing to being there.

So that's it for now. There'll be a few more patios to visit yet, a road trip here and there and another good burger to go in search of.

Before we know it the air will be filled with the scent of woodsmoke and apples, pumpkin spice lattes will be back at your local coffee shop and the clocks will swing back an hour.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. Grab a drink on your favorite patio and toast to the adventures ahead.

Happy travels!

Blue Dog Cafe - Lafayette, LA

One of the last stops on our weekend tour of Lafayette was the Blue Dog Cafe for brunch. Some of you may already know that brunch is my favorite meal of the week. The Dining Companion is not as big a fan as I am but he let's me drag him off to brunch on the occasional Sunday.

The Blue Dog (art, not cafe) is the creation of George Rodrigue, a Louisiana artist. As you can imagine with the name, his art is featured in the cafe. I'm a huge fan of the late Mr. Rodrigue and the art displayed around the restaurant is a big plus for me.

One of my favorite Blue Dog paintings

Let's face it, the art is great but we were there for the food. That didn't disappoint either. Brunch was a mix of standards and some Cajun specialties. There were bagels and lox, salads, eggs and bacon. Also a carving station with roast beef and a nice dessert table.

Carving station and breakfast standards

For me, where brunch really shined, was the non-standard offerings. It's hard to see my stuffed plate clearly but this is what I had...

From the top clockwise: Cornbread dressing, Shrimp Etouffee, Crab Cake Benedict, Sweet potato bake, roast beef with horseradish sauce, sauteed veggies and somewhere in the center, Smothered Cabbage

This was by far my favorite dish of the day, grillades with cheese grits. (notice it got its own plate) Grillades are medallions of beef (pork) dredged in flour and sauteed. They are then covered in a flavorful gravy made with tomatoes. Although all of the  grillades I've ever had were made with beef these were made with pork and were fantastic.

Cheese grits & pork grillades

 Desserts rounded things out. Of all of the items I had these were the least exciting. I expected more from the Banana Pudding but it was a little bland. The bread pudding and chocolate pudding were pretty tasty.

All in all brunch at the Blue Dog Cafe was a big hit. Once again Lafayette delivers on its promise of being one of the south's best food cities.

There were a few places on my list that I didn't get to. They were closed over the holiday weekend which caused much sadness on my part. Needless to say I'm working on a plan to get back there and remedy this injustice. Also, I would like to pay a visit to a couple of the local attractions, most notably the Acadian Village.

That wraps up this trip to Southern Louisiana. Next stop: more BBQ!

As always,

Happy travels!

Down on the Corner - In four places at once

I want to travel out west and stand at the Four Corners Monument. It's something that I've always wanted to see. I've been doing some research and trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this goal.
I'm thinking we would fly into Las Vegas and then drive. Maybe see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam too.

I realized the other day that I have a handful of states left to visit to complete the contiguous 48. (Alaska and Hawaii are on the list too with Alaska being most likely to get visited first.) I still have Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Denver, Washington and Oregon. Having been all over the Northeast, the South, and the Midwest, this is whats left.

 I had the idea at one time that we would see the west by train. I still would love to do that. There's just something about train travel that lends itself to adventure. For now I think we'll stick to the fly/drive route. But I haven't counted train travel out, not at all.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the western part of the US. Is there anyone of us who hasn't dreamed of driving Route 66? I want to see Cadillac Stone Henge, the Painted Desert, Arches National Park. And Roswell! Aliens, the age old debate of green or red chilies (both please). So, so much to see and do. 

The Four Corners, the Grand Canyon and all points west. Get out your best sunsets, your tastiest food and roll out the welcome mat, cause we'll be coming for you soon.

Happy travels!