One of my girl friends in New York who is also from Birmingham and went to Auburn decided to have her wedding in Birmingham on September 29, so I jumped at the chance to not only attend her wedding, but to take a long weekend trip home. Back in July, I booked my flights. I don't usually book flights so far in advance, so it was really nice to get a flight home for less than $300 and be at the front of the plane on all legs of the trip! I also decided to use some of my time home to make a trip down to Auburn to have a consultation and possibly undergo Lasik surgery. I have done extensive research on the surgery and even went to a consultation here in New York as something of a "practice run," so made an appointment at Hollis Lasik on the Thursday I would be home, with the hopes of also having the surgery done on that day.
On Wednesday, September 26, I left work a couple hours early and headed to LaGuardia. I was in Birmingham a little before 10pm. Thursday morning I was up early for a dentist appointment, and then my parents and I were on our way to Auburn for my eye surgery. We first headed to Amsterdam Cafe, one of my absolute favorite spots in Auburn, for a pre-surgery lunch. Unfortunately Steve was in class so couldn't meet us, but that didn't really detract from how delicious the crab cake and avocado sandwich with sweet potato fries was. I normally get the turkey wrap, another Amsterdam Cafe specialty, but knowing the Birmingham News had listed the crab cake & avocado on their list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die," I decided it was time to finally try it. It really was amazing and reminded me a little of my mom's crab and lobster salad sandwich when we visited Niagara-On-The-Lake.
Amsterdam Cafe doesn't look like much from the outside:
After lunch, we killed a little time in Tiger Rags and J&M Bookstore before checking in for my 1:30pm appointment at Hollis. They ran all the tests and got all the measurements, and ultimately I did end up having the surgery done. Things were definitely a little blurry for the next few days, and ultimately I would end up going back to Auburn for a touch up on my right eye, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We headed back to Birmingham late Thursday afternoon. On Friday, Sean flew into town, so we went and fetched him from the airport then got ready for the rehearsal dinner at Park Lane in English Village that night. I could see well enough to drive, so getting around was not too difficult. Park Lane was a beautiful event space, and we enjoyed the cocktail hour before moving along to the large tables (we were seated with other New Yorkers) and having the pre-determined three-course (chicken) meal.
Saturday was spent mostly lounging around watching football until the 5pm wedding at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. After the wedding, we made the short drive over to Rucker Place, one of the historic homes in Birmingham used solely as an event space now. The house was pretty but nothing particularly extravagant. The reception was relatively short, and after sending off the new bride and groom, we headed to the Tutwiler Hotel for a nightcap with our friends.
A daytime shot of Rucker Place from the web:
Sunday my family made a much-missed steak dinner and then Sean and I were off to the airport. My flight back to New York had a long connection in (my favorite airport) Detroit, so I took the time to not only go through the light tunnel but also have a proper sit-down dinner in one of the restaurants. I flew back into Newark for the first time since I've been living here (it's a little far to make it my regular hub) and landed a little before midnight. It was great to spend a few days at home, have Sean get to know my family a little better, and most importantly, get new eyes!
Miles Traveled Today: 2,142 (in black on the map)
November 2-4, 2012 | Prior Lake, MN
The first weekend of November meant another work trip, this time to Prior Lake, Minnesota and Mystic Lake Casino, a Native American reservation approximately 30 miles outside of Minneapolis. This trip came at a rather opportune (albeit hectic) time, as only four days earlier, Hurricane Sandy had come through and devastated New York City. I had lost my power on Monday, so by the time Friday rolled around, I was beyond ready to get out of my cold, dark apartment and take up residence for the weekend in a hotel suite with hot water and comped food.
The Mystic Lake compound, complete with a light teepee:
Because of a gas shortage, taxi and car service availability was unreliable and almost non-existent, so through a work colleague was able to arrange for a private car service to pick me up and get me to LaGuardia. My flight departed New York on time, surprisingly, at 4:30pm, and we landed around 6:30 in Minneapolis. The casino had sent one of their drivers to fetch me, and as we were driving toward Prior Lake, the driver pointed out the Mall of America (an attraction I had hoped I might have the chance to see on this trip, but when you get right down to it, it's just a mall...) and the giant teepee-shaped lights rising out of the reservation. After being whisked through the VIP check-in and getting settled into my huge suite (totally unnecessary for one person for 2 days!), I took one of the greatest showers of my life (it had been 3 whole days since I'd had a proper shower). Next up on the itinerary was heading down to the Mystic Lake Steakhouse, where I put the per diem the casino was providing me to good use. What I really wanted was a nice glass of wine, but this casino is oddly dry and there is no alcohol on the premises, so I took a risk with the virgin caipirinha. It was a little sweet and could have really used some rum. :) While the non-alcoholic menu left a bit to be desired, the food did it. My Caesar salad, 6 oz. filet, sauteed mushrooms and potatoes au gratin were all delicious. It had been an exhausting week, so by the time I was finished up with dinner, I was ready to crash.
The next morning when I woke up, I toyed with the idea of heading back to the city; the casino actually provides a shuttle that runs back and forth every hour to the mall, but I was more interested in eating and sleeping and watching football. I first headed downstairs to the Minnehaha Cafe, which was a cute cafe in the middle of the casino that had lots of plants and umbrellas over the tables to give it the look of an outdoor cafe. I had an omelet that was quite good, took a quick loop around the casino to find the venue, then made a pit stop at the coffee bar by the elevators where I splurged (with my per diem of course) on an iced mocha mint drink which was amazing (and which I would have a couple more times over the course of the weekend!). After some napping and football, I headed back down in search of more food before the show - this time an order of eggrolls (they were big) at Fusion Noodle Bar, part of a little food court in the casino. The show went off without a hitch that evening, and after the show we had the steakhouse cater to the whole touring party backstage while we watched Saturday Night Live. This time, I opted for a Caesar salad and the sesame-seared tuna appetizer (I'd been munching on veggies backstage all night so wasn't starving). After a fun dinner with all the comics, we then headed up to the Minnehaha Cafe for dessert, where I had a huge sundae. It was definitely a fun night!
The Minnehaha Cafe:
My flight left out of Minneapolis at 10am on Sunday morning, so it was an early wake up call to meet the car downstairs (after another iced mint mocha of course) and make the drive back to the airport. I was back in New York a little after 2pm, where my power and hot water had been restored, so it was good to be home and get re-settled into my home which had blankets and the warm clothes I'd been sleeping in every night and flashlights strewn all over the place!
Miles Traveled Today: 2,449 (in blue on the map)
November 6-7, 2012 | Atlanta to Auburn to Birmingham
Just a couple days after getting back from my work trip, it was time to turn around and head back to Auburn. A few weeks earlier, I decided it was time to go back to the Lasik place and have my eyes checked out. I was still having some pretty significant blurriness in my right eye, and now that it had been over a month since the original surgery, it was time to go have it touched up. This was a quick trip - I wasn't even home for 24 hours - but it included a trip to Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta, driving straight to Auburn, having the procedure, heading over to my brother's new house and then a family dinner at The Hound, a relatively new restaurant in downtown Auburn. We ordered a couple orders of the scotch egg as appetizers which were phenomenal, and I had the Mama Kate's Meatloaf as my entree, which did not disappoint. It was served with mashed potatoes and bacon-braised collards, so I was completely stuffed by the time we headed back home to Birmingham.
The Hound Bar & Restaurant (from the web):
The next morning my eyes were feeling fine, so we cancelled the optional 8am check-up visit in Auburn and spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to get me on a flight that was going to get back into New York with an impending blizzard bearing down on the city. After bumping my flight up to an earlier departure to beat the weather, we made it to the Atlanta airport a little after 1pm. I miraculously experienced no delays, and by 4pm (and after a tenuous landing involving some serious winds) I was back in New York and standing in a long cab line shielding myself from the furiously-blowing snow. I didn't even need a jacket back in Alabama...
Miles Traveled Today: 2,127 (in red on the map)
My trip(s):
Total Miles Traveled: 58,397
Myth or fact: does coffee stunt your growth? “Caffeine is a compound found in a wide variety of foods,” said Dr. Janice O’Donnell, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo. “And if kids are drinking caffeinated drinks and eating foods like chocolate, energy drinks and foods like potato chips,” she continued, “it can be hard to tease out what part of the dose comes from the coffee and what comes from the other foods.” Does coffee stunt your growth?
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