What Moving has Done to my Writing Life

Apparently moving to a new city sucks the writing desire out of me.  Time to remedy that situation.  New cities and jobs require so much time and energy because there is so much to do!  I love it.  In the past year, I've made Chicago my new home.  It took me almost a full year to realize I'm a resident now and not a visitor.  Time for me to start acting like I live here.  Right? Well, maybe not.  I'm only staying another year, then I'm outta here.  I guess that means I need to learn to incorporate my writing desire with my travel desire and figure out how to make it work.

I think one of the biggest reasons I haven't written here or on my other blog is the lack of desk in my living space.  I like writing at a desk or table, one in front of a tv, preferably. Today, I'm coming at ya from my local Starbucks.  I think this will be my new writing place.  However, multiple trips to Starbucks will be hard on the pocket.  Maybe a weekly mass writing session will be the trick.

Now I need to figure out the direction I want to take this blog.  I have many ideas rattling around in my head.  I like writing about the places I go but not sure if I want this blog to be considered a review blog.  Guess it doesn't really matter as long as I'm writing and expressing myself.  That's the whole point of blogs, right?

Where Should We Go In....Chile - Part One

I am mildly addicted to travel guides, shows and memoirs.  There are sooooo many places to visit and explore.  My plan is to create this weekly feature to highlight countries and specific places within those countries that I want to visit and get feedback from readers. 

If you have visited this month's featured country and have suggestions, please leave me a comment.  Or if you haven't visited this country, leave me a comment anyways of any ideas.

Region - Southern Patagonia

Since I watched Samantha Brown's Latin America show on Chile, I decided I must go to the southern most part of the Americas.  I want to visit Barrow, Alaska so adding Patagonia, Chile to my travel list just makes sense.

Places to visit:

Penguin colonies at Seno Otway or Isla Magdalena

Strait of Magellan

Side trip to Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park (I've never seen a glacier)

Tierra del Fuego

Suitcase on Wheels blog post about visit to Parque Nacional Torres del Pain (with pictures)

Sweet Mandy B's - Chicago

Many of my adventures to date revolve around food.  (I should rename this blog a foodie blog versus travel blog but can't they be mixed?  YES) My trip to Chicago in October was no exception.  On a rainy Tuesday, I walked through the beautiful neighborhood of Lincoln Park in quest for cupcakes.  My Chicago friend Christy said Sweet Mandy B's is the best.  The shop is a little bit of a walk from the Brown Line stop but well worth it.  Just look at the above picture to confirm my words. 

I picked up the Lemon and Chocolate with Peanut Butter frosting cupcakes and a Peanut Butter with Chocolate frosting cookie to try.  All were yummy.  These cupcakes were our lunchtime treat.  Our suggestion: try the chocolate cupcake first, then the lemon.  Why?  Because the lemon cupcake is THE BEST!  It has amazing tartness mixed perfectly with sweetness.  Lemon Bliss is what it should be called.

I could have easily walked out of Sweet Mandy B's with one of everything in their shop cases.  Not only do their treats taste delicious, they look spectacular.  The store is every dessert lovers' dream.  It reminds me of cotton candy fluff.  I'd like to work as their official taster.  Think they need that position filled?

website: http://sweetmandybs.com/
Twitter: @SweetMandyBs

The Farmhouse - Chicago

Discovering the many neighborhoods of Chicago is becoming one of my favorite pastimes.  During a recent jaunt to ChiTown, I happened upon The Farmhouse.  In a frantic search for an afternoon glass of wine, the manager welcomed me in and soothed my nerves.  He escorted me to the bar and offered me a selection of wines including two draught wines. (oh, did I mention that he's pretty cute too)  Wines on draught?  I was confused. Yes, The Farmhouse carries two draught wines - a red and white.  I found both delightful but went with a bottle pour.  In addition to the large wine selections, the beer offerings are even greater.  Don't stop at just the drinks though, the menu items are yummy too.  Try the delicious Mac and Cheese Fritters or the Wisconsin Cheeseball with Caraway Crackers. 

The owner is just as friendly as he explained the farm-to-table concept to us.  His enthusiasm is catchy.  Each server and bartender we encountered was upbeat and talkative.  It would be easy to make this place a regular stop on your way home which I did for my 2 nights in Chicago.  If you ever find yourself in Chicago, go try The Farmhouse.  Conveniently located right off the Brown Line at the Chicago Ave. stop, it is sure to please your palate.

Website:  http://farmhousechicago.com/
Twitter: @farmhousechi


Sorry for picture quality.  My phone does not take great pictures.

Bus Travel with Greyhound

On a recent trip to Chicago, I was determined to try different modes of travel.  Typically for me, it's always car, car, car with me driving of course.  Since I was traveling solo, I did not want the expense and hassle of driving my car with gas, tolls, and parking.  I checked out several options and decided on Greyhound.

I have not traveled by Greyhound bus since I was 4 yrs old.  Yes, I have traveled via tour bus and city bus so I'm not a complete bus novice.  For this trip, the date of departure was not decided until 1/2 hr before leaving.  Once decided, I scrambled quickly to purchase ticket on Greyhound's website.

Results - smooth operation.  Their online purchasing site is easy to use and navigate as was the rest of Greyhound's site.  You can choose to print your tickets or pick up at terminal.

I arrived breathless at the Toledo terminal with no clue what to do.  The desk clerk was very helpful and told me what to do quickly as I only had 5 minutes before my bus left.  In my decision to be more open, I even struck up a conversation with the gentleman sitting next to me on the bus.

Final results:

Toledo terminal - kinda gross. 

Employees - very nice. 

Bus - clean, didn't smell, comfortable temperature, comfortable reclining seat, made a dinner break and 2 smoke break (I don't smoke) stops.

Chicago terminal - very nice, large clean restrooms, lots of people around

Time - left 3:30 EST, arrived 8:30 CST - 6 hours

Cost - reasonable $42

My recommendation: I would travel Greyhound again.  Try it.  Here's their site.

Is This Thing On?

While I am not as eloquent as my mom, I figured it may be time for me to post on The Adventure List. As my mom has said, I have a bad travel itch as well. I plan on studying abroad in Italy next fall, as well as travel cross-country with a friend of mine in two summers.

From an early age, I never liked the idea of living in the same place for too long (something I probably also got from my mom [thanks, Mom!]). I want to see as much of the world as I can before I hit my mom's age, and I never want to have any regrets for not doing something while in my youth. It's almost like Mom was programmed to revert back to the mind-set of a young adult as soon as I hit my teen years. What luck!

Well, here's hoping everything goes well and everything works out!

PEACE OUT, HOME DOG.
(Just so you know I am not Tricia. :) )

What's in a Name?

In deciding on a blog name, I made a list of possibilities and ran them by Megan.  She vetoed all of them and suggested The Adventure List.  I realized how perfect that would be.  Our blog's name started a couple years before the blog itself.  About 3 years ago, Megan and I dropped my son off at college for his freshman year.  On the way back while eating dinner, we started talking about all the stuff we could or wanted to do now.  So we made a list with a timeline.  We named this list: The Adventure List and posted it on our refrigerator.

The items on our list ranged from as simple as ordering dessert before dinner to as extensive as going to Europe for spring break.  Most of the items we have accomplished.  We've also added a few to the initial list.

When I decided to start this blog, we had already started a list of possible countries to visit for our pending world travels.  We are a family of list makers.  We thrive on lists.  So the name The Adventure List fits perfectly.