More "Thai", Less "River" Please



Pei Wei's Thai River Noodles

Call me a sucker for marketing campaigns, but when I stood in front of the Pei Wei menu boards, thinking about my options, I couldn’t resist the call of the Thai River Noodles. It was their newest dish and the digital display practically plucked me from my place in Texas and transported me to a busy street in Bangkok. I closed my eyes and could see the crowded sidewalks, feel the tropical air and smell the exotic spices and sauces in nearby restaurants.

Meanwhile, back in the USA…

As I order the noodles with tofu and vegetables, I’m informed that they just ran out of Chinese broccoli and will substitute with “regular” broccoli. “That’s fine”, I say, but secretly I wonder if my surprise trip to Thailand is about to come to an abrupt end. Hoping for the best, I sit down and feel a rush of excitement when my plate is placed in front of me.

Visually, the dish is impressive. The portion size could feed a family of four, and bright vegetables contrast beautifully against the bed of noodles. The broccoli, the carrots, the red peppers all look fresh and the noodles appear to have been perfectly cooked. I grab my chopsticks, dive in and take my first bite. Expecting to be taken right back to my dream of Bangkok, I was disappointed to find that my taste buds were stuck in Texas. The first word that came to mind was BLAND. Second, DRY. Everything tasted the same and the tofu was overcooked. Convinced that I must be missing something, I took another bite. This time I dug around for some red pepper flakes, praying that would kick things up a notch. No such luck. It was a little spicier, but I had to be honest. There were hints of soy in what little sauce was at the bottom of the bowl, but this dish simply didn’t taste like it had any real Asian influence.

To make matters worse, after a few more bites, I discovered a hair hidden in my noodles. My appetite was lost immediately and, while the manager was very apologetic and did everything he could to remedy the situation, I don’t think I’ll be ordering the Thai River Noodles again.




UPS cleans the mess!

Well folks, I'm happy to announce that the seemingly endless saga of "The Disappearing 29-foot Trailer" has come to a close. It has been just under 6 weeks since I packed my life up in a UPS Freight truck and sent it on its way to Austin, only to be told that my shipment had been "misrouted". A week and a half (and 2-3 phone calls a day) into the confusion, the truck was located in Columbus, OH and, five days after that, pulled into my driveway. Most of you have already witnessed the horror I discovered when I stepped on the truck, but if not, see my previous blog. In a nutshell, it looked as though the trailer had done a few somersaults with my stuff inside.

In a state of shock, I salvaged what I could and prepared myself for battle with the claims department. I pulled out the big guns for this one and asked my friend Stacey (who is an expert consumer rights advocate) to help me draft a letter and find executive email addresses - thanks Stacey! I tweeted, I blogged, I facebooked my photos and did whatever I could to get the attention of UPS. Something must have worked because not too long after all of that, I was contacted by the UPS Freight Claims Director who promised to personally look into my case and keep me informed. Based on my experience over the past 3 weeks, however, I was skeptical. I figured that was what he told everyone and that I'd never hear from him again.

Proving me wrong, and true to his word, the Claims Director (we'll call him "John") got back to me and explained that my shipment somehow did not get logged when it left CA. That's why it was sent to Ohio where it was unloaded (which was not supposed to happen either) and, instead of someone owning up to it, they threw it back on the trailer and shipped it off to Texas. John assured me that the mistakes had been recognized and the people involved had been written up. He also said that UPS was going to offer a good faith settlement to replace what was damaged and waive the shipping fees - very generous since their contractual liability was only $100!

All in all, while the experience was not one I'd like to repeat, I think it ended on a positive note. I believe that everything happens for a reason - I haven't quite figured out the lesson in this one yet - but I do feel that the outcome was fair. I got an explanation, an apology and a reimbursement check. Now it's time to put this behind me and settle into my new place. Who knows, maybe those pesky road pirates simply thought I needed to beef up my camping skills!

UPS Fright, I mean Freight

As most of you have heard by now, all of my belongings were "misrouted" by UPS Freight. For the last 2 weeks I have been calling 3 times a day wondering how a 29 foot trailer could be missing. Well, my stuff was finally returned to me today and this is the condition I received it in. I will be blogging about the experience soon!

UPS Fright...I mean, Freight

Austin Ahoy!

We made it to Austin! It was another long day of driving (approx. 7 hours) and I was reminded just how big Texas really is. I've done this drive before, in the opposite direction, and vaguely remember that thought going through my head. Funny how time tends to help us forget the "unpleasantries". Lucky for me, the speed limit is 80, so it felt more like we were flying. Not so lucky, however, for the unfortunate little bugs that dared cross my path.

Tank and Cooper (my two cats) did great together in their Pet Taxi - is it weird that I feel proud of them? I only gave them half a dose of the acepromazine today because they had been fully drugged for the past 2 days and I figured there would be residual amounts in their systems.

Anywho, as I got closer to my destination I could feel my excitement building...almost home! Sounds weird, but yes, this is my new home. About 40 minutes outside of town I stopped at a Walmart to grab some road snacks, ended up finding a UT Longhorns t-shirt as well (got to blend in!) and then zipped on in to the live music capital of the world. Once my moving truck arrives in a couple days, I'll be set!

To Texas, y'all!

Fully rested, tummy full (thanks Donald!) and cats drugged, I repacked the car and hit the road again. Today is my long-haul day. I'm hoping to make it across NM, past El Paso and into either Van Horn or Ft. Stockton, TX for the night. Easy Breezy.

Of course, with my sense of direction I should have known something was bound to go awry. Not even out of Phoenix yet and I found myself on the wrong freeway which ultimately meant about an hour long detour. No worries, all is quiet on the kitty front. The acepromazine has waved it's magic wand and my cats could be sitting in a kennel full of hungry pit bulls for all they care. By the way, I'd like to mention that today I put them both in the same carrier which made a HUGE difference - for those of you planning to travel with multiple cats. They were much more calm, didn't cry as much and look a lot more comfortable cuddling with each other. :) If you're in the market for a carrier, I used a large Pet Taxi for 2 adult male cats. You can find it here...I highly recommend it!

Anywhooo...11 hours, 2 Cliff Bars, 1 Red Bull, 1 bag of Cheetos (ugggggg) and 2 gas/cuddle stops (Tank can be quite demanding), we made it out to Van Horn, TX. Most shocking is that I haven't even been listening to any music...how is that possible?

Waiting for Tank

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. The plan was to sleep in as much as possible (or as much as the excitement would allow for) and then hit the road to Phoenix where my friend Donald graciously offered me and the boys a place to stay. Being the type-A personality that I am, I thought that I'd easily have my car packed, the cats drugged and be on my way no later than 10am, putting me into Phoenix around 4pm. Just in time for a nice relaxing dinner. Beautiful!

Unfortunately, my perfect little plan began to unravel before I even opened my eyes this morning. Instead of sleeping in until 8am, my cats decided to wake me up at 5am. "OK, no problem Amy, just go back to sleep, you've done it before". Well, of course my type-A brain started thinking about packing and driving and schedules, so sleep was out of the question. "OK, just get everything done and start the drive earlier", I decided. Fine! I get the car packed, give Cooper (cat #1) his pill and start calling Tank (cat #2) to come in.

An hour goes by and I still haven't seen Tank, meanwhile Cooper is starting to walk like a drunken sailor. On man, this wasn't in my plans. "OK, calm down Amy" I tell myself, "surely Tank will show up soon and you leave at noon at the latest". No dice. Noon comes and goes, as does 2pm, 3pm...you get the idea.

I'm searching the neighborhood to no avail, I have all my neighbors on "Tank Watch 2010" but the little guy is nowhere to be found. Cooper is in la-la land and I'm starting to feel bad that he has been drugged for no good reason. Why couldn't things just go according to my plan!!!!???? I finally accept potential defeat and tell Donald that if he's not back by 5, my journey will have to wait until tomorrow.

Long story short - Tank made his appearance just before 6pm. Not wanting to admit that a cat could throw such a wrench in my plans, I decided it was full steam ahead to Phoenix. With the driver loaded up on Red Bull, Cliff Bars and peanut butter pretzels - and the cats just plain loaded - we made it just after midnight. So much for that relaxing dinner!

Life...in a box

As I'm standing in my driveway watching the 29' freight truck drive off, Texas-bound, I'm hit with a wave of anxiety. Oh crap, practically everything I own just got packed up (Tetris-style) into a 4x8x9' space and driven away by a total stranger. What if it gets lost? What if the truck crashes? What if road pirates hijack it and find my Mace Widow purple neon light saber? Surely the ransom demand will be far to great for this humble girl-on-the-move. Even my cats seem to sense that their prized scratching post is hitting the road... they are sitting next to me also watching the truck disappear.

Deep breath Amy, calm down. Everything is gonna be fine. It's all part of the "moving out-of-state experience". Oh yeah, did I mention I'm moving to Austin?

Disclaimer - photo taken from Google Images

Plumeria Pride

I've been waiting for over a year now, but it's worth it. My plumeria is blooming!

Ahhhhh...Yosemite

It's summertime, so in my world, that means time to hit the road and do some camping in Yosemite. Every year my family stays at Housekeeping Camp for a little R&R. It's one of my favorite places to explore and take pictures, so, pretty much the minute I got there, I put on my tennis shoes and got to work. No matter how many times I visit, it never gets old. In a span of 4 days, I took over 100 pictures. Don't worry, I picked out the best ones...enjoy!

Yosemite 2010

I'm on a boat...

I was home for all of about 3 weeks when I started getting the travel bug again. Good thing my fam had a trip planned...this time the mode of transport would be a large cruise ship. This ship would be taking us around the Eastern Caribbean for a week and I couldn't be more excited.

We sailed, we snorkeled/scuba'd, we sunbathed, we even got stuck in the middle of the Atlantic for 6 hours with no electricity. Enjoy the show!

Caribbean Cruise

Delta Disaster

I should have listened when my intuition told me something was gonna go wrong. After booking my flight to Grand Junction, CO three hours ago, rushing to pack and managing to find a ride (thanks Allyson!), I scan my itinerary at Delta's self-check counter and am instantly informed that my flight is delayed almost an hour. "Hmmm", I thought, "I hope this won't affect my SLC connection". In all of my traveling, I have, of course, run into delays and even found myself sprinting across airports bumping into anything in my path - but I've never actually MISSED a flight. Ignoring the shaky, butterfly-in-stomach feeling that strangely started the second I heard about the delay, I continue on through security to my gate.

After waiting in line at the Delta desk (it seems there are quite a few people in the same predicament) and being assured by the Delta ticket agent that I would still have 20 minutes to get to my connection - a LIFETIME compared to others who would now be left with only a couple minutes - I sat down and waited. For two hours (because of course I got there an hour early) I tell myself that the butterflies are just me overreacting, I might have to run, but surely Delta would warn us before takeoff if it looked like we wouldn't make it. Plus we had a talk-happy ticket agent who seemed to enjoy lecturing us on how to properly board a plane and how incorrectly placing a carry-on could mean the difference between sleeping in the airport or sleeping in a warm bed. Inferring that if WE did it right, all would be well.

After dangling the carrot ("the plane is 10 minutes from landing...the plane has landed and will be at the gate in 10 minutes....the plane is here and boarding will begin in 10 minutes") for what seemed like an eternity, we are finally allowed to take our seats. It was the moment of truth - if we boarded quickly it would make all the difference. Like kids wanting to make their parents proud, we boarded so fast even the ticket agent felt compelled to get back on the speaker and congratulate us. Sitting tall and proud, we buckled our seat belts and stowed our carry-ons, then listened as the captain mumbled into the speaker "Howdy folks, ....engine maintenance...blah, blah...quick flight...depart shortly...blah, blah...".

Making sense of the main points, I realize that after our gold-medal boarding performance, we'd now be sitting on the runway for an extra few precious minutes at best. The door was shut so there was no turning back at this point, we'd all just have to cross our fingers that we'd make up time in the air.

Well the captain was right, it was a short flight, but we landed at 8:18pm...my connection was scheduled to leave at 8:08pm. The butterflies returned as I patiently waited for people to deboard. Could my connection have possible waited 8 minutes for me? Expecting to see a few Delta employees ready to help us figure out if we were stranded, I made my way down the jet way to find one Delta employee already swarmed by panicked passengers. I wait my turn and am informed that my plane is gone, then am shuffled to a scanner which supposedly will give me an updated itinerary. Well, of course I'm not in the system so I have to wait for one of the two Delta employees available to help the approximately twenty stranded passengers. Frustrated, tired and disappointed, I get to the ticket agent and am told the next flight to Grand Junction isn't until tomorrow at 1:40pm. I'm quickly given a hotel voucher and two meal tickets for $6 each which can only be used at the airport or the hotel - if they have a restaurant. How I'm supposed to cover the next 3 meals for $12 is beyond me, but that's the lease of my worries at this point.

After realizing I was stuck in an unchangeable situation, I tried to make lemonade out of lemons. My cousin lives 30 min outside of SLC so I though maybe I'd squeeze in a visit. She was happy to hear from me and suggested I see if a rental car could be provided instead of a hotel. Impressed with her creative thinking I head back into the line to check my options. Fifteen minutes later, I finally get my turn and pose my question. "Hello, I was wondering if I can have a rental car instead of this hotel voucher?", I ask. "We're an airline, not a car rental service", the Delta employee snarled. What little patience I had left immediately escaped me and I let her know the sarcasm wasn't necessary. Feeling completely defeated and out of options I decided to stay the night in SLC and start over tomorrow.

On the Road Again!

Barely unpacked from the 2010 Thelma & Louise Northwest Adventure, my boyfriend Trevor got some unexpected time off and asked me to come visit him out in Denver. He didn't know how much time he would have - maybe a day, maybe a week - but if I got on a plane within the next 24 hours we could just play it by ear.

Travel junkie that I am, he didn't have to do much convincing. I was online in about 10 minutes looking for flights and, after changing a few plans for the week, about 6 hours later found myself at John Wayne Airport waiting for my non-stop to Denver. ILML!

We spent a couple days exploring downtown Denver (which is so much cooler than I expected!) and Estes Park (where Stephen King was inspired to write "The Shining"), then headed out to Cheyenne, WY where his cousin lives. When we found out that he was going to get almost 5 more days off, we did what anyone would have done in that situation...go to Kansas! Since we were "nearby" and since I hadn't checked those states off of my "been there" list yet, we hopped in the truck and set out for Nebraska and Kansas. Looks like another road trip for me!

Spontaneous Road Trip

Rogue-in' on the River - Day 11, part 2

Not thrilled that my lead foot just cost me $200, I was ready to be done driving and enjoy a nice dinner with my aunt and uncle. Even more frustrating was the fact that our "trusty" navigation showed us to be only about 14 miles from Ashland. We had almost made it free and clear...or so we thought.

Up until this point, we had been setting our destinations to arbitrary addresses that came up when the city was entered. It worked wonderfully, taking us to the center of the action and then we'd figure it out from there. We had no reason to think that things would be different this time as we entered what the signs told us was the Rogue River national Forest.

Last summer I took a Greyhound bus trip (that's right, BUS!) up to Ashland for the first time, however, this time we were coming from a different direction, so I figured the forest was no big deal. Well, about an hour into it I started to think twice. I saw the checkered "destination point" quickly approaching on the nav screen but we were nowhere near civilization. In fact, we were getting higher and higher into the trees and the snow was getting thicker and thicker. We hadn't seen another car for miles.

Allyson was enjoying the detour - snapping photos and admiring the beauty of it all - but I was getting worried. Night was falling and we were lost in the forest. Luckily, I had a few bars of reception (thank you Verizon!) so I decided to call Uncle Ken for some non-satellite assistance. He wasn't quite sure where we were exactly, but came to the conclusion that going back through Medford would put us on the right track. You can imagine how happy I was to receive that news, since we had passed through Medford over and hour ago just BEFORE getting my ticket.

I stubbornly admitted defeat and turned around. We finally met Uncle Ken and Aunt Gina for a nice Italian dinner - only 2 hours late and 2 hundred dollars poorer.

Click here for photo album

Third Time’s a Charm...I mean...Ticket - Day 11, part 1

The sun came up and we opened our eyes to the city of Camas, WA – just across the river from Portland – where Ally’s friend Lindsey lives. Lindsey had been kind enough to wait up for our later-than-planned arrival and give us a place to crash for the night. After a quick breakfast we ventured out to the quaint downtown area and discussed her absolute genius of living in WA (no state income tax) and shopping across the river in Portland (no sales tax). Pretty freakin’ brilliant if you ask me!

We said our goodbyes and headed out to our next stop – Ashland, OR to visit my aunt and uncle. We set the “trusty” navigation and enjoyed yet another scenic day on the road. Nearing dusk, we passed through Medford, OR and just as we came over a hill leading to the Rogue River National Forrest, I spotted the unmistakable shape of a police cruiser seemingly licking its chops at our bright red BMW. I let off the gas and hoped that he would continue on his way and spare us, but it wasn’t the case. His lights started flashing, my stomach took a nosedive and our little red BMW submitted and veered right.

Waiting for the officer to walk up, I couldn’t help but remember the good luck we’ve had the last two times we got pulled over. Of course, I had been the passenger both times and I had a sinking feeling our luck was about to run out. A few questions were asked, license & registration were handed over and then we waited…hoping again that we would be set free with a warning.

Unfortunately my initial intuition proved correct and the officer returned with a ticket about 3 feet long. The silver lining here was that Oregon is advanced enough to include the actual dollar amount along with payment info right on the ticket – not sure why CA doesn’t do that. But I digress…I was told where to sign and informed that the fine would be a whopping $194. So much for the good luck!

Click here for photo album

Portland Quickie - Day 10

 

Most of the day today was spent on the road, in fairly consistent rain, so not too many pictures were taken. I figure that's OK though...we made up for it in Vancouver. Our destination was Portland and we made it there in the early evening, giving us plenty of time to see what it had to offer. Side note: one thing I've forgotten to mention is that it doesn't get dark until about 10 pm, we're loving it!

We hit a couple hot spots recommended by friends, I introduced Ally to the fabulous world of vintage shopping (about a dozen scarves later I think she was hooked!) and I got to see a drawbridge come up for the first time. I was reminded of a favorite movie as a kid, Annie. It was a quick, but eventful stop - we both decided that Portland is a place we'd like to come back to. All in all, I'd say we're getting pretty good at maximizing our days.

Click here for photo album

Oh Canada! - Day 9

Round about 9:30am, we crossed the border into Canada bound for Vancouver. Allyson had to drop of Garrett at SEA-TAC airport quite early and we wanted to maximize our day. This was quite a feat for us since the majority of our days haven't started until noon, but we arrived - not quite bright eyed and bushy tailed - pretty much just breathing.

For consistency's sake, Vancouver weather proved to be as unpredictable as it had been in the States. Light rainfall joined us off-and-on during our stroll around the Van Dusen Botanical Garden (terrible for the bangs, which the photos will attest to). We are quite used to the rain by now though so that wasn't going to damper our spirits. The garden was unbelievable - colors overwhelmed our eyes and I had a hard time deciding what not to take a picture of. There was a maze towards the end that we absolutely had to try out. Don't worry everyone, we found our way out.

Rested and relaxed, we decided a bike ride downtown would be next on our list. We were starving at this point (this seems to keep happening), so we found a little cafe called Bread Garden where we grabbed a bite and proceeded to fall asleep on their comfy couches for 2 hours! Once awake, and aware that the people here must think we are homeless or something, we hightailed it outta there and continued our ride down in the harbor area.

After the bike ride, a missed turn took us through the Stanley Park (gorgeous!) area on our way across the bridge to Grouse Mountain. We decided the detour was a good one, but were disappointed to find that the suspended bridge we wanted to see had just closed for the night. Making lemons out of lemonade, we continued a bit further up the mountain - stopping at Cleveland Dam and the Grouse mountain cable car. Somewhere around 10pm I got a second wind and we said goodbye to our friendly neighbor to the north, stopping about 20 miles outside of Seattle. Now that's what I call an honest day's work!

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Sprinkle-less in Seattle - Day 8

Ironically, the one place that both Allyson and I fully expected to be grey and rainy, was one of the only places that offered us blue skies and fairly warm weather. It seems the black rain cloud that has been following us decided to take a break...and we weren't about to complain.

We spent the day exploring Seattle - Allyson and Garrett hopped on the bikes and I met my friend Burch who generously offered to play tour guide. I got to see some breathtaking spots that I most likely wouldn't have seen otherwise. Alki beach in West Seattle is a definite must see for those of you who've never been. Also, we had another encounter with the law, but miraculously escaped ticket-free. I'm getting an eerie feeling that I'm a good luck charm in the passenger seat...hopefully I won't have to test my luck as the driver.

After the tour with Burch, I walked around the Public Market and watched a fish get thrown across a counter, admired the beautiful flower bouquets and almost got ripped off when I bought some local grown tomatoes (you gotta be careful in those tourist traps).

Later, Allyson, Garret and I enjoyed a nice dinner and then walked to Highway 99, a blues bar, for open dance night. For the second time of this trip, I got to shake my groove thing a bit - not to mention immortalize our journey on their Wall of Fame.

Click here for photo album

Three States, Plus One - Day 7

Today was another fairly aggressive day of driving. We started in Missoula, MT, crossed over the panhandle of Idaho through Coeur d'Alene (gorgeous area!), made a stop in Spokane, WA then traversed the state and ended in Seattle, WA. The distance didn't phase us though, we have become immune to day-long drives at this point. Not so immune that we're not enjoying it, but at the end of our days, we're finding it difficult to recall where we woke up that same morning. I guess that's just part of the job.

In Spokane, we picked up a passenger - Allyson's boyfriend Garrett - who flew in to join the fun for a day. We explored the city for a bit, grabbed a bite (after coming so close to starvation point that Allyson and I barely tasted the food we shoveled in), hit the road (with Garrett in the backseat), and arrived in Seattle 4 hours later just in time to catch some Zs.

Click here for photo album

Dances with Cowboys - Day 6, part 2

Our little red BMW handled the snow-laden roads like a champ and got us over the mountain to clear skies. At this point, we felt we had seen and conquered so many different types of weather (rain, fog, sleet, hail, snow!) that we needed to encounter one more enigma to complete our Northwest trip...a cowboy!

Not far from our destination for the night - Missoula, MT - Allyson spotted an eye-catching watering hole called Cowboy Troy's. Earlier we had discussed our idea of what cowboy life would be like and concluded that a bar crowd would be a safe bet in finding one. Besides, how could we go wrong if the word "cowboy" was in the name?

Our instincts were on the nose. Within minutes of walking in, we met a small group of 3 guys and 1 girl who were friendly and seemed to know everyone in the entire place. It turns out one of them was an outfitter - someone that takes groups into the open country and basically keeps them from being dinner for the wildlife. We all started talking and I quickly learned that outfitters in Montana have a strong perception (to put it mildly) of Southern Californians. After being that I should never admit to being from SoCal (Wyoming was the outfitter's preference), I decided it was "Game ON"!

The outfitter and I went head-to-head on several issues and quickly decided that politics were a lost cause - although somehow the topic kept gravitating in that direction. Despite our polar opposite beliefs, however, we managed to have civil conversation - and even a good time! Just before leaving, he made a gesture of peace by asking me to dance. I obliged, and couldn't help but think that maybe this Southern Californian helped put a small dent in his strong opinions.

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Mules and Snowflakes - Day 6, part 1

Rest and Relaxation, plus some time not in a moving vehicle was on the menu today. We've traveled a couple thousand miles already, so it couldn't have come at a better time to have some down time with family. Allyson went for a run, I chatted with Grandpa and cousin Bill and we all enjoyed a nice homemade breakfast of french toast and scrambled eggs. As we were eating and enjoying the view of the Salmon River, I noticed a few mules and a horse and asked if they were trained. That was pretty much all it took and about an hour later, my cousins Charlie and Justin had the mules saddled up for a trail ride in the hills.

I threw on a cowboy hat, Allyson got used to being on a mule (she has only ridden a handful of times - brave girl!) and Justin led us up the trail. Just as we got going, light snow began to fall but died down enough for us to continue. Then, a bald eagle soared over our heads, almost close enough to make eye contact. We reached the top of the hill and laid our eyes on an unbelievable view of the Salmon River snaking around the valley below. We could have kept going and explored for hours, but good old Mother nature had another plan. The temperature started dropping and our extremities could no longer handle it, so we went back to the house.

Our timing was impeccable, not more than 20 minutes later snowflakes the size of half dollars were blanketing the valley. We enjoyed the not-so-common mid-May storm from the warmth of the house while we defrosted our hands and toes with a hair dryer. Fully committed to our itinerary, we decided to say our goodbyes and brave the weather on our way back to Montana.

Click here for photo album