Taco Luchador

I'm seeing "To Kill A Mockingbird" at the Palace tonight, and I'm grabbing dinner at Taco Luchador before settling in for the classic film. It's my first - but certainly not last - meal at this cool spot!

I made two delicious choices on this initial run: Mexican Crunchy Salad and Baja Fish Taco.

Mexican Crunchy Salad

The Mexican Crunchy Salad was a flavorful blend of arugula, roasted cherry tomatoes, pickled red cabbage, carrots, onion, avocado, cilantro, beets, radish, queso fresco, and pumpkin seeds tossed with crispy tortilla strips and lime-cilantro Agave vinaigrette. So fresh and healthy!

Baja Fish Taco

The Baja Fish Taco was crispy and crunchy with a light batter and topped with more pickled red cabbage and cilantro. YUM!!

Let's smackdown a few more tacos from their menu! There are several locations across town, so we can make this happen!

Click here for their website.

Bliss Pizza

Bliss Artisan on Spring Street is my latest favorite pizza joint AND my latest favorite ice cream shop!

Let's start with the pizza. They are a make it your way place. Actually, their motto is "We create the ice cream...YOU create the pizza." What makes them unique is a variety of delicious sauces, like pesto, that puts the flavor waaaay over the top! The crust is whisper-thin but still tasty. This was my loaded-down veggie, all included in the base price. 

Then there's the ice cream. This is the most-delicious peanut butter and jelly, and I'm here to confirm each and every flavor I've had has been off the charts.

Give them a visit when you're heading to downtown New Albany. For the long-timers, they are in the apartments/condos where Frisch's used to be located. It will be fun to "cruise" through Bliss!

Click here for Bliss Artisan's website.

Glasgow, Cave City, and Giants!

I'm in Glasgow (KY) for the Highland Games supporting my peeps in the Louisville Pipe Band. I'm not yet competition ready, but I get to participate in performances with the more established pipers. Good times! I was also super excited when I realized that Glasgow is in the vicinity of two more summer bucket list items: Cave City Wigwams and Mammoth Cave. Let the roadtrip adventures begin!

With the stay at Cave City Wigwams, I completed the "Sleep in a Wigwam" trifecta, since I've already snoozed at the other two in Rialto, CA, in 2010, and Holbrook, AZ, in 2015. (Those posts are available here: Rialto and Holbrook if you are interested in experiencing those adventures.) I'll be frank, Cave City was the least-well maintained of the three, and it seemed like the furniture was not original to the room because it did not fit the unique angled walls of a concrete wigwam. But, mission accomplished!

Click here for Cave City Wigwam's website.

The next morning, I had to race to Mammoth Cave to get a ticket for the Mammoth Passage Tour, which is limited to day-of purchases. I wanted to take a cave tour, without the crawling, claustrophobic confines of a real "cave" tour, and this one was it. The Passages Tour focused on the history of the caves, from a geologic and anthropologic sense, and was a starting point for the longer tours. It did not inspire me to put on a lighted helmet to take a more intense tour, but it was a really great experience to check off the list.

Click here for Mammoth Cave's website.

Finally, on the drive back, I swung by Bernheim Forest to see the Giants! I will definitely return to Bernheim to explore more of the grounds now that I've been introduced to the happenings there, and will I plan for a less-crowded time.

Click here for Bernheim's website.

So, great roadtrip getaway, and several summer bucket list items checked off. Who is up for the next round of adventures?

Mary M. Miller and Belle of Louisville Cruises

I am getting started on my summer bucket list! I get a reminder of these delightful pending items when I drove past and got to hear the Belle's calliope tooting away. In a short span of six days, I was able to cruise on Mary M. Miller and the Belle of Louisville. Both were fantastic experiences that I highly recommend!

I wanted to experience the Mary M. Miller first, since I had already cruised on the Belle. If you don't recognize her name, Mary M. Miller was the first female to earn her riverboat captain's license. Mary M. Miller (the boat) just came to Louisville in 2017, so I was excited to give her a spin. The date I scheduled the trip turned out to be a rain-saturated, foggy day, but she still launched! The Ohio River was churning with some good atmospheric mist.

I planned ahead and got the brunch buffet, which included a wide variety of comfort foods.

Afterward, I went up on the deck to get some fresh - rainsoaked - air, which did not lessen the experience. A DJ played music and shared tidbits of information as we cruised on, like the high mark of the 1937 flood, the Louisville Water Tower, and the former home of Jeffboat.

The next weekend, I scheduled the Belle of Louisville. As you can see, I got a beautiful, blue-sky day! For my non-Louisville readers, the Belle is more than 100 years old, and she is the oldest river steamboat in operation. She is on the National Register of Historic Places, and a National Historic Landmark, to boot.

This is that historic steamboat wheel at work!

The view coming back was stunning, and a super cool way to see the variety of the Ohio River bridges!

There are all kinds of cruises, like up to Madison or down through the Locks. I encourage you to schedule a trip, even if you think you've already experienced the Belle or Mary M. Miller. See you out there!

Click here for Belle of Louisville's website.

Dunes and Tulips Road Trip: Holland, Michigan

After maxing out on the Dunes, my next stop was Holland, Michigan for Tulip Time! For two weekends in May - and the days between - Holland celebrates everything tulips. There were Dutch-themed parades, concerts, cooking exhibitions, and tours for attendees to enjoy. I joined friends who had planned an extended stay, and I got to crash in their lovely cottage in Saugatuck, about 12 miles from all the action in Holland.



But first. some lunch. This is my spread from The Southerner in Saugutuck. (Check out the formica table!) I had to try the fried chicken, and our waiter recommended half Nashville Hot, and half Traditional. Both were delicious! I went with braised greens and a flaky biscuit as my sides. YUM!! On the walk back to the cottage, we planned our next activity: seeing some tulips!

Click here for The Southerner's website.

We could see a wide range of colors from the car, but we knew that a tulip farm was the way to go. Veldheer Tulip Gardens was both a garden and a marketplace, where you could select your varieties after touring the gardens and have the bulbs delivered in the fall for planting, in anticipation of spring blooms.

Here are just a few of the magnificent colors:







Lovely, huh?! I'm just going to see that my weeping eyes and running nose were totally worth this experience!!

Click here for Veldheer's website.



And my final food shout-out on this road trip is Scooters Cafe & Pizzeria, in the cute little shopping district in Saugatuck. It was recommended by a local artist, who eats at Scooters most days of the week. This baby is half Greek and half Margherita, and wholey cow delicious!

Click here for Scooters Cafe & Pizzeria's website.

It will be hard to go to work tomorrow, but I am totally recharged from the beauty of Dunes and Tulips!

Dunes and Tulips Road Trip: Indiana Dunes National Park

Indiana Dunes became a National Park in February! What better way to experience the new NP than with Indiana Landmarks and their Logs to Lustrons Tour? Road trip!!

The tour focused on the buildings inside the Park, from log cabins to Lustrons, which was modular housing built of enamel-coated steel. They were manufactured after World War II until 1950, primarily to address the housing shortage. I did not know that the National Park Service is responsible for protecting and maintaining the built environment, in additional to all the natural resources, inside the Parks! Did you know that?!

On this tour, we saw 100 years of architectural history, from log cabins, to a Sears home, a repurposed barn into a really cool school, a sweet mid-century modern home, and two Lustrons. Thirteen homes in all, and attendees were able to visit inside nine of them. One Lustron was in rough shape, and the other was restored to its original glory. Lesson learned #2 was that private citizens lease these homes, and do all the preservation work on their own dime. They get to live there, but they can't own the homes in the NP perimeter. I highly recommend this tour the next time it is offered through Indiana Landmarks!





















We got to take a looksie at the Century of Progress Homes, also located inside the Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Five homes from the 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair were relocated here; all were designed as predictions of what homes could be. Note that this is a separate tour that I plan to take! Interested in living in one? Our friends at Indiana Landmarks would love to talk to you!



And then there's the dunes, with 15,000 acres of ever-moving dunes, wetlands, prairies, rivers and forests. Gorgeous! And here's the view toward the Lake from this same spot:



Ahhhh!!!

Click here for Indiana Dunes National Park website.

And I can't have a road trip without sharing some chow recommendations.This time, it has to be The Port in Chesterton.



Totally old-school! That tray will clip to the side of your car! I said that I would eat at the picnic tables, since eating in the car is not a novelty to me! Delish!! This was their LA Streetdog - wrapped in bacon and grilled with peppers and onions. And the root beer was served in a frosted mug! What time warp did I step into?! Amazing! Definitely swing by when you visit the Dunes!

Click here for The Port's website.

La Catrina Mexican Kitchen

What a treat! Mardi Gras AND Taco Tuesday celebrations wrapped up in three delicious tortillas! This trifecta - with its festive purple, green, and gold Mardi Gras colors - came from the new La Catrina Mexican Kitchen at the corner of Elm and Second Streets in downtown New Albany.

You really can't miss the location with the Day of the Dead style artwork outside, with more themed decorations inside.

After reading through their menu, it was a tough call, but I went with La Playa (grilled salmon) on the left, Los Cabos (battered cod) in the middle, and Dona Nena (potato) on the right. The blue corn tortillas were a wonderful treat! Delicious!!

Please note that I am NOT giving La Catrina up for Lent, so I am open to going back at any time. Who wants to join me?!

Check out their website here.

Cafe Beignet at The Fish House

Cafe Beignet potato pancakes, andouille sausage, and beignets!

Cafe Beignet maaaaaay be my new favorite breakfast place! I'm still trying to really figure this out, but it seems like they are The Fish House most of the time, with scrod, shrimp and catfish with homestyle sides on the menu. Then, on weekend mornings, they also serve up breakfast via Cafe Beignet. Either way, it is a completely low-key, kick-back spot, where guests from different tables connect and share stories. I totally lucked out when the couple at the next table ordered three of the caramel-praline beignets, and the third was offered to me! Wow!!

My plate of still-warm beignets was superb, and I selected the potato pancakes and andouille sausage as sides for the day's specials. Let the good times roll!!

So who wants to join me in getting messy with powdered sugar all over everything?!

Check out their website here.

Guaca Mole

Poblano Mole from Guaca Mole

Oh my goodness! I have been in the mood for some El Pollo Loco (gulp, a quick service chain in LA) with fire-grilled chicken, beans and rice, but I can't seem to find anything similar locally.

Then a friend asked me to join her at Guaca Mole on Ormsby Station Road. What a delicious surprise! This is the Poblano Mole: roasted chicken with queso fresco, crema, and cilantro, with a side of rice and refried black beans, and decadent plantains. WOW!! I decided against showing the after picture. Beans and rice were stirred into the juices of the chicken, and plantains were dipped in black beans. I LICKED that plate clean, well, in a nice lady-like way!

No, it wasn't El Pollo Loco; it was like 100x crazy good chicken!!

Click here for their website.

Artesano Spanish Tapas and Wine

Ensalada Peral

I know it may be hard to believe, but sometimes I do order a salad, with vegetables and such. I am especially pleased to share this beauty from Artesano. Full disclosure requires that I admit to sharing a charcuterie and cheese board beforehand. But I CHOSE this salad over other very-decadent entrees!

This is the Ensalada Peral, with baby spinach, blue cheese, pear vinaigrette, carmelized walnuts, d'anjou pears, and golden raisins. The pears definitely added a surprise twist, and I felt ultra-healthy with the spinach surging in my veins. Delicious and nutritious! Hmm, I should make the smart choice more often!

Click here for their website.

Falls of the Ohio: 25th Anniversary of Visitor Center

The Falls of the Ohio Visitor Center is celebrating the 25th Anniversary since opening, and I am super excited to get to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the collection area!

The Falls of the Ohio continues to inspire my geology-geek interests, as it has for most of the 25 years since the Visitor Center opened. For a quick overview, the Falls of the Ohio fossil beds have exposed specimens that are 390 million years old! Back in the day, I took pictures of the fossils for a geology project on a trip back home. My classmates at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles were blown away! For a timestamp, I used an actual camera, and had a I film canister for scale in my pictures. On most trips back, a visit to Falls was secondary only to a White Castle run.

Now, I'm getting a chance to see some of the cool specimens not accessible on any other day. Shout out to Park Paleontologist Alan Goldstein for his patience with questions from all the fans!

 

I'm looking forward to another 25 years, and many more!!

Click here for details on the festivities!

Pints & Union

Or, Pints&union, is a fantastic addition to the downtown New Albany exploding food scene! They are a British-inspired bar on Market Street with delicious food options.

I've been twice, once for my international favorite Scotch eggs, served up this time with pickled onions.

And once for my burger-of-the-month selection of the Union Burger. Note it's pork tenderloin sizing, with the cheese and the burger surpassing the bun borders! Sooo good!!

Both were delicious, and the atmosphere was quite chummy. I can totally understand all the buzz they are getting. Now I see that they have live music throughout the week, so I will definitely need to make another stop!

Who is ready to give Pints&union a try?

Click here for their website.