View from the Innside

March of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock Arkansas

The Peabody chain of hotels is famous for their fountains with ducks, and the twice-daily march of the ducks as they come out at 11:00 a.m. and retire for the day at 5:00. A  Duckmaster is in charge of them, and they can have a "duckmaster for the day." Today it was Sean, and his younger brother was his assistant.

The ducks live in a special area on the second floor, where they are brought to the elevator in a crate and ride down to the main lobby. A red carpet is laid out for them from the elevator, around the corner, up the steps and into the fountain. The idea is that as Sousa's "Cotton King March" plays, the ducks proceed along the carpet to the fountain. However, Sean's mother told me the ducks were so anxious to arrive that they pretty much stampeded. The young duckmaster was supposed to precede them with his duck-headed cane, but the ducks were so fast out of the elevator that they left him racing behind. After all, there's a big pool waiting with a big plate of food in it.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Pine State Biscuits, Ikea, Famous Dave's and the Lucky Lab in Portland Oregon

We'll need a vacation after our vacation, since we're packing a lot into each day. We started Wednesday with breakfast at Pine State Biscuits on Belmont Street, the main feature of which is, of course, biscuits. I'm a purist, so I stayed with the sausage gravy on biscuits, but Steve got adventurous with the Reggie Deluxe--a pile-up of fried chicken, bacon, cheese, and gravy on biscuits, topped with an egg (that's the "deluxe" part).

Walking around Ikea was good for several hours, both for some specific things we were looking for and getting ideas for use of space in general. We picked up some very specific hardware we needed for our next project, but Ikea doesn't ship a lot of their stuff, so another field trip of the day was a trip to UPS, where I spent almost as much for the packing and shipping as I did for the hardware.

After shopping, it's time for another meal, of course! Since we were in the area, we had had lunch at Famous Dave's Pit Barbecue. A half a chicken with Rich and Sassy sauce, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and a corn muffin was a really substantial meal.

The end of the evening was spent with some friends at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub for some pizza and catching up. Urban renewal continues in Portland in an area which used to be run-down and industrial. All those warehouses, auto repair places and machine shops have now been converted into trendy brew pubs, condos and shops. I love that they're keeping the industrial elements like big garage doors that open, concrete floors, and remnant hardware like big pulleys hanging from the ceiling beams. It's a way of moving into the future while retaining reminders of the past.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Blue Plate Diner, Powell's Books, Ristretto Roasters, Rejuvenation and Sushiville in Portland

I love traveling. It's one great meal to the next with some fun stuff in between. Yesterday's lunch at the Blue Plate Diner was wonderful. The Tuesday specials were the "American in Paris" sandwich and Grandma's Pot Roast, which was delicious. I also enjoyed the Hawaiian Sunset Soda, and Steve had a coffee milkshake with his grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. The Blue Plate is my idea of the perfect diner--do a few things very well for the daily menu and also have a couple of specials every day to keep things interesting.

After a quick stop at the Apple Store, we headed over to Powell's Books, where I picked up a fabulous new book on Paper Engineering by Natalie Avella.

The most interesting stop of the day was Ristretto Roasters, located in the Schoolhouse Electric Building on the fringe of the industrial area of Portland. After enjoying a fine hand-crafted mocha, we strolled around the building, enjoying the warehouse interior and the creative uses of industrial pieces and materials, like a bench made from a card catalog.

A visit to Rejuvenation was interesting but proved fruitless, which is what happens when you're looking for very specific parts, like crescent window locks and transom window hardware, although they had an intriguing sliding door which could work in a specific place in one of our rooms.

The day ended at Sushiville for conveyor belt sushi, one of the joys we've missed in Albuquerque.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
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Ya Hala Lebanese Restaurant and Penzeys Spices in Portland, Oregon

The first place our daughter and her husband took us after we landed in Portland was to Ya Hala Lebanese Restaurant for lunch.  What a wonderful place! I haven't been a big fan of pita bread because, like flour tortillas, if you get it at the grocery store it may not be that good. But made fresh and served directly to your table, it's awesome, especially with the hummus! I had chicken shawarma with hummus and my husband had a beef kafta sandwich. Everything was so yummy! Great restaurants is just one reason we love Portland.

Ya Hala Lebanese Restaurant
8005 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR  97215
(503) 256-4484
open Monday-Saturday 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
www.yahalarestaurant.com

Among other places that afternoon, we visited Penzeys Spices in Beaverton and picked up some Ceylon cinnamon and "Sunny Paris" spice herb blend (can't wait to try this in scrambled eggs). Steve also bought some breakfast sausage spice mix so he can make his own sausage. I picked up their catalog, which has recipes as well as their product line. Penzeys  Penzeys has locations all over the country, so you can look for one near you or order online.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy
Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com
follow us on Facebook