home away from home: Madison, WI

     Our main drive for visiting Madison was to see our good friend Kate’s parents Linda and Jack.  We could not have asked for a more inviting welcome complete with hugs, stories and a big plate of home-made vegan cookies!  In fact, they were so warm and welcoming and the weather outside was so dreary (wet, cold, grey) that we spent our first full day in Madison inside drinking tea, reading, relaxing and  filling our ears with Linda’s stories.  After being on the road for weeks, dashing from place to place, walking and biking all around cities, constantly locating and relocating places and things, not to  mention freezing in Chicago, we were due for a little R&R and the Woodfords provided us with the perfect opportunity.  Chelsea took the time to made friends with the illusive “Baby”, the Woodfords loveable but shy Kitty and even Frida made herself at home in the driveway,and got a little frosty one cold Wisconsin morning!

When we did venture into town, we discovered a busy little city full of friendly people, engaging shops and more“co-eds”.  We explored State street and stopped in at a few of the hip places on the more residential “Willy” Street.   Among other things we quickly noticed that Madison not only had a thriving bike community (especially the University of Wisconsin campus and surrounding area) but also an observably high population of (vespa)scooters!

   On State street, the main drag reserved for people, bikes and the occasional delivery truck, we discovered several engaging places.  At the Good Will we amused ourselves contemplating Halloween costumes and Zach got a cheap and stylish coat.  In A Room of One’s  Own, an extensive feminist bookstore we browsed at length.  Iris picked up 10,000 dresses for her children’s book collection and Chelsea discovered Girl Drive an awesome feminist cross-country compilation.  Next we stopped over at the co-operatively run Community Pharmacy, which was a thing of beauty. a dedicated space for natural remedies and products alongside information, books, an impressive female health section as well as a fully operational “traditional” prescription-filling pharmacy.  A rare find, right on Madison.  

Our visit to Madison was made complete by a couple conversations with the lovely Kate (currently living in Lima, Peru), a driving tour of the neighborhood she grew up in, and a question quenching supply of Kate stories from Linda.   By the end of our stay we felt like part of the family.  Reluctant to leave our home away from home we said our goodbyes and forged on to Kansas City.the bean counter
miles traveled: 131
pieces of snail mail sent: 12
number of vespas spotted: 107
mullets: 0

restaurant review: Chicago Chomps

   Frequently when we arrive in a new place we find the need to orient ourselves in one way or another.  Often this involves finding a cafe and some wi-fi, browsing the local alternative newspapers, and generally getting our bearings.  In Chicago when looking for a cafe  for just such an orientation session we happened upon the local gem argo tea.  Argo, a local chain with several locations around Chicago, offered a decent range of nosh: quiche, muffins,  flatbread, little pre-made salads, parfait cups, etc.  So nosh we did, because we were in need of nourishment, but the truly spectacular offering was the tea selection.   You can choose from their enticing selection of their “signature blends” (autumn leaves, sangria and others) or you can choose or blend your own from dozens of teas available at their tea bar! 

Must haves on the menu: a specialty tea!

-o-o-o-

   On the recommendation of a good friend, we headed to The Chicago Diner for some brunch and were blown away by everything about this famous little vegetarian dinner.  The diner was hip and cozy with a mix of customers from large family groups with young children drinking green veggie-filled smoothies to hip young philistines like ourselves.  We perused the menu at length, finding it difficult to decide from the array of truly unique and tasty-sounding dishes!   Our waiters were pleasant and patient with our indecisiveness on a busy Sunday noontime.  In fact they were so attentive and appetizing some of us wished the waiters had been on the menu too!

  In the end we ordered a Philly cheese steak, a sweet potato  quesadilla and avocado tostadas.  All three were delightful.  The vegan version of the classic dish that we missed out on in Philly was hearty, creamy and messy(the bun falling apart  halfway through greatly increased the instance of Zach-a-doo*).  The use of sweet potato in a variety of vegetarian and vegan versions of classic dishes has always been pleasing to the Amato pallet, but she remarks that the sweet potato quesadilla was a particularly tasty example of this vegetarian ingenuity.  The avocado tostadas were delightful mix of crunchy tortilla shells with creamy bean spread, seasoned quinoa and of course fresh avocado (Iris is a sucker for avocado) the zippy Argentine salsa tied together the whole experience.

With his meal the vegan also indulged in a peanut butter banana chocolate shake.  When it arrived he gleefully dove in while the girls looked on longingly.  Eventually they mooched a taste and were so moved by  the decadence of it that they just had to order another one to split!  While the shakes were polished off, two out of the three dishes provided leftovers enough for a second meal for the road. The Chicago Diner won a place in our hearts and our stomachs and is a guaranteed stop for any future visits we might make to Chicago.

must haves on the menu:
sweet potato quesadilla and a vegan shake!

*Zach-a-doo-the mess left behind when Zach eats.  May included but is not limited to, crumbs, spots of sauce, food particles and stickiness.

The Windy, Chilly, City

   Chicago was a bit of a shock for us, temperature-wise.  While we did bring some winterish clothes most of them were stashed in the auxiliary or in the bottom of our backpacks, just stepping out of Frida in the driveway sent had us shivering in our thin sweatshirts and long sleeves.  Maria, our host and another friend of Iris’s from NMH,was kind and accommodating of our late arrival, and relatively last minute plan to visit Chi-Town.

   Once inside and warmer, we chatted it up with Maria about her studies, her brothers and the bowling league she recently joined.  She and Iris could not resist reminiscing about NMH just a little bit (the joys of our old email system, SWIS!) while Chelsea and Zach marveled at her mother’s substantial collections, the most prominent and impressive to us being her DVD collection.  With so many movies at our disposal we decided it might be a good chance to take in a film.  When selecting from a collection comparable to a rental store, finding common ground and not getting lost in the choices was a challenge, but ultimately we decided on Gone Baby Gone, set in our familiar Boston.

The next day we bundled up and ventured into the cold, leaving Frida to relax in the suburbs we took the train into the city.  Chicago was the first city in a while that we did not whip around town on our bikes, so pedestrians once more, we explored this new-to-us city the slow way.  We spent the better part of the day inside “the loop” of the elevated train in the center of the city.  We were delighted to find, without much effort, a good deal of things to do  for free.  The Millennium park offered us a wealth of visual stimulation in the form of outdoor sculptures and gardens. “It’s like an outdoor art museum” Chels remarked, and indeed it was, we all found something to amuse ourselves.  Including Chinese sculptures, the oversaturated reflective “bean”, the face-fountains, beautiful sprawling gardens and an outdoor pavilion that makes the hatch shell look like a puppet theater.  

   When we could take the wind and the cold no longer, we crossed the street from the park and sought out the Chicago Cultural Center.  We were astounded by how much the cultural center had to offer, several exhibits, in particular we drawn to the Barbara Crane 60 year photography retrospective and the Project Onward open studios.   Later we stopped into the Lego Store, where Zach was like a vegan in a vegan candy store.  We made lego people of the three of us…look for them in future photos!  Afterwards we grabbed some food and made our way over to Hydrate on Halstead street.  There we took in a fab drag/parody show: Annee Pocalypse and although they’ve got nothing on the professionalism of the Gold Dust Orphan productions we frequented in Boston, the writing and acting was hilarious!

   In order to catch the last train back to Itasca, we had to leave Halstead (and the dance party that was brewing in Hydrate) earlier than we would have liked, so we revisited the fun area the next morning.  You know you’re on Halstead street when you see the big, phallic, gay, beacons!   We then spent a delightful few hours poking around the costume shops (Chels  got a wig!) and eating at the famous Chicago Dinner.  Chicago was good to us, despite the cold, but it was time to move on for the sake of moving on, and so we made the short drive up to Madison!

the bean counter
miles traveled: 457
pieces of snail mail sent: 1
number of people wearing shorts/sandals/skirts or otherwise inappropriately dressed: 7
wedding photo shoots witnessed: 3
mullets: 0

Autumn in Athens

   In Athens, Ohio Zach’s cousin Sara and her husband Roy welcomed us into their home and gave us a thorough and thoughtful orientation to Athens.  They were delighted to have visitors and told us all about the sights and history in and around Athens.  We were excited to hear the surrounding area offered a wealth of hiking and nature exploration, but many of the sites involved considerable drives to get there, so we opted to bike on the bike path and into downtown Athens.    

   Athens was a adorable little town, nestled in the crook of a diverted  river.  Home of the university of Ohio, it is pretty hip and happening for a town of its size, with youthful stores and bars and “co-eds” teeming the streets.  Roy told us of the “court street shuffle” a challenge to go to all 12 of the bars on the main street of town: court street.  We toyed with the idea, but decided we were content to just explore the town in the daylight and relax in the evening: a developing theme of ours.   

   With the crisp leaves on the ground, a little bit of a chill in the air (down from 70s-80s in DC), the and the wealth of college students, Athens reminded us of the allure of New England autumns.  As we wandered the little streets we stopped into Farmacy, the local co-op; hung out at the Donkey, a hip little cafe; and perused Athens Underground, the funky thrift store. 

   The next morning glad to once again have use of a kitchen, we made scallion pancakes for a hearty savory breakfast before heading onward to Chicago.  As we left Athens, we passed through Nelsonville, the next town over, and as Roy informed us, the home town of the lovely Sarah Jessica Parker! We were so glad to have a place to stay in Ohio and a nice little sojourn in the country before the Windy City.

the bean counter
miles traveled: 366
pieces of snail mail sent: 7
mullets: 0

moving right along…

   As of today we have been on the road for one month.  Sometimes we get caught up in the day to day and forget how epic our trip is.  Here are some stats to lend perspective. 

in one month we have…
traveled 3224 miles. 
made it as far as Boulder, Colorado (yeah yeah we know we’re behind on posts)
sent 95 pieces of snail mail.
been welcomed into 12 different homes in 11 cities.
stopped in 17 towns. 
met 19 companion animals.
drove in 16 states.
met up with/met/reconnected with 38 people.
had two surprise visitors.
shared 37 meals.
stopped in 15 towns.
contemplated numerous publically and privately held art pieces.
browsed dozens of books.
took 1358 photos.
changed time zones, twice.
exchanged stories countless times.

"we don’t need a map to keep this show on the road!”

Quick and Dirty: Baltimore

   Our stopover in Baltimore was brief (less than 24 hours) but very enjoyable.  We left DC late (after getting stuck at Sticky Fingers for a bit) and arrived in the neighboring Baltimore in no time.  We stayed with Chelsea’s good friend Owen who appropriately refers to himself as “papa anarchy” for the large co-op style anarchist household that he lives in.   
   Chelsea, a frequenter of Bmore in the past, was glad to return and requested a visit to Paper Moon, which Owen happily drove us to in, get this, Frida’s identical twin!  At one point when we were driving home in the dark, Iris even reached down for something in Frida, thinking Owen’s ride was her.   Paper moon was delightful, for the visually stimulating  decor,the food and the company.  The only downside to Paper Moon was that it was a little heavy on the rules, unapologetically so.

Back at the ranch, we chatted the evening away with Owen and a rotating cast of housemates.  We talked about a variety of stimulating subjects including: food liberation from dumpsters, their  anarchist belief system, drag and gender non-conformity, the housemate who dwells in an under-the-stairs harry potter closet, methods of cross-country travel, the internal workings of their co-op and poked through their sizable Zine library on similar subjects.

Semi-early the next morning we packed out, said our good-byes and moved on.  We had our longest and westwardest journey ahead of us.  Next stop: Athen’s, OH.the bean counter
miles traveled: 43
pieces of snail mail sent: 0
mullets: 0

restaurant review: DC dishes

The second rice was just as nice.  A hip looking place on 14th st in Macey and Caroline's neighborhood, Dupont, this rice served up tasty Thai food.  Enticed by much of the menu we decided to get a bunch of things and split them.  Macey,the outnumbered meat eater, graciously went along with it.  To start with we got the ubiquitous deep fried tofu, and tasty and “rice style” pumpkin empanadas, a delightful  little surprise to find on a Thai menu.  We moved on to an unintentionally mushroom-saturated entre selection: drunken noodles with mixed mushroom and tofu, green curry mixed mushroom and tofu and crispy tofu and ginger topped with mushroom sauce.   All three dishes were tasty and satisfying.  The best part, the second rice also served as a second birthday dinner!  Sweet.

must haves on the menu:
sweet potato empanadas

-o-o-o-

And what trip to a college campus would be complete without a trip to the campus cafeteria?  Too bad GW doesn’t really have one, a fact that Chelsea and Iris had a hard time getting over.  After baffling  over it with Macey and Owen, we decided the best way to understand it was to go to J street and see it for ourselves.  It was basically a cluster of fast food restaurants, all of which were closed at quarter of 8 on a Sunday evening.  Worried that there was no option for eating well, we went to the pay per weight cafeteria area which did have a surprisingly broad and healthy selection, including a “vegan bar”.  While the selection was on par with other College cafeterias, which is to say, passable for food, the price for those of us without a GW bucks card it was rough on our wallets.  Still, eating in and hanging out made for some fun quality time with both the Bros.

must haves on the menu:
QT with the bros

-o-o-o-

It might have been better had we not discovered Sticky Fingers Bakery, because it made us realize how lacking Boston is in the vegan delights department.  Chelsea and Iris met up with the vegan there, and found him in a cute, hip, little Dinner-style seating area where some people were cozyed in with computers and others were conversing and chomping contentedly.  The walk up counter offered a appetizing range of baked goods and a large selection of pre-made sandwiches, wraps and salads.  When we arrived Zach had already devoured a grilled cheese sandwich which he raved about “it’s just like childhood, only vegan!”.   Chelsea got a pre-made “Asian Salad” which was just alright, and Iris got one of the only other things on the hot menu, a vegan quesadilla, or as we  coined with Caroline, a vegadilla, which was delicious and vegetable-filled with teese and vegan sour cream that could have passed for the real stuff.  The sugar eaters among us polished off the meal with a slice of vegan peanut butter and chocolate cake and a lemon coconut cookie.   Both were solidly “good”, but not out of this world, but then again our vegan standards are rapidly rising.  

must haves on the menu:
anything from the hot menu

-o-o-o-

For space/time reasons we’ve been trying to keep these reviews to the three best places if we go to more than that, but for this one we’re going to have go ahead and rave about the Amsterdam for outstanding falafel.  What really sets this place apart, and reminds Iris of her staple vegetarian dining option in Spain was that they give you a white or wheat pita with falafel and hummus and then there is a self serve bar where you can add any number of toppings, vegetables mixes and sauces.  Making it your own is magnificent. 

must haves on the menu:
the falafel!

-o-o-o-

honorable mention from the Chels Bells:  
KramerBooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill

the city of brotherly love

 

…no not Philadelphia, we’re talking about the city that contains 50% of Iris’s brothers: DC.  In DC we stayed with Macey and Caroline who are taking in their last month in their adorable place before moving on up to home ownership.  With the two of them, the three of us, Olivia and Nico (their cats) and Chester (the turtle) sharing his patio/garden abode with our bikes it was a full house, but we were glad to be some of their last guests in their treasured home of 5 years.  They doted on us accordingly: Caroline, a long-time vegetarian introduced us to her Levington specialty, hummus quesadillas (if it’s sans cheese is it just a dilla?), and Macey treated us to a vegan waffle party.  Yum!

Located in Dupont Circle, with bike lanes right on their street, their place was well situated for city exploring and we were all excited to see the range of things DC had to offer.  Having been on our trip for almost two weeks, we were glad for the opportunity to spread out a little bit and check out DC’s vast array of museums and monuments with a degree of autonomy.  

After some solo and sola adventures we reunited (with Macey sporting his backpack like all the other kids) to bug up Owen in his new abode, Thurston Hall, the freshman dorm at George Washington University.  It brought us all back a little bit, we got to visit the “co-eds” as Chelsea kept putting it.  We had fun reminiscing it up and hearing the (tall) tales of college life.  Of course no trip to a dorm would be complete without a good old fashioned public urination story. Classic. 

On our last night in DC, we visited with Tara, a friend of Iris’ from her high school days at Northfield Mt Herman. We met with her and her partner Jen at a great falafel bar in their hip, eclectic neighborhood, Adams Morgan.  The conversation and falafel were both stimulating and delicious, and we really enjoyed the feel of this off-beat neighborhood. 

Before we knew it, we were saying our byes to the Bro’s and were off to Baltimore for a brief layover before heading west in earnest. 

the bean counter
miles traveled: 123
pieces of snail mail sent: 38 (a new record, bolstered no doubt by our postal museum experience)
compliments on Chelsea’s hair: 7
mullets: 0

Museum Madness

 

The American History  is home to many artifacts from the past. Both Chelsea and Iris were excited to see the kitchen of cooking TV queen Julia Child. Julia had her Cambridge kitchen sent to the Smithsonian to be put on display. The exhibit is one of the most popular in the museum and it showed as it was pretty packed. Zach checked out many of the other exhibits at the American history including one about transportation. Fun fact: The first cross country trip by car was in 1903 and was done after one person bet the other that it could not be done.

The Air and Space Museum is considered one of the most popular in DC. It is fascinating to see the different crafts used to get into space. The museum feels very dated. The exhibit on the “space race” ends in 1983 where we hope that one day the Americans and the soviets can be friends together in outer space travel. There are no exhibits about space since 1983. So much has happened since the end of the Apollo missions. Fun Fact: Coke and Pepsi had their own space race for having their soda in space.

As you can see by the mail sent counter that we (or more like Chelsea and Iris) love to send snail mail, so it was no surprise that a good chunk of time was spent at the National Postal Museum. The exhibit on direct mail (don’t call it junk mail) was a mixture of fun and annoying as you go through different touch screens giving info on yourself. At the end you got a junk mail letter (I mean direct mail letter) with your picture and a coupon for 10% off at the gift shop. There was also an exhibit on the first postal route connecting (wait for it) Boston to Philadelphia. Chelsea and Iris ended the visit by going to the stamp shop. They were like two kids in a candy store as they got all different kinds of stamps. Fun Fact: In 1888 a stray named Owney was adopted by the Albany Post Office and become the first postal mascot.

photo essay: philly

--Murals murals everywhere. this certainly is a decorated city. beautiful. however, learned a bit from Iris's friend Greg about the politics of murals- who gets to paint them where and how.  the Mural Arts Program who paints the majority of them is run by the Anti-Graffiti Network.  Most murals are painted over graffiti art, the program claims to involve young graffiti artists and the local community in the creation process, although we know of one neighborhood in west Philly where, funded by the University, they forwarded it's agenda and were less than respectful of the neighborhood's ideas, wishes and even individual's likenesses which are pictured in the mural without permission!



Mandi, fun and spunky young yogi in training, fellow blogger and nanny extraordinar, welcomed us into her home, her room and her bed.  Plenty of cozy, tea, conversations and Glee.



bountiful breakfasts. Zach made delicious vegan pancakes which through no fault of his own may have set off the smoke detector early in the morning (sorry Morgan!) which caused Chels and Mandi to (wo)man the doors, using them to fan smoke out of the apartment.  when Iris made a veggie, tofu scramble and sautéed apples the morning before there were no major tragedies.  having use of a kitchen and people to cook for: priceless.

















Chelsea has made a regular habit of changing her footwear on Frida.  The Auxiliary might also be called "Chelsea's dressing room".










Philly also provided an opportunity for much needed haircuts for Chels and Zach.   The barber shop open for business.





Chels discovers Jauque outside of Honey's.
 Love at first sight.

Iris re-connects with Greg, a high school friend and inspiration 8 years later.  Greg is dancing, living in a land-trust co-op in west Phily and generally being cool.  plus he has a porch swing.





the road crew and our hosts all do a lot of biking around the city.  ask us how Philly's public transportation is...we have no idea.
the vegan gives Philly 4 out of 5 bell rings for bikeability.










getting lost in the enchanting jungle of the City Planter.

Also business shout out to Art Star, a really cool little shop/art gallery with a bit of everything.  Mostly smaller crafted items, unconventional cards, pins, jewelry etc.

Phenomenal Philly we leave you for DC, but hope to return some day at the very least for some more vegan treats!

where are we now?  follow our progress and the break down of our route on our map!

the bean counter
miles traveled: 101
pieces of snail mail sent: 11
delicious vegan treats consumed: 5
mullets: 0

(sorry for the massive gaps and formatting issues, including photos is difficult and mysterious--even blogger is sure where the photos are going to appear until they do)

restaurant reviews: Philly food

On our first night in Philly,  Mandi, Asher and  Morgan  and the Road Crew (the name we coined for ourselves)  all went out to A Full Plate.  The ambiance, food and the people we went there with was a wonderful welcome to Philadelphia.  Zach ordered the nutty and creamy vegan mac and cheese.  The vegan reports that while it didn’t have a particularly cheesy taste, it was satisfying and delicious in its own right.  Then nut and bread crumb topping was a particularly nice touch.  I ordered a sun burger, homemade with crushed sunflower seeds, wheat germ and veggies.  Luckily Chelsea ordered my second choice the homemade spinach and black bean burger.  Instead of fries, the burgers came with a nice little salad of beans, onion and cucumbers, a lighter taste to balance with the hearty burgers.  Both were delish.

To top it all of they served our drinks in mason jars, a little touch of home.

must haves on the menu:

a slice of the Elvis cake (banana, peanut butter and chocolate) at mandi's recommendation.

-o-o-o-

In West Philly, Chels Bell’s used her prior knowledge(Mandi and Asher lived in west Philly until recently) and general prowess to direct us towards, Satellite Café for a little nosh and atmosphere while waiting to meet up with Greg.  And Satellite provided.  We sat in the cozy café surrounded by warm rich warm colors, and split the “Bike Shop” wrap.  Named for Firehouse Bicycles  Satelite’s upstairs neighbors, the “bike shop” is a delicious warm wrap with cream cheese, pesto, spinach and roasted red peppers and is available on a bagel and/or with vegan crème cheese.  The warm melty quality of the cream cheese nicely offset the fresh spinach and soft tangy peppers.  For the vegan we got a chocolate peanut butter brownie which was truly a work of art, a rich chocolate brownie with a thick layer of peanut butter chunks and topped off with a drizzling of thin white decorative icing.   The vegan gobbled it up later, quick to assert it as “the best vegan brownie [he’d] ever had, maybe even the best brownie ever. “

Must haves on the menu: 
vegan chocolate peanut butter brownie
Chels say’s: “their coffee is good too!”

-o-o-o-

I can’t say enough about Honey’s sit and eat.  It was recommended to us by Greg, a local vegan, and provided us with a lovely last meal in Philly.   We got table outside and as we began to read, were wowed by the menu.  It  was a breakfast-anytime sort of place with a distinct jewish flair.  The offerings ranged from enticing omelette's (for those who indulge), challa french toast, burgers and latkes.  The guacamole side with homemade chips was the most satisfying portion of guac I've ever been served, even some to take on the road.   The veggie "chicken fried steak" came with a gravy sauce that turned out to have dairy in it, but the accommodating staff was quick to make amends when we discovered it and the vegan seemed to enjoy it.  Chels and I devoured the gently spiced and satisfying vegetable latkes with applesauce.  Late in the meal we discovered that the patty in the chicken fried steak was the same as the vegetable latkes!  double yum!

Must haves on the menu:
vegetable latkes and/or chicken fried steak, hands down.

the Magic of South Street

What do you get when you mix a bunch of property, pieces of ceramic, pieces of mirror, a 70 year old artist and tons of mortar? The Magic Gardens of South Street.


As we were on our way out of Philly we made a lost important stop: South street. The street is full of many different shops and art galleries including one "Dumpster Divers" gallery made out of found objects. As we headed down the street we found a building covered from top to bottom with mosaic. The mosaic mixed found objects, homemade tiles, and mirrors to create amazing patterns and pictures.  And then we found another one, and another, and a whole mosaiced ally, a garage, a store front and more.

The mosaics are the work of Isaiah Zagar. Isaiah and his wife bought dilapidated buildings on South Street during the late 60's. They would renovate the buildings and add mosaics to the walls of the buildings and rent them out.  If only they had been our landlords!

In the early 90's Zagar started building what is now known as the magic garden. It is a labyrinth of mosaic and found objects. It was fun exploring the magic
garden there were so many different hidden images and messages in the walls. There were many bike wheels used like windows. While walking throught the maze we stumbled on a fashion shoot!  Chelsea was on the look out for Tyra and Miss J while we hung around waiting for them to finish so we could get our own shot in since they were blocking the best spot of the whole gardens. Rude.

All in all the gardens, and looking at  Zagar's work throughout the street was a very rewarding way to spend the afternoon.  Putting his art in the street not only decorates the neighborhood but it makes art accessible.  As Zagar reaffirms: "Art is the center of the real world".  Those words are used as a sort of slogan and repeated throughout his work.  He now teaches workshops and the non-profit organization that sprung up around protecting his work from destruction (for the creation of condos) runs community events with a focus on artistic collaboration and access.  Pretty sweet.