Honolulu, Hawaii: February 5, 2016; the lure of the beach, big news in Waikiki

So, the big plan was to go to Chinatown for the evening because my visit happened to coincide with First Friday, which is a monthly event in Chinatown, that includes gallery walks, etc. But, the lure the beach and sitting around doing nothing was too great. I ended up visiting Chinatown in the afternoon instead.

Anyway, to start the day, I hiked up Diamond Head. That's the big peak that's often visible in skyline shots of Honolulu. I headed over there for 7:30 AM, and there were already many people there hiking to the peak as well.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Diamond Head viewed from Waikiki Beach. February 5, 2016
at 5:17 PM.

More....

Photos of the day, and Good bye to all that: December 31, 2015

Photos of the Day:  fake faces

There's some sort of theme, I think.

St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto.  November 30, 2015 at 2:45 PM.  f/5.6, 1/50 s at ISO 100.

St. Paul's Basilica Parish, Toronto.  December 3, 2015 at 7:17 AM.  f/5.6, 1.0s at ISO 100.

Romulus, Michigan.  December 15, 2015 at 8:27 AM.  f/4.5, 1/125 at ISO 200.

Bonus post: what I ate at my first US Thanksgiving

So, I can finally talk about it.  Thanks again to those who covered it....  This is what my first US Thanksgiving meal consisted of....

First, I had planned to eat at the Old Hickory Steakhouse in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and made a reservation in October.  (I would have made the reservation in August, but they weren't taking reservations that early).  It was a buffet, but what I hadn't completely understood was that the appetizers and desserts were typical all-you-can-eat buffet, but the main course was a choice of turkey, prime rib, I want to say some sort of fish, and something else... I can't remember.   When I made the reservation, I thought everything was all-you-can-eat. 

I got indignant at that point but determined that I would make them "pay" because the main course wasn't all-you-can-eat.  "I can eat a few plates of an appetizer that are at least equal to  a main course," I thought.  

Plate #1:  antipasti consisting of caprese salad, roasted vegetables, charcuterie, cheeses, bread and butter

Plate #2 from the next section of the buffet:  shrimp, some fruit, smoked cod, chopped egg and in the right corner, roast parsnip and pear soup, which was delicious

Plate #3 from the next section of the buffet: salad with green and yellow tomatoes, parmesan cheese and blue cheese, bread and butter, plus more soup

Plate #4 consisted of items from the first three tables.  Honestly, as soon as I sat down with this plate, I knew it was a mistake.  I figured I better eat it, since I took it.  If I were to stop when I was full, I could have stopped after this plate, but I still had the main course.  This plate:  more shrimp. roasted vegetables, salad, and roast beet salad.

For the main course I chose the prime rib.  I couldn't even get through the sides, which were carrots and beans, stuffing, mushrooms, mashed potatoes.  Now, eating felt like homework.  I got through all the prime rib, though.  I'm going to say that was 16 oz, but not sure.

I couldn't even sample more than these two desserts.  Pumpkin pie and chocolate mousse.  The waiter was trying to tell me to rest and then go back, but I just couldn't.  It felt like a personal defeat.  However, it's four days later, as I type this, and I'm still not hungry.....  Really good meal, though.

Toronto: November 29, 2015; some more shots of Austin and Nashville, chocolate in Toronto(?)

Re-adjusting to Toronto.  That means, it's a lot colder here than I recalled.  I thought I was cold in Nashville, but this is different.  It slipped my mind that you can see your breath when it's cold here, which I saw this morning....

In lieu of shots of Toronto, here are some leftover shots from my trip.  (I don't think I posted them, but I'm much too lazy to check....)  

Btw, a complete non-sequitur, but one thing that threw me off is that Texas and Tennessee are in the Central Time Zone.  This means that TV shows, in the evening, come on an hour earlier than in Toronto, but oddly, their morning shows come on at the same time as the Eastern Time zone.  So, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" starts at 10:30 PM in Texas or Tennessee instead of 11:30, but "Live with Kelly and Michael" airs at 9 AM in both time zones......  Unsettling, I tell you....

Click to enlarge the photos:

Sunrise in Austin looking east (I think) from Republic Square,  Friday November 20, 2015.

This is the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame.  The people are looking at plaques of the inductees of the Hall of Fame.  As I said, architecturally, I think the Hall is beautiful, but...

....this is what the plaques look like.  I think they're kind of horrible.  Surely, the inductees deserve better.  Don't they?

Lindt store, Shops at Don Mills, Toronto, today.  I guess it's Christmastime when these guys show up.

It was that kind of day.  I'll get some shots tomorrow, hopefully....

Nashville / Toronto: November 28, 2015: the return of my Toronto personality

Wow, it's cold in Toronto.  I believe that it was only a bit cooler in Toronto than Nashville over the last few days, but Nashville was considerably warmer than Toronto when I left this morning.

Quick thoughts about Toronto, after returning from a few days away:

1)  Man, it's cold, y'all.

2)  This is a big city.

3)  Wow, this city is crowded.

4)  The drivers sure are crabby downtown.  And aggressive.....

Until I leave again, my plan is to explore the city a bit, and maybe go places that native Torontonians don't bother with.  There are a whole bunch of things I haven't done in this city.  I hope to get some good pics as I experience the city and see if I can fall for it again (that is, when I'm not doing other things I should be doing).  Hopefully I'll have some photos I would like to share.  

In a few days, I'll be exploring the US again, with a trip to Detroit and New York City.  Plus, I still have my two weeks in Hawaii coming up in February.

In the meantime, some last photos from Nashville.  (That's not even true; I might share some later when I go through them again).

I think the following photos were taken with the automatic low light settings on my camera.  I didn't have a tripod so didn't feel comfortable shooting on manual.  (Click to enlarge photos).

The alley between the Ryman Auditorium and Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, a honky tonk on Broadway.   November 27, 2015.

Last looks at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, early morning November 28, 2015.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel, early morning November 28, 2015.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel, early morning November 28, 2015.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel, early morning November 28, 2015.

Tips and random thoughts about Austin and Nashville:
1)  While in Nashville, if asked, "Do you watch Nashville?" (the TV soap on ABC), the proper answer is "yes."  Everyone I ran into seemed to want to talk about it, tourists and native Nashvilleans (Nashvillains?) alike.

2)  For a town that attracts so many tourists for country music, people are really defensive about their city's association to country music.  I heard on at least three occasions that Nashville is more than country music.  The tour guide at the Ryman was quick to point out that the Ryman is more than the home of the Opry.  I was shown the Nashville Symphony's home by a tour guide *and* the guy who drove me in the shuttle from the airport.  Yes, I get it.... There's more than country music.....  Touchy.

3)  Man buns are more common in Austin than Nashville.

4)  The southern "drawl" starts creeping into regular speech after hearing it around you everywhere for 10 days or so.  I think it's inevitable.  I understand a bit now how all these singers sound Southern, only to find they're from Wisconsin or Iowa.  Seriously.

Nashville: November 27, 2015; last day in Nashville, what I ate

Oh Music City, I'll miss your honky tonks and non-ironic cowboy hats.

Last day in Nashville.  I had to get out of the canned environment of the Gaylord Opryland Resort.  I started at the Johnny Cash Museum.  Nothing much to note other than this:

I'm sure the "them" at the beginning of the second line should be "the" but it somehow reads more like how people actually talk in Nashville.

One thing I love about the honky tonks is that live music starts at some (most?) of them at 11 AM.  I really should research names but anyway, this woman rocked:

The woman sang "Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and without stopping, went into "All Summer Long" (Kid Rock), which samples and borrows whole chunks of "Sweet Home Alabama," (if you didn't know) and then, most awesomely and curiously, did the theme to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" on top of the groove from "Sweet Home Alabama" before returning to "Sweet Home Alabama."  Genius, in my opinion.

I like country music, but seriously, by some time Wednesday, I was countried out and was looking for something more rhythmic.  This guy and his band hit the spot tonight:

Legends Corner, on Broadway and 5th, Nashville.  Things in the audience get really sloppy really early on a Friday, it seems.

Again, I really should research this guy's name, along with his amazing band.  They freaked my face off.  Shortly after I walked in, he and his band performed, (with some songs running into each other):

-No Diggity (Blackstreet)

-The Real Slim Shady (Eminem)

-(You Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party) (The Beastie Boys)

-It's Tricky (Run DMC)

-Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-A-Lot)

That's my hip hop era!

He then did a country song that I didn't recognize (something about honky tonks), pulled up Hank Williams Jr's bass player who was in the crowd, to perform two Hank Jr songs, which I did not know but realized one must be called "Family Tradition."  (I'm a Hank Sr fan, know nothing about Hank Jr).  He then said he is mostly a country singer but likes all genres and likes to do a bit of everything, and then performed "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me."  

I will miss Nashville's bands and the fans in the honky tonks who were just as excited by Patsy Cline, Hank Jr, Miranda Lambert and hip hop and rock--and knew all the lyrics to everything.

Other than music

I had some time today, so went back to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge to get skyline shots at a better angle.  You might not see the difference, but the angle of the Batman Building wasn't optimal in the other photos.  I like this angle better, if not the actual shots, but I didn't get night shots.  It was cloudy the whole day, and really warm, about 20 degrees celsius by the afternoon.

A panoramic shot.  My one regret with this photo, which I didn't notice until later, is that Batman's "ears" aren't completely within the frame.

The more traditional view.  Cloudy the whole day.

Same angle, but with part of the bridge visible.

What I ate

I didn't get to all the food I wanted in the city, but here's what I had today.

Lunch at Puckett's:

Meat and three: catfish, smashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, turnip greens and some corn thing poking behind the turnip greens.

A Nashville thing is "meat and three" which is a meat with three side dishes.  You can't see it from this angle but the woman beside me had to tell me how to eat that pancake thing.  You treat it like bread.  Btw, she had a beautiful accent.  She seemed to be in her 80s and had what locals might call a "hillbilly" accent.  Our regionalisms in speech, I think I read somewhere, are starting to disappear because we all watch the same TV shows, etc.  I digress, though...  I was told that the catfish would be "fried."  I expected pan-fried.  I think "fried" down here means deep fried unless otherwise noted.

I also ate this for dessert at lunch:

That's a fried brownie sundae, friend.  

This fried brownie sundae is brownie batter, mixed with cookie dough, breaded and deep fried.  Sweetened pecans added, and ice cream, of course.  The crunch of the breading was great; it was really sweet.  Really good, but won't be doing that again for awhile....  When I ordered it, the waiter proclaimed, "All right!" (pronounced "raht.").  That made happier than it should.

This was dinner at Rippy's, on Broadway near the honky tonks:

Full slab of ribs with coleslaw and turnip greens.  Barbecue dinner, with live music in the room.  Not much could make it better.  (Sorry for the poor focus).

Got some barbecue to hold me over until my return to the American South, whenever that may be....  

Nashville is small, but a really good city.  I'm sad to be leaving.  Not just the music and the food, but really interesting attractions not related to music.  The Parthenon, which you saw, and the Bicentennial Mall, which I didn't describe, is also pretty great.

Off to the airport early tomorrow....

Nashville: November 26, 2015 (part 2); Gaylord Opryland Resort, USA

Now, this is the US that I wanted to see, at least for a bit.  This felt like a different culture.  (Click photos to enlarge).

Gaylord Opryland Resort, supposedly the largest hotel in the US not connected to a casino.

This is a panoramic view of *one* of the atria in the hotel.

Another view of the same atrium, so you can its height.  Some of the more expensive rooms are these ones, facing the atrium.  There are restaurants and waterfalls below.

Why go outside when you go to fake outdoors inside?  One of the other atria; I think there are three in total.  There are  at least two "lobbies" where guests can check in.  There are way too many people and they (we) are all just walking around gawking at the complex.  The whole place is like an amusement park, or a giant Rainforest Cafe (TM). 

I'm alternately horrified and admiring of this type of excess.  I love it and hate that I love it.  

I know I said I would show more food, but I ate waaaaay too much and don't want to relive it right now.  There's a mall an easy walk from here, though a shuttle is available.  (It seems no one in Nashville walks more than a couple of blocks).

Opryland Mills Mall.  The kids are riding these things around the mall; they can be rented for 10 to 30 minutes and hold up to 500 lbs.  The kids just drive them around freely, no tracks.  It was weird, felt very alien.  I was trying to surreptitiously take these photos, then realized it looked kind of creepy to be taking kids' pictures, so I left.

My first true Black Friday, starting Thursday.  Opryland Mills opened at 6 PM and will stay open  until 1 AM, and then re-open at 6 AM!  A line up for the Kate Spade store,  I will say, the deals seem pretty good.

Gaylord Opryland Resort.  One of the atria decorated for Christmas

I didn't know this, but American Thanksgiving just sort of bleeds into Christmas, so it's all one huge holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving.  Christmas decorations were being put up at the Tennessee Capitol just as I arrived on Monday.  

Nashville is the country music capital of the US, (if not the world), but it's also the bible belt capital.  I didn't see much of this in the downtown, but it seems a different here at the Resort, which is away from the downtown core.

This is a dancing water fountain show set to Christmas music.  Not a single secular Christmas song.  All the songs were overtly about Jesus.

Shots from the very large nativity scene outside the hotel on one of the lawns.  There are also two bibles set up and a recorded voice reads the story of Christ's birth, quoted from the bible.

Overtly religious.  Everyone seemed to enjoy these things, though, and who am I to question?  I'm a tourist here, anyway.  The other "tourists" seem to be locals, though, which is interesting to me....  I could hear a whole bunch of locals here for Thanksgiving dinner.

After the water show, I got lost trying to get back to my room.  I was given a map but the map looks more like an airport map.  It's not just me, either.  I heard a guy in one of the hallways complaining to his wife that he thought "they" would make this place more "user friendly."   

Room numbering is not intuitive.  The room numbers are each given a letter in the front which describes which part of the hotel the room is located.  Parts of the hotel are given names, so M for Magnolia, C for Cascades, for instances.  The next digit combines with the letter to describe which elevator you should use, and the last three digits make up the room number, which don't correspondent to which floor you're on.  So,  M2123, would mean that someone is in the Magnolia part of the complex, should use elevator M2 and is in room 123.  The "1" in room 123 does not necessarily mean you're on the first floor, though.  And good luck finding elevator M2.

Anyway, my original plan was to hang around the resort for tomorrow, but I'm more likely to go into Nashville for my last day in the area.