Wes & Erica's Vacation Photo Album - Ghost - February 2022

 

Ghost

Volbeat

The main reason why Wes & I ended up in Nebraska was to see Ghost in concert. [Who knows why they chose to play in the middle of nowhere in the Midwestern United States, but they did... and I'm pretty sure they didn't enjoy it. Don't feel bad, Nameless Ghouls, I didn't like Nebraska, either.]  Back in August of 2021, Wes found out that Ghost would be touring in 2022. Ghost is the last band on his "must see live" list so, obviously, we'd have to attend a concert. The closest they'd be playing to Oklahoma was Texas, but those shows were on dates that conflicted with Wes's job's blackout dates so he wouldn't be able to take time off work. The next closest concert venue was the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE. We haven't travelled to Nebraska so we thought this might be a fun opportunity to cross another state off our bucket list.

The concert was great! 🤘 I have never heard of Ghost, so to prepare myself, I added them to Pandora and listened to a bunch of their songs. This is the same strategy I took before we went to see Judas Preist and Iron Maiden. LOL Of the three, I'd say I enjoyed Ghost more than Iron Maiden but not as much as Judas Priest. Wes loved it!! He said they played all of the songs he wanted to hear (except for maybe 2 but he knew they wouldn't play those songs anyway).

The opening band for the concert was Twin Temple. They're a jazz/rockabilly duo who's show reenacted fake & silly satanic ritual. They came out and anointed us in the name of Satan, then sang a few cheesy songs (with lyrics that included, "let's all love Satan," "I'm evil" and chanted 666), then closed with another cult-like ritual. It was pretty terrible, extremely weird and overall cringeworthy. Wes said the performance was supposed to be a gag, like a Saturday Night Live skit. The only good part about them was their saxophonist, who was really talented and made me wonder why he's working with them. LOL

After that disaster, the real show started. The tour featured Ghost and Volbeat, but Wes didn't tell me that it was a double headliner show. I spent all my time listening to/familiarizing myself with Ghost and didn't know a single one of Volbeat's songs. I didn't even know that Volbeat was a band until they came on stage. (Yes, I'm a terrible "fan".) Volbeat was SO GOOD! They were loud but not screamy (like other rock/metal bands), they were super fun on stage and smiled & waved a lot, and I actually liked them more than Ghost. 

They had a large screen that showed videos that went along with their songs. The best one was a song dedicated to the lead singer's wife and children that had random mixed media collages. The other one that was really good was the song dedicated to the lead singer's late father. Sadly, I don't remember the names to these songs, but I took lots of pictures. LOL Other thoughts - One of the bandmates looked like an older rock & roll version of AJ from the Backstreet Boys. They brought out a jazz pianist and saxophonist for one of their songs and jazz metal became my new favorite thing. Volbeat cured my stomach virus. I felt terrible all day up until about their third or fourth song. 

I enjoyed Volbeat so much that I decided to start listening to their music when we got home. I have to admit they are amazing live but awful on the radio. Wes says that they are overly produced on their albums, but the lead singer has such a good voice so that makes it really unnecessary. I completely agree. The singles I heard sounded like Puddle of Mudd, Staind, and all the other disgusting rock bands I don't like. I am so glad I saw them in concert first.

At a little after 10pm, Ghost came on. The arena was pretty empty (maybe a little over half capacity) until then. It filled up a bit but there definitely wasn't the crowd that the band was expecting. I think that affected their vibe and energy of the show. Ghost's "gimmick" is that the lead singer is the leader of a band of nameless/faceless ghouls. Everyone in the band is covered from head to toe in costume. The lead singer is, too, and he wears face paint and a latex mask. I loved the ghouls--they interacted a lot with the crowd and played around with each other--but I kind of felt bad for them. Their costumes and gas masks seemed super uncomfortable under the stage lights and pyrotechnics. The lead singer told us that after the show, instead of partying, he'd be taking a violent shower. I totally would, too! LOL 

The lead singer had a few costume changes. My favorite was a glittery teal tuxedo jacket. He wore bat wings in one of his costumes but didn't flap his arms like a bat, which was a little disappointing. I enjoyed all of the lasers and confetti. One of the confetti cannons shot out fake bills with the ghouls' faces printed on along with gold confetti. I tried to catch one of the bills but couldn't grab one. 😞 I was also really close to getting a guitar pick but it landed right next to the woman I was standing next to's foot and I didn't want to fight her for it. LOL

They played all their popular songs (which I actually knew, thanks to my pre-concert research). They played Wes's favorite songs of theirs and he really enjoyed the concert. His only complaint was that they played a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," which is funny because he loves Metallica so I would think he'd enjoy the cover. I hate Metallica and even I enjoyed it. 😂 We both thought the setlist was a little short. I think they only played ten songs. They did tell us that they were running short on time in the middle of the show. They implied that it was the fault of city curfew, but I think they weren't having as much fun performing for us as they usually do in bigger cities, so no encore. Even with the abridged setlist, Wes & I had a good time and enjoyed the show. And now, Ghost is a regular feature on my Pandora station. 

Wes & Erica's Vacation Photo Album - Lincoln, NE (food)- February 2022

I like to stop at the state line and have Wes get out of the car to take a picture of the "Welcome to <whatever state>!" sign but neither of us were in the mood to do anything fun after driving through snow packed roads of Oklahoma & Kansas. So instead, here is a picture of The Hub Café. 

Despite encountering obstacle after obstacle in the week prior, our first road trip of 2022 is in the books! 🚗 We drove to Lincoln, Nebraska the first week of February to see Ghost play at the Pinnacle Bank Areana. Ghost is one of Wes's favorite bands and the last on his list to see play live. We'll talk about the concert later, but first we must chat about food. 🍔🍗🍝🍨🍳 Trying new restaurants is one of my favorite parts about going on vacation. Sadly, I was sick with a stomach virus during this trip, so I barely ate anything, and we had to skip three of the restaurants I had picked out for us to try. I did not enjoy Nebraska and do not think we'll be returning so let's just hope The Parthenon, Tini Café and Auntie Rita's Jamaican Cuisine weren't as good as the internet boasted. Now onto restaurants that we did try...

The half-way point between Oklahoma City and Lincoln is Salina, KS. We stopped in Bravo Sliders-n-Bites for lunch. The building is small and unmarked (only one tiny sign--it looks big in the picture, but I was standing pretty close to it). I guess the polite way to describe this place is "no-frills" ... and no heating. The dining room was freezing! 🥶 But the food was good, and I suppose that's what matters most. I got a slider with beet slices -- something I've never tried before. Their fries are called Frips, a portmanteau of fry and chip. I got mine dusted with dill pickle seasoning, which was really good. Wes got a cheesesteak slider, a breakfast slider and regular Frips. 

We ate at Villa Amore for dinner our first night in Lincoln. It is a nice Italian restaurant attached to the Country Inn & Suites hotel. We were both pretty confused when our maps navigation took us to the hotel parking lot. LOL The food was amazing! I ignored my stomach troubles and ate so much (probably too much because I was super sick again the next day). I don't think I've drank an authentic peach Bellini until that night. I was shocked and amazed that it had actual peach puree in it (and not just peach flavoring); like the entire peach was blended and juiced into my drink! [Side note -- I am an extremely simply person and easily amazed.] We started with salad, bread (Wes said it was really good) and soup. The soup was a creamy potato bisque. For dinner, Wes had the shrimp and scallop pesto alfredo and I had one of their nightly specials: roasted eggplant with pasta and vegetables in a spicy marinara sauce. The pasta also had chunks of eggplant so double eggplant!! I was just telling Wes earlier that day that it's about time that beets & eggplant burst onto the food scene and this did not disappoint. 

For breakfast the next morning, we went to the Engine House Café. This was the first warm place I've been in since leaving our home two days prior. The restaurant is an old firehouse with exposed brick and high ceilings. Very small and cozy. Their coffee was so good (probably my favorite part of breakfast). ☕ It was a light roast but still full of flavor. I wished they had beans or K-cups for us to buy for home. I got the cinnamon roll, which I thought was way too buttery, and Wes got the standard two egg breakfast. He said the sausage patty was a little thin but he did like that it was crispy. 

We skipped lunch (stomach virus, yay 😑). It was probably 20℉ (or less) but I wanted ice cream. (402) Creamery was only a block or so away from the hotel, so we took a brisk walk for a snack that afternoon. I chose that place for its vegan/dairy-free options (for Wes) but he ended up getting real ice cream and I got one of the vegan offerings. LOL I got one of their Valentine's flavors -- the Breakup Blues, a blueberry and pomegranate sorbet with dark chocolate chunks. Yum! Wes got the snickerdoodle ice cream and he said there were too many cookie chunks in it and not enough ice cream. The spiced waffle cone piece on top was really good, too.

After the concert, we picked up dinner from Boss's Pizza & Chicken. It was the only place open past midnight that wasn't a bar. Its website boasted, "Famous late night eats!", but when we got there, it was a sketchy, old, run-down building with zero customers. There was a sign on the door instructing patrons to enter via the back door (by the dumpster and railroad tracks) when it was past 11pm ... super sketchy. I wasn't expecting much but the food was actually really good. Or I was just really hungry (my stomach started feeling better in the middle of the concert and I actually felt like eating again! Only there was no food at the venue so 😣😞😠) We got the chicken meal from Boss's. I was cracking up at the packaging because the franchisee didn't even bother to use Boss's logo/brand box. I guess Gold'n Plump had some extra boxes he didn't want to throw away. I liked the chicken because it was thoroughly spiced and flavored. Wes said it was waaaay too salty. LOL 

We got back to the hotel a little past midnight and our parking card didn't work. We paid to be able to park at the garage across the street from the hotel during our stay. Wes called the hotel and the night employee told us to (not even exaggerating) park at the meters because its free until 7am. 😶 Instead of offering to give us a new parking card or research the issue, this woman expected us to park my car on the street even though we paid for garage parking and not only that, she also expected us to get up before 7am to either move my car or pay the meter. 😡 Instead, I took a self-serve ticket at the garage and pulled in. We thought we would just clear this up with her in person when we got in. Some things are hard to explain over the phone... surely, she would be more accommodating in person. Nope. She was adamant that we did not pay for a parking card (even though Wes showed her the physical card we were issued) and since I took a self-serve ticket, I now owed an additional $11 to park my car and there was ABSOLUTELTY nothing she could do to help us. Ugh. Luckily, the manager in the morning was a million times more helpful and reactivated our parking card with no problem. 

The next morning, we had breakfast at The Hub Café. My stomach was cured and I was going to eat again!!! 😁 The Hub is a restaurant located on a really nice park/walking trail. Since it was the middle of winter, the park was sort of dead & ugly, but I bet this is a beautiful place to dine in the springtime. The farm-to-table restaurant only uses local ingredients from Nebraskan farms. Everything did taste extremely fresh. Wes said the bacon tasted like the same bacon his great-grandpa used to make when they slaughtered their own pigs. The best bacon he's had in a long time, he said. I noticed the goat cheese tasted different (aka no preservatives) than the stuff we get from the store. I got the roasted beet sandwich and it was ginormous. 🥪 Probably the size of two sandwiches. I thought it was a little bland, but I know they wanted to showcase the natural flavor of the fresh ingredients instead of hiding behind a bunch of seasonings. Wes got a cold brew coffee that he wasn't a fan of but I loved my chai latte. 

Just as my stomach virus was wanning, I started having painful menstruation cramps. (Oh the joys of endometriosis.) So needless to say, I was back to not eating. We skipped lunch and just powered on home. As I was driving through Kansas, I kept seeing signs for Lindsborg, KS aka Little Sweden, USA. I love making random stops on road trips to explore but we haven't been able to do that much due to tight schedules on our last few trips. Making unplanned stops is one of Wes's least favorite things but I really wanted to visit so he obliged. It would be nice to take a potty break not at a gas station and maybe we could get a snack. The town is tiny and we almost drove through without seeing the touristy part. There were small signs pointing toward downtown but I didn't see them; luckily Wes caught them and we turned toward Little Sweden. It took us less than an hour to walk around downtown and visit their famous Hemslojd giftshop. 

Dala horses are the town's mascot and there were replicas outside of each establishment painted to match the business. It was late Saturday afternoon when we stopped into town so most of the places were already closed. There was supposedly a Swedish cultural museum somewhere, but we couldn't find it. It was still nice to get to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, plus, I enjoyed the giftshop. I wanted to stop in the bakery but it was already closed for the day. So, we got our potty break but no snack. Back into the car we went. We hadn't eaten since breakfast and although I wasn't feeling well enough for a meal, I knew we couldn't also skip dinner. I saw Taco John's when we were driving though either Wisconsin or Missouri last year and laughed at myself. What a silly name; I bet the food is horrible. I saw Taco John's again when we drove through Salina a few days ago but this time, I was curious to try it. We needed to get gas so Wes found us a gas station/Taco John's combo in Wichita, KS.

Taco John's is not good but I wouldn't say it was bad. I rank it alongside Del Taco. The meat in the crispy tacos was mixed with refried bean paste. Good thing Wes got the soft tacos. He said they came pre-dressed with chunky "salsa".  It was a little sad to end our trip with subpar food. But, everything else we ate was good so one bad meal didn't ruin it. Aside from eating, we visited two museums and, the highlight of our trip, the concert. More on those to come!!

Wes & Erica's vacation photo album - Dallas, TX - December 2021

As mentioned in last week's blog post, we did more than just eat & shop on our vacation. Since it was a trip for my birthday, I got to choose all the activities ... and I chose art museums!!! We went to two very different ones - Rainbow Vomit is a new & trendy art installation and The Meadows Museum is your classic traditional art museum.

Getting to Rainbow Vomit was a harrowing feat. We started the day early and made good time driving in from Oklahoma. We stopped in Buc-ee's to buy lunch and ended up staying way longer than expected. Part of it was because I wanted to examine every snack option & food offering before settling on what I wanted for lunch, and part of it was because it was extremely busy and the lines took forever. I bought tickets for 2pm at Rainbow Vomit. It was about 1:15pm when we left Buc-ee's... 45 minutes is plenty of time, right? Absolutely wrong. 😖 Dallas traffic is terrible with construction everywhere. 🙅😠 Once we realized there was no way we'd make it on time, I called (via Bluetooth in my car... another harrowing feat #ihatetechnology) to ask if we could reschedule our visit. The employee was super nice and said, of course, and moved us to 3pm. We FINALLY made it to the warehouse and ate our lunch in the car before heading in.

Rainbow Vomit is a 2-story art installation. The employee described it as walking into a large comic book. It was pretty big but not as large as our Factory Obscura installation. It was actually quite a bit smaller than I imagined it to be. I knew it was completely black lit from pictures off its website, so I dressed appropriately in neon. I was very bright. 😆 I asked the employee where the public restroom was before we went in. She said to go through the ribbons and there would be a door to my left. The walls were painted to look like a black & white optical illusion so finding the door was confusing. LOL The rest of the installation was very similar in theme. The employee encouraged us to interact with the art and touch/open everything. All the art pieces had a door or window that led elsewhere.

She also told us that the warehouse held a secret, and it was our job to find it. Spoiler alert -- there are several paintings upstairs. If you open one, it connects to a window that opens into another room on the opposite side of the warehouse. Go back downstairs, into the ribbon entrance, push the walls a bit and open the door, then ta-da!! Another room!! ☁🦄☁ The room was awesome. The walls were covered in clouds. The entire room had lights that flashed along to music. This was Wes's favorite room (he said he liked Rainbow Vomit more than other art installations we've been to) and his only comment for improvement is to paint the ceiling with clouds or a scene from outer space. I think it was just painted white. Anyway, we walked around the secret cloud room, and I continued to open everything. At the far corner in a box on top of a pillar were a stack of magnets that signaled that I found the secret! On our way out, the employee asked if we found it. I told her yes and she said we were the first of find the magnet that day! 

I really enjoyed our time at Rainbow Vomit. I liked all the art and I especially liked that it was interactive. My only complaint - their website claims that it is the premier destination for selfies and a majority of the other tourists were there solely for photo opportunities. It was sort of weird because they'd pose in front of something that was clearly supposed to be opened but they would just take their picture and move on. Hardly anyone cared to find the secret. One woman and her friends even asked me to just tell them there it was (presumably so they can run to it and post a silly Tik Tok). The social media/selfie age is quite sad. 😬 Rant over. LOL My favorite part of the installation was the ribbons and streamers we walked through to enter the exhibit. There was glitter all over the walls and floor, which was also rad. Wes and I both liked the balloon wall and picked out our favorite balloon. 

The next day, we went to The Meadows Museum. It's a small art museum on the Southern Nazarene University campus, similar in size to the art museum at The University of Oklahoma campus. I wanted to go because they had a temporary exhibition of historical Spanish fashion. The exhibit had pieces on loan from the Madrid Museum of Fashion. I was VERY disappointed that I didn't know about this museum when I studied abroad. I feel like I went to every other museum in Madrid... how did I miss the fashion museum??? Anyway, the temporary collection at the Meadows was a bit lackluster. I was expecting several pieces and gorgeous gowns. Besides what I photographed, there were 2 or 3 ladies' dresses, 2 children's outfits and some matador capes. They were very nice and well preserved, but I wanted more! LOL My favorite pieces were the shoes. 👠 They were TINY!! Everything was tiny! I guess humans were much smaller back then, but I never expected they'd be that small. Some of the garments would have been short on me and I'm barely 5'3".

Even though the fashion exhibit wasn't extensive, I am still so so so glad we went because the remainder of the museum was amazing. 😍 The Meadows Museum houses the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain and all of the Spanish masters were represented. It was like a miniature Prado. Back in the early 2000s, the Prado had a monthly free-admission day for students. I studied abroad in Spain for a semester, so you better believe that I went to each and every student day. I taught myself a lot about Spanish art history from my numerous trips and I am happy to report that I can still recognize elements in certain artists' work. We walked into the room that housed the Meadows's Greco painting (center right in the photo collage below) and I told Wes, "Hey, I bet that's a Greco. Look at the saint's elongated fingers." Damn, he sure married a nerd. LOL

The museum had a handful of oil paintings downstairs, but the main attraction was upstairs. There were several galleries with religious art and oil paintings. I am not religious, but I was raised Catholic so I can appreciate the storytelling represented by the pieces. Plus, my favorite medium is oil on canvas so of course I'd love everything there. And the attention to detail!! 💓💓💓💓 I stood in front of the painting of the woman in the blue dress holding her shawl (large top left in photo collage below) and stared at it forever. Her clothes looked so real, and the sky is gorgeous. *drool* There was so much to marvel at. The Meadows had a couple of pieces by Goya, Valezquez, and El Greco. There was 1 DalÍ and a few Picassos and Mirós. It was seriously like a mini-Prado!

I'm the type of nerdy museum goer who reads all the informational plaques and enjoys facts & history behind the art. Unfortunately, it has been so long that I've forgotten almost all that I learned from our visit in December. So I don't have any fun facts to regale. It was super amazing nevertheless. Wes enjoyed himself, too. Our only complaint is the lighting. The paintings were hung extremely high on the wall, almost directly under the lights. It was a little difficult to look at the paintings without seeing a glare (and hurting your neck!). 

It was so great to go to Rainbow Vomit and The Meadows Museum. They were both spectacular but so different. I love how art can express so many things and make you feel so much wonder. It was a wonderful birthday trip. I'm crossing my fingers that we can do more travelling in 2022. 🤞

Wes & Erica's vacation photo album - Carrollton, TX - December 2021

The last time we were in Dallas (probably 2018 or 2019), I discovered that there was a 99 Ranch - my favorite Asian grocery store, and Wes discovered there was a Kinokuniya - his favorite Japanese bookstore, in the city of Carrollton. They are both in a shopping center with lots of cute shops and tons of restaurants. We decided that the next time we travel to Texas, we'd spend a weekend in Carrollton to eat and shop. We were going to do this for Lunar New Year 2020 but had to postpone due to COVID. Then we were going to in August, but Zephyr got super sick the day before we were supposed to drive out. So, FINALLY, we went for my birthday. This was over a month ago but I'm just now finding time to journal. 

You can't drive by a Buc-ee's and not stop in, so the one in Denton was our first stop. We got there around lunchtime on a Saturday and it was packed. We bought snacks, souvenirs, and lunch... all the things you need to buy when visiting a Buc-ee's. LOL I got a hotdog with dill relish and some potato salad for lunch and Wes got a Lunchable-type thing with cubes of cheese, salami, grapes and almonds. We ate it all before I could take a picture. 

Our next meal was dinner. 🍣 One of Wes's friends from work suggested that we go to Blue Sushi. It is his favorite sushi place and gave Wes a stellar review. I was so pumped to try this place... and it was not as good as I had hoped for 😔 Wes said his friend probably likes this place for its vegan options. I think he likes this place because it's a hip restaurant to impress his girlfriend. LOL I'm almost certain that the patrons dine at Blue for its ambiance and not its sushi. I would compare it to Sushi Neko in OKC. The coolest part was the front room & bar that was Godzilla themed. 🐉 It had murals of scenes from the old movies. We weren't trendy enough to be seated near the front; the hostess sat us in a different dining room that wasn't themed.  

The best part of our meal was the shishito peppers we got for our appetizer. One of my rolls had cilantro in it and the other was rolled in tempura beet flakes -- the two best parts of my dinner. Wes said he liked his sushi alright but there wasn't anything special about it. I was kind of bummed after dinner, so I wanted dessert to compensate. There weren't many places that were both nearby and still open so instead of dessert, we decided on coffee. I am so glad we did because Civil Pour was so good. ☕ I got a caramel apple latte that tasted exactly like the lollipops. 

The next morning, we headed out to our Asian shopping center excursion. We had breakfast at 85℃ Bakery. We've been here before and loved it so had to go again. Dine-in wasn't available, which was actually better because we got to heat up our pastries at the hotel. They would have still tasted amazing at room temperature, but I prefer them warmed up. The potato croquette I got was SO freakin' yummy!! 😋

We spent a majority of the day wandering around the shops. It was a really good shopping day. 😁😍 I bought a ton of snacks, goodies for my pen pals, and even Wes (who never shops) bought a couple of things! Of course, we had to take a boba break so we got drinks from 7 Leaves. I got the mung bean milk tea. It was delicious, no surprise. It had bits of crushed up mung beans and reminded me of the mung bean cakes I liked when I was a kid. 

Next meal was lunch (We did do things in between meals; in case you were wondering. We went to Rainbow Vomit 🌈 and the Meadows Museum, and they will be chronicled in the next blog post.) Wes really likes Korean food but it's just so-so for me. 😕 I try to find different Korean restaurants each time we travel in hopes of finding a dish that I really like. And it worked... I found my favorite Korean dish on this trip!! We went to BCD Tofu House and all they serve is soon tofu soup. It was the absolute best Korean food I have ever eaten. Wes really liked it, too, but he didn't agree that it was the best he's had (he's had the homecooked stuff and you can't beat that).

Soon tofu is soft tofu. The soup is made with lots of different spices, ginger, onion and scallion. Chunks of tofu are added to the broth and then you get your choice of meat. I got the combination with beef, shrimp and clams. You get to pick your spice level (I'm a wimp and got 1 🌶pepper). The soup is served boiling hot in a clay pot with a side of rice, traditional Korean side dishes--one was a whole fried mackerel 😋--and a raw egg that you crack into the soup. The restaurant had televisions playing informative videos about how to cook the soup, the proper way to eat it and BCD's annual spicy soup eating competition. 

For dinner, we had Pakistani food at BBQ Tonite. 🍛 I was still pretty full from lunch so I don't think I liked the food as much as I would have if we hadn't eaten a ton just a few hours previously. We shared the beef seekh kebab and rice with lamb. Wes really liked the spice blend they used. It was a good meal albeit a bit too spicy for me. 

Our final meal was breakfast the next morning. When we were shopping at the grocery store the day before, I noticed that 99 Ranch had dim sum at their hot deli. And on their dim sum menu was congee, like the legit congee with salted pork and black preserved egg. OM-freakin'-G!!! I am the only person in my family who likes congee so it's never cooked at family dinners, and you can't find it at many restaurants around here. I was ecstatic!!! I wasn't hungry when we went shopping so I didn't get any... when we returned for breakfast the next morning, I made a beeline for the dim sum and asked for congee. The cook said it wasn't done yet and I would need to wait 5 - 10 minutes. Wes got his breakfast (a pastry and some tea) and we wandered around the store a bit, patiently awaiting. As soon as the 10 minutes had passed, I rushed back to the deli and the cook handed me a steaming hot bowl. I triumphantly brought it to our table and devoured it.  I also got some fried stuffed eggplant, which was also delicious.

We stopped in IKEA on our way home. I got a table for my serger and we got a (much needed) new dining room table. We spent three days in Carrollton and ate as much as we could. SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. Our hotel was only a block away from the Asian shopping center so we had every meal (except for sushi) there. I almost wish we had something like that in Oklahoma but then I think it would take the fun out of travelling for good authentic Asian food. And I would probably be broke from shopping --or I would just have the most awesome collection of stickers & washi tape. LOL Anyway, it was the perfect way for me to spend my birthday! 🎂

Wes & Erica's vacation photo album - St. Louis, MO - November 2021

Our last destination of the road trip was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Since I droned on about that for a full blog post already, I'll just post about food here. 😋 Driving through the Midwest was awful; it was boring, the speed limit ranged from 50 - 70 mph and there were cops everywhere. There were some pretty parts with mountains and tress with their autumn leaves... so not ALL bad but I probably wouldn't make the drive again (I told Wes, let's fly next time, and he wholeheartedly agreed!)

Our first meal was at Imo's Pizza. They serve "St. Louis style" pizza with provel cheese and a crispy thin crust. Provel cheese is a mixture of 3 or 4 white cheeses, I don't remember which but Wes said he tasted Provolone and the Swiss cheese stood out to me. I liked the provel, but not on a pizza. It was really creamy (think Laughing Cow cheese spread) and would have tasted better on a bagel or crackers. I liked the extra thin crust. It was like pizza on a cracker or chip. I got a Cesar salad and it was literally covered in parmesan. I have never seen so much parmesan or croutons on a salad!! 

Before we went to the Gateway Arch, we had dim sum at Wonton King. OMG, this is the meal I've been needing in my life!!! 😋🍴 Wonton King served authentic Hong Kong style dim sum. It was so authentic the restaurant even smelled familiar (incense and perfume) ... it brought back memories of walking into an elderly relative's room or the herbal remedy section of an Asian grocery store. I wanted to order one of everything but we settled on a few of my favorites. The stuffed eggplant was the absolute best. 

For dinner that night, we went to Meskerem. It is an Ethiopian restaurant on South Grand. I need to live on South Grand (or at least visit again with more time)!! It was blocks and blocks of international cuisine. All sorts of Asian restaurants, Mediterranean food, pubs, comfort food, you name it, it was there. That street is my foodie dream come true. Anyway, I've never had Ethiopian food before and I liked it. I got the sampler platter & Wes got the lamb dish and we shared. My favorite dish was the carrot, potato and cabbage. I also liked the beef. Wes liked the cabbage, carrot and potato (minus the carrot) and the lamb dish. The food was served with a huge crêpe-like piece of spongy flat bread. I liked it but maybe would have preferred a different type of bread. The only other tiny thing I didn't completely like was that the food was cooked in a lot of ginger. The restaurant had Ethiopian music videos playing on the big screen tv, so that was neat, too.

Even though I was stuffed from dinner, I was determined to explore more restaurants on South Grand. We decided on dessert and went to Hot Box Cookies. Wes got the oatmeal chocolate chip and I got the monster cookie. A monster cookie is a granola cookie with whole M&Ms, chocolate chips and peanut butter. The pictures don't look too appealing but it was a good cookie. 

Our last meal in St. Louis was breakfast at 2Schae Café. The quaint café is on the bottom floor of an adorably historic apartment building. The entire part of town it was in looked like it was full of history. I got the salmon lox bagel and it was amazing. I'm glad we got good food as our last vacation meal. I couldn't imagine ending our road trip with a yucky loose meat sandwich! The half-way point between St. Louis and home is Springfield, MO and I picked out a Thai restaurant for us to stop at for lunch but neither of us were particularly hungry so we skipped. We did stop in Springfield for gas and I went to The Village Yarnery (a local yarn shop). I desperately wanted to stop in Uranus, MO for their fudge but Wes wasn't in the mood to make another stop and we were making good time on the road so we skipped that, too. The trip home was supposed to take anywhere between 8 to 9 hours but we made record time. Wes said we drove for at least 7 hours but I felt like we were only on the road for 5 or 6 (and I should be right because i was the one driving, right? 😅) So, there it is... another road trip done! We had a lovely time with lots of fun tourist attractions, a beautiful wedding and LOTS and LOTS of good food. I plan to return to St. Louis -- there is so much more for us to see, do and eat -- so I'll eventually get that fudge from Uranus!