More Travel Adventures

 I've previously posted a summary of our ten-year family vacation plan, and our amazing 2019 family trip to Switzerland and Italy Here I'll share some more recent treks.

2020

The pandemic started in March, forcing us to cancel several highly-anticipated travel plans. Our daughter had a college capstone internship lined up in Ireland just before graduating, and we were going to travel there in the Spring to see her. Her internship was cancelled, and we had to cancel the trip, as well. We also had to cancel a trip (including a cruise) to Norway and Sweden we had planned with Andy's parents to see ancestral family sites. We were grateful for our camper, and enjoyed a couple of 1-week camping excursions. 

2021

This year started with a sense of promise- we were getting vaccinated and were very close to rebooking the Scandinavian cruise. Then came the Delta variant, and international travel was again off the table. However, we were able to enjoy several really great domestic adventures, including some camping weekends in our new camper.

In February, Andy facilitated a virtual SOCRA conference from St Augustine FL and I worked from our hotel room. From there, we flew to Fort Lauderdale where we rented a car and visited the Everglades, stayed a night on Islamorada, then on to a couple nights in Key West. Highlights including taking a float plane to Dry Tortugas National Park and cheering the sunset.

In April, we took a spring break trip with our son. We flew into Pensacola, stayed 3 nights in Fort Walton (sunset tiki boat cruise in Destin), 2 nights in Gulf Shores (jet ski excursion), and 2 nights in New Orleans. We took a culinary walking tour and cooking class in NOLA, and gumbo has now become one of Will's favorite things to cook.

In July, we had a great time reuniting with friends in California. We spent a night at the Asilomar in Pacific Grove, then 3 nights at Pismo beach, enjoying wineries, dune buggies and walks on the beach.

In September, we drove to Madison to attend a "make-up" 2020 college graduation for Meg, then drove on to Chicago so we could fly to Dallas the next morning. We rented a car, driving a loop through:

• Dallas- The JFK museum was closed when we were there, but we went to the top of the Reunion tower, and ate great Tex Mex
• Fort Worth- Stockyards, Andy bought boots
• Memphis- BBQ, Graceland, Stax Museum, dinner and blues at BB King's on Beale St, Civil Rights Museum, watching the sunset with a cocktail at the top of the Bass Pro Pyramid
• Little Rock-Esse Purse Museum and Main Street
• Hot Springs- National Park, observation tower and a spa experience at Quapaw
• OK City-Fort Smith, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, OK City National Memorial & Museum, art museum, Bricktown
• Chicago-Oriental Institute Museum, Second City Comedy show

We took the Amtrak (sleeper room) from Dallas to Chicago, then drove home. On this trip, we checked off Arkansas and Oklahoma from our state lists. 

In November, I checked off two bucket-list items by running a half marathon in Disney World and enjoying the Epcot Wine and Dine festival, after originally been registered for 2020. We stayed in the Port Orleans Riverside resort. I had to get on the bus for the race at 2:45 AM, for a 5 AM race start time (my heat started at 5:30), but it really was a blast as far as half marathons go. We then spent 3 wonderful days in the parks, including the new Star Wars area in Hollywood Studios.

Chicago-Style Pizza

This summer I introduced Will to his first stuffed pizza from Giordano's. It was love at first bite. Andy and I still pine for the stuffed spinach and garlic pizza we'd get at the downtown Edwardo's (long closed) in our early 20s. 

Giordano's and Edwardo's are examples of stuffed pizzas, with an added layer of crust near the top. Deep dish pizza, such as Uno's, don't have the top crust and generally have more sauce and less cheese than stuffed.

Giordano's take out pizza

We own a 14" deep dish pizza pan, as well as a 12" cast iron skillet, both options for this.

Pan areas for recipe conversions:

9" pan= 64" area

12" pan= 113" area

14" pan= 154" area

There are a number of published recipes to try. 

Giordano's has published their recipe, intended for two 9" pans.

The Chicago Tribune published what is considered a classic deep dish spinach recipe in 1988

I made the King Arthur Flour recipe years ago and remember it was good. It's designed for a 14" pan.

Sally's Baking Addiction recipe is designed for two deep-dish 9" cake pans/cast iron skillets, but comments indicate the full dough recipe can be done in a 12" skillet by adding 10-15 min to the bake time. I decided to make the two 9" versions, one with pepperoni and sausage, and one with spinach and garlic. The crust has a couple of steps to it, but it did come out delicious. The sauce was also good, involving a 30 minute simmer.

When we were in Chicago this fall we tried the pizza pot pie at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. It was a glorious mess- a kind of individual deep dish pizza.