Caps and Gowns...

After our “in the room pizza” dinner we settled down to prepare for the next day and (tried) to sleep.  With all our advances in technology, why can’t motel rooms have an air conditioner that doesn’t sound like the space shuttle taking off?  Even with the fan set to auto, where it should shut off once in a while, the darn thing just keeps blowing and howling.  White noise wears off after hours...

Anyway, the next morning was the big “graduation day” for both FOJTY and his wife.  She was receiving her degree from the Nursing school and they were having their own graduation ceremonies at nine so as not to conflict with the general graduation at two.  It was an early get up for the flutters but we got suitably DFG’d, and rode with them to a smaller auditorium on campus for the Nursing ceremonies.  It was a rather small class composed of undergrads and graduate students.

Of course there were the usual speeches by faculty followed by the awards, with each student receiving their diploma (or facsimile) from the dean.  Our daughter in law (FOJTYDIL?) received a hood recognizing her achievement of a master’s degree.  Lots of families were there, and everybody was proud of their graduate.   It was a pretty fun time.

After that we returned to our motel and had a nice little lunch courtesy of the “other” set of parents, and the kids opened gifts and we had a good time.  Soon enough we had to leave for the afternoon session which was for the whole university.  It was held in their fieldhouse, to accommodate the largest graduating class ever from all schools and levels, around 1300 students .  Upon arriving, even though we were early, the spectator seats were filling up fast, with a sea of chairs for the students.

At the appointed hour the candidates for graduation began filing in to a live string section playing Vivaldi, (nice touch)

And soon the place was full to the rafters, the National Anthem was sung, and the program began

The keynote speaker was the current governor of Missouri (Jay Nixon), but of course the agenda called for “opening remarks” followed by message from the (school’s) president, followed by the introduction of the person who was to introduce Mr. Nixon.  The introduction was (as it turned out) about the same length as the actual speech, but come to find out that this was an election year, which maybe explained the long litany of accomplishments of the Gov guised as an introduction.  In actuality Governor Nixon’s speech was direct and contained the things that graduates need to hear.  College was nice, but now welcome to life.

Following that, each school (Liberal Arts, Business, Math and Science, etc.) came to the front and each student’s name was read, and he/she paraded across the platform receiving their diploma (or facsimile) and handshakes all around.  At first, it was pretty stately, with polite applause for John/Betty Student.  Well, as things went on, the polite applause gave way to whistles, which escalated to shouts like “yeah, baby!” and “way to go John/Betty” and finally one group got enamored of the “who let the dogs out” barking and carrying on, and the graduated students did the occasional "raise the roof" dance leaving the platform.  That’s fine, it’s all in good fun and it is a joyous occasion when your children graduate college and friends and family are entitled.  One heartwarming and positive thing was that during the opening remarks, the speaker asked all in the student audience who were the first of their family to graduate college to stand up, and a surprisingly large percentage did.  Maybe there is hope for us.  FOJTE and his wife were also able to attend so we got to see our whole family on such a happy occasion.  So of course we all cheered (no barking thank you) when FOJTY and his wife were recognized, he for Criminal Justice, and she for her nursing achievements.

All in all the ceremony lasted well over two hours, and everyone was happy (but relieved) when it was complete.    As parents, it is nice to see that your children turn out okay…  We were proud.

That concluded a long day, and in the evening we all went out for dinner, but I’m going to delay that until the next edition when we’ll try to wrap up the trip..(and four meals worth talking about) for which we of course traded in DFG for

DFD

Leg two, and arrival...

After the restorative meal at Jonathan’s, we got a pretty good start the next morning for our final leg to Jackson, and the graduations..

Our normal route to Missouri from Lexington is to continue on I64 across Indiana, Illinois, and into St. Louis.  But, since we were heading for Jackson, (some 120 miles south of St. Louis) we took the alternate routing of diving southwest through Kentucky to Paducah and then into to a bit of Illinois before crossing the big muddy into Cape Girardeau (“Cape”).  After some rather interesting places leaving Lexington (all horsey related)

you get on the Western Kentucky Parkway and off you go.  There may be more boring roads to travel, but this ranks right up there (IMHO).  All the "parkways" are named for some obscure politician, and Googleing them on the fly provides a little diversion but not much.  And it’s not that it isn’t pretty, it’s just the same mile after mile after mile after mile after mile.  Road in the middle, trees on the side, mile after…. Well you know.  One of the things that breaks the monotony is that the road is kind of on the “Bourbon Trail”, and a few signs beckon you to come and visit.

But early(ish) in the morning, tucking into a bourbon isn’t really advisable so we’ll save that for another time.  There should be a Bottom Feeder wing at the Jim Beam place, the primiary ingredient in my DMOTRWAT,   Time sort of fades as the trees slide by.

We did pause for a gas/potty stop someplace along the way (now forgotten) and I did get a look at a real “buy local” opportunity (even though the purveyor seems to be taking a rest at the moment).  it doesn't get any more basic than this...

So more parkways, trees, and asphalt endured eventually gets you to Paducah, and you head toward the river.  Going through the final miles on the back roads of Kentucky, there are some interesting local food places..

And it's not everywhere you can get frog legs (and shrimp?)

No chains here.....Soon you cross the Ohio

Landing you in Illinois and one of the most depressing towns in at least the Midwest, Cairo, Illinois.  As I mentioned before it’s pronounced Kay Ro.. it remains a city of abandoned buildings

But people still live there, and where people live, they have to eat.  So, there are still some places hanging on.

After you leave there sort of depressed it’s a pretty short drive up to Il 146 where you turn left and cross the Mississippi into Cape Girardeau.  The Cape is the home of SEMO, and it’s kind of a college based town.  Some old bars, some new places, dumps that college students frequent.  Due to the marathon the previous day, we were early enough that there was time to meet the graduates for lunch.  Kind of spur of the moment, so we took FOJTY’s recommendation of the St. Louis Bread Company, aka Panera.  We were guided by his verbal directions and trusty GPS, and met them just outside the (yes) Honey Baked Ham store (which has a drive through), in what must be the mecca of chain stores - most are there, all the favorites.

I must admit the lunch of half ham and swiss and a bowl of Caesar salad was not bad, but it was the fun of seeing our “kids” that was so enjoyable.  After that, we retired to our Motel, Graduation Central, and plopped in for the night.  Eventually we got peckish and a text message to FOJTY said the best pizza was from a place called Pagliai’s down by the college.  A short drive down and back brought us a very nice Pizza.  I could go on about Pagiai’s but I’m tired.  Local and good.

Next day would see the Graduation ceremonies concluded by an interesting dinner.. next edition..

The next morning we had to

DFG(raduation)

Drive and reward...

Day one, on the road again…

A ten hour, 592 mile drive took us from the digs to our intended place to RON, Lexington, Kentucky.  We took the normal route over to 301, across the northern neck (and the Rappahannock river)

then survive a brief stint in I95 (which was amazingly traffic free, but average speeds still hover around 80) and then head west on I64, with a slight jog south on I81 then truly west again.

Been a while since we have made this trip in the summer, usually it is part of the Christmas driving tour of the Midwest.  Being used to seeing the mountains clothed in their winter bleakness, we were struck by how green and lush everything was,

There were a few places however that seemed to be suffering from some sort of blight..

Not sure what that was about… emerald ash borer?  Sudden oak death?   Probably never know.

Up hill and down dale with reassuring signage

Anyway, eventually we reached our target of Lexington.  We arrived in good enough time and spirits to make a reservation at a favorite restaurant there, Jonathans at Gratz Park.  Gratz Park Inn is a boutique hotel pretty much in the historic district of downtown Lexington.  Within the Inn is Jonathan’s Restaurant, the liar of Jonathan Lundy where he opened the restaurant in 1998.  The fact that it has been there 13 years says something.  Mr. Lundy started in New Orleans, and worked under Emeril around 1991 before Emeril went star power, and then through Johnson and Wales.

The restaurant (which if you’ve been with me long enough you’ve read about before) is relatively small, but offers bar seating as well as outside dining.  Lots of brick, horsey things on the walls, and proper table décor (note the feeder abhors the word “tablescape”).  In his approaching dotage the Feeder is becoming more demanding, and I didn’t accept the first table offered, which was in a corner by the route from the kitchen to the dining room.  Instead I picked a table near the entrance with a good view of the room.  The hostess mumbled something about a table of ten about to be seated and she wanted to shield us from the noise.  Both tables were about equidistant.

Anyway, we were soon approached by a young lady in white tux shirt and apron, and asked how we were, and when we replied we were getting better she wondered if a drink would help.  Why, yes, yes, it would.  MFO did her usual Bombay gimlet, and I asked for the time honored DMOTRWAT, Jim Beam preferred.  Fine.  Off to the bar.  She returned almost immediately and said the bar tender wondered if I wanted just a little sweet vermouth or dry.  Thank you God.  Armed with the dry option information, she returned with two quite nicely made drinks.  Meanwhile the “table of ten” appeared, from the bar quite lubricated, but in actuality they were pretty civil.  All males, we figured they were there for some University function.. they didn't seem to be much of a factor the rest of the evening although bottles and glasses kept flowing..

Anyway, we got down to considering food after we sipped and soothed a bit.  We picked up the menu.   I thought it was a wonderful piece of work.  Reflected the regional cuisine with things like Burgoo; shrimp and grits; a “hot brown” scallop treatment for an appetizer, and other dishes like Bourbon Barrel Ale Braised Short Ribs.  Most of the items listed the origin from where things came from, like Weisenberger Mill Crispy White Cheddar Grits.  It took a bit of doing (and a second drink), but MFO finally settled on an appetizer of the Sea Scallops Hot Brown, and an entrée of the Shrimp and Grits.  Specials were included as a little slip of paper in the menu. There was one soup, one salad and one entrée.  Not many, that’s why they are specials!  Nice.  The salad was another sucker dish for me (salad wise), an iceberg wedge.  Normally it’s the wedge, some onion, bacon bits and blue cheese dressing.  What made this one “special” was the wedge, with shaved red onions, and get this, fried oysters! Plus Gorgonzola.  How can you pass that up?  The special entrée was grilled swordfish, crispy oven baked fingerling potatoes, wilted spinach and a pineapple, mango mojito salsa.   I fell for that..

We picked a couple of by the glass wines from an equally interesting wine list.  sauvignon blanc and a lovely pinot..

I won’t go through dish by dish, but each one was excellent.  Ham in the “hot brown”, a lovely tangy sauce on the grits (creamy texture); my wedge was crisp, and the oysters were just fine.  What a nice touch.  The sword fish consisted of a couple of “eyes”, maybe two inches thick,  marked on top, and just cooked to be firm.  The salsa amplified the sweetness of the fish.  Short to say, food, service, and presentation was fine.  A great meal, leaving no room for dessert, which I’m sure, must have included bread pudding.  Good for him.  Stay within what you can do..  if you’re ever in Lexington, do it.. 

 But, I caution, I would recommend being

DFD

another day's drive brought us to Jackson, MIssouri, again passing throught the ghost town of Cairo (pronounced Kay-Ro; not Ki-Ro). on the way you pass through the back washes of the Mississippi, and i got some interesting shots.  stay tuned..

Okay Willie...

on the road again...

The MOMSTER has been cleaned and is awaiting a load of suitcases, garment bags, snacks, wine boxes, gifts, and stuff.  We’re leaving tomorrow to go back to Missouri to attend the graduation of FOJTY and his wife.  FOJ will be getting his B.S. in criminal justice, and his wife will be getting her last degree to enable her to pursue her ambition to become a Nurse Practitioner. They will be matriculating from Southeast Missouri State University.   Needless to say we are proud parents of both TY and TE..

So, there will be the usual road reports, with hopefully some food experiences.  We were sad to learn that the local Farm in Jackson (FOJTY home) that served that wonderful “local” breakfast is no longer doing so.  Too bad. It was a great experience.  Maybe we can go to the freaking cracker barrel..  I think not.

Quick local foodie note:

I had lunch today at our local Coffee Quarter.  One of their specials was a tuna melt.  Another sucker dish for the feeder.  “I’ll have the tuna melt..”  okay, what bread? White, whole wheat, rye, or sourdough.  Excuse me, tuna melts are white bread (with an occasional nod to whole wheat).  What the hell?  Okay, how about cheese? American? Swiss? Provolone? And maybe one other.  Excuse me, tuna melts are white bread, and yellow cheddar!  Oh well.   Anyway, after a bit the sandwich was on the bar with a name screamed.  The tuna salad was ice cold, and the little square of yellow cheese was just as it came from the package, limp and solid. 

My friend urged me to send it back.  We did.  Okay, we’ll make you a new one.  Fine.  Second edition had much more char on the bread, and the cheese was “melted” as much as a Kraft square can be, but again the tuna stuff was cold.  Maybe they tried to put too much in there.  I gave up and ate it.  Tuna Melts are one of those classics that shouldn’t be messed with or tried to be upscaled.  I would recommend the version served at St. James Pub. Honest and right.

Okay road trip!!

And I have packed to be

DFD

Lodging and Food - done right...

From a busy Saturday…

The day started sort of early with MFO leaving to go over to Tudor Hall in Leonardtown which was a station on the House and Garden tour.   She was to meet people and give them a little background and history on the place.  I dragged myself up and out a bit later, and went to a few houses.  Of special interest was Ocean Hall, believed to be the oldest brick building in Maryland dating from the late 17^th century.. 

Another interesting spot was River Springs, a piece of land that was part of the original St. Clements Manor.   The present house is not extremely old but is a beautiful place.  It is out of the Blackistone lineage.

These tours are a great way to see places that (at least I) would never otherwise be able to see.  The owners are always proud and love to talk about them.

Done right…

Anyway, that was just a pleasant start of day leading up to the main event (for the feeder).  I think last we spoke, I mentioned that we would be going up the road to attend the annual reception hosted by the umbrella organization for one of the many local boards I participate in.  Every year they thank their volunteers (i.e., we don’t get paid) by hosting this event.

As you know, I am a big fan of “just right”.  Well, folks, this is how a first class, over the top event is catered.  No Eddie Bailey chafing dish of fried oysters here.

It was held this year in the National Museum of Women in the Arts (corner of 14^th and NY Ave, NW).  It wasn’t just one floor, or a corner someplace it was the WHOLE museum.  Upon arriving there was an army of valet parkers ready to take your car (we rode in a rented vehicle with other attendees)

Upon entering the foyer we were greeted by several young people in tuxes, giving us a lovely folded “map” of the museum and what was served on what floor.  In the third floor galleries were Cocktails and Passed Hors D’oeuvres, the second floor was just art (no food please), currently featuring French inspired artists (from the Louvre, Versailles, and another French National Collections).  The French theme carried over to the food.  On the Mezzanine were Plateau de Fruits de Mer; a French Bistro; and an “Open Air Cheese Market – (Pairing French wines and cheeses).  The great hall offered Savory Crêpes; a French Market (Traditional French Favorites); and Desserts, Espresso, and Cappucino.

The same young folk dispensing the maps guided you to the elevator where two more waited to take you to the third floor.  Welcome to the ….  Upon exiting the elevator, the first thing you saw was a young man (or woman) again in tux, with a silver tray of Champagne flutes, glasses of Chardonnay and some kind of mixed drink.  “Good evening, would you care for something to drink?  Why, yes, yes, I believe I would.  Just past that was the CEO of the organization welcoming everybody.  He even remembered the feeder from the time the valet parker caved in the front bumper of the fluttermobile (at the Renwick Gallery).  And then you were released into the gallery to enjoy scenes like this:

Quiz one:  who’s the artist of the piece on the right?

And for your auditory senses:

There were many wonderful drawings, paintings, and sculptures around, and you listened, admired the art, strolled, sipped, and selected little bits from a constant stream of silver trays presented with “we have….”, with arm behind back and after you selected a cloth napkin was offered.  I didn’t take notes, but there were things like escargot with garlic aioli on a (dice sized) crouton, a little fluted tart with creamy sauce topped with caviar, feta cheese gougeres, little cups made from a cucumber containing a piece of tangerine and a tiny shrimp.  What a lovely visual. And many more.  Never was there a tray with a mound of limp shrimp presented.  Everything was bite sized, and easy to consume.   How wonderful.  People kept circulating with bottles to refill your glass with whatever you had, or there were also bars for liquor set up in corners here and there.  Dewars?  Crap!  Johnny Walker Black.  Gilby’s?  How about Tanqueray?  Smirnoff?  I think not! maybe Gray Goose.  And there weren’t those stupid little red meter things stuck in top of the bottles either..  Johnny Walker Black on the rocks sir?  Please.  Rocks and glug, glug, glug.  One had to be careful!

After absorbing the art and chatting with other guests for a while, we descended to the Mezzanine, to be greeted by the Fruits de Mer display (note the photographer)

Which featured

I talked a bit to the gentleman who was shucking the (Blue Point) oysters and introduced myself as King Oyster and informed him of our festival.  He seemed mildly interested (or perhaps bemused).  Anyhow, we put together a plate

What a grand and almost royal scene

Before descending to the Great Hall, we visited the cheese “market”, which contained among others, a lovely blue, fresh and tangy goat cheese, and no freaking Brie, all paired with a Cotes du Rhone or a Sauvignon Blanc, then over to the Bistro where you could select from a little menu card offering “lollipop” lamb chops, petite filet mignon; a croque madam,  and a couple of others.  They were brought plated to your seat.  “may I get you something more/different to drink?”

I could go on, but you get the idea.  Everything was just right.

We then went down to the Great Hall where you could enjoy

Quiz two:  there is an error here.  Do you know what it is?

I hate to quit, but what a pleasure to have good food (and it was by golly) for hundreds of folks.  Service that was personal – a used glass or utensil was gone before you noticed, another offered, amazing.  It can be done.  The name of the caterer was Occasions.  A real big boy..

On the way home we detoured by the Hirshhorn which is featuring a show projected on the exterior walls.  Lots of people out enjoying that.

What a great evening.  You know, places like that museum are treasures.  Maybe you have to be my age (or a little less) to appreciate them.  It means a lot.  Go and absorb and think..

And of course we were

DFE(verything)