annmariemarie

During breakfast at the budget hotel, we met one of the staff who happen to be Filipino as well. Kabayan!It's remarkable where we Filipinos find ourselves these days – we adapt even in the remotest places! Fact: Yellowstone is the first National Park park in the world. Like A Moving Painting It probably took a good hour and a half's drive from the border of Montana to the heart of the Yellowstone National Park where we saw our first canyon in the park. Starting from the roaring waterfalls called the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, we continued on to another lookout point called the Artist point to see the picturesque Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. But unlike any other waterfall or canyons I have seen before, this stands out for being the only hydrothermally ... read more

An arch of white antlers stood at the town square of Jackson Hole. Personally, I didn't know what to make of it. Antlers to me meant hunting and death (shrug). It blends in with the cowboy theme of the city, alright. It stood against a beautiful backdrop of mountain ranges -- a welcome sight for someone like me who has lived for quite a while in flatland Chicago. Fortunately, the arch had a sign that says it has stood there since 1960. But most importantly, it says that these antlers came from the National Elk Refuge nearby where local boy scouts pick them from bulls who shed their antlers each spring. Oh geez -- they were naturally shed by the elk! What a relief! I thought elks were intentionally killed just to make these arches. That ... read more

This year's Thanksgiving weekend was spent entirely in Arizona. We all met at Phoenix, rented a car, drove 5 hours north to the Grand Canyon, drove 3 hours west to Page, and drove back to Arizona for another 5 hours. Sounds crazy, but it was a lot of fun! Throughout this trip, we had snow, rain, and extreme heat with the best backdrop -- the red-tinged geologic formations of Arizona's canyons. I am so glad to have finally been to one of the world's Seven Natural Wonders of the World. (This is my first.) At Phoenix, Arizona We all met at PHX, and took a shuttle bus that whisked us to a car-rental mall. To me it was like a food court, only there's no food. (Do I make sense? Ofcourse I don't!) The shuttle bus ... read more

Predictably, a snowstorm has caused me a terrible delay in my winter getaway. I was supposed to leave Chicago for Raleigh last December 23rd, but was given another boarding pass for the next day. Well, better delayed than sorry! December 24th Maret picked me up from the Raleigh airport which is very small! I realize how huge Chicago airports were. In the same day, we went grocery shopping for ingredients. We have spectacular dishes to bring for that night's Christmas Eve: Seafood Paella and Brazo de Mercedes. The last thing missing was an electric mixer so I can make the meringue for the Brazo de Mercedes. But despite a visit to a few superstores, there was not one available! I repeat, there was not one available!?!?! They practically ran out of electric mixers! Unbelievable! So I ... read more

Another first for me was to take the train on an interstate trip. We took the Amtrakfrom Chicago Union Station to St. Louis Gateway Station (STL). I was looking forward to a scenic 5-hour trip, but there was not really much to see except for the Silver Cross Field at Joliet and the lush greens. We arrived at STL at noon and that's when the view got interesting. The train crossed the Mississippi River which borders the two states, Missouri and Illinois. Our friends picked us up at the St. Louis Gateway Station which was also filled with people travelling via the bus liner, Greyhound. First stop, the farmer's market There's one major thing that my friend, Maret and I have in common -- we both love to cook and talk about food! Obviously, our first ... read more