Montana escape, day 1

So then, here we go...

Montana!  The 35th state I have visited.  This past Sunday, I added it to my tally.  Van and I headed to LAX,

and - an upgrade, yay! -

and then a lovely flight up to a new state.  Over the Great Salt Lake,

and then the descent into a verdant Montana.

We landed in Bozeman and got a car to head to Big Sky right away.  We had a handful of days in Big Sky planned, and we wanted to get into it.  South along the Gallatin River, and then a turn west into the mountains.  And there, less than a mile from the turnoff:  bighorn sheep. 

Wow.  We stopped to get shots of the trio, what turned out to be our only time seeing them on this trip.  And then, not long after, our first elk of the visit.  Cool!

The hotel.  Ah, the hotel.  We were at the Montage, and wow. 

Apparently the largest building in the state, and I'd believe it based on the walk down the hall to get to our room.  That sounds bad.  It wasn't.  Our room was great:  a junior suite with a huge bathroom (plus powder room) and living room with balcony. 

We had views of the distant mountains plus the housing development nearby and ski lift.

Van and I got unpacked then headed to the bar to have dinner there.  A burger each,

something to drink, a huckleberry dessert (huckleberries were everywhere in Montana). 

A short stroll around inside and out,

and then up to the room to bed,  We had a big day to come on the Monday....

Quick check in from Montana

Howdy!  I’ve been away from my laptop since Sunday and enjoying a last escape of the fiscal year.  More to come, but Montana is lovely.  Well, the corner of it that we’re seeing, at least.  And we got into Wyoming and Yellowstone Park yesterday!

So then… stay tuned!🦬

end of the month/beginning of the month

And so we closed May and opened June much as normal life would dictate.  A Friday evening with an early dinner at the bar at Maestro.  I opted for the picosita margarita

for a change of pace, and in keeping with switching things up, along with our usual guacamole

and frequently enjoyed sesame salad, we had the enmoladas

and the fried quesadillas. 

Dessert was a new one, an upside down corn cake that I hope they add to the menu regularly.

And then Saturday morning has meant a walk and Amara.  The arepa for me, the breakfast croissant for Conrad.

A calendar page flipped, but all else was as always in our world.

Commencement

I use that term grudgingly.  That's what they call it here in the US, and convocation takes place at the start of the school year.  Weird.  Convocation was what we called graduation from university in Canada, and I will die on that hill.

Anyway....

Today was commencement at the college.  It's been a while since I last went.  Since the pandemic, I have typically livestreamed the event rather than attend in person.  But I woke up this morning and decided it would be good to go.  And so I did.

Three great reasons to go:

Cheering for the students, and especially seeing any of the library student workers who are graduating.  I saw one this year (the others are not graduating, so far as I know), and got to shake his hand as the processional filed past the assembled faculty.

Catching up with colleagues.  Diana, for instance - her husband is my dentist, and so I get to hear from him how things are, but it's been far too long since last I saw Diana.

The regalia.  I've always loved that.  And I wish that my robes were a better quality.  Maybe I'll look into replacing them one day.  We'll see.  But it was cool to wear my doctoral robes among my colleagues for the first time since I earned them three years ago!

Congratulations to this year's class.  I wish them all success with where academia and careers and life take them.

sometimes I am happy with my cooking

Pork tenderloin is a staple in out home.  At the restaurant, I cooked it sometimes.  It wasn't always available.  Here?  Trader Joe's seems to have it all the time.  So we make it often, and I love it.  It's easy to season and cook and pair with things.  It's hard to screw up.  A great piece of meat.

I had some TJ's 10-minute farro on hand, and so I turned that into a farrotto.  Along with the pork tenderloin, that made a convincing dinner for a Thursday night.

Oh, and a new cocktail recipe:  The Arsenic and Old Lace.  Yum!

so... I swam

And that is about all we can say about that.

Sigh.

dinner and a concert

We had a night in DTLA last night, enjoying dinner and then a concert at the Disney Hall.  Let's see the photos!

So, we got pretty for the night....

There used to be a restaurant called Patina in a corner of the Disney Hall.  Lovely place.  We went there once, and I remember they had a truffle option with someone rolling a cart around to tables, opening a chest, then shaving truffle on to the dish.  Smelled awesome.  The place also had a water menu.  That one made me snicker.

Patina is gone, and the space is now Asterid.  We decided to give it a pre-show try, each of us enjoying the set menu.

The good:

The mezcal and rice cocktail. 

A winner.  I liked my cocktail best of the three of us.  Conrad also had a glass of a beautiful Pinot Noir that I would go back to try.

The food was pretty tasty.  And it built up well.  The little amuse of quarters of mini-turnips and shrimp chips was, well, a choice (turnips were great, the shrimp chips were just shrimp chips, puffs that you can buy in a store).  The crab and avocado toast was pretty, but the avocado wasn't unctuous enough. 

The shrimp tostada was excellent. 

The miso black cod was fantastic

(Van opted for the "beef dip", and his meal was even better for it).  The tres leches cake looked a mess by comparison to the precision of the preceding dishes, but it was damn tasty.

The place had carpeting, and we could hear each other talk.

The server did a great job with recommendations and explanations. 

The mixed or not as good:

It took a mighty long time to get that first round of drinks. 

The other pacing was a little wonky, taking time for the first course, then rushing by the end to the point where Conrad and I were done our cod, and our plates were cleared.  Van was not yet done, and I don't like when that happens.  Clear us all at once.  But they compounded that by bringing out dessert for me and Conrad but not one for Van.  Eventually he got his, but it was a noticeable gap of time.

Portion sizes.  Van paid $12 more for his beef dip entree, and boy, did he get a lot more food for his money.  I get it, it's a tasting menu.  But the entree did look disappointingly small on that big plate.

All in all, we'd go back, but we'd probably order a la carte instead.

 

On to the show!!

Kraftwerk is celebrating 50 years of their first album by doing a residency for several nights at the Disney Hall.  Van got us the tickets - he's known their music a long time.  Neither Conrad nor I knew their songs, but we were up for it.

I took some pictures right before the start,

and when I saw others around me taking photos and video, I did a little of the same. 

But not for long.  I didn't know the songs, but I was enjoying what I heard.  I was also loving the visuals used.  So I decided to put the camera away and just enjoy the show.

Good decision!

It was a long show.  1h55 of pretty much non-stop music.  No break, no opening act.  And we had a great time!  I'm really happy Van recommended we go.

So then, a successful night in DTLA for the three of us.  I can't wait for the next opportunities!

Feh!

I came, I got wet, I tried not to embarrass myself.

It was a "swim".

But, better than zero, right?