We Be Trippin': The Great DIS-nee Road Trip

[Marshay]

Here's the menu I've chosen:

First Course: Seafood Bisque
A rich blend of shrimp, lobster, tomato and cream. Topped with a roasted corn salsa

Second Course: Tomato-Mozzarella Salad
Fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil and red onions drizzled with a balsamic syrup and olive oil

Third Course: Sliced Texas Strip Steak
Finished with a house made Worcestershire sauce and gorgonzola cheese

Fourth Course: Port and Cream Brownie Sundae
Vanilla ice cream, warm brownie, strawberries, whipped cream and port fudge

This sounds wonderful! I'll take 2! Food is important to me right now (well, most of it)...been craving anything that is not in my house! And none of this is!

Here's my favorite!

Oh, this looks heavenly! Please send some up!

Before we start touring the campus, I have a special surprise for you!

Introducing Segway Bob!

Very cool!!! We did the Segway tour at Ft Wilderness in May and I just love riding the Segway! It was awesome!

Tonight we are heading out to Snook, Texas for a local delicacy: Chicken Fried Bacon!

Ok, I LOVE bacon but for some reason my preggo self just cannot commit to this at this time -- I had to delete the picture...sorry... In 9 months, I'll be all there!

 

[catotigger]

This sounds wonderful! I'll take 2! Food is important to me right now (well, most of it)...been craving anything that is not in my house! And none of this is!



Oh, this looks heavenly! Please send some up!




Very cool!!! We did the Segway tour at Ft Wilderness in May and I just love riding the Segway! It was awesome!



Ok, I LOVE bacon but for some reason my preggo self just cannot commit to this at this time -- I had to delete the picture...sorry... In 9 months, I'll be all there!

Wish I could deliver the good stuff to you, for real! That berry napoleon is so good! I'm sure the baby would love it, too!

Sorry about the bacon...

 

[Calliaz]

Hi, Guys! I don't know how I'm going to top that Texas romp, but it looks like I'm up next. I'm getting everything together to try and cover Arizona. Since I'm the only one here, I'm going to cover a good bit of the state.

I think we'll start in Tucson, which I am not as familiar with. You're just going to get the highlights of the places I know. Then we'll go through Phoenix and up to Sedona and Flagstaff. We'll visit the canyon and then end up in Page so DisneyFalcon can show us Colorado.

As you get ready, remember your gear. You'll need lots of light layers and you should always have some water with you. Arizona has both the city with the most days over 100 degrees and a city that has nearly the most days under freezing (in the lower 48). We also have all or nearly all climate zones covered (according to my Arizona History teacher). Yes, even tundra.

You should probably get into your rooms at the

Hacienda Del Sol

And prepare for this evening's monsoon storm

 

[catotigger]

Hi, Guys! I don't know how I'm going to top that Texas romp, but it looks like I'm up next. I'm getting everything together to try and cover Arizona. Since I'm the only one here, I'm going to cover a good bit of the state.

I think we'll start in Tucson, which I am not as familiar with. You're just going to get the highlights of the places I know. Then we'll go through Phoenix and up to Sedona and Flagstaff. We'll visit the canyon and then end up in Page so DisneyFalcon can show us Colorado.

As you get ready, remember your gear. You'll need lots of light layers and you should always have some water with you. Arizona has both the city with the most days over 100 degrees and a city that has nearly the most days under freezing (in the lower 48). We also have all or nearly all climate zones covered (according to my Arizona History teacher). Yes, even tundra.

You should probably get into your rooms at the

Hacienda Del Sol

And prepare for this evening's monsoon storm

I'm liking Arizona already!

And that picture of the Lightning! Holy Electrical Storm, Batman!

 

[Marshay]

Hi, Guys! I don't know how I'm going to top that Texas romp, but it looks like I'm up next. I'm getting everything together to try and cover Arizona. Since I'm the only one here, I'm going to cover a good bit of the state.

Whoa!! That'll sure light up your night!

 

[Calliaz]

While it's still a little cooler out, we'll take the tram ride in Sabino Canyon. Sabino Canyon can get some amazing flash floods that wash over the nine stone bridges that the tram travels. It's also a great place to spot wildlife like mountain lions, snakes, and hawks. If you want to hike, there are some nice short hikes from the tram stops.

It's a short ride over to colossal caves, next. They aren't as great as some, but I thought they were very cool when I went as a kid. It's really cool at only 70 degrees. There are more than 39 miles of caves, but they have not all been explored. The tour takes you six stories deep into the cave.

Finally, we can take a trip to old Hollywood at Old Tucson Studios. This is a working film set of the old west. It was built in 1939 and has some fun shows and tours. You can even get a beer at the saloon.

We'll end the evening at El Charro, an historical Tucson Mexican Food restaurant.

We'll start with the Tostada Grande

For the more traditional there are enchiladas

Or, you could be more adventurous with a chile relleno

You should save some room for dessert at the Blue Willow Restaurant

Bread Pudding

After a good night's sleep, we'll head North out of Tucson and on to Phoenix.

BYE!!

 

[catotigger]

I haven't seen one of these before! Yum!

I see we'll continue to enjoy amazing food in Arizona. I say we keep my guidelines (especially #1) in play!

 

[madbrad76]

Okay, you've all been patient, listening to this Aggie ramble! It's time to hop off your Segways (for now) and head to dinner!

THIS is IT! Just because I've been feeding you la-dee-da food this week, doesn't mean that you've been eating traditional Texas grub! So remember Guideline #1!

Tonight we are heading out to Snook, Texas for a local delicacy: Chicken Fried Bacon!

Yes, you read that correctly - Chicken Fried Bacon!

There is a little hole-in-the-wall place that serves up this amazingly wonderful treat. I first learned of it thru a Texas show called Texas Country Reporter. Here's their video:

Chicken Fried Bacon Video


Now, if you think I was willing to just LINK to this, you are wrong! I needed to explore for myself, so I could report truthfully about this food!

I got all the guys I work with, and we took a field trip to Snook for lunch one Friday.

The Menu - please note the ads for a Gun Shop, Home Health Agency, and a Funeral Home!

Ahhhhh - the Bacon!

Small Lunch Special Steak

Large Lunch Special Plate (takes two plates to serve)

Cat - You have really out done yourself with this one!

I thought that one could only find this type of food in the deep South. Man, was I wrong! Not only does the Chicken Fried Bacon look totally yummy, but that steak looks DELICIOUS!!! I'm definitely going to have to make a trip to Texas.

I love the menu too! When I saw the advertisements, I could have sworn you got that menu from one of many great dining establishments here in ALABAMA.

 

[3guysandagal]

Thought I would update our map as it was a real long drive from Brenham!!
Welcome to Arizona!!

 

[3guysandagal]

HI Madbrad!!!

I agree Cat!!!

GREAT JOB!!!

 

[madbrad76]

Well, we could use the wayback feature on the cat-o-timer, but I thought I'd take you on one more field trip to the current home of THE BEST ice cream now available:

Blue Bell Creameries

Their motto is: "We eat all we can and sell the rest…"

This is just down the road in Brenham, and I thought a tour of the creamery would be a fitting way to end our time here in Aggieland!

It used to be that you could only buy Blue Bell in Texas, but now they've spread out to these states:

Cat - What a way to end your segment of the road trip. You have done an outstanding job(except for all of that Texas A&M football stuff ).

Blue Bell Ice Cream is the best. I'm fortunate enough to be in an area that can get it. Their Birthday Cake and Cake Batter flavors are the best. Their sherbet is not too bad either!!

 

[madbrad76]

Hi, Guys! I don't know how I'm going to top that Texas romp, but it looks like I'm up next. I'm getting everything together to try and cover Arizona. Since I'm the only one here, I'm going to cover a good bit of the state.

I think we'll start in Tucson, which I am not as familiar with. You're just going to get the highlights of the places I know. Then we'll go through Phoenix and up to Sedona and Flagstaff. We'll visit the canyon and then end up in Page so DisneyFalcon can show us Colorado.

As you get ready, remember your gear. You'll need lots of light layers and you should always have some water with you. Arizona has both the city with the most days over 100 degrees and a city that has nearly the most days under freezing (in the lower 48). We also have all or nearly all climate zones covered (according to my Arizona History teacher). Yes, even tundra.

I have all of my gear layed out and ready to go. Now all I need to do is pack it up. I hope I've brought enough stuff. I was once in the Boy Scouts. One of their mottos is "Be Prepared".

We'll end the evening at El Charro, an historical Tucson Mexican Food restaurant.

We'll start with the Tostada Grande

For the more traditional there are enchiladas

Or, you could be more adventurous with a chile relleno

You should save some room for dessert at the Blue Willow Restaurant

Bread Pudding

I haven't seen one of these before! Yum!

I see we'll continue to enjoy amazing food in Arizona. I say we keep my guidelines (especially #1) in play!

YUMM!!! More food. Please tell me We can still follow Cat's gudelines, especially #1!

 

[madbrad76]

HI Madbrad!!!

I agree Cat!!!

GREAT JOB!!!

Hey 3g&g! I hope you've had a great summer.

It's been busy here, but DD & DS have both started back to school so maybe things will slow down a bit. DS had his 1st day of Kindergarten today. It was kind of hard sending him off, but he was excited to be going. It will be quiet now that both kids are in school. DW and I won't know what to do with ourselves.

 

[catotigger]

Cat - You have really out done yourself with this one!

I thought that one could only find this type of food in the deep South. Man, was I wrong! Not only does the Chicken Fried Bacon look totally yummy, but that steak looks DELICIOUS!!! I'm definitely going to have to make a trip to Texas.

I love the menu too! When I saw the advertisements, I could have sworn you got that menu from one of many great dining establishments here in ALABAMA.

Hey maybe someday you'll roadtrip to Disneyland, and stop here on the way! The Chicken Fried Bacon will be on me!

In fact, I promise that any of the DIS-nee family comes to visit, I'll buy the bacon!

 

[catotigger]

Cat - What a way to end your segment of the road trip. You have done an outstanding job(except for all of that Texas A&M football stuff ).

Blue Bell Ice Cream is the best. I'm fortunate enough to be in an area that can get it. Their Birthday Cake and Cake Batter flavors are the best. Their sherbet is not too bad either!!

Yep - those are great flavors! Have you tried the Anniversary Cake. Yum! I'm glad you get to have Blue Bell.

But you know, my favorite is still chocolate chip cookie dough! Others brands make it, but I love Blue Bell the best!

 

[catotigger]

Thought I would update our map as it was a real long drive from Brenham!!
Welcome to Arizona!!

HI Madbrad!!!

I agree Cat!!!

GREAT JOB!!!

Thanks, 3guys!

And right back at ya for keeping us current on the map!

 

[madbrad76]

 

[Calliaz]

I'm here! I was just swamped with papers to grade over the weekend. I'll have something up ASAP.

 

[madbrad76]

I'm here! I was just swamped with papers to grade over the weekend. I'll have something up ASAP.

Ahh, if you're a teacher, I totally understand.

Keep up the good work on the road trip. You've done great so far!

 

[Calliaz]

So, after a very slow trip North, we arrive in Phoenix. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the country and we're still growing at a record pace. The metro area is over 4 million people.

The best time to visit is usually from October to April, but the summer isn't as bad as you'd think. It really is a dry heat for a good part of the summer.

Our first stop is Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Garden. There is an awesome Chihuly Art Glass display coming in November.

The Phoenix Zoo is right next door. I think it's a great zoo for kids. They have an interactive Sting Ray exhibit, a big shaded play area with a creek to play in (soon to be even better with caves ), water slides and a splash pad. In the monkey village you can actually walk through the trees where the monkeys live (they come really close, but you can't touch).

The Wildlife World Zoo is on the far West side of the city and some like it better. I don't have enough time to cover it, but it is a fairly neat place.



We'll go to lunch at a place everyone can love. Want Chinese? They have it. Want Caribbean or Mexican, too? They have it on the same plate. At this restaurant you can order up your combo with many different flavors. It looks a little strange having refried beans with your emerald chicken, bit it works.

Chino Bandido Takee-Outee

After lunch, we can explore downtown Tempe.

When I was little, downtown Tempe was a bit seedy and not at all popular. It has since been redeveloped for both good and bad. The bad pushed out some of the great local stores, but the good has meant new building and a more vibrant shopping and entertainment draw. The first Cold Stone Creamery was on Mill in downtown Tempe. They recently destroyed that building, though.

The City of Tempe's main offices are in a very unique building. Yes, it's an upside down pyramid.

Tempe Town Lake is a nice park if you'd like to take a stroll. Otherwise, there are tons of places to shop.

Tempe is home to Arizona State University.

At a student population of around 55,000, it's a city in itself. It's undergone many changes since I was a student and, quite frankly, I'm not too thrilled. It is a very eclectic campus with some older buildings, a lot of buildings from the 60's and 70's, and now many modern ones interspersed.

One of the most recognizable buildings is Gammage Auditorium. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and has amazing acoustics.

For the evening's entertainment, we'll go to a show at Phoenix's vaudeville theatre restored, the Orpheum Theatre.

We can have dinner at Rustler's Rooste. While I think it's a tad cheesy, it does have a great view of the city lights. It's been around since the 70's and I remember when you had go drive up a dirt road to get there. Now they're basically in the middle of the Arizona Grand Resort. You can slide down to your table or take the stairs if you aren't adventurous.

It's a traditional steak house, but they do serve rattle snake!

And then call it a night.