I spent a lovely weekend in California with my son, Tim.

Points of interest:

Young Monet exhibit at the Legion of Honor Art Museum

My son flying his drone

Ocean Beach

California Pacific Coast Highway

Carmel by the Sea

Monterey

Santa Cruz

I have a very good friend who is originally from Greece.  A few years ago, we took a trip together and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sites and tasting the foods.

Today is her birthday – Happy Birthday Venetia!!

In honor of her birthday, I decided to make some Greek cuisine for dinner.

Our menu included (serves 3):

Kolokithopitta (Zucchini Pie)
1 zucchini, unpeeled and shredded
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 T Olive Oil
1 tsp parsley chopped
1/2 tsp dill weed, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup feta cheese, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
4 sheets filo pastry, cut in fourths
2 T butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Over low heat, saute the zucchini, onions and garlic in the oil until browned, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the filo and butter.  Butter a 5×7 pan. On the bottom, place 8 pieces of filo dough, each sheet brushed with butter.  Spoon the zucchini mixture over the filo.  Cover with 8 more pieces of filo, each brushed with butter.  Brush the top with butter.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Cool slightly and cut into six pieces.

Salata (Greek Salad)
20 grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 T Olive Oil
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup feta cheese, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Combine all vegetables.  Serve with feta sprinkled on top. Most Greek salads have olives on top.  But, since I don’t like olives, I don’t have any in my refrigerator.

Psimeno Arni Pilafi (Baked Lamb Pilaf)
8 ounces lamb stew meat
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 T Olive Oil
1 cup brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine tomato paste, oregano, garlic and oil.  Coat the chicken pieces with the mixture and place in a baking dish.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Add rice and broth.  Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

As a pediatric dentist, summer is always very busy.  But, it’s still nice to have some time away from the office. This year, my time off came in the form of a road trip to NYC.  My third son, Ben, will be attending Pratt Institute this fall to study Architecture.  So, we loaded up his college stuff and hit the road.

Day One: Minneapolis to Milwaukee

Beautiful sunset over a Wisonsin farm.

Our first stop was a visit to see my mother-in-law in Milwaukee.  After working until noon, we finished loading and headed out. Unfortunately, I had a horrible migraine that even Rizatriptan could not stop. Thankfully, my son could drive.

Sunrise over Lake Michigan. Photo courtesy of my son, Dan.

Day Two: Milwaukee to Niagara

An early morning wake up was in order to take the 6am ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon. Very relaxing start to our day (nap included) prior to driving across Michigan and part of Ontario.

The view from our hotel window.

Brooklyn Brownstone

Evening Harbor Lights Cruise.

Statue of Liberty

Manhattan Skyline

Pratt Institute entrance. Photo was taken during our visit in April. Jacket was definitely not needed this time.

Day Six:

Brooklyn to Pittsburg

With orientation starting in a few days and classes starting in a week, Ben, has some time to check out the city and get settled in to his apartment. Kinda makes his mom want to be young again so that she can have the same experience!

But, my youngest son, Dan, and I had a long drive back to Minnesota. So, time to say good bye and head west.

To break up the drive, we planned a few stops along the way.

Liberty Bell

Our first stop was in Philadelphia for a self guided Constitution Walking Tour. Dan has been fascinated by history since he was really young. So, this was an enjoyable stop.

Constitution Hall

Chocolate Overload!

The drive through central Pennsylvania was beautiful. I especially liked the old split stone farm houses that I saw along the way.

For our second stop, I was debating between Lancaster, PA or Hershey, PA. I thought my son would prefer Hershey, so that was where we headed.
Bad decision – way too commercial and far too many people!  I should have investigated this decision a bit more.

Day Seven: Pittsburgh to Chicago

Eight hours of driving and toll road, after toll road. I think this trip cost over $200 in tolls.  I wish I had known that the E-ZPass – probably would have saved a lot of $.

The Ledge

Rain storms off and on throughout the day, from showers to heavy downpours.  We finally made it to Chicago.

Not wanting to do too much, we settled on a ride up to the SkyDeck of the Willis Building. The Ledge is a glass balcony that extends four feet outside of the building on the 103rd floor.  That’s 1353 feet above the ground.  When you look down, you see the city below!

Day Eight: Chicago to Minneapolis

Our day started with a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. Some of the exhibits we saw:
Coal Mine – history and technology of mining
U-505 Submarine – a German submarine that was captured during WWII
The Great Train Story – a massive model train display that includes Chicago and Seattle
Numbers in Nature – Mirror Maze – this was really fun!
Transportation Gallery – a flight simulator ride with Dan as the pilot and me as the gunner.  I only hit three targets.  But, it’s a bit hard aiming when you are flying upside down.  Dan will need a bit more practice before he joins that Air Force.

After a late afternoon stop in Madison for ice cream with my son, Sam, we arrived home at 10 pm. Happy to sleep in my own bed again.

Accomplishments:
2650 miles driven,
$223.10 in tolls paid,
Nine states and one Canadian province visited,
A few tense moments driving in unknown areas,
One son settled,
History experienced, and
Lots of photos and fun memories.

Having taken a few days off work – I headed to San Francisco to see my oldest son. After arriving, I spent the first day walking around the Mission District. I enjoyed viewing the many wall murals along my walk.

Women’s Building

My son, Tim.