Remember The 10

January 27, 2011November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Ten years ago on January 27, 2001 a plane crashed in the fields of Colorado killing ten members of the Oklahoma State basketball party. OSU is a tight family and Stillwater is a small town but this tragedy rocked the entire state, if not further.

College basketball is my favorite sport. Ever. Hands down. I love the excitement of the arena, being in such close quarters, screaming your head off for your team. Eddie Sutton was the coach during my college years, and he made ten phone calls that dreadful day. Calling to tell them their son, their husband, their father wasn’t coming home. Eddie Sutton was our John Wayne at that time. He held up the OSU community when he was hurting too. Thank you Eddie Sutton.

Please remember The Ten. Good sons, good fathers, good friends.

NATE FLEMING

BILL TEEGINS

DENVER MILLS

KENDALL DURFEY

BJORN FAHLSTROM

WILL HANCOCK

DANIEL LAWSON

BRIAN LUINSTRA

PAT NOYES

JARED WEIBERG

We Will Remember.

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Road Trip · usa

Cruisin’

January 19, 2011January 20, 2011 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

I love driving through the United States. You just never know what you will find when cruising the old highways, like this on 93, going from Phoenix to Vegas.

Hey, let’s stop here for a bite to eat.

cool products · food · just do it already · usa · yum

The Secret is Out

December 17, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

I cannot seem to get enough of In-N-Out burgers. Have you had one? If you are anywhere near one, I hope you are heading there immediately. But, do you know the secret words for special orders? I didn’t until this weekend in Vegas, went with Jeannie and after doing the casino rounds we got hungry.

I mentioned In-N-Out, Jeannie had never been and that was all that was needed for the decision. Jeannie heard from a Cali friend that you were supposed to order your burger “animal style”. I believed her 98%, 2% thought she was just wanting me to look like an idiot ordering. I told the drive-in speaker box,

“Two cheeseburgers, and I heard to order them animal style, is there such a thing?”

“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” (silence with me looking at J like she is gonna die) “Just kidding, so two burgers, animal style.”

Dude, that was one of the best burgers I have ever had. Animal style means mustard-cooked beef patty with grilled onions, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and special sauce they call Spread (you can get it in packets like ketchup too). It is pure awesomeness on a bun. Here is our order:

Sorry for the blurriness of the pic, my mom’s camera sucks ass.

So, first secret is animal style. You can do this with fries too:

Oh holy crap. How freakin’ delish does that look? Thank the Lord I didn’t know you could do that to fries as well. Would have gained an additional 5 pounds to what I already did.

And a few more secrets I found out for your taste bud pleasure.

1. 2 x 4 is a burger with two beef patties and four slices of cheese. You can also do a 3 x 3, a 4 x 2, whatever meat/cheese combo your lil heart desires. Apparently you could go as big as 100 x 100, but they’ve changed the rules and a 4 x 4 is as big as they will go now.

2. Flying Dutchman is two beef patties and cheese, that’s it. No bun, no pickles, nada.

3. Grilled cheese is a cheeseburger without the burger. You can also order this animal style. Sounds good, but I still like my meat.

4. Protein Style is a burger wrapped in lettuce instead of the bun for you Adkins freaks out there.

5. Neapolitan shake is a combination of all three flavors (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla) into one shake. They’re so thick the flavors stay separated. Triple Yum!

6. This last one is not about the food but about the paper utensils. There are bible verses written in small print on an inconspicuous part of the item. It is not the actual text but the book, chapter and number of the verse. See if you can find it.

And there you have it my fellow readers! Go get your special order. You can thank me for it later.

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2010 · new york city · tragic · usa

Here We Are Again

September 11, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES2 Comments

Here we are, September 11. Nine years, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

I actually arrived to work early at my office in Wilton, CT. Since it was a marketing/promotions agency we were lucky and had several televisions around the large space. A report caught someone’s eye and we began to gather around. When the news became more than a small prop plane hitting the North Tower, it was a 767, full of passengers, there were gasps and tears that filled the room. And then the second tower was hit. This was no accident, this was terrorism. And our world would never be the same.

New York City, only 45 minutes away on the train, and somewhere I had just been the past week. As the first tower began to crumble and gush towards the ground I held my breath. I prayed people had escaped, had freed themselves from the horror of the unthinkable. What seemed only seconds later, the second tower went. I was numb. I couldn’t stop staring at the screen. Where did they go? Who could do this to thousands of people?

The agency told everyone to go home. And I called my family back to tell them I was okay. I traveled a lot and had just taken that same flight from Boston to LA (American Airlines 11) a few weeks before. That thought still terrifies me to this day. In shock, my friend Jeannette and I went to the liquor store, I have no idea what we bought but we brought it back to my cottage in the Connecticut woods and sat in front of the television, glued to every word, every shocking scene replayed over and over again.

As the days slipped by I went through many stages. At first I couldn’t stop crying, the destruction of our great city, the loss of so many lives in New York, the Pentagon, in Pennsylvania. Then I was angry, how DARE they do this to my country? Who the hell do they think they are? When I went into the city to see firsthand what Ground Zero looked like I couldn’t stop shaking my head while wiping away tears. So many posters of the missing. Have you seen my father, daughter, uncle, brother, mother, husband…….

The reason I had been to NYC a few days before 9/11 was to look for my perfect apartment. It had been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to live in the BIG city. Manhattan. And now? Now, I felt that I HAD TO. A few people were concerned, why move in now? After what just happened? And my answer was always yes. Yes, because of what happened.

And fifteen days later I moved into my tiny studio apartment on the Upper East side of 74th and 1st. Those were some of the best years of my life.

God Bless New York City.

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arizona · hotels · paaaarty · travel · usa

W Hotel Scottsdale

August 17, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

It’s hot in Surprise, AZ. Like, blazing hot. 115F to be exact.

A few trips to the community pool with my family was nice. But after kids splashing me, an older lady complaining to me that they closed half of the pool to swim camp and teenagers making out that looked 13 it was nice to make a change. Time for the pool at the W Hotel in Scottsdale.

Lemme tell you. It was nice. No, wait, more than that. It was NICE. Kids and splashes were replaced with lounge chairs and pool side service. And did I mention that we weren’t even staying at the hotel? Well, not that night at least. The first day was a Friday, we had no problem getting into the pool area and immediately ordering shrimp ceviche and Dos Equis. Here is what the pool looked like on Friday.

Aannnnnnddd here is what it looked like on Saturday.

A completely different world! We were hotel guests for that evening, otherwise we would have never made it to this scene. The weekends at the W are happening. Drinks were flowing, the DJ was spinnin’ and the people were crazy, yo! The girlies had an outift for walking to their cabana, then another outfit for lounging in the cabana, and then a bikini for the pool. The hair was piled, the makeup was layered and the game was on. I was none of that and I do believe I heard a collective gasp when I actually went under the water to cool off.

What more could two hot girls want? And I meant hot, in both senses.

I do love the W Hotels. They are always modern with a comfortable feel. A flat screen tv, bath products from Bliss and an excellent Sushi restaurant is what we encountered at this one. We loved it so much we came back to the pool on Monday and enjoyed it one more time. Great time to beat the heat and relax in a hip (but sometimes loud) atmosphere. Go try it out for yourself!

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animals · arizona · breakin the law · cool photos · Road Trip · usa

Which way do I go…

August 12, 2010October 18, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

My favorite sign of my travels so far. Decisions, decisions.

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arizona · beauty · earth · familia · hike · Road Trip · travel · usa

Final Stop: Arches and Powell

August 10, 2010October 19, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Final stop – Arches National Park and Lake Powell. We didn’t do both in one day, but they go hand in hand. Lots of rocks and arches and fun!

Arches National Park in located in Moab, Utah. It contains the world’s largest concentration of natural stone arches. This National Park is a red, arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks, and arches. The 73,000-acre region has over 2,000 of these “miracles of nature.”

We pretty much stayed in the car and drove the loop, it took about 2.5 hours. But there are trails to hike, a campground to stay at, you can easily stay a full day or more. My two favorites were balanced rock and the three gossips.

I heard she went out with Jacob last night. I knew she would cheat on Edward.

Careful now, concentrate, balance. Ooooommmmmm….

Lake Powell is next! Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona (most of it, along with Rainbow Bridge, is in Utah). It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States.

We opted for the Rainbow Bridge Tour. Enjoy cruising past 50 miles of Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. At the monument, the tour boat docks and you will set off a fairly easy mile-plus trail to Rainbow Bridge. The bridge itself extends 290′ into the sky and 275′ across Bridge Canyon. Witness first hand the power of wind and water in their role of sculpting this remarkable landscape.

To catch the boat tours you must go to the Wahweap Marina, near Page, AZ. The cruise lasted about five hours total, you get a headset to hear about Lake Powell plus free lemonade and water! The boat has a seating area upstairs, or if you want some shelter from the sun (or the rain) there is also seating below. My parents and I had a nice time cruising the lake, checking out the sandstone and watching all the houseboats and waverunners pass us by. Here are some of my favs from the tour.

Rainbow Bridge was truly spectacular. Even better, I got to enjoy it with Mom and Dad.

hotels · Road Trip · travel · usa

Thar’s Silver In Them Hills

August 8, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Once the stomping ground of silver kings and railroad giants, Silverton survives today as one of Colorado’s most endearing destinations.

That is Silverton’s main drag. While there is no more mining here, there is still tons of character.

After Mesa Verde Nat’l Park we drove back to Durango and then headed north on 550 through the San Juan National Forest – BEAUTIFUL! With the hour growing late, and the gas tank getting empty we stopped in Silverton for the night. The sweetest lil town ever with a population around 500, and probably about 100 in the winter. We picked the Grand Imperial Hotel to stay at, built in the late 1800s and I believe our 2 double bed room was $90. Much better than our $200 from the Best Western in Durango. And it had much more character! Here is our lovely room, complete with ceiling fan, creaky floors and a window that wouldn’t shut all the way. But completely Silverton, and completely perfect.

Hungry for something, anything, the hotel manager said we needed to hurry because all would soon be closing their kitchens around 9pm. We stumbled upon the Silverton Brewery where mom and I had a brat (pretty good) and dad had the overflowing plate of nachos topped with everything (really good). I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt and we headed back to our room and called it an early night.

The next morning I woke up at the hour of 7am (wahhhhhhhhh) and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I noisily (i didn’t mean it, the floor boards are super creaky!) got dressed, grabbed the camera and went for a crisp morning walk down the five blocks of Silverton. Check it out.