Packing My Bags

Last night Dave came home. Yay!  I missed having him around and even though it was for a good cause (work and all), I was glad to have him home.  While we were catching up, we talked about his two upcoming trips--another to Chicago for a day or so in mid-June and then a trip to Germany at the end of June for a week long training at their company headquarters.

He also told me about some of the sage advice he got from Jason, the sales representative he shadowed in Pittsburgh (the first piece being to turn off work--literally, phone, tablet and laptop--every Friday at 4 pm).  I haven't even met Jason, but I feel compelling to sent him cookies.

We talked some more about Dave's Germany trip--the 12 hour flight; changing planes in a foreign city, just being somewhere so unlike anywhere he's ever been.

Dave: Oh and Jason said I should take you.

Me (a little shocked): Oh. ?

Dave: Do you want to go?

Me (I): Um, yes.

What I should have said was, "Dude, lead with the invitation to Germany."

I studied German for 12 years, from first grade through high school and have always wanted to go.  My schedule didn't allow for me to study abroad in college, and I haven't had a class since I was 18, but dude, really?  I'll have to pay my own way, but that's ok, because I'll be in freakin' Germany.

Dave doesn't have the details yet (well, he does know the dates and his flight, but he didn't remember them when we talked), but I do know we're headed to Schwabach, which is in Bavaria. I see much beer in our future.

In the interim, I'll need to brush up on my German skills.  Good thing I work with people who are from there...maybe if I buy them lunch they'll ignore the fact that my grammar is horrendous and I forget words...a lot.  But I do remember how to order a beer and ask for the restroom.  You know, important stuff.

The Best Random Day Trip EVER

When I realized how far up into Vermont we would have to drive to get Lizzy to her new home, I started wondering what else we could do in that direction to make the trip a little more palatable.  So I looked at the map and I thought about places and things in Vermont that Dave and I like and tried to find some overlap.  Lo and behold, we lucked out.

Being a novice baker, I have been wanting to visit King Arthur Flour, ideally for a class, but even just to go to the bakery and store.  Luckily King Arthur Flour was minutes off the interstate we used to get up through Vermont.  And better still, the Harpoon Brewery was only about 20 minutes from King Arthur Flour, a few minutes off the same interstate, a little further south. Since Harpoon is Dave's favorite beer, I knew we would have to stop.

While driving towards Lizzy's new home, I mentioned to Dave that we would have to stop at a roadside stand of some sort to get real Vermont maple syrup.  As a huge maple syrup fan (I haven't been able to buy anything other than the real stuff since we moved in together), he agreed and we kept our eyes peeled for the right place.

About 15 minutes from our first destination, Lizzy's forever family, we spotted a sign on the side of the highway for Cabot Creamery, indicating it was only 5 miles away.  We agreed we should stop and see what it was like.  So after leaving Lizzy with her new family, we got back in the car and headed to Cabot, VT.  The town is quite quaint and soon we found the Cabot Creamery, including a factory store.

We went inside and started looking at all the local Vermont goodies and then Dave noticed that they offered a tour.  Since it was about to start and was only $2 per person, we joined the group.  The tour started with a short film noting the history of the Cabot Creamery and farm co-op.  It was pretty cool to learn how they started, the quality they require of their farmers and what they do with all the milk, curd and byproduct.  They actually return the water drained off the cheese to the farm fields, putting nutrients back in the soil, and then of course the cows are eating that naturally enhanced grass.

Then our tour guide Tori told us all about the different cheese products and types they make, including some limited items that are only available close to the creamery.  She was very thorough--I had no idea they were so specialized in certain types of cheddar.  She then took us a on a quick trip through the plant, showing us the machines that make cheddar cheese (from curd to package) and another machine that, at the time, was filling 16 ounce packages of sour cream.  The video actually showed us one of the machines, the one that lifts the finished boxes onto the pallets.  I had to comment on it when Tori asked if their were questions because it was painted like a cow. (I asked who painted it.  She said the company that made it sent it like that.  How funny is that?) So of course when we saw RoboCow, I had to snap a picture.

After the tour we went back to the store to sample some of the cheeses.  We tried to behave ourselves since we hadn't yet had lunch, but I did have to get a second taste of the Buffalo Wing Cheddar and Dave was amazed at the limited batch of Classic Vermont Vintage Cheddar.  So of course we had to get both.  And then a few more.  We could have done a lot worse, but ultimately this was our haul.

I don't know if it was the lack of food or just being happy from finding a random place to stop, but outside I goofed off a little.

Moo.

We got back in the car, quickly got back on our route and decided it was time to stop for real Vermont maple syrup.  We'd passed a sugar house on the way up, so when we came near it again we pulled in and got exactly what we wanted.  The sugar house itself wasn't very exciting, but we knew it was the type of place where we would get "the good stuff."

Now it was time for me to get excited.  We were on our way to King Arthur Flour.  In true Vermont fashion, this company is 100% employee owned and really turns out some quality products.  Their recipes are amazing and I understand they have wonderful classes.  Ideally, I'd like to take a class there sometime, but stopped by the store was a fun introduction. 

King Arthur Flour is undergoing a huge expansion, building up their Baking School, store and bakery, among other things  The project will be done sometime next summer.  Guess I'll be holding off on that class until then!

Inside the store, I found myself completely mesmerized by all the different ingredients and tools. all of the thoughts running through my mind of what I could potential make with some many tasty morsels.  Dave was very patient with me as I slowly and methodically went around the store (literally around--the store is a giant circle!), placing things in my basket.   I'd warned Dave that I planned to fill my basket, but then promised to go back through it and buy only the things I wanted most.  Which I did.  My final purchase was only a fraction of all of my wants.

Indeed there actually were specific items I knew I was going to purchase, like Fiori di Sicilia, an extract-like flavoring that gives a unique "secret" ingredient flavor.  I also ended up getting maple flavoring and cinnamon oil, among a few other things.  Items that did not make the cut were the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook and the mini cheesecake pan, but not I have a reason to go back.  On the plus side, they were running a special that day so I got 15% off my total purchase, which was like getting the cinnamon oil for free!


Happy with my King Arthur Flour swag, we got back in the car and headed toward the Harpoon Brewery.  Dave had been there in July for their BBQ festival with his friends Ben and Nick.  They'd gotten a brief tour, had some beer and ate some good food.  Dave asked if I wanted to do the tour, but I wasn't sure if they would be offering one, based on the information in the pamphlet I'd picked up at the Visitor's Center that morning.  We'd planned on grabbing a bite to eat since they have a pub-style restaurant and we were famished.  We'd left around 8:30 in the morning and other than the stop for nibbles of cheese at Cabot, the only other sustenance we'd had was a bag of peanut butter M&Ms.  

Inside Harpoon, Dave used the facilities and I started poking around the store with all the hats, T-shirts and what not.  I was just about to go to the hostess stand and give our name for a table when I heard a woman holler to the crowd that anyone going on the tour should line up at the door.  I hesitated, not sure if I should hurry and buy tickets for the tour or if Dave wasn't interested.  Just then he came out and I told him the tour was about to begin and did he want to go.  So we ran over to the register, got tickets and headed to the door.  They carded us, gave us tasting glasses (that's always a good sign) and the tour began.  Dave's tour back in July was only an abbreviated version, so this was definitely a treat. 

I'd like to stop for a minute and appreciate our tour guide who, while admittedly having trouble with math at the moment, almost didn't give me a glass because she didn't think I was 21.  And then realized by birth year was 1980, not 1990, and that even if it was, since my birthday is in February, I'd be 21 anyway.  Looking back, I kind of appreciated it because when I'm with Dave I never get carded at all, let along questioned about actually being over 20.


Cat and Dan, our tour guides, gave us an amazing tour.  Having gone on a brewery tour before, we kinda knew how beer was made, but the history of Harpoon and the unique things they do to make their beers was pretty cool.  Local farmers actually take the brewery's used mash for feed for local cattle (no wonder the cheese tastes so good up there!).  Plus Cat bubbled over with personality and energy and you just know she loves her job.  Along the way we had some samples.  First was a swig of unfiltered IPA.  IPA is Dave's absolute favorite, but I usually don't care for it.  But this unfiltered stuff was great.  And super cold.  Cold beer is happy beer.


Cat had filled a pitcher of the unfiltered IPA and then started given about 2 ounce pours to everyone.  With beer still left in the pitcher, she started handing out seconds.  Who was the first person she refilled?  Dave, of course.  There were probably 15-18 people in our tour, and there was a couple standing near us. The woman leaned over to Dave and asked him if he liked IPA.  He said yes and she asked him if he wanted hers--she hadn't tasted it because she knows she doesn't like it, so she just poured it in his glass.  Dave made a beer friend!

Later on in the tour, Cat brought us another sample, this time of the filtered IPA.  And yes, the entire scenario I outlined above was repeated.  Exactly.  At this point Dave had 6 tastings to my 2.  Of his favorite beer.  Lucky duck.

Finally, the tour concluded with a sampling frenzy as Cat described the 10 or so beers they had on tap at the moment and Dan offering to pour us as many samples as we'd like to try.  I tasted the UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen and the UFO Pumpkin.  Both were super yummy, and as Cat described, the pumpkin tasted like "liquid pumpkin pie."  Dave tried the 100 Barrell Oak Aged Dunkel and the Leviathan Imperial IPA, and another one I was forgetting.  Clearly he had so much beer, I was starting to forget things.  Or it could have been the fact that in 8 hours I'd only eaten cheese and candy.  One of those.

So to the pub we went!  The restaurant is the Riverbend Taps and Beer Garden and the food is classic pub fare of burgers, sandwiches and fried things.  We each ordered UFO Pumpkins and then tucked into an appetizer of chicken tenders served with amazing french fries and an awesome ranch dressing.  Again, in true Vermont fashion, ingredients are local where possible and out sandwiches were actually served on King Arthur Flour bread.  Everything was delicious and a leisurely dinner was truly was the perfect way to end the day.  With stomachs filled and our beer buzz subsided, we headed back home.


So let's recap: In a little over 12 hours, we drove to Vermont, adopted out dog to a wonderful family, visited a creamery for a tour and tasting, got real Vermont syrup, visited the King Arthur Flour factory for perfect baking ingredients, toured the Harpoon brewery and got lots of samples and a great dinner.  Yeah, I'd say that's not bad for a random road trip.

"She's Late"

When I flew to Raleigh-Durham to interview at School #2, the Dean I was interviewing with drove me to and from the airport.  I'd received my flight information and schedule for the interviews and noticed that my last interview ended at 5:00 pm and my flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50 pm.  It's approximately a 20 minute ride from School #2 to the airport, but since I'm a paranoid traveler and like to not be that chick that gets on the plane just as the doors are about to close I was a little concerned with this time table.

The Dean and I ended our interview at 5:05 pm and walked back to his office so he could gather his things before we headed to the airport.  Upon entering the office suite, the assistant commented that we'd better get on the road ASAP because news reports were that the highway was backed up, but not sure in which direction.  Moments later another assistant alerted us that the back ups were in the opposite direction, but not wanting to hit any additional delays, we headed out immediately.

There is about a 3 mile stretch between the school and the highway with the traffic that normally wouldn't be too backed up, even with rush hour traffic.

Unfortunately this wasn't a normal day.

We crawled slowly for nearly the entire 3 miles, taking approximately 45 minutes to go that far.  I'm desperately trying to stay calm, cool and collected because the Dean is freaking out enough for the both of us.  I figured this was an extension of the interview and I would show calm under pressure.  While inching through traffic, the Dean called the assistant, the other Dean and his wife to a) try to find out what the traffic problem was; and b) see if he could get someone to start looking at later flights to Boston.

Eventually we spotted some emergency lights, although we couldn't tell what the issue was.  We finally arrived at the last intersection before the on-ramp to the highway only to find the two lanes of traffic were being funneled into basically half a lane and the soft shoulder dividing the road.  Had I not been in the car with a potential employer, I totally would have taken pictures of what I saw next: an SUV facing the wrong direction, a bumper and a boat.

None of these things were attached to each other anymore.

From what I could tell no one was injured, which is good. Because the spectacle of seeing all of that detached from itself was pretty crazy.  Although I couldn't enjoy it for too long (interviewing and all) and the next thing I know the Dean has the pedal to the metal and we're doing like 80+ on the highway.  And my flight is scheduled to leave in 45 minutes.  He's frantically apologizing and giving me a game plan of how I need to run to the kiosk to check in, but the kiosk won't let you check in if you're within 30 minutes of your flight, and then I should push myself through security and he'll drop me off and then park and come in and I should call him as soon as I get through security to see if I will make the flight because if not then he'll stay and help me find another flight.

All the while I'm just exuding calm on the outside, even though in my head I'm freaking out thinking, "I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO HOME TONIGHT.  And I really want to take these heels off."

He pulls up to the terminal and I get out, grab my bag, say a terrible good bye for an interview, but given the circumstances I have 34 minutes to make my flight!

I run inside and luckily am able to check in on the kiosk.  In line for the first part of security (the check your ID against your boarding pass stage), I kick off my heels, open my bag and frantically search for my flats, which I find and begin feel better.  Once through security stage one, I head to the screening line (security stage 2) where I finally get a chance to turn on my phone and call Dave.  Since I had all of my jewelry off and forgot to look at the time before I dialed Dave, I now had know idea what time it was.

Me: Hi, I'm in line for security because I just got to the airport because I was in traffic hell.  I hope I'll be able to get on the plane.

Dave: Uh, ok.

Me: I'll call you if I miss the flight.  If you don't hear from me, assume I got on the plane and come pick me up as scheduled.

Dave: What time are you supposed to land again?

(I'll stop here. Seriously?)

So I hang up with Dave and the sweet couple in front of me offer to let me go in front of them since I'm in a rush.  (People in the South are so nice.)  I thanked them profusely and dropped my belongings all into one of those grey bins for the scanners.  My carry-on bag, my purse, my suit jacket and my shoes.  There is a family in front of me with 4 kids and they are little so they are having trouble getting their attention to go through the metal detectors.  Then it's my turn.  But I can't go in the regular metal detector.  I have to use the body scanner.  (Probably because the TSA agent thought I was hot and just wanted to get a naked photo of me.  Did I mention I left my rights outside the airport? /vent)  So of course that takes longer. 

When they finally clear me through security, a fleeting thought goes through my mind to just take the whole bin and run to the gate.  But I don't.  Instead, I throw my carry-on over my shoulder, grab my purse, jacket and shoes and just start running.  No, the shoes never made it to my feet.  I barely had time to look and make sure I was headed toward the right gate and thank you RDU for putting the gates in order from smallest to largest, unlike other airports I've been through (since it turns out my gate was 7).

As I'm running through the airport, I pass a couple headed in the opposite direction.  The woman turns to the man and says, "She's late," in a real sarcastic tone, but also amused so it didn't make me want to stop and punch her and say, "No, I'm not late, I just like to run around airports without shoes on because I'm crazy."

I get to my gate and the gate attendant is just beginning to board the first batch of people.  I catch my breath, put on my shoes, and pant ask the attendant, "Excuse me, do I have time to run to the ladies room?"

I do (yay!) but because I'm paranoid, I don't stop to get a soda and am terribly parched from interviewing for 5 hours, sitting in a car in traffic in the sun for a hour and 15 minutes and running through the airport (barefoot).

But I got on the plane on time.