Epcot Day 2

 

We headed to Epcot at 11 AM. We once again used Lyft to take us to the Boardwalk and we walked from there.   There were a few snacks we wanted to have today. First was escargot from France. I remember this from the very first time I went to the Food and Wine festival many, many years ago.  It's changed a bit since I last had it.  It used to be three smaller brioche buns, each with escargot in a garlicky sauce.  Now it is a single, somewhat larger brioche with multiple escargot and sauce.  We liked it but thought the prior version was better. Next was an Impossible slider with Montreal seasoning. This had some great flavor and was delicious.  

It was much warmer today than on Friday so we desperately needed some air conditioning.   Good thing WDW has some indoor rides!!   We headed over to The Land. There was a posted twenty five minute wait for Livin' With The Land so we got in line.  It ended up only being ten minutes!!  They've made some good changes to the rise, mostly in the greenhouses.   Next we got in line for one of Angie's favorites: Soarin!!  This had a posted sixty five minute wait.  But it was going to be an air conditioned wait!!   We got lucky as we got near to where they stage you for the attraction.  They were asking for single riders so we took them up on the opportunity!!  Saved us at least ten minutes. Great ride as usual and you could "smell the smells".  If you know you know. 

Next it was lunchtime at Space 220. As it sounds, this is a circus themed restaurant.  Just kidding.  It's of course space themed.  No spoilers.   The restaurant space and how you get there is very well done. And a great meal of burrata, tuna tartare, roasted brined chicken and shrimp pad Thai.

At 2:46, I got notification that it was time for my virtual queue on Cosmic Rewind!!   We finished lunch at 3:30 and I headed there.  It's an interesting pre-show. As with most rides of that nature, you're being brought in to see or test something.  And then something goes terribly wrong!!  How will we get back?  Who will help us?  I think you know. It's a well done inside coaster. Similar to Aerosmith's Rock and Roller coaster except there are no inversions.  Instead of inversions, your car spins many times to capture the action around you. So if you don't like spinning, this won't be the attraction for you.  It's a high speed version of Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa.  We ended the night back at the resort with snacks and music. 

 

Epcot Food and Wine Fest

 We arrived at Epcot about 10:30 and got right into the snacking game with some pumpkin ravioli, Duck Bao Bun and Raclette!!  Then lunch at Spice Road Table, one of my favorites.  Hummus fries, spicy shrimp and fried cauliflower. Hard to pick a favorite but I'd have to go with the cauliflower. It perfectly fried and tossed in an orangy sauce similar to what they use on Genera Tsos Chicken.  Then we experienced the Remy ride. It's a tamer version of the Spiderman ride at Universal Islands of Adventure.  

After lunch, we headed to Brew-Wing which was at the Odyssey venue.  They had it set up a Muppet Labs, featuring frequent video segments from Beaker and Dr Benson Honeydew. 

The food and beverages were all "experiments".   We had a beverage flight of 3 Daughters Pickle Seltzer, Keel Farms Elderberry Serrano Cider and Coppertail Brewing Smoked Lager.  All really good.  The pickle seltzer was my favorite. Also tried some peanut butter and jelly wings which reminded me of the childhood classic sandwich. 

 After our snack and libations, it was time for some live music. We saw Bodh'aktan perform a short set of what I'd call Celtic and Canadian rock at the Canada pavilion.  Then we headed to the UK and saw an English rock tribute band.  Both entertaining.  We then boarded the Friendship boat to the Swan hotel for our dinner at Mediterranean restaurant Amare. 

We started with the most delicious octopus we had ever eaten.  And we have had it many times over our travels.  This has been sous vied and then slightly grilled. It was buttery tender like the best Maine lobster tail!!  For mains we had sea bass filets and a romesco chicken.  The sea bass had been wrapped in parchment paper with kale, olives, potato, garlic and other herbs and then roasted.  Served with an optional beurre Blanc sauce!!  Certainly one of the best pieces of fish I've ever had. The chicken was also tasty with both breast and thigh on top of the spicy romesco. What a great dinner. I highly recommend this place. It's located in the relatively new Disney Swan Reserve hotel. They have an interesting wine list as well as over fifty bourbons!!

After dinner we took a Lyft back to Port Orleans. If your budget allows, I suggest using ride shares at WDW. Especially if your hotel has multiple bus stops like Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach. While the buses can be convenient, the multiple stops delay your leaving the resort and returning. 

Disney World Adventure Part 1

 

We made it to Florida!!  First non-stop Southwest flight of the day from IND to MCO. Took off on time and surprisingly a smooth flight.  We made it over to Port Orleans Riverside by 11 and our room was ready!!

Delicious lunch at Wine Bar George of creamy chipotle hummus, meatballs over cheesy, creamy polenta and black mussels in an onion broth with crispy chipotle!! 

  And of course some wonderful wines from their list of 132!!  I went with a  Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  Angie had a Cabernet Franc Rose. We went to Jock Lindsey's for a cocktail, Boathouse for some oysters and Morimoto Asia for dinner. 

Morimoto has some delicious highballs.  Light and refreshing. We tried The Forbidden and The Forsaken.  Both very good with our starters of lemongrass chicken dumplings and BBQ ribs.  Great use of the lemongrass in the dumplings.  Not overpowering.  And those ribs.   I think they were first braised until tender and then flash fried to add some crunch.  Then tossed in a sticky sauce.   I think they are the best pork ribs I have ever had.  We each had a delicious ramen bowl for our main. Angie had the short rib and I went with duck.

 The weather is typical Florida humid.   Just a bit of a breeze.  Rained on the ride share from the airport but no rain at the moment. 

Salt Lake City Part 2

 

The National Parks tour has come to an end!!  Yesterday we took a Lyft up to Great Salt Lake State Park.  We met up with our boat captain and took a short cruise out to the middle of the lake. And then we floated. 

No one really swims in the lake. And it's really salty! The lake is divided into two parts. The North Arm and the South Arm. We were in the South Arm which is about 15% salt. The North Arm is almost 30%!!  Compare that to your average ocean which is about 3%. Or saline solution which is 1%.  Floating was easy. You just had to avoid the urge to tread water. Once  we got out and dried off, we both had a salty crust.  But it was a great experience.  The lake only has one marina for private boats. There are no fish that live in the lake so any boating is really just for pleasure.

After lunch we took a Lyft back to the hotel to clean up. Angie then took care of some work items.  We then headed to the BeerHive for lunch. 

They have an impressive twenty four beers on tap plus 300 more in bottles and cans.  Some really good ones.  I loved the Blackberry Sour from Kiitos Brewing.  And we were able to order lunch from the Vietnamese restaurant next door. Some great wings and a delicious Banh mi sandwich. After lunch we headed back to the hotel for a mandatory rest period. 

Dinner was at Squatters which features many beers from Salt Lake Brewing. We had a great starter of creamy artichoke dip and mains of Mac and cheese and turkey and Swiss burger. Both so tasty!!  Extra points for having a hand made party. Typically restaurants use preformed frozen turkey patty. 

Overall, it was a wonderful trip! Definitely the best way for us to see the national parks. 

Salt Lake City Night Part 1

 

We started the day with a quick walk around the nature preserve at the Rustic Inn. We could definitely spend more time here. 

We made it to Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon after a fun stop in Afton, Wyoming to see the world's largest antler arch. 

  There was a farewell dinner with our group of 45 at the hotel. Some good grilled salmon. Afterwards we had a drink in the hotel bar with some of the friends we made. There were two other couples from Indiana. One from nearby Noblesville.

Today we slept in late. First time being able to do that over the last eleven nights. We had a late breakfast at the hotel and then walked ten minutes to the Tabernacle. They had a recital with an organist playing that massive pipe organ. 

Afterwards, we needed some lunch so we walked about fifteen minutes to Red Rock Brewing. 

Some tasty beers. My favorite was the Passion Fruit Gose. Angie has a delicious Oatmeal Stout. Angie had a shrimp salad and I had a salmon salad.  Both very good.

It was then time to head to the museum. This was a bit further away so we used a Lyft. The Natural History museum is very impressive.  Certainly has to be the largest collection of dinosaur bones in North America. Probably the world. Really amazing. 

And they are always discovering new ones. Other interesting exhibits as well including all about the Native People.  One of the most interesting parts was many parts of the museum focused on global warming, climate change and renewal energy such as wind and solar. Utah is about as "red" as a state can get. And you'll hear the leaders of the Republican party claim global warming and climate change is a hoax. Yet it's prominently featured in the museum. And many buildings in the downtown area have solar panels.  After our visit, we needed a mandatory rest period at the hotel.  We had some good Thai food for dinner.  

Jackson Wyoming Night 2 / Rafting on the Snake River

 This morning we had an rafting excursion on the Snake River. We met in the lobby of the hotel at 8:30 and were seated in our raft by 9:15. It was such a peaceful thirteen miles and two and a half hours down the Snake River. We mostly saw birds unless you count the dogs being walked.

Several eagles and some wild ducks that walked in water. We were dropped off at the hotel about Noon. We headed to the cabin to drop off our stuff and find a place for lunch. Our rafting guide had recommended Still West Brewing. This was about a twenty minute walk down Cache Street, just at the base of Snow King Mountain. Some delicious beers. My favorite was Cosmic Nebula which is a hazy IPA. Angie enjoyed a black bean burger with truffle fries and I had n Fried Idaho Trout sandwich. Both excellent.

We then walked back toward the hotel, stopping at the visitor center for the National Elk Refuge. They have a huge area where the elk, prong horn deer, mule deer and other wildlife use when they migrate down from the mountains in the fall.  

They haven't started that process yet.  We then headed back to the cabin for a mandatory rest period. Then, we hit a couple of the local watering holes. Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and Silver Dollar Bar. The latter has fancy saloon doors!!   Had a nice meal at Gather which is a place with small and large plates meant for sharing.  We had crispy Brussels Sprouts, pork buns and Mediterranean burrata. The Brussels were good but couldn't beat the ones we had in Cody at Trailhead.