Gift Ideas - Christmas 2011 - Revised 12/11

Well, it's that time of year where I'm asked what do I want for Christmas. To provide one place for my wishlist:

Energizer AA recharable batteries (8 of them). I have a high speed charger that I can use for them. The other batteries were stolen on a recent trip.

One or two SD cards to replace the ones that were stolen on a recent trip.

A Bacon Wave that will allow us to cook bacon in the microwave.

A six pack box of Eggies that will allow us to make hardboiled eggs without having to take shell off!

Two Benchmark Map books for possible trips including

• California, or
• New Mexico

A calendar with a sense of humor, like

• Stupidest Things Ever Said Calendar, or
• Stupid History A Day Calendar

An audiobook from iTunes to be released in November: The New New Rules by Bill Maher. The iTunes audiobook will allow me to listen to it on my next multi-day scentic drive trip.

A paper book Sign Language: Travels in Unfortunate English From the Readers of The [London] Telegraph

I can always use more and After Shave Balm from L'Occitane

• Baux After Shave Balm
• Baux Shower Gel
• Loccitan After Shave Balm
• Loccitan Shower Gel

DVDs & Blu-Rays for the Treadmill

• My Boys: The Complete Fourth Season (2010) when it comes out.
• Californication Season 3
• Son of the Beach - Volume 1 a really stupid comedy for those really stressful days at work!
• Spartacus: Blood & Sand

Gift Cards from - I think you can find these at Safeway as well

• iTunes
• Amazon
• Southwest Airlines now that my travel schedule has freed up a little.

Gift Ideas (2011 Birthday Version)

Well, it's that time of year where I'm asked what do I want for my birthday. To provide one place for my wishlist:

Energizer AAA recharable batteries (8 of them). I have a high speed charger that I can use for them. This will help save on batteries for my falling apart radio walkman or a new one.

The new walkman

An audiobook from iTunes to be released in November: The New New Rules by Bill Maher. The iTunes audiobook will allow me to listen to it on my next multi-day scentic drive trip.

I can always use more and After Shave Balm from L'Occitane

• Baux After Shave Balm
• Baux Shower Gel
• Vetyver Shower Gel
• Loccitan After Shave Balm
• Loccitan Shower Gel

DVDs & Blu-Rays for the Treadmill

• My Boys: The Complete Fourth Season (2010) when it comes out.
• Californication Season 3
• Son of the Beach - Volume 1 a really stupid comedy for those really stressful days at work!
• Spartacus: Blood & Sand

Speaking of DVDs for the Gym, I could use some nice earbuds. The ones I have currently are falling apart.

Gift Cards from - I think you can find these at Safeway as well

• iTunes
• Amazon
• Southwest Airlines now that my travel schedule has freed up a little.

Travelfood - White Mountains, New Hampshire

There are many BBQ places in the popular vacation destination of New Hampshire's White Mountains area. I recently visited 2 places.

Hillbilly's BBQ appears to be a new BBQ restaurant in North Conway, NH. It looks like it might be a popular location for dinner and dancing. I ate there at lunch on a Saturday. I'm not a fan of southern BBQ, and the lunch didn't make me change my mind. BBQ is such a taste-thing that I don't want to say too much about the restaurant because it may be good if you like vinegar-based BBQ.

A few miles south in West Ossipee is a place that was better for me, the Yankee Smokehouse.


There is more sugar and tomato in this bbq. The atmosphere hasn't changed in the 10-ish years it's been since I had lunch there last.
On a rainy day, it was a popular place to be - even to sit outside on the covered patio. My fiance and I split a dinner plate with beef and pork where we were fighting for the last scraps it was so good. Highly recommend.

Travelfood - Pittsburg, New Hampshire

Pittsburg, New Hampshire is the largest town in Northern New Hampshire - about 30 miles from the Canadian border. It is popular with hunters and fisherman. Just north of town, there is a restaurant/hotel combination call the Buck Rub Pub. It is a popular restaurant with a big screen tv, video games, and bar.


The atmosphere is rustic and outdoorsy (note our companion on the wall below). The people are friendly. The food is good for a restaurant that specializes in many kinds of food. The fried chicken and cheeseburger we had was good, but not extraordinary. I hear the pizza is really good, tho. Given the small town, this is a good choice for the family.

For a day of scenic driving, this was a great stop.

Travelfood - Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH

Recently, I was able to go up and have some good eating Near Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery Maine. I mentioned many of these restaurants before. Now for some pictures:
Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, Maine.

The near dish are the fried clams they are known for. I found the "Lilian's Version" better than the original. Lillian's version had a little more flavor than the original. The far dish is the Lobster Roll which is our favorite.

Later, it was off to Cafe Mediterraneo. Squirrel stayed with the Lobster Ravioli (far dish - which was outstanding as always), but I went outside the box and had a Maryland crab ravioli (near dish). The sauces were really different but complemented each meat well. The Lobster's sauce was thicker but didn't have as much flavor relying on the flavor of the meat. The crab's sauce was thinner, but had a little bit of a sour flavor since crabmeat does not have as much flavor as lobster meat.

As a snack, Squirrel and I ventured to a place I was always curious of: Gilleys. Gilley's is a hot dog restuarant that claims to serve the best hot dogs in Portsmouth. We had chili dogs and they were outstanding. The extra time to cook to order is definitely well worth it. I would go again. Just remember to slide the door to the side. I had to be told this by another customer.

Travelfood - Hines, Oregon

One way I find good places to eat is to ask the locals. I asked the gas station attendent where a good place to eat was and he recommended the nearby Apple Peddler in Hines, Oregon. It is a general diner that has went through some recent changes in management and from what the attendent said, it was a good change. It was definitely good food. I had the teriyaki chicken which was surprisingly good at a typical diner. The gravy was also really good.

The service was friendly and good and prices were reasonable. They are known now for their desserts. If you are going through town, recommend a stop at the Apple Peddler on your food travels.

Travelfood - Frenchglen, Oregon

Frenchglen is a little hamlet about 60 miles south of Burns, Oregon near the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. On the main road just before a turnoff to Steens Mountain sits the Historic Frenchglen Hotel - a working hotel in the summer.

For those who want a little isolation as well as peace and quiet, this would be a good place to stay. If you do not have food, no worries as there is a small general store next door (Be sure to check for hours as when I was there it was only open 45 minutes that day) and a family style restaurant that requires reservations.

It is a historical area for the livestock operation of Peter French. More information about this is on the Hotel's website. I only had a cookie for a mid-afternoon snack there, but it was really good and from talking to the manager, the meals have a home cooked feel to them - as well as being family style.