What Would Dillinger Do?

Tucson, Arizona is a city with a lot more history than I realized. The historic Hotel Congress is where we found ourselves for the first night of our Southwest road trip. It was built in 1919, but in January of 1934 John Dillinger and his gang were captured here. Its rumored that many ghosts frequent the building, which is probably why they have a table that is a giant ouija board in the lobby! It was pretty fun to sit there and attempt to communicate with spirit world while I drank my morning coffee. The vibe of the hotel is massively cool, but the windows are single pane glass and its located in a pretty busy part of town so its quite loud at all hours of the night...I must be getting old.

Mt. Roberts with Lady Baltimore

Labor Day weekend in Juneau visiting the sis. We took the tram up Mt. Roberts for an amazing view of downtown Juneau, Douglas, and the Gastineau Channel. A one-eyed bald eagle named Lady Baltimore lives at the top of the tram. A poacher (I had no idea people "poached" bald eagles) shot Lady Baltimore through the beak and the the bullet exited out her left eye. The whole story/situation/exhibit is a bit freaky, but it was totally worth the trip up because Native Alaskans own the whole operation the artwork and old photos they have on display in the lodge area is some of the best I have ever seen.

42nd Annual Oregon Country Fair

The Oregon Country Fair never fails to impress me with the sheer amount of hippie freaks concentrated in one area. It is the ultimate people watching event of the year...hands down! The entire fair is on private property, nestled in the woods. All of the vendors (artists, tarot card readers, massage therapists, wood workers...etc) booths, food stalls, stages, drum circles, you name it, are tucked in the trees and grass in little makeshift stands that look like tree forts. Its a total trip! Where else can you see a man, in full drag, on stilts that look like goat legs, jumping rope?! I mean come on! Tops are 100% optional for women and 50% of the people are totally high on life :)

This couple was more than happy to pose for me! "Happy Fair!"

Chihuly and Tapas in St. Pete

A little burned from my day at the beach, I decided to walk around the waterfront and check out the art in St. Petersburg to avoid too much direct sun! They have a pretty good Chihuly collection, with many of his styles on exhibit, but after walking through it I decided it probably wasn't worth the $15 entrance fee. If you have been to the Bellagio you have seen more spectacular installations. The waterfront area in St. Pete is lush and tranquil, with little restaurants and shops lining the main street. The best surprise was discovering that my favorite Tapas restaurant, Ceviche, has a location right on Beach drive!

Siesta Beach, Sarasota FL

I couldn't have picked a better spot for my first trip to the Gulf! I covered it in an earlier post, but the sand is what makes it amazing. The Gulf water is so warm and crystal clear. I could see fish swimming around my legs! Everything, from the water to the sand, was pristine. I didn't see one cigarette butt or piece of trash...makes Waikiki look like a sewer! In fact this beach puts all beaches to shame! Its easy to see why Dr. Beach ranked this place the #1 beach for 2011.

The Best Sand I Have Ever Felt!

100% Quartz sand = the best sand I have ever seen, felt, walked on. Its got to be about 90 degrees here, but the sand is cool on your feet. My towel just melted into a fluffy white cloud of this stuff!

Devil Crabs

One of the best things about finding myself in Tampa again is the food! My coworkers here introduced me to Brocato's Sandwich Shop, home of the Devil Crabs the size of footballs! I wasn't sure what to make of it until I cracked it open to find that its essentially a crab cake...on crack! I drizzled a little Texas Pete's hot sauce on it...perfection! Yay Cuban food!