tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34848460639538190032024-03-12T21:28:12.975-04:00Go on the Cheapwhy spend more when it's just as fun?Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-24364489334714643992012-07-26T09:47:00.003-04:002012-07-26T09:52:38.174-04:00St. Andrews Market & KinglakeWe journeyed into rural Victoria in the <a href="http://www.ntatourism.com/images/ntatourismcom/Documents/Nillumbik_Map.pdf">Nillumbik</a> Shire, north east of Melbourne. Shire is like a township, I know, I did a double take when I saw that word. I actually had no idea where I was going, since I never heard of these places, but I got in the car anyway though. Well, of course I did, and it was a good thing because I saw some beautiful sceneries and bought smelly bars of soap. The good kind of smelly. The following photographs were taken by Marcus Krigsman. He's a good photographer, isn't he? Also a good tour guide... If A=B, and B=C, then.. ahem yeah. :P <br />
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I was told that St. Andrews Market was an "alternative market" but I had
no idea what that meant until I got there. I would probably describe
it as a hippie market. The market is very selective on who they allow
as vendors. They don't want something too mainstream, mass-produced or
even duplicate vendors selling the same products. As a result, I saw
many "Made in Australia" signs, cool clothing (that I don't need any
more of..), fresh produce, fragrant bars of soap, musicians, and even a
chai tent. I was thoroughly impressed.<br />
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The best part, for me, was that these prices were fairly reasonable. In fact, the bar soap that I could not resist was cheaper than what I've found in the US. $1.50 for a bar of soap? Amazing! I'm not sure, but I'd guess it was 4-6oz bars. In either case, it was fun for me to pick out scents. The other funny thing was that we ran into a lot of church friends at the market. Funny, 25 minutes out of town was not where I expected to run into people, but just as well! Last but not least, as a result of these entries being a week behind, last Saturday I discovered that there are <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Andrews-Hurstbridge-Bus/111906302203472">shuttles</a> that run from the last train stop, Hurstbridge, to St. Andrews Market and other towns in the Nillumbik Shire.<br />
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We continued up into the mountains toward Kinglake. In 2009, the area was nearly obliterated by a forest fire. Nearly three years later, the trees are regrowing at a fairly quick pace. Of course, "quick" is a relative term. For someone who grew up near evergreens like pines and redwoods that take decades to grow, I'm used to very slow growth. In either case, Kinglake is a beautiful area with lookout points from which you can see the city and faraway mountains. There is no lake at Kinglake though, ha. We stopped at <a href="http://www.flyingtartsbakery.com.au/">Flying Tarts Bakery and Cafe</a> for lunch where I had my first taste of meatpies. The meatpies were smaller so we finished the meal with additional treats including a vanilla slice, jam donut and a bumblebee.<br />
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On our way back we stopped by Sugarloaf Reservoir. It was raining so the reservoir was a grayish color. On nice sunny days with blue skies, it would be a more beautiful place. Next time :)</div>
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com.au%2F2012%2F07%2Fst-andrews-market-kinglake.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-KTR67qO6VoU%2FUBFFEaI-_VI%2FAAAAAAAAAfA%2FVHIGTHn3rJo%2Fs320%2FStephanie%252527N%252527Melbourne-20.jpg&description=St.%20Andrews%20Market%2C%20an%20%22alternative%20market%22%20in%20the%20countryside%20of%20Melbourne%20%26%20Kinglake%20(no%20lake%20but%20really%20gorgeous%20views%20of%20Melbourne)" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-13357847118724613182012-07-20T06:39:00.000-04:002012-07-26T09:50:22.519-04:00Flinders Street Station & Melbourne CentralI departed San Francisco on July 9 and arrived in Melbourne, Australia two days later. Flying with Air New Zealand was a very pleasant experience though, so given the choice, I would highly recommend them. They also forgot to charge me for my bags. Ha. Don't count on that happening though :P<br />
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I finally ventured into the city despite it being a rainy day. I was going to meet a professor at Victoria University in hopes that he'll give me some leads for possible employment, so that was a good motivation to venture out that way. We called after getting into Flinders Station, and since it was only a two minute walk to his office, he asked for some time, so we walked around the block to soak up the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Random/_resampled/resizedimage234156-flinders-street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Random/_resampled/resizedimage234156-flinders-street.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Public Transport Victoria</td></tr>
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We wandered into Degraves Street, an alley way with restaurants. These tables fill the alleyway, so no cars allowed. I appreciated that aspect of the alleyway. The first thing that struck me was a store called Pie Face. What a cute name. We didn't get anything from there, but they also have an adorable logo. Some things you should know about Australia, ha, this is coming from someone who's been here a week and a half? Well prior to arriving, I did some light research, as in I read The Age as a news source for six months. Australia has a strong coffee culture and they pride themselves for the taste and quality of their coffee. Starbucks is for tourists. Needless to say, there are plenty of coffeeshops all over, many of them independent coffeeshops. As for food, meat pie is one that Aussies claim as their own. So a store called Pie Face might conjure up images of apple pie, strawberry pie, key lime pie or the like for Americans, but in Australia, pie can mean rosemary lamb pie, beef curry pie, or things along those lines. (Yes, Americans have chicken pot pie but it's hard to find that in a restaurant, unless you're at Marie Callendar's, in my experience anyway)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.degravesstreetonline.com/images/siteproper/indexgallery/012-500-330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://www.degravesstreetonline.com/images/siteproper/indexgallery/012-500-330.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Souce: Degraves Street</td></tr>
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After a brief meeting, we went out to eat the food we had feasted our eyes on earlier. We got Lord of the Fries, bubble tea, and Taiwanese shaved ice. We wandered around the streets, and through Myers, a department store. I mean, I did the wandering, my tour guide (read: boyfriend) knew where we were going. Next thing I knew, (See? Absolutely no awareness of surroundings...) I was in this building, distracted by cute and cheap vintage clothes. I was so focused on delivering myself from temptation that I didn't notice the shot tower (see picture below). It's like the highlight of Melbourne Central, and all I knew it for was the cool shops. Yeah, wonderful tourist I am. I was later quizzed on what I saw by my boyfriend's parents and when they asked what I thought about the shot tower I responded with a blank look. Well, there it is, below. I'll keep an eye out for it next time. As for the cool shops, this area reminded me a lot of parts of Taipei. Sophisticated shops, busy streets and sharply dressed pedestrians. <br />
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<a href="http://www.melbournecentral.com.au/MELCEN-RT/contentimages/rightpanel/rightpanel_Melbourne-Central-117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.melbournecentral.com.au/MELCEN-RT/contentimages/rightpanel/rightpanel_Melbourne-Central-117.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Melbourne Central</td></tr>
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So I was trying this new thing called "not looking like a tourist" and thought I would just use pictures online instead of taking pictures with my own camera. Eh, the next time I went into the city (a few days ago, I'm a week behind) I brought my own and snapped away. The other reason, besides not wanting to scream, "Mug me I'm a tourist" was because I thought by putting away the camera, I could soak in more of the city. After giving that a shot, I think that for me, snapping pictures is part of the experience where I fit the scenery into a frame. <br />
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A note on costs: Prior to arrival I heard over and over and over and over again that Australia is an expensive place. A good part of the reason is because they have a strong economy and their dollar got really strong against the American currency. That means that while a decade ago, when the Australian currency was something like 50% of the American currency, a $20 Australian Dollar meal was actually $10 US dollars. Now the $20 AUD is something like $20 USD. The other reason is that Australians pay their labor well, none of that cheap labor we have in the US that deflates the price of goods and services. SO, how do you enjoy Australia on the cheap? That's what I'm supposed to be learning this year. A train ride into the city is about $11 roundtrip. Pretty steep, but more convenient than driving & parking. I kinda turn a blind eye to the price of food. Except I still remember it well enough to catalog my spending a few days later :P What I need is to find the balance between reasonable spending while still enjoying my time here. One of the ways that I'm trying is sharing food so that I can try more varieties which is supposed to give you more enjoyment than a large quantity of one item. We'll see.</div>
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com.au%2F2012%2F07%2Fflinders-street-station-melbourne.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fptv.vic.gov.au%2Fassets%2FRandom%2F_resampled%2Fresizedimage234156-flinders-street.jpg&description=Flinder's%20Street%20%26%20Melbourne%20Central%20in%20Melbourne%2C%20Australia" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1Melbourne VIC, Australia-37.8136111 144.9630556-37.838699600000005 144.9235736 -37.7885226 145.00253759999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-64798124648724858602012-07-01T12:35:00.000-04:002012-07-01T12:39:44.889-04:00"They're Building a Bomb!"<i>My apologies for a super long gap between my last post until now. I moved out of Oak Ridge on June 26 and prior to that I was frantically trying to sell my car, unsuccessfully. Now I'm back home, but a tribute to my home for the past year: </i><br />
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I should have done this way earlier, talked about where I live, my point of reference. I lived in the beautiful East Tennessee in the City of Oak Ridge. Located in between the Smokies and the Cumberland Mountains, it was called the Secret City and hence there is a yearly Secret City Festival to celebrate its history. It was chosen because of its obscure geographic location between two mountain ranges that most planes would not fly over that area, and if they did, the plane would not see this little town. I'm not an Oak Ridge native, so please correct me if I have these details wrong! Prior to World War II there were farmers living here, but during the war, it was chosen to be one of the sites to enrich uranium, one of the steps in building a bomb. The farmers who were living there were forced off their property, and I'm not sure if they were fairly compensated for that, but those who have relatives buried there have access through the high security gates. The town of Oak Ridge was built in record time, and the house I lived in was from that era, although with additions. During the war, most people who worked at "the lab" (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and "the plant" (Y-12 National Security Complex) did not know what they were building. They had pretty cheeky answers for people who asked them questions:<br />
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"What do they have you making there?"<br />
"Not enough"*<br />
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"What do you do there?"<br />
"Hardly anything"*<br />
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*Based on memory from a tour of Y-12 over 3 years ago...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Said to be the
largest swimming pool in North America. The pool was built to give
families something to do in Oak Ridge, during the war.</td></tr>
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I came to Oak Ridge also to work at the lab, but nothing related to bomb-making. The lab doesn't really do that stuff anymore, or so they say! I worked with a team of social scientists and it was a blast. I can only hope that I will work with similarly wonderful people later in my career. Oak Ridge was a bigger city during the war, but now there are about 27,000 residents. It seems like the City has tried to attract chain stores and restaurants rather than boost small businesses.<br />
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There are many great locally owned restaurants in town though! With all local businesses, they weather many obstacles in order to provide their services. Although is this a small measure, paying in cash helps them keep more of your money, rather than paying by credit or debit, since credit & debit companies will take some off the top to process the transaction. Below is a picture of Razzleberry's Ice Cream: Cafe & Market. It used to be called Razzleberry Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen. Maybe they wanted to emphasize the food a little more, since they started out in the corner as a teeny ice cream store. Their ice cream is rich and creamy and the flavors are excellent. The owner was trained in a culinary school in Poland, he smokes his own meat & fish and makes the sausage. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was probably my second home in Oak Ridge. Ice cream & wifi, what else does a person need?</td></tr>
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My favorite place to eat was Mediterranean Delight. It was opened by
a Jordanian couple. They close at 7pm, so get there early. As a
lamb-lover, this was the place for me to get my lamb fix. Their dips
are great to bring to parties. They also have great vegetarian and gluten-free options. It's primarily a catering business, but if you got food to eat there, you can eat it outside or in a side room. The owners are funny and kind people. The second time I went there, about 2 or 3 months in between, the owner recognized me and I was like, "I"M DEFINITELY COMING BACK HERE!!" <br />
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Hot Bagel is a local favorite as well. They have kiosks at the
lab and so if I forgot my lunch, I often ate their bagelwiches. Aside from their famed bagels, their pastries are delicious and not your average pastries. They'll have things like eclairs, flappers, and other cool things. The
owner is German, and he bakes most of the things, and the other owner
who runs the front of the house has a strong southern accent. Many of
my friends are from Oak Ridge, and they've all experienced getting
yelled at by this owner as kids. Ha. (For taking too long to decide or
something)<br />
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Magic Wok is THE place to go in Oak Ridge if you're only around
for a short visit. This is the place to stop at. Most people refer to
this place as "Miss Betty's" because the owner's name is Betty. I asked
a local friend what her husband's name was and they said, "Mr.
Betty??" Hahahaha, I love it. I have friends who say that as soon as
they get into town, the first thing they want is "Miss Betty's!!!"
There are only two options there, Cashew Chicken and Sweet and Sour.
You can also order egg rolls and friend wontons. The fried wontons are
so good. So this is definitely a hole-in-the-wall kinda places, it's
sort of like a diner, some people say it's "sketchy." Ha. The first
time I had it, it reminded me of Taiwanese food, like the "stewed
flavor." Later I heard from someone that they were from Taiwan. High
school students love it because it's cheap and good. Or at least "an
experience." <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melton Lake is the gem of Oak Ridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was my last sunset in Oak Ridge, Tennessee</td></tr>
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There were of course other great places to eat in Oak Ridge, but these were my standout establishments.<br />
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"What makes Oak Ridge beautiful" is the greenway belts. In the town
of Oak Ridge, there are trails where you'll hardly think that there is a
residential area just 5 minutes in the other direction. There are
bodies of water that get all foggy after a rainstorm. There is a "West
End Quarry" that I was never able to find ::sigh:: that is brilliantly
blue. It's blue because that is the color of radioactive material.
Don't touch it, but I bet it's beautiful. Someone wanna show me a
picture of this elusive quarry?? Pretty please? :P Eventually I'll
find pictures of the fall and spring in Oak Ridge. Actually Oak Ridge
is beautiful all year round, but maybe I'll save that for another post.
That's what makes Oak Ridge beautiful, oh oh! (One Direction sang a
song called "What makes you beautiful")Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-69849339080949900612012-06-17T22:49:00.000-04:002012-06-17T23:03:12.909-04:00Oak Ridge's Lavender Festival and the Secret City Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm getting to the end of my time in Oak Ridge, wow, time flies. When I first came to Oak Ridge three years ago in 2009, I really looked forward to the Secret City Festival and Lavender Festival. I used the shuttle between the two festivals to go to Jackson Square for the first time. Without a car, Jackson Square was pretty far away to be walking in the summertime. I had a ton of fun at both festivals, spent all day outside in upper ninety degree weather. That year I went on a tour of Y-12 National Security Complex, played laser tag, ate lavender for the first time, heard "Eye of the Tiger," and of course, looked at all the exhibits. </div>
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Last year the Lavender Festival really made an impression and so this
time around I knew I would spend most of my time at the Lavender
Festival. Even though the
lavender festival is very small, I think it's one of my favorite
festivals I've ever been. The reason is that the vendor selection
totally matched my tastes. There was a lot of pottery, bar soap,
interesting jellies, exquisite cheese, and gorgeous wooden serving
spoons. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qq8zOaxZ-ls/T94V_OnBV8I/AAAAAAAAAcE/KaE18HmYo14/s1600/DSCN7516.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qq8zOaxZ-ls/T94V_OnBV8I/AAAAAAAAAcE/KaE18HmYo14/s320/DSCN7516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lavender honey
ice cream from Cruze Farm in Knoxville. The flavor was good, but their
ice cream is not as creamy as Razzleberry's ice cream.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/05/erins-meadow-herb-farm.html">Erin's Meadow Herb Farm</a> made an appearance too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eh5ZvprVQvM/T94UPRdswyI/AAAAAAAAAbo/7rgW08m2vmE/s1600/DSCN7507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eh5ZvprVQvM/T94UPRdswyI/AAAAAAAAAbo/7rgW08m2vmE/s320/DSCN7507.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Chef" comes every third Saturday to cook breakfast in a pay whatever you like pricing scheme. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorative gourds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmer's market in Oak Ridge on Saturdays and Wednesdays. This is my first time attending this year, since I usually go to the flea market for cheaper produce, but the atmosphere is pretty nice at farmer's markets. I may go back next week. Maybe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x3T23PfpGSs/T94U1jPDVQI/AAAAAAAAAbw/0tmiE7rvX2w/s1600/DSCN7509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x3T23PfpGSs/T94U1jPDVQI/AAAAAAAAAbw/0tmiE7rvX2w/s320/DSCN7509.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried green tomatoes, a southern dish but really took off in Tennessee</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J_pSlzzOSjU/T94arLVVBhI/AAAAAAAAAdI/XVbKLj2CRe0/s1600/DSCN7527.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J_pSlzzOSjU/T94arLVVBhI/AAAAAAAAAdI/XVbKLj2CRe0/s320/DSCN7527.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lavender
milkshake. While standing in line I said I wanted a lavender milkshake
and the person in front of me copied me. Good ideas are contagious, eh?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AhUJ_4hw8Xk/T94aGV86LGI/AAAAAAAAAdA/o81obXC_4gI/s1600/DSCN7525.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AhUJ_4hw8Xk/T94aGV86LGI/AAAAAAAAAdA/o81obXC_4gI/s320/DSCN7525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spinach sambousek from Mediterranean Delight</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a new bakery in town! Dean's Restaurant and Bakery located in Jackson Square</td></tr>
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The Secret City Festival is to celebrate Oak Ridge's history. The town of Oak Ridge began during WWII and it played an important part of the Manhattan Project. The national laboratories in the US are all in remote areas because they started as secret places so that no one else would suspect what was going on. Oak Ridge in particular was chosen because it's located in a valley and you can fly over the area and not see it. Of course, I also went to the Secret City Festival to check out Tennessee Creates, the juried art
exhibit. I started taking a pottery class in April and a lot of people
I saw in the studio on weekends had exhibits that weekend. The Secret City Festival is great for those with children and all the
games and activities are free of charge because it is sponsored by Y-12
and Oak Ridge National Lab. Every year there is a shuttle to take people back and forth between the Secret City Festival and Lavender Festival.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oak Ridge High School's old year books? I didn't actually flip open these books, they looked ancient but there was a crowd around the books and middle aged people talking about attending the high school</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corn on the cob</td></tr>
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<br />Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-66858743049670870762012-06-17T14:01:00.000-04:002012-06-17T14:10:42.123-04:00Norris Lake<br />
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Friday after work my housemates were invited to our landlord's family lake house. This was a place that reminded us so much of all of East Tennessee's glory. The drive was pleasant and the trees and rolling hills were lush green. We drove passed calm rivers and dramatic hillsides. After only half an hour of driving, we arrived at this wooden barn-like lake house. <br />
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We sat down for a delicious potluck dinner before heading out to the lake. Prior to coming here, our friend said told that Norris Lake was the second cleanest lake in North America, but someone else would contest that statement because she has seen many much cleaner lakes in other parts of the US. I did a quick google search and in that quick search I did not find an authoritative source on the cleanest lake in America. There are many metrics for measuring the cleanest lake, such as visibility, bacteria, man-made pollution, etc. Even if someone conducted a systematic study, there are subjective ways for weighing the different factors against one another. However, when you search "Norris Lake" and "cleanest lake in America", those who spoke of Norris Lake would claim that Norris Lake was one of the cleanest lakes. The point is that Norris Lake is pretty clean. Norris Lake is connected to <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/04/norris-dam-state-park-trip-fail.html">Norris Dam</a> and so the water levels fluctuate quite a bit, during the winter months, this area looks like the moon's surface because all of the water is drained away. Parts of this lake are very deep, so when you swim, you don't touch the bottom and touch whatever floats in the water. </div>
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To me, East Tennessee can be represented by water. The water is such a big part of East Tennesseans' lives in the summer. When I first came here three years ago, I bought a pair of water shoes for $10 to wear while tubing. It was a worthwhile investment because the water levels that year were extremely high and the currents were faster than usual. As a result, those who wore their flip flops tubing lost them. Which was minor compared to the bruises, scratches and scraped body parts many of us suffered. In any case, in these three years, the only time I've ever worn those water shoes were in East Tennessee. These shoes will not be following me to Australia because they smell really, <i>really</i> bad. :P Hahhaha <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's me with my flotation device and swimming like an otter! :P This is also my first picture of myself on this site!</td></tr>
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We went to visit the host's friends who were camping on the lake. Their tent was perched right on the shores. I can't wait to acquire a tent because many campsites are located on the best location and it's such a magnificent way of stay on prime real estate without paying a high dollar. We drove back in the dark and watched a lighting storm take place to the north of us. There was a flash of lightning every 10 seconds but we were pretty far away and so it stayed perfectly dry. The periodic flash of light was very much like a mini fireworks show. I wish I could have captured it on camera, but it was far too quick for me. What a beautiful evening. What a beautiful part of the country. I am so grateful that my first post after graduation was in the beautiful East Tennessee. Sometime I'll post pictures of fall in Tennessee, you will fall in love.<br />
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F06%2Fnorris-lake.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-b4MVBfO1YHg%2FT94QFV6y5jI%2FAAAAAAAAAa0%2FpXi0VKYC_JY%2Fs320%2FDSCN7456.JPG&description=Norris%20Lake%20in%20the%20beautiful%20East%20Tennessee"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-83952997459017923912012-06-12T21:20:00.000-04:002012-06-12T21:40:12.986-04:00KayakingSummer time at my workplace means more interns and more traffic. In my case, it meant having old friends around again. Except many old friends and natives of Oak Ridge have other plans in California, Spain or Kenya. Luckily one old friend did return to work this summer. So when I texted and asked if he was interested in hanging out, I was at an awkward loss for what to suggest. A meal? A movie? Is that really the best I could come up with? I wasn't going to suggest shopping with this friend. This is awfully embarrassing, don't I have a blog on where to go?!?! Yes, I do! Pull yourself together and think of somewhere to go or something to do that is a little more original than eating out or watching a movie! I suggested Gatlinburg, a very touristy destination about an hour away. He said it was too far. He didn't have the right shoes for hiking either. At this point I was really bargaining with my imagination to think up a storm... of better ideas.<br />
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How about kayaking?? I knew of exactly where to go, and I saw their
rates at some point in time, just had to go confirm. Yes! The Cove at
Concord Park had kayak rentals offered by <a href="http://www.riversportsoutfitters.com/t-thecove.aspx">River Sports Outfitters</a>, $25 for half a day and $35 for a full day rental.
Half day means 3 hours, by the way. I had wondered about that. I
mean, I knew without a doubt that "half day" did not literally mean 12
hours. Oh, tip, always clarify the ambiguities. Three hours on the kayak for $25 (including tax is a little over $27) is a pretty good deal compared to what I saw at Lake Tahoe, $20/hour for 1-person kayak, $26/hour for 2-person kayak and $30/hour for 3-person kayak. Of course, me being a cheap was thinking, "Hiking would have been free." Just kidding, I didn't actually think that, I was pretty excited to kayak. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overcast day at the Cove at Concord Park</td></tr>
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What I like about kayaking is that it's comparatively effortless compared to canoeing. I think that canoeing takes skill that I acquire slowly. Kayaking is faster and as a result, more fun. The two-sided paddle is what makes it easier and faster in my opinion. Also, since it requires less skill, it makes it easier to enjoy the views and relax. My friend was a first-timer and he picked it up right away. Despite believing kayaking to be easy, I managed to splash myself with each stroke. Why? I don't know. Also, I may or may not have been using the paddles the wrong way during the first hours. Whoops. Experience is overrated. :P<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's the beach!</td></tr>
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The first hour we went out was pretty tiring. We cross the lake, at a fairly quick speed to avoid the boats. I, of course, was paranoid about the waves flipping me over. Worrying is energy consuming, hence feeling more tired. We took a break and had Snickers ice cream bars. Then, we went back out and circled around the Marina. My friend is from the coasts of Croatia and he said one of the things he misses about home is the sound of boats. The sound is similar wind chimes. Unfortunately, for the second hour I left my camera behind, thinking that I wanted to enjoy kayaking rather than photographing. I could have recorded the sound, but since I did not, it means you'll have to go listen to groups of boats chiming. <br />
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The other thing that was really cool about the second hour was this hawk we saw. It was perched up on... something I don't know the name of. It was sitting on its nest. When we saw it, we got closer and she started screeching at us. Whoops!! I tried to paddle away but the waves of a boat rocked my kayak so my panic mode came on as I tried to stay afloat. It's quite comical how my body reacts to situations. The hawk did not attack us. I think we'd have to get closer for that to happen. This was another incidence when I wished I had my camera. Had my camera been on hand, I would have to be careful that flash was turned off so that I wouldn't trigger a reaction in hawk mama. Ha. Maybe it was for the better after all, knowing me. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GdNjKYNglj8/T9fZhlFFj4I/AAAAAAAAAZU/nVVnZ0dG7qw/s1600/DSCN7381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GdNjKYNglj8/T9fZhlFFj4I/AAAAAAAAAZU/nVVnZ0dG7qw/s320/DSCN7381.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My camera creeping on the old guys drinking beer in the water. Doesn't that look fun? A lot of people were sitting on stationary boats, partying. It seemed like it might be more fun for the boat to be moving, but who knows, maybe I have to understand local culture better to "get it."</td></tr>
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I had a lot of fun, we ended up kayaking for two and a half hours. Although I would have been perfectly satisfied after kayaking for an hour. So now I know for down the road, unless the area is spectacular or there's some destination to explore, an hour's rental would be sufficient. These preferences will be different for everyone, of course., so take that with a grain of salt :)
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F06%2Fkayaking.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-sex1mZhfmmA%2FT9fXsoWORyI%2FAAAAAAAAAY4%2F59U3k53hga4%2Fs320%2FDSCN7378.JPG" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-50414494394310543162012-06-04T01:31:00.001-04:002012-06-17T14:10:15.618-04:00Lake Tahoe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've been thinking about South Lake Tahoe for the past few days. Not sure how much this trips fits in with my blog, seeing that it's not easy to replicate this experience, and if you were to, it would not actually be cheap. A friend used to let us borrow his vacation house on occasion, which is right on the shore of Lake Tahoe, where there aren't that many other houses (compared to the North Shore). Lake Tahoe is beautiful, as you can see, but what I like so much about it is that it's surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Other than living in a rental house for free, we usually eat in (it's more fun to cook in a gorgeous kitchen) except for one meal at Burger Lounge (try their garlic fries!) and except for an afternoon shopping trip, most of our activities have only cost gas and time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emerald Bay from Vikingsholm</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Emerald Bay from Inspiration Vista Point</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Emerald Bay at nearly sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Eagle Falls overlooking Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe in the back</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle Falls</td></tr>
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The hike up to Eagle Falls was pretty quick, like 15 minutes, and the payoff was amazing. It makes a difference when you visit. The waterfalls are all in this area all depend on the snow to melt. As a result, June is probably the best time to visit because it's warm enough for more snow to melt. Once when I was there, I saw the mountaintop covered with snow in the beginning of the trip but by the end, there was barely any snow left. The snow provides a beautiful contrast with the mountains.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My nephew, luckily the second time around he chose to pose in a safer location</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Glen Alpine Falls, near Fallen Leaf Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Glen Alpine Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fallen Leaf Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eaOqiS3IDx4/T8w-ZIKuEyI/AAAAAAAAAWo/3KgQVUGZNaQ/s1600/DSCN7058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eaOqiS3IDx4/T8w-ZIKuEyI/AAAAAAAAAWo/3KgQVUGZNaQ/s320/DSCN7058.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Pope Beach from the dock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost sunset on the dock</td></tr>
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F06%2Flake-tahoe.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-uNfRur1lBjg%2FT8zv6u9L2qI%2FAAAAAAAAAYc%2FqqPiaszw7xw%2Fs320%2FTahoe.JPG&description=Lake%20Tahoe"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA38.933241 -119.984348238.8838345 -120.0633122 38.982647500000006 -119.9053842tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-91959076075809903522012-05-28T18:41:00.001-04:002012-05-28T19:41:27.870-04:00Flowers of Oak Ridge ReservationI went on a few spring wildflower hikes, one at Haw Ridge Park, <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/05/frozen-head-spring-wildflowers.html">Frozen Head State Park</a> and Oak Ridge Reservation. The best of them all was at Oak Ridge Reservation which I wrote about <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/05/guided-off-trail-hiking.html">last time</a>, but did not post pictures of the flowers. What set this trip apart from a trip to Haw Ridge with my housemate and another guided hike at Frozen Head was that there were flowers here that I did not see elsewhere. In addition, the guided tour was very educational and the lack of trail added variety. Unfortunately, being on a guided hike with a group of people, I didn't have time to assure all of the pictures were in focus, but here they are:<br />
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These below were the highlight of the hike. At the end of the hike we got to this cave that is only visible when the water levels are low. Along the walls of the cave was a "cave covering" of these gorgeous delicate white flowers. Mixed in with the white flowers were these beautiful purple flowers. The problem with posting entries 6 weeks afterward is that the names of all these flowers escape me. Sorry!<br />
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fflowers-of-oak-ridge-reservation.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-rBfBB79V4W4%2FT774qNERvTI%2FAAAAAAAAAVw%2F47KZlVutIwQ%2Fs320%2FDSCN6699.JPG&description=Wildflower%20hike%20in%20Oak%20Ridge%20Reservation"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA35.9858908 -84.280547835.8831043 -84.438476299999991 36.0886773 -84.1226193tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-3625276676412893072012-05-27T10:00:00.000-04:002012-05-27T10:27:18.884-04:00Dreaming of UtahYes, I said Utah. It started almost 3 years ago when we visited my mom's friends in Seattle and they just came back from a trip to Utah and raved about how beautiful it was. I was like, "Utah???" Really? For vacation?? What's in Utah? Just like the way people say, "Iowa???" or "Tennessee" when I tell people where I went to college, or where I work now. So I looked into what was in Utah. Do <i>you</i> know what's in Utah? There is A LOT OF STUFF IS IN UTAH!! Sorry, for the all-caps, I'll try to compose myself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1nn2tEqK21r81c8do1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1nn2tEqK21r81c8do1_500.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Arches National Park</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> <br />Photo: Jim Karczewski - National Park Service</em></span></td></tr>
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The two national parks I'm most interested in visiting is <a href="http://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm">Arches National Park</a> and <a href="http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm">Zion National Park</a>. Super recently I came across a picture of Arches National Park, but I don't know where. As for Zion National Park, I came across a picture of it on Budget Travel's feature <a href="http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/vacation-ideas-beautiful-paths-and-trails,8597/?page=1">12 Most Beautiful Paths: No Car Required</a>. Most were hiking trails but there were biking trails too. Sometimes I think that interesting land formations are more beautiful than beaches. Then I see a picture of a beach and think, "Well, not to say that beaches are ugly.." Anyway, all of that was to say that I find land formations to be fascinating and gorgeous. <br />
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Two Utah locations on my radar meant that I wanted to see how close they were to each other. So I had an adventure on Google Maps. Those are fun. And totally cheap. All it takes is time and internet connection. After talking with my special someone we mapped out a dream itinerary. It requires a lot of vacation time probably and it would be a long while before we could do it. If you're reading this, feel free to hijack our dream itinerary, all I ask is you report back so we know how to plan our trip better! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/zion/photosmultimedia/images/ClassicCanyonOverlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://www.nps.gov/zion/photosmultimedia/images/ClassicCanyonOverlook.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Zion National Park</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />Photo: Tom Putnak - National Park Service</em></span>
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Itinerary:<br />
Driving time: 21 hours and 34 minutes, if stayed on route and skipped "Along the way" destinations. If you wanted to fast track from Arches National Park to Zion National Park, you can save an hour and nine minutes by staying on 1-70 and then onto 1-15. Then you would drive through Manti-La Sal National Forest and Fishlake National Forest. <br />
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<li style="text-align: left;">A. Salt Lake City Airport</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">B. Arches National Park</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Along the way: (On top of the 21:34 hours)</li>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Capital Reef National Park</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Carcass Canyon Wilderness Study Area</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Kodachrome Basin State Park</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Bryce Canyon National Park</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Dixie National Forest</li>
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<li style="text-align: left;">C. Zion National Park</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">D. Grand Canyon-North Rim</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">E. Hoover Dam</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">F. Las Vegas Airport</li>
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<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=Salt+Lake+City+Airport,+Salt+Lake+City,+UT&daddr=Arches+National+Park,+Moab,+UT+to:37.92298,-111.42576+to:Zion+National+Park,+Utah+9,+Springdale,+UT+to:Grand+Canyon,+North+Rim,+AZ+to:Hoover+Dam,+NV+to:5757+Wayne+Newton+Boulevard,+Las+Vegas,+Nevada+(Las+Vegas+McCarran+International+Airport)&hl=en&geocode=FQRbbgIdj1FT-SEZSFn1JkMfbw%3BFcHbTgIddNh3-SGJDD5sPCzZyw%3BFaSoQgIdIMdb-SldzHbdV_Q1hzHLS67wC0g-4A%3BFUS_NwIdHwZE-SG4RQ_n6JVSgA%3BFWqHKAIdoBRS-Sk3BYEqcG4zhzEKxcXAAl3LqA%3BFVqPJQIdtj4p-SkVLcuyai3JgDEe4y7CyxQSKw%3BFQSdJgId4O4i-SEeHsQeJFkTRw&aq=0&oq=Salt+Lake+City+airport&sll=38.462192,-112.346191&sspn=4.945576,9.876709&gl=us&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=7&via=2&ie=UTF8&ll=38.462192,-112.346191&spn=4.945576,9.876709&t=m" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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The reason why you would start at Salt Lake City and end in Vegas is if you wanted a one-way rental car, rental car companies would prefer cars to move toward populated areas, instead of remote. Sometimes, you can't even rent a rental car if your destination is considered remote. Originally, I wanted to fly into Grand Junction since it's the closest major city to Arches National Park, but one-way rental cars were $800+ a week. After playing around with other starting points, I found that starting at Salt Lake City's airport would cost $655/week, but $350+/week if you rented the car from town. If you enjoy driving, then you could find a rental car a lot cheaper if you return it to the same destination. Especially from Vegas, I've seen around $10 per day in Vegas. After seeing these prices, we decided that we're definitely waiting until we're 25 so we don't have to pay outrageous underage driver fees.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/arch/naturescience/images/DelicateArch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://www.nps.gov/arch/naturescience/images/DelicateArch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Arches National Park</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #6e7173; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />Photo: Tom Gray - National Park Service</em>
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One way tickets can be expensive sometimes (and other times they don't charge you a premium for booking only one-ways), but since this trip was a way of using my mileage, I searched and found one-way flights for 12.5k miles. Leaving from Las Vegas, we thought we'd take Southwest and then skip baggage fees. <br />
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The major destinations of this trip were Arches National Park and Zion National Park, but since the Las Vegas airport was nearby, we added Grand Canyon's North Rim and Hoover Dam to the itinerary. Most people who visit Grand Canyon see the South Rim (not coincidentally that's the rim both of us saw). I've been to Hoover Dam before, didn't think much of it, but when you're with a nerdy engineer, I guess you have to visit these things. :P
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fdreaming-of-utah.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F24.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_m1nn2tEqK21r81c8do1_500.png&description=A%20planned%20out%20dream%20itinerary%20from%20Arches%20National%20Park%20(pictured)%20to%20Zion%20National%20Park%20and%20nearby%20destinations."><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-43385675900515090372012-05-21T20:43:00.003-04:002012-05-24T22:28:37.993-04:00Erin's Meadow Herb Farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been thinking about starting a garden. So when I heard about a spring herb festival happening at Erin's Meadow Herb Farm, I wanted to seize the opportunity to check it out. Turns out that this place was only 10-15 minutes away even though it's located in Clinton, TN. It required driving up the steep ridge and then sliding down almost recklessly, but nonetheless, a pleasant drive. I like visiting shops during busy days because when there's a festival, I can count on there to be a lot of other people. Since I find it awkward to browse a nearly empty store and receive undivided attention from the store owner, when I usually don't have much intention to spend money, these events are the solution to my dilemma. At this spring herb festival, there was a cooking demonstration, a few booths and a lot of people.</div>
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Funny story: at work, one of my projects is on our workplace sustainability employee and community engagement team. So last fall there was a craft fair at work, so we had the idea to organize a <a href="http://sustainability-ornl.org/Pages/Craft%20Fair%202011.aspx">display of sustainable crafts</a>. Someone wanted to display their fairy garden and none of us had heard of it before. <br />
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"Does the crafter believe a real fairy lives in it?" <br />
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Hahahhahha I mean, that was a real question. So later we learned what a fairy garden was. They're essentially small gardens with miniature furniture to make it look fit for a fairy to live in:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lizard was totally trying to creep on the fairies!!</td></tr>
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I was enamored with the themed gardens! What a great way of categorizing different types of gardens, as a marketing tool and as a live demonstration. Aside from the ones below, there was also a kitchen herb garden, butterfly garden, and a few others that I don't remember. <br />
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Ferins-meadow-herb-farm.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-dBIpxjlLzuc%2FT6buC-pahjI%2FAAAAAAAAARo%2FzNM4rqoDAOk%2Fs320%2FDSCN6755.JPG&description=Erin's%20Meadow%20Herb%20Garden%2C%20a%20small%20business%20that%20showcases%20adorable%20themed%20gardens%20as%20demonstrations!%20%20Great%20place%20for%20inspiration!"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-2865136730027479552012-05-21T20:31:00.000-04:002012-05-21T20:32:38.040-04:00Save so so much with Kroger's 4x Fuel PointsI <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-save-on-gas.html">previously</a> wrote about how to make the most of Kroger's 4x Fuel Points and now it's back! It's always double the fuel points on your gift card purchases but in honor of graduation and Father's Day, from May 20 until June 16, you can receive quadruple the number of points! It's awesome because anywhere you plan on spending money, as long as Kroger sells the store's gift cards, you can earn fuel points! The deal gets even sweeter if you have a Chase Freedom credit card or other credit cards that award you a higher percentage of cash back on grocery store purchases! <br />
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Wow. That was a lot of exclamation points. No more.Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-53216710222452856212012-05-15T22:49:00.003-04:002012-05-21T20:33:49.246-04:00Frozen Head Spring WildflowersAs promised, the long overdue photos of wildflowers at Frozen Head State Park in East Tennessee from a month ago! The wildflowers in East Tennessee have short growing seasons but there is such biodiversity that different species can be found year-round (except for winter). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kotyIQMssFk/T7HCEF7asmI/AAAAAAAAASk/4iyl_uZz7PE/s1600/DSCN6541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kotyIQMssFk/T7HCEF7asmI/AAAAAAAAASk/4iyl_uZz7PE/s320/DSCN6541.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like the heart shape of the leaves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shape is very striking</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nwAeNxMKdg/T7LNFd9vldI/AAAAAAAAATk/BgKX8aYl_Ig/s1600/DSCN6574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nwAeNxMKdg/T7LNFd9vldI/AAAAAAAAATk/BgKX8aYl_Ig/s320/DSCN6574.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like the soft edges of these petals</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like the very pointed petals on this flower</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is on its way out of the season</td></tr>
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Ffrozen-head-spring-wildflowers.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-3FkDruUIi8o%2FT7JAw37iWqI%2FAAAAAAAAATI%2F6h4f9F6U4wY%2Fs320%2FDSCN6564.JPG&description=East%20Tennessee%20boasts%20of%20great%20biodiversity%20of%20wildflowers%2C%20go%20on%20a%20hike%20and%20see%20for%20yourself!"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-75777940221825692782012-05-05T20:56:00.000-04:002012-05-05T21:03:19.958-04:00Guided Off-Trail Hiking at the Oak Ridge Reservation<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_RsInDCj4Us/T6HzgohPXaI/AAAAAAAAANo/q9rSWLPU5og/s1600/DSCN6638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_RsInDCj4Us/T6HzgohPXaI/AAAAAAAAANo/q9rSWLPU5og/s320/DSCN6638.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Back in mid-April I went on a guided hike in the Oak Ridge Reservation led by volunteers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is the first, maybe second, time I went off-trail hiking. The first time might have been at the Marin Headlands in the sixth grade, sort of like science camp, and there was an old trail that they were trying to "phase out." Normally you wouldn't hike off-trail because the trail keeps people off the natural preserve, so opportunities to hike off-trail are limited. When I planned on going on this guided hike, I actually didn't know this was hiking off trail. I read the description and all I remembered was that it was a moderate hike, I had to wear good shoes, and something about rocky terrain. During the safety talk before the hike, they talked about ticks and poison ivy, but I still didn't realize it would be off-trail hiking, I just figured, it was the lab, of course they'd do a safety talk.</div>
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After starting the hike, it took me a while to think, "Oh interesting, there is no trail." The Oak Ridge Reservation is otherwise closed to the public as a conservation measure, but the primary reason is that within the reservation is a pretty secured national lab. The benefit of closing the reservation off the the public is that when they lead groups (usually educational) inside, people can see what the forest would look like without the disturbance of humans. See the picture above? It's ginseng. You won't find it in any forest in this area because ginseng is expensive, so people will harvest it and sell it. It's not a rare plant otherwise, but such circumstances make it a rare sighting. I'm not sure I can attribute this to the closed-off factor, but I saw a lot of wildflowers that I hadn't seen on 2 other wildflower hikes. </div>
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Attending the hike were a few other experts on plants and also fish and amphibian experts. The amphibian expert came in handy when we found a frog. We put him on the spot and made him identify it. Ha. It was a really educational hike. We learned about endangered plant species, invasive and foreign plants and we also smelled a bunch of plants. Of the ones we smelled, there was one that was minty and another that smelled like an auto repair shop. Great diversity of smells! <br />
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The following pictures are of a cave we saw at the end of the hike. This cave would only be found when the water levels are high. The water levels in the pond will be at the same level as the lake on the other side of the hill. There's a name for it but I don't remember what it was. Anyone else know? It's pretty cool! Along the cave grew this gorgeous white flower that covered it like ground covering, but this is cave covering! The guy leading the hike said that he used to study that white flower because his field is rare and endangered plant species, but when he found this flower all along the cave, he was like, "I don't think it's a rare plant species in need of preservation..." so he moved onto other plants. </div>
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At the end of the hike I found a few ticks on me, so I went home and showered immediately. Unless you're scared of insects, I would highly recommend off-trail hiking (when permitted). The terrain can be a challenge, so check on the level of difficulty beforehand. Also, after two guided hikes, I'm a big fan of guided hikes as well. Check your local parks as well as state and national parks for such programs. If you're in the East Tennessee area, check out other <a href="http://www.esd.ornl.gov/facilities/nerp/2012walkschedule.pdf">guided hikes</a> led by volunteers from Oak Ridge National Lab.
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fguided-off-trail-hiking.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-itbhnIeiZVU%2FT6H9v9jq25I%2FAAAAAAAAAOY%2FXqzENaq2fWM%2Fs320%2FDSCN6682.JPG&description=Guided%20hike%20at%20the%20Oak%20Ridge%20Reservation%20in%20East%20Tennessee" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-59440018347949307702012-04-30T21:15:00.003-04:002012-05-01T22:03:04.294-04:00Guided Hike in Frozen Head State Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Frozen Head State Park is located in the Cumberland Mountains in East Tennessee. It also has the highest mountain peak between the Smoky Mountains and the Rockies at 3324 feet. I guess I got close last time I was there in the fall, we got to Chimney top at 3120 feet. Nearby Frozen Head was a prison, which is still there but no longer in use. When prisoners escaped in the past, they'd be found wandering around the mountains not too far away but they thought they had already traveled a hundred miles. Poor dude.</div>
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Unlike <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/04/norris-dam-state-park-trip-fail.html">last time</a> I tried to go a guided hike, this time I successfully found the meeting spot and participated! For an average person, that's not anything to be proud of but for someone like me who gets lost a fair amount (read: all the time!), I was proud of myself. <br />
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As for the guided part of the hike, it went really well! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm always running a little late. Ha. I also went to the visitor's center, thinking the hike started there when it didn't (uh, yeah). Luckily, tour guides take these factors into account and waited a little bit for stragglers. After I got there, 5 minutes past the time it was supposed to start, I was still waiting with the group for others to show up. Since this was a wildflower guided hike, we were going at a super slow pace. (I'm saving the wildflowers for another post). On the hike was an elderly woman in her eighties, maybe? who used to lead these hikes herself. There was also an elderly gentleman who was very knowledgeable about flowers and foliage. Of course, there was the ranger who actually led the hike. There were a few others like me who didn't know much about native flowers. Some lone hikers, like me, and a young family. So it was a very informative hike, with many different people in the group. If you ever see your local park hosting a guided hike, I would encourage you to try it. :)</div>
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During the hike, I'd get glimpses of the water and was impressed by the blue tint from not that much water. Due to the record breaking high temperatures this spring, the leaves came early. Maybe it's not true, but during the spring, it seems like the leaves have a more vibrant shade of green, it's a really fresh and bright splash of color. I love forests. Only I get creeped out if I'm in the forest by myself so I had to do a guided hike to have companions.<br />
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Afterwards, I stopped between Oak Ridge and Frozen Head in the nearby town of Oliver Springs. I read that there was a BBQ place and it had been a while since I've had southern BBQ. Five different BBQ sauces. Most of them were vinegar based and more liquid than BBQ sauce you'd find in stores. I ordered pulled pork with hush puppies and potato salad. For $1, I got dessert of a Tennessee moon pie heated up with chocolate syrup, whip cream and a maraschino cherry. <br />
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It was pretty nice to be back home around 1pm after doing so much already! Yet, even though I know the benefits of getting an early start to my day, I still like sleeping in when I can. :PFormosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-82270601068979159532012-04-23T22:27:00.000-04:002012-04-23T23:30:05.812-04:00Booking FlightsWho loves booking flights? The thrill of looking at prices and schedules, so exhilarating, right? Not me. Especially when it was my dollar. Even when it was someone else's dollar at stake, it's not a good feeling to spend that much.<br />
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This weekend I looked at a myriad of flight combinations. I need to go home early June before my precious sister goes to Taiwan for a mission trip (the girl has been selling candy and gum at her high school, with little luck, in efforts to raise money. What a persistent and driven young'un!!) and then I need to book another ticket to go home when I finish my work here. So 3 flights. I have the option of booking (a) 1 RT flight for the first two and a one-way for the last one, (b) a one-way for the first flight and RT for the last two, (c) a multicity ticket or (d) 2 one-way tickets. It all just depends on what's cheapest (and least inconvenient for my dad who has to take me to and from the airport).<br />
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Searching for flights was a nightmare and for reasons what I'm sure you have experienced. The prices change as your search. Ever had that experience where each time you look at the prices, it keeps increasing? Sometimes there's a fix for that, sometimes. (TIP!) Clear your cookies! Some site track what you've been searching and will raise the price so that you sense that the prices are on the rise and book sooner. Other flight search nightmare, the website that you counted on so faithfully to deliver you the best prices, doesn't, and you discover that seconds before you were about to book. That is a blessing in disguise although you feel like an idiot for wasting so much time. OR, you've looking ferociously at flights even though you don't have the permission for time off, therefore wasting your time because prices changes and all of that time spent searching was for nothing. Yes, I think we've all been there and done that. For me, it was all three this time (and the changing prices could not be cured with a simple clearing cookies exercise).<br />
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I trusted Kayak to give me the best prices. I used to rely on STATravel.com and StudentUniverse.com for the best flight prices, but then I realized that kayak.com sometimes had better prices so I could just depend on kayak to do the legwork. Nope. I never click on the additional search option from other sites, but I forgot to uncheck it by accident. I was astounded to see that priceline had better prices than kayak. Sometimes STATravel also had better prices (there's the under 26 option so it's still okay for me to use that site). I was also disappointed because it meant that I could not use kayak as a one-stop-shop anymore. Oh well, at least I would be assured that I indeed found the best price.<br />
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FYI, in my efforts to find the best prices and trying to book with United to make use of my credit card that gives me free checked bags, it made the most sense to book 3 one-way flights, with the flights home with United so I can start taking stuff home in checked baggage, free. Then, taking the cheapest flight back here, with another airline. Also, most likely, I'll be booking a red-eye flight leaving at night and getting back in the morning. Anyone have experiences with these flights? I'm a little concerned because sleeping in airplanes can be hard for me (mostly the regional jets). Also, concerned about sitting/sleeping next to a creep.. However, I could make it to work late morning and take one less (half)day off. We'll see.<br />
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<i>An hour later... </i><br />
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Booked flights to and from Sacramento at $190 each, aisle seats for all my flights. Unfortunately long layovers but oh well! Lots of magazine time at airport bookstores, I guess. Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-33235932211297980042012-04-18T22:15:00.000-04:002012-04-18T22:19:15.372-04:00Norris Dam State Park: Trip Fail!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Embarrassing confession. I always get lost when I go somewhere for the first time. I thought I'd be okay because usually I don't travel with a GPS and this time I was equipped with a GPS. <i>On top of that</i>, I looked up the address on Google Maps on top of that, so I know ahead of time how I'm getting there (which routes so I have a mental map). </div>
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I was on my way to Norris Dam State Park to participate in a guided hike of wildflowers that I mentioned in an earlier post on <a href="http://goonthecheap.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-plans.html">spring plans</a>. This was a program offered by the park, free of charge to the public. All that it would cost me was time and gas money. Tennessee has a great diversity of wildflowers that have short growing seasons, so I wanted to take advantage of that. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Knowing that I have a tendency to get lost going somewhere for the first time, I did all the pre-trip planning. However, with parks and addresses, the address will lead you to a specific part of the park, but not necessarily where you want to go. I figured it would be fine though because once I get to the park, I could figure it out from there. Wrong! So I go to the west side of the park, wandered around and finally realized that I wasn't where I wanted to be. By that time, I was too late to hope of joining any guided hikes. Even when I got to the other side of the park, it wasn't clear to me where I should have gone in the first place... Oh well, I saw many pretty trees, a nice dam, and beautiful blue waters. </span>
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As they say, better luck next time!!!</div>
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<br />Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-51615102955374823512012-04-15T10:33:00.000-04:002012-04-18T22:15:56.767-04:00Museum of Appalachia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had heard people reference the Museum of Appalachia numerous times, but I had no interest of visiting. It's just another museum and I wouldn't describe myself as a museum person. I was into museums at DC because they were free (and they were good) but more often than not, I haven't been super drawn in by museums. That all changed for me when I heard that the Museum of Appalachia had about three dozen actual Appalachian buildings purchased and moved to the site. Who does that? Lived-in buildings, on-site? Wouldn't it be cheaper to build replicas?! So here is this museum that models an Appalachian town, half an hour away from me? Incredible! So, after learning that piece of information, this museum was on my must-see list. The admission fee was $15 (AAA discount applied) which normally I would consider steep, but to support such a museum, I deemed it $15 well-spent. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just love the artistic arrangement of marbles, beads and arrowheads. It definitely adds interest to the exhibit.</td></tr>
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The Appalachian people live near the Appalachian Mountains, surprise! I was unaware until recently that they lived so close to me since I'm a bit far and technically live in the foothills. So it turns out that the Appalachian-designated region is more cultural rather than directly related to the mountain range. The Appalachian region extends from the southern parts of New York to the northern part of Georgia, even though the Appalachian mountain range starts in Canada. The Appalachians carry a stereotype of being backwards people stemming from the early 1900's and to this day the media portrays them as "hillbillies". Being from California, I have very little exposure to Appalachians, except for reading a children's fiction novel that time traveled there. So in Sociology 101 when we read <span style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood </i>we watched some pop cultural portrayals of Appalachian people and I was like, "Ohhh that's what a "hillbilly" is." I've obviously heard that term but had no idea what it referenced. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another regional difference to throw into the story, in middle school geography, we were taught to pronounce it as "Appa-LAY-sha" and the teacher made fun of a student for pronouncing it as "Appa-LA-cha." Well, I get here and that's how people in Tennessee (and apparently North Carolina and Georgia too) pronounce it. North of the Mason-Dixon line, people pronounce it as "Appa-LAY-cha." M-W Dictionary pronounces it the way the Yankees do. Bias, much?</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chair made out of horseshoes! Given that the motor vehicle was becoming widely available, horse-drawn transportation was a goner too. What a creative way of reusing horseshoes, turns out the repurposed and upcycled stuff is nothing new! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extra large photo in hopes that you can read the hilarious story for yourself. If not, the story goes that this curled up stick was once as straight as the stick next to it but after soaking in a jar of moonshine whiskey, it turned into this. "Moonshine is a bad thing."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you tell that music is a big deal? It was the first time I had seen a lot of these instruments</td></tr>
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Here a bunch more pictures of the beautiful facilities. Before visiting this place I had just learned that my friends got married here and I can see why. There was a very peaceful vibe to this place. I'm glad I didn't come when there was a special event because I think that crowds of people would takeaway from its beauty. Although, the events are supposed to be really good, so I think that special events warrant an additional trip, not avoidance. (Though I hear the special events are pricey for non-members)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">What a beautiful serene place! I was so glad I came! Although that peacock was in my way and I was scared to pass it, so I hung around a bit longer... I'm scared of birds. :P</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like the hanging gourds. They look so cool and sort of like a telephone pole.</td></tr>
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I had heard that lunch here was delicious, and especially their desserts. They try to serve true to Appalachian style food. What you see here clockwise from the left are pickled beets, beef tips, butter pecan cake, corn bread and cornbread salad. I was curious to what cornbread salad was so I had to try it. It was essentially cornbread broken up with celery, carrots and mayo. The cornbread itself was delicious. It had just come out of the oven so it was super hot, but impressed me was the thickness of the cornbread crust. The crust covered the bottom and top of it and it was thicker than pie crust. I wonder how they get such thick crust. Must be their baking pans or something? I had the save the butter pecan pie for breakfast the next day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hot meal is served each day that comes with cornbread and 2 sides</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I missed it that day but signature Appalachian dessert is their apple stack cake. The stacked cake became a phenomenon for fascinating cultural reasons. The Appalachians have long been regarded as the poorest part of the country. That has changed in recent years. Traditionally, when someone gets married, the bride's family does not prepare the whole cake because that would be a great financial burden. Instead, guests will each contribute a layer while the bride's family prepares the filling. How many guests attend=how popular the family is, and you can see it by how high the cake gets. I think that's a super creative way of contributing to the newly wedded couple's big day.</span>
<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fmuseum-of-appalachia.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ALNsTwnQsk8%2FT4LKOjk0VeI%2FAAAAAAAAAJk%2FRClwqMyaHMY%2Fs320%2FDSCN6494.JPG&description=Museum%20of%20Appalachia%20featuring%20about%20three%20dozen%20real%20Appalachian%20buildings!%20%20Clinton%2C%20TN"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-58188672931956590922012-04-02T22:00:00.001-04:002012-04-03T22:25:01.525-04:00How to Save on Gas<div>
Petrol, that is, for those who speak Commonwealth English. </div>
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Coinciding deals are the best ways to save money. Kroger is running a special that quadruples your fuel points on gift card purchases. 100 fuel points will save you $0.10/gallon at Shell Gas Station. If you spend $100 on gift cards, you get 400 fuel points. So I decided to buy gift cards for Shell and take advantage of the quadruple fuel points. The promotion lasts until April 7, at least in this area.<br />
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On top of that, my Chase Freedom credit card offers 5% cash back on rotating categories. For the months of April, May and June, I get 5% cash back on grocery stores. Combine that with the Kroger gift card purchases, not only do I get 5% cash back on my grocery store purchases, I get fuel points off. With gas prices being so high, every little bit counts.
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Maybe you have neither a Chase Freedom card nor Kroger or your neighborhood Kroger isn't running that promotion (it always has at least 2x fuel points on gift cards, at least at mine), but keep your eyes peeled for ways to game the system. :P <br />
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In the meantime, keep your tired inflated & drive like you did on your driver's test. Ha!<br />
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fhow-to-save-on-gas.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-E9QTXm8RNwE%2FT3utx-V-HFI%2FAAAAAAAAAIM%2FSo7noDhfTA8%2Fs1600%2FGas.jpg&description=How%20to%20save%20on%20gas%20by%20combining%20discounts!"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-49703947007849979452012-03-29T22:01:00.004-04:002012-04-15T13:38:18.005-04:00Home and Garden Dogwood Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Despite my previous post with all the set dates, spring has arrived way
too early so the blossoms have peaked and some even past their prime.
So today after work I drove around the 2009 featured Dogwood Trail in
Oak Ridge. Please excuse the quality of the photos as some of the
pictures were taken ::whispers:: while I was driving. :P Whoops.
Actually, I don't think I can use that excuse because the pictures I
took while driving were not that great (Who's surprised?!) so I'm pretty
sure the pictures here were all the ones that I pulled off the road to
photograph. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JI8L2Ny-IWo/T3UTHfmxXZI/AAAAAAAAAIE/mwIWgt9241w/s1600/DSCN6437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JI8L2Ny-IWo/T3UTHfmxXZI/AAAAAAAAAIE/mwIWgt9241w/s320/DSCN6437.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fhome-and-garden-dogwood-tour.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-mOmQj75pjcY%2FT3UPBjoS6EI%2FAAAAAAAAAH0%2F3UUtZ11snII%2Fs320%2FDSCN6432.JPG&description=Touring%20around%20town%20looking%20at%20spring%20blossoms%2C%20seize%20the%20opportunity%20while%20the%20trees%20are%20bloooming!"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com2Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA35.9858908 -84.280547835.9858908 -84.2805478 35.9858908 -84.2805478tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-83880976260574895872012-03-25T00:20:00.002-04:002012-03-29T22:28:57.628-04:00Spring Plans!The super mild winter for us here in most of the United States meant that spring came a lot earlier. For the Eastern and Midwestern part of the country, they have seen record highs and tumultuous weather in March. As for me, that meant I got a glimpse of spring blossoms to brighten my mood and my first trip to the basement to use as a tornado shelter! Both exciting for different reasons. Ha. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dogwoodarts.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Bates-Dogwood-500x374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.dogwoodarts.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Bates-Dogwood-500x374.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Dogwood Arts Festival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last weekend as my landlord was making preparations for a garage sale to clean out the things she owned, it began to dawn on me that my time remaining in East Tennessee was short. SO I decided that even though gas prices are sky rocketing, I need to make better use of my time here. I'm going to go on some day trips during the weekend. In fact, these places are so close they're hardly considered a day trip but I've never been super comfortable driving to new places, especially by myself because I get lost while I drive... a lot. So for me, these short little trips might be equivalent to a typical person's day trip. It sort of works out because with these places being so close, it saves on gas money, right? </div>
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East Tennessee Spring Destinations!</div>
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<ul>
<li>One of the <a href="http://www.hhknoxville.org/">Historic Houses of Knoxville</a> <a href="http://www.crescentbend.com/prettypink.html"><b>Crescent Bend's Tulip Time</b></a>! <i>April 1</i> donation-based admission fees </li>
<ul>
<li>I was a huge fan of Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa from when I was in college, so I look forward to continuing my annual Tulip Time tradition</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://tn.gov/environment/parks/NorrisDam/"><b>Norris Dam State Park</b></a> Guided Wildflower Hike <i>March 31 & April 7</i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FrozenHead/"><b>Frozen Head State Park</b></a> <a href="http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FrozenHead/activities/docs/2012.pdf">Wildflower Pilgrimage</a> <i>April 14 & 15</i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.esd.ornl.gov/facilities/nerp/2012walkschedule.pdf"><b>Oak Ridge Reservation Wildflower Walk</b></a> <i>April 15</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Sponsored by the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.tn.gov/environment/na/natareas/housemtn/"><b>House Mountain Scenic-Recreational State Natural Area</b></a> </li>
<ul>
<li>A couple from church is leading a hike right after church ends, I'm excited!</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.dogwoodarts.com/"><b>Dogwood Arts Festival</b></a> Events from <i>late March to late May</i></li>
<ul>
<li><b>Dogwood Trails and Gardens</b> <i>April 11-30</i></li>
<ul>
<li>I plan to drive and maybe walk through the Oak Ridge route where it was featured a few years ago. Since dogwood is a tree, it should be relatively permanent and equally beautiful. There are also two sites in Farragut that I'll check out.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Dogwood Art Detour</b> <i>April 28 & 29</i> visiting artists work spaces</li>
<ul>
<li>There's a studio in Oak Ridge near my house so I plan on visiting that one.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://museumofappalachia.com/"><b>Museum of Appalachia</b></a></li>
<ul>
<li>A replicated village of about three dozen real Appalachian buildings plus a museum, sounds wonderful to me! The restaurant also looks like it serves authentic Appalachian cuisine. Double bonus!
Luckily I have AAA to save an extra few dollars. </li>
<li>Sheep Shearing April 27 sounds... awesome! Includes spinning and quilting with the fiber. And, homemade ice cream and freshly squeezed lemonade. Although I hear it gets majorly busy during special events, so I might want to avoid that instead..</li>
</ul>
</ul>
And now, looking at all of these activities that I may or may not actually partake in, I feel less restless with my spare time here and cherishing my downtime even more. Ha. Wonderful! Also, I should note that all of these places are less than an hour away, which for me is perfect! <br />
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Anyone else planning to take advantage of nearby spring attractions?<br />
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<a class="pin-it-button" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgoonthecheap.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fspring-plans.html&media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogwoodarts.com%2Fsite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2FBates-Dogwood-500x374.jpg&description=Dogwood%20Arts%20Festival%20in%20Knoxville%2C%20TN%20is%20one%20of%20the%20highlights%20of%20East%20TN%20springtime%21%20%20"><img border="0" src="http://assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a> </div>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com0Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA35.9858908 -84.280547835.8831328 -84.438476299999991 36.0886488 -84.1226193tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-88298123255940133752012-03-16T22:39:00.002-04:002012-03-16T22:52:49.333-04:00Savoring those Moments<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3h3GrexivnQ/T2P5ESF0iYI/AAAAAAAAAHI/LgLkDBE_7Hk/s1600/savoring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3h3GrexivnQ/T2P5ESF0iYI/AAAAAAAAAHI/LgLkDBE_7Hk/s320/savoring.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Tahoe, California</td></tr>
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We all have embarrassing guilty pleasures, and more than going places for cheap, I like to read personal finance blogs or articles for fun. No, this is not a joke. It's a Friday night and, prior to writing this entry, I was sitting on my bed reading personal finance blogs. Again. I do it on Saturday mornings too. In the beginning it was because I was trying to learn how best to manage my money but now, it's just enjoyable to read that stuff. So I learned about the idea of "<a href="http://www.learnvest.com/2012/02/savoring-the-key-to-stretching-your-dollar/">savoring</a>" from LearnVest, a website designed to teach money management skills with a female audience in mind. I don't find their articles overtly feminine but perhaps a male would disagree.<br />
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Savoring is a way of making your money go further. Oftentimes we spend money thoughtlessly and then wonder where it all went. The alternative is building up anticipation prior to the event, living in the moment and then reliving and reminiscing that moment afterward. Here are some concrete ideas for savoring those moments that I came up with: </div>
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<b>Anticipating</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Plan out an itinerary </li>
<ul>
<li>It should be obvious but in the age of smart phones, it's getting easier and easier to just "wing it" and so you won't have as much time to research the destination if you rely on a single source on the go</li>
<li>You can also save money if you look ahead to find the happy hour specials, yummy hole-in-the-wall, or free events (to add a non-food activity)</li>
<li>Don't overload the itinerary or if you do, prioritize the list so that the activities won't be crammed in</li>
</ul>
<li>Reading about your destination </li>
<ul>
<li>Duh? But there have been so many times I just went and had no clue about the rich historic context of the place because I was "too busy" beforehand</li>
<li>A more literal reading, my alma mater's off campus studies director suggested that we read historical fiction or popular literature from our destination country to get a feel for the place in a way that is more interesting than reading history (he was assuming that not everyone was into history, but maybe you are!)</li>
</ul>
<li>Set aside spending money for the trip and each time you save it, you can smile in excitement of what is to come :)</li>
<li>Finish your work prior to leaving for your destination so it doesn't bug you (and your companions) on the road</li>
<li>Pare down your expectations because sometimes high expectations ruin everything</li>
<li>Make sure you packed everything you need so that you won't be wasting your time & money buying something you already own because you forgot it</li>
<li>If traveling with others, communicate well with them beforehand so that you don't have mismatched expectations for the trip that could lead to problems during the trip</li>
</ul>
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<b>Experiencing</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Toss those tech distractions to the curb!</li>
<ul>
<li>Screen those work calls! </li>
<li>Avoid long phone conversations, it can wait and people in the traveling with you really don't wanna hear it while on vacation</li>
<li>Save Facebooking and other social networking for when you have nothing to do at home</li>
</ul>
<li>Engage all 5 senses</li>
<ul>
<li>Just a reminder your 5 senses are: seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, touching (uh, watch out for germs but like, touching the water, for example)</li>
<li>Or your 6th sense and counting</li>
</ul>
<li>Remember to savor the moment sans camera</li>
<ul>
<li>Sometimes I find that I see the place more from my camera lens than with my own eyes, which distracted me from what I was there to see</li>
<li>On the other hand, once my brother and sister used the camera to take all these goofy pictures using the interesting rock formations as a viewfinder and it was a lot of fun!</li>
</ul>
<li>Take a deep breath and go at a leisurely pace</li>
<ul>
<li>Some vacations end up being more stressful because of the overly high expectations or the packed itineraries that leave everyone worn out and short on patience</li>
</ul>
<li>Communication is still important to ensure that everyone is savoring the moments like you think they are</li>
<ul>
<li>Traveling can sometimes bring out the worst in people, so prevent interpersonal conflict as much as possible!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<b>Reminiscing</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Look through your pictures</li>
<ul>
<li>Save it onto your computer</li>
<li>Post online</li>
<li>Set aside the best pictures for a scrapbook, photobook or calendar someday</li>
</ul>
<li>Document your trip in a journal or an e-mail to someone OR write a letter!</li>
<ul>
<li>My anthropology professor said that her best ethnographic notes were from letters that she wrote to other people because they were more descriptive than her notes for herself</li>
</ul>
<li>Recreate your favorite meal or foods from the trip</li>
<ul>
<li>You can turn it into a party! Have a themed potluck reunion! </li>
</ul>
<li>Recommend the destination for another friend </li>
<ul>
<li>If they choose to go to that same destination, you can continue to reminisce as they plan and return to talk about it </li>
</ul>
<li>Write a guest blog post! I would love to feature different voices here! </li>
</ul>
</div>
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At some point in time I'll probably be doing some of the "anticipating" on this blog, but so far it's been reminiscing. Despite the impression you may have gotten while some of the entries, I am not out and about every weekend. I mostly stay in during my time in Oak Ridge. I enjoy it though, which is ironic because the name of the blog is <i>Go</i> on the Cheap. For me I need that balance between going and staying, otherwise excessive <i>go</i>ing would become too tiring. Or I could argue that there's no cheaper way than staying in so instead I'm emphasizing the "on the cheap." Ha. <br />
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Anyone have other concrete ideas for how to stretch out or savor your vacations?</div>
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</script>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-48097541041078911762012-03-14T21:56:00.000-04:002012-03-25T00:35:01.158-04:00Happy Pi(e) Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Pi(e) Day!! I had originally intended to make pie but discouraged by not finding an ingredient and not willing to make sub-par substitutes, I didn't. Ha, great story! No, wait, that's not it! I'll tell you where to find the <i>best</i> pie. I eat a lot and I've had a lot of pie over the years. The best pie has always been in...</div>
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::drum roll::</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gho04jfaVrA/T2EvX3k4ZLI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Z1XpsGEUeh4/s1600/PIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gho04jfaVrA/T2EvX3k4ZLI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Z1XpsGEUeh4/s1600/PIE.jpg" /></a></div>
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Or drool roll!</div>
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"Is this heaven?" </div>
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"No, it's Iowa!"</div>
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Yes, the best pies I've ever had have been in Iowa. The first picture is of pies entered in the 2009 <a href="http://www.iowastatefair.org/">Iowa State Fair</a>, the best state fair where "Nothing Compares" and everything is deep-fried and on-a-stick. Also the only state fair I've ever been to despite growing up only an hour from the California State Fairgrounds, so it's not quite fair (<i>ha!</i>) to say it's the best. I hear that the Minnesota State Fair is pretty darn good too... Anyway, these pies look gorgeous, alas, I didn't have the privilege of tasting the pies. I wonder what it takes to become a judge at a state fair? Wouldn't I like to know!!? (The answer is YES, I would and probably should proceed any further)</div>
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This pie was made today in honor of 3.14 by my college buddy, Sara Woolery, who now bakes for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saints-Rest-Coffee-House/116422268385653">Saints Rest Coffee House</a> in Grinnell, Iowa. This strawberry pie is amazing. One of my favorite college memories was a warm spring afternoon (which is a HUGE deal in a place of long winters) where she invited a bunch of us over to "help her" make pie. You didn't have to ask us twice or remind us, we were there. We had so much fun catching up with each other and just hanging out. As we were rolling out pie crust dough, one of my friends said, "You guys, this is like a staple of India and I don't even know how to make it!"</div>
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"<i>Pie crust</i>?" </div>
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...Maybe you had to be there. We were all confused. She meant the kneading and rolling process for making staples like roti and naan.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3TCMPZlrz8/T2FHxIagKWI/AAAAAAAAAHA/vLAQ9wrA_Z4/s1600/Simone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3TCMPZlrz8/T2FHxIagKWI/AAAAAAAAAHA/vLAQ9wrA_Z4/s1600/Simone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3TCMPZlrz8/T2FHxIagKWI/AAAAAAAAAHA/vLAQ9wrA_Z4/s400/Simone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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These perfectly whipped mini lemon meringue pies were made by another good friend who I also met while in college, Simone Bates. She moved from the bustling Melbourne (Australia, not Florida) to small town Iowa. As I've been learning, there is a strong coffee culture in Melbourne so when she moved to a town with no coffee shops, she opened one herself! While she is from Melbourne, her coffee shop, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simones-Cuppa/101958279875273">Simone's Cuppa</a> features Iowan, Australian and German baked <i>goods</i> (double emphasis on the <i>goods</i>). Either way, her recently remodeled <a href="http://yourweeklypaper.com/blog/2012/03/06/simones-cuppa-opens-friday-in-montezuma/">bank-turned-insurance-office-turned-coffee-shop</a> is in Montezuma, Iowa so it totally counts as a Iowa. </div>
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Oh and another wonderful pie memory. Also in Iowa, what can I say? My friend was on the committee that planned events on the behalf of the College. I was part of the Christian fellowship and so she asked if our organization was interested in hosting a game night. By hosting an event with her committee, we had a hefty budget to work with and since they had the board games already, she asked what I wanted to do with the money and I suggested... as many pies as the budget would allow. I was a happy, troopin' camper. I think we got 10 or 12 or 14 pies? Of course they were all different flavors, <i>of course!</i> </div>
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I don't know why Iowa baked goods are so good. I think it's because food is the perfect pick-me-up and Iowa on a freezing, windy day really requires good Iowan food to warm the bones and heart. So next time you drive through Iowa, remember to stop at a bakery. Where was the best pie you've ever had?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Pi(e) day! </span></div>
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</script>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-76779610049149952932012-03-11T14:03:00.000-04:002012-04-15T13:36:18.587-04:00California RedwoodsI grew up in the Central Valley of northern California, the bread basket of the state and if accounting for international trade, many countries as well. During long drives to LA I'd stare outside the car window and watch the neat rows of the orchards or fields zoom past me. I found agricultural landscape to be quite beautiful and mesmerizing. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portola Redwoods State Park</td></tr>
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My favorite part of California though are the redwood forests. It's not enough to see one tree, it was seeing the entire forest and <i>smelling</i> the forest that captivated me. The redwoods give off a fresh and clean scent. Too bad we haven't gotten to a point where we can pass scents through the internet. Aside from their scent, they are famous for being the tallest growing trees. Its cousin, the sequoias, don't grow as tall but they grow to be very wide. Redwoods need a moist foggy environment to grow and what's fascinating is how it grows in a dry state like California. When we were hiking in John Muir Woods National Park, one minute we were in a damp redwood forest and as we ascended, we exited the redwood forest where we look ahead and see the yellow hills and look back and see the lush redwood forest. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">John Muir Woods National Park is famous for its redwood forests however it can get quite crowded there, to a point where you are too distracted by the conversations of the fellow hikers ahead and behind you... (It's especially hard to enjoy the forest when others are complaining </span><span style="text-align: left;">about how hard the hike is </span><span style="text-align: left;">the whole time.) Don't limit yourself to Muir Woods! You can also find redwoods in the Santa Cruz area, near Palo Alto and of course, further north. </span>Here is a map from <a href="http://www.savetheredwoods.org/">Save the Redwoods League</a> on where to find redwoods:</div>
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</script>Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-33734387768047876122012-03-05T20:35:00.001-05:002012-03-05T20:35:19.044-05:00Why get a rental car?Isn't the point to go on the <i>cheap</i>? <br />
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The first time I got a rental car was while in college, our school started a Hertz Connect pilot which allowed students to rent the car for $8 an hour (including gas and insurance) or $64 for the day. What made this service compatible on a college campus was that the driver only had to be 18 or older. Typically, there are fees for drivers under the age of 25 and some companies do not rent out to drivers under 21. Both times I got a rental car, my school paid for it because it was for an organization activity. A lot of students that did own cars hardly drove it because our school was like a bubble, and so it was more cost effective to pay for a rental car the few times they needed it, rather than the cost of car ownership.<br />
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The first time I got a rental car after graduating was because I had a visitor and no car to show them around. At first I was totally flabbergasted at the price of the car rental because I'm under 25 so there was an additional $10 per day fee, which undoubtedly added up. Even after getting a car though, I still got rental cars on occasion. My car is 12 years old and struggles with driving uphill. On a trip to the Smokies (and again through the Smokies to Asheville), I was not going to put my car through that and potentially face mechanical problems sooner than necessary or worse, have the car break down on me during the trip. At least, if there was a problem with the car during the trip, I could call the rental company and they would bring another car. Sure, it would delay the trip but at least not ruin it. The cost for renting a car for the weekend would be far less than the cost of repairing a car (as I know all too well...). <br />
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I didn't think of this on my own though. I've known of people who drove their own cars for daily commutes to work and running local errands but renting a car anytime they made longer journeys. Part of that has to do with mileage, because no matter the age of the car, high mileage can shorten the lifespan of the car. So in the long term, rental cars can make sense even when you have a car of your own. <br />
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Plus, some Enterprise periodically runs a weekend special where it's only $9.99 per day (but a 100 mile per day limit and $0.20 per mile after that) and Hertz often has promotions such as waiving the under 25 driver fee and you can combine discounts. Hertz partners with AAA, some insurance companies, and probably other companies to offer discounts. The cheapest deals on rental cars that I've seen are on Hotwire, but to book you must be 25 years old. Bummer!Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3484846063953819003.post-16857733280401369332012-02-29T21:58:00.000-05:002012-03-14T21:56:58.106-04:00Asheville, North CarolinaTo date, my favorite American city is Asheville, North Carolina. I heard from a friend that it was an artsy, hippie town with nice bookstores and antique shops and did some research but the place was way better than I expected. Asheville is right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and just east of the Smokies, so its natural beauty should come as no surprise. The town is touristy enough to have a trolley and at the same time, the downtown area is a mix of locals and tourists. The town is very walkable, and it helped that our hostel was right in the downtown area. Oh and the cherry on top, Asheville food is simply <i>amazing</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bombay Chili Cheese Fries & Corn Salad at Chai Pani, the salad was very fresh tasting </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red pepper & goat cheese omelet with potatoes & toast, bacon & cheese breakfast sandwich, mostly local ingredients </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asheville architecture was another gem</td></tr>
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What I loved so much about Asheville food was that even though it was fresh and organic, the emphasis was first on delicious food. Also, Asheville chefs love to experiment and combine flavors of different cuisines resulting in very diverse menus. <br />
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It might help that the first time I went to Asheville, I was traveling with my soon-to-be boyfriend so everything had a heightened sense of newness. Also, compared to other travels, we had a lot more freedom to plan the day however we liked. But! My love of Asheville is validated by its nicknames, Beer City USA, Paris of the South and perhaps others that I haven't heard. I've never been to Paris and it's never been on my itinerary of places I'd like to visit, but if it's as awesome as Asheville, I may be inclined to visit! :P <br />
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<br />Formosan at Hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797661183143211860noreply@blogger.com0