Ville de Quebec

We made it to the beautiful city of Quebec- the furthest north either of us had been in eastern Canada. It's everything you ever heard about Quebec and more- charming, quaint, pretty, European, etc. Here are some pics of the old town- surrounded by ramparts, one of the only remaining fortified walls in North America. And yes, everyone spoke French as their first language...

Shirtless in Canada!

We had lunch at a rooftop bar at a swanky hotel... lo and behold- shirtless is back! Although one might argue it's never really gone away. A year round look perhaps?

The Sights in Montreal

Habitat 67- an ubercool housing complex built for the World Expo 67.
The Biosphere- The US contribution to the World Expo 67
The Olympic Park for the Montreal Olympics in 1976
The Just for Laughs Comedy Festival

Good Eats in Montreal

"Sucking the marrow from the bones of life" at L'Express- a popular French bistro. Jeff's favorite-brisket sandwiches at Chez Schwartz's. We went there twice!

Bixi in Montreal, Canada

On our second trip into Canada (we dipped into Toronto in June), we stopped in Montreal. Montreal just launched the Bixi public bike system throughout the city this summer and we took full advantage of it to tour the sites and get around town. Here's how it works:
At each bike station, you dip in your credit card to buy a one day, one month, or one year pass that gives you access to all the bike stations around the city. You can then rent bikes by the hour (with the first 30 min of each pickup being free). You choose a bike and 'unlock' it with a 3 digit code printed out on your receipt. Then ride around the city- there are miles of designated bike lanes and hundreds of stations around Montreal.
http://montreal.bixi.com/rolling-with-bixi/how-it-works
It's rolling out in Boston and London and we hear rumors that it may hit LA and SF!

Special Guests from Singapore

As our regular readers may have noticed, we have recurring special guests!!!
Seetha and Mahim were in town all the way from Singapore. Here we are at Luzzo's- mentioned before in our pizza progressive.

I Heart NYC- the good, the bad, the ugly.

Every visit into Manhattan is a learning experience and a reminder why we love this city. Here we are in the Guggenheim- just a few weeks after we saw the International. JSP in front of a busy, now closed off to traffic Times Square-- those are the good things. Now the bad- no space even for parking (although this is kind of cool), and of course the ugly- check out that national debt!

Pizza in NYC

We found our way back to one of our favorite cities to visit, New York! So to add on to our last visit here, we continued our hunt for the quintessential NY pizza.

We tried: Lombardi's,
Luzzo's, and
Johnnie's. Jeff's favorite was Lombardi's. JSP preferred Luzzo's. All three were very tasty.

Greetings from Asbury Park

In our rush to leave Atlantic City, we almost missed Springsteen's Asbury Park! We drove around looking for the Boss or some kind of landmark or signs of his tribute to this small suburb... there were NONE. Highly disappointing...

Atlantic City, NJ

Believe it or not, Jeff had never been to Atlantic City, NJ. After spending 2 days there, he had no desire to go back ever again.

The Jersey Shore- Avalon with the Cromptons

We spent a few days at the shore in Avalon, New Jersey with the Cromptons. The weather was great and the company was even better. Here's a picture of the happy couple- Jimmy Szizzle and Danielle (otherwise known as D$ and after that weekend, "Char")

The Dol of Logan Dae Ho Park

We celebrated our nephew's first birthday (known as Dol in Korean) over the July 4th weekend with a huge feast. Here he is in his special Korean costume. Isn't he cute?





One of the traditions includes having the birthday boy pick an item of his choosing. Each of the items symbolize aspects of his future including:
Rice: He will never go hungry
String: He will live a long life
Dollar Bill: He will be prosperous/rich
Pencil: He will be a scholar
Click to see what Logan chose!

Final Sampling of Carolina BBQ

If you're ever wondering if we get sick of bbq... we don't. Especially when it just keeps getting better- isn't it just awesome when they put fried stuff next to slow cooked pig and than top it off with a sugar rush of sweetened tea?


The Pit in Raleigh had the best looking grill- look at all that smoked meat! It was a bit more upscale and we were disappointed with our hush puppies and sweet potato fries. Both were over cooked.

South of the Border

In preparation for the 4th of July weekend Rocket City, we made a special stop at South of the Border. If you have ever driven down/up I-95, you can't miss this kitschy rest stop that is heavily advertised on the mile, every mile for about 100 miles. The billboards worked on us as we selected a few fireworks from among a warehouse selection. Our lesson learned after our brief but spectacular fireworks show is to always buy more than you think you need.

Charleston, SC

Taking a break from road food, we went on a morning tour in Charleston, SC. We viewed the enormous mansions and beautiful residential streets of the historic district and stayed at the Mills House, a restored hotel that began over 150 years ago.

Southern Hospitality: Mrs. Wilkes

INSTANT CLASSIC!

This is one of our best stops of the trip. An absolute must. Definitely worth the wait.
Food is served family style, all you can eat, and you bus your own tables. There were more than 20 dishes to sample- from perfectly fried chicken to boiled turnips. Jeff's favorite was the creamed corn and mac and cheese. Jin Sun liked everything...

Where's Jin Sun? US edition...

See if you can find JSP waiting in line at the Wilkes House in Savannah, GA. Our last food stop in Savannah was the best- it was so good, we feel it deserves 2 posts!

Savannah Road Food

True to form, your Road Food book lead us to this unassuming roadside shack, Duke's. Inside, they served one thing- Carolina style pulled pork accompanied by sweet tea, cole slaw and rice. It was all you can eat! That was our first taste...




In Savannah, we found ourselves at Desposito's, a seafood shack in a deserted part of an inlet. Shrimp was their specialty- served whole, steamed and shell on. As you can see, there are no signs for the restaurant and it took us awhile to find it.

The most famous restaurant in Savannah was one we didn't go to- Lady & Sons. We did however stop by for a picture and browsed her retail shop to sample her 'Gooey Cake'- an instant hit with Jeff.