kentuckian food

i traveled to louisville, kentucky over the martin luther king, jr. weekend and was determined to eat classic kentuckian food.

so, here are my thoughts:

1. i had the dutch apple with caramel pie from the good people at homemade ice cream and pie kitchen. homemade claims that this was an original recipe. it was basically an apple pie with a caramel layering on top. what made this pie special (or fatty, if you are a half empty kind of person) was the caramel. it was like sweet on sweet. the caramel had a tad bit crispiness for texture. i enjoyed this pie, but then again, i have a sweet tooth.



2. i also tried this alleged kentuckian classic, hot brown, over at churchill downs (the place where the kentucky derby is held). it was basically a layer of many things: thinly sliced english muffin at the bottom, thinly sliced turkey, sliced tomatoes, mornay sauce, and topped with bacon and scallions. so here's the deal: i like english muffins. i like turkey. i like tomatoes. i like cheese. i adore bacon. and i like scallions. together though, it was a bit too much. yes, it was rich. too rich. and that was the problem.





3. finally, i had the mint julep. i tried two. one at some restaurant where it tasted like bourbon mojito with the grains of sugar noticeably grating on my tongue. the second one i tried, at churchill downs, was much better. i can't say that i am a bourbon person (or whiskey, for that matter) but the mixture of bourbon and sugar and mint was a lot smoother at churchill downs. nothing subtle about the mint julep though. this was still a very strong drink.



i am told that louisville has a lot more to offer. i can't say that i loved the food/drinks (at least, of what i have had so far). but i am not averse to checking out louisville's other offings.

packing for tanzania: hiking kili, safari-ing in the serengeti and beach bumming in zanzibar

i will soon be headed to tanzania, which leads me to the topic of packing. i am averse to checking in luggage but i have no choice this time. i have too much gear to pack and i have too many climate zones to go through. in addition to tanzania, i am spending a few days in wintry london. so to recap: (1) kili means hiking gear from hot and humid to freezing; (2) safari means hot and humid to moderate temperatures; (3) zanzibar means beach wear and modest walking clothes due to the muslim population; and (4) london means urban winter wear. argh.

that being said, i would have been able to have gotten away with NOT checking in luggage but for the fact that i am bringing my own sleeping bag, walking sticks, and have to pack for london.

here are some tips:
1. for women, invest in a freshette. this will allow you to pee while standing up. this is especially helpful when it is freezing in kili and you don't want to, ahem, take off too much clothes to do your business.
here's a picture of a freshette:


2. don't bother bringing too much clothes for the hike. you won't be showering. you will be wearing the same clothes, for the most part. don't worry, everyone else around you will stink.

3. while #2 is true, bring enough underwear for everyday of the hike. no reason to be nasty.

4. while #2 is true, bring enough liner socks (coolmax) to change everyday. you want your feet to be as fresh as possible. what you could repeatedly wear without changing are the actual heavily cushioned smart wool hiking socks.

5. while #2 is true, make sure you have enough warm clothes (think layers) for the summit attempt, where it will be freezing.

6. make sure you have all the medications you need for the hike. consult with your doctor if you need any to prevent altitude mountain sickness (AMS), high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and/or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). also get any vaccinations or meds for stuff that the CDC recommends (e.g., malaria, typhoid, hep a & b, etc.)

7. for the hike, there won't be any chargers. if you are bringing any electronic anything (camera, ipod, etc), make sure you have any extra batteries or some kind of solar charger. i wouldn't rely too much on the solar charger as it takes too long to charge and that could be a problem if you are bringing more than one electronic equipment (think camera and ipod).

8. for the safari, don't bring clothes with loud colors or patterns because you might scare off the animals.

9. for zanzibar, make sure you have modest clothing for touring around town. it is a muslim island so please, no tank tops or shorts. cover your shoulders and your knees.

while i have not done this trip before, i have previously hiked the inca trail, which meant 4 days of hiking with no showers and with a set amount of weight of stuff i could give to the porters. so i sort of know what i'm talking about, packing-wise.

will update this after i get back and see if i have any additional tips.

back at pauley: ucla v. arizona

it has been awhile since the last time i was at pauley. ever since i decided to give up my tickets (around the same time bruin basketball got better... and the tickets got more expensive), i have been cherishing the rare moments i set foot at pauley.

so, i am pleased to say that my first time back in a year has been enjoyable. first off, coach john wooden is still around. he is being wheeled in a wheelchair these days but hey, he is 98 or so. pretty darned good, if you ask me. he still gives me the goosebumps everytime i see him sitting behind the bruin bench. what an awesome man.



second, ucla won 80-63. i was pleased that nikola dragovic has actually been productive this year (and even the leading scorer this game) as i had high hopes for him when he first came to the states from serbia about 3 years ago... and turned out to be a dud. not so much anymore.

third, i was pleased to see alfred aboya again. he has improved much in his free throw shooting as seen in the video below. it used to be that every time he went to the charity stripe, i had to cringe. it was almost an automatic turnover. but, he is much improved and am happy for him. plus, he has been very good about not fouling too much. this will probably be the last time i will see him in a bruin uniform as this is his last year (he is currently a grad student at ucla -- he graduated college in 3 years!). hopefully, i will see him soon as the president of cameroon, as he has dreamed to become.



fourth, i was pleased to see crazy alumni guy again. this guy cracks me up. wherever you may be sitting at pauley -- whether on the floor or in the nosebleeds, you can hear this guy screaming and hollering at the other team when they are attempting to make free throws. his shrill voice and spastic moves is classic. gotta love him.



last but not the least, i enjoyed watching the fab five freshmen - jrue holiday, drew gordon, malcolm lee, jerime anderson and j'mison morgan. ok, granted, they were not all in good playing form. e.g., morgan needs to get fitter to go up and down the court but he has lots of potential. otherwise, holiday rocked. and if memory serves, gordon made a couple of awesome blocks towards the end of the game.

overall, i still love my bruins. while they are not top ranked in the country, it is all good. i think they will make a deep run in the tournament.