{"id":937,"date":"2016-07-02T15:08:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T15:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=937"},"modified":"2016-07-02T15:08:23","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T15:08:23","slug":"a-semi-successful-solo-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=937","title":{"rendered":"A Semi-Successful Solo Road Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love road trips. But I totally hate driving. \u00a0Quite a conundrum\u2026Lucky for me, D doesn’t mind driving. We’ve taken long road trips and I am always the ideal driving companion. I navigate well and keep up a steady stream of patter and even do carpool karaoke. I’ve been doing that waaaaay before James Corden made it a thing.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, for this particular trip, I would have to go at it solo because D was going to drive his little toy sportscar. That leaves me to lug everything else, including Beans and the dogs on a 250+ mile road trip to the Hill Country. I say solo because Beans is my complete opposite. He sleeps as soon as he sits down. So much for conversations, let alone karaoke! Are all teenagers like this? I don’t remember sleeping this much when I was his age. Although I really felt like I was a case of unmedicated ADHD back then, so I guess it’s not a fair comparison.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I prepared well. Mapped out my route, downloaded my favorite music and had it all arranged in one playlist, meticulously calculated my caffeine so as to keep me awake but not enable too many restroom stops. I needed to get this done and fast. And boy, I sure did! Got it done in a little less than 4 hours despite some traffic snags in Austin. The only thing that made this less of a success was that a small stone hit the G’s windshield and so it made a crack. The sound scared the crap out of me. After the fright came the rage on how much that little stone would cost to fix the wind shield. Fortunately, D told me we had the add-on \u00a0wind shield and ding insurance. Let’s just \u00a0he really knows about the quality of my driving so he totally prepared for it…<\/p>\n

D joined me a few hours later and we decided to celebrate my little mile “stone”. We went to Lincoln Street Wine Market<\/a>. They offer wine and food pairing. Unlike most wine bars, they actually do not have a bar. Instead, they have little private rooms and sitting areas, hence more elegant and intimate. They also have a patio, covered in grapevines, which feature live performances.<\/p>\n

\"Soooo<\/a>
Soooo many wines to choose from, both local and imported. I got a Reisling from Germany and D had a Petite-Syrah from Napa called Writer’s Bloc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"It<\/a>
It was paired with cheese: Manchego and St. Andre Triple Cream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Home-made<\/a>
Home-made Margherita Focaccia with some fruits<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Here's<\/a>
Here’s the singing cowboy under the thick grapevines.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What a satisfying way to end my solo road-trip! Back at home, I listened to music in the hammock and thought about my life. I thought about all of my life’s battles, big and small. I choose my battles wisely now because I really don’t have that much time and energy anymore. I am glad I finally slayed my weird driving peeve. I still don’t like it, but I now know that I can do it, if absolutely needed.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
I looked up, and above me is this splendor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The world is huge. Both beautiful and terrifying. I have the choice to make it either way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love road trips. But I totally hate driving. \u00a0Quite a conundrum\u2026Lucky for me, D doesn’t mind driving. We’ve taken long road trips and I am always the ideal driving companion. I navigate well and keep up a steady stream of patter and even do carpool karaoke. I’ve been doing that waaaaay before James Corden … Continue reading A Semi-Successful Solo Road Trip<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p71dzN-f7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1547,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=1547","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":0},"title":"Spinnaker – Sausalito, California","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"June 14, 2017","format":"gallery","excerpt":"I have so many good memories associated with food. That's why I became a food blogger. For some reason, I selectively remember places and events with the food I ate with the experience. Classic example: I cannot name a single pagoda that I have been to in Thailand but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adventures Around the World"","block_context":{"text":"Adventures Around the World","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_7623.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_7623.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_7623.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_7623.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_7623.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1251,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=1251","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":1},"title":"Game Creek Restaurant","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"December 22, 2016","format":"gallery","excerpt":"I didn't go out and celebrate my birthday last week. I got busy at work; had to cover for a co-worker who went on a medical mission to Mosul. Plus, I read about this awesome mountain dining experience that seems to be in vogue here in Vail. It is way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adventures Around the World"","block_context":{"text":"Adventures Around the World","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5348.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5348.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5348.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5348.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5348.jpg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1287,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=1287","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":2},"title":"Vail Valley Food Tours","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"December 26, 2016","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Food is a big part of a culture. Just like I mentioned in the intro of this blog, one of the best ways to get to know a culture is to sample their dishes. As I researched for the itinerary of our Vail trip, I came across this food tour\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adventures Around the World"","block_context":{"text":"Adventures Around the World","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5687.jpg?fit=1096%2C874&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5687.jpg?fit=1096%2C874&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5687.jpg?fit=1096%2C874&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5687.jpg?fit=1096%2C874&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_5687.jpg?fit=1096%2C874&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":947,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=947","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":3},"title":"Airport Diner","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"July 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A few miles down the hill from our house is the Fredericksburg Airport. It does not have commercial flights. It accommodates private planes only. I soon learned that private plane owners take delight in flying into tiny cities such as this, touch down, grab a bite then take off to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fredericksburg"","block_context":{"text":"Fredericksburg","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-14.jpeg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-14.jpeg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-14.jpeg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-14.jpeg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-14.jpeg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2569,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=2569","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":4},"title":"Ireland, Part One","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"November 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"My family and I chose this country for this year's summer vacation as a \"dry-run\" for a big New Zealand adventure scheduled hopefully for next year. We want to do a long RV trip around the country. With the narrow streets and right-handed vehicles, Ireland sounded perfect for such purpose.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adventures Around the World"","block_context":{"text":"Adventures Around the World","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/271E62FB-6486-4820-BD51-D0267B8CA801.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/271E62FB-6486-4820-BD51-D0267B8CA801.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/271E62FB-6486-4820-BD51-D0267B8CA801.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/271E62FB-6486-4820-BD51-D0267B8CA801.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/271E62FB-6486-4820-BD51-D0267B8CA801.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1034,"url":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?p=1034","url_meta":{"origin":937,"position":5},"title":"The General Public","author":"certifiedfoodie","date":"August 13, 2016","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Sooner or later, I knew it as going to happen. My little boy would grow up. And in a parents' quest to raise a well- balanced individual, his extra-curricular activities would take over our lives. What started out as once-a-week piano and guitar lessons have morphed into a daily wake-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "H-town (Houston)"","block_context":{"text":"H-town (Houston)","link":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-30.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-30.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-30.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-30.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-30.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.venividiedi.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/image-2.jpeg?fit=1131%2C848&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=937"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":938,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions\/938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.venividiedi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}