FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

Florida is my January. I began the new year in a kayak on Ft. Lauderdale's New River. I was doing a little light tackle fishing for the Silver King, also known as the tarpon. The tarpon is referred to as the Silver King because of the sheer light that bounces off its silver scales when it jumps out of the water. It is truly an amazing sight. A tarpon can grow from 5 to 8 feet and weigh anywhere between 80 to 280 pounds. Imagine hooking a fish that literally weighs more than your boat - very exciting for me.

Tonight I'm at the Loews Royal Pacific Hotel next to Universal Studios theme park. I headed out to the park and foolishly tempted motion sickness by taking on several thrill rides - left, right, back and forth, upside-down. The park itself is a wild concoction of stunt shows, 4-D attractions, Jimmy Buffet, nightclubs, Harry Potter, and IMAX adventures.

Tomorrow morning I'm having breakfast with 1,400 people. The breakfast is a speaking event that takes place at the 2012 Potato Expo - the largest conference and tradeshow for the U.S. potato industry. Since I'm the speaker, I recognize that it might be a little challenging to lift a few endorphin levels at 7:30 am. Hopefully the breakfast guests won't find the potatoes on their plates more interesting than me. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it.

NATIONAL MUSEUM of the AMERICAN INDIAN

Photo by Jeff Kubina
The architectural team who took on the challenge of designing the National Museum of the American Indian had a very difficult task. They were charged by Native American elders to "tell the truth" - esentially translating a whole host of abstract cultural ideas into concrete reality. Their final design for the perfect building paid off. Located on the Capitol Mall, the distinctive 5-story limestone structure is breathtaking. The curvilinear building was built to look like it was formed by wind and rain. It is as striking and remarkable as the Native peoples it represents.

I was happy for the opportunity to participate in a recent event at the National Museum of the American Indian, but what I enjoyed the most was simply being there. It is a house dedicated and filled with a myriad of Native American voices.

The museum itself has been subject to a lot of mixed reviews. People seem to be wanting more history and a larger reflection of Native American communities. My understanding is that the museum was directed by living Natives and carried out in a way that veers away from the traditional approach of western museums. Personally, I believe the task of telling the collective story of all Native American tribes is daunting at best, if not impossible.

A Song for the Horse Nation exhibition is taking place now at the NMAI. It is an inspiring display that shares the compelling story of Native peoples and horses. For many tribes, Horse Nation was the name that was used to describe the equine family that they were so close to. The exhibit will end on the first week of the new year. Directly following the exhibit, a Native Storytelling Festival will take place on January 13-15, 2012. The timing is perfect, particularly because many tribes believe the winter season is the right time for storytelling.

If you are not able to make it to the Capitol, make sure you explore the NMAI website. You can take a virtual walking tour that will show you around the property and give detailed meaning about the chosen architecture and landscape. Also, check out the fascinating story behind American Indian Code talkers - Native peoples who were asked by the U.S. military to develop secret battle communication using their own language during WWI and WWII.

GEORGIA FAMILY COUNCIL

Photograph courtesy of Georgia Family Council

Tucked in the website for the Georgia Family Council is a little known quote by Stephen Covey that reads, "I am convinced that if we as a society work diligently in every other area of life, and neglect the family, it would be analogous to straightening deck chairs on the Titanic." This is one of several reasons why the Georgia Family Council works tirelessly to build and strengthen families. They understand that strong families make lasting societies. With this premise they strive to promote family ties through policy studies, education and community awareness. They tackle a whole host of issues including Internet safety, anti human trafficking, and even dating seminars like, "Avoid falling for a jerk."

Photograph courtesy of the Georgia Family Council
In order to help fuel their community outreach, the Georgia Family Council recently put on a collaborative fundraiser and dinner that benefited 15 different non-profits. "Taste. Shop. Give." was billed as the ultimate charity experience. The event was held at the historic Georgia Railroad Freight Depot in Atlanta, Georgia. I felt honored that the Georgia Family Council asked me to host the dinner portion of the event.



Photograph by Andy Perkins
The event was well attended and the guests seemed very happy. I enjoyed meeting several fantastic people and I particularly loved the location. The Georgia Railroad Freight Depot is a grand old building that was built four years after the Civil war ended. Originally, it stood as a three-story Italianate; it now only has one story. A fire in 1935 forced the removal of the upper two floors. The building was designed by an architectural team named Corput and Bass who were hired to design buildings for Georgia's reconstruction after the war. Today it sits on the backside of a large parking garage that is painted with an unusual mural of a pod of North Atlantic Right Whales.

TWO AMERICAN TREASURES

Photography Courtesy of the Greenbrier Resort
Life on the road takes me to many great destinations around the country. In the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to stay in what I think may be two of the greatest resort hotels in the world - the Greenbrier in White Sulphur, West Virginia and the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I was the executive chef at the Greenbrier from 1990 to 1994. I held this position right before entering the White House. I haven't been back to visit in several years and was curious to see how the new ownership had changed the resort.

Jim Justice, a native of West Virginia, purchased the resort in 2009, during a time when the U.S. economic crisis was taking its toll; the resort had gone into the red. Mr. Justice bought the resort and guaranteed the 500 million dollar debt the resort was carrying. Under Jim Justice's leadership, the Greenbrier has undergone a series of remarkable change.

Several new restaurant concepts have been adopted at the Greenbrier, all under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Rich Rosendale. Chef Rosendale is a certified master chef and a 3 time gold medalist in the world culinary Olympics. I guess it goes without saying, that everything I tasted in his restaurants was excellent.

Casino fountain photo courtesy Greenbrier Resort
I did however, have concerns about the new casino that had been recently constructed there. I thought that its presence might change the charm and graciousness of the Greenbrier setting. It turned out that these concerns were completely unfounded; the casino was both discreet and unobtrusive. The Greenbrier still maintains its charm and physical grace. It was truly wonderful to see so many old friends and to be "home" at my old Alma mater.

Photograph courtesy of the Broadmoor Resort

My stays at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado have been well chronicled on this blog. I always enjoy my visits there. This time around I took a little detour "outside campus" and headed into the mountains. I went up the Seven Falls Canyon and walked the 224-step stairway that leads to "Midnight Falls." It is a beautiful blend of ridge top snow, spectacular autumn leave, and rock formations. I found this setting to be a good place to hit the reset button. Sometimes the pressure and lonely solitude of the traveling life takes its toll, both mental and physical. I simply sat and contemplated about friends for over an hour.

Photograph courtesy of the Broadmoor Resort
I also hiked into the Garden of the Gods, an incredible group of colorful geologic features of red, blue, purple, and white sandstone. There are numerous trails and even rope climbing routes up the sandstone formations. There are numerous trails and even several rope climbing routes up the sandstone formations. With so many options, it was difficult to know where to start. Thankfully, all of the routes were virtually tourist free and quite peaceful during this time of year.

If you have the time to travel and want to experience two of the greatest American treasures in the country,make your way to the Greenbrier and the Broadmoor resorts.

BOSTON

Photo Courtesy Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
The heart of downtown Boston may be the greatest walking-running place in the U.S. Whether it's a 6 mile run along the Charles River or a long afternoon walk through Boston Common. There are so many interesting historical spots, distinguished homes, churches, cemeteries, old taverns and pubs to be enjoyed.

Photo Courtesy Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau

It wasn't a typical day when I recently walked through downtown Boston. There were 2,000 plus people singing and speechifying everywhere. The group was Occupy Boston - part of the greater Occupy Wall Street movement. The Boston group is now marking their one-month anniversary with an open No Talent Talent Show and a Corporate Zombie March. The passion and fervor the group shows is undeniable. I imagine that in this same location there was a very similar scene going on during the time of the Revolutionary War 230 years ago.

Durgin-Park Restaurant
I stopped in at Durgin-Park restaurant, a Boston icon whose motto is, "We serve history." For me this meant a kind of generational history. My father tells me that he bussed tables here when he was a student at MIT. The restaurant had its beginnings when Peter Faneuil, the top merchant in 1742, built a large market house near the waterfront. The market vendors needed a place to eat, so a small dining room was set aside. Over time, it turned into a full fledged restaurant that serves up regional specialties like Boston baked beans and Yankee pot roast.

Photo Courtesy Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau

Making my way through Quincy Market, I walked through a blended cacophony of Boston brogue and various tourist accents engaging in conversation about local products and wares. Eventually, I made my way to North End of the Italian section where I came upon an old friend - Regina's Pizza, a must experience pizza house. Pizza pie fanatics don't seem to mind standing in a 75 person line to place an order at one of he best pizza houses in New England. I got a kick out of Ginnia, the thick Boston accented woman who juggles the phone, beer and pizza orders behind the bar. She barks, "Watta yah waant?" And, you better be ready to reply to her command - no idle chit chat tolerated here.

SANTA MONICA

A little known book called Santa Monica in Vintage Postcards depicts several images that show why people used to flock to Southern California to buy up Santa Monica property. Postcard titles include Moonlight on the Pacific, Sunset Point, Pleasure Pier and Where the Mountains Meet the Sea. Today, Santa Monica still holds a small sense of old fashioned charm infused with a steady stream of urban trappings.

Map from historic66.com

This was my first time in Santa Monica, and I walked a good portion of the usual suspect tourist spots. I ventured down the pier, walked along the beach, saw Hotel California (not the Beverly Hills Hotel on the Eagles album cover) and made it to the final destination stop on legendary U.S. Route 66 where a sign reads, "66 End of trail."

Photograph by Michael Ontiveros

City planners skillfully mapped out Santa Monica with a concen- trated downtown shopping area that sits on a bluff overlooking the Santa Monica Bay. If you like to walk, you can get there from the beach by taking one of several staircases that are linked between the beach and the bluff. Once I got to the top, I ventured out to the Third Street Promenade - 30 city blocks of retail shops and retaurants. On this day, I saw a stylistic mix of American and European shoppers. I think the shopper's fashions were much more interesting than what I saw in the Third Street shops.

Stefanosnewyorkpizza.com

I did find one outstanding slice of pizza at a place called Stefano's. They are currently carrying a unique promotion in recognition of the Seal Team 6. Anyone who specifically asks for a "Seal Team 6" will get a free slice of Sausage, Egplant, Apple smoked bacon and Leeks 6" pizza. Once I tasted the pizza, I discovered that it was as good as any NYC pizza joint I've been to. It is interesting to note that Stefano's states that each pie they make is expertly tossed - the East Coast way. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery.

After leaving Stefano's, I found two very interesting retaurants. The first one is a celebrity dive where locals and famous folk have been showing up for over 44 years. When you walk into Chez Jay, it feels like you're in a time machine - fascinating clientele, hard drinking and great storytelling. In fact, they have a saying that is often repeated, "Nothing much changes at Chez Jay."

Misfit Burger by Da Xu of Buy Local Market
Finally, the second retaurant I stumbled into was The Misfit Restaurant and Bar. It has a curious decor of red velvet and old wood. They carry a welcoming selection of Farmer's Market picks, along with a mix of Edna Lewis' fried chicken, lobster club sliders, and burgers. On the wall there is a cryptic quote from a 13th century writer that reads, "Now is the time to turn your heart into a temple of flames." I'm sure it isn't true, but it made me wonder if it is was a prophetic nod to the very weird but popular British television series with same namesake -
The Misfits.

Wiki Commons

CHINA WONDER

Photograph Courtesy of Diego Frios
It's not every day that you have the opportunity to see one of the Seven Wonders of (Medieval) World. So, when I was invited to be a guest speaker in China, I joined my hosts in visiting the Great Wall of China. It is an imposing man-made structure that sits like a majestic stone dragon on the top of a seemingly endless mountain ridge. It gives one the illusion that it could probably be seen from as far away as the moon. In fact, in 1932, one of Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons claimed that the Great Wall of China was the only work of man that was visible to the human eye from the moon. It turns out that Ripley's helped perpetuate an ongoing urban myth. American astronaut Neil Armstrong debunked the myth when he came back to earth, so did Yan Liwei, China's first astronaut who said, "The scenery was very beautiful. But, I did not see the Great Wall."

Photograph by Juan FRIAS VELATTI

During my visit to China, I toured several places in Beijing including The Forbidden City - the center of ancient Peking, the 2008 Olympic stadiums, Tiananmen Square and the contemporary part of the city. This section of Beijing is definitely much more modern and cosmopolitan than I imagined. Of course, along with the urbanization of China, I also saw a heavy blanket of smog and a sea of people everywhere. This might be explained by the population of 22,000,000 that is estimated to live in the capital city.

Photograph by Ana Reg
One of the more well-known markets in Beijing is the Hongquiao Market, sometimes called the "Pearl Market". Over 1,000,000 visitors come to the Hongquiao Market to buy pearls that have been imported from all over the world. In addition to the famous pearls, the market also boasts a 5-story shopping paradise for anyone looking for electronics, clothing, souvenirs, silk and seafood.

Photograph by Istolethetv

The seafood market is located in the basement of the Hongquiao building. Here, there are hundreds of fish and shellfish including snails, turtles, conchs, crabs (20 varieties), mantis shrimp, frogs and basically anything that lives in both fresh and salt water - all of them sold exclusively live. I would imagine that some of the street vendors shop here as well since you can find fried sea cucumbers, starfish, sea horses and a multitude of other exotic fare out on the street. Even landlubbers who have an aversion to seafood can get their own unusual tastes satisfied with a variety of tidbits including lizards, snakes, grasshoppers, donkey meat and camel paw.

Photograph Chowtimes.com
Street food in Beijing is obviously strangely curious, but definitely reserved for the adventurous. When my hosts took me to a restaurant called "Gou Bu Li Bao Zi", which is translated as "Even the dogs ignore", I did not know what to expect. It turns out that Gou Bu Li Bao Zi is one of the best bazoi (steamed buns) establishments in Beijing. The founder of the shop named his son Gou Zi (Doggy). Many stories have been circulated about the chef. The official version reads taht when young Gou Zi started his own bazoi shop, he worked so hard that people started saying that "when Gou Zi is at work he ignores everyone." Hence, the interesting restaurant bill, "Even the dogs ignore."