The Great Maple Bar Hunt of 2008

It's hard to believe it's been 8 months since I've moved to the Dirty South, but it certainly has. It's funny, but every once in awhile we get homesick for certain things. I think it's all about the simple things you take for granted, and don't realize how much you would miss them if they were gone. Recently, this very scenario played out with Maple Bars. I forget how the conversation came about, but somehow we were discussing our favorite donuts with people out here. Both G and I have very fond memories of weekend donut runs as kids, taken one step further for me as an adult by VooDoo Doughnuts Bacon Maple Bar (www.voodoodoughnuts.com). With such great memories surrounding the maple bar, we had to include these at the top of our list....and the confused look on the southerner's faces brought a shiver to my spine.

They don't have maple bars in the south! That's crazy, surely they do.

This revelation led to some reseach. Lo and behold, Wikipedia said it all:
"A maple bar is a rectangular pastry with maple glaze on top. It is a regional term from the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon and Washington. Elsewhere it is known as a maple-glazed Long John.

Within the Pacific Northwest maple bars are among the most popular and common pastries."

So they really don't have maple bars in the south...uh oh.

I was not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Hence the Great Maple Bar Hunt of 2008 was born. We rallied the troops...calling all of the friends we have met out here and put them on a mission- find me a maple bar! Using the VWVortex (forums.vwvortex.com) as a means for discussion and tracking the hunt was quickly on. Since we were discussing this on a public forum, more and more people became intrigued and the hunt rapidly expanded. Numerous calls were met with very curious responses, but no one had maple bars. Finally after about 20 different bakeries/donut shops were hit...we had a lead. While in a grocery store, one of my friends Chris found maple-glazed donuts and chocolate-covered creme filled bars. He did the math, and since they had the maple icing and could make bars...they had to be able to create a maple bar.

It took some arm twisting, but eventually Chris was able to order 3 dozen "Maple glazed unfilled bars" and the feast was planned. I cooked up about 2 pounds of bacon for those daring enough to try the fabled "Bacon Maple Bar". We had around 15 people in attendance, and the southerners agreed- they were missing out on the deliciousness that is a maple bar.

The crazy thing is, I'm not that big of a donut person. I think it's more the fact that someone said I couldn't get one that made me want it all the more. Like I said, funny the things you would never miss until they are gone.

On the road again- Texas

So I knew I was going to start traveling again a bit for work, and sure enough, I had to dive right in head first. Last week was my Texas tour- 6 flights in 3 days.

Did I mention I'm not a huge fan of Texas? At any rate, I made it through unscathed but definitely exhausted. So I thought I would harken back to my past and do some mini rental car reviews, considering how I had three that week.

Day 1- Plano and the Jeep Liberty

Pros- Big and roomy, big engine with lots of power
Cons- Twitchy steering, WAY too soft of a suspension. Heed the rollover warnings on this one. Window switches are in the center console instead of the door...so you instinctively reach for the switch in the door and end up locking/unlocking the door instead of rolling the window down.
Plano- I was only there for 8 hours, and 2 of those were spent in DFW. I do know they have Jack in the Box though...which depending on your outlook is either really good or really bad.

Day Two- McAllen and the Hyundai Santa Fe

Pros- Overall a decent vehicle. Nothing really stands outs about it, but it'll get you from Point A to Point B just fine
Cons- Nothing stands out about it...hard to get excited about it
McAllen is a little town in the south of Texas...and I was only there overnight. I have been there before, and I can tell you they have some damn good Mexican food places there...which they should since it's just across the border. But unless you have specific business there...you don't really need to go. You won't miss much.

Day three- El Paso and the Pontiac G6

Pros- It was a car instead of an SUV! Actually it feels pretty well put together. Good lines, decent looking. Engine was surprisingly powerful for the car. Car was bigger than I thought
Cons- The damn American Automakers transmissions. Can we please make a car that allows you to actually put some of that power to the ground in a useful fashion? I mean...what's the point of having so many horses if you are going to gear it so high you can't use them?
El Paso- Have you seen the movie "No Country for Old Men"? It was pretty good. I believe it was set in the late 70s if I remember correctly. Part of it was set in El Paso...and the town looked just like the movie. I swear the town is stuck in a Time Vortex, kind of like the entire state of Idaho.

Wedding Rants

OK…so you all knew it was coming. The time when I had to blow off some steam around the upcoming wedding. So without further ado, here are my current bitches:

Airfare

Yeah I know oil prices are climbing and the airlines have to make money, but the way they price their flights makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe I’m just not used to paying for them, but this is getting out of control. Just trying to get two tickets to PDX from ATL for our wedding has turned into an exhaustive search. On average, it was running between $550-$650 for each ticket, which at times was almost as much as the fare between PDX and Hawaii. And the times were horrible- 6am departures were the norm! But finally after weeks and weeks of daily updates, I had figured out a plan. I cashed in the remainder of my miles on a first class ticket with decent departure/arrival times for Gayle, and bought myself a coach ticket for the same flight at a cost of $850. Still outrageous, but better than the $1100-$1300 we’d have to pay if we bought two crappy flights on our own. I will try to upgrade my ticket so I can be first class too, but I’m guessing we’ll probably end up giving it up so we can sit together in the back of the bus.

Hotels

I really like the hotel we’ve chosen to host our wedding- it’s very unique and seems to mesh with our personality quite well. But why, oh why does it seem like I have the best of luck when it comes to remodeling projects? Yes, the room we’ve reserved for our wedding is slated for demolition and will actually not exist when it’s time for our wedding. Now the hotel is being very considerate and has already reserved us another room just in case things aren’t completed by then, however the two week project has already been delayed over 5 due to permit issues. And the room they are building will actually be better than the one reserved…if it gets finished on time. Really this isn’t a big deal, but I’m just stressing because it’s something out of my control at this point. It’s a simple two week project, and they have over 10 until I need it….we have pad. Just makes me nervous, you know?

Drama

I really don’t think any of Gayle’s or my family reads this, but just in case I’m not going to name names. Recently there has been a lot of drama forced upon us surrounding the wedding. Stupid stuff…stuff that doesn’t need to happen. I don’t know if it’s people being childish or if they have a legitmate beef…but c’mon, it needs to stop. Take a moment to think how your actions will be perceived by others…and how that may affect your future with them. It’s not hard. And if you do have an issue with someone or something, be an adult about it and come out and talk about it. If it wasn't for you guys, we really wouldn't be stressing at all over this shindig.

That’s it…I’m done.

For now.