Monthly Archives: July 2008

Yesterday I had what may have been my easiest day of air travel ever. My flight left from Omaha on time. I had a nice seat towards the front of the plane. The seat next to me was empty.

My connection was through Detroit. I like the Detroit airport. It has nice stores and moving conveyor belts and a monorail. It also has an underground tunnel to get from one terminal to the other. Lights dance across the walls as soothing music plays. There’s a picture of it below.

I had about an hour between flights. Time enough to use the bathroom, get a snack, and check in with people by phone to let them know I wasn’t dead.

My flight from Detroit to Baltimore was fast and smooth. In fact, I don’t think I experienced any turbulence the whole trip. And we arrived eight minutes early. Awesome!

I’ve been pretty consistent about jogging in the mornings. It’s nice to do in Nebraska because things are kind of flat and you don’t come across many drug addicts while you’re jogging.

Here is my route in pictures:

I start by running North. At least I’m pretty sure it’s north. The sun rises to the right of this direction.

After turning left, I run past this patch of flowers. It always helps me keep going.

A little further down, I run through this tunnel carved into a weeping willow. I always dodge the hanging leaves because I’m paranoid that a tick will jump onto my head.

Just past the willow is my favorite stretch of road. It’s wide open and slightly downhill. I turn left at the next road up.

After crossing some railroad tracks, I angle past the fairgrounds. I saw a giant snapping turtle on this road one morning. It gave me the jibblies.

Next I jog past the Hughes Brothers factory. I don’t know exactly what they do there, but it’s loud and has something to do with metal.

Beyond Hughes Brothers is a heartbreaking stretch of uphill jogging. I just keep saying, “Come on, Brad! *gasp* Come on, Brad! *gasp*”

My route goes through downtown Seward next. I turn left at the white and yellow building. That is the very same building Kelly’s Paradise is in.

I stop jogging and start walking here. Lloyd and Lauren’s house is the one with the second basketball hoop. There is a small cat at the house directly to my left.

My destination. I go directly to the water cooler for a drink, then turn to my daily activities.

Ever since I had it at Clementine restaurant, I’ve been wondering if I could re-create their amazing and tasty drink called Basil Lime Elixir. It is a delicious fizzy concoction of lime and basil.

Wanting to take a shortcut, I got frozen limeade at the local Walmarts. I poured four glasses. One was a “control” glass that was just limeade. The others contained finely chopped basil, coarsely chopped basil, and whole basil stems. I let them steep in the refrigerator for about 48 hours. The result? The ones with basil in them tasted limey and basily.

But they didn’t taste like Basil Lime Elixir.

I think my big mistake was using frozen limeade. I think the good people at Clementine must create a simple syrup, add lime and basil, then mix with carbonated water. I may attempt to create a more authentic reproduction in the future, but for now, at least I know that steeping whole basil stems is enough to imbue the concoction with its magical basily flavor.

Last night we went over to hang out at my parents’ house. We brought a bunch of appetizers and such to munch on, and had a great evening. We topped off the meal by tasting an array of cordials. Lloyd and Lauren were especially good at layering different kinds of liqueurs. Kahlua always seemed to sink to the bottom. Godiva chocolate liqueur floated to the top. The rest were in between.

After dinner, I had to sit in the hot tub for a while. My dad and mom have one right on their back porch! My nieces were also there. It was fun to spend some time with them and to soak up some heat. The girls left, and my dad and mom and I sat for a while longer. It was great. After all that food and hot-tubbing, I slept like a rock.