Top 10 Pics, Part II

… since I had a really hard time picking only 10, and knowing I’m in charge of my blog, I decided to pick ten more.

Themes I have noticed:

- I’ve only picked one image with a person in it (and even that one is sort of stealth). This was not entirely accidental, as I did think about trying to keep anyone from having feelings hurt. I love you all equally.

- I like sunsets (and sunrises were I awake at that time regularly). Does anyone not like them?

- They’re geographically diverse, which reflects my affinity for travel, and to some degree, my professional career as well. 

Generally, I enjoy taking pictures of places, architecture, & nature the most. Not to imply anything about people, but there’s something about the “grandeur of nature”, let’s say. 

The iconic drinking fountain at Jarling's Custard Cup, Champaign, IL

Gleam Art Festival, Madison, WI

6" Banana Slug somewhere in Northern CA (they named a college mascot after these!)

Sunset at Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel, CA

Sunset at Excelsior Commons Beach, Excelsior, MN

I-80 Truck Stop, somewhere in east Iowa

Manai Gastronomia stairwell, Sao Paolo, Brazil (this was a tasty lunch!)

UCI World Cup Track Event, London, UK (this was awesome!)

The Well at Winter, south of Minneapolis, MN

State Capitol building at night, Madison, WI

Top 10 Pics, Part I

If I may be so bold, below is a "retrospective" of my Top 10 favorite pics. I've listed the place and event, where able, with each image... though some hopefully speak for themselves. And with at least one caveat, for me to include it here I had to take the pic myself. I didn't grab someone else's amazing photo, and I have received many over the years. This goes back to about 2014/2015.

Let's see if a theme emerges…             

                     

Water Tower at night, Chicago, IL

Golden Gate Bridge from a catamaran below, San Francisco, CA

Garden of the Gods National Park, Colorado Springs, CO

"SkyFlyer" Ride at the MN State Fair, St. Paul, MN

(Pretty sure)... Apostle Island Chain, Madeline Island Sunset, La Pointe, WI

A dry summer ride somewhere in MN ( I miss riding pretty bad)

Puerto Vallarta Boardwalk, Puerto Vallarta, MX

Sunrise over the pasture, prit' near Waterloo, WI

Puerto Vallarta sunset

The newly wed couple, Manitowish Waters, WI

Summer Burnouts, way west of Minneapolis, MN

Themes? I'm def noticing these are some pretty picturesque places in North America. And, I'm noticing I got through 10 images really fast. I'm going to post another 10 choices soon... stay tuned.

Grampa’s Pizzeria, Madison, WI

Despite the somewhat confounding spelling of the word I would presume to be “grandpa”, the pizzas this place is pulling out of their oven are not confusing at all, in fact, it’s crystal clear they’re delicious. On a recent Saturday evening, I spent a lovely couple of hours on their patio enjoying not one, but four of their popular Neapolitan-style preset pizza options. 

We chose to get two pizzas and 1/2 a preset on each  so, 4 x 0.5 = 2. Get it? You may not, but my stomach did. We went with these four - Brassacre (cute name), Carbeniri, Peperoni and classic Cheese. 

Cracker like and slightly charred crust, excellent toppings with some kick (where appropriate), and great cheese - I mean, I'm in Wisconsin after all. I do like a box-cut (yes, that's what that's called) on a thin crust pizza, which makes it easier to fold pieces over on each other and make a little sandwich.

Fair to say, I thought the pizzas were really good, and we even saved a little room for dessert. Hard to pass up Chocolate Mousse…  

It looked really thick, heavy, and rich, but it was light, almost fluffy, chilled and perfect after the pizza.

Service, which is always a bit of a pain in a college town, was excellent. Our waitress, Amy, helped us the whole night, even when I pestered her about free sugar cookies I spied on the kitchen pass through when I put in my name. They came with the check (and I took that and the leftovers home - bam!).

I would like to go back almost as soon as I can. Don’t miss it if you find yourself in the neighborhood.