Pic of the Day: All About the View

A while back I wrote a short blog entry about some of the most spectacular views I've had from my hotel room window. And more than a few have been stunning: natural vistas of ancient places such as Monument Valley; city views of Manhattan, Rome or Seattle; tropical forests, waterfalls and seas. 

At the other end of the spectrum have been sagebrush, parking lots and busy streets. Once, in Miami Beach, our ground floor room looked into an alley with the back door to a night club's busy kitchen across the way. Not a lot to see. Not a lot of sleep that night.

And then there's this one. 

I'll let you guess where it was, but fortunately we only stayed there a couple of nights. 

The room was okay -- just...don't look out the window.

Pic of the Day: The Boptini!

Every Friday we feature a martini or similar concoction (recognizing that purists object to the mass-marketing of anything ending in '-tini') from around the world -- generally low-res sister versions of photos that are to be featured in the upcoming book Chasing Martinis.

This is The Boptini, a drink we "invented" for a fundraising event on behalf of The Jazz Angels, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching young musicians about the history and performance of jazz music.

BOPTINI

1 oz vodka

2 oz cranberry juice

1 oz 7-Up or Sprite

Lime garnish

Gently stir, serve and listen to a little Thelonius on Pandora.

Pic of the Day: Sausalito Morning

One of the treasures of the Bay Area is the famed town of Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Renowned for its stunning location, gentle demeanor and excellent shopping it's a major stopover for any road trip headed up the coast.

Pic of the Day: Kelbaker Road

I love a good desert drive and this is one of my favorites. Kelbaker Road stretches from the town of Baker -- well known to people on Interstate 15 as pretty much the only gas and restroom stop between Barstow and the Nevada state line -- straight south to intercept Route 66 a few miles to the east of the small town of Amboy.

Named for the towns of Baker and Kelso (a train stop pictured in the distance) it is a wonderful drive of straightaways, curves and an ever-changing terrain. Cinder cones, lava flows, rock formations, sand dunes and granite peaks can be found in this stretch of the Mojave. 

I think it's time for a road trip...

And while you're here....

...don't forget to check out the new CHASING MARTINIS BLOG.

We're gonna shake things up!



(Bad pun. What did you expect? It's 6am and I'm pre caffeine.)