Farsighted Fly Girl

As a born and raised Chicagoan, I’m pretty persnickety about what passes for essential Chicago tourism. Yes, the Magnificent Mile is pretty but  this glitzy stretch crammed with designer shops really doesn’t define the Windy City or its sensibilities.  So I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 things that in my opinion, truly reflect Chicago history and attitude.  1.  Pizzeria Due:  Deep dish Chicago style pizza is an absolute must. You may think you’ve tasted it before but if you’ve never been to Chicago, you’ve never experienced true deep dish pizza. It is dripping with cheese, it weighs about 5 pounds and it neatly reflects brash Chicago style and heavy Midwestern palates. The iconic Pizzeria Uno chain is credited as one of the first to serve the delicacy. Pizzeria Due is just as iconic and is my personal favorite because it’s slightly less crowded than the original. 2. Untouchable Tours:  No matter that Al and the most notorious hoodlums are gone, thi...

Purple has always been my favorite color. To me, everything looks and tastes better when it's purple. So I was thrilled to discover that two Hawaiian staples glow with  a lovely violet hue. Poi, or mashed taro root, plays a major part in any truly Hawaiian meal but the Hawaiian sweet potato, called uala, comes in a close second. Also referred to as the Okinawa sweet potato, I saw them grace tables mashed, in soups and my favorite, in a pie. Growing up, sweet potato pie was the finale for all holiday meals, which was of course, my favorite part. So imagine my excitement when I gazed at my beloved dessert drenched in a vibrant version of my favorite color. I almost forgot to eat it, I was so busy staring at it. The pie was covered in another Hawaiian favorite, haupia or coconut pudding. The flavor was smooth, delicate and only slightly sweet. Filled with antioxidants, Hawaiian  sweet potatoes pack a  powerful nutritional  punch with a low glycemic index and mo...

The essential element that really attracted me to Kaua'i was its history and culture. Not the legendary beauty. Not the cliffs and canyon.  As the oldest of Hawaii's islands, Kaua'i cradles the ancient legacy of Hawaiian culture and traditions and I felt compelled to discover it.  The annual Prince Kuhio Celebration, held every March in observance of Prince Kuhio day on March 26, provides one of the best ways to experience Hawaiian heritage personally. Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole Pi'ikoi  pictured above, was born in 1871 and was known as the people's prince. He worked to uphold Hawaiian rights and culture after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1883 . Prince Kuhio  was the first Hawaiian elected  to the the U.S. Congress and served  for 10 years. He also established the Hawaiian Home Commission, which preserved land for native Hawaiians. Although he died in 1922, Prince Kuhio's legacy of  preserving traditional Hawaiian practices ...

You can not visit Hawaii and not sample traditional foods like Kalua pig and poi.  Food holds a significant place in Hawaiian culture and if you haven't tasted any traditional dishes, then you haven't really been to Hawaii.  All luaus or feasts, will supply lots of both of these staples. At the Kaua'i Grand Hyatt Resort, I witnessed an 185-pound pig being carried out for the traditional ceremony, above. The pig was covered in ti l eaves and then wrapped in chicken wire before being buried in an imu  or pit.   Then it was roasted over hot coals for eight hours. The meat is  so tender and moist that it doesn't really need to be cut so the hosts simply pull it off the bone. They offered me a quick taste but since I don't eat meat, I couldn't venture into hog territory but I made up for it with my poi consumption. Poi i s pounded taro root that looks like a lovely lavender pudding, above. The lavender roll  was also made with taro. The taro plant is s...

There are a lot of things that you'll find all over Kaua'i. Rust-colored dirt, the  friendly spirit of Aloha and chickens. Chickens prance around the island like they own it and I guess when you consider their numbers and the centuries they have roamed the island, they sort of do. The scientific name is Polynesian waterfowl and they are prettier and more cocky than your average barnyard birds. It doesn't matter where you go, to the beach, a luau, a parking lot, you will see chickens. Or at least hear the insistent crowing of the roosters. You are advised not to bother them. After  I witnessed a gaggle of chickens crow and peck each other in a furious fight, flying into the air and landing on backs with sharp claws, I understood why. Sometimes you'll spot birds that aren't chickens. You have to keep your eyes peeled because the chickens are so plentiful that all other birds seem to just blend in with them. Except for peacocks. There's no way peacocks...

Just as you can't journey to New York and not sample a hot dog from a street vendor, you can't possibly visit Kauai and not eat a Puka Dog . It's a requirement. A Puka Dog is a Hawaiian style hot dog and trust me, it doesn't look or taste like any hot dog you've had before. It's a  grilled Polish sausage or a veggie dog cradled in a loaf of  toasted Hawaiian bread with a hole or "puka" punched into it. The bread is filled with a series of sauces that can make the experience alarmingly messy if you don't know how to handle it.  Fortunately, I was given detailed instructions on how to order and eat a Puka Dog. First of all, just because they suggest a slew of sauces, doesn't mean you have to order them. The first sauce offered is a garlic lemon sauce that I was cautioned to skip to avoid sauce overload. So I did. Next you choose from a series of seven tropical relishes, which is my favorite part. You can choose from an overwhelming selection...

I'm back and I'm overwhelmed. My experiences in Kauai has altered me on so many levels that I didn't know where to begin with my posts. It has  actually taken me a weeks just to mentally shift back from Kauai and more days to decide what would be my first account. In a week of cultural exploration and natural spectacles, there's a lot to choose. So I went with the most dramatic.  Waimea Canyon unfolds with such dazzling beauty that it literally snatches your breath away. It was a long, hour drive from the South Side of Kauai to the West Side, where the canyon stretches 14 miles long, one mile wide and 3,600 feet deep. I wasn't quite prepared when I faced these panoramas of crags and valley gorges, washed in shades of  emerald and russet. They don't call it the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" for nothing. I know these pix look like  re-touched post cards or professional shots but I took them with my little Cannon 495. There really isn't much c...