Travel – Page 4 – Venturing Into The Great Unknown

7th Annual Food Network Tour

Sep 072017

Well it’s that time again. Tomorrow morning I will be embarking on the seventh annual food trip with my mum. This year, in honour of Canada 150, we are staying in Canada. Although we are only going for 10 days, I have packed a lot of great food, attractions and scenery into our trip.

We will be travelling approximately 2,500 km across the Trans-Canada to the Icefields Parkway and up to Jasper, Edmonton, Drumheller and then back across the Trans-Canada through Golden, Salmon Arm and Hope. On the outward journey we will be travelling up the Coq, however, I hope to travel down the Thompson and Fraser Canyons on the old Hwy 1 on our return journey.

We have visited most of these locations before on previous family trips, but this time we are looking to explore, not only new food places, but also the beautiful landscape. (I think my mum may get sick of me wanting to continually pull over to take pictures of the mountains – and she thought I was bad with the Pacific coast lol).

I have not planned this trip as rigidly as I normally have. I have decided that life is too short to stick to a tight schedule. Mum and I have discovered that it doesn’t matter how much research you do, you will always find several things along the way that you would like to have time to do, but don’t. This year we have a couple of long windshield days, but I’ve tried to leave tons of time for us to go from point A to B. Hopefully this will also allow me to blog a bit more. I find at the end of a long day it takes me so much longer to put my thoughts down than it really should, so I hope to blog as I go through the day and save it as a draft. Then when I’m in the hotel at the end of the day I can just add pictures and tweak it.

I enjoy being able to blog and share our experiences as we visit these Food Network restaurants (we’re up to 63 so far) and explore along the way. I hope you enjoy reading my daily updates and I welcome your comments.

Talk to you tomorrow from Harrison Hot Springs.

Home Sweet Home

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Sep 042016

Today we awoke at 5:45 – way earlier than my body wanted us to. We made coffee in our room and I started the annual pre-border cross repacking of the car. I am always amazed at the amount of things that we accumulate along our journey. This year we had 7 pairs of shoes, several bags worth of dry groceries, two coolatrons full of cheese and hot sauce, and a few bags of other sundries. After about thirty minutes, I was able to get the car packed in a way that would make it easy for Customs to go through our car should they decide to send us to secondary. It has happened before, so I just make the assumption that it will happen again.

Once we were packed, we headed to the Anacortes-Sidney ferry. This year we stayed only a few miles away from the terminal and ended up being the second car in line to board the ferry. Mum was also quite happy that she saved 50% off her fare as she is a senior – something that BC Ferries no longer offers. We waited an hour or so, then heard the ferry’s whistle blow as it emerged from the thick fog bank that hung just offshore. We boarded the ferry and were able to get a spot right at the front of the vessel.

We decided to spend the ferry ride in the car since we had such a beautiful vantage point – it was also much warmer in the car than on the deck. Mum spent most of the time doing her cryptic crosswords and I read a novel that I have been trying to finish. When we docked in Friday Harbor, I ventured out to grab a picture and then hurried back to the warmth of the car.

For the remaining hour of the ride, we chatted and watched on my Google Maps app as we got closer and closer to Canadian waters. We both know that we aren’t officially back in Canada until we go through customs, but there is something reassuring about knowing that we are almost home. About thirty minutes before we arrived in Sidney, we were finally able to see Sidney come into view.

We docked right on schedule and waited for the walk-on passengers to disembark and then it was our turn. We made it through customs with very few questions and were officially in Canada. We drove down the Saanich Peninsula and back up over the Malahat to my house. While I was emptying my stuff from Mum’s car, she enjoyed a quick coffee and snack of crackers and cheese. After a quick call to my dad to let him know that Mum was about to leave and she was off. The end of another Food Network trip.

We had a great voyage this year, travelling almost 4,600 kilometres in sixteen days. We explored new locations and revisited old favourites – expanding our horizons along the way. It will be hard to wait almost a year before we can embark on our next adventure. Thank you for sharing our adventure and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Anacortes

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Sep 032016

Today was our last full day in the States. We had breakfast at the hotel before heading to Lacey for some last minute shopping. We went to Kohl’s and Mum and I both found some great deals on clothing before we grabbed some gas and jumped back onto the highway. We ran into traffic around Tacoma and again just north of Lynnwood. The traffic around Lynnwood finally abated as we passed the Seattle Outlet Mall in Marysville. We continued on until we reached Mount Vernon and did our final grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

After our shopping, we headed to the Outback to have a late lunch/early supper. We started with a Bloomin’ Onion and I followed with a Bloomin’ Burger with veggies while Mum had the Alice Springs Chicken with fries. After eating, we headed to Anacortes and arrived at our hotel just before five.

In the hours since then, we did some wiki-research and just chilled in front television. Tomorrow we are taking the early ferry back to the Island and our sixth annual trip will come to an end.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you tomorrow, when I sum up our trip.

Arrived in Olympia

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Sep 022016

Today I woke early and went across the street to grab coffee at the 7-Eleven. After coffee, we headed up I-5 to Albany to have breakfast at a restaurant that was suggested by a good friend of mine – Novak’s Hungarian Restaurant. We found a great parking spot and walked a short block to the restaurant. Mum had the Mama’s Favorite Crepes (ground walnut and apricot preserve filling, garnished with bittersweet chocolate) and I had the Blueberry Ricotta Crepe.

After breakfast, we headed back up the I-5 towards Portland. We made very good time going through town and for the first time we went over the Hawthorne Bridge. We found a parking spot near New Seasons Market and walked a couple of blocks to the store. Mum was on the hunt for a particular brand of honey – Shippers & Growers – and was finally able to find it. Our next stop was Fire on the Mountain Wings. This was my need-to-stop place and, again, we lucked out and found parking. I waited in line and grabbed four 80z jars of El Jefé, 2 8oz jars of Raspberry Habanero and 1 8oz jar of Jamaican Jerk. I hope that’ll be enough to last me until next time I’m in Portland.

Once we were done with our last-minute Portland shopping we were back on the highway and heading northbound. Just as we were leaving Vancouver, Washington, it started raining. I know we can’t complain, but I would much prefer rain to happen when I’m not driving at 65 MPH. It rained on and off as we headed north, but the sun finally came out as we were approaching Kalama, WA. I had no sooner mentioned to Mum that the weather looked like it was getting better than we came around a corner and we could see a wall of rain. I have never seen such a division of weather before and it was quite disconcerting. It thankfully stopped with a few minutes, but it was insane while it lasted.

We stopped at the Centralia Outlet Mall to grab Nikes for my sister and pants for my Mum at Pendleton. We were able to find the particular shoes that my sister wanted but when we went to line up, we realized that there were over 100 people in line. For the amount that we were saving, it definitely wasn’t worth waiting in line and we gave it up as a bad job. We then headed over to Pendleton and I was able to find a sweater and Mum was able to find a “consolation prize” for my sister.

After shopping, we were only 30 minutes from the hotel and we were able to make it without any further weather issues. I did, however, miss my exit and had to backtrack. We checked into the hotel and decided to head to dinner before it got too busy at the restaurant.

We went to Fish Tale Brew Pub – for the third year in a row. We started with bar pickles (which turned out to be pickled vegetables and not at all what I expected). Mum had the Soup (Bacon Cheese Potato) and Fish Tale Salad and I had Fish Tacos with Soup. It was a huge bowl of soup and Mum couldn’t finish it – I had no problem helping her out.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and Mum had a bath while I organized the car. I usually organize things on the day before we cross back into Canada, but decided to organize while the sun was still shining. I have organized in the rain before and it is no fun.

It’s hard to believe that we are almost done our trip – the last two weeks have just flown by. Tomorrow we are navigating through Seattle holiday traffic and staying in Anacortes.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Eugene

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Sep 012016

Today we woke early as we had a long day ahead of us. We got a quick bite at the hotel and then headed downtown to the hardware store. Mum needed to grab some Ball canning lids and she also lucked out and found the 7″ baking pans that she was looking for. We then jumped on Hwy 99W and headed out of town.

We spent most of the day driving…or should I say, I spent most of the day driving. 625 kilometres in total. We joined the I-5 at Red Bluffs and continued on until Weed. I had several requests from friends to stop here and grab souvenirs, so I obliged. I was also way past needing a pit stop so I was very glad to stop. I also found a store that carried State of Jefferson souvenirs and was able to kill two birds with one stone.

We continued up the I-5 until Ashland, where we decided to stop for lunch. I decided to use my Waze app to direct me to Lithia Park, rather than just following the signs. For reasons beyond my comprehension, Waze decided to route me up a single-lane cow path that overlooked the park instead – I am just happy that I was able to turn around without tumbling over the side of the cliff. After navigating back down the “road”, we found the correct route to the park and found a great spot in the shade to eat lunch.

We were able to get some pictures of the local wildlife – that seemed oblivious to our existence – as we left the park. We jumped back onto the Interstate and continued on the long drive north. About an hour outside of Eugene, the weather changed and it started to spit. This is the first rain that we have seen all trip – we really haven’t even seen clouds. I guess we can’t really complain. After five or ten minutes the spitting stopped, but the clouds remained.

We arrived in Eugene without further incident and drove straight to the hotel. We spent some time at the hotel doing some wiki-research and also trying to decide where to eat dinner. We noticed that there were a couple of new restaurants since we visited here last year and after finding out that one was a block from the hotel, we chose that one. Eugene Fish Market is a definite fish market – complete with the fishy smell. It is, however, remarkably affordable and delicious. Mum had Grilled Shrimp & Chips with Honey-Poppy Seed Coleslaw and Oriental Express Tartar Sauce (wasabi, soy & ginger). I had Grilled Cod & Chips with Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw and Ragin Cajun (spicy cajun, green onion & garlic) & Tijuana Terror (jalapeno, lime & cilantro) Tartar Sauces.

On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we encountered an interesting man who was wearing ivy around his head like a wreath. Just as we were passing him, he looked at us and said “boo” – totally weird. We walked a few more feet and noticed that the road ahead was blocked off by police cars and as we rounded the corner, noticed the other street was also blocked off by police cars. We asked a person sitting next to the road if she knew what had happened but she was only able to tell us that she had heard an ambulance about a half hour earlier. We decided to walk down to where the police were and see if we could find out anything else. We asked another person closer to the scene if they knew what was going on and he said that there had been a shooting.

We walked back to the hotel and I called Hubby to fill him in on our day. We then did some more wiki-research and I watched some TV while Mum turned in early. (I have since found out what happened and have provided the link here). Tomorrow we are going as far as Olympia. We plan on having breakfast at a restaurant recommended by a friend of mine. We will then be dropping by Portland to grab some honey from New Seasons Market and also some hot sauce from Fire on the Mountain Wings before hitting the outlet malls in Centralia.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Chico

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Aug 312016

Today we awoke early and left Santa Rosa before nine. We headed down US-101 and across I-80, then went north up I-505 to Winters. We decided to have breakfast at Putah Creek Cafe. We visited this restaurant in 2013 and enjoyed, not only the food, but the ambience. Today the food wasn’t as good and the service left something to be desired. I had eggs, chicken apple sausage and fruit and Mum had poached eggs with salsa and a biscuit.

Mum had ordered a single, medium-poached egg and was given two eggs that were beyond hard-poached. When she mentioned to the waitress that it was hard-poached and also that there were two eggs, the waitress stated that the chefs normally make two so they can try to get it right. We didn’t find that very reassuring. We’re not sure if the ownership/management had changed or not, but something just didn’t seem as good as on our previous visit.

Since we had plenty of time to make it to our destination, we took the long way to Chico via Yuba City. It was a lovely drive on awesome county and state roads up the flat Sacramento Valley. Even with taking the slow route, we arrived in Chico around 12:30. We found a great parking spot in the shade and decided to walk around downtown.

It was a ridiculously hot day (32°C) so we kept in the shade and inside air-conditioned buildings as much as possible. By 2 o’clock it was time to check in and we were glad to have somewhere to relax and cool off. We watched some TV and looked for a way to get to the park. After checking several maps, we decided to just wing it and headed out to do some more exploring.

We eventually found Bidwell Park and wandered around the One Mile Recreation Area. I can see why it would be a popular place for the locals to hang out at, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about. After we walked around the park, we decided to go to the campus

After we walked around the park, we decided to go to the CSU Chico campus as we had read that it had beautiful architecture and grounds. We found out, though, that there was no parking on campus and it was just too hot for us to find parking off-campus and walk around.

We went back to the hotel and tried to figure out what we wanted to eat for dinner. This turned out to be harder than expected, but eventually decided on Madison Bear Gardens. Once we got there, we saw a line-up out the door and, on a whim, changed our mind and went to Mom’s. It turned out to be a great decision and we had an awesome dinner. Mum had a Salisbury Steak and I had a Cobb Salad (and yes, I ate my avocado).

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early night. Tomorrow we will be heading to Eugene.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

A Day In Wine Country

6th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours 1 Response »

Aug 302016

Today started with coffee from the shop across the street. We delayed leaving the hotel until we thought that the breakfast crowd at Hank’s Creekside would be gone and then headed the short distance to our favourite breakfast place. This was our fourth visit to Hank’s and my favourite place to get a Benny. Today was no different and I had a half order of Eggs Benedict and Mum had a poached egg with a biscuit and fruit.

One thing that we love about Hank’s, besides the food, of course, is its location. We are able to head out of town towards Wine Country without any issue – today was no different. We jumped onto CA-12 and headed east to the Sonoma Valley. In prior years we have gone up to Healdsburg and St. Helena, but on this trip, we decided to concentrate on just visiting the Sonoma Valley. We drove down through Glen Ellen and Kenwood before we reached the town of Sonoma. We lucked out and were able to find a parking spot (in the shade) right across from the Sonoma Plaza.

We walked around the Plaza as I took pictures of some of the flowers and also met a trio of women who asked me to take their picture. We wandered around the outside of the plaza and stopped in a few of our regular haunts, but for some reason, we just didn’t find it was as charming as it had been in prior visits. We were unable to grab a coffee at Basque Boulangerie as there was a line-up that was almost out the door and Wine Country Chocolates didn’t seem to hold its same charm. We left Sonoma and headed back to Glen Ellen in search for somewhere to sit and have a beverage. We tried finding somewhere at Jack London’s Village but found it all but closed up – turns out that Tuesday is a bad day to find things open. We stopped at a small market in Kenwood where Mum was able to grab a Diet Pepsi before we headed back to the hotel.

We spent some time at the hotel – mainly cooling off with the beautiful A/C – and then headed to dinner. We decided to go back to Russian River Pub in Forestville – a place we had visited in 2013 and a restaurant from the first DDD episode. Mum had the pesto chicken sandwich with a salad and I had the Tri-Tip Sandwich with a salad. Both of these were featured on the Triple D episode. At least we were able to end our day on a high note.

We came back to the hotel after dinner and decided to have an early night. Tomorrow we are heading to Winters for breakfast at Putah Creek Cafe and then on to Chico.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Santa Rosa

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Aug 292016

What a day we had today! After a great breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Trader Joe’s for a few things on our “to buy” list and then we were off, up the US-101 towards San Francisco. We hit some traffic as we were leaving San Jose, but for all intents and purposes, it wasn’t too bad. Once we hit San Francisco, we got off the freeway and were on city streets for a few miles – it was surprisingly easy to navigate. Mum and I were both surprised as we had cursed this city when we were here five years ago.

We made it across the Golden Gate Bridge and I was able to pull over and park at the vista point. I was beyond excited at being able to get some pictures of the bridge. When we crossed it five years ago we were coming southbound and were required to pay a toll. This would not have bothered me if we had been able to enjoy the view – it was so foggy that I wasn’t even able to tell that the bridge was orange. Today, we headed northbound (toll-free) and had a beautiful sunny day – the Gods were definitely smiling down on us.

At the vista point, I grabbed my cameras and headed to a good vantage point. Anyone looking at me would have automatically known I was a tourist as I had my point-and-shoot as well as my camera with a polarising filter around my neck – and there I was, taking pictures with my iPhone. Needless to say, I wanted to make sure I got a ton of photos.

Once I had determined that I had enough pictures, we continued up US-101 towards Petaluma. Mum loves the Seed Bank and I always seem to find something in the Chinese gift shop across the street. This year was no different. By this time we were feeling peckish, so I entered the address for Willie Bird’s into my GPS and away we went to Santa Rosa. This was our fourth visit to Willie’s – as you can tell we love the food. This time, I totally forgot to take pictures of what we ate, but it was the same as in previous years. We both had the light lunch which consists of half a turkey salad sandwich and I had the potato salad and Mum had the turkey noodle soup.

After lunch, it was time to check into our hotel. What was normally a straight drive up Santa Rosa Avenue became convoluted when I realized that they put a courtyard in my way. The road is now closed between Third and Fourth, forcing traffic to detour around. We found our way and pulled into our favourite hotel – this is our third stay here. We chilled for a couple of hours and watched a The Best Thing I Ever Ate marathon before heading out to do some shopping at Raley’s. Yet again we had a productive shopping trip and then headed to Tex Wasabi’s for dinner.

We were able to get a great parking spot – something we normally luck out and get – and were also able to get seated immediately as the restaurant wasn’t very busy. We mentioned to the hostess that we hadn’t been there in over three years and she told us that Guy Fieri had sold his Sonoma County restaurants to his partner – we were saddened by the news but decided to stay and eat anyway.

Mum started with a Shrimp Spring Roll and I had the Jackass Sushi. This is my first ever sushi, and although it was Gringo Sushi, I was quite impressed with myself as it contained avocado. Mum then had the Teriyaki Chicken Salad and I had an order of Vegas Fries (fries tossed with buffalo sauce and served with bleu-sabi). I have been craving Vegas Fries since I last had them in May 2013 and was unable to get them when I went to Guy’s Vegas restaurant in 2014.

Mum and I enjoyed our meals but agreed that it just wasn’t the same as it used to be. We both decided that it is unlikely that we will return – this is sad as it was one of my favourite Food Network restaurants.

We came back to the hotel and did our wiki-research; which dealt mainly with California Penal Institutions. Then we headed to bed. Tomorrow we will be doing our tour of Wine Country.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you later.

Arrived in San Jose

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Aug 282016

This morning we woke later than normal and had a breakfast of leftovers in our hotel room. We then drove to Pismo Beach to explore the area. It didn’t take us too long to realize that it was a bit too busy for us so we grabbed some coffee and headed north up US-101. We got off the highway in San Luis Obispo and drove around the town for a few minutes. It was too busy to stop and investigate further but we decided that the next time that we are down this way, we will visit here instead of Arroyo Grande.

We continued up US-101 until just south of Salinas. We got off the highway and drove through the hamlet of Spreckels – an agricultural area dominated by Andy Boy Produce. Just west of Spreckels we found a small market called Corral Market & Deli. It was listed on the Food Network website, but there was no reference as to what show it was featured on. Regardless, we thought it would be a perfect place to grab a bite to eat. Mum got an artichoke and mushroom salad and I got a Cuban sandwich – they were both divine.

After our quick bite, we jumped back on the highway and before long, we were stuck in traffic in the exact same spot as we were on Friday. I’m not sure if this is a regular place for accidents and/or traffic jams, but I will remember in future to allow some extra time to get through the area. One bonus of being stuck in traffic was being able to take a picture (through the windshield) of one of the bells that occur on both sides of the highway. We researched them when we got to the hotel and found that they mark the El Camino Real which is a historic trail that links California’s missions from San Diego to Sonoma.

We arrived in San Jose and found our hotel with ease. We chilled at the hotel for a couple of hours before we headed to dinner at Chili’s. I decided to go outside my comfort zone and order something that came with avocado pieces on top. I needn’t have worried as the single piece that I had was smaller than my fingernail – I guess I will have to order avocado again to say that I have tried it.

We returned to the hotel and Mum chilled in the room doing her cryptics while I talked to Hubby on the phone. We then did our wiki-research and turned in for the night.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Santa Rosa – continuing straight up US-101 and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Arroyo Grande

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Aug 272016

Today was an awesome day. I started the day by seeing my first Northern Mockingbird – I was not able to get a picture as it mocked me and stayed just out of my phone’s camera range, but when I checked my bird app, I was able to confirm what it was.

After loading the car, we headed across town to From Scratch which was featured on DDD. Mum had a poached egg and biscuit, while I, of course, had Eggs Benny. It was quite delicious, and filling – my Benny had about half an inch of ham on it. It was also quite a popular place and there were several dozen people waiting for tables by the time we left – we had lucked out and got seated immediately.

We then headed south down CA SR-1 towards Big Sur. We had been informed by the people at the hotel’s front desk that the highway itself was fine; it was just the parks that were closed due to the Soberanes Fire.

Before too long, we reached the Bixby Creek Bridge. It doesn’t sound like much of a bridge, but it is quite famous and often featured in commercials that show the California coast. Although there is a pullout with parking for several cars, I was unable to find parking and had to block a few cars while I jumped out and took a few quick pictures. It was definitely worth it as I have been wanting to get a picture of this bridge since we first visited Carmel in 2011.

Continuing down the coast, we pulled off several times to take pictures. The traffic was quite reasonable for this time of year, but I believe that had quite a bit to do with the fire and park closures. I was able to take a ridiculous number of pictures – which I will cull and edit once I get back home, but I have a couple that I will post for you.

On one of my stops, I happened to notice a bird that was hovering near the pull-off where we had parked. I initially thought it may be a Turkey Vulture, but, on closer inspection, determined that it was larger and also had white patches on the underside of its wings. I took some pictures with my long lens, hoping that it might help with identification later. I wasn’t sure what else it could be as I knew how rare California Condors were, but something kept nagging at me that a Condor was the only viable option, since it was definitely not a Turkey Vulture. Since I wasn’t able to solve the mystery without further research, we continued down the highway.

The topography of the land changed as we neared San Simeon (home of Hearst Castle) and the road became much nicer to drive on. We stopped just south of Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, and I was able to not only get a picture of an Elephant Seal, but also pictures of American White Pelicans and California Ground Squirrels. The pictures of the pelicans and seal are on my main camera which I was unable to upload due to a lack of wi-fi at my hotel, but I was able to get a picture of the squirrel with my phone.

We stopped at William Randall Hearst State Park to use the facilities. While we were there, I decided to drop into the Interpretive Center to ask about the condor. I was informed that seven condors had been released into the wild in the same area as I had seen my mystery bird. After reviewing my pictures and other information, I am confident that I saw my first California Condor in the wild.

Before we left the park, I also snapped a couple of pictures of Hearst Castle, which is perched up on a hilltop, and got some pictures of smoke from the Chimney Fire.

Shortly after leaving San Simeon, we arrived in San Luis Obispo. While waiting for a red light to change, we saw three hawks circling not far from the road. As I was driving, I was unable to take a picture, but when we got back to the hotel, we determined that they were Ferruginous Hawks. Yet another new bird to add to my bird list.

We arrived at our hotel in Arroyo Grande and after a short rest, headed out to dinner. There are only a couple of Food Network restaurants in the area, so we chose F. McLintocks which was featured on Guilty Pleasures. It was not somewhere I would really write home about, although I did enjoy the Grilled Artichoke. Mum and I shared the Pepper New York Steak, and we had a “split plate” which means we both got all the sides, and we split the 10 oz, steak.

After dinner, we stopped by the Outlet Mall on the way back to hotel and Mum found the flat whisk that she was looking for. I was also able to find a 12-pack of beer at the local IGA before heading back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are heading back north and will be staying in San José.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

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