Category Archives: Trip Reports

The Doughnut Vault- A lot of Taste in a Tiny Space

Food, Trip Reports,
a box of donuts

Before heading to Chicago I did a little research to find out some interesting things to do. I had been to Chicago a few years back with Kim and wanted to find some places to visit that seemed a little more off the beaten path.

One of the places I came across was a tiny doughnut shop that was only open a couple of hours a day. Let me explain. The Doughnut Vault makes around 1,000 doughnuts per day and keeps very odd business hours. They are open Tues.-Fri. 8:00am ’til Sold Out and Saturdays 9:30am ’til Sold Out. You read that right- they have opening hours but no real closing hours. Once they sell out of their doughnuts, that’s it for the day.

a sign on a building
a blue door with yellow writing on it

We only had around 48 Hours in Chicago and trying out the Doughnut Vault was at the top of my list of things to do. It took a bit of effort to get inside the vault. On Friday morning my brother and I arrived at 11:00am and the doors were already locked. The friendly girl that works there opened the door and apologized, explaining that they were already sold out. She said that they had sold out early, about an hour before we got there. Pretty amazing- two hours open and 1,000 doughnuts sold.

I was a bit disappointed that I missed out on trying the doughnuts. I figured that I would have to try to get there on my next trip to Chicago not that I was sure when that would be…

a sign on a wall

It turned out that the Community Day Event after the O’Hare 5K Runway Run wasn’t too interesting and we were done by around 9:00am. My brother and I were thinking of what to do with the few hours we had left before heading home. I suggested giving the Doughnut Vault another try. We headed over there and arrived at 9:45,15 minutes after it had opened and the line was already around the block!

a group of people standing on a sidewalk

I didn’t really mind the line so much due to the friendly vibe in the air. The line actually added to the experience! Doughnuts were on everybody’s mind. Many people were chatting and joking around which made the time seem to move a little quicker. The Doughnut Vault also updates what is left of their inventory throughout the morning on Twitter which makes for good conversation.

After waiting on line for about 45 minutes we made it inside. The shop was tiny as could be. It was basically a hallway about ten feet long with a few mirrors hanging on the walls. We waited another 5-10 minutes before it was our turn to order.

a group of people in a room

Before ordering I was shown which doughnuts were left and ordered five. I figured that it would be nice to bring some home for Kim.

a tray of doughnuts on a rack

Here is what I ordered:

  • Two Buttermilk Old Fashioned
  • One Gingerbread Stack which actually came with 3 small doughnuts
  • One Chocolate Glazed
  • One Vanilla Glazed
a man and woman posing for a picture

The glazed doughnuts were massive. I found them to be good, not great. I preferred the vanilla glaze over the chocolate. Kim and I really enjoyed the old fashioned. They were really tasty and moist. I found the gingerbread stack to be the best deal and best tasting from what I sampled. They were sweet and spiced with a really good cakey texture to them.

Overall I found the effort worthwhile to try out The Doughnut Vault.

I can’t say that they are the best doughnuts that I’ve ever had. I can think of two in NY that are better (minus the one hour wait). However, the whole experience made it a positive and fun time.

The Doughnut Vault is located at 401 1/2 N. Franklin Street, Chicago
Twitter: @doughnutvault

Chicago O’Hare 5K Runway Run Recap

Runway Run, Trip Reports, , ,
a group of people running in a race

This past Saturday I ran in my fourth runway run of the year at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport (ORD).

I ended up flying to Chicago for a quick, mini-trip with my brother. You can read about it here. 

It was a pretty chilly morning but once we got moving, the weather wasn’t a problem. 

This was possibly the busiest runway run that I participated in to date. It was announced that over 2,500 runners & walkers participated and over $25,000 was raised for the Wounded Warrior Project. Nice job race organizers!

a group of people standing in a crowd
Some of the pre-race crowd

Continue reading Chicago O’Hare 5K Runway Run Recap →

48 Hours In Chicago In A Nutshell

Trip Reports, , ,
a man jumping in front of a reflective bean with Millennium Park in the background
The Bean

I decided to take a quick trip to Chicago with my brother to run in the O’Hare 5K Runway Run. We couldn’t justify a trip to Chicago to just run in the 5K so we made the visit into a mini-trip. We had around 48 hours in Chicago and made great use of our time and were very busy!

We left from New York (JFK) at 7:00pm on Thursday October 18 and were on our way back home from Chicago (ORD) on October 20 at 3:00pm.

Here is how we spent our time:

Continue reading 48 Hours In Chicago In A Nutshell →

Our Upcoming Trip- The Lakes to Locks Passage & Saratoga

Trip Planning, Trip Reports, , ,
a lake with mountains in the background

Back in April I attended the EscapeMaker.com’s Local Food and Travel Expo. (You can read about it here) At the event I chatted with representatives from many local tourism boards.

One booth really stood out due to it having a National Geographic logo attached to it’s banner. The booth I am referring to represented the Lakes to Locks Passage which is a scenic byway between upstate New York and Quebec, Canada. It is New York’s only “All American Road” and features the interconnected waterway of the eastern part of the state.

Continue reading Our Upcoming Trip- The Lakes to Locks Passage & Saratoga →

Off Topic: Lucas’ First Mets Game and Win 4 Mets Tickets

Trip Reports, , ,
a man holding a baby in front of a large statue
 **Check below for a chance to win 4 tickets to an upcoming Mets game**
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My favorite sport has always been baseball. Through the good and mostly bad, I’ve always stayed loyal to my favorite team, the New York Mets. Over the last few years (20+?), there hasn’t been much to cheer about but at least when I was a little kid the Mets were the talk of the town. Damn ,1986 was such a long time ago! Continue reading Off Topic: Lucas’ First Mets Game and Win 4 Mets Tickets →

Our Awesome Experience with Airbnb

Hotel Reviews, Trip Reports, ,
a blue and white logo

Hotels in Singapore can be quite pricey. From what we could tell most moderately priced hotels ($80-$100 range) had horrible reviews and seemed downright dirty.

For our first night’s stay in Singapore I decided to use my free night from the Chase Priority Club credit card that I earned after my first anniversary. For a $49 annual fee I think I got a very solid value. We booked the Intercontinental Singapore  which would’ve cost us around $250 US had we just payed for our stay. The hotel was very nice and is in a great area.
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We procrastinated on booking a hotel for the last night of our trip which was back in Singapore. Since we were arriving from Kuala Lumpur around 9:00pm we’d basically be just showing up and passing out. I couldn’t justify using the Priority Club cash and points option to stay at the Intercontinental which would’ve been 15,000 points + $70. We weren’t going to get much use of the room-  so I really needed to find a place to stay in the $80-$100 range.
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Kim and I searched many different internet sites for a room and nothing was catching our eye. We had a couple of local, budget hotels on our list for consideration if we couldn’t find a better option.
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This is when I started thinking of other ideas. I had heard about Airbnb a while back but never seriously considered using the site. From what I understood, most rooms were in people’s apartments or homes. It didn’t sound like the ideal situation while traveling with an infant.
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Southeast Asia Trip In A Nutshell

Trip Reports,
a man and woman with a baby
We got back from Southeast Asia a little over a day ago and our schedules are a bit out of whack due to some jet lag. I guess it should be expected considering how much flying we did and the fact that we were on the other side of the world (12 hour time difference!).
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While Kim and I had been to SE Asia twice before, it was Lucas’ first time to the area. We all had a great time, met amazing people, saw some great sites and ate some really good food.
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Lucas was like a rock star/ celebrity during the trip.
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Just about everywhere we went we got stopped to have pictures taken of him. This was especially the case in Bali. Bali is probably the ideal place to visit for a baby that loves attention and being held. Kim and I got to eat almost every meal with a waitress holding and playing with him. We also enjoyed a couple of massages with Lucas again being entertained by the staff.
a group of people smiling and holding a baby
Here are some details about the trip:
  • Countries Visited: Three– Singapore, Indonesia (Bali) and Malaysia
  • Total Miles Flown: 23,898 (data taken from TripIt)
  • International Flights: Business Class on Egypt Air & Singapore Air using United miles
  • Flights Around SE Asia:  We had three flights with budget carrier Air Asia
  • Lodging: We stayed in a variety of places, all were fine. We also used airbnb for the first time which was an amazing experience!
a man holding a baby
Some Highlights: (in no particular order)
  • The friendly people all over Bali
  • Eating at Hawker Centers- We ate at three in Singapore and one in Malaysia
  • Wandering around Ubud and visiting the Monkey Forest
  • Visiting the Petronas Towers and going up to the Skybridge
  • Constantly seeing Lucas smiling, laughing and curious during the trip
  • Checking out the amazing wood carvers in Mas, Bali. We visited the very interesting Mask Museum, stopped by the compounds of a couple of mask makers and I bought a couple of masks to add to my collection.
  • Visiting impressive temples all over Bali
  • Playing with a civet and learning about the coffee that they make
a man sitting on a rock ledge holding a monkey on his shoulder

These are just some examples of the great experiences we had during our trip. I’ll be writing about many of these experiences and more over the upcoming weeks (months)!
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Make sure to keep checking back!

Thoughts On Visiting Mount Rushmore

Trip Reports, ,
visiting mount rushmore
I think Mount Rushmore pretty much speaks for itself so I won’t be listing any facts or stats about it. However I figured that I could at least share some of the photos that we took during our visits. The monument is an absolutely amazing site to see. Each time we passed it while driving around South Dakota it was hard not to stop for another visit.
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If you ask me, I think that every American should visit Mount Rushmore at least once. Continue reading Thoughts On Visiting Mount Rushmore →

Local Eats: Chislic in South Dakota

Food, Trip Reports, ,
a sign with a buffalo head on it
While traveling, Kim and I always like to find local foods to try in the area we are visiting.
South Dakota didn’t seem to have any unique, local foods until we came across Chislic.
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According to Wikipedia, Chislic is “virtually unknown outside the state of South Dakota”.
The meat (it can be beef, lamb or venison) is cubed and deep fried. Chislic can vary in how it is prepared based on the area you are in. Continue reading Local Eats: Chislic in South Dakota →