A Little Girl In Red Overalls

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Scott Bender

52f0012185e57cc4572ece736533112aThe story below has nothing to do with food or travel, but it does have to do with people, and the inspiration came from talking to a friend of mine while sharing a bottle of wine…just sitting and talking.  Something happens when you share a meal with someone, or a glass of wine (or a bottle).  It’s an intimate experience that has you focus on the person and conversation and not the outside world or the socially connected one through your phone.  In the Las Vegas episode of Locals Only (coming soon I promise!) we go to a BBQ spot and talk about how you can sit 5 people at a table who don’t speak the same language, but have them eat a meal together and they’ll communicate the entire time.  It goes back to our prehistoric ages before words were spoken, people would congregate around a fire eating their meals.

“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.” – Anthony Bourdain

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Get Your Hands Dirty

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Scott Bender

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“Keep close to Natures’s heart… And break clear away, once in awhile. Climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir

When I was 8 years old I went to sleep away camp for a week at a place called Deer Hollow Ranch.  It was the first time I spent time on my own, away from home and all the things I had grown so accustomed to.  Like being the youngest kid and having this false sense of entitlement.  If anyone knew me as a young kid – I was kind of a dick.  Some people probably have the same opinion of me now, but that’s a different story… So anyways there I am at Deer Hollow amped on spending time in nature and doing whatever I want.  Little did I know that summer camp also had job boards and responsibility.

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The Lost Art of Communication

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Scott Bender
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“The actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland.”

In the 1940’s a man took his two daughters to ride a merry-go-round in a park. He sat on an old wooden bench, and watched them spin round and round, laughing and smiling. As he sat, seeing the enjoyment of the girls as their mechanical ponies danced up and down, he pondered the idea of a place where both kids and adults could share this excitement and fun, together. The man on the bench was Walt Disney, and this idea would soon become Disneyland.

If this was 2015, the man would not be on the bench, but right at the edge of the merry-go-round snapping photos to get the perfect angle which would look best with the Lo-Fi filter and thus accumulate the most likes on Instagram and Facebook. There would be no thought process deeper than that, and thus there would be no Disneyland. Continue reading →

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Ad-Lib Cooking

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Scott Bender
My finished Ad-Libbed, Instagrammed post.

My finished Ad-Libbed, Instagrammed, Drunken Noodles.

……….Let me start by saying very clearly – I am not a chef.  I have limited culinary training, and by limited, I mean I’ve taken two cooking classes in my life.  And one was ‘Cooking and Wine’ so I’m sure you can imagine how much I retained.  However.  I love to cook and have always been fascinated by the art of culinary expertise.  I read recipes, I talk to people who do cook and I ask questions… mostly I can understand, but a lot of time I just nod and say “oh ya” as they explain things that go beyond my comprehension… Emulsify?  What the hell does that mean?  I wish I was smarter within the world of cooking but when you’re raised on ‘mish mosh’ (a collection of leftovers heated up in the microwave) your education is limited… yet, I will say I am pretty creative.  I can improvise most things and usually come up with a dish that doesn’t totally suck.  I call it: Ad-Lib Cooking.

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Higher Highs.

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Scott Bender

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“When you travel alone, the highs are far higher, and sometimes the lows are harder but the elation from being you just rocking at your own life beats everything else”

This quote was written on a playing card and given to a friend of mine, Tanya, as she left to travel alone for 6 months.  I met Tanya in Cusco, Peru on a street corner as we both held maps, completely lost in this beautiful town in which we had just arrived.  We turned to each other, laughed at the fact that the only thing that would make us look more like tourists was a fanny pack – and then decided to get lost together, all while finding ourselves.

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