Even the Food Porn is Bigger (if not better) in Texas

Well, Readers, I wasn't going to blog again, but, after our brunch experience today (Father's Day), I was told I had to blog about it.

What happened to yesterday? Well, you know there was U.S. Open golf on for 14 hours, right?  John and I watched almost all of the 14 hours.

Breakfast was from Buc-ees.  John keeps pronouncing it like "Bucky's," but you see the spelling.  eeeeeeessss...

I took a picture.  I called it an oversized convenience store.  John said people lay out their trips so they can stop at one.  It's called culture. :)

Then golf.

Then we had Thai fusion for dinner.  The pictures are on this link -- it's almost all food porn.

But the highlight of the trip will be brunch.

As it seems I am known to do, I "found this place on Yelp."  It got 4 1/2 stars for brunch.  And the reviews said "you have to try the pineapple upside down pancakes."  Whoa!

John had another idea: a "hole-in-the-wall" in a nearby town that does good food.  He claimed.  But he agreed to go to my place so he could have "complaining rights."

Well, getting there was an adventure.  Cross country, Googly saying you could go left or right at one point!  and not lose any time!  How can that be?

Then we turned into "Hicks Airport."  You can't make this up, right?

And then we get there -- there was a full parking lot and a line and a 50 minute wait!

Here's the picture, because, of course at a cafe in Hicks Airport, you have to have an airplane parking lot.   Of course!

We got in quicker than the 50 minute wait and found a buffet!

Of course, it's Texas, so a Sunday brunch buffet includes not just pancake and omelet stations, but beans and ribs and brisket to go in your omelet.

And then there's the famed (rightly) pineapple upside down pancake.  You're given syrup with it and told to try it without -- you won't need it.  We didn't.

It was delicious.

And, now, it's Father's Day.  The U.S. Open traditionally finishes on Father's Day. TV on, a/c on (the RealFeel outside is a mere 105), and we are falling into our food coma.  :)

Have a good one!

Last Day (and hotel reviews)

Dear Reader,

This is the last blog of the 2016 California trip (though not the end of our trip, but the motto, I hear, is what happens in Texas stays in Texas), but it covers beautiful sights, food porn galore, and even wild animals (and not Michael).

But first, for your information, the hotel review.

We stayed in 7 different hotels (the cabin in Yosemite we’ll ignore).  I will remind you all that I have a criteria for a quality hotel (3+ stars) that includes glass glasses (redundant?), thick towels, firm beds, a choice of pillows, and quality WiFi.

Here’s a damning comment: I slept on a rolled up towel for 3 nights at the hotel in Anaheim. 

The best hotel was the first, the Hyatt at the airport in San Francisco, though the last, the Sheraton at the marina in San Diego, was very close.  Both had all the above amenities, though the Sheraton had the Wifi that asks you to reconnect if you don’t use it for like 30 seconds.  A PITA. 

I liked the Radisson in Fresno, which was a sudden, late night change the night before.  It had all the amenities, and a good price.  But it WAS in Fresno.  We were not impressed with what we saw of the Central Valley cities.

Probably next was the Country Inn & Suites, which I don’t think I’d ever stayed in before, in Ventura.  It was a late addition, too, done a few days before leaving in a swap for the Radisson in Santa Maria – 2 hours closer to the ballpark and LA for the next day.  It was good, and a decent price at $129, but both the other three were better, for about the same money.

The Clarion in Ridgecrest and the Stanford in Anaheim were close.  We stayed at both for a combination of convenience and price (there weren’t a lot of 3 star options in Ridgecrest, on the edge of the desert).  Neither had glass glasses though both had a breakfast that wasn’t bad.  (can’t say that about the Country Inn).

Dead last was the San Simeon Lodge.  It was close to Hearst Castle and across the street from the ocean.  But the bed was horrible, the light fixtures were missing light bulbs, the heat didn’t work (it was 50 the morning we left), and it wasn’t the least expensive place we stayed (the Clarion was, not surprisingly). 

Now, to the last day plus in San Diego.

Yesterday we spent the day in Balboa Park.  Here’s a picture of the iconic tower, which has no bell (we found out) – the symbol of the city.

The park was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.  San Diego beat out San Fran to host, back when San Fran was ten times larger.  The buildings are. a mix of mission and stucco style (as you can see), in a conscious attempt to get away from the more classical architecture of other American expositions. 

We saw the Old Globe, which Michael says is big in theatre history, but got no tour.

Then visited the Museum of Man, which had exhibits on Beer through history and human evolution and mummies.  I saw enough skulls to keep me for the rest of my life.

We then agreed that the Air and Space Museum had appeal (there are 14 museums in the park).  Michael, Karen and I spent much time in the DaVinci special exhibit (Karen and I dozed through some of the film showing there), and Michael found Barb dozing in front of Tora, Tora, Tora.  Yes, it seems we were all tired.

Then to hotel to swim and clean up for dinner.

For dinner, we went to Coronado, which is an island off San Diego.  Here’s the view as we started dinner.

The menu was good.  Both Barb and Karen had surf and turf; Michael and I had the halibut.  We got comped dessert (pineapple upside down cake and bananas foster bread pudding) because they overcooked Karen’s steak.  Barb told the waiter so. :)

Then back to the Slavins’s suite for cards, where, once again, Michael and Karen swept us, with Michael yet again (who can believe it?!?!?!) complaining about not getting cards.  Right.

This morning, Karen and I took the car downtown and had brunch at the Broken Yolk – motto “we have huevos” – where it turns out we had brunch in 2010 during our “junket” there. 

Then we shot up I-5 to La Jolla, to see the seals. (not to be confused with sea lions, or elephant seals…I’m not sure how or why).  Here’s a shot of them on the rocks just below us.  You can see from the pictures in the LINK that the place was gorgeous.  But the biggest memory may be how gamey the seals smelt…the odor was strong even as you got out of the car!

We stopped at Torrey Pines golf course, where they’ve held one US Open and where they’ll return in 2021 (there were both signs and t-shirts) so here’s a pic of there.

And then to Texas, Dallas, to visit the much famed John from the Scotland blog and his wife Lanissa.  There’s been talk of a trip to Waco (has something to do with HGTV), pub crawls through Fort Worth, and some golf viewing (ironically, the US Open is in PA this weekend).

And there it is.  Thanks for going along for the ride, and thanks to Michael and Barb for being the best travel companions.  Farewell.

Wildlife...and the Zoo

Hi, Readers, we are about to run out of days, but yesterday was another good one.

We started with the drive from Anaheim to San Diego.  In what has happened before, somehow Michael, driving, and his navigator, whose name I will not mention, missed some maneuver and instead of "just staying on I-5" (the navigator and Googly's instructions), we decided to see some beachfront communities.  In the end, we didn't waste too many minutes, but there was much discussion of who screwed up -- the backseat seemed to throw the navigator under the Hyundai SUV -- and away we went.

In San Diego, we went straight to the zoo.  It IS the best zoo in the world.  Period.  I heard one of the staff there say "it's only 120 acres."  It seems bigger.

Let's start with the classic San Diego zoo photo:

Neither panda was awake.

But then I got this souvenir, which was worth the $10. :)

Pongo enjoyed the ride. :)  Dr. Slavin, not so much. :)

I always enjoy the tiger -- there are two pretty good pics.
And Karen's favorite, here's the few weeks old giraffe.  He's not quite 6 feet tall.

The funniest moment (I remember) was on the people mover, up the hill (saving us steps).  In a moment of ineptitude, I caught my foot against the running board and tried to roll down the people mover.  Karen caught me to keep me from hitting the ground.  I heard about this for the rest of the day.  And dinner.

We checked into the very nice hotel -- the Sheraton at the marina -- across the road from the airport (convenient for tomorrow's exit) and Karen and I got in the hot tub just outside our room.

Michael and Barb, on the other hand, upgraded "to a suite." You know, how the 1% lives.  BTW, Michael likes to read the Wall Street Journal.  He's a liberal elitist snob. :) (and it's MY blog :))

Then to the gaslamp district for dinner.  The gaslamp is a part of old San Diego that has been revived with restaurants, clubs, etc, and has people milling around till all hours.  I saw a sign advertising 40 restaurants.

We ate at a place that claimed to be the best Mexican place in the district.  Michael said it was the best Mexican food he'd ever eaten.  My phone gave out so there's not much food porn, but here are the appetizers -- shrimp tostada and the guac, which was excellent.  And we had drinks (me a strawberry frozen margarita) before dinner.  HERE'S the LINK

Then we walked around the block (from 4th to 5th st) to this gelato place.  Michael said "I've had more ice cream on this trip than I've had..." and I said "you didn't have ice cream." :)

Then back to "the suite" to play cards.  Michael whined (with charcuterie) about not catching cards as he and Karen won two straight games!  I showed how to be a bad loser, as well as how to be a bad winner. :)

And now, one full day left. Pout.  Ah, well...someone has to go back to work.  I'm not sure who.

Art and "art" and Food Porn

Dear Readers,

Time has gotten away from me, so I will keep today's entry short (and unfunny) --

We started the day by going to "the Getty" -- the private art museum started by J. Paul Getty, and left funded by him when he died.

The picture of greatest import was this one -- Monet's Rouen cathedral.  Because Michael and I were there last June.

Michael and I agreed "it looks nothing like that."

Then, believe it or not, to dinner.  But first a stop at Venice Beach.  They were shooting a TV show, or music video, in the middle of things.  Karen said it was "edgy," unlike Santa Monica.  The pictures show the surroundings -- but you can see the people.  Michael and Barb were sure there were pickpockets working the crowds.

Then to Hermosa Beach, where we ate dinner at a Mediteranean tapas place I found when Ken, Jamie and I were in "LA" last January.  The highlight, I think, was this dish -- the Morroccan shrimp.

Then we took pictures of the sunset on the Hermosa Beach pier --

And stopped at the Manhattan Beach creamery for dessert -- I had the bomb, a sticky bun ice cream. Yum.

And that was our day.  Tomorrow, to San Diego.  Last stop! ):

The Happiest Place on Earth: Santa Monica & Malibu :)

Yesterday was titled "quiet day," today, not so much.  In terms of Fitbit steps (one measure of the day), almost the most of the trip.

First, know that the two couples separated today.  Probably not a bad thing X days in; probably not a bad thing as Barb talked about being at Disneyland (which is 1.1 miles by foot -- it's not good I know -- from this hotel) ALL day.  Two fingers to temple, pull trigger.  I wanted to go to the beach.  Which is definitely NOT 1.1 miles away.

So, to Steve and Karen's "adventure."  We took the car and headed west on a series of large highways (I know one time there were six lanes) and an hour later we were on ground streets in downtown Santa Monica.  After one false start, we had a great parking spot in the pier parking lot.

Here's the link for all the photos -- https://goo.gl/photos/qM5tgmbrG7kn7u7T7

WARNING!  There are LOTS of photos -- I had 40 some for the day, which I pared down, but I added pics from M&B and K.

I thought about which shot was most iconic to post here, but I am going with this one.

This is from the Ferris wheel on Santa Monica pier; that's the complex on the end of the pier in the background.  And you will notice the wonderful color of the Pacific -- it is just so blue here.  Or aquamarine.

I did say "ferris wheel."  The sign said this "those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, back problems, or motion sickness should not..."  Check, check, check, check, check.   I survived.  In fact, it wasn't bad.  I did NOT throw up!  Or have a panic attack!  Of course, we ate lunch AFTER!  :)

[it was the first of 3 times on this day we ignored said signs.  Karen the Wit said at one "I'm trying to collect on that new life insurance policy."  Funny]

We went to the beach.  So there has to be this shot:

The water was warm enough today I actually swam in it.  Funny, though, the kids around me would go in a little, get hit by a wave, scream, and run to shore.  Kids!

And now this picture.

I think I captured the look on Karen's face as she tried to be "iconic."  She wasn't planning on actually getting wet (there's the pre-photo in the link) and then!  Hee hee.  The look on her face was priceless.  Damned!  I got wet!!! in the ocean!  Who knew?

Lunch was pizza on the pier.  Michael doesn't like pizza.  I know, I know, but there you have it.  yelp was accurate again because it might have been 5 star pizza, especially for the location, but the map...well, we only stumbled on the place, as yelp had it on the side of the pier with no buildings.  I actually looked UNDER the pier for it!  Dumb, I know, but...

Then we drove through Malibu and stopped at Pepperdine University.  We'd both heard it was beautiful.  How's this for a money shot?

Looks like the view from Bloomsburg, right?  Or Lock Haven? Or any other PASSHE school.

Then back east.  Noteworthy was Google maps, aka "Googly," trying to avoid traffic on the highways by cutting us through all these back streets.  It was not a fun drive.  It took 2 hours plus to get back from Malibu to the hotel.

We purchased our day pass to Disneyland and our bus pass to get there and were there by 6:30.  Rah rah.

Then stood in line.  I actually counted (I know, I know, this is bad) -- 40 minutes for the Star Wars "Tour" (a ride), that lasted 4 minutes.  It was in 3D.  The woman next to Karen, and Karen, screamed -- the woman incessantly.   Dr. Johnson's suspension of disbelief on display.   Ho hum.

Then we ate.  Picture of our hot dogs.  Yum yum (winning the food porn award today).  I include Barb and Michael's dinner pics in the album -- I don't know what it was but know they were in the 5-star restaurant in the other park (I have no idea what it was, either).  It looks good, even, to some extent, the blackberry shortcake.

Then to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  (Karen had a wish list, which we covered)  Although they claimed the line was 40 minutes (there's literally an app for that), it was more like 25 before climbing into a boat-shaped vehicle on a rail.  We were in the front seats.  We got wet.  There was screaming, again, as there were a couple sharp drops into water.  The characters and animation were okay.  25 minutes of waiting, five minutes of ride.  Ho hum.

Then next door to the Indiana Jones ride.  An hour of waiting, and, again 5 minutes of ride.  I thought it was the best one of the three, though it was right about both back injuries and motion sickness (prescription 101 for motion sickness: go to blackness and spin the vehicle -- Indiana Jones did this TWICE!).

We came out too late to get a great view of the fireworks, but I got a couple shots.

Then we had ice cream at the Gibson Girl stand; there's no pic!!!!  It was our best food of the day (of course??!?!).

For reasons I am not clear on, we stayed for the parade with the light show.  There are pics.  Such as they are in the darkness.

We were on the last bus out of the park -- the driver declared it so -- which was full.  The Slavins weren't.  We await the story of THAT, and many others, when we rejoin for breakfast momentarily.

In all, a happy day.  And it had nothing to do with Mickey. :)

Day 10: Quiet day

Today began in Ventura, on the coast on the north end of the LA metroplex, made famous for my generation by a bad pop song.

I started the day by going to "the beach" (aka "the rocks") for a quick dip in the Pacific.  It was not warm.  I spare you pictures of the beached white whale, but give you this one, which gives you an idea of the shoreline at Ventura.  There were a lot of people surfing here (known as Surfer's Point).  In wet suits.

In case you need me to tell you this, the water was NOT warm.  60? Frigid.  There were shrinkage squared jokes on the ride south.

Today's agenda was an Anaheim Angels game.   It's a nice park, amazingly celebrating it's 50th year.  Here's a shot of the outfield, with its faux waterfall.  Mike Trout made a catch right there at the wall, robbing an Indian of a home run.

We had BBQ at the ballpark -- as you can see it was a pleasant, almost chilly day -- and that was one piece of food porn no one shot.  Dinner was two blocks from the hotel, and it was "the best Mexican food in Anaheim."  For once, yelp both had the distance and the rating right. :)  It was quite good.  Michael had tamales for the first time.

Given the slowness of the day, it gives me a moment to share our expertise on toilets.  As thoughtful readers will understand, some people ("") on the trip have deeply held concerns about toilets.  So, there's been both a criteria set and a listing of "the worse" on the trip.   First, water is important.  I could list all the places we've "gone" that has none, including the dunes in Death Valley (shocking, right?)   Even the port-a-potty at the horse stable ranked higher than several other places in Yosemite, in Muir Woods, and, later in Death Valley.  It was pointed out the one at "Jawbone," where we almost died in Death Valley, was better than expected.

BTW, we ran the tank down pretty far in Santa Barbara wine country Saturday -- gas stations aren't exactly on every corner here.  And prices have fluctuated -- at Pebble Beach they wanted $5.29!  The Arco on the corner from where we are in Anaheim it's $2.59.  We have been intrigued.

Today is Disney day.  There may be no pictures, as Grumpy isn't looking forward to it.  Barb is going to ride every ride, see every show...sigh.

The coast (really, this time): and "what do you do when you have WAY too much money?"

Hi, again, readers!  Last night's blog was interceded by cards, internet problems and sleep.  So, we'll catch up in a quick one now.

Or, as Michael would put it: we had a billion things to do.

Yes, Michael exaggerates.  He says it's exaggeration.  In Tehachupti (or something like that) on Thursday, we were looking for the Sonic and it took "forty-five minutes" (we went four blocks) and when we had to recircle to get into its driveway he said "we passed a billion places to eat."  Karen and I laughed (I'm not supposed to include Barb in this).

Now, of course, every chance we get, it's "a billion" of this...a billion of that.  After awhile, you have real money.

Speaking of real money: first stop yesterday was Hearst Castle.  That's not what the Hearst's called it, but what did they know?

Here's the shot of the front:

Like Versailles, this was a "camp." Right.  I don't remember how many rooms are in it, but there are either 31 or 41 fireplaces (the Michael effect, again :))

We did the ground floor tour (you'll see picks in THIS LINK), then the cottages and kitchen tour.  If you don't know, William Hearst had a lot of Hollywood "friends" come stay.  He owned part of MGM at one point, as well as the most powerful newspaper chain in the country (the comparison to Rupert Murdoch was made).   

The Castle has wonderful vistas -- it's 1,500 feet above the visitor center, which is down on the coast, like 6 miles of winding private road away. 

And there are cottages -- we toured two -- which are ornate, too.  Two, four, and eight bedroom cottages.  The largest, Casa de Mar, looks at the ocean. I'd take that one.  Not the "Grande House."  

It's quite a place, as you can see.

Then a surprise stop: we saw a sign for elephant seal vista.  

Damn! were the bulls playing and loud!! 

Then two hours south to *Sideways* territory: wineries.  Where we started at Fess Parker's place.  Yes, like this -- 

The wine glasses had a coonskin cap engraved in them. 

You can see the tri-tip steak sandwich which they were serving, and we had, as it was about 3:30.  It came with an interesting apricot bbq sauce: apricots are in season here (we saw lots of them in the central valley on the trees).

Then to this lovely little winery (far less commercial than Fess's place) called Demetria -- named after the owner's son, Demetri.  Up on the hill, shaded by the funky California oak trees, with everyone "chilling" (as Karen put it) and enjoying the wine.  We bought a bottle of their rose, tried their brut rose, which wasn't as good as some others we tried (though at $50 a bottle seemed to be a good price), then headed down the highway.

Dinner was at an Italian place (we struggled to get into places at 8:30 on Saturday night) but Michael got us onto the patio there -- they said "we've got heaters" (it was like 65)...SoCalians don't seem to want much chill (in the air).  The food was good -- Karen had lasagna, Barb and I varieties of risotto, and Michael linguini de la mar -- but no one thought to take pictures.  

Today to Anaheim.  We "only" have five days left. ):  Bon jour!