This bitch went to California for 7 days. More specifically, this bitch went to Pacifica for 6.5 days and stayed one night in Hayward.
As most of you know, film is the other thing that I'm interested in besides drinking and eating. I've talked about moving to California for a while now and it's nearing the time where I need to "shit or get off the pot". Since I have several people in the SF area I thought I would start there and see how I feel about moving and maybe decide where I want to go in California. I realize that L.A. is the natural choice but I'm not in a huge hurry to get sucked into the Hollywood machine.
My high school girlfriend, Tania, has been living in California for a couple of years now. She was generous enough to let me stay with her. I've known Tania since freshman year in high school. I don't recall how we became friends but despite living totally different lives we have always managed to keep track of each other. She's one of those rare people, who I can be away from for years and when we see each other again, we don't skip a beat.
Here's a classic picture, from I think junior year, in French class. Polyester GALORE.
Seriously, we are fucking awesome.
DAY ONE: Arrive at SFO at 8am.
I haven't traveled alone in a while. I've never rented a car before. The combination of the two made this trip that much more exciting for me. I love being alone. I love driving alone. I love fast cars that aren't mine.
I got to Budget rental to pick up what I was assuming was going to be a clown size KIA or a Ford of some kind. I was prepared to be mildly embarrassed. I supposed that's why when the nice lady behind the counter offered me, for an additional $5.00 day, a brand new 2012 Mustang in bright red, I immediately yelled, "FUCK YEAH!".
I'm like a dude when it comes to cars. I love them. I get excited, even a little aroused. When I found the car in the garage I had to hold myself from jumping up and down. It was epic and beautiful.
It took all I had not to rub myself all over this thing.
The whole inside glows in blue. That 'Mustang' shows up when you open the door. Yes, that's leather too.
Tania works from home so I occupied myself with a walk on the beach.
Every dog I saw was digging a hole in the sand.
I came back and got settled into my new "home", a classic airstream.
Then Tania showed me the dock that her landlord/boss/friend built right on the ocean. I spent a couple of hours here watching surfers and going in/out of sleep.
The red is the circular bed that sits on the middle of the dock. Very posh.
Once Tania was done working we headed out for the night.
Our first destination was La Costenera (http://lacostanerarestaurant.com). This restaurant is beautiful. It's settled on top of a cliff with two floors. We immediately headed downstairs and sat at the bar. The sun was on it's way down which warmed the restaurant. Tania suggested the sangria and I didn't argue.
Perfect sangria. The fruit wasn't mushy either.
Bolitas de yucca
crispy chorizo stuff yucca balls
These were so delicious. We had a hard time identifying the yellow sauce but it complimented the balls perfectly.
Anticucho de hongos
Portabella mushroom, aji de gallina sauce
This was actually more delicious than the yucca balls. The mushroom was cooked so it was just tender and juicy, the gallina sauce was spicy and there was a little pile of potatoes that came with it as well. YUM!
The beautiful outside seating area complete with heat lamps, a fire pit and the ocean!
This magical homeless man with REAL bunnies on his head showed up and started singing songs to everyone. At one point he took the bunny off his head and handed it to a woman that had children with her!
DAY TWO:
My plan while in California was to visit with everyone I knew down there. The Mustang and I headed out for the day to meet up with some old friends. The first visit was with an old drinking and chaos buddy, Laura. She's a chef now at a hotel called, Seven Gables Inn (http://www.thesevengablesinn.com/). She decided that San Jose was a good in between point for the both of us. Little did I know when she said, "Meet me in front of the Valencia Hotel", that I would end up on the Rodeo Drive of San Jose.
Bugatti 16.4 Veyron....Yours for a low £1.7 million!!
An electric Tesla. So, so pretty.
We wandered around aimlessly while catching up for a good 30 minutes before we found Maggiano's. This place feels like a classic mobster hang out. It's super classy without being pretentious. Lots of dark wood and subtle lighting. And the menu is a pasta lovers dream come true. Laura kept announcing that she was going to get TWO DISHES. "I WILL EAT THEM ALL!!!"
Baked Rigatoni Pomodoro
Rigatoni pasta in pomodoro sauce with sliced calabrian chicken sausage, roasted peppers and mozzarella.
This dish left much to be desired. I felt like I was eating something a college student threw together out of what ever was left in their smelly fridge. I ended up picking the sausage out and eating it with some of the pasta but I left my plate pretty full. Good thing they made me a good gin and tonic.
After dinner we didn't hang out in Santana Row for very long. We said our good-byes and I headed up to my next destination, Alameda. This is near Oakland...Also, I forgot that it was 5:30pm on a Friday AND Memorial Day weekend. So, when I got the freeway, it was a dead stop. FUUUUCK.
DAY THREE:
It was officially Memorial Weekend and people were out and ready to do shit. It took Tania and I a little while to get out of town but we managed to wander through Half Moon Bay for some coffee and breakfast and then she took me to the most precious farm ever. THE GOAT SHOP!
Despite my excitement, at the Goat Shop, you don't actually get to pick your goat to slaughter and eat. Nope. They actually make you them pet them and play with their adorable offspring. Inside of their little store you can try all of their different cheeses, such as, Lavender goat cheese (so flowery and wonderful). You can also buy the cheese, as well as oils and other little things.
These guys are so cute it hurts. I still wanted to eat them. I have a cold heart.
The utters on some of these things put me to shame. I thought I had a big rack. No way. I am thankful mine aren't located between my legs.
Once a month the Goat Shop has a super exclusive dinner that costs $150/pp. They hire a chef to come in and make you a super exclusive dinner and everyone gets to sit around this handmade super exclusive table and eat all together, super exclusive. (This table is AMAZING)
After Tania taunted my taste buds with all those goats she had us head to a local winery located some where you can't get any cell phone reception. That's all I know. It's called Beauregard Vineyards. It's in this great building that used to be a local bar. I ended up leaving with a bottle of their blended white called, 2010 The Lost Weekend SSB. It was crisp and delicious. http://www.beauregardvineyards.com/
Tania and I weren't wandering around aimlessly. No way. We were in the Mustang, looking amazing and heading down to Santa Cruz. My best bud Mackenzie was on her way from Reno. This day was about seeing some of my best girls all in one place. Since Kenz was still in transit, Tania and I decided our mouths were lonely and needed some more wine in them.
We turned right on Swift Ave and landed in a great little industrial area of Santa Cruz that had a bunch of wineries lumped together. Our first stop was Bonny Doon...
A beautiful booth made out of cask wood.
I'm not totally sure what this zeppelin was about but it is super cool.
This is a giant window that is covered in wine bottles. The story is that someone died of alcohol poisoning while constructing this. That's not true at all.
Next we wandered into a small placed called, Vine Hill Winery. Thank god we decided to go in here. I walked out of this place with one of the best tasting Pinot Noirs I've had in a long time. It's their award winning 2010 Cumbre. It's a strong Pinot but let it breathe a little, sip on it and it's magical.
We were then told about a little place, the only place that had champagne, or bubbly wine. Tania is a big fan so we went on a mission to find Equinox. It was a couple blocks down and located in a small warehouse. The place looked abandoned and I was a little unsure that there was anyone here. As we rounded the corner there was a large door open and friendly man behind a table entering a family and their golden retriever. He welcomed us in and told us we were welcome to walk around, take pictures and ask questions.
These are automatic self turning containers. No more turning by hand like the olden times.
I asked the owner if this was real vodka. He grabbed the bottle, sprayed it on his hands and started rubbing them together. I guess that was a yes. He explained that it was cheaper and way better cleaner than anything you could find in a store.
Mackenzie arrived and met us at Equinox. The owner gave her a free tasting since she had traveled so far. In the middle of our tasting my old roommate, Claire, called up. See, the original plan was we were going to stay with Claire for the weekend in Santa Cruz but she ended up getting strep throat. Naturally, none of us wanted to be around that shit. BUT...she called me and said that she was feeling a little better and wanted to at least meet us for a little bit. The three of us got in the Batmobile and headed towards Clairebear.
We all met at a local British bar/restaurant called Britannia Arms (http://www.britanniaarms.com/). It was a decent place. We could see the water and we had a waitress with long blond hair and fake tits. I felt like I was truly in California. We order their sampler plate. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of this thing. It was all fried and there was tons of it. What you ask? EVERYTHING. It was enough to fill up 5 adults and there was still stuff left on the plate. Would I recommend? Fuck no. Don't ever order it.
After Claire had to go back to bed we decided we needed more booze. We wandered into the Fog Bank. Capitola's FUNNEST BAR & GRILLE. Yeah, it fucking says that on the sign. In GIANT letters. This place reminded us all of Everett. It was a little piece of home right by the ocean. We grabbed our drinks and parked ourselves on the stools outside. The picture below is the view from where we were sitting.
The view from the deck of the funnest bar & grille. The colored places are actually vacation houses.
Our fun filled day in Santa Cruz had come to an end. We made the drive home. I had a racing contest with a Subaru driven by a psycho woman. Obviously she lost against the Mustang. Which I guess is why when we got into town she refused to pull all the way up to the stop light right next to me. I did the appropriate thing and rolled down my window and stared at her. And laughed. Hard. Did I mention that I can be super mature?
DAY FOUR:
Tania, Mackenzie and I were both low energy. The sky was overcasting but it was still warm outside. The first thing that had to happen that morning was breakfast. We drove North to the next little bay in Pacifica and ate at Nick's. This restaurant was left over from prohibition times. It still has that classic mobster feel to it in the bar. We grabbed a bloody mary in that bar while we waited for a table. The bar tended was a rough around the edges older man that asked us how we wanted our drinks, "I make them from scratch". It was one of the best I've had in a while.
The crab cake eggs benedict at Nick's restaurant. DELICIOUS! I'm not normally a big crab cake fan. I think there was an incident with soft shell crab one time. I don't exactly remember. Any ways, this was fucking heaven in my mouth. I ate everything on my plate including that orange.
The energy level was still pretty low after breakfast. None of us could think of anything we really wanted to do. So, we grabbed that bottle of champagne from Equinox and headed to the deck. Tania's landlord/boss/friend built this amazing deck about 10 years ago (maybe longer). It's right on the ocean. (I think I mentioned all of this earlier) That's a big red bed we are sitting on (below). We sat there for the entire day. Drinking. Snacking. Enjoying life.
Tania (left) and Mackenzie (right) enjoying the shit out some champagne and life.
On the way back Tania text me and said that her and a friend were at Sam's Chowder house in Half Moon Bay. So, I steered the Mustang onto highway 92 and headed West again. By the way, the drive over 92 is pure magic. I wish I could have snapped a picture.
I met the girls at Sam's and we hung out on the deck while sipping cocktails.
Half Moon Bay from Sam's Chowder house
We changed locations and drove over to The Distillery. They took me here the first night I was in town. It's this unique restaurant/bar located in a cliff side in Half Moon Bay with the best ocean view patio. The Distillery also has a ghost! The Blue Lady is here name and she was killed on the beach during the 1920's. The restaurant was on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. http://www.mossbeachdistillery.com/
I never saw the ghost while I was there but I did get to experience an amazing sunset with a whole group of locals while on the deck. We all sat chatting away, some next to fires, others wrapped in blankets that are usually on the deck (provided by the restaurant). As the sun touched the ocean the crowd grew quieter. And as it descended farther and farther down, the group was at a stand still. Once the very last trace of the sun had gone down an eruption of clapping started. It was hilarious and warming. I think it was in that moment that I decided that I HAD to move down here.
DAY FIVE:
It's my last full day in Pacifica with Tania. She had mentioned this one winery several times. Most of our days have consisted of us jumping into the Stang and she gives me directions to where ever we are heading for the day. Today was no exception. I had no idea where we were going but I knew it was going to be good.
It was a perfect day. Warm. Sunny. Everyone was outside on their day off. There were motorcycles every where and people were in good spirits. It was a perfect day.
When you get to the Thomas Fogarty winery you are greeted with this giant pond. I'm not sure if you can see if. But there's a little floating platform with a house on it. I saw a turtle SLIDE down the ramp and into the water. IT WAS FANTASTIC.
In the upper center of the picture you can see the floating platform turtle house.
At Thomas Fogarty they don't filter their wine so when you pull the cork out you can see all of the sediment on the cork. This is our sommelier's cork art that he made for us. He was a handsome man also. Just a side note, ladies...
The winery is nestled at 2,000 elevation just West of Palo Alto. Yeah, that's the ocean back there.
After our wine tasting, I treated the ladies to a bottle of Cabernet Franc and we headed to the deck to bask in the California sunshine. Once done we were obviously starving. On the drive in we passed by a popular restaurant called Alice's. That was our target.
When you pull into Alice's you'll notice that there are tons of bikes outside.It's a popular stopping point for bikers and locals. We pulled in with the Mustang and blended right in as there were two other Mustangs there as well. YEEES.
The food was great. I didn't snap any pictures because I was starving but trust me. I would go back there again.
DAY SIX:
The next morning I took my time getting ready and soaked in my last minutes of Pacifica. I really didn't want to leave and felt like I had found home. Not just in Pacifica but in California as a whole. There's just something very cool about that place.
As I waited for my cousin to call me, I packed my things, took a shower and squeezed in an episode of Ally McBeal on netflix.
My final destination would be in Hayward to see my cousin, Minty and her husband. I haven't seen her in a couple years. I think it was my aunt passed away actually. She's the only other person from my immediate family that lives here in the "States". Everyone else is scattered throughout Canada and Fiji.
Driving away from the coast was sad but I was excited to see my cousin. Our family always tells the same damn story about us. When we were really little, like 2, her and I used to chew on the corners of the walls. I have no idea why we did but our family thought it was hilarious and they still laugh about it 30 years later.
They took me to the marina and we watched as the men tried to catch sting ray's and sharks out of the Bay. I had no idea that this was possible. Sadly, no one caught anything while we were there.
The sun going down over the Bay.
If you are Indian, then the name of this restaurant is HILARIOUS.
They ordered a ton of food for the three of us!! They wanted to make sure I was well fed!
I forgot what this was but it was super spicy therefore delicious
This was the pad see eww which was my choice and not that good. It wasn't spicy and overall pretty bland.
Red curry. This was good because it was also spicy. Spicy equals good in my book. It's a thin book.
Chicken fried rice. Nothing special.
Despite being totally full my cousin's husband insisted that I tried their fried banana dessert. I refused but he ordered two plates of any ways. IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD. If I wasn't so full I would have eaten the whole bowl.
We took our full bellies home and enjoyed some down time together. It was a lovely evening with my cousin and her hubby. He was starting a new job the next day so we had to say our good byes that night since I was leaving back home the next day.
DAY SEVEN:
Minty and I spent the next morning in her kitchen talking. While she cooked chicken curry and daal we talked about life. It was really nice to spend that time with her. She grew up in Toronto so our time together has been very limited our whole lives. I'm glad I got to spend those moments with her before I went back home.
We still had some time in the day so she asked me what I wanted to do. We didn't have time to do a lot since I had to catch a flight. So, I suggested the zoo since it was only 20 minutes away. She didn't seem that excited about the idea but agreed. I think we had a good time together.
FLAMINGOS!!
I got see a female Giraffe pee on a males face when he tried to get all up in here business. It was fantastic.
I believe we were the only people at the zoo without children. Also, for a Wednesday afternoon that place had WAY too many kids not in school. It was CHAOS there. We had to run away several times because the combination of kids and screaming was way too intense.
We got home with enough time for me inhale some of her delicious curry, drop off the rental car and get to my flight on time.
What a memorable and perfect trip. Thanks to everyone involved. I love you all.
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