A Wonderful night with El Toro Meats and Columbia Crest Grand Estates

BBQ Nights-South OC Style!

Overview of my plate....yum!

Close Up Cross Section of the Sirloin

Top View of the PinWheel

Was fortunate enough to score $20 dollars worth of meat for $10 courtesy of an online promotion and decided to use the evening to do some grilling and blog about it. Basically on the meat side we picked up a nice sirloin steak along with a sirloin pinwheel. For those of you unfamiliar with the pinwheel, its is a steak that is circularly sliced, ran through a tenderizer, then marinated in bordelaise/Worcestershire mixture. It almost has a teriyaki like taste in my book but with a good cut of steak and good ingredients it is arguably one of my favorites.

And to mark the occasion we sprang for a bottle of our new favorite wine in the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot from Washington. We love the cab but thought on this eve we would roll with the merlot since the wife prefers it. And I do have to say....for those of you shelling out 5 or 6 bucks for a bottle of Yellowtail; trust me the 1 dollar more to get the Columbia Crest Grand Estates is well worth it. I gave some friends a sample of the cab a week or so again and most agreed it was as good as any $20 bottle price point.

What made the Grand Estates Merlot most remarkable IMO, was the finish. Like a good cigar or glass of scotch it had a long slow lingering finish that I have never experienced with wine at this price point. I took a sip inside the house and went outside to tender the grill and a few minutes later could still taste the nuances of oak and berry. Once again if you are paying 5 or 6 bucks for an everyday drinker give any of the Grand Estates a try as both the Cab and the Merlot are outright fantastic.

For the meat I used a basic dry rub for the steak and since the pinwheel was pre-marinated did nothing. We prefer our steaks very rare which makes sense for the fact that you can reheat leftovers and still have a bit of pink in the middle. For the veggies I use a pepper melange with some brown criminis over the grill in my now legendary bbq grill woq. I was considering roasting them and making some type of confit or remoulade but decided to keep it simple.

All in all a wonderful night, with wonderful food, with my wonderful family, with wonderful wide made all the more special by the fact it wasn't to be spoiled by my not so wonderful favorite NHL hockey team who by good fortune was not playing on this night and thus not offered the opportunity to spoil the occasion. And for that I thank the lord and the hockey gods for a wonderful, wonderful evening.

TriTip with Chimichurri Sauce and Corn/Okra Saute

I admit it has been quite a while since I have done a food related Item but I woke this morning the urge to whip up something unique, something I've never done before, and something I could Grill.

I scoured the ads and found that Sprouts had TriTip Roasts on special and being I already had some cilantro from some guacamole I had made the day previous decided to whip up a chimichurri sauce as well just for the heck of it. Perusing the net I found an interesting dry rub using cardomin, cumin, paprika, garlic, and olive oil that made a wonderful rub which when adding the olive oil actually ended up being a paste.

It grilled wonderfully with me searing each side for 5 minutes, putting on a smoke box with pecan chips, and finishing it at about 325 for 30 minutes. As I was grilling...

The wife took it upon herself to do the side dish of sauteed corn and okra....why she decided to pull the okra card I am not sure but over dinner it did bring up the interesting topic that only people in mixed marriages probably discuss that was the category of "did you know the slimier the food the healthier it is." So with that in mind eating Okra, Nato, and Seaweed are all amazing nutritional food items.  So I ask you loyal reader-go out and but some nato and let me know what you think.

Anyhow, the savory earthiness of the herbs in conjunction with the juicy beef texture served as a very complimentary juxtaposition of the cool pungency served by the chimichurri sauce. It literally could not have been any better, Truth be told-I could have added more salt in the chimichurri sauce but other then that was a hit to be sure. Tomorrow we are going to use the slicer to cut the remaining tritip and make french dip sandwiches and I suppose I will use the remaining chimichurri to make Chimichurri Bisque, or Cream of Chimichurri soup. or fried wontons cooked in a chimichurri glaze. Suppose I probably dont need to go on but you get the idea.

For the record as well-thanks for all the kind words Ive gotten from readers of my blog. Was pleased as punch to see how many people I've touched in my 3 or 4 years of doing it. If you are new to the blog feel free to subscribe to our email service and get each new blog entry sent directly to your email. Aint technology grand.


Anyhow....here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

The final creation....

Grilled Tri Tip...juicy and pink.

Concert Review-The B52s and the Lake Mission Viejo Experience

Somewhere east of the 5 freeway lays the man made body of water known as Lake Mission Viejo. Nestled between a bevy of upper class condos and homes it offers most amenities that most lakes offer in swimming, fishing, boating etc etc. Only difference being that Lake Mission Viejo is a private lake that one must be a member or, or know someone who is a member, to enjoy the facilities. Being a private lake offers certain benefits you will never find at other lakes....mainly in that you can bring anything you want to the lake provided its not in a glass bottle. The other benefit being the summer concert series that in the past has seen acts like the Doors, Randy Newman, Dionne Warwick, Glenn Campbell and others playing for the members and there guests in what can be best described as a “cozy” environment with crowds probably not more then 5000 or so max. Tonight's act was the B-52s whose anthemic Rock Lobster gets played on JACK FM about every 15 minutes or so. Walking in front of the stage it looked a catalog for Trader Joes with older affluent couples drinking wine and full spreads of cheese, meat, lasagna, sushi and tons of other good looking food. Myself, dressed in an Old Navy Tshirt and a Hawaiian shirt over it withstood the urge to walk onto someones blanket and point at one of the food items and say “are you going to finish that?”

Concert days are spent with people showing at 6am where wristbands are issued and those whose numbers are called get first crack at laying their blankets on the lawn and from then on for the rest of the day having their claimed stake-can spend the rest of the day bbqing and doing familial things people do at the beach or the lake etc etc etc...the only difference being as it gets closer to concert time, particularly for larger acts, and in the case of the B52s for whatever reason saw the lake at maximum occupancy. And being we had no intention of getting early for good seats we were resigned to the fact that we would be sitting far beyond visual contact not only of the stage but the large monitor that showed the on stage goings on for those of us with angle seats.

The stars were aligned and it ended up that our party of 6 happened to all be good friends and good people, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. Well stocked cooler in tow we staked a claim on the sand of the lake smack dab in front of Life Guard Station #2 where a small berm of sand in front of the tower meant the possibility of better viewing though most of us could care less. We stood around and listened to the opening act....a trio of rockabilly musicians with a buxom blonde female stand up bass player sharing vocals. We goofed on them a little bit thinking how when it comes to being a rockabilly band you simply take 50s Rock and Roll staples and add your words and when all else fails throw is some numbers aka “2-4-6-8-10 lets get to the top and rock again” ad nauseum set to the tune of Blue Suede Shoes or 20 Flight Rock. After listening to the guitar player struggle with a solo that was basically the same solo to Folsom Prison Blues we all laughed with the notion that you have no business being on stage as a guitar player when the Folsom Prison Blues solo presents a challenge. Truth be told we were so far there was a delay in drums and bass which gave the entire set a certain amount of dissonance that was hard to get your head around in an aural sense so it may have just been us. Later my brother recognized the blonde bass player as the same woman who works the boat rental counter at the lake which made it understandable in a way.

We sat and enjoyed the nice weather over a couple of cold ones while we debated the merits of joining the MV Lake Club and talked a bit more about the B52s and in particular what song they would open with as well as whether or not we could cajole lead singer Fred Schneider to play one of his solo songs...a little ditty called “Monster” that written as an homage to his penis with a late 80s video that had Schneider and an animated Penis dancing in unison not all too different then one of Paula Abduls videos from back in the day, then again I show my age and why I have dedicated precious RAM in my brain to remember Paula Abdul videos escapes me. 

We also spoke of DEVO and how there were some teenagers wearing DEVO shirts; Eddie told us of his recent DEVO concert experience and how while it was a great show he was fearing the lead singer would go into cardiac arrest and countering the story with a side segment of how he sat next to the owner of the Harbour House Cafe. The real comedic value came when Ed compared his look to that of sporting a wardrobe and hairstyle from the "Phil Spector Collection" and how the owner later reneged on his offer to comp his next meal at the Harbour House.

A few from our group went with my brother who had seen enough shows here to know that the band actually takes the stage via boat from the lake and a small bit of sidewalk they could stand and talk to the acts before taking the stage. They left for a bit as from the distance I heard a small smattering of applause and could indeed see the female band members making their way to the stage. They opened with some song I was unfamiliar with and once again being so far away from the stage meant the drums and some other aspects of the show on a 1 second tape delay. We listened and shot the crap as they launched into Private Idaho...a song we now link to our older brother Sean who now resides in that aforementioned state. Back in the early 80s listening to this song Im pretty sure he never thought he'd actually be living there.

By then the rest of the group came back with our friend Bill boasting about shaking Fred Schneider's hand and asking him to play “monster” followed by a few other barbs about his hand having to due with Purell and the overall bad idea of hand shaking due to hygiene concerns and some of Fred Scheiders rumored eh, hem.....lets just call them "not so well hidden proclivities."  After the good natured ribbing we all decided to simply go walk to the stage and employ the walk through area to get a better view even if it meant walking back and forth a few times. 

As we approached the main walk area there was a member of the club who choose poorly in the blanket wristband stake your claim game. Seems this fellow thought that placing his blanket directly behind the sidewalk walkway was the best area he could find for him and his family to see the show. Now keep in mind for those going from the entrance/snack bar to the overflow area with a majority of the concert goers were the sidewalk is the only way to get there-there is no other option. I could also see at the time at 6AM when the lake is completely devoid of people it probably seemed an ideal spot and this fellow also probably didnt think of the hundreds of people standing and walking in front of him completely blocking the stage view.  Seems this fellow as well thought that he could insist people not walk on the sidewalk and mind you given the overall maximum crowd tonight and given his overall George Costanza-ish look we actually found a substantial amount of humor value out of it....especially seeing his wife behind clearly unhappy with ensuing events. Soon he gave up the folly picking his blanket up clearly dejected but not before giving the stink eye to anyone in his general vicinity as one last act of defiance. 

There was a metal gate that was serving as a barrier between premium seats and us dopes standing around the perimeter. As the occupancy started becoming shoulder to shoulder we started a “tear down the wall” chant and oddly enough in a couple of minutes guards came and removed a few of the gates to let the people up close in the front/premium easier access to restrooms or whatever. As those people starting leaving the premium section, and a bevy of mainly heavy set older women with too much make up and bad boob jobs started pouring, we started chanting “Put the Wall Back, Put the Wall Back.”

We made the trek out for a better view of the stage and upon reaching center stage we went and stopped and watched the show as others did the same. A few security were asking people to keep moving a few yards down from us when I got the idea to simply start dancing anytime they came near. Think about it-is a guard more likely to stop a 40 something guy dancing or the 40 something guy simply standing? We spread the word to the rest of the group and we all snickered as anytime a guard came by the lot of us starting waving our arms in the arm or doing the standard white guy dance. After 10 minutes the guards simply gave up and other joined behind us. You may be able to see my spastic gyrations here if you look close enough...

Sure enough my suspicion was correct that in front of the stage the sound quality was very good and seeing the female members of the band harmonize was impressive-far more so then I would have imagined by listening to their records for the last 30 years. Looking around us it was literally a hodge podge of intoxicated 40 something woman all dancing about while their male companions had the worried “Should I dance? Should I do the head nod up and down? Should I simply Stand and show no emotion?” Not that I did a Neilsen study on it but it looked to me like most were choosing the latter which made the fact that our Motley Crew had no inhibitions whatsoever and were dancing, singing, pumping our fists, and doing bad Fred Schneiders impressions somewhat the life of the party as far as OC concert crowds go. The band belted out some of their best known songs and quite frankly I loved every minute of it considering I haven't owned any of their work since the mid 90s Cosmic Thing album. Even songs I hate like Love Shack had taken on some new life. They then busted into Planet Claire which was fantastic as not only have I always enjoyed that song but was dancing with 2 40something women who were enjoyed the concert as much as I was while there dates exchanged nervous glances while the crazy guy in the plaid hat and Hawaiian shirt did all of the quirky dance moves that the B52s were noted for back in the day. The song ended and me and the gang and our new found lady friends all high fived each other. Soon it was over...but not before the band feigned the end of the show and we went into the motions of clapping and chanting for more. Then after coming back to the stage and busting out Rock Lobster and maybe one other that was that; but not before a pretty good firework show ended the night in high flying fashion. The quality of the firework show is strangely magnificent given you have somewhat lowered expectations for the lake but they are very good. I speculate a member of the club probably owns a pyrotechnic/fireworks company. 

It was the best of times...it was the worst of times. Our quick time warp to the early 80s(and mid90s for that matter) was over and going back to the wives and kids meant saying goodbye to our old friends and getting back to that pesky thing known as responsibility.

The Horrors of the Taco Bell Taste Test

I got paid $25 bucks to eat 2 burritos today. You read that correctly-As part of Taco Bell "experimenting" with some new menu items I was selected to visit the Irvine Headquarters and take part in the program. The Taco Bell headquarters was big nice corporate building with plenty of big tvs that played nothing but Taco Bell Commercials over and over and over again. I was wondering if every 7 or 8 minutes they were going to show a 3 minute snippet of scenes from "How I met Your Mother" or "American Idol."


After herding our group into a very futuristic looking elevator we entered a room that was pretty much what you would expect in a test room with a row of 10 or side cubicles with a cup of water, a saltine, and a door connected to the wall in which the people from behind would slide out the franchises latest concoctions and a computer monitor and keyboard where we could enter our thoughts on the various products. My Keyboard looked like it needed some cleaning and I secretly longed for a bottle of Purell or a Lysol Wipe. My computer at home looked cleaner and I've got 8 and 4 Year old Sons who regularly sneeze and cough on it as they play Club Penguin.


The questions were mainly about the 2 styles of beef but I noticed some other subtle differences as well. 

Burrito A- Your typical Taco Bell Style Burrito with ground beef, rice, and Cheese Whip. Yes thats what I refer to Taco Bell's cheese as. I am sure they refer to it as nacho creamy cheese sauce or some other bastardization of what in reality is probably the lowest grade cheese product one could possibly ingest. Being in Southern California why anyone in their right mind would prefer this over real grated cheese served everywhere else including Del Taco, the Bells main competitor, is rightfully well beyond my overall scope of reasoning. The Beef was good with a nice balance of spice and consistency but along with the aforementioned horror that that is the cheese sauce was also some Taco Bell rice which to me, had an overly fiberous grit like quality not too much different then vacuum packed precooked rice that requires no cooking at all. All in all pretty much what you'd expect from a bunch of Corporate Suits sitting in a conference room overlooking the 5 freeway and the Irvine Spectrum with a goal of "How can we create the most cost effective burrito using the rock bottom cheapeast ingredients yet make it minimally passable to the average high school student in California or average fast foot eater in the MidWest."

Burrito B came around and while they said they were looking for strictly quality of Beef questions, the second burrito had very little rice, much more corporate cheese product, and a meat that was much smaller in grain size with a higher water/liquid content. After a bite or two I decided this was very easily a burrito in which the filling could be simply eaten with a plastic spoon and at the end of the day the tortilla serving more as a delivery vessel then anything else. Who knows-the styrofoam cup on Cup of Noodles may have more flavor and very possibly could be a much healthier alternative. Burrito B also had a lot more Corporate Cheese Whip which once mingled with the smaller, watterier ground beef ended up being what one could best summate as "industrial beef and cheese product."


I used to be a Taco Bell fan back in the day but once again they are clearly catering to a crowd with zero regard for flavor, authenticity, health factors, and pretty much anything that may remotely hit a small percentage higher then that of rock bottom. Im really surprised at this point why Taco Bell doesnt simply Co-op with AM/PM or 7/11 as the Nacho Cheese in any of those places really cant fall much lower then the Corporate Cheese Whip being served at Taco Bell. I could honestly make a better taco using ingredients from HomeTown Buffett-a franchise that makes no bones about catering to Seniors and boasting about their use of "For Industrial Use Only" Style of ingrediants.

I almost envision a full blown gasoline tanker filled with nothing but corporate cheese whip with a dirty hose on the end of the tank, while a beer bellied guy in orange stained blue overalls gets out, flips the cover of a huge holding tank, and uses his dirty boot to hit the on/off switch while a stream of Corporate Cheese Whip fills the coffers of Taco Bell's cheese holding tanks around the Nation. Have you ever seen the guy who cleans out porta pottys? Same Principle, Same Result...only one guy takes **** out and the other puts **** in. On the bright side $25 bucks is $25 bucks. I figure after $10 bucks on ipecac and an enema Ill still have $15 to go to Albertos with.

TJs Wine Home Run and another Beef Palace plug....

Was in Huntington Beach the other day to visit my parents and stopped by Trader Joes. I picked up a bottle of BearBoat Syrah for 3.99 based on a workers recommendation. Did some homework and found this is wine is going for $20 bucks on some wine sites.  Opened and aerated it and it without question is a homerun of a wine bargain at $3.99 a bottle. At $20 you would think it was a good bottle for the price point; at $10 you would think it a best value....at $3.99 get it, get it now, get it in vast quantities.

Black Pepper Sausage.....el yum yum

Also stopped by Beef Palace to pick up a chicken to bbq....best chicken in town and the butcher comped me one of their black pepper sausage. Check out the pic....I will be buying more sausages in the future. $5.99 a pound is well worth it for this quality of meat but thats not surprising since the Beef Palace rocks.  Click the pic to see the details...

Lopez Lake Epilogue-The Scenic Route isn't always so......

continued From....

Lopez Lake Day 3

We woke up in the AM and once again it seemed colder then the night before....it was easy to take knowing we wouldnt have to do it again and besides-living in CA cold means anything below 55degrees. We packed up the family truckster, filled up the gas tank, stopped by Mcdonalds and away we went South on the 101 looking forward to stopping by the Santa Barbara pier for a chance to stretch the legs and grab a bite before making our way home.

Making the exit Tomoko mentioned she wanted to see the Santa Barbara Mission and on the way we also saw the Museum of Natural History in the area as well. Passing the Mission we both loved the dual spires but also thought it may not be as fun for the kids as the museum. Alex mentioned since we already went to the mission in San Juan Capistrano that he wanted to see the museum.

We parked, paid, and 3 hours later left with me looking at my watch thinking "we still need to go to the pier, eat, and then drive back....which means basically Id be getting home at 8pm instead of our 4-5 pm time. Oh well....nothing wrong with prolonging the vacation I suppose.

We stopped at the mission where I snapped some pics and left to find the pier. I always like Santa Barbara pier if not for the end section of the pier were the pier designers felt maybe it wasn't so important to have things like rails to separate people on the pier from falling into the ocean.  And now that I had kids made it clear and in no uncertain terms that no one was to run on the pier or even walk in front of us for that matter.

Driving through town It was a bit different then I last remembered with more homeless and panhandlers then I remembered. As a matter of fact I had to tip my cap to the creativity of some of them as they had a variety of crudely assembled carnival style games on the sand below the pier. There were target games with a bullseye with a piece of cardboard reading "Hit the Bullseye!" as well as a tripod made of sticks and an empty can with the same throw the coin type promotion. Alex couldnt take not playing one of the games so decided this was the opportunity to throw a japanese coin he had with him.  I've always said its never too late to give a homeless person a lesson in international currency. I considered trying to hit the bullseye and then demanding some type of stuffed animal or the contents of the cup that marked the bullseye.

Walking by the seafood restaurants and in particular the Fish n Chip stand almost turned my stomach given the previous days foray in the realm of ultra rich chowder and slightly reheated fish and chips later in the day. And once again no family walk would be complete without an inviting candy or ice cream shop to beckon them in. At the end of the pier we watched some of the fisherman and overhead some of them bemoaning the lack of fish on this day.

Leaving the pier we were lucky to stumble across a pizza place that was built from an old light house. From the outside you would have thought it a bit more upscale but looking at the menu found we still had 15  minutes left to order the salad, pizza, drink lunch special.  The kids were very happy...pizza and all you can drink soda. I was happy-I could get a nice salad(I always tend to yearn for roughage when camping) and a place to sit. Wont give a full on review but loved the interior of the place but could have done without the moss green littered filled drainage ditch that the patio offered some not so stunning views of.

Back on the 101South I decided it may be fun to take the scenic coastal route through Ventura expecting it be to similar to the drive from Seal Beach, through HB, through Newport and Laguna....truth be told the drive lacked scenery and large swaths of coast as well for that matter. Driving through Ventura I was shocked to see how shabby it was and not to mention the plethora of thrift and 2nd hand shops as well as homeless everywhere...I mean everywhere. It looked like at one time it was probably a cool little city but it clearly had seen better days-it was like Frisco only with better parking. My older brother lived in this city once upon a time and driving through imagined what life might have been like had I grew up here instead of Huntington.

We stayed on the coastal drive and finally started to see some coast but not before stopping by another mcdonalds for an iced coffee as the post lunch carb intake was dragging down my energy levels. Fueled by the coffee we continued our coastal jaunt and once again saw very little coast and I really began to question exactly what definition of "scenic" city planners had read when coming up with this little drive on Baltic and Mediterranean Avenue. Finally I had enough and lamented my decision and coming across a large street I  recognized from the map made a left and was treated to another wonderful, scenic trip through downtown Oxnard. Seeing the signs for Oxnard, Tomoko said "dont they have a famous college here?" I spent the next 10 or so minutes going some of the slight regional between Oxford and Oxnard. Later we both laughed when we actually did stumble across Oxnard College. I wondered if they had a rowing team.

We drove and drove and drove East hoping to find the onramp. After a while I began to wonder if something had gone horribly wrong and rolled the dice by asking the goth girl in the car next to us if I was on the right track....she put down the chicken wing she was eating and confirmed we were indeed on the right track but not before first spitting a bit of cartilage from the hot wing into her hand and washing it down with a Diet Soda. Nice Gal though....

Finally after our scenic trip through Hades....I mean Oxnard we found the highway again and I was never so proud to find it. Reminded me of the time as teenagers we drove to LA on a 1/4 tank of gas and on the return trip with the gas gauge on E and the light on-saw the sigh that read "Now Leaving Compton" as the engine continued to purr and take us back home.

And then as we entered LA were lucky enough to hit what remained of rush hour traffic-was a journey well planned and played immaculately. I began to feel the car seat actually conforming to the curve of my ass and though it wasnt hot-the lack of air circulation meant some parts of the anatomy about as steamy as a Florida
swamp. I couldnt wait to get home and have a bowl of cold cereal and a lukewarm shower-90 or so minutes later....I did just that.

The Wash Basin from Mission Santa Barbara...I figured in Black and White and a funky angle it might look cool...
the jury is still out.

Fountain.....yeah, just a fountain.

The Museum was having a special program about butterflys....this was the best of them.

Lopez Lake Day 3-Pismo Beach and all the clams that you can eat

Continued from http://hipchecksblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-2-lopez-lake.html

I awoke cold, stiff, slight back ache, a stuffy nose, and couldnt wait to feel the warmth of the sun bask upon my glorious face. Seems like each night we spent the colder it got and once again our tent while spacious is better suited towards desert and higher temperature camping as opposed to some of the lower temps we've experienced as of late.

I got up and didnt bother with the japanese coffee contraption and headed straight for the instant coffee...even taking the time to heat some warm milk up as well as I heard the wife waking up and thought she would appreciate the gesture. With the task of making a Warming, Soothing, Caffeinated Beverage out of the way I started making breakfast using the leftover fajitas, the rest of the pre cooked hashbrowns, and then adding as many eggs as could fit in the skillet. Mighty tasty but once again camp food always tastes better then food cooked at home for whatever reason.

Bellies full, off we went to the grand journey to Pismo Beach taking the same route we took to hit the groceries the previous day. Hitting Pismo, Tomoko mentioned how much the area reminded her of Seal Beach and how it had a similar vibe. I would agree a bit but sadly Pismo reminded me more of Huntington before development and Starbucks entered the picture. We strolled down Pomeroy Ave and took in all the shops they offered and meandered past the Splash Cafe where we had planned to lunch. I took in the cafe and couldnt wait to sample the world famous clam chowder once again but having eaten not an hour earlier none of us were quite ready. I was hoping to take the Kids to arcade in  one of the buildings but sadly it was closed on this weekday. I saw through the window and apart from a few ticket dispensing type games looked like they had all the same games they had when I last visited in 1999 or whenever it was.

We made it to the pier and the kids moaned a bit wanting to play in the sand and water but pointing out that the pier wasnt nearly as long as Huntington's Beach they went with...Im pretty sure them seeing a snack bar on the end had something to do with it. I looked north towards Morro Bay and envisioned what living life in this area must be like and remember the strange conversation with a fellow camper the day previous who mentioned he lived in Grover Beach tried to put aside the notion that not all people in this area had the unique manner of speech and odd look in his eye. He asked where we from and when I mentioned OC and growing up in Huntington Beach he said "I was carjacked one time in Huntington Beach and almost killed." I thought of replying with "well I hope it wasnt anybody I know" but decided not best to joke with an odd stranger in a semi-desolate part of a San Luis Obispo County campground.

For some reason this stand reminded me of a Fish n Chip stand you'd see in  London...I guess however since Ive never been to  London.

Anyhow we walked the pier and I snapped some picture of the snack bar, a pelican sitting on the pier railing while a fisherman sat with pole in the water not 3 feet over, and a heavy set older latina women who I snapped for no particular reason.

Pelican and Fisherman co-exist in this harmonious world of wonder.
Can we have Peace on Earth?

We enjoyed the view and slowly made our way back to the shore to take the kids to the sand under the guise of digging for Pismo Clams. Reaching the sand Tomoko and I commented on how the grain of the sand was akin to baby powder...arguably the softest beach sand Ive ever felt. I wanted to lay out a huge blanket and catnap under the sun but what we want to do and what we can do are two very different things with an 8 and 4 year old.

My attempt at a Panorama Shot.

We watched the kids play at the shore and start digging feverishly to try and find a clam while tomoko and I enjoyed the sound of the ocean, the soft gentle breeze, and the brief respite from the harsh rustica offered via campsite. Finally we decided to head to the Splash Cafe.....and it did not disappoint.

In spite of the 10-15 minute wait outside we found a table and ordered 2 chowders, 1 Fish and Chips, a couple of sodas and 1 Fat Tire that Tomoko and I shared. The first bite of the chowder nothing short of pure unadulterated culinary bliss with a creamy smack in the face that countered nicely with the savory herb used in the chowder and the cool brine and texture offered by the shrimp and crab mixture. Alex talked about how good it was between bites and Tomoko said it was clearly the best chowder she had ever had. The Fish and Chips were good as well with the exception of the Tartar Sauce which was nothing special....Almost tasted like your typical store bought brand of tarter sauce or put to even a more basic critique- miracle whip mixed with relish.  Since my Pantry Chef days of working at Delaneys I expect more a tarter sauce...I want bits of onion along with the occasional caper or two. All in all a small complaint as I am sure 90% of the people are ordering the chowder. Upon retrospect I would have liked to try their cocktail sauce as well. We left with belly full and ready to make the drive back to town to hang on main street.

Clam Chowder in Bread Bowl topped with Shrimp and Crab.....drool. 

This sign for Highway 1 looked better in Black and White then color.

Back on Grand Ave in Arroyo Grande we walked around the town a bit walking over one of the many historic bridges that cross the creek that flows over a deep ravine. We stopped at one bridge that a bronze historical marker on that denoted the bridge was built in 1918...but then washed away in the great storm of 23 and again in 64. The new bridge was a state of the art replica and built on conjunction with sponsorship of the local Der Weinerschitzel unit#123. Good Times.

Checking our watches we realized we were late for the in camp water slide. Doing a cost benefit/time analysis we decided it would be cheaper to simply take the kids to the local boomers for miniature golf. I found one up the road in santa maria via the cell phone app and after a short drive the 4 of us were golfing on what may be the worst kept boomers in California with the course littered with leaves and branches and a shortage of staff meant us waiting about 10 minutes before we saw anyone at the counter. Nonetheless we played and had a great time and gave Dustin a big boy sticker for coming 2nd overall. I found a wall poster that had an annoucement for boomers text club which I joined on the spot and received a message in seconds for a free popcorn. After another 10 minute wait we got our popcorn. Truth be told I really was just going to leave but Alex hearing about the popcorn would not let that be a possibility. I concerned on a couple of occasions simply walking behind the counter and getting my G D popcorn but wasnt sure about the example that would set for the kids. Finally we got it and as we has our cooler in the van already we all shared a big gatorade on the trip back to camp. 

Back at camp we wrapped our leftover Fish N Chips in Foil and threw them on the fire but it was certainly a case of the "In N Out Effect" in which the fries had a life span of about 5 minutes and any amount of time after meant consumption not recommended. Good thing it was our last night.

We got the kids to bed and once again Tomoko and I enjoyed watching the stars sans moon in one of california's least light polluted areas. As a matter of fact in the hour we sat looking at the sky we counted about 5 or 6 shooting stars between the two of us and I once again reminded myself that one day I need to learn how to properly work my telescope I was given as a gift. Ive tried it on a couple of occasions however never using a telescope only managed to see pitch black.

We each had a glass of wine and took it all in as it would be our last night of our journey with the ride back still to go.