Road Trip Day 3: Destination San Diego

I just survived another night sharing a bed with my niece Elisa. She didn't body slam me last night, but she did push me into a small corner of the futon. I was too afraid to pick her up and move her because it took me forever to get her to sleep so I slept in an awkward position for the majority of the night.

This morning I took it easy with my nieces. We sang, danced, and read a couple of books. I am planning on leaving San Diego at noon so we decided to go eat lunch at Tajima Ramen House. I took my car because I was going to head out after lunch. Tajima was undergoing construction on the interior of their restaurant and their parking lot was getting redone so we had to park at another parking lot. I've eaten here before and I didn't mind the exposed vents and bare walls. I had the Curry Ramen with small noodles. All ramen bowls comes with a hard boiled egg, slices of beef, and scallions. You can add extra ingredients like vegetables, chicken and pork for extra charge. My sister and her husband also had ramen while Elisa and Penny shared a children's teriyaki plate (the children's portion is surprisingly large).

After lunch I headed to Lake Forest to visit Matt and Mic, the newly weds. I received news that Mic was pregnant during my train travel, but because they haven't revealed it to everyone yet I couldn't congratulate them on the blog. Congrats Bro! I can't wait to meet the half red head and half dark skinned baby in August!

Matt and Mic gave me a tour of their cute condo and I met their newly rescued pup, Molly. I have met a lot of cute dogs in my days, but Molly is the sweetest and most lovable. Matt, Mic and I caught up on life and our plans in the upcoming year. I love dropping in to see friends and family. It is so much better to talk in person than it is to read on Facebook. I headed back on the road at 4pm. I was 400 miles away from home.

The freeway was decent driving into Los Angeles. I am usually stuck in traffic when I hit the downtown area, but it was an easy drive in and out. However, it was not as easy going into Burbank where everyone just so happen to be driving through at that same time. I felt so agitated with the drivers who were on their cell phones and slowing down the rest of us, and the horrible drivers who cut you off and then breaks hard. You may wonder how I can put up with driving long distances, I say 1) I drive an excellent car - Honda Accord - which gives me fantastic mileage, 2) I find road trips therapeutic and relaxing despite the bad drivers, and 3) I occupy my time with music that I listen and sing along to. By the time I reached Gilroy I have already gone through the 6 CDs in my CD changer and half of the music in my flash drive. It also helps when a special someone calls to check in to make sure I am still alert. Thanks Duongy!

I am finally back from my weekend road trip to San Diego. I hope you all had a wonderful Martin Luther King Day. Next road trip ..... maybe Seattle?

Road Trip Day 2: Destination San Diego

Woke up next to my 3 year old niece, Elisa, this morning. Last night she and I shared a futon where she unconsciously slapped, kicked and head butted me. For a tiny little girl, she sure is strong. Today is my older sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Diep! She got to be Queen for the day and decided how to spend our Sunday. Since the weather was nice out (typical San Diego weather) we started off at San Diego Hillcrest Farmer's Market. I find myself here every Sunday when I am in town; and I am never disappointed in my decision. It is a small farmer's market, but there are plenty of assorted vendors. From organic farmers, florist, and grain-fed bovine to self proclaimed artists and foodies; this market has it all. The market occupies the parking lot of the local DMV. Parking is always full, but because of the market's size, cars leave as much as they enter. I've never had to wait longer than a few minutes for a car to leave. And people here are extremely nice.

My sister and her kids like to sample the fruits and dipping sauces. I enjoy the vegetable stands and often talk to the organic farmers about their process. Today, I was on the hunt for mini cucumber zucchinis. I was trying to stock up for the long road trip home tomorrow. In the middle of the market is an tiny area where small bands would perform to the young crowd. Children tend to gather here as if sitting around for story time. Music is as subtle and subdued as the patrons of the market. My sister and her kids stop for a short song.

After walking around the farmers, we made our way to the food vendors. My sister decided to settle for East African food, my brother-in-law had a panini, and I settled for chicken and beef empanadas. Food never fails here at Hillcrest Farmer's Market.

After our lunch we headed out to Scripps Park at La Jolla Shores. The weather was nice today and my sister wanted to have a relaxing day with the family. Parking was not as nice or relaxing. After circling Coast Boulevard, we finally found parking on a hill that scared my sister. But with Oliver's great parallel parking skills, we were in good hands. Before heading to the park, we stopped in for coffee and ice cream. Lynn and Oliver can't go on a day without coffee so we stopped into Living Room Coffeehouse and Lounge. I love dessert and was craving ice cream so we crossed the street to Gelateria for gelato. On the way over Lynn and I detoured into a boutique where I bought a shirt. I am into chiffon shirts right now. They are light and easy to pack. With all this traveling, I have invested in cheap jet setting clothes. This boutique looked like what is inside my head. The colors, the clothes, the art, the decor/furniture, and the accessories. I really liked the boutique.

Oliver and Elisa walked over to the gelato shop while Lynn, Penny and I shopped in the store. After I made my purchase, we headed down to the Gelateria. The Gelateria had a variety of flavors; among them were interesting fruit flavors like guava and grape. They also had combination flavors like banana toffee and mocha pecan.
Elisa had raspberry flavor while Lynn and I opted for Salty Caramel. It was delicious! Elisa enjoyed hers so much she finished it and licked off the leftovers that dripped down her arms. Oh how I enjoy watching the kids engulf themselves in the wonderful world of sweets. I laugh so hard when Elisa and Penny attack their ice creams with huge bites. The way they don't notice the ice cream is melting down their hands and arms also cracks me up. Why do they not notice it? Because they are enjoying the taste. You know a kid likes the food if it gets all over their face without them knowing it.

After our snacks, we headed out to the park and laid out a blanket. Us adults kicked off our shoes while the two kids chased after the seagulls. The park had an open grass lawn with a few scattered trees for shade. A pedestrian sidewalk bordered the park and led down the cliff to tide pools and caves. There are a few drop down points for visitors to venture down the cliff.

Lifeguards patrol in red trucks along the border of the cliff. Surfers can be seen in the far distance; not that many today. The Maverick Competition is happening in Santa Cruz this weekend, maybe that is why there aren't as many surfers here. That and maybe because it is late in the afternoon. Waves were high today; I wonder if it is the same up in Santa Cruz.

Elisa was complaining of the smell and wanted to leave. Lynn wanted to walk along the cliff before we headed home. We gathered the blanket and headed onto the pedestrian sidewalk that bordered the park and the cliff. I stopped and pointed out the large group of seals laying out on the rocks below. A large group gathered close for spectators to take pictures of. Another herd of seals laid out on a smaller rock closer to the tide pools. Elisa took notice and forgot about the smell.

Such a beautiful day out today. I hope people here got the chance to step outside today. Even if they are unable to escape to the beach, just sitting on the porch or pulling out your lawn chair is enough to enjoy this delightful Sunday.

We got home in the late afternoon and I took a nap. We had a long day in the sun and I had enough Sun vitamins to last me a while. Oliver took Lynn out for her birthday dinner while I babysat the kids. That is it for today's adventure. I forgot to say Happy New Year! Forgot my last blog was in December. Sorry about that!

Road Trip Day 1: Destination San Diego

Good morning everyone! I had Monday (Martin Luther King Day) off so I decided to take a weekend road trip to San Diego. There is nothing like road trip down interstate 5. I left the office around 3:30pm yesterday, packed my clothes and was on the road by 4pm. My trunk is full of my niece's Christmas presents that they left behind and my front passenger seat currently holds road trip snacks like mini cucumber sticks and trail mix. My plan, so far, is to stop into my best friend's house in Brea for the night, then head to San Diego in the early morning. Traffic was not bad leaving San Jose. I would say I averaged 60 mph leaving San Jose. However, it got bad driving into Morgan Hill and into Gilroy. Once I hit interstate 5, where only 2 lanes were available, I sat in more traffic. There were 2 accidents on the freeway last night. One involved a small vehicle and a large semi truck. The second involved a small truck and a small RV.

I arrived at "Lily's" condo at 10:30pm and called up to her to open her front door. It took a few rings, eventually the recipient answered and all I heard on the other line was, "oh, hey, sorry... I thought I picked up my phone, but I picked up my TV remote." We both laughed. She opened the door, I gave her a big hug and we both climbed up the stairs to her bedroom where we've spent many nights talking about celebrity gossip. "Lily" and I have a unique sleeping arrangement. She and I always ALWAYS share a bed. There is also a funny story about one of the nights we slept together, but I will leave that for another day. After catching "Lily" up on my life, we drifted off to asleep.

Corned Beef-hash from Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

I woke up this morning at 7am to get ready for breakfast; Veronica will be joining us. We will be discussing our Chicago trip. We decided to go to famous Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant for breakfast. I ordered corned beef-hash served with french fries. "Lily" ordered Toad in the Hole with a side of Baffle Fries and Veronica ordered Bob's Benedict. Farrell's is mostly known for their ice cream and dessert. It is a restaurant with old school parlour setting. Usually their lines stretch out the door and along the block. Since we started breakfast off early, we were the only ones in the restaurant. That was great for us, because we needed to discuss our trip.

Nieces Elisa and Penny

I then hit the road to San Diego around 9am. The drive wasn't that long, but slow drivers made it so. I arrived in San Diego a little after 10:30am. I was greeted at the front door by my niece Elisa who was so excited I can hear her scream, "My Ninang is here!" *Ninang is Godmother in Tagalog* Since my older sister Lynn's birthday is this weekend, I offered to help out with the kids. Today we went to Rohr Park in Chula Vista. We ended the day with Chinese take-out and ice cream we picked up from Albertson grocery store. The above video is of my younger niece, Penny, who loves the song "Gangnam Style" by Psy. When she hears it, she stops whatever she is doing and starts dancing.

Me, Penny and Elisa at Rohr Park