Last July 4th weekend, I had to work (for a time-and-a-half) at my retail job. That was fine, but working meant that I couldn't go do fun things, like sit on a boat in Tahoe or to a cabin with friends. I just stayed home and missed the fireworks, I think for the first time ever. So this July, Mike was absolutely AWESOME and planned a weekend in San Diego packed full of fun.
Day 1: We ate dumplings at Mike's before heading out. I felt super full, although I told myself that I wouldn't eat so much that I would look horrible in a swimsuit. I got one word for ya: FAIL!!! But there is a silver lining (unrelated) to this story which occurred at the same time... Mike bought me an early birthday present!!!! I've been wanting some cute sandals for the summer, because I've been traveling around the world in my trusty brown Rainbows. He's really into old American brands and work-durable leather, so he bought me these awesome, sturdy, but sweet and feminine sandals! It will help me (I hope) get rid of this awful Rainbows tan I've gotten over the years. Gross, I know. Please don't judge me. And, to treat himself for being such an awesome, AWESOME boyfriend, he bought himself a pair of Red Wings. :)
After a great (early birthday which felt like Christmas) start to the weekend, we met up with John (Mike and Eric's high school bestie) and Sam at Eric's place. Of course, Miss Sam was late! But we didn't mind because she brought a ton of good food, including her famous guacamole!! Thanks, Sam. You are the sweetest. The drive over was nice too, full of Eminem blasting angry shit and not really fitting our mood but somehow working nonetheless. The best part was that there was no traffic, because we were leaving around 8:30pm, so the drive was not too long. When we finally arrived in downtown La Jolla, we loaded our stuff into Eric's place, a super nice condo, that is actually owned by his grandparents. It was just a beautiful place, with room enough for all of us to sleep, shower, and eat without getting into each others' way. For the first night, we just played King's Cup (Eric was a party pooper, and fittingly, he won the King's Cup!), snuggled into comfy beds, and planned on waking up early in the morning the next day.
Surprisingly, we were successful! We woke up around 9:00 am, went to Breuggers and Starbucks for some morning sustenance, and left for the San Diego Zoo at 10:00 am. It was slightly overcast, so we felt that our beach plans may be ruined, but at least we'd be able to see animals! Usually, zoo animals come out when it'z hazy and not too hot, so this would be a perfect time. And yes, ladies and gents, it was. SD Zoo is definitely a world class institution. It wasn't as run down and depressing as SF Zoo, and the animals seemed to have more space and freedom. I always say that I love and hate zoos. I love seeing the animals so close up, but I hate seeing them in cages, even in cages as nice as these. But, I tell myself that bringing the wonder of nature close to humans is what will keep conservation on our minds as a society. Go support your local zoo! Don't let it shut down (I think Woodland Park, in Seattle, did, which is horribly sad) and keep asking yourself what will happen to the animals (in the overarching sense and in that zoo)?
The weather brightened up while we were finishing up our zoo extravaganza experience. We went back to change at Eric's place and ate a great lunch at Extreme Pizza. We played trivia (Mike won and got a free cookie, which was chewy and delicious) and had an extra large (5-6 people) pizza, half RAGIN' ROOSTER (Chicken marinated in a killer BBQ sauce, red onions, fresh cilantro, cheddar and mozzarella) and half YARD SALE (Everything in the house! Sausage, pepperoni, salami, fresh mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella). The cilantro of the Ragin' Rooster really made it for me. Yum yum yum. To top off the delicious meal, we had an awesome friendly server who was going home to Orange County for the fourth. He played trivia with us! He came in second. Good job, Mike, for beating him.
We didn't take too much time chosing Extreme Pizza, though, because we wanted something fast and convenient. We were trying to make it to Black's Beach, a nude beach that once was nude but isn't really nude anymore. Mike took us down the road less traveled....So instead of taking the easy paved road down to the sandy beach, we climbed an awesome path that really I don't really want anyone else to find or popularize. We had to dig into the sandy banks of a mini-canyon, cross this 2X4 beam over spiky weeds that Sam was terrified of (and of which I didn't take pictures of because two people were in line to cross behind us), and a grooved, open-faced "tunnel" that was comprised of groves made from passers-by over the years. Then Eric slipped at the only truly (kind of) dangerous part, and John, who is the good friend who is absolutely completely terrified of heights and who did not have firm footing himself (the precipice ... or, slope, rather...was made of loose dirt and sand), reached out a shaking hand and said "Take my hand, Eric!" intending to puill him up. Eric survived (weaksauce), tossed John the bag he was holding for Sam, and crawled up the banks leading to the drop unscathed. Seriously, this was just such a beautiful climb down. I say it was probably the best part of the trip . . . well, almost. Everything was unforgettable. Mike, you are the best.
After making our way down to the safety of the beach (stop whining, you pansies!), swam in the cold-at-first-but-then-super-warm ocean. We also got to tan a tiny bit, only for about an hour or so, even though such a short time frame turned Sam into Polcahontas! It's okay, honey, at least you don't burn! Then, on the climb back up, John and Eric refused to go on the perilous path, so we took the windy paved road up. Mike and I stopped halfway and climbed up a steep rocky incline, so that made it to the 3/4 point up to the main entrance about a minute or two before the rest of the group...and which placed us in a unique position to enjoy the view. No risk, no gain, you scaredy cats!
We went home, showered, dressed, and decided to get dinner at what turned out to be a great Thai place, Spice and Rice. The service was nice, but no nonesense and efficient. The food was great. It was just what I wanted after a day of walking, climbing, jumping, and sun-zapped-ness. But dinner wasn't the end of it. (I told you this weekend was packed!) We went to Pacific Beach afterward and stopped at Sinbad's for drinks and hookah. Let me tell you, PB is full of crazy drunk people, obnoxious college kids milling around (I guess they also fall under the category of drunk kids), and a small group of nice people at the table next to us who gave us their more secluded spot. Thanks guys! It was a nice, surprisingly calm experience amidst the madness. We left PB early to look for the Cliffs, but after driving shadily through a really rich neighborhood (we looked like criminals casing the place!), we didn't find it. We had a suspicion that it was this gated off entrance that was tiny and hidden and looked illegal-to-enter. Unfortunate, but I guess it's okay because I'd rather not get arrested for trespassing. Sigh. Maybe next time?
Then, at last, JULY FOURTH! I think of this as my birthday holiday because it's so close to my birthday. We wanted to take it easy because we did so much the day before, so we got lunch at Pho Ca Dao (ok, keep it PG, kids, and don't try saying it fast many times in a row) near Mike's Mira Mesa house from when he went to UCSD. Then we went bak to La Jolla and just walked around to where Eric wanted to show us the seals (I think he meant sea lions?) but they weren't congregated at one particular spot, or so it seemed. They were frolicking through the water, popping their heads up and looking for all the world like Barley peeking at me over the waves! It was actually kind of scary, because near the place Eric wanted to show us, people were descending into the water, and I think the sea lions wanted to lay out on the beach but for the presence of the people driving them off. Some got frighteningly close to the waders, though, and because sea lions can be territorial, I kept thinking to myself that some unlucky tourist was going to get bitten.
We found them at a different spot, by a deep cave (the Sunny Jim Cave)! This led us on an adventure through a gift shop, down to the water inside the cave (the entrance was in the gift shop!), with crashing waves and the sounds of sea lion barks echoing over the moss-slicked rocks. Awesomeness. :) This cave entrance through the gift shop has been open and run by the gift shop people for over 100 years, I think. You walk down 145 steps down to the water level and bam... you're in the this dark cave with water frothing right by your feet (only you're standing on a platform, so you stay relatively dry, although it gets muddy/sandy). It wasn't too much of an admission price, and it was a nice detour.
On the way by shops and restaurants, we were discussing dinner plans and thought we'd just eat at the Spot, but we walked by George's and Mike decided hey, we're only here for Fourth of July once. We made a reservation for 5:15 pm, which gave us an hour to walk back to the condo, shower, change, and get back. The rush was well worth it. George's, I give you five stars. Some people might not agree, but I think the whole experience was just great.
Let me give you a run down.... for drinks, I had the Xolo (grapefruit, agave syrup, Don Julio Anejo tequila, black salt rim) and split the beer with Mike. For my meal, I had the Niman Ranch Pork Chop (creamed Anson Mills farro, apricot-chipotle glaze, spring onions). Verdict: awesome. JOHN: drinks: Camisole (Belvedere vodka, strawberry, Drysack sherry, pink peppercorn) - he didn't like it, got sad, said liked mine and Sam's more, and got the patriot punch after. For his meal, he got the Muscovy Duck Breast (spring onions, grilled liver, pickled cherries, wilted greens, coffee scented jus. Yum. SAM: Patriot Punch (Michter’s rye whiskey, blackberry, carraway, lime). Meal: "Fish tacos" (which were actually breaded and fried avacados, with seared ahi tuna on top with thin fried onions and corn nuts type garnish?) and Chino Farms Corn Risotto (beans, guanciale, soft poached egg). MICHAEL: drinks: Maker's Mark Manhattan with sweet Vermouth, split (with me) an '07 crazy beer thing (Vertical Epic?) from Stone Brewery, a small local place that takes its brews very, very seriously. Meal: Bone in Halibut Steak (clam chowder, corn broth, bacon foam). I'm drooling. ERIC: drinks: Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard. Meal: Pacifi c White Seabass (zucchini puree, ragout of artichokes, spring onion, fava beans, black olive sauce, dried tomato relish). I wish I could eat there tonight... sigh.
Then, we split a creamy, rich, delicious dessert: Warm Chocolate Tart (candied orange zest, chocolate fudge sauce, cocoa nib streusel, white mocha ice cream). And then, we got something on the house! The Trio of Seasonal Sorbets (strawberry, blueberry [the best], and passion fruit): with fresh fruit accompaniments (blackberry, blueberry, strawberry), and a crumbly shortbread cookie. Thank you, George's!
Plus, Cory, our server, was amazing. He was friendly, attentive without being suffocating, accommodating, knew a lot about the drink list and the beers, knowledgeable about the food, gave us complimentary dessert, and then, before he even know how much we were going to tip him, he offered to take us to a good stake out spot ("the mermaid") to watch the fireworks! He was just awesome. Thanks so much, Cory, for making the night so wonderful.
As we waited for the fireworks to start (we had almost an hour to kill), we met a bunch of people gathering up there to see the spectacle. John brought us some beer (thanks John!) while we waited. And when the fireworks finally went off, they scared this cute, one-year-old long-haired dachshund. Poor little bugger lost his wits and his mom/dad had to take him home! He was super sweet though; I know some dachshunds think they're big tough dogs and tend to bark and bite, but this one was so nice! Another note: the cormorants nesting by the water utterly FREAKED out when the fireworks went off, running in circles and ending up huddled in fright by the water. Sorry, but at least I enjoyed myself!
To celebrate, we went back to the condo, played a few rounds of Big 2 (I think I had the best record!), and then headed over to Mike's favorite drunk-food spot: Roberto's. The name on the outside changed to Rigoberto's or something.
Sadly, on the last day, we had to go back to Los Angeles. The others went to Starbucks, but Mike and I craved pizza, so we went to Extreme Pizza again and tried THE BOAR'DER (shredded pork marinated in a killer BBQ sauce, red onions, fresh cilantro, cheddar and mozzarella). Still delicious. The only bad part of the whole weekend was the end/the drive, which was horribly long and the traffic was bad and terribly slow. Then, courtesy of Eric, we all got assigned nicknames: rock of korea (John), chinese flare (Mike), jewish assassin (Eric - kind of an ambigious name), Hsu bomber (Sam) ...and mine is still in the works, I think.
Thanks for a wonderful weekend everyone!!!! Like I said, this was the best July 4th ever!!!
[this is good] That look like one epic 4th!
Posted by: The Faustian Man | July 12, 2010 at 01:07 AM