A Good Aunt Bea

December 1, 2006

Being on vacation for two weeks and then back to work right away means that I've been missing out on growing kiddies in San Jose. I'll also be heading back to Calgary this weekend for a quick-and-dirty trip (Sat and Sun only!) for my grad school mentor's 60th birthday party (all the grad school alums are coming!), so I'll be missing out on more quality time this weekend. To get my fix in, I headed down to SJ on Wednesday night after work...

The kids are getting so big! Simon has surpassed Charlotte in the weight category at a whopping 16 pounds and has started teething.

Olivia is super-lovey and let me play with her and give her a bath (in fact, I gave them all baths). She gave me a nice explanation as to why she needs all the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses and the Prince for Christmas.

Christmas will be a blast with all the kiddies, and now that Olivia is quite the little girl, we're all in trouble!

Vacation Re-Cap: Back to Blogging

November 26, 2006

Will and I got home last night around 7:30 pm, after a relatively uneventful drive from San Diego County (Ramona) where we had spent most of the Thanksgiving week.

The delay in blogging has been due to the lack of wireless access, as the wireless that we were poaching in Cabo was cruelly blocked after the 4th day (someone wised up to why their connection was probably a lot slower). And there was no wireless where we were staying in Ramona, so I was cut off from the world (a good thing for me to fully relax on vacation).

Read on below for a brief update of the rest of the vacation and pictures...

Pictures from the road down to San Diego:

Santa Monica pier

Geneve's lovely apple turnovers

The funky latte pattern at Urth Caffe in Santa Monica.

CABO SAN LUCAS (11/13 to 11/20):

Below is a summary of the rest of the Cabo week:

• it was very hot
• massive amounts of sweating = massive amounts of bottled water
• super panga (23 foot boat) fishing trip = 1 bonita fish and a handful of "bites" (bites = fish that got away with our live bait!)
• project even-out-Bea's-horrific-ultimate-frisbee-tan went moderately well; little progress every day; most progress made on the last day
• Will met some piece of food that his stomach didn't like, but he resumed "sun" time on Friday
• the removal of Will's stitches from his right hand was successful on Thursday
  

View from our third floor balcony

View of the marina (on zoom) from our balcony.

Sunrise from the super panga fishing boat.

Scooby-Doo rock!
El Arco

Will and I had lunch at the infamous beachfront restaurant "The Office" on Medano Beach, where they have a great view of the water, activities, and all the bikini-clad talent.

Stuffed Avocado (Half an avocado stuffed with shrimp salad, served on a bed of lettuce with crackers on the side)

Will had the Beef Tacos (Three tacos, made with your choice of corn or flour tortillas, stuffed with grilled marinated flank steak, served with rice, beans, and guacamole).

I had the Paul Smith Salad (mixed salad with sliced grilled marinated chicken breast with your choice of Italian or ranch dressing). This bad boy was amazing, it was full of wonderful fresh veggies and tender chicken. I was wowed by a salad!

We had dinner one night at a restaurant just down the marina from our resort called "El Shrimp Bucket".

I really wanted lobster, but at a place called “El Shrimp Bucket”, I really had to go for the shrimp. So, I did the surf and turf, which included grilled shrimp and bacon-wrapped filet mignon. Delicious!

Will had the battered shrimp and fries. Apparently tasty, I was too full to try any of it.

So, even though it looks like we chose well with restaurants, we also missed one night with a visit to Margaritaville, which was mediocre and expensive. At least their drinks were big and good. We also tried a really good but expensive sushi resturant called Nick San, which helped us get our sushi fix. They had some pretty inventive dishes other than sushi.

The last night in Cabo, we ventured away from the marina, where you find better and cheaper places to eat. We stumbled onto Pancho's Grill and Tequila Bar, and decided to give it a try. This was probably my favorite place to eat the entire trip.

Will had the Chile Rellanos, which is rumored to be the best at Pancho's in Cabo, and Will had to agree.
I was still on my seafood kick, so I stuck with the fresh shrimp grilled in garlic butter, can't get any better than that.

On one of the evenings, Will and I ventured into the mass mall down the street from Marina Fiesta called Puerto Paraiso, where we also decided to check out a new release movie. I hadn’t been to a movie in about a year (I think it was “V For Vendetta”). It was a treat at $4.50 to see a movie (cheapest theatre movie I’ve been to in over 6 years!) and we caught Martin Scorsese’s new flick, “The Departed”. It was riveting. I highly enjoyed it and recommend it (even without the Spanish subtitles).

RAMONA (SAN DIEGO COUNTY; 11/20 to 11/25):

Will and I flew back into San Diego on Monday night (11/20) and drove about 40 minutes inland to Ramona, specifically to The Good Life timeshares in the foothills, to meet up with Will's folks, Mike and Susan.

The week looked a little like...

• Tuesday: Will and I went shopping at the premium outlets in Carlsbad, where Will did his every-two-years shopping extravaganza. I found a few good buys as well...of course.
• Wednesday: Golfed at San Vicente Golf Course; I shot a 112 (55-57)...ick!
• Thursday: Golfed again in the annual Thankgiving shotgun at 8 am; I shot a 112 (60-51)...ick again!
• Friday: Golfed again; I shot a personal-best 92 (46-46)....OMG! This was an insane day of golf for me; played bogey golf on the front nine, followed by a superb back nine that consisted of pars, birdies and a couple bogeys, but with 3 holes that I had a mental breakdown (one 7 and two 8's), and still managed to pull in a 46!

The nights consisted of some highly competitive card games with Mike, Susan, Gary and Fran. I think I ended pretty even in the money, but we all figured out how to play 6-man euchre, and the folks taught us some new games (31, Pass the Ace, Red Dog) that we can definitely take up to the ski cabin this year.

Alas, the vacation is over and I have to get my head straight for work tomorrow, and try not to sleep in!

I hope you all had a lovely gobble-gobble turkey-eating holiday!

Vacation Update: Cabo San Lucas, baby!

November 15, 2006

Will and I arrived in Cabo on Monday afternoon...sweet! We flew into San Jose Del Cabo, which is a 45 minute shuttle road to Cabo San Lucas. We were staying at Marina Fiesta Resort, where my parents are timeshare members, which is located in right on the marina in downtown Cabo. The last time we were in Cabo was with my family (mom, dad, Angie, Jack, Olivia and Terrina) the week after Christmas 2004 (NYE 2005).

I keep trying to upload photos, and all looks good from the technical side, but alas, no photos get uploaded and Bea is sad. I'll have to entertain you with photos when I get home...

On Monday night, we settled into our room and then headed for dinner. We took the easy route and headed to the restaurant that we had dinner at the first night in Cabo almost two years ago, called Stoplight Bar & Grill. I had the lobster tail combination, that included 2 lobster tails, some pasta, and a piece of sirloin steak with grilled onions, all for $16. Steal of a deal.

One thing that we're trying to get used to is the target that seems to be on both our heads, as it seems that the locals like to approach small tables of 2...a lot. We're getting very used to saying "no, gracias" to every accordian-playing, chiclet-selling, necklace-bearing, toy-turtle-holding individual who stops by to say hello. We're getting better at not paying attention to everyone who demands our attention, which is a lot. Everyone is so damn persistent.

Tuesday consisted of the following schedule:

• sleep in, waking only to put the "Please do not disturb" sign up
• finally wake up at 10:30 am (hooray!)
• slather on some strategic sun tan lotion (SPF 50 for the already-super-dark areas; SPF 15 for the areas hidden by my frisbee garb)
• bake in the sun a-la-rotisserie-chicken style until we can't take the heat (approximately 1.5 hours?)
• have a light lunch in the bar-restaurant
• go to the gym and attack the elliptical and stationary bike for an hour
• get 80-minute deep tissue massages
• relax (...after all, the day's been so stressful...)
• go for dinner at Mi Casa (recommended by the staff here); the carnitas was to die for, I can't believe how much I'm enjoying the food, as mexican fare is usually not a priority for me
• watch movies and go to sleep

To be honest, this is exactly the vacation we needed. We're in no rush, don't have a ton of activities planned, and aren't up for any crazy partying (I'm too old anyway...). I don't think I've truly relaxed on a vacation in almost 2 years.

Today's (Wednesday) itinerary went something like this:

• sleep in until 9 am
• hop on a shuttle and go to a "vacation ownership" schpiel that is only supposed to take 90 minutes but takes 2.5 hours from our lives that we'll never get back. We were inspired to do this because it makes expensive deep sea fishing become not-so-expensive-at-all deep sea fishing.
• eat brunch with a "vacation ownership" salesman thrilling us with his pitch
• say no many times to a trillion offers and deals that are thrown at us at the "vacation ownership" experience.
• back at Marina Fiesta, bake in the sun for a couple hours in the afternoon.
• I hop on my computer while Will goes and pumps some iron (he's such a stud!)

And now, we'll hunt down some more delish eats tonight and take it pretty easy again, as we're off for some fishing adventures tomorrow morning at 6:30 am for 6 hours or so (no sleep in tomorrow!).

Wish us luck on the seas!

Weekend Re-Cap: We're On Vacation!

November 12, 2006

Will and I are officially on vacation! We don't have to wake up early, think about work, or do anything we don't feel like. Sweet!

On Friday afternoon, we hit the road (after an annoying detour home to get my passport...oops!). We were en route to San Diego, where we needed to be by Sunday night, as we were flying out of SD to San Jose Del Cabo on Monday morning. We broke up the drive so that we wouldn't have a bolus of driving non-stop.

Friday night's destination was San Luis Obispo. Traffic wasn't too bad, so we made it from SF to SLO in 3.5 hours. We spent the night in the Best Western Royal Oak Inn, a pretty good economic choice, with free wireless and a king bed.

After a nice sleep-in, where I made myself go back to sleep a couple times, we proceeded on our road trip. The next destination was Santa Monica, where we were going to crash at Geneve & Kareem's place. The drive was lovely along Hwy 101, with views of the ocean and hills. We stopped in Ventura to eat on the beach and grab a coffee.

The traffic was minimal until we approached the 405. All in all, it took about 3 hours until we arrived in Santa Monica. Geneve and Kareem have a sweet place within walking distance of the Santa Monica pier and the 3rd Street Promenade. The last time I had spent any time here was about 4 years ago when Wendy, Coco and I road-tripped to see my sister and Jack in Tehachapi for Thanksgiving and did some coastal activities afterwards.

(note: I was able to upload a few pictures but am now having technical difficulties. I'll try to upload more later).

Kareem was busy most of the weekend with a conference that he had put on in LA called BARCamp LA. But, Geneve was a lovely hostess, she made some wonderful apple turnovers, and took Will and I to dinner at a little sushi place on 2nd street called Taka Sushi. We sat at the sushi bar, and watched the chefs (who happened to be Japanese!) work their wonders. We had some fantastic rolls, and were wowed by the beef sashimi.

On Sunday morning, Geneve had to take off early for Las Vegas for work, so it was up to me and Will to sleep in and have a nice Sunday morning brunch. On Geneve's recommendation, we took the long route along the Santa Monica beach pedestrian promenade and headed to Urth Caffe, a popular place that served good people watching and magnificent coffees. I had a pretty yummy Norwegian smoked salmon plate for brunch.

After brunch, we walked around the promenade and then finally hit the road for San Diego. We were flying out of San Diego on Monday morning to Cabo, so we just needed to be in SD for Sunday night. We hit some major traffic before Oceanside (5 miles in 1.5 hours!) but finally made it. We were staying in Old Town, which is conveniently located near the airport. Will and and I toured around Old Town, but it was already dark and things were kinda quiet on a Sunday night.

We stumbled on Zocalo Grill, which enticed us with their menu. For an appetizer, we shared a feature of a tiradito of jumbo bay scallops with a watermelon salsa. For dinner, I had the "surf and turf" Barb's caesar salad with spicy shrimp, carnitas, tomatoes and mangos. This salad was damn tasty and one of the best salads that I've ever had. The ripe mangos went perfectly. Will had the pepita-crusted mahi-mahi with avocado salsa, mayan rice and fresh veggies. A bottle of the 2005 Mark West pinot noir completed the meal.

In keeping with our vacation theme, we spent most nights taking it easy after a nice meal. Our flight was at 9:35 am, and then we were off to Cabo!

Nopa for Key

November 10, 2006

Will and I are about to take off for two weeks of vacation, and will be missing Key's big 30th birthday next week. So in lieu of an accurately timed birthday dinner, we took him out for an early birthday dinner to Nopa. Abe came along too, as he'll be in NYC next week.

This was my second visit to Nopa, as the first one ingrained this restaurant on my top 5 list with a memorable meal. You can only make reservations for this place on the day you want to dine and can call after 2 pm to do so. And with the first visit, we had to wait for our table despite having reservations, this place is busy!

So we started with a couple drinks at the bar. I had the Old Cuban (white rum, mint, sugar, lime juice, cava), which tasted like a slightly sour mojito.

Once seated, we were treated to the "amuse bouche" of sliced granny smith apples with a house-made peanut "butter" spread. It was delish, and I usually don't even like peanut butter.

The starters:

Key started with the braised lamb riblets with coriander and mint. I remembered these tasty gems with a kick from the first visit and they were yummy again.

Abe couldn't resist the wood-baked runner beans with feta and oregano, one his Nopa favorites.

And, I just had to have the wild salmon carpaccio with mizuno and extra virgin olive oil, I can never say no to raw fish.

The entrees:

Key had the grass-fed hamburger with fries and harissa aioli. He seemed to enjoy and the boys couldn't stop stealing his french fries.

Abe had the pan-seared black cod with green lentils and wilted chicones. He was devastated that the halibut with corn salsa was not on the menu and opted for the "other" fish instead. He cleaned off his plate, so it couldn't have been that bad.

Both Will and I just had to have the spit-roasted london broil with potato gratin and blue cheese butter. The description alone does not capture how mouth-wateringly good this dish was. The wilted greens were amazing too. Amazingly rich, note to self, you do not need an appetizer with this bad boy.

The desserts:

Abe had to stick with his favorite warm donut holes with rum caramel sauce. The donut holes are good, but it's the ridiculously good rum caramel sauce that makes this dish. I was so stuffed I couldn't even have a donut hole. I did however, have a lick of rum caramel sauce...

Key ordered the cranberry-orange sorbet with vanilla cookies. I usually like sorbet as dessert, because it's light and a nice palate-cleanser. Too bad I was so damn full.

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY KEY!