On this lush and green island every turn in the road shows off another beautiful field, ocean beach or scenic inlet. But it’s not just the views which are attractive, one secret to great dining on PEI is that almost everything you need for a full menu is local:

• The Gouda lady makes her cheese daily.
• The farmer brings in just-picked quarts of berries.
• Cows, sheep and pigs eat quietly under the morning sun.
• The potter down the road supplies cups and dishes.
• The fishermen offer a daily haul of lobsters, mussels, oysters and scallops from their docks.

All of this comes together at the Pearl Cafe. Located in a charming North Rustico farm house, the Pearl has lush tones, art everywhere and the ambiance of a fine country inn. As it turns out, a very fine country inn — the Pearl won the Taste of the Island award in 2010 and in 2011 it was named by the Guardian newspaper as the “clear No. 1 restaurant in the province this year.”

Brunch

So, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon we went for brunch at the Pearl Cafe.

As you approach the restaurant you instantly notice that it’s set on a beautifully-landscaped area and backs up to an enormous farmer’s field. There’s a porch to one side and a green smoker in the back.

Inside, the restaurant is small (fewer than 40 seats, perhaps) and simply beautiful. The owner, Maxine Delaney, has an obvious eye for art and design. When we arrived Chef Brian Kaderavek sent out an amuse-bouche, a little something to get us started. In this case, it was crab with, I believe, Roquefort cheese on a brioche, a buttery toast.

The crab was wonderful. I could have simply eaten more and ignored the rest of the menu, but then eggs Benedict over lobster arrived. It was set on a grilled buttermilk biscuit with chive hollandaise, crisp potato roesti and Soleil’s dressed greens.

Everything is perfectly prepared and beautifully plated. You almost don’t want to disturb what’s in front of you.

Almost.

Then someone tried the buttermilk cornmeal flapjacks with rhubarb orange compote, citrus butter and vanilla chantilly served with maple and house-made rhubarb syrup.

Along the way we encountered six baked Raspberry Point oysters on the half-shell with spinach, bacon and aged gouda breadcrumbs. They arrived in a dish that looked like a wooden canoe. The oysters were terrific and Raspberry Point is just down the road.

Also at the table someone ordered a roasted Van Kampen cherry tomato omelet with aged white cheddar served with potato roesti and a side of greens.

Desserts

Brunch without dessert is like a car without tires, it just doesn’t work. To compliment Brian’s dishes we had three of Pastry Chef Amanda Miller’s desserts:

First, was a chocolate torte (cake) with dark chocolate ice cream and cherries soaked in port wine.

Second, was a honey cake with oak brown sugar crumble, cinnamon whipped cream and black current sauce.

Third, was Bavarian cream pie with just-picked raspberries.

I’m not a restaurant critic and I surely have my biases — I am, after all, Amanda’s father.

That said, the descriptions and photos speak for themselves: Brian and Amanda have done an incredible job, Maxine has a wonderful restaurant, Prince Edward Island is stunningly-beautiful and if you have the opportunity to eat at the Pearl Cafe why would you deny yourself such a great pleasure?

Technorati Tags: #1, aged, Amanda Miller, amuse-bouche, berries, biscuits, Brian Kaderavek, brioche, brunch, buttery, Canada, cheddar, cheese, Chef, chive hollandaise, cows, Crab, eggs Benedict, flapjacks, gouda, greens, Guardian, hollandaise, kaderavek, lobster, local, north rustico, omelet, Oysters, pastry, pastry chef, Pearl Cafe, PEI, pigs, potato roesti, potoato, potter, prince edward island, restaurant, Roquefort, sheep, Taste of the Island, toast

“Bringing a remarkable level of culinary creativity to The Pearl’s magical hospitality has created an absolutely superb restaurant. I honestly feel it’s a clear No. 1 in the province this summer,” said restaurant reviewer Bob Gray.

The restaurant, owned by Maxine Delaney, includes work by local artists, crafted pottery at each setting and fresh flowers.

“It might be the most beautiful spot to eat on P.E.I.,” said the paper, in a review entitled The Pearl Café a true gem.

After a year spent traveling across Canada, the United States and much of Europe, Amanda and Brian — our Chefs on the Road — decided to work on Prince Edward Island where they can overlook the Atlantic Ocean.

“This season, The Pearl has a new chef — and not just any chef,” wrote the paper. “Brian Kaderavek’s most recent positions have been as head sous chef at New York’s much-celebrated Aquavit restaurant and then executive chef at Aquavit’s sister restaurant, AQ Kafe.”

“Everything was superb,” said the review, “but special mention surprisingly goes to the perogies, of all things. The gouda-onion filling was stunningly delicious, and combined with a just-right pear chutney and a brown butter sauce, the relatively pedestrian (for P.E.I). choice of scallops was made into something intriguing and unique.”

The paper lauded the work of pastry chef Amanda Miller.

“How about a little fresh watermelon sorbet? OK, great — with a fresh lemon shortbread cookie that melted in the mouth even faster than the sorbet.”

And, said the paper, “chocolate mousse with port-marinated cherries wasn’t a bad choice either.”

Amanda and Brian will be at the Pearl Café until October, so if you’re heading to the beautiful Prince Edward Island this season please make a point to look them up.

Technorati Tags: Amanda Miller, Brian Kaderavek, Canada, Chef, pastry chef, prince edward island, The Pearl Cafe

Livermore valley is close to Napa and Sonoma, about an hour’s drive south toward San Jose, but it is a world apart from the flashiness and fanfare of its Northern Neighbors.  During the summer season, Napa and Sonoma’s roads clog with motorcades of tourist who fuel themselves at the many hundreds of wine tasting rooms located within these haughty appellations.  The tasting rooms jam with people as elbows and talk of fruit and oakiness fly.

Compared to the cars and crowds of its Northern counterparts, Livermore valley can feel like (and is!) a breath of fresh air.  When driving the country roads to Livermore’s wineries cows are a more common sight than cars, and tractors take up more road than tourists.  Livermore valley is still very rural, and in this there are charms.

Terrior is a French word commonly used when discussing wine.  This word describes the essence of a place—the smell of the soil, water, and air of a particular location.  These subtleties impart their unique flavors into the grapes which are then amplified through the wine making process.  Every great wine region in the world has a distinct terroir.

When it comes to overcrowded wine growing regions, do not believe that car exhaust fumes would improve the terrior of even the finest Reisling, a grape which is often revered for its distinct “petrol” aroma!

It comes to me as a surprise that more people are not flocking to the Livermore Valley because this wine region has some world-class restaurants and wineries where they produce some wonderfully round and robust red wines, including the bomb Cabernet Savignon!

When Amanda and I arrived in Livermore, we met up with our friends John and Erin who took us to dinner at Wente Vineyard’s restaurant for dinner.  In true California style, the restaurant at Wente showcased the best seasonal ingredients produced in the fertile valleys in and around Livermore.

To start our meal we all shared marinated olives and an appetizer of tangy goat cheese topped with buttery bread crumbs and served with grilled bread—a perfect accompaniment to Wente’s creamy and crisp Morning Fog Chardonnay.

To accompany Wente’s fruity, full bodied Cabernet Savignon I indulged in the restaurant’s signature dish, smoked double-cut pork chop.  This chunky chop had a mild applewood smoke flavor and was smothered with a sweet, sour, and savory sauce of maple syrup, green apple, and onion.  These flavors were complimented by bitter kale and richened with a creamy polenta.

The following day we returned to Wente Vineyards and the Stephen Kent Winery to try some more Livermore wines.  In the afternoon daylight we could see grapevines clinging to the steep, ochre hills that dwarf Wente’s tasting room.  Things came into perspective once inside the tasting room.  The flavors of the wines at Wente were as big as the hills on which the grapes are grown.

As far as some California wine connoisseurs are concerned, Livermore Valley is synonymous with Cabernet Savignon, often referred to just as Cab.  The hot days and cool nights in the Livermore Valley are ideal for growing the Cabernet Savignon grape, and no single winery in Livermore is doing more to promote Cab than Steven Kent.  They do this simply by making great wine.

Steven Kent’s Cabernet Savignon is at the same time bold and restrained–embracing the ripe, fruity flavors that California wines are know for, and balancing them with elegant notes of earth and oak that sustain for a long, applause-worthy finish.

The Livermore Valley offers California wine lovers a chance to escape from the tourist bottleneck that can be found just a short drive North in to some of the most recognizable regions in wine–Napa and Sonoma.  As all great wines need a chance to “breath” and “open up” before reaching their full potential, so may the connoisseurs.  In this case, Livermore is the perfect decanter!

Technorati Tags: cab, cabernet savignon, livermore valley, napa, napa valley, sonoma, steven kent, wente, wine

I never paid these claims much attention: for one thing, we have great burgers at Five Guys here on the East and also for the fact that I tend not to eat much in the way of burgers anyways.

Yet when we found ourselves on the West cost we decide we have to give In-N-Out Burger a try!  While we were staying in the Livermore Valley in California our friend Erin made sure we got our taste.

The red and white tiled dinning room was full of local teens; bringing back the nostalgic feeling of a true burger hang out, like in the movies. This is something I don’t think you will find at other fast food places on a Friday night.

Our order was wrapped up tightly in paper and arranged neatly in a cardboard box.

The burgers were on slightly sweet buns that tasted of toasted butter with a little chewy texture and the middle side crisp from the griddle.

The burger was a thin little patty hot off the flattop.  The beef was cooked to well done yet filled with juice and flavor– it was really good!  And yes, it was better then your everyday fast food restaurant anywhere else in the country.

Covered with a slice of bright cheddar cheese that had a nice balance of being melted yet not runny. This was all topped with mayonnaise, crisp lettuce, raw onion, and a big slice of tomato.

Even more than the burger, I liked the thin-cut fries–so salty and fresh! I liked the texture of the fries because they had a nice crust yet they were still soft in the middle and not filled with an oily flavor.

Our friend Erin made sure that we each tried a shake. We both got strawberry–this was the perfect addition to our big dinner.

So, my over all impression of In-N-Out Burger? Well, I think west coasters have the right to be proud.  When In and Out Burger started it was one of a kind, really breaking away from other fast food restaurants of the time.

Now, though, a good patty burger and fries can just as easily be found on the East too! New York has the Shake Shack and quickly spreading is my personal favorite: Five Guys.

It was great to get a taste of the loyally loved burger joint. Next time I find myself on this side of the country I will definitely have another taste of In-N-Out Burger!

Technorati Tags: CA, Five Guys, Hamburger, In and Out Burger, In-N-Out Burger, Livermore CA, Shake Shack

When we visited San Francisco we made sure the stop by the famed Chez Panisse in Berkley.  With our friend Haseeb we shared an amazing lunch that lived up to everything we had hoped for.  The Frank Lloyd Wright inspired dinning room was filled with sun and created a calm feeling as light poured through green glass windows.

We were fortunate to be some of the first arrivals of the day and were able to get a table without a reservation. Our server brought us a chilled carafe of still water and a bottle of their in-house sparkling.  We ordered a large menu to share and sat excitedly waiting to see what would arrive.

Warm, dark grain bread and lightly salted butter where given as a tease, to say “this is only the beginning.” A thick and flaky crust gave way to a chewy, hearty, yet airy center.

Our first plate is a salad of bib lettuces tossed with roasted pecans and a amazing vinaigrette and topped with a few slices of Parmesan cheese.  This has got to be the best salad I had ever had. A perfect balance of flavors. The crunch and butteriness of the lettuces mixed salty, robust, fatty nuts and cheese made the perfect platform to the acidic vinaigrette.

I was full of excitement and good flavors still dancing in my mouth when our soup was placed between us. A light orange colored broth made of winter squash, decorated with a swirl of creamy curry sauce and a sprinkle of chili powder was awaiting us in the wide-brimmed bowl.

Steam rose slowly from the depth of the bowl filling our noses with the sweet aroma of squash. The soup was light and smooth in texture, not nearly as thick as I may have imagined. The flavors of the salt, pepper, curry, cream, and the spice from the chili perfectly accompanied the flavor of roasted squash.

Our main course arrived to oohs and aahs. It was a large piece of lightly fried rock fish served with a side of fresh, crisp green beans, a roasted pepper, and a paprika mayonnaise. The rock fish was tender, flaky, and flavorful.  A nice crust provided crunch, yet though it was fried there was no heavy oil flavor detectable.

We excitedly ordered two desserts: a cranberry tart and three scoops of maple ice cream. The tart delivered the full flavor of the cranberries with a bit of orange zest and perfectly sweet. The crispy crust had a nice butter flavor that went very well with the tart cranberries. Such a simple and balanced dessert followed nicely after our meal.

The maple ice cream was a nice treat, the maple flavor was rich and strong, not overly sweet, and complemented by a few pomegranate seeds. The ice cream was smooth and creamy, served at just the right temperature of not ice cold but not melting.

After our satisfying meal we took as stroll around the Berkley area and found ourselves at the door of Alice Waters other well known project The Edible School Yard at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.

Started over a decade ago in an acre of bare land near the restaurant Chez Panisse, The Edible Schoolyard has become a project that  inspires the rest of the country. Children from the MLK middle school get to learn and work in the garden.  They are taught how to grow there own food and then they get to take cooking classes–using what they are grown and turning it into dinner.

Alice Waters has changed the way Americans are eat. She has also opened doors for schools, children, and parents to change the way American children are eating and learning in school. The Edible Schoolyard is starting a new generation off on the right foot, helping kids to understand where food comes from and how to enjoy it.

We certainly will keep the flavors and ideals that we gained at Chez Panisse. It was an uplifting experience and an enlightening meal. So many places try to be true to the pure flavors of the food, but many fail. Chez Panisse does not! Ms. Water’s restaurant is using real local food and serving it up right. Allowing to goodness to shine for itself. Hopefully the local food movement will continue to improve the way we eat all over the country. It is good to know where it started and how good it should be.

Technorati Tags: Alice Waters, Berkley, bib lettuce, CA, Chef, Chez Panisse, cranberry tart, Frank Lloyd Wright, fried rock fish, maple ice cream, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, The Edible School Yard, winter squash

In New York, Manhattan’s bustling Chinatown is packed with in-your-face sensual thrills.  The fish vendors on Grand Street entice locals and shock  tourists with a pungent combined stench of fresh and dried fish of all varieties.  Vibrant displays of fruit and produce catch the eye as pedestrians concentrate on maneuvering through the bustling crowds of people and traffic that ceaselessly jam the streets and sidewalks.

Across the East River in Queens, Flushing’s Chinatown is less flashy and fragrant but offers delights that are even more delectable.   Here in Flushing, some of the greatest culinary treasures on the East Coast can be found hidden in underground food courts and tiny hole-in-the-wall dumpling shops or proudly displayed in the grand restaurants and dim sum palaces.

Of course, the West Coast has the many great Chinatowns too.  But of all the amazing Pacific  Chinatowns that we visited, San Francisco’s Chinatown crowns them all.   Perched on a steep San Francisco hillside, this sloping Chinatown has a feel like none other.   This section of the rainy city is in a constant bloom of bright colors.  Red and yellow flags and lanterns soar above the main avenues.  On the steep side streets and stores sparkle with all manners of jade, gold, sliver, colorful fabrics, paintings, and polished wood.

As we searched for San Francisco’s Chinatown, driving down the gray waves of San Francisco’s landscape we spotted a beacon of a restaurant wrapped in red and gold signaling that we had discovered the edge of Chinatown.  Turning the corner we were greeted by fresh gingered aroma of Chinese cooking beckoning us to find the best restaurant around.

But we did not want your average, shiny American tourist Chinese food.  We wanted the real stuff.  We wanted to eat where the locals ate.  Luckily we stopped to ask a friendly shop owner where she like to eat–and she told us ABC Kitchen.

We knew that ABC Kitchen was A-OK because it was packed with locals!  Steaming soups and platters of sticky, shimmering meats atop boiled vegetables and noodles was the fare and we wasted no time in ordering some appetizers.

Our friend Erin joined us in digging into a plate of refreshingly simple Chinese-style  deep fried chicken wings.  Instead of a sauce, these wings were tossed with a sharp and fiery mixture of chopped garlic, scallions, and spicy red pepper.

Amanda ordered a plate of lo mein noodles topped with sweet, salty, Peking duck.  This bird had a crisp skin and juicy meat that was cooked and served on the bone and chopped into manageable, delectable rectangles.  This flavorful meat was perfect served alongside the comforting, chewy noodles and slightly bitter steamed greens.

Erin and I were feeling like soup on that rainy San Francisco day.  Erin  ordered a bowl of pork dumpling and noodle soup. I had a catch-all bowl of noodles that included chunks of pork , greens, fish balls.  The noodles were chewy and plentiful alongside the rich and tender pork and toothsome  fish balls.  All this was encompassed by the soup’s rich, silky, transparent broth.

Each Chinatown from coast to coast have its own unique variations of sights, smells, flavors, and sounds to excite and enliven the senses.  Less apparent but always present is a common vibration of excitement that hangs in the air of every great Chinatown.

A crowd of people playing Ma Jong in a park, ladies speeding by pulling small shopping carts by on their way to or from the market, a busy restaurant where the seats are never empty, the wok chefs who never stop cooking, or shop keepers who are always on the lookout for the next customer to come in off the street— the workers and residents fill these sections of their cities with a spirited energy that knows no bounds.

Technorati Tags: chicken wings, chinatown, color, colorful, New York, noodle soup, San Francisco, senses, sights, smells

After waking up early just north of San Diego, Amanda and I packed up camp at our beachside campsite and started our journey northward through Los Angeles.  Soon we were driving north on the coast, sloping mountains to our right and endless ocean to our left.

Cradled between these powerful entities we drove.  We saw fields of tomatoes swarmed with migrant pickers bent at right angles over the fruit and stopped at a produce stand that offered avocados 15 for a dollar.  The air was clean, salty, and crisp and the sun was warm on our skin.

By midday we had covered some ground and stopped for lunch in Santa Barbra.  I steered the car off the highway and onto the sturdy wooden pier that extended Santa Barbra’s downtown restaurants and shopping far out above the water.

Amanda and I enjoyed strolling the pier watching the seagulls bobbing on buoys.  Enjoyable as the pier was, the restaurants here were more expensive and touristy than we were looking for, so we headed into town to explore other dining options.

This excursion led us down the main street of Santa Barbra where we found more expensive tourist and chain restaurants that kept us walking in search for something more local, affordable, and authentic.  Almost as soon as we ventured off the main street we found exactly what we were looking for.

The Paradise Cafe occupied a lazy, sun-soaked street corner where patrons dined on the outdoor patio bordered by potted plants and flowers and inside various warm and well-lit rooms with wood floors, white paint, and colorful art on the walls.

Amanda ordered her favorite meal, a turkey burger!  The burger was served with a salad for a perfect, light California lunch.  I had carne asada tacos of charry grilled skirt steak served with spicy avocado, onion, and cilantro on grilled corn tortillas.  A crisp Caesar salad came with the tacos to complete this SoCal specialty!

After lunch we continued our drive northward along the coast.  Soon we found a spot to stop and watch the sea lions that gathered on the beach to lounge and occasionally scoot themselves around and bark at one another.

Waves crashed onto the rocky shores as we continued up the coast.  Before long the sun began its descent into the Pacific and the mountains to the east crept closer to the seashore.  Soon we were driving halfway up the mountains–the highway carving through precarious angles on the west face of the mountain range of Big Sur.

We zoomed around the steep valleys and protruding bluffs, weaving up and down and seeming to teeter high over the frothy ocean that pounded the rocks far below.  As we drove we watched the sun quickly sink into the horizon, bringing to a close a long and unforgettable day of driving the California coast!

Technorati Tags: big sur, california, carne asada, pacific ocean, paradise cafe, santa barbra, tacos, turkey burger

Haseeb led us to Yamo, a true Burmese restaurant, after a day at the Golden Gate Bridge Park. The windows were fogged from the hot cooking going on inside, a good sign. Three ladies working together behind a long diner counter with ten seats lined up welcomed us.

These ladies ran the place.  One took orders, filled glasses, and took care of the dishes. Another lady prepared all the food before she passed it down to the women working the wok, they work together like clock work.

Burma food culture has been heavily influenced by Chinese, Indian, and Thai flavors and cooking techniques. Brian and I could easily see the similarities as we ordered the recommended dishes: curry fish and house noodles, shrimp fried rice, and spicy beef noodles.

The ladies set quite the mood, they were there for business, and you were expected to order, eat, and make room for the next diner. We sat excitingly on our stools listening to the bang of pots and pans and the chit chat of the women working behind the counter.

When the plates of steaming noodles were placed before us, drawing the attention of the other diners, we took a minute to take in the lovely sight.  Yamo was partly a performance art experience, the food was the star and when anyone got a plate everyone stopped to admire the wonderful aroma and take in the images of soft noodles and meat piled with care on to plates.

Brian got the special of the night and made out the best among us, I think. Long wheat noodles intertwined with chunks of pan fried fish, mixed with peppers and a light, spicy curry sauce. The wheat noodles had a slight bite and chew to them. The fish was fresh tilapia that was elevated to new heights when eaten with the well balanced curry sauce.

Haseeb’s spiced beef and noodles was another winner. Thinly sliced beef that had been marinated and cooked through had a chew itself that went perfectly with the pile of wheat noodles that sat beneath it.

My shrimp fried rice was great but I definitely missed out in not trying these special noodles offered by the Burmese women.  My shrimps were tender and had a nice level of heat just as I would expect. The pile of fluffy rice was very good but just not the same as the fresh noodles would have been.

While we were visiting Haseeb in the city of San Francisco we took a side trip on the weekend to visit nearby Yosemite National Park. Sunday we took a very long strenuous hike up to the top of the Yosemite’s upper falls. On our way back to San Francisco Sunday night we were worn out and ready to eat, but of course we got delayed by The Matrix’s (our wonderful car) first and only (thus far) flat tire!

Thankfully our friends understood and were peasant with the whole situation. Our friend Sarah, who was with us, knew the prefect place to get great food really fast!

El Farolito Taqueria was a bright light in the night. A long counter separated the guests from the hot cooking line. When we reached the register, the guy taking our order help me pick out the grilled chicken taco.

A double layer of flour tortilla supported a tall pile of juicy and flavorful chicken.  The peppery chicken was nicely cooled by a cilantro salsa. It was the perfect meal after such a long day and the right selection.

Brian’s beef tostatas was smeared with re-fried beans, a layer of lettuce, sliced avocado, a mountain of beef, all on crispy fried tortillas. The beef had a great texture with a bit of chew with a nice caramelized flavor from the flattop it was cooked on. At the counter different degrees of salsa were offered, Brian tried one of each, enjoying the nice addition of heat to his meal.

Simple, authentic, and freshly made by passionate people–nothing could be better!

Happy and full we had had another outstanding late night meal. In San Francisco it is easy to fill your day with sights and your stomach with great food.

Technorati Tags: avocado, Burma, Burmese, chicken taco, chimichanga, Chinese, curry fish, El Farolito Taqueria, Indian, Matrix, refried bean, San Francisco, shirmp fried rice, wheat noodles, Yamo, Yamo restaurant, Yosemite National Park

San Diego is a city of surfers and sunshine, and when it comes to food, they do fish really well in unique ways such as great, affordable sushi and gnarly fish tacos.

Upon arriving in San Diego we drove to Oceanside where found a great place to camp right on the beach.  Soon after our camp was set up we met up with our friend Bennett who lives on a Camp Pendleton U.S. Marine base just north of Oceanside.

Bennett took us to his favorite sushi restaurant–Harney Sushi.  The restaurant had a sleek décor with an ocean theme, a beautiful service staff who could have passed for models, and an attractive clientele to match (us included)!  We knew we were in California now!

The sushi here was also beautiful (and tasty) and offered some extra Japanese flair that most sushi eaters don’t see everyday.  It must be that southern Californians really know good sushi!  We ordered gyoza (fried pork dumplings), spicy tuna rolls that were generously plump, a fresh-tasting roll of fatty yellowtail and cucumber, an eel and avocado roll that was heaped with tobiko roe, and some halibut balls of thinly sliced halibut draped over balls of sushi rice and broiled with chili mayonnaise on top.

It was fun sharing all this good sushi and catching up with our friend Bennett, and amazingly, the sushi was not very expensive at all!  This was a very impressive first west coast sushi experience thanks to my man Bennett!

It was well past nightfall when we drove the coastal freeway back to the campsite, but there were still lots of people walking and jogging under the yellow streetlights.  It was plain to see that this area has quite and active community working to maintain their southern California physique!

The next morning we awoke to the sounds of the waves at our beach side campsite and discovered an entirely new shift of active Californians.  Surfers in black wetsuits dotted the ocean not far from the shore, straddling their surfboards and rocking up and down with the motion of the water.  Looking over their shoulders, the surfers would size up the waves.  Eventually, when a worthy wave approached the surfers, one would lay down, paddle, stand, and ride for a few invigorating seconds.

Amanda and I spent the morning enjoying a breakfast of coffee, tea, and pastries at a leisurely oceanfront café and taking a walk on the beach where we saw more thrill-seeking surfers.  After breakfast Amanda and I were ready for some thrills of our own, in the form of fish tacos!  We headed down to Ocean Beach where we found Wahoo’s Fish Taco.  This Mexicali restaurant with a skate and surf décor. Stickers covered all the walls and surf videos played on televisions giving the restaurant a true beach bum feel.

I thought to myself “the food here can’t be any good, this place looks like a surf shack.”  But, in fact, fish tacos are the original surfer grub and the food at Wahoo’s Fish Taco was great!

To make these radical tacos, the taco shop grills fresh, firm, and white Pacific Wahoo fish.  The grilled fish is then chopped into strips and topped with fresh salsa, cheese, cilantro, and plenty of thinly sliced cabbage for freshness and crunch.  This is all wrapped in a double-layer of soft corn tortillas and can be accompanied by a spicy, garlicy Mexican tapateo sauce.   Our tacos were accompanied with beans and rice that were delicious and perfectly cooked, and a moist and flavorful green and red chicken enchilada.

That evening Amanda and I visited Camp Pendleton to meet up with Bennett again after he finished work.  We watched a beautiful sunset at Camp Pendleton’s beach before meeting up with Bennett and his friend.  Then, we all drove to Ocean Beach to get some drinks and burgers at another of Bennett’s favorite spots.

Bennett has been living in San Diego for a couple years already, and has really come to appreciate the laid back atmosphere he enjoys with his friends.  “Beach cruising” is the favorite activity for Bennett and his buds and consists of hopping on an old “beech cruiser” bike and riding for miles down the boardwalk, day or night, and watching all the people and the world go by.

We had finally arrived in California and it felt like landing in another world.  The lifestyle seems appealing—just choose a great activity that gets you outside and surrounded by friends and others and spend hours a day just walking, jogging, surfing, or cruising away.  Oh, and don’t forget to stop off for some great sushi or fish tacos!

Technorati Tags: camp pendleton, enchiladas, fish tacos, ocean beach, oceanside, san diego, sushi

My great Aunt Maria and Uncle Jim have live in Tucson most of their lives, though my Aunt Maria still has her tide-water Virginia accent. Her boys even have a hint the accent it in their speech, and they grew up in the desert! Maria and Jim were our wonderful hosts as we got to see this area through a local’s point of view and they told us wonderful stories about life in the Tucson desert.

My Aunt and Uncle took us to the Saguaro National Park, which is one of the largest protected areas for the iconic saguaro cactus. In all our travels we had yet to see a park like this. Just outside of bustling Tucson the tranquil desert park displayed some of the most amazing saguaro cactus.

We learned that the tall, green, spiky plants grow very slowly and the ones within the park are some of the oldest.  The image of the straight-standing creature with multiple long green arms stretching towards the sky is one that is so deeply associated with the West.  All the scene needed was a rolling tumbleweed, oh wait there it goes, slowly across the desert.

Amazingly when a saguaro cactus dies, the green spiky outer layer begins to fall away revealing a stick-like hollow structure that has grown to support the giant cactus. It is almost like a sculpture and I could hardly believe it was natural. Like the living plant, the saguaro skeleton is protected by law due to its rarity.

After posing with a giant cactus or two Jim took us to see San Xavier del Bac church. The church was built in the 1780’s and is the oldest European structure in Arizona. The large cathedral was adorned with incredible artworks honoring various Spanish saints.

The next day, Jim and Maria’s oldest son Jimmy took us to the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. There is just nothing like this incredible facility that is really a zoo, botanical garden, and museum all about the desert.

This was an interactive combination of learning that was fun to explore.

There were displays about the history of the area such as the dinosaurs that lived here and the meteorites that had fallen nearby. We were shown breathtaking stones that had been mined in the area. Outside along the ground’s paths plants were labeled as the trees, cactus, and flowers guided us through the animal exhibits.

Most wonderful of all where the animals habits! Owls where on display with trainers so we could get an up-close view. Being up close to this incredibly strong and beautiful animal cannot be taken for granted.

The creatures that crawl at the bottom of the dessert were risen to eye level so that they could easily be seen and the lower half of the area was glassed-in so that we could see tunnels and pathways that the different animals were using. Also, we got a chance to catch a glimpse of snakes and field mice asleep happily in there dens, without us disturbing them.

This was by far one of the best set-up zoos I have ever been to because it allowed visitors to truly experience the animals firsthand without over-exposing the creatures for our entertainment.

Living in the desert only a few hours from the chilled mountain top of Mt. Lemon has given Jim and Maria a lot of stories that they regaled us with as we took these trips.

Like the armadillo that the boys raised in the backyard! Or Uncle Jim’s stories about fishing scorpions out of the pool before we would go swimming as kids there. My favorite story, though, is after the family returned from a stay on the mountain in the backyard lodgings on the side of the pool was a mountain lion!

Car trips offer a great opportunity for learning about each other! With family to lead us through this exciting town we made some amazing memories. Nothing in the country can compare to the experience of exploring the dessert museum, or standing beneath a one-hundred-year-old towering cactus. A trip to Tucson should be on everyone’s to do list.

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