We had a mind blowing pre-holiday meal at Cesarina. If you haven’t been there, put it on your to-do list. They greeted up with bubbly and warm bread. We dove into that while we waited for our crispy octopus with romesco, capers, red onions and almonds. For the main course, Pappardelle with marscapone and truffle sauce topped with guanciale. parm and cracked black pepper. You guys, it’s the best pasta dish in the universe.
The night before Easter Shawna and I stayed up making a scavenger hunt for the girls’ Easter baskets. How did it turn out? Let’s just say that they would most likely not make it out of an escape room on their own.
We also hid eggs for them to find. We hid them so well that we didn’t find two of them for weeks.
This recipe comes from ancient times, a culinary class I took in another life. It makes you break out the food processor. I normally try to avoid using it. However, it’s worth the extra clean up.
This recipe makes about 4 cups.
INGREDIENTS
2 1-1/2 lb eggplants
1 tbs vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 1 tbs minced green onions
2 1/2 tbs minced fresh peeled ginger
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 large seeded tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup pack fresh chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
pita chips (homemade or store bought)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425. Pierce eggplants all over with a fork. Place on baking sheet. Roast in oven until eggplants are very soft and deflated, turning once about one hour. Cool slightly.
Cut eggplants in half, scrape flesh into strainer set over large bowl (do not let bottom of the strainer to touch bowl). Let eggplant drain for 30 minutes. Transfer eggplant to processor. Using the pulse button, process until almost smooth.
Heat veg oil in heavy large skillet over med-high heat. Add 1/2 cup of green onions, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic sauce. Saute just until onions soften, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce , vinegar and lemon juice. Bring to simmer stirring constantly. Mix in eggplant puree and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes, 3/4 cup green onions and sesame oil. Cool to room temp. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a medium bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead, but bring to room temp before serving.) Garnish with 1 tbs of green onion and cilantro. Serve with toasted pita chips.
Our last two days…sigh. I swear the first few days go by slowly and then BAM! It’s the end. We were at sea on Thursday and then at Great Stirrup Cay (NCL’s private Island) on Friday morning.
Our day at sea we actually found ourselves some lounge chairs. Were they by the pool, no. Were they three levels up in the middle of fifty chairs? Yes….But we had a place to call home base. We made nice with our neighbors and then decided we were going to go to a wine tasting.
Wine tasting
We had the best time. Turns out we know a little about oenology. Some called us “teachers pets” which just made the experience that more fun.
So, we didn’t leave after that, we stayed for another wine tasting.
Blind tasting along with some macaron’s. We were swapping wines and cookies with are table mates, taking the ones they didn’t love and vice versa.
The next morning we were in the Bahamas. A little island that a big company owns. Great Stirrup Cay.
This was the only stop that we tendered into. With that, it’s one beach and first come first serve.
You can’t just get onto the Tender because you are first in line. You have to have an excursion or a ticket…something.
I read about this before our trip and was prepared. On our first sea day, I went to the excursion desk. I rented us an umbrella and two chairs on Great Stirrup Cay. That got us a first class ticket off the ship and on the first tender/ biggest tender ever.
You guys, I am not kidding when I say that the island was empty when we arrived. The beaches were newly combed, not a footprint in sight and two hours later, the place was packed. If you take any advice from our trip, let it be that. Especially if you want a chair by the water.
We got some nice chairs by the blue water. We drank some drinks, duh. Then we went and played some corn hole. We meandered around the small island and some shops. We shortly contemplated walking to the other side of the island. However, we weren’t sure how far the other side was (the view was sand and trees). We decided against it, we didn’t want to waste our day lost on a hot island.
We spent the afternoon in the water. I took out a paddle board for awhile, we swam, we ate and we just soaked it all up. This was our last stop and we weren’t ready to go home.
But sadly, that was it. That’s the end. It was a great trip, a little too crowded. A little to0 long of lines for dinner and drinks, BUT at least it wasn’t full of college students . That was bad.
Cruises are still our favorite way to travel. And I most definitely want to go stay on St. Thomas or Tortola or both in the future.
One day, you will find me on one of these beaches. I will be the one with the beach bar renting out water toys. Follow the music.
Not unlike St. Thomas, the Tortola port was also semi closed off and vans were the only taxi options. But, we didn’t venture out so please don’t take my word for it.
We went to Cane Garden Beach on the north side of Tortola.
It was everything I wanted it to be.
We found some chairs to keep, we pulled them into the lapping waves and just soaked up the sun.
There isn’t an exciting story about people we met or the amazing sea life we saw. It was just the best day on an amazing beach.
That is all we did. When the time came to leave I was heartbroken.
I vow to return to that beach.
This time our cruise entertainment wasn’t as exciting as the last one. Maybe because this cruise was packed. Either way, we stuck to drinks in the lounge and karaoke for our nightly entertainment.
Our plan for the day was to take a taxi to Magen’s Bay. Getting around from the port was super easy and reliable. The only downside was the taxis were vans and they waited until they had a car full of people before we left. Once we hit the roads, it made sense. It was a long winding drive but so beautiful.
Once we reached the beach we all piled out of the taxi and found someone to rent beach chairs from.
We had to pay for two lounge chairs, I think it was only 25 dollars. Once we settled in we made our way up to Fairchild’s Bar and Grill. It was crowded and lines were long. I guess that’s what we get for going to a popular place.
We don’t have many pictures of our time here and let me tell you why.
We were sitting next to a couple who was on another NCL cruise, the Outlaw Country cruise. {we will call them Carol and Bud.} I asked about their cruise and who was playing on board. I am a country music fan. I didn’t know anyone they mentioned. I guess “outlaw” means someting else. But now we were talking to them for our entire stay at the beach.
The time came for a drink refill so Carol and I went and stood in the long line for rum drinks. While we were waiting she told me that she had been in prison. “Oh, really? I asked. Then she said she’s been out for a few years. She is a whole new person. I mean obviously she is. So, I asked her what she was in for. You guys… She tells me this story. She was arrested in an Oklahoma casino. At the time, she had 40 packs of Sudafed stuffed inside her boots. She told the cops that she “had a cold”…Somehow she ran from them and was on the run for months. I am not kidding you. She told me how she would go to estate sales while evading law enforcement. She’d buy furniture without having a place to put it. Eventually she was caught after a shoot out and a car crash, I mean, of course. HAhahaaa…
She talked about how amazing prison was for her..blah blah blah. She said that she met the man she was now with (Bud ) while incarcerated, (that is another story) That makes sense right? Long story shorter, she got out early for good behavior and made her way to him. Now here they were.
We spent the afternoon drinking, swimming and chatting. They were fun, it was like watching a train wreck happen in real time. But as the day went on, their story changed. They spoke about being clean after their prison stints. They mentioned that they never wanted to end up in prison again. Her loose lips admitted that she keistered some Molley onto their cruise. She didn’t tell him because he has a guilty face.
Good times you guys, good times.
Before we new it, our alarm went off and it was time to head back to our ship.
We shared the taxi with them. These pictures should show you how we were SO glad that they weren’t on our cruise!
Once we poured out of the taxi , we said “Ok Bye” to our friends.
Then we had one more rum drink before getting on our ship.
After dinner we went to the lounge to watch Karaoke.
I took videos but I’ll spare you. It was basically the same people each night. We all sound good on vacation, right?
We decided on a Caribbean cruise for my birthday this year. One week in paradise with warm water and beautiful beaches. This itinerary had us leaving out of Port Canaveral Florida on my birthday stopping in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Tortola and the Bahamas.
Our flight left San Diego late on a Friday night and we arrived in Orlando before 6 am.
We got some coffee and charged our phones while we waited for our ride.
We arranged a transfer from the airport to the port for 9:00 a.m and were at Port Canaveral before 10:00. Unfortunately the previous cruise arrived late {or passengers weren’t disembarking} whatever the truth was, our boarding was behind schedule.
Alas, we were making our way onboard. Our rooms weren’t ready so we headed straight to the pool deck we went.
We sat and people watched. Sang along, more people watching, made friends and then found our room to unpack and shower. We had a nice dinner in one of the two main dining rooms followed by espresso martinis and music.
Day two was at sea which meant we slept in. The only downside to that was the pool decks were packed. This cruise was full which we weren’t used to. There were lines and limited seating for most everything. So instead of sitting poolside we decided on wine and chocolate tasting.
Followed by a night of dueling pianos.
Our cabin at the end of the night.
Our cabin stewardess was the BEST!
The next morning we woke up in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Our plan was to take a taxi to Umbrella Street and Costambar Beach.
Can we talk about the port though?
It took us a good 30 minutes to walk through the port of Taino Bay. I mean it was beautiful and full of things to do, see, drink, eat and swim in…but WTF. Half of an hour just to get to public transportation.
Once we got in a taxi and made it to our first stop. He didn’t just let us out, he parked and walked with us to Umbrella street. Actually, he took these photos for us.
He suggested that we go to Playa Dorado instead, because “Costambar is too quiet”. Stupid me said OK because Playa Dorado was also on our optional to-do list.
We pull up to a beach and a little bazaar. Our taxi driver was greeted by buddies whom walked along side us through a maze of bright sarongs, t-shirts, hand-made ceramics and then to the beach.
It’s fine, we thought…We are where we want to be.
Sun, monkeys and calamari…. I mean what is better than that?
We swam and soaked up the sun until our time was up. Then we bought shit we didn’t need before our taxi driver took us back to the port.
We ended the night with a nice dinner and listening to music, our favorite hobby.
Back in January the best dad, my dad turned 80. He is a brilliant man. He is the rock of our family. He is the perfect example of what it means to be a husband and father.
We had a little surprise party for him with a few close friends and family.
What a life he’s had and continues to live. From a savage soccer player and coach to flying jet airliners. Having a cartoon strip in the newspaper and magazines. Traveling the world all while having art hanging in galleries. He’s checked off a lot of boxes in this thing called life. He is truly living his best.
My brother and sister in-law planned the entire thing and it was such a hit. Good food, good wine and great company.
As we were booking this trip I whispered to myself, “this time it will be amazing”.
Because this time we were going to do things different. We were going to stay at a smaller hotel. We were going to forgo San Diego International and leave out of Tijuana. That’s what everyone said we should do, it’s cheaper, easier..
Side note: we live 10 miles away from San Diego International Airport. We live 26 miles from the CBX crossing.
So, I book a flight from Tijuana to Cabo. The Uber showed up on time and 25 minutes later we are at the CBX border. We got out of the car with our luggage and all the of the paperwork filled out. (you have to have your shit together otherwise you’ll be filling out papers leaning against vending machines before they let you through, oh and they don’t have pens so bring your own.)
We proudly show our paperwork and make our way across the tunnel (border) and into the TJ airport. The walk took about 10 minutes. And then we hit the line for the custom passport check and guess what, we weren’t alone. We were in line for about 30 minutes. After that, there was another check point and then there was a luggage check. We left a lot of time, I’m talking hours to get through everything. But luckily we reached our gate with minutes to spare. We jumped in line and then realized that we weren’t even boarding our plane, we were just getting on a bus to take us to our plane. WTF?
We eventually made it to our plane.
We landed in Cabo without any problems. Once we collected our luggage and walked outside I realized that we werent at the same terminal we were used to. I don’t actually know how manyYou know, the terminal that has the bars?
Little things like that aren’t a big deal, shouldn’t be a big deal. but at that moment I wanted to be where everyone else was. I wanted to the terminal with the bars, I wanted to be where everyone else was.
Our transfer arrived not long after and we were headed to our hotel.
This was a smaller hotel that was a short beach walk to Medano beach.
We sat on the beach all day every day . Had the best churros ever.
We ate fresh fish, molé enchiladas. Fireworks every night and stormy weather.
I need to mention that those fireworks went off every night. It sounded like we were being gunned down (Hi, I am that old. ) Also, the flamingos underneath us sounded like they were screaming for their lives. I’m not a fan of either of those.
With that being said, it was a nice trip. But I think Cabo can be put on the back burner for awhile.
The trip home was SO much easier even with a delayed flight, go figure.
LA Galaxy, if you know me then you know that I am a soccer person. We are the OG LA Galaxy fans. When we lived in San Ramon (1990’s) we watched the San Franscisco Bay Blackhawks. This is before there was MLS. Eric Wynalda was on the team and I remember running up to him after a win with my friends. Can’t do that anymore.
Nevertheless we are still a footy family. OG Galaxy fans!
LA Galaxy MLS Champions!
Now onto my Averi.
I want to be her when I grow up. She’s just so confident, she has that chutzpah, you know.. so sure of herself.
As we were booking this trip I whispered to myself, “this time it will be amazing”.
Because this time we were going to do things different. We were going to stay at a smaller hotel. We were going to forgo San Diego International and leave out of Tijuana. That’s what everyone said we should do, it’s cheaper, easier..
Side note: we live 10 miles away from San Diego International Airport. We live 26 miles from the CBX crossing.
So, I book a flight from Tijuana to Cabo. The Uber showed up on time and 25 minutes later we are at the CBX border. We got out of the car with our luggage and all the of the paperwork filled out. (you have to have your shit together otherwise you’ll be filling out papers leaning against vending machines before they let you through, oh and they don’t have pens so bring your own.)
We proudly show our paperwork and make our way across the tunnel (border) and into the TJ airport. The walk took about 10 minutes. And then we hit the line for the custom passport check and guess what, we weren’t alone. We were in line for about 30 minutes. After that, there was another check point and then there was a luggage check. We left a lot of time, I’m talking hours to get through everything. But luckily we reached our gate with minutes to spare. We jumped in line and then realized that we weren’t even boarding our plane, we were just getting on a bus to take us to our plane. WTF?
We eventually made it to our plane.
We landed in Cabo without any problems. Once we collected our luggage and walked outside I realized that we werent at the same terminal we were used to. I don’t actually know how manyYou know, the terminal that has the bars?
Little things like that aren’t a big deal, shouldn’t be a big deal. but at that moment I wanted to be where everyone else was. I wanted to the terminal with the bars, I wanted to be where everyone else was.
Our transfer arrived not long after and we were headed to our hotel.
This was a smaller hotel that was a short beach walk to Medano beach.
We sat on the beach all day every day . Had the best churros ever.
We ate fresh fish, molé enchiladas. Fireworks every night and stormy weather.
I need to mention that those fireworks went off every night. It sounded like we were being gunned down (Hi, I am that old. ) Also, the flamingos underneath us sounded like they were screaming for their lives. I’m not a fan of either of those.
With that being said, it was a nice trip. But I think Cabo can be put on the back burner for awhile.
The trip home was SO much easier even with a delayed flight, go figure.
LA Galaxy, if you know me then you know that I am a soccer person. We are the OG LA Galaxy fans. When we lived in San Ramon (1990’s) we watched the San Franscisco Bay Blackhawks. This is before there was MLS. Eric Wynalda was on the team and I remember running up to him after a win with my friends. Can’t do that anymore.
Nevertheless we are still a footy family. OG Galaxy fans!
LA Galaxy MLS Champions!
Now onto my Averi.
I want to be her when I grow up. She’s just so confident, she has that chutzpah, you know.. so sure of herself.
When I wonder what she got from me, she runs into walls and spills shit.
Days are long and the years are fast, is that how the saying goes? Averi is ten! Can we take a moment and let that settle in?
For her summer birthday she wanted a trip to Great Wolf Lodge (GWL), a pink birthday party and cake pops. She got her wish and now I don’t feel the need to do two of those things again. We have officially grown out of GWL and the cake pops were the absolute worst thing that I have ever done.
I ordered cupcakes for her actual July 10th birthday and then we headed for the lodge later in the week.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our years celebrating birthday’s at GWL but we have outgrown the place. Not enough to keep the older ones interested and I don’t care to stand in anymore lines… for anything.
For her little celebration I gave the kid what she wanted… chocolate cake pops. Who knew the phenomenon of said dessert was such a nightmare to make? I mean I have made croissants and tarts, dutch babies and pavlova’s but leave it to cake pops to lead to profanity, alcohol and tears; and let’s not forget about the mess. I’ll have you know that I did my research and I was ready, armed with all the tools but it was a disaster. The cake and frosting rolled into balls, cake stick inserted and chocolate coating melted just for it all to melt and fall apart, one cake pop after the other sliding down the stick, chocolate getting everywhere, hands, counter, fridge, sink. I ended up saying fuck the cake sticks we will have cake balls, feeling so proud of myself in that moment. But, it wasn’t a real cake pop more like a cake truffle. Averi the empathetic child that she is felt guilty and said that she will never ask me to make those again, god I love her. Happy 10th birthday my sweet Aves.
The Art of Thyming 