Just made a brief stop off Highway 101 at a great little restaurant called Duke’s about 2 blocks from the beach in Ventura, CA. I googled fish tacos on my iPhone and this place came up so we decided to check it out. It was probably the most authentic, and definitely the best meal so far. We each got the special trio taco plate which came with 1 chicken, 1 carne asada, and 1 fish taco, along with beans and rice. We also ordered a bowl of guacamole and chips. Let’s just say, we both devoured our plates! Each mini taco was loaded with tons of cilantro and onions and it came with a side of zesty tomatillo salsa to pour over each tasty morsel. The guacamole was phenomenal, and the homeade deep-fried tortilla chips didn’t stand a chance!
I washed down the yummy goodness with a cold Corona and lime…the perfect companion to a fish taco! We walked down to the beach and took in the sunny, Cali vibe. We met a local guy who was a little too friendly…we decided to move along after he asked us for an email address. We are enroute up 101…SF bound.
I won’t apologize for not posting sooner this time…a girl’s got to have some fun, right? We just spent last night in a very nice hotel which was just what we needed after 3 nights and 4 days of camping at Festival 8…Phish’s 8th festival! After we left Arizona, we drove about 3.5 hours to Indio to meet our friend, Jesse, who we would be camping with. A festival first for me was the fact that we had absolutely NO TRAFFIC going into the venue!!! I’m not sure if it was due to the fact that we arrived a day early or that the event didn’t attract more people. I think the fact that Phish decided to do the festival out west deterred countless phans. I can name at least 10 people I know that couldn’t make it. Phish is an east-coast band after all, but why wouldn’t they have a festival in the most laid-back state in the U.S.? To me, California just seemed to be a perfect fit….up until we hit the security check point going into the venue. We were pretty much strip-searched….I’ve never seen security like that at a show before. They made us dump our valuable Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat due to the fact that they were bottles as opposed to cans. It was over-the-top madness…taking away our microbrews…..brews that had traveled the entire country, only to be dumped near some trashcan as if they were garbage. I hope the Long Trail Brewery doesn’t get wind of this. After feeling a bit violated, we headed to our campsite, Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (named after the 1973 album by the British progressive rock group King Crimson). Each campground was named a different potential album that Phish could possibly cover during their Halloween set. Other campground names included Hunky Dory, Electric Ladyland, and Purple Rain! The festival site was gorgeous with a beautiful mountain range surrounding the venue which created the perfect backdrop to the lush, grassy fields and miles of palm trees that we would call home for 4 days.
Phish ended up performing the Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street…which was pretty rockin’, but sort of unexpected at the same time. Phish covers Loving Cup all the time so maybe this just seemed like the perfect album to cover. I mean, who doesn’t love the Rolling Stones? My personal favorites from that set included Shake Your Hips and Stop Breaking Down. Sharon Jones and Saundra Williams provided the soulful sound Phish needed to pull off this masterpiece. I’m not convinced it was their best Halloween musical costume, but I still enjoyed every minute of it.
I really enjoyed Phish’s Friday night show, especially, the second set…and the last two sets on Sunday night. The Down With Disease was amazing…Page through down some funky goodness on that song. The 2001 from Sunday’s nights show was ridiculous and is always a favorite of mine and Jon’s. We had talked earlier in the day about how cool it would be if they played Sparkle…and they ended up playing it Sunday night! Jesse had dressed up as Esther for Halloween and they ended up playing that as the 2nd encore song of Sunday night.
I ended up wearing my Marge Simpson outfit for Halloween, but left the strapless green dress behind and found a cool blue dress from one of the vendors inside the concert grounds. People seemed to really enjoy my costume as I kept hearing people yell, “Marge”…I even had a couple photographs taken of me! Jon’s costume took too much time and effort to put together so he bagged the glowstick costume altogether. He’s not really one for dressing up anyway!
We are heading north up to San Francisco to visit my dad and step mom and partake in a Segway tour of the city. More to come…
I apologize for not posting sooner…we finally made it to Glendale, AZ (a suburb just North of Phoenix). Quentin (my oldest nephew, now 6 years old) greeted us outside their house wearing a cute little safari vest packed with marbles…the vest must have weighed about 10 lbs, at least! I picked him up and he gave me the biggest hug…it was so good to see him again! Rhetta and Jaxson soon followed and we checked out their abode. We were also greeted by the ever-so dainty and adorable, Zoe…a minpin crossed with Italian Greyhound. A tiny dog with the sweetest disposition. Their cat, Ionee (a bit larger than Zoe) came in to greet us as well….the two of them together make quite the duo. Oliver soon came home and we decided to go check out the Salty Dog…a huge outdoor style restaurant positioned right next to the Padres’ practice field. We sipped Coronitos with limes and chowed on mini tacos and fresh guacamole. It was great to catch up with them.
Today, Oliver, Jon and I went up to Camelback….a fantastic hiking spot well-known by the locals. I was ecstatic to get some exercise after being cooped up in the car for the last several days. We hiked up for quite awhile…it was a fairly aggressive hike with sections where you had to hold onto rails to hoist your way up….not for the faint of heart. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and the views alone were worth the hike! Jon got his share of cacti sightings which was very important to him….Jon is almost as obsessed with cacti as he is with moose! After our hike, Oliver took us to Scottsdale to check out some shops and do a little skateboarding in a local skate park. If any of you don’t know my brother, Oliver is a phenomenal skater…and has been doing it for years. He had enough skate boards for all of us. I had been dying to try his Ripstik board. I struggled for a few tries and then finally got the hang of it. I love the Ripstik….it gives me the feeling of carving on a snowboard and provides a great deal of exercise too. I may have to invest in one of those bad boys! We had lunch at a sports bar called Duke’s immediately following our skate session. Duke’s was right next to the skate park. Rhetta and Jaxson met us their for lunch. We also checked out their new house which had an MTV Cribs style back yard and pool…it was very cool! They will be in their new home by Nov. 15th. We tried to venture out for some sushi this evening, but the restaurant was closed so we ended up at a Macaroni Grill which was just what we needed anyways after a long day of exercise. So, we have enjoyed seeing my bro and his family….it sucks that we don’t live closer to them. I’m glad Phish decided to do their festival in So. Cal because it gave Jon and I the perfect opportunity to see my family, as well! Tomorrow, we head into uncharted waters as we won’t know how easy or difficult our trip into the festival will be. Hopefully, we will get right in, but you never know with a Phish festival…traffic could be a nightmare. Ugghhhh….I guess I will keep my fingers crossed.
After waking up to a blue bird day with temps in the high 30’s, we packed up the car and headed out to find The Aztec…another local’s favorite. Tucked down Aztec Street, right off of Guadalupe Street…we came upon this funky little joint. The Aztec is authentic in every sense, from the interesting artwork, both inside and out, to an artistically drawn chalkboard displaying a wide array of coffee drinks to please any java officionado. We soaked up some rays outside and decided to check out some of the local shops. The Peruvian Connection happened to be right around the corner on Guadalupe Street (mi madre works at the one in Manchester, Vt)! We drove around town for a bit and took in the sights. The mountains surrounding Santa Fe were all snow-capped…supposedly, a snowstorm will be heading their way this evening. All in all, we like Santa Fe…and would definitely return to take in the art galleries, old chapels, mountains, and local flavors. The locals seem friendly here too…I would guess it’s a mixture of artists, writers, musicians, and hippies. Next stop, Sedona, then Glendale, AZ to see my brother, Rhetta, and our nephews, Quentin & Jaxson!
After checking into the Sage Inn in Santa Fe, NM…we dumped our belongings in our room and headed out to Maria’s…a local’s favorite Mexican restaurant (not on DDD). The restaurant had a rustic Mexican feel to it. It was fairly crowded for a Monday night. I guess this place is known for their margaritas…oh, fabulous!!! My favorite. So, I decided to get the “Sweetheart” margarita (on the rocks with salt), while Jon opted for the frozen strawberry margarita. They brought out the usual chips and red salsa. I thought the chips were a bit too salty for my liking and the red salsa had tons of red pepper in it so it was quite hot! We asked for a bowl of guacamole…which was delicious! I ordered Maria’s combination plate and Jon ordered the Blue Corn Tortilla enchiladas (which are served flat not rolled). My combination plate included a tamale (still wrapped in the corn husk), one chille relleno, one blue corn enchillada, one taco with guacamole and beans and rice. WOW! A ton of food, but for those who know me well…I can eat! I devoured the chille relleno and blue corn enchillada, both topped with a red and green sauce. Simply outstanding! They also brought us a basket of fresh, hot sopapillas which were great for dunking in the left over sauce on our plates. The server also mentioned they are great with honey so Jon tried that immediately fell in love. I’ve included a picture of my meal, after I already dug in…sorry!
We are quickly making our way through the Texas panhandle…just stopped in Amarillo at a local Jiffy Lube for an oil change. One armadillo sighting…unfortunately, his end was the road. 1,870 miles travelled.
So, we didn’t quite make it to Tulsa last night, but we ended up driving 13 hours which put us in Joplin, MO. Joplin is literally right on the border of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We realized that the top 3 favorite activities to engage in while travelling through south western Missouri would include buying an RV, praising the Lord, or renting porn. The ratio of neon crosses to the neon adult superstore signs was truly astounding. We crashed at a Best Western which was nicer than the Days Inn we stayed at the previous night. After a much-needed good night’s sleep, we felt rejuvenated for our trek along I-40, heading towards Amarillo, TX. We plan to land in Santa Fe, NM by 7:30pm (MST)…just in time for some tasty Mexican food!
This picture doesn’t do the Gateway Arch to St. Louis any justice…what an incredibly beautiful skyline. I hope we can make time for a brief stop here on our return trip…
Cruising through Ohio, we saw someone riding a horse-drawn buggy across the overpass. Did we just step back in time for that brief moment?Crazy, but cool nonetheless! Heading through yet another Springfield (Ohio),a great version of Peggy-O (our go-to station,Sirius channel 32) just made the brutal trek through Ohio a little more bearable. Now what would a trip passing through the great Midwest be without a brief Cracker Barrel stop. It doesn’t matter where you are, they all look exactly the same. So, for all you hunters or animal lovers, we have counted 8 dead deer and +3 dead raccoons. Never a pretty sight. We made it through Indianapolis in record speed, thanks to my cautious, lead foot. We are now about 50 miles from St. Louis, MO. I am just giddy about golden arches! Our goal is to make it to Tulsa, OK tonight…hoping to find a triple D (Jon says, “keep your mind out of the gutter”) in the am.
We had epic driving weather all day up until this point…the rain has arrived yet again…we started the trip in a torrential downpoor. But, it still doesn’t feel like Vermont – it’s flat as a pancake out here! I have yet to see another car with a Thule box on top – we must look like aliens to these friendly flat-landers. So, all in all, it’s been what the PGA would call, Moving Day, which is usually on the Saturday of a tournament. In our case, it happens to fall on Sunday (JEG’s two cents).
…..I digress…more to come when we are 10 miles from Tulsa (my bro’s old, but brief neck-of-the-woods).
P.S. We just saw a giant tractor pulling a shit spreader across the overpass.
Just made a brief stop off Highway 101 at a great little restaurant called Duke’s about 2 blocks from the beach in Ventura, CA. I googled fish tacos on my iPhone and this place came up so we decided to check it out. It was probably the most authentic, and definitely the best meal so far. We each got the special trio taco plate which came with 1 chicken, 1 carne asada, and 1 fish taco, along with beans and rice. We also ordered a bowl of guacamole and chips. Let’s just say, we both devoured our plates! Each mini taco was loaded with tons of cilantro and onions and it came with a side of zesty tomatillo salsa to pour over each tasty morsel. The guacamole was phenomenal, and the homeade deep-fried tortilla chips didn’t stand a chance!
I won’t apologize for not posting sooner this time…a girl’s got to have some fun, right? We just spent last night in a very nice hotel which was just what we needed after 3 nights and 4 days of camping at Festival 8…Phish’s 8th festival! After we left Arizona, we drove about 3.5 hours to Indio to meet our friend, Jesse, who we would be camping with. A festival first for me was the fact that we had absolutely NO TRAFFIC going into the venue!!! I’m not sure if it was due to the fact that we arrived a day early or that the event didn’t attract more people. I think the fact that Phish decided to do the festival out west deterred countless phans. I can name at least 10 people I know that couldn’t make it. Phish is an east-coast band after all, but why wouldn’t they have a festival in the most laid-back state in the U.S.? To me, California just seemed to be a perfect fit….up until we hit the security check point going into the venue. We were pretty much strip-searched….I’ve never seen security like that at a show before. They made us dump our valuable Long Trail Blackbeary Wheat due to the fact that they were bottles as opposed to cans. It was over-the-top madness…taking away our microbrews…..brews that had traveled the entire country, only to be dumped near some trashcan as if they were garbage. I hope the Long Trail Brewery doesn’t get wind of this. After feeling a bit violated, we headed to our campsite, Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (
After checking into the 
(which are served flat not rolled). My combination plate included a tamale (still wrapped in the corn husk), one chille relleno, one blue corn enchillada, one taco with guacamole and beans and rice. WOW! A ton of food, but for those who know me well…I can eat! I devoured the chille relleno and blue corn enchillada, both topped with a red and green sauce. Simply outstanding! They also brought us a basket of fresh, hot sopapillas which were great for dunking in the left over sauce on our plates. The server also mentioned they are great with honey so Jon tried that immediately fell in love. I’ve included a picture of my meal, after I already dug in…sorry!
