No Stress Road Trip 2021

Let me tell you about this broccoli. Roasted on said fire, served with chermoula aioli and candied peanuts. They basically flash fried/charred an entire head of broccoli and believe me when I say it is some of the best broccoli you will ever eat. Probably the highlight of the meal for me.

For the main, I had Flat Iron Steak, medium rare, with onion creme, smoked pears, and charred broccolini (are you getting the campfire theme yet?). The smoked pears paired (ha) really nicely with the steak. Very good.

It took quite a while for my steak to come out, so they comped me a dessert. I had to get the tableside smores. Mascarpone marshmallow, chocolate gnash, and graham cracker snickerdoodles served with hot coals from the fire to roast stuff on. DELICIOUS.

This place was in downtown Carlsbad and there was a ton going on. Think of it like a mega upscale Prescott Whiskey Row. There was live music and I kinda wanted to stay out longer. I didn't though. I don't want to do too much on night one and burn out. Gonna turn in before 11pm like the old man I am.

Day 2: 9-16-21

Late afternoon I left, hoping to get some miles in. South of Woodland Hills is the CA26 which got me back to the PCH. HOLY MOLY THIS ROAD RULED. It was super twisty, tons of elevation changes, AND it was a narrow 2-way road as well. It definitely got my heart pumping and made me wish I was on a motorcycle. Made it back to PCH and drove through Malibu (which was bigger than I anticipated), and various beach towns before deciding to end up in San Luis Obispo.

I decided to take a more direct route to save time, as traffic on the PCH was getting nutty due to construction. Queue 90 miles of INTENSE MOUNTAINOUS 2-WAY ROAD DRIVING. I was wiped by the time I got to SLO. Stayed downtown in a decent little spot called the Avenue Inn. Found a highly rated sushi joint called Goshi about 1/3 mile from my hotel, so I took the opportunity to walk and enjoy the 60 degree weather. Wanted something light so the chef just gave me nigiri selections from the specials of the day. Everything was amazing. I loved the chutoro so much I ordered some extra. Can you name all of the fish pictured here?

Good day. Tomorrow I will be heading back to the PCH to go through Big Sur. Looking forward to it. I feel like I've been gone a week, but it hasn't even been 48 hours yet. This is not a bad thing.

The tour was telling me ALL ABOUT Hearst Castle, where the eccentric and powerful William Randolph Hearst used to entertain guests. Basically it was the most lavish and insane place in the country for a very long time. It's basically a giant museum full of artifacts from every culture. It's considered the most popular state attraction. I was so excited to do the tour, but it was CLOSED. Thanks covid.

My next stop was supposed to be a really cool hike down to these awesome waterfalls, but it was closed as well. Sad face.

I did stop at Breaker Point because Uncle Gypsy suggested it, and got to sit and enjoy a view for a few minutes. These pictures don't do it justice.

The road the entire time was twisty, exciting, changing elevation, and had at least 4 different climates throughout. This is a BEAUTIFUL drive. I wish I was on a motorcycle.

View from the eating area.

I had roasted garlic and goat cheese served with flatbread.

"Ambrosia Burger" with green salad

I had a friend join me in the tree right in front of me.

They had one of my favorite whiskeys available. High West's Double Rye. Cheers!

So right after lunch, I got a low tire pressure light. I was about halfway through at this point and was super stressed about getting a flat on this crazy road with no shoulders to change a tire on. I took it much easier after this, much to the chagrin of people behind me. The rest of the drive was beautiful, but I didn't make any more stops because of my possible tire issue. I made it to Carmel, said goodbye to Uncle Gypsy and got my tire checked out. Everything was fine, they suggested I had a bad sensor. I will keep an eye on it.

For dinner I started with a grilled artichoke.

For my main I got Seafood Pasta. Fresh pappardelle pasta with shrimp, salmon, petrale sole, and octopus over a tomato cream sauce.

For dessert, pistachio cream pudding and a sample of baklava

I am in a weekly D&D game that meets on Fridays. We play mostly on roll20.net, so I committed to joining the games while I am on the road. Had a SUPER FUN session today. Thanks Steve, I love you.

I'm having a ton of fun on this trip and feel so lucky that I am able to do it. Thanks for following along.

I began my day excited to go to the world famous Monterey Aquarium and see tons of awesome marine life. I've heard it's a MUST DO. I love that shit. I arrived roughly 40 minutes prior to opening to hopefully get a parking spot. It's RIGHT on the coast in an area called Cannery Row (Monterey used to be a fish canning town, and the area has that motif). As I draw near, I see FIVE GIANT BUSSES spilling hundreds of children in front of the aquarium, all wearing the same tshirt. I also notice that even though I am early, the line to get in went around the block far enough to wrap around the entire complex. I drove around the area a couple of times attempting to psych myself up to go in, but hey... it's Covid times and I have a long way yet to go on my trip. Should have known with the weather this amazing and it being a Saturday morning, it was going to be super busy, even at opening.

My friends and I chatted about things, got caught up, and it was so nice. I missed these kids. Their son was 8 and I had never met him, so that was a trip. I also got to meet and pet their dogs Penny and Arnold T. Pants Esq. Earlier in the day they had gone to a pumpkin farm for fun times, and the kid had gotten some tiny pumpkins. He gave me one to take with me on my adventures because he, "Had 3 but didn't really need all 3 so [I] thought [I] would give one to Ethan." Aww.

Oh and this is the view from their front door (Literally the bay)

We caught up too. Both friends I visited today are great drummers, so we chatted a lot about music, how things were in AZ, etc. I got to meet his dog Kain and toss a stick for him.

My buddy was hungry so we went to a hilariously named restaurant (I am eternally 12 years old).

*BUTTHEAD LAUGH*

I wasn't mega hungry so I had the Spicy Feta Phyllo Wraps and they were great.

There was also this duck asking for food that wouldn't take no for an answer. Little dick bit me like 4x as if to say, "EY FUCKER, FEED ME." Sorry little buddy.

Remember the pumpkin my friend's son gave me? I decided he should have some adventures too. Look at him ordering shitty beer at the restaurant.

I ordered spicy tuna stuffed jalapenos and a beef curry dish. These photos suck, but the food was solid.

I left a sizeable tip and the server actually chased my truck down the street because she thought I forgot my change. I felt bad.

I filled up at a station and forgot that people pump your gas in Oregon. I find this weird and annoying, so I did it myself. The entire time the guy was explaining to me how to use a pump that takes a credit card. I could tell he wanted to just take over and do it, but I wouldn't let him. Back off, Mr. Gasman.

My buddy and his girlfriend are being SUPER gracious hosts. The nicest people. We chatted about a lot of stuff, caught up, facetimed a mutual friend, and essentially just chilled out. Neil made some chicken wings, burgers, and dogs for dinner and they were great. I made them watch the first episode of Letterkenny.

Oh and the Pumpkin decided to try and make some friends

Today was so chill. No driving today, as I am staying in Portland until probably Thursday morning. I am staying in a guest room of my friend's house, and the bed is nicer than any hotel bed I've had on this trip. I slept hard last night. In the morning, he made me a legit breakfast sandwich. It was delicious.

Him and his girlfriend had to work a lot of the day, so we ended up just chatting and talking shop. He has a similar job to what I do. Check out the view from his front door. Also, shout outs to my Tacoma for getting me here safely.

Apparently Portland has pods of food carts/food trucks that all congregate around a common eating area. Think of it like a co-op food court. We went to one for lunch called the Hawthorne Asylum. I got a rice bowl, but my friend's girlfriend got Halibut Fish and Chips which was definitely the smart play. I also had the BEST LEMONADE I'VE EVER HAD. It was just good, fresh lemonade, but concentrated and cut with seltzer water to make it lightly carbonated, and with fresh basil and jalapeno slices. It was MAGICAL. I got two cups of it.

We then went to Washington Park and took a walk around the Rose Garden. The weather was perfect and the park was gorgeous.

We went back to his house and chilled for a while. For dinner, he whipped up some Panang chicken curry. It was mightily tasty.

I can't accurately express my gratitude to these kids for showing me around, hanging out, feeding me, and giving me a place to crash for a few days. I feel extremely lucky to have such rad people in my life. I really like this town too.

If I go to Portland, you KNOW I am going to Powell's. There's just something about a book store the size of a city block. I headed downtown.

It was cool to see the pillar where a bunch of famous authors have signed. Check out the reaper guy drawn by Neil Gaiman. Neat.

Even the Pumpkin got his learn on.

After a few hours at Powell's ( I could have spent all day there), I got some coffee and wandered around downtown Portland for a bit. The weather was incredible. After a bit I decided to visit the local nerdery. I found a tabletop/board gaming store called Cloud Cap Games. It was pretty cool. The Pumpkin even tried to get me to buy some orange dice.

Met up at a different friend's house to stay for the next two nights. We caught up, and opened a bottle of scotch. He had this old pic of us out from like 2004.

Also I got to pet some kitties. This is Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Eleanor Rigby.

The pumpkin was tryna get my friend's wife's pumpkin's digits.

I am so glad I get to see so many friends I miss dearly on this trip. It's doing my heart a lot of good. We went out for Pho and Ice Cream. The Pho was standard decent fare, nothing to write home about but Pho is pretty consistently delicious anyway. This place called Salt and Straw actually had ice cream with MUSHROOMS in it. Mushrooms being my favorite food, I had to try it. It was pretty damned good.

Tomorrow is my last day in Portland, then I head to Seattle for more friends/food/fun. I'm missing home a smidge. I miss Kristen and the cats but I have so much more I want to do and see.

My buddy and I had a cup of coffee, chatted for a while, then went out to lunch at this place called Stanich's. He had heard their burgers were excellent. They had something labeled "The Best Burger in the World," so I had to see how close they could get. I think it was the type of place that makes fun of its patrons, but the two of us were the only ones there so it was suuuuper awkward when he started talking shit. The burger had a lot of stuff on it and it was solid but, I'd rate it at B tier. Good and solid, but nothing special.

After the zoo, we went to a barcade called Ground Kontrol. This place was awesome. It was like a mini E-Sports arena from Vegas, but with TONS and TONS of great arcade games and pinball machines in very good shape. They required masks, there was hand sanitizer everywhere, and they had very limited admission. It was awesome. I would definitely hang out here a lot if I lived in Portland.

Oh, they had REVOLUTION, a shooting game where you use the power of Aerosmith's music to save the day. I am not kidding. Look it up on Youtube. MUSIC IS THE WEAPON.

Next is the Pan Con Tomate - Garlic rubbed toasted bread, fresh tomato, olive oil, and sea salt.

Next is the Crudo - Oregon albacore tuna, aji amarillo aguachile, compressed watermelon, cucumber, cured egg yolk, and mint.

Next is the Pintxo Moruno - Skewered Pork Tenderloin, Kalimoto glaze, piperrada, curry yogurt (amazing), date conserva

Last was the Chuleta de Cordero - Lamb loin chop a la plancha, jamon creamed corn, tomato conserva, pickled fresnos, and chermoula

GGs Urdaneta, you were the best meal I've had on this trip so far.

After dinner we found a foosball parlor. Nobody in it at all, 5 bucks for all you can play. My buddy somehow punctured a can of diet coke getting it out of their fridge and sprayed it everywhere which was pretty awesome for me specifically. I stupidly didn't get photos of this place, it was pretty cool. I did however catch the pumpkin helping me not get completely destroyed in foosball.

Last day in Portland was a great one. Super huge thanks to my friend and his wife for putting me up. I am so lucky to have friends like them. Oh I forgot to mention something strange. SO MANY THINGS are closed on Wednesdays. Tons of restaurants, fun places, etc. It's like there's some weird agreement to mostly shut the place down on Wednesday. Oh well, we still managed to have a great time. Thanks Portland! Seattle tomorrow!

Also they had a squirrel swing to attract squirrels. So cool.

We drank a bunch of wine, and played music. They (like me) have instruments scattered randomly all over the house. It was so much fun.

Oh and the Pumpkin is trying to learn magic.

We ended the night just chatting and watching youtube videos. It is soooo good to see these guys. My heart is happy.

It's Friiiiiiday. Woke up later than I have this entire trip. Some folks were working today so we just chilled and hung out. Watched Parasite (the movie), and we had Indian Butter Chicken Pizza from Pizza Twist. This day has been very chill, so there won't be many pictures.

Pretty good! Oh I got to see Apollo the rad dog again. It had been a few years since I saw him.

My weekly D&D game on roll20.net took up the remainder of my evening. Tomorrow we are going adventuring into the city. :D

After D&D we watched the dumbest movie I may have ever seen. Look into Neil Breen. He's like hacker Tommy Wiseau. It's called Double Down. Some really funny shit in this. Here is the trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ44FLJA4Js

After a few hours at the Market, we tried to go to one of those neat underground tours below Seattle downtown. Apparently there are all of these pathways under downtown that were made 100+ years ago. We walked a mile or so to Pioneer Square, but both tour companies were reservation only, so we didn't get a chance to go. Sad face. We did however stop for coffee. My back being all jacked up finally started bothering me. We had done a lot of walking.

We were about a mile from the car I think, so we decided to walk along the waterfront instead of going back the way we came. I got some neat photos of the Puget Sound. The sun was going down.

We were tired from walking all day, but we also wanted to do some fun night-life stuff, so we found this art show at this place called El Corazón in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The show was called "Pancakes and Booze." We had no idea what to expect. The weather was just incredible by the way. We had some time to kill, so we walked around Capitol Hill. I spotted a biang biang hand pulled noodle spot. I freakin LOVE hand pulled noodles. We got an order to share along with some dumplings.

After we had our fill of techno and art, we head to this Ping Pong themed bar called SPIN. It was really cool. Think Top Golf, but for ping pong. Similar aesthetic, overpriced drinks, etc. Unfortunately all of the tables were booked up the whole evening. We have one drink, then head to the Fremont neighborhood to this rad place called High Dive, which had a very good Bob Dylan tribute playing. All of the places in Fremont require proof of vaccination to enter. We had to call my friend who had stayed home to take a pic of my vaccination card and send it to me so we could get in. We caught the last 1/3 of their set but I really enjoyed it. The Pumpkin was a fan too. Here he is with the decorated spray paint can my friends got from the art show.

We end up closing this place down and getting massively overpriced but tasty pizza from the place down the street that was open until 3am. We head home and pass out. It's been a long time since I went to ANY bar, let alone 6ish and closing the last one down. I am old, but it was so fun. I actually felt kinda like life is normal.

We watched this crazy A24 movie called The Greenroom about a punk band who plays in a white supremacist compound. Highly recommend. Patrick Stewart plays a neo-nazi leader and was chilling.

For dinner we got delivery sushi from this place called Tokyo Monster. It wasn't bad.

Nice, chill day.