Exploring San Diego – Page 3

Best Wishes for a Happy (and safe) Halloween!

October 31, 2021 mmm-yoso Cooking, Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

I thought since I didn't do one of these last year (you know why, right?), I'd go ahead and do one for this year as I've done many times in the past. Like I noticed last Christmas, it seems like folks are really going all out with the decorations; even in our neighborhood.

Man, talking about putting in some work here…..

I didn't see this one crawling out of the ice plants and it kinda startled me……

Folks have put in some effort this year!

Have you noticed the same thing?

We're still keeping a low profile this year as well, but wish everyone a safe Halloween.

I'd usually leave things right here; but thought I'd add in a couple of interesting, perhaps a bit scary things this time around.

Here goes…..

Is the House from the Movie Psycho Located in Bay Park?:

Well, of course not. The set used for the Bates Motel is located on the back lot of Universal Studios.

However, I recall a conversation back in the times "BC" (Before Covid) at my favorite local watering hole, with an old timer who grew up in the area. He told me that when he was going to Bay Park Elementary in the late 60's there was a rumor going around that one of the houses in the neighborhood was rumored to be the house used for Psycho……. I asked which one and was told it was the house on he corner of Denver and Milton which gave me pause. We had actually looked at this house when it was on the market in the early 2000's………

And of course it's not the house from Psycho….though it does bear some resemblance. Anyway, it was built in 1888 (!) and is known as the Stough-Beckett Cottage. You can read an entertaining article here. I also read that it is the only site in Clairemont listed in the City of San Diego Historic Site Board Register.

And then there are the graves still buried under San Diego Avenue:

So, I've recently done a couple of takeout orders from Congress Cafe (I'll post on those soon). While I'm waiting for my order, I'll often take a walk…..there's not much happening at 8am on a Sunday morning in Old Town, so it's a fine time to explore. On my first visit, there was one thing I wanted to find; especially after reading this.

Yes, there's the Whaley House, once named the most haunted house in America. But what I wanted to see was past the Whaley House….near the El Campo Santo Cemetery.

And I'm sure there are so many stories…..

But what I was interested in was located on the sidewalk in front of the cemetery. There are discreet, small brass medallions like this one.

Yep……"Grave Site".

In 1942 San Diego Avenue was widened and many graves were paved over. In 1993 ground penetrating radar was used and 17 more graves were found. Notice the plaque reads "more than 20 men, women, and children who lie buried beneath San Diego Avenue". And only one grave was exhumed and moved……you can figure out why I think.

Man, no wonder they say Old Town is haunted! And this stirred up old memories of a similar situation in my old neighborhood. Anyone recall the faceless ghost at Waialae Drive-In? Here's something from the Honolulu Advertiser back in 1959!

And I grew up a half block from this house…..

Spooky yeah?

And because this is a food blog; here's what we had for dinner tonight.

Have a great week!

Sidecar Bar and Highway 101 Signs on Morena

August 9, 2021 mmm-yoso Cocktails, Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

Before the current Covid situation got out of hand the Missus found a favorite local bar to grab a cocktail at. Sidecar!

Yes….Sidecar!

The Missus has taken to the place……it's just "divey" enough for Her. The staff is professional while still being quite friendly. To be perfectly honest; we've only gone right after Sidecar opens and it's just for one drink and we head home for dinner. So, my observations are based on that.

The place is usually quite quiet when we visit…..

And no; I haven' played foosball in years….well, make that decades.

We always sit at the front window area overlooking the converted parking lot….fresh air and the "view" makes it "interesting" for us……

As for what we usually get….well after sampling several cocktails over our visits; it's the Penicillin for me. It uses both Monkey Shoulder, one of my favorite non-peaty Scotch's and Montelobos Mezcal, another standard that I first had at Fernside. I'm usually not a fan of ginger in my cocktails….but hey, it's summer and it works fine in this cocktail.

The Missus enjoys the Brown Derby……She enjoys the Bourbon and Grapefruit in this cocktail.

The drinks have a nice balance for us….not watered down, not overly sweet, but with just enough booze where we can actually taste it.

Actually, I introduced the Missus's current new favorite……a combination of Gin, Laguinitas Hop Water (non-alocholic), and lime. At my favorite watering hole they call it "the Andy".

It's super refreshing and brings out the botanicals in the gin.

The customers….well the one's that we've seen are interesting…..and quite nice….like I said it's usually one drink and then home. There are a bunch of old-timers….regulars and just an interesting mixed crowd. Like this group who came in for a drink before heading out in a limo. They asked me to take a photo of them.

With the increase in Covid cases; we're not sure when we'll be back…….hopefully things will get straightened out soon.

Sidecar
1310 Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Daily 3pm – 2am

I love the sculpture on the roof of the "Exotic" Animal Hospital next door too.

On one of our first visits; right after the June 15th "reopening" I noticed this sign on Morena.

For some reason I had never noticed them before, but they've been up since summer of 2017! Apparently, before the I-5 was built….who knew!

And then, while going down that rabbit hole, I came across these street videos from 1970 on the City of San Diego Website – approach with caution as it can keep you busy for hours. To quote from the site:

"This collection consists of film created by the Transportation and Storm Water Department from January to October 1970. Some are from a later date. Described as a Photolog by the department, each reel of 35mm color film was taken by a camera attached to a car driving down the street or highway, producing street level views. The individual reels were converted to a digital version by the City Clerk’s Archives. Users may freeze and print the images."

And there's videos of Morena headed North and also South. And since there's a version on Youtube….well guess what? For folks who live in the area, see how many places you recognize (the Clairemont Drive video is fun as well).

Be safe and have a great week!

Sunday Stuffs – Urban Eats Kitchen &Tap replaces Hi Street, Nice 2 Meet U on Convoy, and Jim Morrison in Bay Park:?

July 11, 2021 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

Just a couple of places I've seen on recent drives and one little excursion down the "rabbit hole".

Urban Eats Kitchen & Tap replaces Hi Street:

**** Urban Eats has closed

I had been wondering what was going on at 7767 Balboa since Hi Street (and a couple of other short lived places) closed down. I saw the rather interesting Help Wanted sign to the right a while back – I wonder if they ever found a "Weitress"?

And I finally saw signage for Urban Eats a few weeks past….wonder if it has any relationship to the Urban Eats that was open in Hillcrest for a couple of years?

7767 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Nice 2 Meet U Coming to Convoy:

I noticed that the space next to Da Nang Corner looked to have been filled so I drove on into the parking lot……

Well, "Nice 2 Meet U" too (two???). Wonder how its related to Nice 2 Meet U in the SGV? Hmmm……

4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Jim Morrison in Bay Park?

Last Saturday, the Missus mentioned that it was the 50th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death. Jim Morrison had kind of stuck in Her mind since our visits to Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris several years back when we stopped by his grave.

I had recalled that Jim Morrison was a Navy brat and had spent some time in San Diego. So, like I said, Google is my friend and I decided to spend a couple of minutes to see where he lived…… and oh my, I came across this.

And discovered that Jim Morrison, who lived in San Diego between the ages of 9 and 13…actually lived a few blocks from us on Arnott Street! I'm not going to list the address because I've walked and driven past that house thousands of times. And am wondering how many folks have bothered the current tenants of the house there.

He also went to Longfellow Elementary where he graduated the sixth grade and was a Cub Scout.

Longfellow still exists, but is now a Spanish Immersion Magnet School for K-8.

The most interesting item was that the Morrison's attended Pioneer Congregational Church. Which basically right at the end of the street.

I've also walked past here thousands of times in the 18+ years we've lived in Bay Park using the public walkway on the west side of the parking lot to walk down to Western Hills Park. I used to walk Sammy and Frankie down to the park and up around Kane, then Arnott, then back home.

In fact, I will still take walks down that sidewalk to Western Hills Park at times…..

This was quite interesting for me and other folks I know in Bay Park.

The Seven Bridges Walk, Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, and Sabor Piri Piri

July 2, 2021 mmm-yoso African Cuisine/Restaurants, Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, yoso-silly

*** This is kind of a long one with just a bit of food at the end.

While going thru photos of our latest roadtrip(s) and of past trips to our favorite cities in the world it's always quite surprising how much walking I do….and even more; how much I enjoy it. While the Missus is more of a "real" hiker, I prefer nice walks, and even more so Urban walks, something I should do more of. A while back I was looking thru the Alltrails app and noticed something called the "Seven Bridge Walk". After walking thru the North Park Farmer's Market right after reopening, I decided that I'd go ahead and do the walk that Sunday. And to make it more fun; I'd throw in a visit to the Hillcrest Farmers Market to grab some fruits and stuff for the Missus as part of the 6 mile loop.

The walk….I really hesitate in calling it a hike; starts at Balboa Park, roams thru Banker's Hill, then Hillcrest, before ending back at Balboa Park. It's a nice 6 miles or so. I know, you're thinking Balboa Park on a Sunday? But, I'd be starting just after 7am and Balboa Park was pretty empty, no parking issues, and most of the folks out were taking their pooches for walks.

And of course, this time of the morning belongs to the "critters"…..

Everything started at the Park Boulevard Bridge….you recognize this one, right?

This is the pedestrian bridge that crosses over Park Boulevard.

It was a quiet morning as I passed the Bea Evenson Fountain and headed down El Prado.

Walking past Casa del Prado and Casa de Balboa made me realize that even though I've been to Balboa Park many times over the years; that I really didn't know much about it. Isn't that how it is? We've been to a few other countries and many cities in the U.S…..but I still need to learn so much more about the city I live in.

I walked down El Prado to the next bridge and passing the Museum of Us….which used to be the Museum of Man. The name change occurred in August of last year.

You know the next bridge up, right?

Completed in 1914 for the Panama–California Exposition, the Cabrillo Bridge. It's a multi-arched Cantilever Bridge.

These days the 163 Freeway runs below the bridge which was completed in 1948.

El Prado becomes Laurel as you cross Sixth Avenue.

I headed down Laurel and took a right turn on 1st Avenue – at this wonderful looking house.

Which made me recall the wonderful self walking tour we took in Pacific Grove.

A few blocks up the street is the First Avenue Bridge.

It is a steel truss bridge – you can read about the history of the bridge along with why it is known as the "People's Bridge" here.

It crosses over Maple Canyon…….where I should probably do a hike one of these days to get another angle of the bridge.

A bit further up 1st, you take a right on Quince Street and where Third Avenue meets Quince you come across the wooden trestle Quince Street bridge. One of my favorites on this walk.

Here's a wonderful post on the bridge and how it was almost set to be demolished in 1987. It's a wonderful bridge, built in 1905 and also crosses over Maple Canyon. It was built to allow residents of Western Bankers Hill access to the Fourth Street Trolley.

It's worth walking across the bridge, then back again.

After walking across the bridge and back, I headed back west and took a right on 2nd Avenue. I started noticing some of the grand and unique houses along the way and took some time to "stop and smell the roses".

I really need to find a nice self guided architectural tour of the area.

I took a left on Spruce Street and found the bridge that first got me interested in doing this walk; the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge.

Down at the end of a cul-de-sac, the location seems rather discreet.

The bridge was completed in 1912 over Kate Sessions Canyon to allow access to….you guessed it the trolley lines.

Since it is a suspension bridge, it will rock back and forth, not as much as the Capilano Suspension Bridge, but you will get a slight thrill out of it. If you don't like heights and motion; you may want to skip this one.

Once across the bridge I took a right on Brandt. From here, it's rather long walk to the next bridge. Though I did see some interesting things on my way up to University Avenue.

On Brandt, I saw an honest to goodness Horse Hitching Post!

I'm wondering when, or if, a horse has ever been hitched to this post!

On West Walnut, I saw the tree above. It's an Angel's Trumpet Tree, which is extinct in the wild! The leaves and flowers are sometimes used to make hallucinogenic concoctions that can cause paralysis and yes, even death.

From here it was walk up 1st until University, to Hillcrest.

And all those familiar sites and sounds.

It was pretty quiet still on this morning; it was now around 845. I had thought about grabbing a "cup o' Joe", but decided to just keep on walking to the next bridge.

To get to the next bridge, I headed east, crossing over the 163, and took a left on Vermont Street, past the mall with Ralph's and Trader Joe's.

If you've ever driven East on Washington, you've come across this bridge.

Though I must say that I've never walked across it before.

From here I deviated a bit and walked east on Pascoe Street, which seems more like an alley, then crossed on Lincoln Avenue, then on over to Normal Street and the Hillcrest Farmers Market. It was just past 9am, so I had timed it well.

Still a bit leery in crowds, I decided to get there early to grab the Missus some produce from Her favorite vendors. Covid is still on my mind.

It felt somewhat strange and a bit surreal……and shall I say very "normal on Normal Street". Something that had definitely been missing for the last 15-16 months.

I also decided to grab something for a light lunch and decided on the Sabor Piri-Piri Stand.

By this time, it was starting to get more crowded….it was time for me to head out and get to that last bridge.

Hillcrest Farmers Market
Normal Street – Hillcrest
Hours:
Sunday 9am – 2pm

Much like the Vermont Street Bridge; if you've ever driven East on University I'm sure you drove under this small bridge – the Georgia Street Bridge.

And like the Vermont Street Bridge; I'd never walked across this one either.

I walked down to Park Avenue and took this photo…..which is probably the view of the bridge you've seen when driving on University.

From here it was a walk back to my car at Balboa Park.

It had been quite the morning and was still before 10am! I'm glad I had planned to visit the Hillcrest Farmers Market, which broke things up for me.

Back home, I broke open the Piri-Piri Chicken and Black Eyed Peas with Kale I had ordered from Sabor Piri Piri.

The piri-piri chicken wasn't very spicy to me; I'd had my share of piri-piri in Portugal and other places; this was rather mild and tame. The chicken was decently cooked, not overly dry. I enjoyed the green bell peppers. The black eye peas were nicely cooked, but kale was chopped in large pieces with large portions of the stems of the kale. The sauce was a bit too sweet for me as well. But after my 6 mile plus walk….I wasn't going to complain much at all.

Thinking over this morning made me realize that I really should spend more time exploring the city I live in…San Diego. I'm also hope that with our vaccination rates, even with the variants coming into things that this reopening is successful.

Yes, It’s Jury Duty – Coava Coffee, Abandoned Horton Plaza, and a Return to Sultan Baklava

February 24, 2019 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Exploring San Diego, Turkish Food, yoso-silly

**** Coava Coffee has closed

Yes, it was that time again, and I caught the bus, then trolley downtown to perform my civic obligation.

I decided to stop for my caffeine fix at Coava Coffee Roasters, a branch of the very popular Portland based roastery/café which opened up in the Westin on Broadway.

Had a very inexpensive Kenyan pour-over; which while as distinctive in flavor as what we get at Birdrock had a nice mild fruitiness and acidity.

And gave me just enough of a boost for the morning.

You can read CC's post on Coava here.

Coava Coffee Roasters
400 W Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon – Fri 6am – 6pm
Sat – Sun 7am – 6pm

This was my first JD since they moved things over to the Central Courthouse where the "lounge" is located on the third floor. Of course, we were excused for like a two hour lunch break. I had a place in mind and took my time getting there. Last time, I walked over and checked out Horton Plaza Park. I'd read that Horton Plaza had been sold and have also read of it's impending demise, so I thought I'd take a look.

It was quite eerie; all the closed shops, not a single customer. It reminded me of some movie set.

The only two main shops still open are Macy's on the North side and Jimbo's on the Southwest corner.

I took a look at the directory to see what tenants were still in place. It was very sparse and quite deceiving…..take a quick look and you'll see Macy's listed 10 times!

Both Cathy and CC mentioned remembering when Horton Plaza opened back in 1985.

It was quite sad.

Even Horton Plaza Park was quite empty….this on a very sunny (it was before the last storm system hit) day. Seems that the businesses there were closed down as well.

I'm hoping the proposed redevelopment is successful.

As I made my way to the South end of the mall; I noticed that 24 Hour Fitness and Jimbo's was doing well. I also noticed that the mall was quite clean and in good shape.

It was, as a whole depressing….I needed some lunch.

Call me a creature of habit; but just like last time I headed back to Sultan Baklava. When Sultan was opened in El Cajon it was a regular stop for us. These days….well, we're older and sometimes just getting around downtown is a hassle. But Jury Duty is the perfect time for another visit.

The owner was setting up the baklava when I entered and greeted me heartily, I had a seat, and quickly got some warming Tea.

The fragrance of bergamot wafting up to my nose.

Being the fairly boring person I am…plus not wanting to over eat because I still had an afternoon (and what turned out to be another full day) in front of me. I ordered the same two items I did last time.

Starting with my favorite meze; the Antipezme (acili ezme). This was much better than what I'd had on my previous visit; nice smokey tones of paprika, good acidity, and a surprising dose of spice. The lavas however was too hard and crumbly; lacking any stretch.

I was worried about my Lahmacun, but it was very well done and quite satisfying.

From the nice crisp edges to the tender center. Nicely balanced and well seasoned meat, this turned over some nice memories for me. Sweet-savory-acidity, it does the trick. I know I always say this….but I gotta return more often.

Sultan Baklava
770 4th Ave
San Diego, CA
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 1030pm
Fri – Sum 11am – 1130pm

Sultan was one of those places for the Missus and I….it inspired us to travel to Turkey, not once, but twice all those years ago. Sitting, finishing up my tea all those memories returned.

From the bustling and historic Istanbul.

To the exotic land of "fairy chimneys", "underground cities", and cathedrals build into mountainsides; Cappadocia.

To the historic ruins of Ephesus and even the wonderful Mediterranean city of Antalya.

We saw, learned, and ate so much. Those images are imprinted in my mind…….

Saturday Stuffs – Scenes from the Little Italy Mercato, Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, and Other “stuffs”

January 5, 2019 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

I'll readily admit; my posts are mostly stream of consciousness. And sometimes; it's just better to just post photos. I needed to get my car serviced today. Instead of waiting around; I decided to catch the Trolley, something I used to enjoy, but haven't done in ages…..and just head out and take in San Diego. So; I headed off to the Little Italy Mercato, then walked down to the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. Instead of some long-winded post; here are some photos of an overcast, yet fun day.

Because of some delays on the Green Line West; I decided to take a round about way; doing the Orange Line to Downtown; getting off at Civic Center and walking to Little Italy. Where I passed an iconic "name" in San Diego….whose commercials you couldn't miss if you lived here in the 90's and "aughts".

I'd heard that Mexican Fiesta; whose existence always reminded me of the Children's book, The Little House had closed. And yes, it has….

I think pooches outnumber children here……

I then walked on over to Seaport Village…..

Man, I haven't been around here in at least a decade….

Things looked a bit depressed; many closed businesses.

Though it's always fun to "pooch watch"……

The Dockside Market was close by; so I headed on over.

A somewhat interesting mix of folks…..

I decided to grab an Americano from here…..

And guess who I saw???

And even coming back around again while I finished my coffee.

Since it was close by; I decided to check out Unconditional Surrender by Seward Johnson.

It was an overcast day; with not too many tourists.

Just like I don't visit Waikiki when I'm back "home"; I really don't get down here to often.

I was glad to have some time on my hands to just reacquaint myself with this area.

And then of course…..it was time for lunch!

Saturday Stuffs – Rice Noodle King Opens, Boiling Passion Moves a Few Doors Down, and Other “Stuffs”

March 24, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Exploring San Diego

Just a couple of things for a sleepy Saturday

Rice Noodle King Opens:

Replacing Dumpling Hut.

My sources tell me that it's the same owners as Sizzling Pot King a few doors down.

8046 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

The Stories of Boiling Passion's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated:

Speaking of a "few doors down". I was surprised to see this sign when I recently went to grab lunch at Izakaya Sakura.

Which wasn't in place when I noticed that Boiling Passion was becoming Focus BBQ. Looking like the place is reopening a few doors down from the previous location.

So I guess Boiling Passion is back.

3904 Convoy St Suite 114
San Diego, CA 92111

Just to finish things up. On one of my visits to Con Pane to pick up some bread, I decided to drop by the New Americans Museum.

Mainly for this exhibit.

The photo on display to the right below kind of freaked me out…….that gentleman bore a striking resemblance to my Dad.

'nuff said……..

New Americans Museum
2825 Dewey Rd
San Diego, CA 92106

P.L.Bagels (and some Point Loma exploring)(A stop at the new Jensen’s Foods)

August 24, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Exploring San Diego, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Writing of posts is shared by three friends. Today, Cathy is writing because Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy tying up loose ends.

Yes, I've written about P.L. Bagel a few times, 2012, 2013 and most recently in 2014. It's a regular stop, because it's good..and on the way to a place where The Mister and I can take a peaceful walk.
Prices for a 'Breakfast Special' with a coffee have gone up by 25¢ since 2014, which is minuscule for this family owned and run business. A plain bagel (as well as a bialy) is still 95¢. The mini bagels are now 50¢ Here's a size comparison. That's a Bialy on the left, only available on weekends. I enjoy the baked chewy dough, which has a bit of chopped onion in the center top. This was a nice breakfast, with eggs and cheese. The salt bagel (as are all the bagels here) is covered on both sides with toppings. Not many bagel shops make salt bagels anymore. The bagels here are a 'proper' size- not crazy large nor crazy fluffy.

We've enjoyed visiting this local longstanding business (which makes a great product!).

P.L. Bagel 3704 Voltaire Street, Suite 107 San Diego 92107 (619) 223-4788 open daily 6a.m.-1 p.m.

Our regular walks take us to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, where we enjoy the overcast mornings and peaceful quietness. Earlier this year, the only market on Catalina Boulevard (the main road on The Point) re-opened as a new location for Jensen's Foods (it had been a Fresh and Easy before that chain left the U.S.). Jensen's slogan is "Make Every Day an Occasion". If you have been paying attention, it is Hatch Chile season and Jensen's is one of the many participating roasters (the prices for Hatch Chiles here are less than other locations).
There are many interesting items at Jensen's, including a by the pound salad bar and (at least on weekends) a breakfast bar. It's quite a nice store. This is the only San Diego location and we are taking advantage of the offerings. (It's been in business since 1940!).

Another nice weekend 'staycation'. Thanks for reading!

Jensen's Foods 955 Catalina Boulevard San Diego 92106 (619)550-2097 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

The Amazing Graze 2011 Part 2

October 7, 2011 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Jamaican Restaurants, yoso-silly

In part 1, I went over some background info and the rules for "The Graze". Things started heating up pretty quickly. Team 'Q' and Ange went straight for the Blue line along with team XiangJiao and Trang. John decided to go along with XJ and T while I waited with YY and Peter for the Orange line. By this time Peter and Kim had made out their first stop, item # 3 Spam Musubi. The hint for this one was, "who is the father of Geometry?" Well, it's Euclid. And there happens to be an L&L right on Euclid. I was surprised to see XJ and T jump on the trolley after two stops….it turned out that they didn't read the instructions completely and went to Pho Xpress downtown for the Pho. Unfortunately the rules stated that "all of the places listed have to be on either the Orange line East of 25 & Commercial or South of the Barrio Logan stop on the Blue line." so they had wasted a bit of time. As everyone got off at Euclid, I stayed on….well….because I was getting hungry. The clue for item #5 –Braised Oxtails, Beef Pattie, Jerk was a song by the Nguyen Le Trio called "Encanto". Guess what the next stop was?

While I was waiting for my Oxtails from Caribbean Taste, I decided to send a clue out and took this photo and sent it……

About that time, I received a text from Q and Ange, attached was a photo of them eating a fish taco from place #4. The hint for that stop was the song by the GooGoo Dolls…..titled "Iris". It was a hint for the Tacos El Paisa Y Mariscos truck. Which happens to be located right across…ready now, the Iris avenue trolley stop.

Meanwhile I notice two individuals running up the parking lot…it's Peter and XiangJiao! They are actually racing to Caribbean Taste. They come running in to take a look at the menu and take a photo, without noticing that I'm sitting at one of the tables! Finally XJ sees me and starts laughing and since Peter is blocking her access to the menus she takes a photo of me as "evidence". Crazy, huh?

It seemed like the teams had a good handle on the location based on the various hints…except for #1, the Pho. The clue I sent out was a sample of Hungry Heart and I was getting worried when I started hearing "Spring Street" and "Spring Valley" mentioned. The objective was a fun and stimulating time and I didn't want to be sending out search parties. Most folks knew that #2 – the Sesos, Buche, Suadero Tacos was Tacos el Gordo, even though my hint, a sample of the 1978 hit "Bluer than Blue" (yes, I actually have that song on my iPod…laugh away my friends, I even have Don't Give up on Us Baby, ok!!!) by Michael Johnson was pretty weak.

So I jumped on the trolley, with take-out orders of food from Caribbean taste (I knew folks would be pretty hungry when they finished) and headed down to the Imperial Transit Center to get on the Blue Line. I was a couple of minutes too late for one of the funniest moments of the graze, when all three teams ran into each other at that very stop!

I headed down to Iris avenue then got back on the Blue line North to where the Pho shop I had in mind was located……..

The song Hungry Heart is by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band! and the place I had in mind was this…..

I'm thinking the grazers were pretty thankful they didn't have to eat here!

I then headed back up the line and went to Crab Hut to get us a table. It was 1325, I had estimated a 4 hour "graze". At 1341 I saw Peter run into the door of Crab Hut….I never knew Pete was so competetive! So the team of Peter/YY/Tammy C took the title, and 90 bucks! At 1357 Xianjiang walked into the restaurant……their downfall was hunger. By the time they hit Tacos el Gordo team XJ and T were so hungry they decided to stop and eat! Right at 1401 Q and Ange came strolling in…..and they had skipped two stops, a penalty of two hours. The reason? Well, they decided it would be fun to eat at each stop and after three stops was too full! They paid for the the mega-beer on the right. It's called a "shipwreck" and at Crab Hut you can request any draft beer to be part of your "wreck", so we had 96 ounces of Ballast Point Yellowtail ale. Man were we good or what? All the teams finished right around the estimated time of 1400, great job!

What I found interesting was that every team went for the extra points at the Lemon Grove stop. Though the photos were kinda interesting, like this one of Peter….that little thing that looks like a peanut in back of his giant cabeza is indeed the Lemon Grove lemon! It was a nice little study in human nature….and I think we got to know each other a little better!

In the end it was a fun time for all…with more stories than there is time, to tell. Now the question is….what's next?

I'm not quite sure, but I'm getting a bit of inspiration from this rendition (of a part of) one of my favorite Jeff Beck songs done by Lee Ritenour and Mike Stern:

Did you guess right? Thanks for coming along!

The Amazing Graze 2011 Part 1

October 6, 2011 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, yoso-silly

I've got a great bunch of friends, every once in a while we'd plan some outing or fun event…..always with food in mind. Earlier in the year, PeterL and I started talking about doing something with the trolley. Some in our group had never ridden the trolley and we thought it would be great fun and folks would get to parts of San Diego they usually wouldn't. Still, I couldn't quite figure out how to tie in the food thing. One one weekend, JohnL and I spent a good part of our Saturday riding the trolley and an idea started to form. Why not do something along the lines of a scavenger hunt? Instead of gathering items, folks could gather food? And so the Amazing Graze 2011 was conceptualized and the call went out:

Still, how would we involve food in this? Then it came to me, there are places we've been to, and a few I know of close to trolley stops. We decided that about 2 blocks would be tha max for places. I took John to a few locations, dealt with the "how the heck did you know about this place?" And came up with five sets of food items.

1. Pho

2. Sesos, Buche, Suadero Tacos

3. Spam Musubi

4. Fish & Camaron Tacos

5. Braised Oxtails, Beef Pattie, Jerk

We decided to remove the known and determined that as part of the rules all stops were to be found on either the Orange line East of 25 & Commercial or South of the Barrio Logan stop on the Blue line. Aaah, we had a plan! A week later, I spent an afternoon on the torlley determining a timeframe. We didn't want anyone to die of exhaustion, this had to be fun. And then I came across this as well.

Lemon is food, right? I really wanted to integrate this in the whole thing and our bonus round was born!

We started sending out clues; I sent out 4 music samples, of course no one knew what we had planned so the "grazers" just had to know the songs. Each had something to do with a stop, location, or line. But none of them knew that at the time. I had to think of a location to start and one to end…..I thought America Plaza would be great since it is one of the areas where the Orange and Blue lines cross.

A few folks in the group just aren't human without their Starbucks and there's one of those at that stop.

On the day of the "graze" everyone (minus one, more on that later) met at Starbucks and JohnL handed out his masterpiece:

Boy was I impressed at his work. Within this pamphlet was all the rules and clues of the Amazing Graze. John had integrated the MTS trolley map as well.

The buy in was $10, with the winner getting everything. Loser bought the first round of beer at our final destination. John and I would referee. Using a deck of cards, teams of two were selected. Because there was an odd number, the person who drew the joker could pick which team they wanted to be on. YY picked the joker and selected her team. TammyC was stuck in traffic, there was a terrible accident on the I-15 on that day so she was assigned the last card and ended up with PeterL. YY decided to join PeterL and the absent Tammy's team.

All else can be read…….

We'd even found out how to put the "lemon into play".

Take a photo in front of the lemon and you'd get an hour taken off your total time.

The divisions were interesting, sister against sister, husband against wives, cat-lovers against dog-lovers, peanut butter versus chocolate…… We were good friends all, but as soon as the clock got ticking it was every team for themselves as you can see by the spacing at the trolley stop!

The first problem was buying trolley tickets since a few of these folks had never ridden the trolley before! And then there was TammyC who eventually caught up with her team on the Orange line….once she had gotten off the trolley at a stop, only to see YY and Peter get on the trolley and leave! Actually, I had my money on the team of XiangJiao and Trang……

So using the list of food items above, can you figure out what the places were?

Remember:

All of the places listed can be found on either the Orange line East of 25 & Commercial or South of the Barrio Logan stop on the Blue line.

The list is not in any specific order.

All the places indicated are within 0.2 miles of a MTS trolley stop.

No Rubio's allowed

More to come………

Update: You can read part 2 here.