America #1... still most awesome place I've ever been!

America, Heck Yeah! Without trying to sound like I'm tooting Uncle Sam's horn, or being overly patriotic, there are some things I experience that keep me believing in American Exceptionalism. Two examples will illustrate the unbridled enthusiasm we pour into our pursuit of quality. One should keep in mind the truism: you get what you pay for.

Champagne brunch. These words fill one's mind with fashionable dining in blissful tranquility. A buffet of omelettes, carved ribeye, pancakes, Belgian waffles, and the like thrown in with the standard breakfast fare of hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, fruits, cheeses, pastries, and a Mimosa to wash it down. A little backstory may be in order. My wife is due to deliver our first child in early January. So we know for a fact that there will be a solid three to five months we won't be dining out at "cloth napkin" restaurants. So we're sandbagging now and eating out a couple times a week if her schedule and nausea permit it. Our dash to soak up these last few meals took us to the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. After enjoying one of the best steaks in my life, I casually pointed out that they offer an appealing Champagne Brunch. The wife's response was "Excellent, let's eat here again on Sunday!" No argument from me :).

So that is how I found myself at noon on Sunday, in a Spanish style courtyard, indulging in hot chocolate, eggs with smoked salmon, and a Mimosa: that sweet combination of orange juice and champagne.
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Titanium AR-10: Sure, why not?

Carrying on the theme of penultimate quality, I had the chance this week to handle a rifle that costs more than a Range Rover, but the guy buying this would probably take it home in a Porsche. MSRP of above rifle: a cool $100,000. It doesn't contain any gold or platinum. Nor are any parts covered in unicorn horn or dragon scales, although it may have the very unique Hen's Tooth shell extractor. Why the six-figure price tag? One word: Titanium. The raw materials in this gun cost about $25,000. Add in labor and machining on the toughest metal extant, plus the unique designation of Serial #1 and one rises up into very rare air. I count nine specific titanium parts on the spec list below. Would it really cost more than a condo to build it on your own? No. At least not if you have access to CNC machining equipment with diamond tip cutters and are willing to plunk down the initial material costs. Word amongst some in the industry is that if this had become a "production model" gun, it would list between forty to fifty thousand. Still, at $45K each, Nemo Arms, the company who built this didn't figure demand would support the capital expenditure. I applaud their self-control.

Titanium Matched Receiver Set

416 Stainless Steel, .308 Win, 1/10 Twist, Black Nitride Finish, 16” HBAR Profile

Titanium Customizable Tube Handguard

Troy Tritium Micro Set Back Up Iron Sights

Titanium Picatinny Handguard Rails

Choate 6-position Buttstock

Titanium Low Profile Gas Block

Titanium Charging Handle with Tactical Latch

Hogue Grip with Battery Management System

Titanium DRK Compensator

KNS Anti-Rotational Pins

Timney 4lb Solid Trigger

Norgon Ambi Mag Catch

Ambi Safety Selector

Titanium Buffer Tube

Stainless Steel Buffer

Titanium Bolt Carrier, Nickel Boron Coated Bolt

Trijicon TA648RMR-308 ACOG 6×48

The Farm: Redlands, CA

I had an amazingly delicious supper tonight at Farm Artisan on State Street in Redlands. If you aren't familiar with it, feel free to click over to their website then return to Bama Drifter for my review. OK, so my wife Eliz and I really enjoy good restaurants. We make a point to have a date once a week. And at a fancy place once a month. Without cable TV or car payments, this is our main splurge. Since my mom was in town for my valve procedure, we made sure to take her along with us.

The food is primarily why we go to the Farm, with atmosphere being a close second. Most of the ingredients are locally produced and the menu changes regularly to reflect what is in season. Tonight they had a price fixe option three course dinner for $19. Choice of soup or salad, trout or tofu with vegetables, and strawberries with cream for dessert. Luckily tonight's soup was our favorite: carrot ginger over a bed of buckwheat (other times it is over jasmine rice). Not to forget, you get fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar after placing your order. Similar style but way better quality than Macaroni Grill. The carrot ginger soup isn't overly spiced and has a pleasant hint of coconut. We get it every time that it is available and heartily recommend it. The ladies heirloom tomato salad was pleasant.

For my main course I had the pan seared trout over corn cake with fresh vegetable medley. Accompanying this meal was a glass of Pedroncelli Zinfandel which we'll discuss further later on. The fish was prepared just how I like, lightly pan fried skin on. Fresh carrots, squash, and onions also tasted great. A large medallion sized corn cake made another special touch. A bit more pepper would have been helpful, but overall I would say this was one of my favorite Farm meals yet.

For dessert, we had fresh strawberries with almond cake and cream. The presentation was lovely with a dollop of cream in the center, surrounded by a ring of sliced strawberries and a biscotti-like almond cake cut into three strips. This I washed down with the fabulous 2008 Trentadue Petite Sirah Port. If you've had their exquisite Chocolate Amore, you may find this offering a bit dryer and plummier with a slightly fruiter mouthfeel. The Farm continues to make progress in desserts, but still lacks in the coffee area. We hope they will advance beyond basic coffee soon and offer cappuccino, espresso, or our old standby: the sugar-free hazelnut decaf soy latte.

The award winning wine I enjoyed is worth mentioning again. A bold red, Pedroncelli Zinfandel 2010 from California's Dry Creek Valley scored 88 points in Wine Spectator. Jammy, blackberry, with mild floral notes and hint of pepper. My tasting notes overlap those of the pros. I think I have a decent nose for quality and Zinfandel is probably my favorite grape. Usually I try to stick to the budget wines like Trader Joe's Reserve, Rosenblum, or Bogle so this was a treat. A glass a day keeps the cardiologist away!

In a word this evening was scrumptrulescent.

more to come...

I'm gonna write some more about our SF trip... we had some more delicious fun at Ghirardelli Square, saw Jimi Hendrix's house on Haight/Ashbury, and other neat stuff worth telling. Consider the first two posts as appetizers. Just ran out of energy for now... more to come.

Revised 7-6-13

So when we got off the ferry from Alcatraz at Pier 33, we proceeded up to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. I won't elaborate as it is a tourist trap like any other. We had lunch there at Boudin Bakery, famous local chain not at all unlike Panera Bread but much fresher. I enjoyed a lovely turkey sandwich as AA munched on salad, and Eliz had the tomato soup in a bread bowl. From Fisherman's Wharf, it is a short stroll up to Ghirardelli Square: best place for dessert in San Francisco.

This original chocolate manufactory is now relegated to gift and ice cream shop status as current production requires a much larger factory and corporate HQ in San Leandro. Nevertheless, a few of the old machines are set up and running to impress tourists like me and add a bit of a Willy Wonka motif to the room. The building itself is a stunning old brick structure with wrought iron and neatly manicured lawn overlooking the Bay. On a clear day I'm sure one can see Alcatraz, the Presidio, and Golden Gate Bridge quite nicely.  I digress from the main topic: chocolate. We had some intensely rich ice cream and drinking chocolate.

Ghirardelli's description of my sundae:
Two scoops of chocolate ice cream, freshly homemade dark chocolate hot fudge, dark decadent chips, whipped cream and an Intense Dark Twilight Delight® 72% chocolate.
and drink:

Decadent Drinking Chocolate with Biscotti Made with melted Chocolate Chips and packed with intense chocolate flavor in every rich, velvety sip.

The drink ordered by AA was so rich we tried cutting it with half & half creamers. It ended up being more than we could handle in one sitting, so a to-go cup was needed. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of our trip and as evidenced by the lines out the door when we left, I encourage you to go early and soon!

Next on my list was The Haight. This neighborhood marked by the intersection of Haight & Ashbury was ground zero for 1960s Hippies, especially the 1967 "Summer of Love" that coincided with America's war in Vietnam. Notably, there were no long-haired, tie dyed, Birkenstock wearing folks smoking dope when I arrived. It felt more reminiscent of Atlanta's Little Five Points or the off campus Dead Head shops in Tuscaloosa and Auburn. Historically Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin all lived nearby. That is more than I care to know about it and we didn't stay for more than half an hour. So there it is; check The Haight off your list. 

      

Welcome to The Rock

Connery & Cage 

Title above is famously uttered by Sean Connery in 1996 film with Nick Cage. Many folks in California never make a trip to Alcatraz. Obviously for those over 60 it was a prison they can remember being operational and for guys in law enforcement it is just another jail. But for me, it was quite a memorable historic National Park. Obviously the only way in and out is via boat, and ferry tickets aren't that cheap, but entrance to the island and a high-quality audio tour are included. We took the early bird slot so we could be the first tourists of the day, and have other attractions less crowded upon return.

At Pier 33 there is a meticulously crafted model of Alcatraz that gets you psyched up for it more so than wandering through the obligatory cafe & gift shop. Eliz and AA had also never been, so that added to the excitement. Upon arrival the Park Service gave us a perfunctory spiel before our hike up to the actual prison. This time of year many seagulls are tending to their hatchlings, so the ladies made sure we paused for photos of the little chicks on our hike up.

Once inside the prison you get a feel for how desolate it really was. The tour is marvelously narrated by real guards and cons who served time on the Rock. My favorite bit was seeing the cells where 3 inmates enlarged their ventilation holes big enough to crawl through, then escaped over the roof and out into San Francisco Bay. Clint Eastwood's 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz gives a plausible storyline. No bodies were ever recovered, and the FBI has no idea where the fugitives may have gone. I'm of the persuasion that the cons had a boat waiting and that they retired to South America. We'll never know.

Among other highlights is a photo board with Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Robert Stroud and others. Also interesting is a spot on the floor with freckled concrete: tell-tale signs of grenade explosions during a riot. I think America has a lot to improve upon in our criminal justice system. Frivolous cable TV and weight rooms, with draconian drug charge sentencing... I really don't get it. We do a lot of things right in America, but letting violent offenders out early and locking up tax cheats, marijuana smokers and the like makes no sense to me. I think America is like a ladder with no top and no bottom. If you screw up and are middle class, you'll pay for it. If you're uber-rich or very poor there is no justice. That is my $0.02 so your mileage may vary.

If you're going to San Francisco...

Be sure to see Alcatraz and Sausalito (and wear some flowers in your hair). In spite of Scott McKenzie's promise that everyone had aforementioned cranial floral arrangements, it was very lovely indeed. A short itinerary below:

Sutro's Cliff House/ Seal Rocks

Alcatraz tour

Pier 39 & Fisherman's Wharf

Boudin Bakery

Ghirardelli Square, chocolate ice cream 

Haight & Ashbury

Patxi's Pizza in Haye's Valley

Lombard "crooked" Street

Golden Gate Bridge

Breakfast in Sausalito (Fred's)

Ferry back to downtown SF

Chinatown (Z&Y Restaurant)

Ride the cable car Trolley

As you may have ascertained from earlier posts, I've been to lots of places in California and the American West, but prior to last weekend had never visited the San Francisco or "Nine Gold Mountains" as the Chinese call it. Summer is a wonderful time to go. While it is 105 in Loma Linda, SF only got up to 75 degrees. Of course foggy drizzle is a respite to folks like us living in a desert, while it would not be so amazing for tourists from Great Britain, Europe, etc. I digress.

We completed our itinerary using only public transit: very convenient on a 7 by 7 square mile peninsula. After flying into SFO, the BART metro took us to Montgomery Street Station, less than 3 blocks from our hotel near Chinatown. Eliz' friend AA was our main tour guide for the trip. She does something computer related up there. After meeting up at Anthropologie on Market Street, the ladies let me take a nap on the "husbands sofa" while they shopped. When I woke up, it was time to go meet AA's boyfriend and get ready for supper.

We had a splendid double date at Sutro's at the Cliff House overlooking Seal Rocks which is perched at the southwest entrance to San Francisco Bay. I had and recommend the salmon. Our transit to and from dinner was with Lyft and Uber: two new "app based" services that don't take cash or require the long wait for traditional taxis. Look here.

Desert freedoms

There is a sublime feeling one gets when driving through the high desert of Southern California. An area encompassing parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties holds a wondrous views. The ghostly Joshua tree yucca, scrubby chaparral creosote, and stark mountains fill your windshield with quite a soothing sight.

Finding a spot to exercise the 2nd Amendment safely with some friend was the reason for today's excursion. Nothing in the world is quite so therapeutic as a day spent at the shooting range. Our range is what may be considered impromptu or 'as you find it,' though I'm told by friends that this spot is used regularly by many desert folk. We drive far enough off of paved roads so as to be way the heck 'out of dodge' and use a mountain for our safe bullet trap. This is akin to finding a gravel pit in Alabama, box canyon in Arkansas, stern deck on open water or sandy berm in other parts of the West. 

I shot a full menu of the marksman's sports: pistol, rifle, shotgun, and bow. Having been raised on the gun, my archery skills leave a bit of room for improvement. Recently (7 years ago) being introduced to shotgun games, I also need some more practice with my scattergun: Remington 870 Express 20 gauge. The boomstick was just purchased about 3 years back to give me a reason to join Redlands Shooting Park. My specialty (if you can call it that) is that of rifleman and pistolero. 

Any boy raised in West Alabama on venison has to be a good shot with the rifle. Otherwise he quickly finds himself in the minority when classmates discuss deer, squirrel and other fine game worth skinning to eat. I haven't yet had the pleasure of roasted squirrel or brunswick stew, but would savor the opportunity to try a bite. But I digress. Rifles today ranged from .22s for plinking, to custom ARs for reaching out a bit and punching tight groups on paper. Mastering the rifle is what keeps citizens free and confident, a supreme deterrent to any two or four legged critter that would cause harm.

Whilst the rifle is borne, pistols are worn. Generally, the ignorant Hollywood writers portray a hero charging into unknown danger armed with merely a pistol. I say merely because a Rifle or shotgun would be the choice of any prudent man. Note that our soldiers and SWAT officers alike keep their pistols holstered until their Rifle has malfunctioned or run dry. Only then do they fall back to their last resort: the pistol. Getting accurate shots beyond 7 yards or 20 feet with a pistol requires extensive practice and training. On the other hand, I can teach nearly anyone with a Rifle to make hits out past 25  yards (50-100 yds w/ practice).

Much has been written extolling the virtues of Glock products. Everything you read is mostly true. Their 9mm G17 and G19 are the world standard amongst military and police. What is often neglected in this ocean of positive data, is that a full-size Colt Gov't Model feels much better to shoot. The .45ACP cartridge throws a 230 grain bullet at 850 feet per second. Our wonder-nine is slinging a 115 grain bullet approximately 1200 FPS.  The velocity difference combined with a much lighter frame makes our 9mm Glock generate way more 'felt recoil' than the venerable Colt .45 Auto.  I think John Browning got it right 102 years ago making Colt's entry for the Army pistol trials.

My host for the day was very generous with his guns and I look forward to taking my wife to this beautiful spot. The drive up is well worth it.   

     

A Southerner finding peace in SoCal

So this week my wife and I have been prepping our backyard for a party this coming Sunday. I have helped assemble a gazebo, dug holes for plants, pruned shrubs, and swept the patio. One of the more gratifying chores has been the assembly of patio furniture. Getting a table and chairs put out on the patio, and a couple of faux wicker seats with large green cushions bisected by a steel fire pit next to it really rounds out the set.  From college to China, then first years of our marriage-- I have occupied a string of apartments, guest rooms, hotels and hostels. None of those places sported multiple citrus trees or a pair of semi-feral vagrant cats. Not to sound cliche, but this place is really special; one could call it a milestone.

As I sat in my green cushioned, faux wicker glider chair yesterday after work, I indulged in a handful of fresh kumquats. Yes, we have a productive kumquat tree adjacent to our patio. For those of you who haven't savored the exhilarating rush of kumquat consumption, it ambushes your taste buds. The fruit is consumed whole, skin and all. A light zephyr of sweetness emanates from the peel and sets you up for the sucker-punch tartness of the middle. It is like having a conversation with Christopher Walken about some esoteric hobby and having Robin Williams interrupt you.  The kumquat: enjoyable, yet surprising.

That backyard experience with near perfect weather, and the promise of an almost infinite growing season combined to ease my mind about being here for a while. I used to be edgy and feel "cramped" within the social and political structure of this state, but California is cool. Dang cool! I don't recall being able to have fish tacos en route to Home Depot in Alabama. Nor finding any bougainvillea in the garden section there :o)  Perhaps the peaceful feeling is a sign of my growing tolerance of people who have a wildly different (lackadaisical) world view.

Just another example today at work was from a colleague's comment. He told me that I possess an abundance of "useless information." I gently retorted that much of my reading and learning is solely for personal enrichment. That threw him sideways; he couldn't fathom studying and memorizing information just for the sake of knowledge.  I suppose my outlook is contrarian to my peers. While many of them see studying as a painful means to a necessary end, I see it as a positive lifelong habit. Never stop learning! And in the words of gun scribe LT Col. Jeff Cooper, "If it is worth remembering, WRITE it down!" So many things I think about writing down for the sake of posterity, but slip into the pit of procrastination. That is a dangerous trap one should avoid. Steer clear, remain vigilant, read the Proverbs, and always keep looking up.

A Drifter Looks at 30.

I always wanted to be a soldier since I was a little kid.  God had different plans for me.

Papah holding me 30 years ago

When I was very young, I felt my God-given passion for firearms meant that I should be a warfighter. Thankfully, there are other occupations that lead to world travel & firearms expertise. I will mention those jobs later on, but suffice it to say, I've had a good time doing things for the Lord overseas.

At three days old, I was diagnosed with a heart problem called Aortic Valve Stenosis. A corrective surgery fixed the problem until 1993, when I underwent a Ross Procedure, followed by another operation in 2006. My parents told me "This is God's way of keeping you out of harm." Which makes very good sense to a rambunctious boy who would have gotten injured in a contact sport, or gone to war (likely getting shot up or blown up like so many my age).

Having combat struck from my list of options, I chose to earn a Political Science degree from Alabama (Roll Tide Roll), and then teach English in China instead of attending law school. That decision has worked out phenomenally well. Sharing Jesus with folks overseas, while being paid to do it (provided furnished apartment, etc.) is a wonderful thing. My wife and I actually met at an orientation for prospective China teachers. Our friendship was forged in the heat of Wuhan, and on trips to an orphanage out in the countryside. I don't think I'd have found such a beautiful bride were I stationed in Baghdad or Kandahar.

Aside from working in Wuhan for a three year stretch, I also did some short trips to Fiji while in college. There in Suva, we studied with locals and had worship every evening. That whet my appetite for future travels. My conservative count of twelve countries (more if Scotland/Wales counted separately) pales in comparison to my wife's travels. In twenty-seven years she claims 40 countries visited. Many of hers were volunteer related, just like my trips to Fiji. Antarctica is the only continent that neither of us has been... yet.

We feel that travel provides a wealth of memories that no big house, fancy car, or flashy jewelry could ever provide. I hope my journeys inspire others to go to new places. Think of a place you've always thought was just out of reach; I'm sure with proper planning a trip can become feasible. One of the blessings of Christianity is that places all over the world are ready to host you if you're willing to donate a week or two of your time helping improve their community. Another thrifty way to travel is to visit your family... they will appreciate your smiling face much more in person than on Skype.

A final goal for my family is to visit each of the 50 states. Wife and I have already been to Hawaii and Alaska, and spent a week driving across America on I-40 from Alabama to California. Since most of what we haven't seen is along the East Coast, we feel this is well within reach. It would be a whole lot of fun to go in an RV with kids. I chose the handle "Bama Drifter" because I like to drift from one journey to the next. Where will you go?

A few of the places I visited instead of the Middle East...

Fiji
China
Vietnam
Cambodia
Laos
India
Great Britain (incl. Scotland & Wales)
Canada
Mexico
Namibia
Malawi
South Africa
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Great Wall -Beijing
Terracotta Warriors -Xi'an
Angkor Wat -Siem Reap
London
Edinburgh
Shanghai
New York
Boston
Kauai
Malibu
Hong Kong
Alaska
Wyoming
Montana
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Sequoia
Joshua Tree
Grand Canyon
Yosemite
Denali

Yellowstone

Grand Tetons 

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Hunting in Alabama
Fishing in Alaska
50 mile canoe/fishing via Bissett, Manitoba
65 mile backpack/hiking at Philmont
Snow skiing in Colorado
Whale watching in Maui
African Safari (kudu, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, springbok, impala, jackal)

Places yet unseen...
Italy
Germany
Switzerland

Back in the saddle

So in case you have missed what's happened since my last post:

1. I recovered from an unusual infection.
2. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Coronado & Christmas at home.
3. The "gun debate" was reopened after a lunatic shot 26 folks in Newtown, CT. Feinstein, Obama, Biden and their Leftist Media handlers take it as an opportunity to demonize an inanimate object that accounts for fewer deaths per year than hands/feet or hammers. Typical I suppose.


While I am very thankful for #'s 1 & 2, #3 has created quite a headache for us at my workplace. My job is selling guns and ammo at Bass Pro. It is the closest thing to a 'perfect job' that I will not mention the pay, hours, or commute on Southern California's freeways. I really enjoy being a gun dealer.

Let me give you some numbers to get an idea of our volume since the CT Massacre. Prior to December, selling 50+ guns in a weekend was quite an achievement. Sure, we'd blow them out on Black Friday, but that was an exceptional event. Well, three weekends ago, we sold 85 guns on Saturday, then 92 guns Sunday. Our sales volume for the Hunting Department beat out entire stores including the Springfield flagship store (10X the size of our Hunting Dept). There were only 4 stores that matched us that weekend.

First, we sold out of AR15 rifles and the .223 ammo to feed them. Next, we sold out of ammo the following week for most popular calibers, and then ran out of pistols (except single-action revolvers and .22s). As of Friday afternoon, there was no .45ACP; .40; 9mm; .380; .357mag; .44mag; .308; or .223 ammo in our store. Customers are being told check back in 30 to 60 days, but I don't see us having pre-December levels of product available till summer.

So to keep up with this high demand, I have been re-assigned to handle emails and customer inquiries. My boss forwards anything gun related to me and I, the firearm specialist, respond (usually we're sold out) to what they are looking for. It has been much more lively than just stocking shelves and serving counter customers. I had the pleasure of selling one gentleman 6 Colt rifles and his buddy 4 of the same. Receipts were large for those two purchases.  The boss and I hope that business calms down sometime soon so that our regular customers can find what they need.

If you have any questions about firearms, stay tuned... I am hoping to steer this page towards a "Gun Blog" theme at my family's request.

Santa Barbara Birthday Fun!

So a couple of weeks ago, I made my first visit to Santa Barbara. My wife and I are big fans of a the British singer Florence + the Machine who was performing at the Santa Barbara Bowl on my birthday.  We talked my mother-in-law Kathi into joining us so we could ride up together from Santa Monica (about a 65 minute drive in light traffic). Kathi, MIL, was so kind to find the concert tickets, as well as a reservation for us at the Santa Barbara Four Seasons!

My twenty-ninth birthday celebration was a culinary delight of four meals intersected by an old mission tour, wine tasting and the long anticipated concert. I had homemade German chocolate cake (by Eliz) for breakfast in Santa Monica before riding up to Santa Barbara with Eliz and my favorite MIL. We took a quick tour of the Mission to work up an appetite for lunch on State Street at Bucatini Trattoria. I recommend the Pennette Pollo & Pomodori Secchi (pasta chicken).

If you are wanting something cooler than tiramisu for desert, State Street has plenty of options. But forget about Cold Stone or Yogurtland and don't even think about Pinkberry. Go to Rockin' Yogurt at 620 State Street, a block away from the Italian restaurant. They have the best quality organic fro yo and possibly the freshest cone (it's a crepe!) you will ever find. It is not self-serve, so you needn't worry about kids putting their filthy little hands in the toppings like at Yogurtland or any of the other DIY places. It is run by a cute older Korean couple and is a truly unique spot in an area filling up with national brands.

Later we walked down to Stearn's Wharf where I enjoyed a wine tasting at Deep Sea Wine, then we headed back to the Four Seasons for naps. Before the concert we grabbed some supper at Bella Vista, the hotel restaurant. I had a broccolini and pepperoni pizza with chocolate icecream- YUM. Now we were ready for Florence + the Machine.

I have nearly exhausted this post just talking about food, so I will give a more thorough report on the concert in a later entry. Florence + the Machine were phenomenally entertaining. All of the aforementioned businesses have positive to perfect reviews on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Urbanspoon. For more information on these Santa Barbara gems click the links below.  

To round out my birthday, I ordered a glass of chocolate milk and chicken quesadilla with sweet potato fries after the concert back at the resort hotel. Gastronomically amazing! Thank you Kathi & Eliz for making this the best birthday ever ;o) !

Bucatini
Rockin' Yogurt
Deep Sea Wines
Four Seasons

Yummy Deliciousness

Now, the great news is there are TONS of great places to eat for just about any set of taste buds and budget.  My favorites have been Mexican and Asian. Some days I will have fish tacos for lunch and Thai curry for supper- best of both worlds!

Quality Thai restaurants are hard to find in middle America. Yes, I know they do exist here and there… but not like Southern California! Here in the Loma Linda/ Redlands area there are five, two of which are outstanding. My wife and I prefer Thai House on Redlands Blvd and Papaya Bay on Orange Street.

Just this evening we had a lovely date at Papaya Bay. I had my favorite dish on the menu: #18 Spicy Eggplant with chicken and a Thai tea (that’s a mixture of sweet tea and cream).  Eliz had Tom Kha (curry soup with tofu) and Pad Thai (standard noodle dish).  The great thing about Thai restaurants is that they always seem so much more authentic than any American Chinese place or Japanese Shogun restaurant. Not that we don’t enjoy those as well, it is just that Thai places raise the bar. Whenever we yearn for the flavors of Wuhan, we head to Papaya Bay. The ambiance is romantic with a soothing fountain, pleasant lighting, and Siamese objects d’art tastefully rounding out the décor. We like it so much that we chose it for our anniversary and Valentine’s Day this year. 

Remember to save room for yummy coconut ice cream, or deliciously fragrant mango sticky rice if it's in season!

__________________________________________________________

BONUS RECIPE


Brownies

1 1/2 cup flour 

2 cups sugar

1/2 cocoa

4 eggs

1 cup oil 

1 t salt

2 t vanilla

1 t baking powder

1 cup nuts (optional)

-Blend ingredients and beat mixture for 3 minutes.  

-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

__________________________________________________________

I figured if I added a brownie recipe I would grab the attention of anyone who didn't already want to read a post on "Yummy Deliciousness." My gastronomical experiences in California have been mostly positive. The few bad ones are so negligible that I will go ahead and get that out of the way. If you are from the South, you will not find a satisfactory BBQ joint this side of Austin; and don't eat at Roscoe's in Los Angeles thinking it will be as good as the soul food in Atlanta, Birmingham, or Jackson. It won't be. You're welcome.

God Bless
      &
Happy Easter!

The Southerner’s view of Southern California

 I am from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It is a medium-sized college town with fairly homogeneous culture. There are white and black people, a few Hispanics, and negligible number of Asians. My wife’s hometown, Santa Monica, California hosts a more colorful palette of people.  Here you will see folks going about their life in every imaginable conveyance and raiment.  Just today I have seen skateboards, bikes, tandem bikes, motorcycles, wheelchairs, Range Rovers, classic Broncos, sports cars, German sedans, American cars and pick-up trucks, and the ubiquitous Japanese hybrids. Los Angeles probably has the same concentration of Toyota Prius as Hong Kong does of Ferrari… flocks of them!

On clothing, one senses the immediate casualness of Santa Monica.  In fact, I have yet to see anyone other than my bank teller wear a necktie.  There is a profound lack of respect as far as removing hats indoors, wearing a belt to keep pants at the waist, and so forth for anyone under the age of fifty-five. Some men dress up in surfer clothes with baggy shorts, hooded sweatshirts, frayed caps, Vans shoes, et cetera well past fatherhood and into their forties. In Alabama, most guys trade that in for khakis and Polo shirts around twenty-two.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like as a resident in the 1940s or 1950s seeing it change so much. From my observations, most of the neighborhoods were constructed as postwar “spec houses” to meet the need of America’s baby boom.  Many homes still bear the “spec” image of a small cottage, whilst next door sits a very modern behemoth mansion.  My cousins in Coronado complain that this phenomenon of literally razing an old structure, then building from edge to edge of the property blocks out the sunlight for the smaller neighbor. It is a pity but the reality of the situation.

Another thing that amuses me about these coastal Californians is how they take great strides to ‘conserve energy.’ We live in America, the land of Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Samuel Colt and other brilliant inventors whom I shall leave out for brevity. These men did not put so much effort into making our nation the best in the world to have a society that refuses to produce more energy to match growth. Do you think the Chevy Volt or the Nissan Leaf would be the car of choice for Franklin? NO! He would enjoy only the best… Mercedes, Lexus, or maybe Cadillac, but would scratch his head in confusion over why we don’t drill for oil where we know we have it (ANWR, Pacific Coast) or build more refineries and nuclear reactors to accommodate our growing population’s thirst for energy (LED bulbs alone won’t get us there). I digress.

One most amusing display of ‘conserving energy’ was the Venice Community Garden’s “Solar Cooking Day.” The idea was to harness energy from the sun to cook some organically grown veggies in a foil covered box. While the idea is more than plausible (I’ve seen it done at a Boy Scout Jamboree), the community gardeners failed to reduce their carbon footprint as a charcoal grill was substituted for the foil box. So not only was energy wasted, but also time. The moral of the story is that while solar cookers work great in the summer sun of a place like Phoenix, charcoal or propane is a much more efficient and reliable heat source in breezy cool Venice and Santa Monica.

One must never mistake reducing one’s quality of life automatically equals environmental stewardship. Humans were given skill to convert raw materials and natural resources into modern conveniences. Stewardship is having the wisdom to cleanly extract and ethically utilize these gifts. My Dad always told me "lack of preparation on your part doesn't constitute crisis on my part." Having regular gasoline at $4.99 per gallon would be an epic lack of preparation. While searching for an answer to this problem on energy.gov, one senses a huge disconnect from those of us who feel the pinch at the pump for our daily commute and those who make policy decisions for our nation. Nowhere on the main page is there mention of petroleum products. Wind farms in the Great Lakes and solar panels in Nevada seem more important to our president than issuing drilling permits. So we'll see how $4.50 gas affects poll numbers in November.

Let me sum up. Many folks here in California make complaints similar to the above paragraph about the high cost of living, overcrowded freeways, lack of freedom for gun owners, overprotected condors & cougars, and so on. This was my attitude for about a month. Then I realized what an amazing place California is. If it were so terrible why do people continue to move here? Pleasant weather. That is reason number one. Other reasons are 'people watching' in THE melting pot of America, catching glimpses of movie stars, and shopping at the most exclusive boutiques on earth. Southern California has towns that boast 325 days of sunshine. There are some really beautiful towns. San Diego and Santa Monica come to mind. Who wouldn't want to spend a week, month, few years in an ocean side paradise?  

Loma Linda and Redlands are two of my favorite towns in California. Located 50 miles from Big Bear and 50 miles from L.A. they are close to mountain snow or sunny beaches. Oh yeah, Joshua Tree is less than two hours away as well.  These are the reasons people love California: pleasant weather, and abundant outdoor activities. Hike, surf, ski and eat fish tacos all in the same weekend. I will delve deeper into the tasty foods in a later post. 

God Bless. 

Malibu

Ha. What a unique little town. This small scrap of land (27x1miles) is the home of some of the wealthiest people on earth.  It is really just a long strip of beach houses and expensive places running north up PCH (Hwy 1) from Santa Monica, past Zuma Beach where they filmed “Baywatch.”  The movies and folklore talk it up to be some glamorous retreat by the sea where you bump into celebrities at every turn.  This is not true.  What follows is a true and accurate report as seen through the eyes of a small town Southern man.

Malibu is a strange place.  The only real road as already mentioned above, is the Pacific Coast Highway.  It happens to be the most expensive road per mile to maintain in the USA. It is also usually packed with some kind of slow moving obstacles such as maniacal cyclists and/ or tourists, and really old people in fancy cars, plus the traffic of locals headed to the world famous beaches.  One wouldn’t put up with all this hassle if it weren’t for God’s beautiful handiwork in the combination of cliffs and ocean.  The views are pretty nice every day of the year and really gorgeous on the days that aren’t nice in other parts of America.  For example, I wore short sleeves and flip flops on Christmas day, New Year’s, Jan, Feb, and so on… and wore a light jacket in the evening and morning in June, July, Aug, I think you understand… It is PLEASANT.

What is so startling upon one’s first visit to Malibu is how it casually drips with money.  It is far less ostentatious than some Southern neighborhoods (think Mt. Brook, Eastchase, Buckhead), yet the parking lot of Malibu Country Mart is overflowing with luxury. There is almost always a half dozen Mercedes products, a few Range Rovers, BMWs, Audis, and a token Ferrari… usually red, just sitting there like a big Euro Motors dealership.  More amazing, no, no, brazen would be the choice word here, is that the boutique clothiers here get away with charging over $300 for pants, $700 for boots, or $895 for a new leather bag at Ralph Lauren of all places!  It is shocking, absurd, ridiculous, and laugh inducing, while at the same time a bit pitiful that some folks buy this stuff.

Ralph Lauren has capitalized on the notion that great showman P.T. Barnum once quipped, “There’s a sucker born every day!”  True words. Oh, so true.  I find this so amusing because I own clothes quite similar to the ‘vintage’ stuff being offered. But, I paid no more than $40 for any one garment or bag.  In fact, I have an Israeli surplus canvas bag that cost around twenty bucks, and well worn Carhartt pants that run in the neighborhood of $35 each.  It is a pity I can’t sell it all to Mr. Lauren!

:o)
Shalom