Pirate's Booty on Treasure Island

I joined my brother-in-law, James, for a **brisk** swim in the bay off of Treasure Island yesterday afternoon. Little did we know that the night would only get colder...

I met up with James and his triathlon buddies in this huge empty parking lot adjacent to the marina and asked him if he thought it was safe to park here. "No, probably not." I suppose it was safe enough since they had a group swim here last week. We walk about a 1/4 mile to the beach where we start our swim and I'm thinking, "who lives on Treasure Island?" The only other times I've been to TI were for the SUPER CHEAP meals in the Job Corps Advanced Culinary Academy Fine Dining Restaurant.

After a 25-minute swim in the bay we gathered our belongings on the beach and started heading back to our cars. James' car key was missing. After digging through the sand for five minutes I'm thinking how much this sucks. Would somebody actually steal his car? As we walk back to the lot we glance over only to confirm our fears that the black Volvo was gone. Who actually does such a morally reprehensible thing?

We filed a police report at the lot and I drove James home with borrowed clothes and just the wetsuit on his back. After another hour the police called with good news- they found the car locked and parked in a seedy neighborhood about 2 miles away from the lot where it was "borrowed". In the end the only things taken were a CD wallet, a Williams Sonoma gift card, and a little bit of my faith in people. I'd love to believe we live in a place safe enough to leave our belongings untouched but that's just wishful thinking in this day and age.

I had my camera in the trunk of my Civic (who wants to take a Honda Hybrid for a joyride anyways?) and was able to take a couple shots of last night's craziness.


the car was fortunately intact and unscathed


James on the phone with the towing company


the Volvo was found about 2 miles away from the lot where we parked while we were swimming

San Diego [part 2] | personal

Here are some highlights from the rest of our weekend in San Diego hanging out with friends and family:





my dad steamed a red snapper. It was so big we had to cut the tail to fit it in the wok.





The plant has fallen


It's unheard of for a former Chula Vistan to never have been to Lolita's for mexican food but alas, I'm a noob. I had a California burrito and the carne asada fries pictured above. Little did I know that a California burrito was essentially carne asada fries in a tortilla. I was stuffed.


Nat loved the way the afternoon sun casted shadows on her feet.


Vinh demonstrates the optimal LCD setup for world domination.



Nat and Isa getting reacquainted


meet Layla







Steve eyeing some baby Nat ribs.



Nat's SO ready to go home.



I made pretty good time driving without any breaks. When Nat's asleep it's a good idea to just keep going.


So gross! Alas, finally home only to find a kitchen full of ants. Just so gross.

**Oh, I didn't realize I was advocating TJ's coffee but definitely a good place for good bargain beans.**

San Diego [part 1] | personal

We decided to get a jumpstart on our Labor Day weekend and headed down to San Diego yesterday for a little R&R with my parents. I can't remember the weather being so humid down here.


We stopped at the TA TravelCenter in Buttonwillow, CA for our first break along I-5 South. Nat was happy to get off the car.



How can the ENTIRE menu be All You Can Eat? I can imagine how the conversation with the waitress would go:

me: The iceberg lettuce salad and chicken noodle soup were delicious. Can I get more of each?
waitress: You sure can! Just sit tight- it'll be about a 45-minute wait.
me: hmm....


We rented a car for the drive because our hybrids would get owned by the Grapevine. This Camry rental is so roomy!


3 devices for 3 different functions. Sure, the iPhone could technically do it all. We were hoping to hit irvine before 2pm where most ramen houses seem to close. We failed.



Snack time at 85C Cafe & Bakery where the buns are fresh and hot.


I don't miss this traffic at all...


an Elmo sighting in downtown Chula Vista

The Wild-Life at Lassen Park | Personal

Our family trips are always centered around food. I'm always gonna remember last year's Cabo trip for the booze, tacos, and never-ending guacamole bar. How do you follow up a trip to Taiwan that included at least 10 unforgettable meals a day for a week? Well this summer our plans of going to the Dominican Republic or Spain got reduced to a weekend getaway to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Oh well. We wanted to make the best of it and searched hard for hidden food treasure troves. We kept searching....and searching. Nada. Okay, hey- the consolation here is that we'll see some awesome landscapes.


there were a ton of billboards along I-5N for Rolling Hills Casino. We were hungry but not dying for a casino buffet and had to check it out anyways. Amy yelp'd and continued the search for our Friday night dinner spot.



Amy found the Taco Barn in Anderson, CA where we were staying for the weekend. I don't think I've ever had a California Burrito with french fries in it.




What was the verdict? Enh. the fries were soggy and the burrito was SUPER salty. I was so hungry that I failed to take a picture of it.


The Gaia Hotel where we were staying claimed to be a very 'green' establishment. They are in fact gold LEED certified- at least per my web search. I couldn't find a plaque in the lobby that should proudly showcase this achievement.


"Hey, those beef steak nuggets look precariously close to being free..."


"In Australia - Reportedly 2 people die every year from altercations with a vending machine." I managed to escape the face of death that evening.



Nat's a bit of an escape artist herself.





hangin' out as we decide on where we plan to go on Saturday morning



check out james' new turbo wagon - that's one hot Swede...



The Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay



The designer of the bridge, world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, has said that, to him, the bridge resembles a bird in flight, and symbolizes the overcoming of adversity.


Nat enjoying some shade at McConnell Arboretum. It was probably around 100 degrees here.




the interiors of the tree house


I don't think I have patience for fly fishing.


Here at Oak Bottom Marina in Whiskeytown - Patrick found A) kayak rental info; B) food options; C) 3G or EDGE connection on his iPhone; or D) None of the above. Answer: D


It was so hot at the Oak Bottom Marina that I was able to heat up some Taco Barn leftovers on the asphalt.


Nat figured out how to change channels.


The pond at our hotel was home to 4 swan and a plethora of fish. Nat thoroughly enjoyed the domestic wildlife.







Nat enjoyed her 32oz porterhouse from Cattlemen's


food coma




heading east to Lassen Park


Nat and Grandma Wen enjoying the ride to Lassen







On our drive through Lassen National Park we came across Sulphur pools spewing pretty foul-smelling gas.



Patrick strenuously climbs Lassen Peak. Nobody would be able to tell that he's in the parking lot of the Lassen Park Visitor Center. This is probably the closest thing to hiking that we did in our Lassen Park experience.




On our way home Amy found what we've been looking for our entire trip - a local favorite. Nancy's Airport Cafe served pretty healthy-sized portions and they were getting a steady stream of customers that afternoon. You could tell Nancy's has been around a while with all the memorabilia hanging from the walls. If we're ever driving through Willows, CA again we'd probably stop here.


Nat was trying to decide what to get off their huge menu.


I've been on quite a burger binge lately after reading the latest issue of Saveur Magazine. It was definitely as good as it looked.



We pretty much sat in a car for 10 hours on the last day of our trip- probably a little too much for Nat and Grandma Wen. Thankfully Nat had Elmo's World on the iPhone which tucked nicely on the back of the headrest for handsfree viewing pleasure. As for Shasta, Butte, and Lassen County - I'm not so sure Anthony Bourdain would even be able to find enough to do a show in these neck of the woods. In any case, sharing good times with family always redresses lackluster latitudes.