Some of our favorite things in Kalifornia

Our summer of debauchery and living in a suitcase finally came to an end when we got off the plane in Cairo last week.  And what a summer it was...days of cooler weather, pork, beer, and unveiled women were over; we went from a world of sinning headfirst into the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit with our families and friends and kept pretty busy to the point of being backlogged on the whole blog thing. With that said, it would be a good time to share some of our favorite moments that we captured. 

The best BBQ in San Diego. Phil's BBQ pulled pork sandwich-there is always a line out the door.

Le Butcherettes from Guadalajara, Mexico taking the stage at the Soda Bar on El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego.

What would be the point of fixing the red-eye? 

Early on in the set when things were relatively calm.

You can't stop the rock. The band feverishly bashed out a solid set of tunes and turned the crowd into demons for the evening.

Chikle and Selina showed us their new digs by having a little afternoon get together at their place...we were fresh off the plane and jet lagged. I was quite envious of his studio out in the back! Thx Sonia for letting me steal this pict. 

An evening in Tijuana isn't complete without a trip to Fausto's 

Fausto's is in one of the oldest neighborhoods in TJ and have been around since Ana's mom was young. The Torta Especial (see above) con salsa y limon will make you beg for more.

Pedro thought we should do a 25 mile/40 km bike ride through Coronado down the Silver Strand to the salt flats and back. So we did. Afterwards, an Idiot IPA at the Coronado Brewery was our reward. 

The evening started out innocently enough at Wine Steals (a pizza/fine wine bar) then it was that stop at Trader Joe's on the way to Michelle's that upped the ante. What can you say, grapes were thrown at Dodgers fans from their balcony and the apartment rent-a-cop showed up and shut down the Los Bukis and Luis Miguel sing-a-long dance party.

Another day another bike ride through Chicano Park in Barrio Logan.

To read about the history of the park and to see more murals click here

We took our wedding pictures in the park.

Riding along the harbor towards Point Loma

Ditto

San Francisco's Mission District = Indian Pizza at Zante's

If you can't decide between Italian and Indian fret no more, Zante has what you need. Vegetarian or Tandori Chicken on the same pie, no problemo.  

If we had the option of getting married underneath a Claes Oldenburg sculpture like the Japanese wedding party in the photo that would have been classy! 

Hanging out with Noal means some sort of epic walk is in your future. Near the botanical gardens in Golden Gate Park.

Sutro Bath ruins at Ocean Beach in SF. We walked down to the caves and Noal went rock climbing just enough to scare us.

The direction in which the cypress trees grow are determined by the wind.

Noal sporting his Egyptian tarboosh.

Schmidt's in San Francisco

Claire and her main squeeze Noal

This is what you can expect at Schmidt's.

The potato salad was also amazing.

Across the bay to Oakland to visit with Rich, Kate, and Spencer. Spencer is enjoying an organic strawberry at the farmers market.

Rich likes the nectarine. 

The red or blue haired Bakesale Betty in Oakland serves up a mean and hearty gut-busting Chicken Sandwich and other baked goods. Be prepared to gain 10 pounds! 

Some artwork @ Casa de Rich and Kate

Rich likes records. Later that evening we went over to visit our friends Rita, Teff, and Nelson but sadly we didn't take any photos of them at their friend's house in Berkley Hills. Their friend served us Honduran beans with sour cream, tamales, chicken, steak, and a whole mess of other foodstuffs.   

A train ride over to Stockton to see Chris, Lori, and Sam is always a must! Lori makes the most amazing outfits, bags, wrestling masks, etc...there isn't anything that her and her industrial strength sewing machine can't put together. She made Ana a fangs bag that I will post soon. Chris and his little monkey Sam. 

Our neighbors Lori and Ryan back in San Diego acting as they normally do after an evening of dining on Ethiopian food. If anything their deer collection is impressive.

The Warlock Pinchers vs My Dad's Bar

The talk of the legendary Warlock Pinchers getting back together to play a couple of shows was all the rage this summer back in Denver. They were set to play a super top secret show at the Lion’s Lair on Colfax and two sold out shows at the Gothic Theatre during the first week in August. The only problem that I had with that was Ana and I were due to be in Bogotá, Columbia during that week...so I settled for the next best thing.

While at a Dressy Bessy show at the Larimer Lounge I ran into Andrew from the Pinchers and he told me that the band was already rehearsing for the shows sans a couple of members but he assured me that it was a rehearsal nonetheless. He invited me to one the following day and I readily accepted and a Warlock Pincher’s practice or show isn’t complete without my buddy Matt. So I called him up and told him what the plan was, it was like a Boulder mini reunion of sort or at the very least a throwback of almost 20 years. I rode my bike about an hour from Aurora down to the practice space on Kalamath on a recent Craigslist's special.

There is nothing like a garage behind the house filled with musical equipment, empty cans and bottles, set lists, insulated walls, the smell of tubes and sweating band mates making noise. Name me something better, I dare you! Dan showed up with an 18 pack of Stroh’s, Derek kept pulling cans of Tecate out from behind his amp. Andrew brought leftovers from a Peeps shaped birthday cake. Thoughts and ideas were being thrown around on what sort of tricks, mischief, and anarchy they could create for the shows. Pop star Tiffany was invited but had a prior engagement. Would the Christian Television Program that interviewed them at Rock Island be there protesting the shows, after all the Warlock Pinchers are the self-proclaimed “Official Sound of Satan” and what about Morrissey? Would his cockhorse be ready for the Transatlantic ride? You can always learn more about the Pinchers by going here or to see photos from the reunion shows click here.

My dad’s bar is a whole different animal. Growing up I used to think my Uncle Bob and dad had dueling bars, maybe that was wishful thinking but I'm sure they both encouraged to outdo one another. Uncle Bob had a crude version of video poker (v cool at the time), a keg, and riffles in a case. My dad had his coin collection embedded in the top of the bar, receding lights, and most importantly the Hams sign. The Hams sign wins it alone. I don’t think I was even ten years old when the Hams sign came into my life, I can’t tell you how many hours I've spent watching the sight turn, it starts at a campground site with a tent, a camp fire cooking breakfast, a canoe parked at the bank of a river, I always thought of it as the Nirvana of campsites. The sign slowly turns and we see more of the river, a waterfall, and damnit you know the place is just filled with trout ready for the catching, it’s like hardcore porn for the camping enthusiast. And all of the time you are in awe of the vision the sign maker had.

So who will the winner be? The Pinchers or Dad's Bar... 

One of the cooler practice pads.

Andrew and his drumstick.

Outside the space before the rain.

Dusk at the space.

The Craigslist 1980's 10-speed monster.

Where the hell is Mark Brooks? 

My dad, he can be an Egyptian with his tarboosh.

The bar.

Shelves of the bar.

An old man Muslim puppet of top of a bottle of JB

Dad's ball cap collection about 900 and counting-I remember when he said that he was going to stop collecting at 100!

More hats and bottles of beer on the wall.

Ben is trying to explain something, but you can see the old money collection and the hats and the beers on the wall.

Matt giving thumbs up on the sign!

The the best shot of the sign as there is another side. It spans about 4 feet long, but maybe brother George can tell me. BTW Happy Birthday George!

The added bonus of my great nieces. They inject about a pound of candy each and everyday and terrorize innocent people.

The Trinidad I once knew

I used to think of Trinidad as my second home, it was certainly the area where my parents were born and raised. It wasn’t unusual for my dad to get home from work around the time I got home from school on a Friday afternoon and load up the car and drive three hours to the edge of southern Colorado at least one weekend a month. I know the route down I-25 like the back of my hand. Here it goes like a run-on sentence.

One you hit Castle Rock you’re really out of the Denver area. Monument Hill is an area you don’t want to be when there is snow and ice, but boasts an amazing view when driving down into Colorado Springs. There are always gliders and single prop Cessna type planes pulling them along in front of the Air Force Academy stadium at the base of the Rockies. Painted signs to North Pole Santa’s Workshop and Garden of the Gods line the outskirts of Colorado Springs and I have yet to visit either of them. Towering over the Springs sits Pikes Peak. If you are lucky enough you might get a chance to see tanks and Army troops on maneuvers behind the barbed wired fence of Fort Carson on the way out of town. The green and lush landscape fades into a dry terrain as you approach the iconic smoke stacks of the distant Pueblo. And each time I pass through there, I make a promise to get off the interstate and explore it one day. The climb past Colorado City is a view of Fisher’s Peak some 50 odd miles south. The 300 foot Huerfano mountain (actually butte) is a true orphan of the flat landscape in comparison to the majestic Spanish Peaks to its’ west. Walsenburg is a town that has seen better days, and if you blink you will miss the turnoff. Lathrop State Park and its’ two lakes are still there as far as I know. It was my least favorite campsites growing up because it was typically hot, loaded with desert brush and snakes. Seeing the exit for Aguilar meant that Trinidad was just around the corner. My Dad and Uncle Cheech would say that some of the best goat cheese came from there. You can’t see the town from the highway and I have never been there so I am unable to vouch for its’ existence. Around to the bend between Trinidad and Aguilar is the ghost town of Ludlow sadly known as the site of the 1914 massacre of 19 men, women, and mostly children by the Colorado National Guard during a coal miners strike. My Uncle Lon and others claim that you can see ghosts of the mining camps on fire while driving at night. Just a little under three hours later you have arrived in Trinidad.

Below are photos of a once thriving mining town now mostly known as the sex change capital of the world. What I can say about the town won’t do it justice but in the same breath I could write a book about it. I felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia when I was there. I have many fond memories of family tied to Trinidad and it seems that time and change have robbed me of that. In loving memory of my mom (1932-2009).

The Trinidad Theatre. My cousin Linda and I would be dropped off here when our parents would go out for the evening. Movies still run, I believe there is one show every evening at 7:30.

The building still stand and the sign is intact, but I'm not sure if the doors are still open.

The 36 mile rote to Monument Lake is better known as "up the river" meaning driving along the route 12 along the Purgatorie River. You will encounter the small towns of Cokedale, Valdez, Segundo, and Weston. Cokedale is a small town about 7 miles west of Trinidad known for its' rows of coke ovens. According to the census there are less than 200 inhabitants that occupy the disappearing town.

The church in Valdez where my parents were married.

Old Coors sign in Valdez

Monument Lake lies just after Stonewall, and yes there are natural walls of stones. My dad told me about a mining camp a mile or two away from the lake his father worked and lived at. We spent the afternoon feeding the fish various types of bait while getting farmer's tans and eating lunch meat from Walmart. The lake has always been a favorite of mine. Growing up, Uncle Cheech would sit me in his lap and let me drive his green van on the loose gravel road that wound around the lake. He also explained why he wore his straw cowboy hat over his face when he took a nap..."so butterflies don't poop in your mouth!" Sound advice to live by.

Fisher's Peak. My dad told me stories of him, his brother, and friends climbing it when they were young. Each time I hear the story I am amazed, thinking how and the hell did they do that without getting eaten by a bear?

A trip to Southern Colorado isn't complete without picking up some goat cheese. There are two ways to get it:

a) At the market when it is delivered, it will sell out in hours.

b) Call one of the two remaining goat dairies and place an order for pick-up or delivery.

There are two types of cheese the dairies make. A hard cheddar like wheel (approx. 1-2 pound) with a salted outside and a ricotta.

The two remaining dairies are located in Hoehne about 10 miles east of Trinidad are Zubal and Philpott. I did some research on goat cheese from the region and learned that used to be "dozens" of goat dairies before government health regulations forced out these family owned operations. To read more click here to read Teresa Farney's article A Dying Breed.

The goats getting milked at Philpott.

Equipment (milkers) that attach to the utters.

The goats are in the other room with the attached milkers and the milk is pumped through the tubes into the above tank then the milk is filtered with the cheese cloth.

Owner Paul Philpott getting our cheese ready. If you would like to try some of this delicious goat cheese you can call Philpott or Zubal directly and they will Fed Ex the goods to you. When Ana and I ordered a wheel from Doris Zubal a few years ago they sent us a cool plastic key chain and a business card with a goat on it. Below is contact info:

Philpott Goat Dairy (719) 846-3059

Zubal Goat Dairy (719) 846-6138

The Trabino Inn-bed and breakfast

At one time Trinidad boasted the most bars per capita in Colorado-meaning that coal miners worked up quite a thirst...it looked like there were less than 20 remaining in a town of around 9,000 residents.

The green bowling alley building and sign are still there.

My dad told me a story about this building when it was under a different name back in the late 40's. My dad, his brother, and a friend went to have a beer one evening and the owner had booked a band and advertised it all over town. The band called and cancelled hours before they were suppose to arrive. The owner had asked my dad and company if the knew of any bands who could take their spot. My uncle mentioned that they were a group and would play for drinks. The owner agreed and filled their glasses. My uncle suggested after tipping back a couple that they should go home and get their instruments. At this point in the story I interrupted my dad and asked him if any of them played any instrument? He replied that they didn't even own a radio.

The radio tower.

Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial located in the center of town on Main Street. The bronze sculpture has life size figures and the names of past men and women miners etched at the base. Opposite side of the mall stands a giant sculpture of a canary enclosed in a cage honoring the bird that warned miners thus saving many lives.

One of the most remarkable aspects about the town are the red Trinidad brick streets.

To think that this is main street at five in the afternoon.

One of the many brick buildings.

Black Jack's Saloon and Steakhouse. The food was tasty, the decor was amazingly tacky, and any place that lets you toss your peanut shells on the floor is alright with me. In keeping theme with the rest of the town, it shuts down early. If you show up after 8pm they won't let you in so you might want to head on over to the Trinidad Diner which serves until 9pm. After that your only hope is Sonics.

When you have a favorite been why not let the whole world know.

Trinidad History Museum

Rinos Italian Restaurant. I had never been here but I know the building well and after learning a thing or two of what goes on inside such as the singing waiters covering songs from Bocelli to Elvis make this a future destination.

Inside the office of the second hotel we stayed at. The place is run by a cool biker couple.

Huerfano Mountain (butte) in all of its' glory.