Second Honeymooon

We have reluctantly returned to reality after our second honeymoon. The experience was, in a word, magnificent. On Friday October 23 we boarded The Norwegian Cruise Lines Sun at pier 35 in San Francisco. We headed out under the Golden Gate Bridge for an eleven night, twelve day cruise to Mexico.


This was the longest time we have been away since our honeymoon 34 years ago. I am happy to report we still get along quite well and enjoyed every moment of the cruise. We stopped at five ports and had a whirlwind tour at each one. There really was not enough time to fully explore the towns but we tried to maximize our days. On the ship there is so many things to do you have to plot an agenda daily to to fully experience the boat. Even on our last day we were finding places on board we had not seen before. The food is excellent and abundant with many venues to try. At one of the nightly shows we attended the cruise director/ comedian said that the people boarded the ship as passengers and left as cargo. He was right on the money! With so many things to talk about I thought I would start with breakfast. Here is a small sample of what was available to start the day.

Blog Hiatus

They say the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree. April and I arrived home from work yesterday to find my son Patrick working away at the food processor. I asked what he was creating and he proudly announced he was making Chipotle Mayonnaise. He ate a sandwich at a local dive and loved the flavor. He did some internet research and aggregated a recipe. It is tasty and easy to make.

In food processor mince one large garlic clove
Add one canned Chipotle in Adobo and about a scant teaspoon of the sauce. (use more if you like it real spicy)
Blend in one cup of Best Foods Mayonnaise.
Add a teaspoon or so of olive oil and the juice of half a lime to complete sauce

Life's a Picnic will be on Hiatus for about three weeks on a second honeymoon of sorts. Adios!

Full Disclosure

The following blog post event actually occurred on Easter Weekend 2009. I disclose this fact because I have been reading that the government is cracking down on bloggers who accept money in return for favorable posts. We are a group that is out of control with no editors, no structure and are basically without scrutiny. Be advised that I have not accepted any money for my blogs and in fact have spent tons of my own money. Why you ask? I write this blog to express to my readers my appreciation of life and adventure. I have been fortunate to have a wonderful wife and we enjoy our time together. We are lucky to have a few dollars of disposable income we can part with on our adventures. That being said, on with on with the post.

We had a weekend with no responsibilities pending. I cruised the internet for likely places to visit and came up with a highly rated resort in Napa on Hotwire.com for under $150 (at this writing the rates on the hotel website are running over $400). The Meritage Resort and Spa is located in an business park just a short drive from downtown Napa. The building and grounds are immaculate. A large swimming pool and spa are inviting and the weather warm enough for dip and lounging. Just behind the pool is the Trinitas Wine Cave and Spa Terra. After a little exploration there we hiked the adjacent vineyard that has plenty of picnic spots, art work and stautary. Jack rabbits bounded through fields and remarkably we spotted a Great Blue Heron about twenty feet away oblivious to our presence.





On our last visit to Napa we enjoyed the Oxbow Market. On this visit we tried Picapica Maize Kitchen and were rewarded with tasty Venezuelan corn arepas and a maize'wich.

I also want to disclose we had a wonderful weekend and will continue to seek out and report on new, exciting and reasonably priced travel, food and adventure.

Coffee Ritual

I have to admit I am not a coffee connoisseur. I drink one or two cups in the morning and have no brand loyalty. Weekdays I normally hit the Starbucks kiosk at the local Safeway. I drink brewed coffee and cringe when I hear the complex orders that people request. Another hot button I have is when the counter person corrects me when I order a "small" and somehow that becomes a "tall". That doesn't seem to happen much lately and that makes me happy. Weekends we drink Trader Joe's coffee that we grind in store.

Over the last couple of weeks my coffee habits have been challenged. The first change happened when I forgot to replenish our supply. The only coffee in house was some very expensive beans that my daughter had procured in Hawaii. The problem was no grinder. I was going to drink tea but all we had was decaf. I thought about pounding the beans with the bottom of a heavy pan but nixed the idea. I spied the marble mortar and pestle unused on the self. Hence, the first pot of hand ground Hawaiian coffee was made. It was superb and has spoiled me for the cheap stuff.


The second experience was on our getaway weekend. We headed over to Acme bread in the Ferry Plaza for their exceptional pastries. Just a few doors down the line at Blue Bottle Coffee was only about eight deep. Normally the line is at least three times that. We decided to see what everybody was willing to wait for. Talk about ritual! This place has more reverent moves than a Catholic High Mass. Each cup of brewed coffee is crafted individually. The water is swirled above a cone filter with a motion that reminds me of the incense vessel used in Mass. We defended our position in line from a marauding little old lady with a cane and a handsome young fellow who tried to flirt his way to the front. That endured, we got our coffee and it was excellent, albeit lukewarm for my taste. The wife's latte was a visual work of art.The two things I require from a coffee place: It should be hot and be served in the immediate future.

The most recent coffee adventure is the arrival of Starbucks Via Ready Brew. The commercials say you can't tell the difference. I had mine with one of my wife's homemade pumpkin scones and it was hot and ready. Can I tell the difference? Yeah.

Runaway Weekend - San Fran

We have a cruise to Mexico in the near future and have been trying to limit our travel expense to accumulate a little nest egg for that. I have a habit of checking out hotel prices in San Francisco. In my explorations I discovered a four star hotel in the Embarcadero area of the city. The price was $126, about half the price of rooms listed in the last few months. So with reckless abandon I booked it. Hotwire.com only tells you the hotel name after you pay them, so I was pleasantly surprised to find we were staying at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero.

This Hyatt is a large hotel with magnificent lobby and glass elevators. We checked into a spacious well decorated room on the twelfth floor. Just down the hall, floor to ceiling windows provide a stellar view of the Ferry Building.

We brunched with my oldest daughter and her boyfriend at Perry's a couple of blocks away and did a little exploring around the the Embarcadero Center. They have always done a superb job of landscaping here, but we loved the idea of the herbs and edible plants that provided color to the planters. There was basil, chives, chard, lettuces, strawberries, parsley and flowers.

Later that evening, I was online looking at places to go for dinner and down on the street someone was playing I Left My Heart in San Francisco on the violin. Sometimes one can leave their wallet in the city because the restaurant prices are so high. We had thoughts of going to the Tonga Room at the Fairmont but that would require a trek we had no energy for. We headed out for a cocktail before dinner. Fuzio, a restaurant adjacent to the Embarcadero Cinema, has a cute little bar we checked out. They have a Martini menu priced at about $10 but the drinks are so huge one is enough. I had a traditional gin marty and April had a cosmo.

As we sipped, the bartender slipped us the bar menu. For around $7 each we had pizza and spring rolls for dinner. This night I did not leave my wallet in San Francisco.

Donuts Duh - Oh!

Some say the best things in life are free. This week at least they are reasonably priced. There is a Cash and Carry restaurant supply store in Santa Rosa that we visit on occasion. Most of the time to purchase food for a party, on this occasion to stock up on some restaurant style to-go packaging. There are always things that "need" to be purchased, so an hour flew by. After loading the goods, a reward was in order. Sam's donuts is located a few doors down. We had always wanted to try the place but for some reason never had. The place is definitely lacking in atmosphere and decor and perhaps is a bit dodgy. I ordered a huge apple fritter and April, a crumb covered raised to go. As I backed up the car the wife began to channel Meg Ryan from the deli scene in When Harry met Sally. A little startled I wondered what all the happiness was about.

"These donuts are so good, Greg!
"Come on they are just donuts..."

With my first bite I discovered the source of her pleasure. Imagine an apple fritter with real apple in it, perfectly fried and glazed. Oh my!

I'll have what she's having!

Chilling and Munching Sebastopol Style

Last Sunday we took a drive to the Sebastopol Farmer's Market. It is a smallish market but makes up for its size with a great variety of pristine produce, colorful products and a laid back atmosphere. There were couples cuddling and parents with young children dancing in front of the bandstand. We staked out a bench and sipped coffee from Run Around Brew. The coffee was wonderful but I kept hearing the lyrics from Run Around Sue roll around in my head. I hate when that happens.


We had plans for lunch to follow our visit but as we people-watched, we kept seeing wonderful looking pizzas from a mobile oven pass in front of us. We decided we must change our lunch plans. The wife wanted to try the sausage pizza so I went to the counter and inadvertently ordered what I always get, a pepperoni pizza. Well, my bad. This pizza rocks! I asked the chef if he also had a restaurant and he provided a card for Rosso Pizzeria and wine bar in Santa Rosa. They have a cool logo to match the great pizza. After a little internet research I find that Chef John Franchetti has worked at some high end venues and opened his Santa Rosa restaurant to great reviews. We will be checking that out soon but for now we will be chilling and munching pizza at the market.

Rosso pizza - Delicious!