We were on vacation!
I can remember it like it was yesterday - or you know last week. It was the 4th of July and we had a road trip planned out to sunny, beach laden California to enjoy both the weather and the excellent company.
And away we go!
One of our first stops was Chiriaco Summit
An interesting little tourist trap / truck stop that sells things like its own marinades:
Also available:
Sweatshirts
Magnets
Coffee Mugs
T-shirts
Tchotchkes (google says the word has a T in it)
Bonus: as a patriotic 4th of July road trip would have it - they house the General Patton Museum
I love that the statue includes the dog. We're bad Americans though, because we don't know the story or why the dog is significant.
Chiriaco Summit was also home to these wicked paintings
At first I thought these came from someone's wild imagination, but later down the freeway I realized they're an actual attraction. We didn't get a chance to stop here but - they're pretty sweet even if its only from afar.
Then we continued driving
and driving
and driving
Until we finally made it to our destination!
We settled in for a late dinner at Dylan's parent's house in Long Beach.
Since it wasn't the 4th yet, my in-laws still had to go to work. So Dylan and I hit the town for some grub and a movie!
Our first meal at a Long Beach restaurant - Nick's Deli II (a spin off from Nick's Deli [one] which is at Seal Beach.) Mine was a breakfast sandwich, seen on the left. Rye Bread (my favorite!) mayo, eggs, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Dylan's on the right was the Ruben. A delicious start to the day!
Next up: Dispicable Me 2 opening day!
(wow, we were really on that "Two" theme I didn't even notice that until now!)
After the movie we met up for a drink with another California resident and friend of ours. I recall that day we also shopped, had some local chocolatier's treats (that we ate during the movie) and soaked in all that vacations have to offer. Later that night we met back up with my in-laws for a delicious dinner at their favorite diner. I neglected to take a photo!
This brings us to Thursday - Independence Day! The 4th of July! We started our day with a craving: lox and bagels. Long story short? Finding this tasty breakfast treat is pretty much searching for the holy grail in Long Beach. Longer story starting now: In fact - when we found Nick's Deli we were on the hunt for lox and bagels but it was a no go. Wednesday morning we started at Katella's Deli
a restaurant and bakery that was actually really cool
Except the man at the deli counter helping us didn't speak English very well and the language barrier prevented us from communicating effectively. See, at Katella's you CAN get lox and bagels. But only if you go into the resturant. We didn't know that, we thought we could order from the deli because we saw on the menu "lox and bagels $9.45 per bagel." Turns out - when you order from the deli you're ordering to CATER. So add that to a language barrier and you have a big mess. Whoops!
We didn't feel like going in for a sit-down-have-a-waiter-breakfast so we hit up google and actually made calls to try and find lox and bagels. After 3 failures (no kidding) we found a place that had them!
Blue Mountain Bagel Co. and they were fantastic!
With breakfast in our bellies, it was time to move ahead with more 4th activities! The annual Block Party seen here in a previous TBH post was on in full swing. Dylan revived the tradition of brats and sauerkraut.
The block party fare was fantastic. Classic BBQ treats and of course desserts!
Themed desserts are always that much more delicious, aren't they?
That night we settled in at the house, watched a few fireworks shows (you could see plenty from the front yard!) and I tried to get a photo ... a bad photo. Still a photo, nonetheless.
Later that night we decided to make up a pizza - ON THE GRILL.
The dough came from a can and the sauce from a jar but we still made this puppy by hand and it was that much tastier!
First we put the stone on the grill:
Then finished it off with a flash cook straight on the grill!
Gooey, bubbly and delicious!
We decided to try a bottle of liquor that had been in the house for years unopened and never tried. So we thought, this could be fun!
Here's the oddly shaped bottle
And it's name that I couldn't pronounce if I tried!
It was delicious!
Sweet, almost like honey. It would make a killer cocktail.
We stayed up that night listening to 70's rock-n-roll, sharing stories and having a wonderful time with family. A friend of ours asked what my favorite part of the trip was, and 4th of July was hands down the winner for me!
Next up: Friday - Beach Day!
Since Dylan's mom had to go into work, Dylan and I decided Friday was a fine day to hit the beach!
We spent the morning in the sand and surf
Check out my sand flip-flop!
Then we strolled the Seal Beach strip to enjoy all of the shops and dining.
With fun things like T-shirts
(We didn't buy this one but I thought it was cute enough to warrant a photo)
And delicious, delicious restaurants
Where we both enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches with a variety of tasty sauces
And we tore into all of it, including the fantastic fried pickles
Dylan's side was their blue cheese grits. (I had creamed spinach but you guys! Those grits!) Combining the grits with the pretzel bun was like the worlds most amazing and gourmet pretzels and cheese. I miss that meal! Is that sad? Oh well, there was plenty more good eats ahead of us.
To work off some BBQ we continued down the strip, where I happened upon Purple Galore. A store featuring only purple products. So fascinating I had to stop for a photo
I swear it even smelled like grapes!
Then we headed back to the pier for a last goodbye to the beach
Pretty classic vacation assortment eh?
That night we had the worlds most epic steaks. Don't believe me?
Look at this:
That's rib eye. 4 of them. 4 HUGE rib eye steaks. Maybe the grill doesn't get the point across. Do you know what you need to see? You need to see how that rib eye takes up the entire plate.
Allow me:
ooooohhhhh yeeeeaaahhhh!
Man alive that was a great steak we had the leftovers with eggs the following morning.
~happy sigh~
Our last day/night in California was Saturday. More time spent with Family when Dylan's step-siblings came to visit. We did a little shopping, watched a movie and of course we ate!
Saturday was burgers with coleslaw and corn on the cob.
... why did we ever leave?!
But alas, our vacation was coming to an end - but the adventure wasn't over! We still needed to drive home.
Sunday we packed up and hit the road. We got hungry sometime near Riverside CA and got off at an exit that sounded promising. We found a little restaurant right off the freeway called Law's. Google reviews were good so, we headed inside.
Turns out Law's is a bar... equipped with its very own breathalyzer.
But we were in luck, turns out Law's serves breakfast on the weekends!
So we opted for an omelette with biscuits & gravy
(oh yes, the omelette came with gravy too... and it was really tasty!)
No road trip is complete without starbucks, so we made that happen in Riverside as well
After that we were homeward bound!
We rolled into the ol' Boswell Casa around 7, and Dylan whipped us up one more amazing meal using the leftovers we still had in the fridge.
Now that's what I call a vacation.
See you guys next time!
