Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sunday, July 27, 2014

a strange day on the coast

Posted by Hippobean at 11:29 PM 1 comments
Since the Hippo had to be out of the house, we decided to drive down the coast to Carmel to escape from the inland heat. The traffic on 101 past Morgan Hill was heavy due to the Garlic Festival at Gilroy and a long bumper to bumper to 156, so we stuck with 101 through Salinas. Steinbeck, of course, immediately came to mind. Carmel was cooler and after a nice mediterranean lunch, which took a while because the restaurant was short staffed, it was already 4PM by the time we finished our lunch. No time to paint town. We simply drove down to the Carmel Mission. D has never been to a CA Mission and the revisit brought back nice memories of the Hippo's mission to the Missions. The Carmel Mission looked even nicer than the first time I've visited it. Walking silently through the church, I reminisced the Chanticleer acappella. At the mission courtyard, I've finally learned that Father Junipero was actually a Spaniard from Majorca (or maybe I knew but forgot?). I bought a Mission lotion, made with immaculate waters from the Lourdes Grotto. the rose scent smelled nice. I later discovered that I took the bath and shower liquid soap instead! Doh! Ater a brief drive to the beach, we drove the 17 Miles Drive, my second visit, and made stops at various spots. Pebble Beach Club was fantastic. All rooms faced the ocean. D and M said the calamari at the club restaurant was very good. Spanish Bay, although looked very nice, had no ocean view. M discovered some strange looking marine life, rubbery, transparent and blue. We didnt know what it was. Then we drove by the nice coastal homes and I put on Dylan. On our way back, we debated if we should go to a In-n-out but decided to do Bubba Gump in Monterey. D bought M an otter stuffy while we waited for a table. Didnt know M was an otter fanatic. We did spot some in the water earlier. They were indeed quite furry, cute and adorable. I had seafood pasta in Carmel and had 3 types of shrimp at Bubba Run Forrest Run Gump. M ordered cajun shrimps and D a shrimp salad. A very shrimp day today. Since Dylan wasnt a big hit with M, we put on Supertramp and sang our way back home. Coming back, 101 was jam packed so we backtracked to HI 1 but made the mistake of taking 17 instead of going 1 all the way. 2 accidents on 17, just a few yards apart, then another on 880 put us about 40 minutes behind our estimated home arrival time. D was bone tired and had a 7AM meeting the next day. I felt bad. Shouldnt have had a sit down dinner in Monterey. Although it was a nice outing with cool refreshing air on the coast, the day had been strange with so many accidents and delays on the highways, many indecisions, strange ocean findings, and a nostalgic mission revisit.

pacific coast
Strange finding (photo by Mari)


pacific coast
rubbery transparent blue thing
(photo by Mari)



pacific coast
Colorful coast (photo by Mari)


pacific coast
What is this? (photo by Mari)


pacific coast
D and Hippo at the Carmel Mission courtyard
(photo by Mari)



pacific coast
M & D finding blue things


pacific coast
M & D looking for more blue things


pacific coast
D wandering around the coast

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Brasil's humiliation

Posted by Hippobean at 4:00 PM 0 comments
We streamed the semi from a laptop on a giant monitor and watched Brasil's humiliation.

fifa 2014

fifa 2014

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Saturday, July 05, 2014

ballpark opera (again)

Posted by Hippobean at 11:59 PM 0 comments
We knew that 280 was closed but somehow we made a wrong turn and ended up on 280 south. No matter, we still made it to the city on time. The food at the Brickhouse wasnt bad. The burgers werent fantastic. The music a bit loud but selection to my taste. Nice bar decor and not too busy. We've really enjoyed our pre-opera meal. A mere 3 blocks to the park and this time we didnt have to wait in line for long and there was no search. We made it straight up to the Virgin America club level and found a good spot a little to the left of the home plate. The Hippo waited in a very long line to get drinks (why not, there's nothing to do until the opera commenced), only to find out there was no hot tea of any kind. The hot chocolate was thick and much too sweet. It made me even thirstier. The winner of the opera sing-along was dressed in a scarlet gown with flaming red afro hair. But his voice was deep and powerful. His national anthem was superb. Big applause, well deserved. La Traviata started with the signature song and half an hour later, it was already the first intermission. Not too cold yet for SF weather until the second act which dragged on a bit. When the sun almost disappeared, the wind picked up and it got really cold. Time for the woolies, blankets and snuggling up with your beloved. When the second act ended, we thought it was over but only a few of the audience left, and we were wondering how come Violetta didnt die. S and A went missing but returned with caramel popcorn. The Hippo was dying for garlic fries and since there was no line at the food stand, she grouchingly shelled out 8 bucks for the long awaited grease. It was delicious! After enduring Loony Tunes Bugs Bunny Barber of Seville again, A noticed the intermission count down clock. Ah, one more act at 10:30. It was short and bitter sweet as we all knew Violetta (Ailyn Perez) had to die. Her soprano was marvelous, long lasting and towering, and Alfredo's (Stephen Costello) was a deep and strong tenor (he opened his mouth so big and long that reminded me of the Mummy), and Quinn Kelsey (last ballpark opera Rigoleto) played Alfredo's father. He had the best voice. When the wind died down during act III, it wasnt cold, but simply a brilliant calm night. Just a few planes flew overhead and birds soared above us. When the opera ended, again, just like last time, they all came out wearing giants memorabilia and were greeted with thunderous applause, of course. It was a well performed opera, with fantastic costumes, heavenly orchestral music, and stage props. It was another enjoyable night out in the city. We went home smelling of garlic fries!


ballpark opera
See photos of the ballpark opera

Friday, July 04, 2014

Friday, July 04, 2014

Firecracker July 4th race

Posted by Hippobean at 2:24 PM 0 comments
And we are all winnersn 1, 2 and 3 !!!

gang at firecracker
Gang at Firecracker


winners at firecracker
Winners at Firecracker



t winner at firecracker
Tomaso No 1 at Firecracker



t winners at firecracker
Tim No 2 at Firecracker

t winners at firecracker
 

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