Restaurants – Mark Pastor

California and Oregon Coast

Matthew wanted to use his existing vacation time before changing his job at Southwest Airlines. I was immediately on board to be his traveling partner for the trip, we just needed to pick a destination. After much discussion of various interesting options, we landed on exploring the great redwoods of California. There were several airports to choose from including Portland, Eureka, Sacramento, and San Francisco. We played it by ear based on seat availability and wound up starting in San Francisco and ending in Portland. So, our journey looked like this.

Matthew wanted to make sure he saw the Golden Gate Bridge.

The first day was filled with a long drive and a couple stops for pics, food and relief.

Our first destination was in the town of Trinidad, CA, a very nice B&B named Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn. The building is situated about 250 feet above the coast with excellent views of the ocean. It was very comfortable for the three nights we were there, and the hospitality was excellent.

Here’s a picture of a part of the backyard of Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn.

The B&B gave us a nice write-up of sites to see depending on how long our stay was to be, ranging from one-day to three days. That was very helpful to get started with planning our time.

We started by hiking around the local area (Sue-meg State Park), first stop was a place called Wedding Rock and surrounding areas, including Agate Beach.

We then took over an hour drive North to check out the Grove of the Titans.

The trail was amazing, and the trees are awe inspiring. The last part of the trail was elevated on metal grates to protect the ground for the trees.

We had some time left in the day, so we decided to check out Enderts Beach to see if we could spot any tidepools.

As the end of the day neared we decided to have dinner in Crescent City. We found an excellent Thai place called Kin Khao.

As we headed south back to our B&B we happened upon a sunset. As you may notice there was a lot of moisture in the air, so we couldn’t really see the sun.

The next day we wanted to check out Fern Canyon for which we heard a lot of cool things. This was another drive, but not as long as the day before to Crescent City.

This was an amazing drive! Thank goodness Matthew was driving. A narrow dark trail among the ferns. The Park Ranger insisted on telling us “We cannot guarantee your safety for the three stream crossings you might choose to make in your car.” It definitely impacted others, as they parked WAY back before the stream crossings and had to walk an extra couple miles each way.

Walking an extra four miles wasn’t our favorite option so we crossed the streams. No big deal once you get past the intimidation (greatly caused by the Park Ranger).

Fern Canyon was beautiful. On the way back, we took another short hike to Trillium Falls, another place of great beauty.

We returned to the B&B just in time to see another sunset, and this time the sun showed up (mostly).

The next day was a driving day: Trinidad, CA to Florence, OR. Along the way we saw some great beaches, were amazed by Fort Orford, and had a great lunch at Tony’s Crab Shack in Bandon, OR.

That evening we settled into Florence, OR. We walked around the quaint and pretty town, stopped into some of the shops, and had dinner at International C-Food Market Restaurant (which we thought was Novelli’s, until we left and found Novelli’s down the dock ramp). Nevertheless, dinner was good, including the oysters on the half shell, which, as any good father would, I made sure Matthew got to sample.

We headed out the next day for Portland, OR. We made stops whenever we felt compelled, taking in the vistas and some bridges along the way. Matthew found Thor’s Well, which was an awesome waterspout (just a pain in the arse to try to time your photo when the water is shooting).

Our final segment of the trip was to hang out in Portland, OR. We stayed at the Mark Spencer Hotel, which was very nice, especially given their free wine sampling hour shortly after we arrived. Then we had a short walk to get some ramen at Ramen Ryoma for an excellent dinner.

For the last day of our trip, we decided to visit the arboretum in the early morning followed by a visit to the Japanese Gardens. What a beautiful way to spend some time.

And then we flew home.

The end.

Epilogue

What a wonderful 5-day trip. Thanks to Matthew for instigating the trip, for doing ALL the driving, and for arranging flights for us. Since this trip, Matthew has graduated from a month-long training program to be a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. I am excited for the many adventures in front of him, and very thankful for this wonderful visit to the Pacific Northwest area.

A Quick Trip to New York (for Work)

I was nominated to travel to New York to represent my business unit’s products at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) East (NY) trade show. I’ve been to New York several times, but always on business and I have never taken time to take in the city; I was determined to do whatever I could on this work trip to get a better sense of the New York scene.

My first observation – mind you, I just got back from the pristine island of Iceland – was how this was absolutely a concrete jungle. There was tension in my bones as I took in the crowds and the concrete, getting high on second hand pot smoke everywhere I walked, the noises that go on 24/7 along with the construction and everchanging skyline.

View from my room at the Edison Hotel… meh.

OK – that was the first 12 hours. I stayed at the Edison hotel which gave me the opportunity to walk 1.3 miles to the convention center on Wednesday and Thursday – 1.3 miles that I could zig zag around to see what I could see. The Edison hotel is located in what I believe is called the “Theater District”, also very close to Times Square. So, after I arrived I sought out dinner at a close by trattoria (Trattoria Trecolori), and a stroll to see Times Square.

Linguine Nere Alla Monsignore

homemade black (squid ink) linguini with shrimp, scallops, squid, clams, and mussels in our flavorful marinara

On Tuesday morning I took an early (7am) brisk walk to the convention center – focused primarily on staying safe (mostly out of ignorance) and finding my way to the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

I made it early to the convention center, so was there when set up began at 8am and stayed through until closing at 6pm. We had good traffic at the booth, and I was able to reconnect with some old acquaintances I know from the industry.

After a long day I was beat. Walked back to the hotel, and had dinner downstairs at Friedman’s where the wait staff entertains the diners with song – some really good, some REALLY LOUD. After a Manhattan and French Dip I went to my room to relax my achy bones.

Thursday… another early walk to convention center with gorgeous weather. I discovered 46th street and other nice segments of the walk along the way. After another long day (but a couple hours shorter than Wednesday), I moseyed along the Hudson river next to the convention center to see what sights might be there.

I eventually changed direction to continue the stroll toward my hotel. I found an awesome eatery: Yum Yum Too. The service and the food were both excellent, and the area around there offers so much more to explore. This is the point where I decided I want to come back to New York to explore more of this area and many others.

Friday – time to go home. However!… I had a couple hours in the morning before I needed to head to the airport, so I decided to go see Central Park. I’ve never been there and I wanted to gain a first hand perspective. The walk to the park was about three quarters of a mile, and then I strolled for about 30 minutes within the park. I only covered about 25% of the park in that time, so add this to more reason to come back to spend some more time in New York.

I returned from Central Park via Madison Avenue, and had a wonderful Nova Scotia Salmon on Bagel sandwich at the Deli on Madison.

The End

All in all a good trip. The show was good and opened up some new opportunities for me to pursue. I finally got my own taste of New York; enough to lure me back to explore more.

A Quick Visit to Boston’s Little Italy

I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a quick blurb on a very nice evening in Little Italy during my business trip to Boston last week. I went with a couple co-workers for dinner one evening to some places I highly recommend.

Dinner was at Giacomo’s Ristorante. We shared a meal of Zuppa Di Pesce that included Lobster, Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari, Clams and Mussels Served over linguine and we chose the Fra Diavolo: Spicy Lobster based Red Sauce.

We got there around 7pm – I was with the two people you see next to the light post above; it took about an hour from there… and it was well worth the wait!

And for dessert we walked down the street to Modern Pastry where we each enjoyed a build your own cannoli.

Cheers!

For completeness, the next night I did go to visit the Cheers bar. Great ambience at the bar downstairs (not the one in the TV show, but one of three in the building), and for historical value I did go visit the TV featured bar that is upstairs in the building.

Casa Oaxaca Restaurant

What a spectacular way to end the trip. This is one of the best restaurant experiences I have ever had. Rooftop dining in a beautiful city with a great companion, the Moon, Mercury and Mark close together in the evening sky.

Here is their website.

For starters they came to the table and prepared (stone ground) the salsa with peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, etc.

And the food was spectacular!

Chile de agua with dorado ceviche and sweet and sour passion fruit.
Turkey with black mole cooked in a clay pot, bean tamale, holy leaf and male banana
Pork Tomahawk with marinated red ancho chili, with chicatana molito, pressed cheese from the coast and bay beans