Two Falls and the Case of the Disappearing Post...

WHAT THE HECK!

have any

of

you

bloggers

had a

post

just

disappear?

I mean,

where

did

it

go?

poof!

gone...

the post

was about

our

Mother's Day

adventure

we

adventured

to

Salmon Creek Falls

I was

rocking

my

brand new

Adidas

trail shoes

(Happy Mother's Day present from me)

so

NOW

I have to try

to recreate

that

post

here's

the gist

of it

...

********

Salmon Creek Falls

is

about

1 1/2 hours

north

of

SLO

on

Hwy 1

on the

southern end

of

Big Sur

not too

far

beyond Ragged Point

this is

what

you see from the highway

The

waterfall

is crazy

wild

because

of all the

rain

we

have had

this past spring

the trail head

is

just off

the highway

our goal?

Estrella Camp!

On

to the falls -> -> ->

Annie leads

John and Andrew

follow

I am

lollygagging

a bit

taking pictures

..

a short hike to the

waterfall

crashing

down

...

lovely

the air

is

clean

and

thankfully

cool

the water

pools

and

cascades

down

again

down

to

the

Pacific Ocean

below

If

you

are

brave,

you can climb

up

on to the

rocks

Off the

rocks

and

back

on the

trail

we

charge upwards

up

up

up

UP

(I am breathing a bit heavy now)

that's

highway one below

because

it

was

Mother's Day

a nice hiker

took our picture

there

are

beautiful wildflowers

along the

trail

(and Poison Oak)

huff -puff

up

up

higher

still

"hey! Let me take a picture!"

snap

the views

are

spectacular

After

hiking

about

an

hour

or so

I hear this

voice

from

behind me

"I should have eaten something.

I'm hungry"

..

no food

or

water

with us

I am feeling

a

grumpy attack

coming on

from

that

hungry hiker

time to turn around

and head

back

down

the trail

If

you

remember,

I

did mention

that the

trail

is quite

steep

and very rocky

and

full

of blooming Yuccas

(Andrew snagged one for my hair)

and

back

to

that

steep trail

...

all those

loose

rocks..

I tripped

BOOM!

for

whatever reason,

B O O M!

down

I went

knees bloody,

hands bloody

and

scraped

(Yucca flower flew off somewhere)

John,

my dear hubby,

so empathetically

muttered

"thank GOD you weren't carrying the camera!!"

shaky

and

wobbly

we continue down

a little

fresh

water stream to wash off all the blood

ouch..

looking

back up

...

there

are the Yuccas!

the hike

was

fun

breathtakingly beautiful

and

we are

planning

a

return trip

to

Salmon Creek Falls

soon

...

Pearls of Wisdom:

1. go before 11:00am

2. eat a hearty breakfast before you go

3. take a backpack

4. bring water in that backpack

5. bring power bars, trail mix, fruit or another munchie

in that backpack

6. bandaids

7. new Adidas trail shoes

8. sweatshirt around your waist

9. shower immediately after

(to clean off the Poison Oak oils)

the views

along

hwy 1

ARE

so

spectacular

and dramatic

Morro Rock

...majestic!!!

The

best

adventure !

MANGO MAMA TORTE

Oh My

Oh,

MY!!

this is a true case

of

"don't judge a book by its cover"

At Petit

we make

a

killer

Bavarian Apple Torte

(sometimes it is a pear torte

sometimes peach

sometimes nectarine

sometimes blueberry

It is the

perfect

easy

delicious

recipe!

Andrew

was

on

baking duty

and was

assigned

to bake

the

torte

for

Mother's Day

at

Petit Soleil.

"Mom!!!!

no

apples

pears

berries

...

we only have mangos!"

hmmmmmmm

Mango Ginger Torte

so ugly,

so so so so delicious!!!

350 degrees

spring form pan, lightly greased

You need a food processor.

Add 1 c. walnuts and grind to make a flour.

into the walnut flour

add:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 c. sugar mixed with

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 c. flour

Pulse to combine.

Turn mixture into the springform pan and press on bottom and slightly around sides of the pan to form the crust. Set aside.

Back to the food processor.

2 c. softened cream cheese

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix to combine (will be liquidy). Pour into crust.

3-4 mangos

Peel. Locate the seed and carefully cut out slices. Arrange slices (prettily, if so inclined) around the cream cheese custard (they may slightly sink - it's really ok).

Sprinkle the mangos with a sugar ginger mixture (1/4 c. sugar & 1 tsp. ground ginger)

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Let cool thoroughly.

Chill.

the

ginger-mango combo

is wickedly delish

Bon Appetit

Fish Tacos.... Yeah, Baby, again!

When John,

(aka Hubby o'mine)

first moved

to SLO

from

Vermejo Park, New Mexico,

he met

Ross and Joanne.

They

became

fast friends

Consequently,

Ross and Joanne

with

lots of hard work,

time and

energy

(and a killer Clam Chowder)

turned

Splash Cafe

in

Pismo Beach

into

a

cash cow!

Lines around the block

for

Splash Cafe's

chowder in a bread bowl

(as well as their many

other

delectable

seafood goodies)

When

the

time

came

for

the

ever-greasy

Bishop's Burgers

(right next to Petit Soleil)

to

close,

Joanne and Ross

built

Splash Cafe and Artisan Bakery

(and

Sweet Earth Choclate factory).

Good thing for us!

Splash

in SLO

is happily painted

the same colors

at Petit

(butwith happy little clams and sea creatures everywhere!)

They have

seafood galore.

outrageous breads and desserts,

clam chowder in bread bowls,

salads,

sammies

wine and beer

.........

and

FISH TACOS!!!!!

I

invited my favorite

work out buddies

for

fish tacos

after our friday work out

Melissa

was on board

as

Splash's tacos

are her faves

and

Teresa,

the one that whips us into shape,

decided

chicken tacos were for her

(camera shy and hungry)

Sandy,

yup

that's Sandy with the lemons

and

the abs o'steel

was

game, too!

We brought

our

goodies

to

Petit

and

inhaled

our food

(and posed for a photo)

ALL IN ALL,

one

fish

or

one

chicken

taco

is

not

enough for

a hungry

girl.

The

guacamole cilantro sauce

was

yummy,

lettuce not cabbage,

fried fish

(good!

really good!)

...just not enough.

BUT,

I

went back

today

--starving

(we ran six miles this morning)

and

I

ordered

T W O SALMON TACOS

PERFECT!

perfectly

hot

and delicious

and

the perfect amount

for

a

hungry

ME!

In search of....

Fish Tacos

Take

3

I don't know

what

is more

frustrating

....

going

somewhere

really special

......and forgetting your camera

or

taking

a whole bunch

of

great

pictures

downloading them

and

realizing

that

NOT ONE TURNED OUT

(broken camera)

My

friend

Barbara

said

"let's go get fish tacos!"

OK!!!

WHERE?

How about

Ruddell's

in

Cayucos!

(touts the "BEST" fish tacos)

YEAH!

A

picture-perfect

day

overlooking

the pier

in Cayucos

camera in hand

Smoked Albacore Tacos

YUM!!!

different

than most

as

1. smoked fish

2. ONE taco

3. lettuce instead of cabbage

4. no guac

5. no sour cream

but really

really

YUMMY!

Barbara

took

a picture of

me

devouring

my

smoked albacore taco

I

took

pictures

of the

owner

of

Ruddell's Smokehouse

the pier

of Barbara,

a 1940's ambulance

etc.

etc.

downloaded pictures

all

overexposed

grrrrrrrrr

note to self

Camera to camera shop tomorrow

Today

SUNDAY

"Hey, John!

Let's go get fish tacos"

grabbed

John's

uber

super-special

camera

and we

headed out to

our

old fave

...

Pappy MeGregor's

aka

The Kilt

Not like being at the beach

or on a pier

or even outside

but

the fish taco

menu worked

and

the

Giants

were playing

(not a good ending to that...)

I

ordered

salmon tacos

and

John

had the fried calamari tacos

(a respite from the "no flour, no sugar, no preservative diet)

my

fish

tacos

were

so so so so so so

SO

good

(perfectly cooked salmon, lots of cabbage, a touch of hot chipotle, lots of guac, sour cream)

John

LOVED

the fried calamari tacos

The

uber

super-special camera

worked

as it

should

GOOD FISH TACOS!

Barbara

lamented

with

me

about the

broken camera

but

that

always

Positive Polly

great friend

said

"We just have to back to Ruddell's again

and

have

fish tacos"

nice!

to date

n search of

The Best Fish Taco:

1. the Kilt aka Pappy McGregor's

2. Ruddell's

3. Pete's Pierside

Are we at the top yet?

Sister

#

3!

The

BIG

SISTER!

...

Bishop's Peak

I grabbed

my

companion in climbing crime,

Annie

and we were off to tackle

the

Big Sister

Now

I consider

myself

quite

strong

I mean

I work out

and run,

but......

Who knew?

Off we go

first look back

towards

Cal Poly Campus

and downtown SLO

Emerald green

grasses

and

ponds

full

from so much rain

I am

still

talking

(and breathing)

at this point

Next

look behind......

Look!

There's

Islay Hill

in the distance

and

Madonna Mountain

(aka San Luis Mountain)

Sisters one and two

just to the right

up

up up

switching

back and forth

up

up up

UP

Looking back again

toward

Laguna Lake

and the Irish Hills

,

Oh Look!

There's our house!

See......

here's

a

better shot

can you see it now?

Are we at the top yet?

breathing

labored

no conversation anymore

There's

Steph and Brynn

just in front of me and Annie

It's

Foggy

at the

summit

(nice and cool...)

Brynn and Steph are moving pretty quickly

(At this point

I am barely able to catch my breath

heart beating

almost

out of my chest)

Annie so encouraging......not

"Come ON, MOM! You bag on me to finish all my job applications

now I am bagging on you to

keep going

AND

hike to the top!"

are we at the top yet?

At the top

YUP!

AT THE TOP

we found Steph and Brynn

The top of Bishop's Peak

sweating profusely

wishing for water

but smiling

This Big Sister

is

quite

dramatic

down down down

.....

....

...

..

.

easier

that

UP

little flowers

driving home

Annie

shot

Sister Bishop

from Foothill Blvd.

See those rocks at the top?

that's where we were!

Crossed

Big Sister

Bishop's Peak

off my list

......

thank goodness

fish tacos

blog

is next

Searching for the BEST Fish Tacos around SLO

This

last weekend

was

Polywood

aka

(Open House)

at

Cal Poly.

SLO

had

like 10,000

extra people

roaming around

in town!

(that's quite a few)

You

could not

have

asked

for better weather

for

Polywood

...

maybe

80 degrees

soft breezes...

perfect!

The

bright blue skys

and

warm

sunshine

gave me a craving

for the beach

a beer

and some fish tacos

off to Avila

glorious!

We

are still

doing

that

no sugar

no flour

no preservative thing

so

FISH TACOS

are

becoming

a staple

in our diets

We were

(and still are)

on a hunt for the best fish taco in SLO County

we

scooted

to

the

end

of

the Olde Port Pier

(aka the Harford Pier)

to

Pete's Pierside Cafe

Pete's has been around forever

I used

to

know

the

REAL

Pete!

Great guy,

jovial

happy -

loved Mexico,

the Caribbean

and

all of

Latin America, really

and the food!!

OH, Yes!

Pete was a foodie!

(I wonder what happened to Pete.....)

Salmon tacos,

yes, please!

and crab cocktail

(as crab is in season right now)

and

a couple

Red Tail Ales

We grabbed this little table

in the

warm sun

with a view of

San Luis Harbor

Wild Salmon Tacos

and

the Red Tail

scale of 1 - 10 maybe a 5

fish was GOOD

not enough cabbage

and only one tort

Onlookers

looking for our leftovers

No

worries....

we didn't share any scraps

with

our feathered friends

Next stop

for

fish tacos?

Maybe Splash Cafe,

or

The kilt

or Schooner's

...we will let you know

That Phinn...

ok -

way too much information

I know

but I had to

giggle

as Phinn proudly found himself the bottle of

Fanny Wrapper's

(the best lingerie shop in SLO)

brand of KY Jelly

and decided

to chew it up

Why is this funny? I know you are asking....

I guess it is because one of my favorite blogs is about

LIFE

written by

a gal with

three young kids

Her youngest is Fin.

He found the KY Jelly

decided to

spike his hair

with it

and ultimately won the best

crazy hair

at Awanas....

I guess the Fin and Phinn thing got me....

OK!

not so funny

The next few blogs will be about

our hunt for the

best fish tacos

in SLO county

(If you do want a fun read

please click on to

Kasey Buick's

life blog)