QUITO AND SAN JANCITO

Posada a Mirindo

I arrived at  Posada a Mirindo at 1:30 am  after a grueling Vancouver -Houston Houston-Quito flight itinerary all in one day. Gabriela Sanchez runs this Bed and Breakfast near the Quito Airport and had a driver pick me up the airport. She spoke English and was a verygracious hostess but would have nothing of me relaxing around the house the next day to recover from the viscous itinerary the day before. She said I must explore Quito and had the same driver that picked me up at the airport come and get me at 10 am to take me to Quito a 45min drive. I regrouped  and went for it

 ( I'am glad I did !)Posada a Mirolinda was a rustic Spanish style house located on a farm an surrounded by other fields , Agriculture is 65% of the Ecuadorian economy and no arable land is left unused. My room on the upper level was spotless and with  ornate hardwood throughout. 

 

Breakfast was served in a common area I was the only guest that morning. The view was great. I ate and wait ( for my driver )

Quito

My driver Leonardo agreed to leave me in the Central Plaza and pick me up 4 hours later. I had a suggested list of things to see prepared by Gabriela. Quito is high up in the Andean mountains ( 9350 ft ) and nestled between sharp peaks This place was a tour de force of visual impacts and a treasure trove of museums and churches. I started my walking tour

16th century basilica

o

lined with gold leaf 160 years to build

Walking up and down the steep steep streets for 4 hours was a punishing ordeal for the body at this altitude but the visuals were stunning and Iam glad I followed Gabrielas advice to check out this amazing city instead of hanging out at the Posada to await my flight to Manta and  and the beaches

Main Plaza in Quito

click to view video

Street Musicians in Quito
click to view video

SAN JACINTO

I checked into Casa WF at 130 am  after  picking up my rental car at the Manta airport. The driving ordeal to get here will be another story. Casa WF  is run by 2 Expats Marty and Jim from Florida who found their El Dorado in Ecuador and decided to rent out the bottom 2 suites through AirBnB to supplement their retirement. Located near the beach next to a river this would be my home for the next 9 days   

A tasty breakfast was prepared every morning by Jim

Excuse me innkeeper there/s a(silverfish ) lizard in my bathroom

The ocean was very warm and a cool offshore breeze kept you cool in the hot South American sun. Summer was just beginning here. Master fish filleter Antonio was at work near the beach and his restaurant preparing the catch of 

the day. Some sea bass I had here was one of my best meals in Ecuador

Master Fish filleter

click to watch video

Exotic smells and music drew me into a small thatched hut housing the barbecue bistro run by Ali, a cross dressing Afro-Ecuadorian who offered his simple fares of roasted plantain, rice,pork and chicken. There was no menu  "chicken or pork" was Ali's verbal menu presented to me as I sat down. After ordering a large pilsener.Ecuador's local beer I sat back to soak up the surrealistic atmosphere.Ali expertly barbecued me  a  pork cutlet with slices of plantain  all marinaded in a rich spicy sauce.  Served up with a special rice this meal blew me away . All for $6 including beer, I loved the way he used a blowdryer to get the coals super hot

I brought my own wine

I think this little guy came from La Curva

Did not check this puppy out

The Escape

Escape

 with the approval of my wife who looked forward to her own escape
 from the Routine of taking care of me. The border wait was long and I 

Finally after several aborted attempts to get away from work

k I crossed the border and headed south    A solo trip this time

had to rush to make a blood drawing at Labcorp before it shut down for lunch
. I entered a small office staffed by a single receptionist,manager and blood taker
 Steve, a nice gay man who told me people might be moving north if Donald

Trump gets elected. I noticed lots of Trump " Make America Great Again " signs
 on my drive down to Mt Baker only 1 Hillary sign. After expertly taking the blood
 samples from my arm Steve gave me directions to Trader Joes where I stocked
 up on supplies before heading to my retreat

Chuckanut Drive was a surrealistic windy road down memory lane. I drove by the Oyster CreekInn a place I  had vivid memories of  from 28 years ago now closed. A little farther down the road I stopped at the Oyster Bar  for an outrageously expensive seafood salad with a spicy sauce and hint of King Crab The view was stunning and it was all
very decadent

Checked into the The Snow line Lodge after a long day. My accommodatio and settingWas much different than what I expected. Good different. The gated condo complex wasMore like cabins in the forest. My unit faces a primeval forest with a rushing river in the backgroud.

I promptly moved to the little balcony and started to unwind

AT LAST MY MOUNTAIN GET-AWAY

BACKLIT TREES AND ROARING STREAM

THIS IS WHERE I                                                                                                 SHOULD HAVE BEEN

                                                                                             WHEN TEDIOUS                                                                                                        WORK  BRUTALIZED 

                                                                                            MY SPIRIT AND BODY

                                                                                              ESCAPE IS NEAR FOR EVERYBODY
                                                                                               JUST GO

2016-08-08 7:11 AM 

After a surrealistic journey up Mt Baker, tail gate picnic by the river , a steak dinner, and dessert of cognac and cigar

Its leave day. This trip exceeded my expectations and I would gladly return.

Virging Nesters at the Couger Lair

THE NEST   PALM SPRINGS CALIFORNIA

After all the outrageous reviews we heard about the Nest  we had to check out this legendary Palm Springs bar our selves. We arrived at 5 pm to take advantage of the happy hour specials.

We followed a grandmother and young kid to the front entrance and wondered wtf was going on.This was supposed to be  the primo pick-up bar in the Palm Springs area .Ah  they were going to the adjacent restaurant next to the Nest. We entered the bar and found a tavern like setting not the plush country club lounge scene we expected. that was ok ,there was a large piano and sound system stage facing the bar and the place was fully staffed waiting for action. The bar was almost empty but most of the seats near the bar and around the piano had reserved signs  This was the calm before the storm  We grabbed 2 seats near the piano facing the bar and were promptly greeted by our waitress Rosalie. We told her it was our first time at the Nest. "Ah...virgin nesters " "You guys have great seats'  What she really meant

( you better order lots of drinks and tip good )  She explained the happy hour specials like a hooker pricing her services to a John.  ( I'am only guessing ) Rosalie looked like a drag queen ready to get on stage. This babe was dripping in make-up and told us she had been around forever Yep! We had read about Rosalie from Reviews of the Nest on the internet. ( we love investigating the hell out of places before committing our limited resources ) Rosalie would be our guide, she would make our first time gentle and  painless. We ordered a Bloody Mary and a Cosmos which Rosalie said she would " do for us " at the happy hour price . My bloody Mary was  delicious , Cuda said here cosmos was OK. We put off ordering  our apppies and  I told Rosalie we might be here until closing She hesitated for a second probably doing a quick mental calculation what the financial repercussions might be on her take

that night if 2 early arrivals  hogged 2 prime seats for the rest of the night, Clearly the bar would prefer to flush out the cheap happy hour crowd before the heavy hitters and regulars arrived. Rosalie told us that Virgin nesters rarely closed the place ( was this a  subtle hint?)  She said we could get our picture up on the wall with all the celebs if  I carried out my boast . ( did she know something I didn’t ) The place was slowly filling up . Rosalie said it would be filled up by 7pm with a line-up starting out side. Were we ready to order our food yet?... No ..but that Bloody Mary tastes like another one " You got it honey, and another Cosmo for your lady to ?" The owner a tall blonde woman  was adjusting the lighting to prepare for her husband to take the stage and start in on the piano routine. This  lady had definitely not shorted herself on cosmetic surgery and botox. The players were starting to roll in. Grandpa came in flashing a young  tanned blonde in leopard pants. He headed straight to the center of the bar for maximum 

exposure. A gaudily  dressed young cougar was forced to sit behind us  in a corner seat as all the good spots were now taken. She wasn't liking it.. she knew she was in Siberia, A silver fox  Seated himself at the corner of the bar , this guy had a good hunting spot. Heads were snapping around doing inventory of the "meat market"  No saber tooth tigers yet( AKA old cougars )  but the night was young.  This place definitely catered to the over 60 crowd and my young looking sweetie fit the bill as a "trophy wife" . The room was full of denture crème and hair dye. I didn't use the men's room but I'am sure viagra vending machines lined the wall We finally ordered our appies, escargot and stuffed artichokes with a bottle of house Chianti wine.  The appies were OK I expected the snails to be bigger for for $15 a plate We fell for the cheesy upsell of $ 3 garlic bread for the escargot which should have come with it free. I thought they usually try to rip you off on expensive mineral water. Bad Rosalie!The piano guy was right beside us Cuda was 

 enjoying the tunes, The Cougar behind us got up and walked out leaving a full drink at her table. Did her date not show up or had we taken her favorite seat? We decided to call it a night after we finished our wine ( or it would be a  40 dollar taxi home.) Rosalie brought our bill to the table. I told her I would take care of it in a while. People were now being put in a waiting line-up to be seated There seemed to be a few skirmishes with customers and staff about reserved seating. We were occupying valuable real estate.  My wallet was sealed . We were nursing the last half of our bottle

of wine. Suddenly I was tapped on the shoulder by a very large man in a black suit. With his earpiece and close cropped hair he resembled a secret service agent . Was Obama crashing our party Who invited that clown! "Sir it appears you and your wife have had too much to drink can I call you a cab?" " No ,were leaving any way" I replied. We had out stayed our welcome at the Nest.  Rosalie wasn't going to let us put a dent in the $500  in tips she expected to make  that night.  Too bad we would miss the main show tonight. I hope the bouncer gets food poisoning and craps his pants.

Mcminnville Oregon Pinoy Boir Festival 2015

7/22/2015 3:17 PM

Chilling in Astoria Oregon at The Columbia Inn on our way down to wine country.

A good start at 6am and 5 hour drive W=we finally got out of Dodge

and the fatigue of the last 2 days is finally settling in, no little white pills today. As always a whirlwind  before our departure. Great crab and razor clam lunch at Northwest wild foods a fish shack right on the docks. Our motel a little disappointing for 80 bucks   we've been in much worse. No party dudes or tailgate parties yet but the afternoon is young,

Kind of a Yakima feeling to this place.

7/23/2015 8:52 AM

  Great supper at the Silver Salmon Grille last night

2 doz oysters ordered instead of 1 dozen . Oops 48 dollar appy. But thoroughly enjoyed

With an interesting minuet . Superb entree of seared red ahi and tasty vegetables

Great chardonnay and pinot. Holidays definitely on. It’s a good thing work is still ticking at home to fund this trip bacchanalia. Cigars and gin in the parking lot with sunset. Sharknado movie

marathon backdop in room HELL YES .

 great breky at 14 coffee house and no off to smoke house and maritime museum before a drive to McMinville and lunch. Hang time where are you?

7/24/2015 7:34 AM

                                     Morning in Mcminnville  Another friggin theatre shooting  on our holidays this time in Louisiana.  Raining in  Surrey no cuts today. Jeff closed another whopper. Its nice drinking pinot while making money.

Yesterday was fantastic.  breky at the Commodore and then the MARITIME MUSEUM before a beautiful coastal drive and windy drive through the forest to McMineville, We made lunch at La Rambas by 3 minutes. A cold pitcher of delicious sangria plus pork ampanadas and clams with deep fried beans yum yum. Check in at the motel 6 and its

Holiday on. Some welcome hang time ahead before the big meal at the french bistro.

Another excellent meal on the Oregon trail. Crescent café served up a sumptous

Breky of egg scramble homemade sousage, fresh cinnamon roll and tasty orange juice

Oh and a marionberry jam so go on the buttermik potatoe toast.More buiness stuff with Jeff and some relax time in room before poolside

7/25/2015 9:48 AM

                                      Getting ready for winery run and picnic.Last night our first disappointing meal at French Bistro we had looked forward to wowing us.

Picky we are ( appetizer too big  wa wa ) duck overcooked ( well we should have know 6 hours of braising wouldn’t give us the rare medium rare bird we are used too. Too many

Serving staff cruising our table and checking "how is everything so far " Great ambiance

In the outdoor patio an ok meal. Then red tequila and hyde park macunados to end our day.Looking forward to some great pinots today.

7/26/2015 7:15 AM

Howard Hughes " Spruce Goose "

 Getting ready for the pinot and food event . Toured the Flight Museum this morning well worth the visit. Yesterday we did  some wine tasting and a picnic Evening land tasting room  had the best flight. Red market and Creamery for deli items Then of to Domaine Douglin and then finally to Domaine Serene for our picnic. The lox from Josephons smoke house was a standout with the lemon dill goatscheese from the Briar wood Creamery .Trip fatigue setting in a little bit as we are leaning to cutting our trip short 1 day. After the event today our pinot lust should be satisfied and we certainly have done some amazing eateries on this trip. When you start to repeat yourself on a trip its time to go home and besides my credit card is taking a massive beating. An extra day at home befor we flu out to Courtney sounds inviting, We have a full day to hang tommorow and a promising lunch at the Prima Vida. The Carl.s Junior fast food joint next to our motel

Has a constant outflow of smoke from the roof from the grilling of departed cows. Woe to the vegetarian that check into this place. 

7/27/2015 8:14 AM

Passport to pinot noir was a well organized  quality event. The food did not disappoint

And we tried some very tasty wines. We were in the first wave of entrants and managed to procure a table which would be  our home base  for breaks and staging food.A  perfect temperature and overcast  instead of hot sun and heat.  A surprise revisit from Love bomb a go go the funky Burning man meets marching  band troupe that entertained us lastt ime we were here 3 years a go did a parade march through the show area and an abbreviated show with a diminished number of participants at the break. A second flight of wineries

Set up for the second pouring at 330 and we reset our taste buds with some bubbly before  jumping back in.
  Silver clad members of Lovebomb gogo strolled back into the event this time with pinot noir glasses instead of musical instruments. Some of the cast I recognized from 2 years ago sporting new tataoos and older bodies. A lot of fresh new faces. The wine attendees loved the gaudiness of the troupe with its youthful energy And unadbashed sexual overtures  The drummer looked like a bearded drag queen

With his skin tight silver pants showing off his tight buns and  his big gun in the front.

Finally it was time to leave and a volunteer called us one of the few local taxis to return us back to our motel, Rick and Rickshaw taxi had to take a Canadian $ 10 he didn’t accept

Credit cards and we had no American cash.The red tequila and Macanudo cigars capped a full afternoon. Blow outs from adjacent rooms and latenight bed creaking and moaning  made the chances of getting a good sleep 0.  A welcome slack day before a long drive home tomorrow. Today lunch a Prima Vida our last big splurge of the trip.

7/28/2015 5:13 AM

                                     Waking up for the drive back. We grabbed a day from our holidays

To get home sooner and regroup before ou next trip. Our last day in Mcminnville we chilled at our poolside and went to Newburg for lunch instead of our planned spot in town A free wine tasting at Chelbrum tasting room capped off our pinot noir trip. Cuda well organized as always she was mostly packed yesterday; A light picnic supper before a final shot of red tequila and early bedtime.Were getting ready to beat the rush hour through Portland  and Iam actually looking forward to getting back to work, even though It didn’t really stop while I was down here. Lots of Jeff calls and John Hitchcock dealings. I feel like

I had a good break an I;am ready to hit the reset button for Timberland.

The $ burn     This puppy is   a burnin the US credit card               

       Pretrip            We have to take off 400 which we would have burnt at home

240 tickets to festival

60 medical insurance

100 steve management fee

       Day 1

65 gas to Astoria

80 motel

50 northwest foods

170 duty free

22 lunch

20 groc

135 supper

        Day 2

12 BREAKFAST

40 gas to mcminneville

24 maratime museum

40 josepsons

485 MOTEL 6

       DAY 3

25 BREKEY

40 GROC

78 reading glasses and book

50 tequila and cutters

142 restaurant

          DAY 4

65 wine tasting

30 wine tasting

          Day 5

35 air museum

10 taxi

            Day 6

35 res lnch

30 groc

80 booze

10 taxi

10 res

$2150 minus 65 hotel rebate minus 360 I would have spent at home

Net $ 1800

           Things I forgot  / FUTURE TRIP TIPS

Us cash                                         bring basic plates cutlery plates etc

To clean car                                 for casual eating off the expensive grid

TElus web                                      LIBRARY TO SOAK UP LOCAL LORE

Good sound system                      WALKS AND EXERCISE

Picnic items- ALWAYS BRING      Think about a better hotel room

Knife                                               kitchenette for more than 3 nights                                          

Casual reading                             a little more research into things

LITTLE FLASHLIGHT                     some free skype for calling back

                                                      Someone to run things while Iam gone

                                                       yeah Right

Value

Being away  greeeeeat  too bad I'am still tethered to work

Great gas mileage and kickass performance  I love my white lightening GTI

Great ride in new car  great decision to flip truck

Crap motel could have researched a little more Good mattress

Greedy shark got too many cigars  Free cigars anyone

Strolling main st. and browsing the stores

Don’t cheap out when on a trip like this  We earned this blowout damnit

Cuda and me love planning itineries GREAT TEAM WORK

Tasting fees exorbitant at Oregon wineries limit tasting to exceptional winereies Ie more research. Pinot wine is sky high. Get rich or learn to love

Chilean merlot.The Maritime and aviation museums were topnotch venues

Free premium spritzers at the wine show Bring a bag with you

Again grab free shit when ever you can beverages condiments free is good

BIRTHDAY IN THE WINE COUNTRY

Morning overlooking Paradise Bay.A more relaxed day ahead after a whirlwind drive and winery crawl to our

Bed and Breakfast on the Naramata bench. A quick fast drive on the Cocahaula through fog and new pine forests Brought us to our first Winery stop Thornhaven. All the wines were great as well as a great balcony and view Finally some full bodied reds ready to drink now not the tannic thin west coast offerings we had on the island. Dirty Laundry Winery our next stop continued the great run of tastings with an amorous description and naughty labeling For each of their fares. 

The next stop Sonara wineries was a complete flop with even the hammered server declaring that The heavily discounted wines were done. The telltale amber disc at the top of the pinot noir confirmed that this wine had been on the slippery slope for some time and as I tasted the exhausted wine I tried to think of a use for such a tired concoction but finally gave up and mercifully put this puppy out of its misery and dumped it in the spitting vessel .Notice how they overpour the bad Wines  The server shrugged as we left after listening to her sales pitch offering huge discounts on case lots. Damnit couldn't we Have at least stayed and had a second flight of tastings with here she knew they go better the more you drank. Red sRooster winery once the darling of the Naramata Bench  had been reduced to a crowded tourist trap charging $ 5.00 for tastings and producing lackluster wines after once producing award winners including our favourite Gerwitz. The former owners a German couple had Overshot their business plan and added a B&B and Bistro. To the wifes's chagrin running a restaurant and inn were too much work And took her away from what she loved doing..growing grapes and making wine.

They bolted and started up a new winery across the road called Ruby Tue were they stuck to their roots ( We will be tasting there wines today) the new owners of Red Rooster had run with the name and let the tourist dollars flow. Our last winery of the day Langs had a great Marechal Foch and semi sweet late harvest pinot gris which we later paired with some fois gras at our picnic lunch. Finally we checked into our B&B Paradise Cove

A stunning view of the lake and moored boats and a sandy beach . Let the good times roll.