Taco Truck Lunches

I work in Santa Ana which has a large number of Mexican eateries. I've always tended to steer clear of the numerous catering/taco trucks that are parked along the different neighborhoods of the city. The other day at work, my coworkers and I started contemplated our lunch time meal. One suggestion that came up was picking up lunch from a taco truck. What started out as a impromptu suggestion began to build momentum. If I can eat tacos off a street cart in Mexico then why can't I eat at one here in CA? Sure enough we decided to head out to one of the nearby taco trucks that was recommended to us.

The taco truck had a fair amount of clientele waiting for their orders. The portions were good and the food was competitively priced. There was a variety of meats to choose from so I ordered birria (goat) and carne asada tacos, as well as a carne asada torta (sandwich). The food was pretty delicious and the accompanying salsas had just the right amount of punch. Luckily my coworker drives a truck so we were able to use the tail gate as a picnic bench. Lunch was very satisfying that day and we've decided to start TACO TRUCK THURSDAYS.

Road Trip

Maria & I took a last minute trip to Nor Cal this past Saturday to visit our pals Heather, Josh & Thomas in Santa Cruz. We hadn't been to Nor Cal since we took our engagement photos in Big Sur a couple of months before our wedding. The drive was fun and it was great to get away for a few days. We took our time strolling up California and arrived Saturday evening. It was great to catch up with Heather and Josh since we usually only get to see them a couple a times a year. We saw Thomas during Christmas and it's amazing that he's actually walking now. We got to see Santa Cruz and check out the Wharf and Boardwalk where they filmed the Lost Boys. Also, we ate some delicious breakfast and strolled around their downtown.

We started our return drive on Monday morning and took our first stop at a roadside produce stand just outside of Castroville to pick up some local fruit & veggies. We continued along Highway 1 and made a lunch stop for some chowder at the wharf at Monterrey. We didn't know that restaurants compete with each other by giving chowder samples to the public. We settled on a restaurant and and both of us ordered a tasty cup of chowder and we split some delicious fish and chips. Luckily we parked far enough away so that we walked off some of the food before restarting the drive.

Our next stop was Point Lobos State reserve just outside of Carmel. This is probably one of my favorite places to visit in California. It's along the coast and there are some cool white sand beaches, trees, and tide pools. Since we had a lot of driving to do we only stayed for a couple of hours. It was great to explore the tide pools and take in the energy of the ocean.

The drive continued south along Highway 1 down through Big Sur and onto San Luis Obispo. We stopped at Piedras Blancas to check out the elephant seals. they weren't very active but were sleeping and warming their bodies in the sun.

Moving forward

I've been putting it off for a few years. This past Friday I finally decided it was time to finally to buy a new bike and put my old one to rest. My old bike is around 7 years old and was falling apart from the wear & tear. Instead of fixing it I decided to put that money to a better use---a new bike. I still haven't taken it off road so I hope to break it in on some sweet trails. It has clipless pedals so I need to either buy cycling shoes or change the pedals. I've never used cycling shoes so I'm on the fence right now.

Aliso & Woods Canyon

This past Saturday Maria & I met up with some friends to go for run at a nearby county park. It was our first time to this particular park and I was not disappointed. It is convenient to get to and is only around 5 miles from the house. The route was scenic and offered an escape from the surrounding developed communities. The parking lot was full and lots of local track/cross country students were running along with many groups of mountain bikers. We only ran on the main portions of the trail but we hope to be back soon to scout the rest of the park.

Skate Crew

Last Saturday I went to the Etnies Skate Park in Lake Forest to go watch the old skate crew in action. With everyone spread out, I don't get the opportunity to watch everyone shred. Souly, Erick, Trevor, Dave and Isaac all made the drive to the park and fortunately for me it's nearby. I took my camera and snapped some photos of them in action.

Addict

I am addicted. Not to drugs, alcohol, the Internet, or gambling. Instead I like going to a little sporting goods store called REI. The other day we got our yearly dividend in the mail. The amount we spent surprised me b/c I don't remember buying any large items this past year. It's hard not to stop and "browse" the store considering it's in the same city that I work and it's kinda on my way home. Now I'm going to be more cognisant of how much I spend there.

Manly

When we moved into the house we kept the seller's gardener so we wouldn't have to buy all the tools and equipment. Two years passed and I realized that I should be saving the money and using the yard work to stay in shape. So on President's Day Maria and I went to Sears to go check out lawnmowers. Once I fired that bad boy up I remembered how felt manly you feel controlling a motorized machine to cut the grass.

Race on the Base 10K

This past Saturday Maria & I participated in a 10K run on the Los Alamitos Air Base. It's a cool run in that the course is flat and it takes place on the tarmac. This is a little deceptive in that during the entire time you're running you can see the finish line. It makes it tough because around every corner your mind starts to think that the finish line is sooo close and you start to run faster. Also, along the tarmac they have blackhawk helicopters on display which is pretty cool.

Not only is there a running race, but also a triathlon and skate event. The in-line skaters are pretty cool b/c they use each other to break the wind and they go pretty quickly. Luckily I don't think any of them fell on the course.

I ran the course somewhere around 37ish minutes. I'm still waiting for the results of the race but from what I can guesstimate I was somewhere around 37 minutes. This so far is my fastest 10k race time. I was pretty happy with myself considering the night before we were at the House of Blues in Anaheim watching the Dan Band. I did have one drink while there which is something that I don't do before a race. Maria ran in under 1 hour which was a great time for her-- she shaved off 18 minutes from the previous year. Her running has come a long way over the last few months and she's definitely put in extra effort to pick up her pace.

Good Timing

Saturday morning I went for a morning run. I met up with a couple of guys from the running group that I recently befriended. We drove to a local running trail which is only about 15 minutes from the house. We ran for about an hour and it was perfect running conditions. The temperature was cool, the air was fresh, and the running trail was damp from the rain. We ran and we didn't get rained on the time we were out. No sooner than I got back to my car and the rain started up again. It rained on and off the rest of the day.

Hot Dog Mobile

The other day I was driving home and I saw the Hot Dog On A Stick mobile. I'm assuming that this vehicle is similar to the IN-N-OUT catering truck, which makes hamburgers on the spot. I decided to take a photo with my phone as I was driving. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I realized that I've never eaten at Hot Dog On A Stick. I remember sharing a lemonade with Maria a few years ago but never ordered food. I think I am going to make it a point to go to the mall during lunch to pick up a hot dog.

Obama

Tomorrow is the inauguration of our new president---- Barack Obama. This will be a momentous day and will hopefully be the start of a more positive political and economic environment. Today when i was looking through my email I noticed an add from Buy.com. I guess there's no better way to celebrate this new chapter of history than by purchasing a plate with Barack's portrait for only $9.99.

Here's the link in case you'd like to purchase one for your china cabinet: http://www.buy.com/prod/barack-obama-historic-victory-collectable-plate/q/loc/66357/210649409.html?adid=17070&dcaid=17070

Starting the New Year

Wow, the new year already seems to be zooming by. I haven't even had a chance to write a quick note about how things are going. Since this is the first post of 2009 I just want to share some thoughts. I normally start the year of with a list of things I want to accomplish or improve for the year. Aside from spending more time with friends and family, I want to do more: running, fishing, camping, and mountain biking. I need to start playing my guitar again but first I need to buy a new tuner (it broke). Besides exercising my body I need to exercise my mind more often. I finished last year on a positive note by reading a fair amount of books. We started going to the city library which happens to have a great selection of books. I've been alternating between reading fiction books and personal growth/career development. I'm staying away from the Twilight books so please don't suggest them.

I've been contemplating registering for a full marathon (26.2 Mi.) and even doing a triathlon (I don't swim very well). I'm hoping that by sharing this it'll help motivate me to finally sign up for some events. I'm not sure if running for 4 hours appeals to me and running that large amount of time really beats up your body. As for triathlons, I can do the running and the biking but I my swimming skills are pretty rudimentary. Swimming in open water is not something that I've done and I've heard that it's common to get kicked in the face when swimming in the pack.



I think the cold bug finally got us. I was able to avoid it during the holidays but I think it's finally made it's way to our household. It's hard to avoid it when half of your coworkers are walking around coughing and sneezing all over the place. So for now I've been loading up on vitamins, drinking hot teas, and trying to get some extra sleep. I think it's really going around because I was lucky enough to get the last vitamin C bottle at Trader Joes.