Whew. It's been a busy couple of weeks. It's been fun for me, but bad for my blog, as I haven't had much time to be pensive. Here's a recap of my recent activities. I'll try to keep it interesting, but I must admit this post is primarily self-absorbed.
During the week of the 11th, Matt's step-brother, Mike, was vacationing in San Diego with his wife and kids, so we hung out with them one night and babysat the kids another. They have a five year old girl and a three year old boy, and they say, if you'll forgive the cliche, the darnedest things. The week produced such gems as, "I think I'll draw a nocturnal, like a skunk," and "I'm three so I get privacy."
That weekend, Matt's mom, Sue, and her husband, Peter (Mike's dad), came to visit. Before Mike and his family left, we all had breakfast with the parents at a great Salvadoran place called
El Salvadoreno. It's pretty much one of my favorite places in town. Their pupusas are great but lately I've been into the plantain stuffed with beef:
The rest of the day was spent with Matt's mom and Peter. We went for a walk in
Torrey Pines, then we went to see an exhibit at the
Lux Art Institute in Encinitas.
Torrey Pines
That evening, we took Sue and Peter to
Lucha Libre, a local taco shop with a Mexican wrestling theme (hence the name). We chose this establishment over others partly because it's very unique and not something you can get anywhere else, but mostly because Matt and I have been wanting to sit at their "Champion's Booth" for a while now. Basically, in a joint where everyone else is ordering at the counter and being served in take-out containers, those at the Champion's Booth get wait service and food served on gold plates. The booth requires reservations, so Matt made them for us. We didn't tell his mom and Peter about the place, wanting to surprise them, which in retrospect may have been a little cruel of us, because we told them we had reservation which I think led them to believe it was a fancier restaurant. They both showed up in nice clothes looking well coiffed. However, they were very good sports about it, and even donned some wresting masks with us:
Sunday we started with a nice hike on Black Mountain led by a group called the
Canyoneers. Afterward we went to the Hillcrest Farmer's Market (the one good idea I had that weekend, Matt came up with everything else). For dinner, Matt made spinach pasta, although we all helped crank out the noodles:
Our last outing with Peter and Sue was on Monday, when we dined at
Cantina Mayahuel. Overall, I really enjoyed spending all that time with them because this is the first time they've been in town since Matt and I started dating. I've met them before, but never on my own turf.
Their departure did not result in much restfulness on our parts. Thursday we hung out with friends and Friday my old roommate and her boyfriend were in town so we all had dinner at the
SoHo Restaurant and Lounge.
Yesterday we went to
Chicano Park Day. Chicano Park is located beneath the Coronado Bridge, and it has a ton of great murals (and I am picky about my murals, I prefer them conceptual, landscapes can be so tacky). The festival they have there each April hosts performers of music and traditional dance, delicious food, and an excellent car show. Although many of the cars feature misogynistic artwork, I still really appreciate the skill they display.
(The woman on the other side of the hood was topless.)
We couldn't stay at Chicano Park for long because we had to drive up to Riverside for the wedding of my high school best friend. I hadn't seen her since I was 18, and I was around for the beginnings of her relationship with the great guy that is now her husband. It was a long drive and Matt and I were exhausted but it was really great to see her again.
Today Matt and I met up with his friend Ron at the
Roots Festival, which is a free street fair/music festival that takes place in our neighborhood. In the past the festival has been more oriented on folk and local music, but it seems to be getting more pop-y (much to Matt's dismay). We checked out a group called
The Reflectacles, listened to a few songs by
The Watson Twins (perhaps most famous for the album perform they did with Jenny Lewis, of Rilo Kiley fame), and watched
Sara Watkins play the fiddle. In between we ate polish sausages and ice cream, and laughed at all the weird vendors they brought in this year as part of some weird holistic health thing.
Overall, I've had a really great, really tiring couple of weekends. Incredibly interesting for me, although probably less interesting as a post. Next time, I'll be sure to post something that sounds less like a school report titled "What-I-Did-On-My-Summer-Vacation."
