Road Trip to San Diego-March 27, 2014

When T was about 3 months old my good friend V reminded me that I had previously mentioned coming to visit her in San Diego. I told her that surely she must be joking and that the only way I could have had such an insane idea would have been prior to giving birth. After mentioning it to GK, surprisingly he replied-why not? Reminding me that I'll most likely never have this amount of time off ever again and it could be fun. So that's when we started planning for a road trip at the end of March with an almost 4-month old.

We decided that attempting to drive straight to San Diego in one day would be a bit much so we would need to stop along the way for an overnight stay. I agreed to plan and book our stop on the way down and GK was responsible for our stop on the way back. It didn't take me long to make my choice....

The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo! I've passed by it on multiple trips to Southern California. The Madonna Inn is known for their over the top theme rooms and beautiful grounds. 

Here T is seen kicking back in the circular William Tell room.

Shortly after we arrived we took T on a walk through the grounds and up to the swimming pool that was complete with a waterfall.

Here we are in the main lounge area where there is live music almost every night. It's like Barbie exploded. While T was still asleep we stopped at the bar and I ordered a vegan Bloody Mary that gave me a wonderful buzz. For dinner we went into town to Big Sky Cafe. Sorry-no pics of our delicious meal as someone was being a bit high maintenance and insisted on being held the entire time. After dinner I watched episodes of Full House while GK was surfing the web on his laptop.

The following morning we went back into town for breakfast. Lattes and these 2 beauties above.

T gave us a break and slept through breakfast. After she woke up I introduced her to the art in the cafe for a little breastfeeding humor.

Now driving down to SLO was pretty much uneventful. We stopped at a rest stop for a feeding and then in Paso Robles for lunch and a short walk. In between T slept in the car. I think we naively assumed that the entire trip would be this easy. Obviously we were about to get our asses handed to us. I decided that with my newfound ability to actually relax and not stress over time, we would leave SLO when we felt like it as T and I first had to bthe together in our rock waterfall shower at the Madonna Inn. We didn't leave SLO until 11am. Little did I know that this poor choice would have a similar outcome comparable to a late summit on Mt. Everest.

Around 2pm T gave a warning cry during the drive and we stopped in Ventura for lunch as a Nepalese restaurant. We sat at our table on the floor. After T had her lunch, she layed down to stretch while we ate an amazing meal and had a beer. Then it was back in the car to head to San Diego. However, T was not having it. We ended up stopping somewhere in LA to park on a side street for a nursing session. However, T did not want to return to the car and cried, cried, cried forcing us to exit on Laurel Canyon Road to stop at a park.

Here GK is letting T know that we feel the same way she does about LA but we must power through. After a play session on the grass, a visit to the playground, and some stroller action-we decided that we had no other choice but to suck it up despite T's protests. Let me tell you-I am a stronger woman for sitting through LA traffic on a Friday evening in the backseat of a car with a screaming baby. GK would later purchase a pair of industrial headphones during this trip.

T finally fell asleep after about 30 minutes of crying, tears streaming down her face. We later had to stop at a Denny's in Oceanside to nurse and where in a serious moment of weakness I directed GK inside to get me some of the worst french fries of my life. By 11pm we arrived in San Diego with T who was in a steller mood for V & Schultz. Yes-that's correct, it took us 12 hours to get from SLO to San Diego.

But Saturday was a new day. Here we are taking T and Sienna on a walk in their new neighborhood. T slept while V and I caught up with one another. 

Then it was playtime while V went through Sienna's clothes and packed us an amaazing bag of hand-me-downs. Here T is wearing one of Sienna's many tutus.

Then we made the trek from Chula Vista to Su Casa in a Jolla. A trip to San Diego would not be the same without Su Casa-it is where many great nights have staarted with multiple rounds of margaritas and where Schultz gets to speak really bad Spanish. 

Sienna was mostly disinterested in T while we visited. I can't really blame her since T has no way to engage in discussions about Dora or My Little Pony but T was able to get Sienna to crack a smile with a little nudge. 

It was at Su Casa when I started to notice that T was feeling a little warm. This may explain the lack of pictures for the rest of our time in San Diego. Later that afternoon T developed a fever-her very first. After a homecooked meal prepared by me and V, we took T's temperature and it was over 102. GK & Schultz went out for infant Tylenol. I've never seen poor little T look more pathetic. She cried through her bath, sucked on her fingers in order to go back to sleep, and eventually came into bed with me (oh wait, she actually does that every night). The following morning we attempted to get a semi early start on the road when we left on Sunday for GK's planned stop in Ojai.

T slept most of the way to Ojai in the car. We made sure to give her Tylenol every 6 hours since she was still feverish. Ojai was gorgeous but it was a bit anti-climatic since T was so miserable.

For dinner GK picked up take out from Thai restaurant along with 2 laarge bottles of beer. Luckily we were staying in a suite complete with a king sized bed and a kitchenette so we were probably more comfortable there than we would have been at home. T continued to fever throughout the night but luckily by morning she was clearly on the mend and took her last dose of Tylenol.

And a road trip wouldn't be a road trip if you didn't stop in a McDonald's parking lot to nurse your child while your other half runs across the street to a used car lot to find the car of his dreams. See-I told GK before T was born that she would not be transported in his car and that prior to me returning to work, we would need to purchase a new car. GK has been researching cars since we had this conversation months ago so I trusted his judgement. Plus I was physically and emotionally exhausted after dealing with T's first bought of illness. I convinced GK to return to the bay area in my car and return a few days later to pick it up. Pictured above-GK & T purchasing our Suzuki Grand Vitara, affectionately dubbed the, "Bubba Mobile."  

It was great seeing V, Schultz, and Sienna-they are some of the most hospitable and appreciative friends we have. Unfortuntely we thanked them by getting their entire household ill. Even GK came down with a cold-I was the only one spared. I learned a lot about parenting and planning from this trip and can almost guarentee that I will not make the same mistakes again. 

Lake Tahoe

Before I returned back to work I decided that we were all in need of one last vacation. I really didn't want the stress or cost of flying anywhere so we decided to rent a house in South Lake Tahoe to just relax and get fat. Since it was the down season I found an amazing deal on a place in the Tahoe Keys.

T thinking to herself-"I have the power to make everyone's life a living hell." Lucky for us we did not have a repeat of our trip down to San Diego. We packed up the new Bubba-mobile and made sure we didn't make the same mistakes that we did in March (i.e.: we followed a strict schedule).

And when you have a baby in your late 30s and go on vacation, you ask-no beg-your parents to join you so that you can have a night out with the baby and eat something other than fried rice.

Our first stop on our way there was in Sacramento at The Plum Cafe & Bakery-an exclusively vegan restaurant smack dab in the midtown area. I love reading a menu where I can order anything I want.

Great picture of G-Ro with T who gets easily distracted these days.

View from the upstairs loft-yes, the house had its own little dock as did every house in the development. That's How on the couch & GK on the back deck, singing to the fish.

On day 2 we took a little drive to visit beautiful Emerald Bay.

T slept through our visit to Emerald Bay but made her presence known by screaming the entire ride back to the house complete with full on tears dipping down her face despite me and G-Ro holding her hands in an attempt to soothe her. I started to get a little worried that our sitters may jump ship on us.

But we enticed them with GK's homemade pizza and they agreed to reconsider. One of GK's vegan creations.

The house came complete with a bunch of board games... made for 8-year old children. Here we are playing one. You wear a plastic headband and attach a card that you can't see onto the band. Then you ask a bunch of questions to figure out what is on the card. As soon as How started playing, the game went from funny to hilarious. His card was rat and after numerous questions he genuinely asked if the answer was boweevil.

T spent most of her time just being very cute and practicing rolling from her stomach to her back. She also had a bath in her makeshift tub in the kitchen sink. GK snapped this beauty. After being this cute G-Ro & How were very eager to watch her while we went out. I spent about 15 minutes relaying detailed instructions regarding T's care to my parents that my father patiently wrote down. I left them with about 3 bottles of expressed milk even though we only planned to be gone for no more than 5 hours.

We stopped for dinner at a little Hawaiian restaurant in a strip mall for dinner at Freshies. My dish was both mouth and eye watering-the jerk tofu with mango salsa packed quite the punch in the heat department. We then rushed over to the Casino to see a comedy show. It wasn't that great but it was really very exciting to be out with GK, no baby, and doing something just for pure enjoyment.

Here we are spending T's college fund at Harvey's.

And this is what we arrived home to. Complete with G-Ro and How watching TV on the couch. They gave her a bottle, put her to bed and she slept about 4 hours straight. Operation "we still have a life" was a complete success!

The following morning we took T on a walk to a nearby pond. Then we packed up and headed back to the Bay Area. Again we planned accordingly and T was a champ the entire drive home. 

Vegan Easter

I always loved Easter as a kid. My mom would make up these incredible Easter egg treasure hunts with clues that would keep us busy for most of the morning. I really had no idea for years as a child that Easter was associated with religion. I want to have an Easter tradition for T because there's just something about a bunny that hides eggs that you gotta love but I preferred that it not be associated with the church.

I did some research and found this amazing event at UC Berkeley on the Saturday before Easter. Eggster is free to the community and has no religious association. The focus is on animls and nature with a ton of different booths staffed by college students where kids can play games or make simple art projects. We dressed T in her Easter best and headed over to campus.

Once we arrived I immediately chased down the creepy Easter Bunny and insisted that GK take our picture together. Unfortunately T was asleep and was not scarred.

Here's T in her pretty Easter dress that G-Ro purchased a few months back. Note the sock on her right hand. Mani fail courtesy of me.

The Cal Berkeley marching band performed. While GK was snapping this pic, I was relaxing on the grass with T until the sprinklers went off just as I started nursing T. Luckily a student saw me struggling trying to gather up all my belongings and assisted. After that near disaster we decided to head back home.

T's Easter Basket. Yes-there really is a vegan Easter Bunny. He works at a place called Timeless Cafe. Besides a chocolate marshmallow bunny and creme eggs-T received a chick dressed as a bunny that dances to Justin Bieber's "Baby."  GK couldn't have been more thrilled.

We started Easter Sunday by brunching at Timeless-tater tot breakfast burrito.

T approriately asserting ownership over her Easter basket.

After brunch and playing with the Justin Beiber dancing chick way too much, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese in Fairfield to celebrate cousin Andrew's 3rd birthday. Shortly after we arrived, T had a moment that sent us both outside to take this selfie that captured how we were feeling. 

Take 2-T was all about the merry-go-round.

And here she is in a trance watching this game light up. 

Aunt Sonia spent as much time as she could catching up with T.

Lastly-T with her Lola and GK.

*A huge shout out to all the parents, especially mine, who regularly sacrificed their sanity by spending entire afternoons at Chuck E. Cheese. 

Our first Easter was busy but a success. T's Easter basket was delicious & GK is still playing with the Justin Bieber bunny.

Herbivore-Berkeley

For years I had a hot & cold relationship with Herbivore after a few poor choices from their menu. Once I figured out what they excelled in (not the Indian wrap nor the macaroni & cheese, don't get the pad thai or the lemon pasta either) we hugged it out and are now loyal customers.

Herbivore does brunch well and they serve it every day from 9am to 2pm. Brunch. Every. Single. Day. 

We always start out with a soy latte but they have multiple kinds of fresh juice to choose from if you're one of those healthy types.

During our most recent visit T didn't want to feel left out so we brought her a bottle. She is a bit of a snob and rejected it.

Here she is requesting fresh squeezed milk.

Pictured above: the combo plate! Basil tofu scramble, house potatoes, & trail mix (coconut, walnut, chocolate chip) pancake with grilled banana (instead of a pancake you can get french toast which is amazing). This option provides you with both the sweet and the savory. Brilliant.

The Southwest plate: veggie tofu scramble, black beans, house potatoes, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and the best fried blueberry cornbread you ever had.

I love that the brunch menu is pretty extensive-a few different scrambles, biscuits & gravy, a breakfast burrito, pancakes, french toast. They also have more lunchier items like an awesome tempeh BLT (always add avocado, always), sweet & savory crepes, etc. I've never been disappointed.

There are other safe items on Herbivore's menu like the nachos, they have a really satisfying side salad, the soups are typically pretty good, and you can't really go wrong with their burgers and sandwiches. 

Another perk-Herbivore has a full liquor license! Amazing bloody marys that we would order if we weren't sleep deprived and in need of caffeine.

Herbivore holds a special place for us as it was the first restaurant we took T to when she was just a week and a half old. She did wonderfully then and is always well behaved there. I like that Herbivore opens at 9am since babies do tend to get up early. Plus, the parking in the area is decent, there's rarely ever a wait, and the tables are spaced out in such a way that it's easy to take your stroller inside and park it next to your table. There are also two large tables out front that we used to sit at when we had Elsie with us-perfect for a fussy baby. They have wooden highchairs if needed to prop your car seat on. I just now realized there's a changing table inside the restroom that's also big enough to take your stroller into if needed. I've breastfed T here multiple times and never felt uncomfortable but I don't expect a problem at a vegan restaurant.

I take back every mean thing I ever said about Herbivore in the past. It's kind of like how you really start appreciating your parents after you have a kid. For instance-I had to go to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese last week and that shit was rough. I remembered all the times my parents took us there when we were kids and suddenly had a new level of respect for them. This is not to say that Herbivore is the Chuck E. Cheese of vegan food. More like the PF Chang's of vegan food. OK-I'm probably not making much sense but that's because I've been up since 5am today. 

Go to Herbivore in Berkeley for brunch. Or happy hour. Or both.

Donut Farm

Today T and I met up with one of our favorite people for lunch at Donut Farm in Oakland on San Pablo Avenue. Most vegans in the Bay Area are familiar with Pepples Donuts that are served at multiple coffee shops and have their own little kiosk at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. But they also have a restaurant that is open for lunch and brunch on the weekends-just another reason to relocate to the East Bay. I've been multiple times for their awesome brunch but never for lunch so Donut Farm with Rachel it was.

I love their neon vegan sign and sometimes purposely drive down San Pablo Ave. at night just to see it glow.

The restaurant is small but I've never had to wait for a table. Even if you do have to wait you can entertain yourself by looking at all the gorgeous donuts on display. Note-if you arrive later in the day you may want to order your donuts immediately before you sit down at a table because they do run out of the more popular flavors. Also-they make raised donuts (praise The Lord) on the weekends. My friend Lisa and I may or may not have ordered a banana fritter as an appetizer to brunch on one occasion. I've tried many of their flavors-I love the salted caramel and anything with coconut but my favorite is just the boring old plain donut-great with coffee.

The lunch menu is a selection of burgers, sandwiches, and a salad. Rachel and I both chose the tempeh ruben along with an order of fries. The sandwich was salty perfection and if they had the kraut for sale there I would have bought it. The fries were more like wedges and a perfect side to the sndwiches.   Luckily Rachel doesn't like fries (weird) and I had no problem devouring the entire bowl. Unfortunately they were out of coconut ice cream so I'll have to order their milkshake another time. 

In case anyone is reading this-I like the grey shirt (size medium). Donut Farm is also a go to spot for brunch on the weekends but I wold recommend getting there early-like before 10am as it starts to fill up quickly with the local hungover hipsters. They serve the best breakfast burrito I've ever had and the last time I went they had a special where you could pick your protein-it ranged from tofu to tempeh to jackfruit. They also have chicken and waffles, biscuts and gravy or donuts(!), and multiple scrambles to choose from.

Vegan baby & Rachel approve Donut Farm for future meals.

The scoop on taking your little person with you to Donut Farm...

While we were comfortable during both our visits-we purposely went early and were easily able to fit the stroller next to our table-if it's crowded that might be difficult as I mentioned tht the restaurant is on the smaller side. The music can get loud on the weekend which is great for an infant but not so great for a light sleeper. No changing table there but plenty of free, street parking nearby if you need to return to the car for a diaper emergency. The first time I took T I nursed her at the table and felt completely comfortable doing so. We'll definitely be back!