Maven's Creamery, San Jose, CA

How do you feel about macaroons?

And I don't mean the constant battle to know if when someone says "macaroon" they mean the Jewish kind or the French kind. I never know what people mean using just the word "macaroon" and it drives me nuts, knowing I love to eat both kinds.

To be clear, the Jewish kind is a coconut-based dessert or cookie almost only available near their Passover holiday - the French kind is the cookie sandwich made of airy cookies with some kind of rich genache filling in the middle (and very trendy of late).

Guess what, we now have a third variety - and I love it too!

A local California creamery makes a macaroon from the airy French cookies, and then fills it with premium ice cream in the middle! Why didn't you think of that!?

I recently had one at a work event, then recalled they are also offered near our office in a bubble tea shop. For $3.50, this made the day. At the bubble tea shop, they offer about 10 varieties - I chose a simple Cookies n Cream version for myself. Blue cookies with normal ice cream in the middle. Everyone called it "Cookie Monster".

Let the ice cream soften! Then it's gloriously devoured.

F'en get one (or ten)!!!

PS - they don't ship well, at all... well, maybe with dry ice... hmmm....

FeiYue Shoes, Morgan Hill, CA (by way of China)

I don't know why it's taken me so long, but I'm going to post about one of my favorite topics on the planet - shoes. Kicks. Sneakers. (Who has some other words?!)

While in China, I noticed a co-worker in the office wearing a brand I'd never heard of, FeiYue. I mean, granted, I did realize I was in China. It was a very simple shoe that reminded me of Ked's or Converse here in the US. I did some more research when I got back to the States, with some help of that co-worker, and landed me-self a pair of my very own. They cost me a whole $18 on eBay. I also deduced their sizing and went with my Euro size, so I believe fit will not be an issue.

They arrived from China via China Post (wild, right?). I can not get over their wrapping/packaging. What you see below arrived in two normal, Mylar-ish shipping "bags", one containing the shoes, and then that stuff into one final outer bag. So, after peeling through these two bags, this is what I found...

Can we talk about the retro-feel for a minute? Or the Pinocchio character!?!? I mean, Gepetto was a cobbler, no?

It was as if a shoe burrito was just delivered to my home... shoes wrapped in a paper sack.

Who needs tape? Just wrap the shoes in their own shoelaces - done!

Yes, they're not for everyone in terms of style, but they always remind me of the trip, and now this packaging.

No idea what this says. I'm guessing it's like a thank-you note.

Butano State Park, Pescadero, CA

[this location is actually up the road from Pescadero, but well worth seeking out some other spots along Highway 1]

Any ole Sunday is a good day for a new hike, right? I think that's true. This trip was to a smaller state park about 1.5 hours from my home, to a place that had designated trails and redwoods. We picked out some smaller loops and strung together what should have been about a 4-5 mile hike. Also note, much of the terrain by the coast here is up and down. There's not a ton of flat walking or topography to be had.

[I'm sure this idiot fell]

Love the ferns.

Only a small trickle of water through this stream, but nice to see none-the-less.

Those are horizontal spiderwebs all over this redwood. I'd never seen anything like it. No rhyme or reason to it that I'm aware of.

There are many felled redwoods along the trails as well. Some quite large, maybe 5-9' across at the root ball. Don't know why these are falling either, but we did come up with some hypotheses.

By far, this is THE largest slug I've seen to date. It's actually known as the Banana Slug, obviously!, and is easily 5-7" long as it slugs along the ground (that's my medium-sized hand above it for some context). I really had a hard time believing how big this was. I mean, it's the slug that eats like a meal, for sure.

All kinds of lichen and/or moss on many of the trees. I'm pretty sure every redwood area is inland from the ocean by one hill or mountain range. The weather then gets pretty cool and damp over the hill each day, and helps the redwoods take hold over centuries. I could easily be wrong, but I look forward to finding out on my on. Perhaps the California Academy of Sciences is next on the list? (https://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/giants-of-land-and-sea).

One note, we were not able to walk our planned route. Though I think my spidey-sense and general sense of direction is good, we did not follow the route we planned. I think this park could have better signs on their trails, but they may not have the funds to do so. We made it work regardless, but it's always nice to complete what you've planned.

Notes on Pescadero:
I'm pretty sure "pescadero" means "fisherman" in Spanish... which makes a lot of sense b/c this small, one stop sign town, is located about a mile or so from the Pacific ocean. It allows easy access to Butano and is also a cute little town in it's own right. We started with lunch here, but also found they offer coffee, shopping, and a local pub/bar too.

We visited Arcangeli Market for an excellent sandwich and then headed into the woods. The market takes debit/credit cards, has a real bakery offering, and was as busy as heck, for a small town Sunday. I grabbed their Chicken Club on foccochia, it was tasty.

Luna Mexican Kitchen, San Jose, CA

If you're going to be in San Jose for an evening, I would highly recommend this little neighborhood spot for dinner (or brunch). On SJ's "Alameda", it seems to be ideally situated for this neighborhood, and others as well.

We decided to hit up this new spot before a San Jose Earthquakes match, and boy were we glad we did. I'm not sure there was a better way to kick of the night. Ole!

To start, it's a great little building with a to-go window ("para llavar") out front. Seating out there for waiting on the tables too. An indoor seating area, plus full bar... and a lovely outdoor patio, with shade and cooling to accommodate the outside temps on most any night.

We decided to get some drinks, and instead of the 20-30 minute seating wait, we were shwon a table before our first sips could start working. Fine by us.

We went all in for their guacamole to start... and then something never seen before by yours truly for the main course...

Who doesn't enjoy food served in a molcajete?!

For dinner, we were drawn to the backside, 2nd page of their menu, filled with an item listed as "Parradillas". These appeared to be large, multi-person serving vessels for all kinds of meats or veggies. They had me at "meat vessel".

We went for the moderately-priced fajita-style version - which came with both chicken and steak, guac, sides, and rice+beans too.  Hay ca-rumba, I'm gonna be full.

I think this big box on the bottom keeps the food hot... or just keeps it at the right height to kep grabbing more cooked meats. Either way, I'm good.

If you don't like what you eat off the parradilla, it's pretty much your own fault. I mean, you ordered the proteins, and you put it all together yourself. So, get after it! Get in their and make yourself a little taco. In this case, I don't mind doing the work for my dinner, it's fun.

Should you go? Well, I'd say - Venga! Venga! Venga!!! I haven't found a place like this one yet in my time in San Jose. They seem to have their formula down and it's a good one. Food, drinks, service, atmosphere, and a little Latin flare... plus the parradillas.

Now, I don't link websites too often, but theirs includes much better everything than this blog post - pics, menus, etc. Check it out - https://www.lunamexicankitchen.com/

Shanghai Foods, Shanghai, China

I thought I'd throw down some of the tasty eats and treats had in Shanghai. Some of it is pretty normal fare, some, not so much. Take a look and let me know what you think...

(some I ate, some I didn't)

Hotel breakfast buffet:

 

Starbucks is comforting to find...

Spicy!!!

Chips...

Ahhh, German beer...

More spicy!!!

Pot Stickers and Soup Dumplings...

Quite possibly the most perfect single scoop of ice cream/gelato I have ever eaten...

It's so humid in Shanghai in the summer this chilled bowl began beading up with sweat droplets as soon as it was placed at the table.

Parkyard Hotel and Preferred Hotels & Resorts

On a recent trip to Shanghai, we were nicely placed into a hotel that appears to belong to a "small" family hotel group. From what I can tell, the Parkyard Hotel, belongs to a trade group known as Preferred Hotels & Resorts. They have preferred properties around the globe, and major offices in Chicago, IL and Newport Beach, CA.

I was able to page through one of their "lookbooks" in the hotel room and thought I would share some properties that reminded me of friends & family (I get whistful on international trips, I guess).

See if you can pick out your own 'hood, visited countries, or perhaps a new destination idea...

As we seem to now recommend purchasing experiences over things, I can't recommend travel to international (or local) destinations enough. Get out there.