2.12.2015
We drove up to the central coast with the kids. Traveling with those three these days is a challenge; it has been for a while now. But Imo and I persevere. This weekend, we took them to see Hearst Castle, walked a breathtakingly beautiful seaside trail at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, visited a 140-year-old lighthouse, saw whales and seals and zebras in the wild, collected rocks on Moonstone Beach, ate delicious food in the quaint little town of Cambria, stopped at Morro Bay to see the gigantic rock and the site where the first Filipinos arrived in America on board a Spanish galleon in 1587. We endure the whining and the sulking because we know (we hope) that they will look back on all of this someday with appreciation. But also, we know there will be an end to this stage in our lives, and though we cherish their childhoods, we look forward to when they are all grown and have moved out, and Imo and I can finally go on these trips by ourselves in peace.
2.14.2015
We made merry. We started at 1:00 PM. We worked our way from the quinoa salad, the pasta aligue, the ensalada, the fritata, the bagnet paired with a fermented oyster dipping sauce, and finally the cupcakes from Frosted in Maginhawa. The food meant to compliment the cocktails. We were "product testing" and perfecting the "Serena," a blue cocktail we were making for a friend's wedding. But in between we had wine, tequila, whiskey, amaretto -- such fine, fine stuff we had been saving for this gathering. We exchanged recipes. We referred to frenemies by their complete names. We Googled crushes and Glee. By 6:00 PM, April and I had to stumble away to another dinner that was gifted to us. More food, more wine. My hangover arrived and it wasn't even the next day. I lurched to bed with an ice pack on my head. I fell asleep beside April nursing the pain, the wonder, the sweet abundance.
