Weekends of March 24 and 31, 2012: Visiting SoCal and Scottsdale AZ

Sorry for the long hiatus (6 weeks is a wide gap for this blog!), but as we didn't go on a trip for President's Day weekend (Kaleb came to visit me and we didn't do anything spectacular), there was nothing to report on until my weekend outings at the end of March.

My nephew Brandon's belated 1st birthday party was held on Saturday, March 24, and I wasn't planning to attend, as airfare prices were sky high when I got the invitation for the party less than 21 days in advance. Fortunately some time later, Southwest Airlines sent an email advertising a fare sale, which prompted me to check prices again. I was able to secure a sale fare on a Saturday early morning flight out to Ontario CA, despite the fine print stating that eligible flights were only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, go figure. I also luckily made it within the 10-day advance purchase requirement. The return fares were not mistakenly marked down, so I found something reasonable on JetBlue, which departed out of Long Beach Airport. The two airports were similar in distance from my brother Allen's house, so it all worked out. The moral of the story is to check to see if your desired flight is on sale, even though the advertising says otherwise, because you never know if a programming "glitch" happens and your flights get marked down as well. Also the chance that you may be able to save money by purchasing one-way tickets in and out of different airports, if it isn't too inconvenient.

Southwest and JetBlue are both located in Terminal B at SMF, so it was a no-brainer to park on Level 5 in the garage.  It was very early morning, so I had no problems finding a space right near the Terminal B bridge entrance.  Even though I had A-List benefits, I didn't need to take the priority lane at security since there weren't many passengers in line.  I was also able to bypass the "nude-o-scope".  Flying into Ontario was uneventful, though the area was shrouded in fog.  The contrast of the beautiful blue clear sky with the fog swirling around mountain peaks, looking like islands in a restless sea, was very cool. Unfortunately I could not take a picture of it as we were already under the 10000 ft level.

The party was held in a neighborhood park very close to Allen's house and the weather cooperated, with the fog burning off by noon, the official party start time. There were lots of guests, including my parents and my other brother Edmund.  Tons of food to go around. Children of all ages enjoyed the playground structure, playing ball on the grassy field, as well as the screened tent that Allen set up for the kids to relax in. The fun part was watching Brandon eat his 1st birthday cupcake.

mmm frosting

Big sis Alison seemed to enjoy it more :)

The rest of the weekend went smoothly, having dinner at Red Lobster Saturday night, and pho for Sunday lunch.  It was pouring cats and dogs on Sunday afternoon, at one point causing traffic to go 15 mph on Hwy 91 since no one could see where they were going, with the road becoming a river.  I was very glad that the rain had already passed through Long Beach, as the airport was under renovation, and the walkway between the main terminal and the rent-a-trailer gates were not covered, plus you had to walk onto the tarmac to old-fashioned stairs on wheels to board the plane.

JetBlue is cool in the fact that they have free DirecTV at each seat (bring your own headphones or purchase a pair for $2), multiple selections of brand name snacks (Terra Blues are their "official" snack), and they give you the whole can (if you order a drink that comes in a can).  The leg room is comparable to Southwest. (much better than United Airlines regular economy)  I was able to watch 1.5 hours of Food Network while munching on blue potato chips.

The following weekend, I flew to Phoenix to visit Kaleb, but we planned a couple of fun outings on Saturday.  First was the last San Francisco Giants spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium, versus the Cincinnati Reds.  We got lawn tickets (general admission), so we arrived an hour before the game to grab some real estate under the trees as the temperature was in the low 90's.  While looking for parking, we noticed some lots charging $5-$10, but if you drive a block into "Old Town Scottsdale", you can park for free at places like the "Parking Corral", a few blocks' walk to the stadium.  You can also park for free at the public library garage next door to the stadium.

scored a shady spot

yet another self-portrait

Giants in black, on a hot day

Kaleb's friends Leo and Magda (and their young daughter), Frank and Tanya (and their two young sons), plus Frank's friend Ian also came to watch the game.  I probably shouldn't say "watch" as most of game time was spent drinking overpriced cans of Bud Light and Coors Light and shooting the breeze, maybe observing a few pitches here and there.  The Giants didn't do so great that day...scoring only 2 runs to the Reds' 10.  I was afraid the Giants were going to get shut out, then 2 runs came from a homer with a man on base late in the game.  The usual suspects weren't all on the field that day...the only players I recognized on the roster were Buster Posey and Nate Schierholtz.

After the game, we had reservations to eat at Iron Chef Jose Garces' restaurant Distrito.  I made the reservations via OpenTable.  It was located in the Saguaro Hotel in Old Town Scottsdale.  Distrito was decorated in funky multi-colors, all the way from the entrance to inside the restaurant.

To save time deciding what to eat, we went with a tasting menu.  There were two price points, $45 and $55 per person, the difference being the selection of ingredients, ie. chicken tacos versus fish tacos, etc.  We decided to do the $55, along with two glasses of delicious red wine sangria.  Our server explained that the tasting menu consisted of three courses selected by the chef.  I had read on Yelp that there was a ton of food on the tasting menu, so I was a bit disappointed to hear there were "only" three courses, but I was ready to be surprised.  My disappointment disappeared quickly.

colorful skulls greeting you at the entrance

funky kitschy decor

spiced peanuts and water were brought to the table

The first course started with several appetizers:

tortilla chips with chunky guacamole topped with crab meat and cotija cheese, mmm!

Angelica's Fresa salad, very fresh

yellowfin tuna ceviche, so delicious!

Then we were served what I thought were the entrees, so we ate every last bite:

queso fundido with a basket of bite sized flour tortillas

mahi mahi tacos

But more entrees arrived!  Looking at the food made me feel full, but it smelled so good:

costillas - pork spare ribs that were fall-off-the-bone good

carne en adobo - beef brisket that was so tender, you didn't need a knife

smoked chicken that was super juicy, along with slaw and bean sides

We finished the spare ribs, ate half of everything else and had it all wrapped up to take home.  Dessert was to come next, and we were soooooo full!

freshly fried churros with chocolate and cream dipping sauces

panna cotta, even had huckleberries in it

Those churros were the best I have ever eaten in my whole life.  I can't go back to theme park churros or Costco-style.

Our tasting experience was now over. Kaleb and I felt so full, we wanted to throw up. (in a good way!)  The food was perfectly seasoned out of this world and cooked well, the portion sizes ample.  I would definitely recommend Distrito as a place to try if you are out in the Old Town Scottsdale area.  I'd return to this place to have the guacamole, all the ceviches, the spare ribs and brisket, and don't forget the churros, yum.  A nice way to end a Saturday night.

Sunday was uneventful as we relaxed and watched a bunch of "Game of Thrones" episodes.  (Kaleb has read through almost all the books and I just read enough of the first book to watch the show)  Then it was time for me to go home, boo hoo.

As mentioned in the last blog entry, our next trip is to Las Vegas April 20th weekend for Kaleb's birthday, with lots of fun activities and good eats planned.  Stay tuned for that update!  (unless I can get myself to finish a Kauai Time Machine entry that's been sitting in my draft folder for weeks...)