Happy Halloween 2017

My Halloween party isn't kicking off until Saturday, so I don't actually have any pictures to share yet, but I promise to do a post a bit later. Instead, I'd like to round up all my Halloween daily posts from the month.

Day 31: What's scarier than a bad vacation? Unused vacation days! 
Day 30: I may like to poke around, supposedly, haunted venues, but I wouldn't be able to handle staying in a haunted hotel. If you can, here are 10 of the scariest.

Day 29: There are creepy places, and then there are CREEPY places, though I've been to the Museum of Death and disagree with its creep factor. Maybe I'm the weirdo though.

Day 28: If you want some amazing jack o'lantern inspiration for next year, Kevin Hearne has the most epic on his Twitter feed.

Day 27: Ever wanted to visit the filming locations of your favorite horror films? Now you can! If you can find them.

Day 26: Abandoned buildings and spaces are scary, yes, but they can also be beautiful. Check out these photos from France.

Day 25: Is there anything scarier than being lost in the woods? This haunted experience takes advantage of those fears.

Day 24: Folklore and ghost stories can be fun. Even more fun is going in search of those scary monsters.

Day 23: What's worse than a dead or dying phone? A public outlet stealing all your info when you plug in!

Day 22: Sometimes, traveling people are just "plane" strange. What's the weirdest thing YOU'VE ever seen on a flight? Airline employees weigh in.

Day 21: Would you travel to talk to a bunch of like-minded people about death? There's a whole death positivity movement happening.

Day 20: Oh no! Did you forget your pool floatie or leave it behind on vacation? Now it won't go to waste.

Day 19: What's scarier than travel getting more expensive? What if you had to pay to drop someone at the airport?!

Day 18: Does being lost in the middle of nowhere sound like a good time to you? This company thinks so, and you'll pay them for it.

Day 17: Are you looking to make some friends with some ghosts? Here are 12 of the best haunted houses in the US.

Day 16: Can you imagine checking into a hotel and being asked to check out of the country?

Day 15: Sure, hurricanes and such are scary, but what about an erupting volcano? 

Day 14: It’s surprising that short, slippery, sandy, and uphill runways are even legal. These 9 airports may make you rethink travel.

Day 13: Want to skip the regular hotel room and opt for something bizarre instead? Here are 9 wacky lodgings to choose from!

Day 12: Abracadabra! You just saved money!

Day 11: Can't get away in October? Head to the most haunted place in your state to get some spooky fun.

Day 10: Are you ready to get your hocus pocus on? Here are 10 places to do it. 

Day 9: 11 rickety old roller coasters that will terrify you.

Day 8: There's a giant asteroid coming! Here's how to see it. (Sorry if you missed it!)

Day 7: Hate clowns? Well, here are 10 places haunted by those nightmare-inducing beings.

Day 6: Travel during Halloween time is one of my favorites. Here are 13 places you can go for a spooky time.

Day 5: Swimming with sharks sounds terrifying to ME. If you're into it, here's what it's like to swim with whale sharks.
Day 4: One of these 5 things you should never do on a cruise can actually get you stranded. Whoa!
Day 3: How nightmarish is it to get stuck at the airport due to an airline system failure?
Day 2: Welp. Now it's Southwest's turn to make travelers angry.
Day 1: If you're looking for a quick last-minute trip to plan, here are the best places to go this month.

I hope you all are enjoying your Halloween celebrations. I dressed up as Wayne (Time! Excellent!) at work and will be dressing up for our annual party on Saturday. What are you dressing up as?

My Portland Coffee Tour - Part 8

Okay, so this month has been incredibly busy and lacking in the coffee exploration in Portland, so I bring you one, then I want to talk to you about an amazing coffee shop we found in San Diego and that crazy Zombie Frappuccino from Starbucks. 

I hope to get back into my coffee crawl next month, when things have settled a bit and I am not working quite so much, but if I have to take a break, I will, in order to bring you more quality posts even if they are further apart.

Barista

I've been told by a few people that Barista is a shop I needed to get to. They have a few different locations, including the one at Pine Street Market, but I saw it on the way to brunch with my mom, so we stopped in on our way back to the car for me to grab something real quick. The inside was small with only bar seating, but it's warm and inviting with wood and a giant window overlooking the street. 

I'm not usually one for a mocha, as they're usually too gritty, but I saw something called the Valrhona Mocha, and asked about it. Turns out, it's a type of dark chocolate that's 61% cocoa that is infused into the espresso and it was amazing. It was $5 for an 8oz, but it was like drinking a luxury dark chocolate bar with espresso inside it. It had a rich flavor that I could definitely get used to in my coffee. 

There aren't a lot of food options. You're basically either going to get a pastry or a baked item. I opted for a blueberry cornflour cookie ($2), because it was incredibly different sounding. It was much like a sugar cookie, but with whole blueberries in it that I really enjoyed. I'd definitely be into trying to make something similar at home, maybe with added chocolate chips, for the holidays. I could see how cranberries would also work with the sweetness. Overall, I wouldn't go back to Barista for food, because it's lacking, but I would absolutely go back for the coffee.

Cafe Bassam

Only a block away from our timeshare building in San Diego was this coffee shop, that looked totally normal and modern on the outside with floor to ceiling windows and a fenced in outdoor eating area. I didn't even care what they had when I looked them up and Google described the shop as a funky coffee house with antique furniture and rifles on the wall. I mean, what? You gotta go just to experience that weirdness, right?

So, we rolled in one morning for breakfast and ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee (yum!) and a white chocolate mocha. On top of that, I ordered a bagel, which is clearly the best presentation for a bagel I've ever gotten anywhere. So pretty. Eric ordered eggs and toast, which was a similar presentation, with toast, marmalade, steamed(!) eggs and a pile of fruit. He inhaled it. 

While we waited for our food and drinks to appear, I took a moment to look around and snap a hundred pictures, because what even is this place? My theory was that it was a antique store that was foreclosed on that just happened to have enough space for a coffee, so they just kept it all to be wacky, so I asked.

The owner (Bassam) is from Palestine and an art and antique collector. He created this coffee shop be a place people could gather and have the feel of a European cafe. They are open early and open late, so you can enjoy coffee (or wine or beer or a cigar) any time of the day. The vibe is eclectic, the employees are friendly, and everything we had was fantastic. If I lived in San Diego, this is the place I would drag people who claimed they'd never heard of it.

The Zombie Frappuccino from Starbucks

Starbucks has been creating new drinks more and more frequently and have been serving up these limited edition beverages lately. It started with crazy popular (and, apparently, violently sweet) unicorn frap. I wasn't willing to try that one, or fight people to get to the counter, but the zombie frap looked very much doable, even though there were mixed reviews. I admit, I kind of wanted it just for the whipped cream "brains". 

It has not been nearly as popular as the unicorn and with good reason. It is supposed to taste like caramel apples, but I didn't get any distinct taste from it at all. It was refreshing, yes, but there was no caramel or apple in my cup. But I've spent $5 on worse things, so I wasn't that disappointed, even though I was expecting Laffy Taffy flavor explosion. If you want to try it out for yourself, it's only available until Oct 31.

Do you have a favorite coffee house or an opinion on the Zombie Frap? 

San Diego Eats In Pictures

While in San Diego, we were in search of some really good food. I employed my timeshare concierge as well as my Uber and Lyft drivers to help us find it. We did a pretty decent job of it, too.

Here are some of the best foods we had while we were in between sightseeing:

Shrimp and krab enchiladas with spicy crema sauce

I had seen a restaurant really close to our home base and decided to try it based on the name. Jimmy Carter's Mexican Cafe? How could one resist. It has absolutely nothing to do with the president, and everything to do with yummy Mexican food. Our concierge recommended their cucumber margarita and, since we were literally across the street, I decided to go for it. The wait staff were super friendly and we weren't starving, so we split a plate of enchiladas and all that stuff on the plate, and a bowl of chips with two dips. 

Number one: if you're looking for a refreshing drink, this margarita is your best friend. It's delicious. Number two: Even if you aren't that hungry, you'll wish you had these enchiladas all for yourself. It's probably the best enchiladas I've ever eaten. Like eat them every day good.

  

Pan-fried catfish 

I, honestly, can't pass up a good catfish, even with fried chicken on the menu! I know this plate doesn't look that appetizing, but we were in a diner (Crest Cafe) and really wasn't expecting too much beyond burgers. The presentation wasn't perfect, but the fish was awesome, as were the scalloped potatoes and veggies. Then, the star of the show: 

  

Chocolate croissant breadpudding

The dish this came in was huge, and I totally thought it was someone's dinner when I saw it in the food window. This bread pudding was outstanding, and we even went to a dessert place that people raved about that wasn't as good, and cost twice as much. If you like bread pudding, this is a must-visit...but make sure to try the food as well. Crest Cafe was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which I didn't know until we were leaving. 

Cappuccino cake

Have you ever been to a sit-down restaurant at a zoo? I haven't, but San Diego Zoo is pretty fancy, so it's not really a surprise they have a fancy place to eat in the middle of the park. At Albert's, I basically ordered a salad with shrimp on top, which was very good, but I saved my calories for dessert it seems. The waiter didn't seem to think this cake sounded that exciting and was surprised when I was like "yes! bring me that!" It was light, chocolaty, and just the right hint of coffee. Yum.  

House-made veggie burger

By now you know I'm not a vegetarian, but I like to get my veggies in where I can. We spent a lot of time in Balboa Park and, while there are a lot of places to eat, there aren't a lot of truly interesting options. Prado is on the more upscale side, but worth it to spend a few dollars more to get something tasty and unique. Eric ordered a chicken sandwich, but I was intrigued by this homemade veggie burger. Aside from being a bit dry, which would have been helped with a layer of hummus (which comes with chips instead of bread and butter), it was pretty good and beyond better than any other non-Boca Burger I've ever had out. It came with a heap of fries that were crispy perfection. 

We took half our food to go at Prado so we could indulge in this Tres Leches Cake. It had caramelized bananas baked right in and a layer of pistachio meringue on the bottom. It was phenomenal. The least appetizing thing on the plate was the ice cream. Ice cream! We didn't take any of this to go, because we demolished it.

Short rib pappardelle

I love a good short rib. Probably because it's so fantastic being cooked in all that fat. Either way, I was nomming on this big bowl of pasta and meat served at Two Seven Eight. It came with that side of kim chee you see. Normally, I don't do kim chee, but I didn't hate it. Eric, on the other hand, who does enjoy kim chee, didn't find it had enough bite for him. So, take that how you will. He ordered the goat cheese burger, because all of that sounded really good, and he said it was. 

I wouldn't come here if you're in a hurry. This is a great place to sit on the patio and just relax while enjoying a beverage. I flipped through the drink menu and saw that they served moonshine. I know it's had a bit of a revival lately, so I asked about it. The owner came out to give me a tasting, so I could decide what to order. If you want to put hair on your chest, Devil's Cut is the way to go. It's S.T.R.O.N.G. I passed on a whole glass of that for the smoother Kalifornia brand. The owners actually know the moonshiners and the son is the first in his family to actually make moonshine legally. They are local and they definitely know what they're doing. If you want something a bit different, bottoms up!

Happy Hour shared plates 

We absolutely had to hit up a restaurant in Little Italy. We wandered India Street in search of a suitable dining option with a good happy hour and settled on Davanti. It was a good choice, since their whole happy hour menu looked fantastic. Above is my favorite, the ricotta vasi. It's basically ricotta with lemon and olive oil, served with tasted baguette and a cube of honeycomb. The honey brings it all together and it's just soooooooooo good. Like, make a meal of it good. We took our leftovers home and had it for breakfast.

The second best pick was polpette ripiene di mozzarella al forno, basically meatballs stuffed with mozzarella, in a red sauce and topped with all the parmesan cheese on earth. If you like meatballs, you can't go wrong with this.

Do you like peppers? I'm not sure why I thought these would be stuffed, but they were only stuffed with their own seeds, giving them a kick of heat. Peperone al forno are roasted pedron peppers with cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of cheese (because Italian). We were wimps when it came to these and only ate about a quarter of the pan, but, to be fair, that pan was a lot larger than expected. I do wish we had also ordered the calamari, but we didn't, so I guess that's a goal for our next trip to San Diego. 

 What's the best thing you've eaten out lately?