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My first day in Corpus Christi, TX and all I can think of is to relax and unwind from the ride. I slept in a little this morning and then just lay in bed for a while after I woke up. Feels good to be lazy for a little while!
Its lunchtime and I'm thinking there are lots of foods here that I miss and I have got to get started on hitting them all! First stop today is lunch with Joseph at Schlotskie's Sandwich shop. We used to visit this place quite often when I lived here. The only other state I have ever seen one of these restaurants is in Washington but that's it. I just had to have an original sandwich on jalapeno bread. This is sourdough bread as a round rather flat looing bun with any kind of toppings you can imagine. The standard has mustard, ham, some other meats, and veggies. I don't know what they do different other than toast the bread but this is heaven.
Fast food places are very common in the lower forty-eight. That’s what we, in Alaska, call the continental US since it has 48 of the other states in it. In Ketchikan we have two fast food franchises; McDonald’s and Taco Time. McDonald’s food is just as bad in Ketchikan as it is everywhere else. Taco Time, well, if you have read some of my other comments, you know how I feel about "fake" Mexican food! For a short while we had a Burger King but it went belly up pretty fast. Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of places to eat, just not franchises, which quite honestly is a good thing because these restaurants are local and people tend to care more about what they serve you. Along with this is one very bad thing and that is the cost of eating out. If you go for a quick meal, expect to pay $20-$30 per person at least. Yet another reason we don’t eat out that often and when we do, we are picky! Heck, in Texas, $20 will buy lunch for 3-4 people!
So, after lunch we decide to hit the grocery store for some fruits and veggies since I really miss fresh produce. I know I have mentioned it before, but everything we get in Ketchikan comes by barge so the produce starts off quite green and ripens by the time it gets to us. As a result, the produce is weak in taste and texture. It's also expensive! I was about floored by the prices of produce here! OMG, we could juice everyday here for next to nothing! I spent a lot of time walking around admiring the produce and being very careful to select the perfect fruits and veggies. Probably going to make myself sick on too much fruit and produce! The sweet smell of fresh produce is awesome!
We get back to the house to find that my sister has bought some empanadas. Woo Hoo, pumpkin pie to go! Empanadas are basically pie dough in the shape of a taco stuffed with pumpkin. When you think of pan dulce (sweet bread) empanadas would almost have to qualify as holy bread! I had to down at least a couple of these before dinner time so I sat down with a large glass of milk and made weird yum noises as I ate them. A nice little side note is that you can buy these with other fillings like sweet potatoes but I think the second most popular are pineapple empanadas.
I spent some time on the computer and on the telephone to find a shop that could work on my leather chaps. After much searching I managed to find a shop to fix my leather chaps. The last few hundred miles on the road were interesting because, for some reason, my chaps decided they did not want to remain zipped up. The zipper opens from the bottom and the last few hundred miles, they would open slowly until the chaps would be flapping around and I would have to grab them and tuck them between my butt and the seat to keep them from getting too close to the rear wheel. That would not be a good thing! I dropped off the chaps and the lady at the shop said it would be a day or two and to just check back for them. I also ran by a bike shop and ordered foot pads for my bike. The foot pegs suck when riding any kind of distance. The round metal pegs dig into the bottom of your foot till you can't keep still. I had to keep moving my foot to different position so they wouldn't hurt badly. I splurged and ordered a set of pads that accommodate my entire foot so I can sit flat footed. When they come in, I will get them installed ASAP! Because of these painful pegs, I had one slightly scary incident. I was riding along at about 80 mph and had been on the bike for a long ride. The pegs had gotten really uncomfortable and I was shifting my feet around to try to get away from the pain. Well, one of these not so smart moves placed my right foot too close to the end of the peg. My foot slipped off and my toes hit the road. Luckily I yanked my foot up pretty quick so the wobbles from the bike were minor but still scary. This is what is sometimes referred to as the death wobbles because you can get the bike to wobble so bad that you can’t correct and end up crashing. My wobbles were minor and convinced me that I was getting the foot pads as soon as I got into town!
It’s time for dinner and time to find out if my nephew Joseph learned anything about BBQ from his dad. Damn straight he did! Bacon wrapped hot dogs are dogs done right! I had to have a couple of these. If it's one thing the men in my family do right its BBQ. We also had burgers for dinner. These burgers are big chunks of meat with a dent in the middle. The dent keeps them from shrinking very much during cooking. Nice little tip there. BBQ at Joseph's tonight and BBQ at his dad, Jerry's tomorrow. Can't wait!
Met and played with Joseph's dog, Ranger Rick, for a while. Joseph has two roommates and they all have a dog. Two of the three dogs are really mellow and Ranger Rick has a special talent. You tell him "Beer Me" and he will go pull a rag on the fridge door and bring you a beer. One of the dogs is a wacko and keeps running back and forth like a nut!
The house Joseph lives in belongs to my sister Nina. She rents the house to him and his roommates while Joseph is in school. My sister Nina bought this house from my brother Art after he rebuilt it. This is the house that caught fire and in which my dad passed away. My brother managed to keep most of the walls from the original house but this house looks nothing like the original house and is way overbuilt for the neighborhood. My brother originally lived in my other sister Amelia’s house when my folks were living and had bought this house to move my parents there so he and my sister Nina would be just a couple of houses away to help them. My brother sold this house to Nina and his house to Amelia and moved to San Antonio where he lives on 74 acres with his wife and about all the wild animals you can imagine.
My niece, Toni Barrera, who I will always call Bibi, came over with two of her kids, Isaiah, and Sarah. Unfortunately, her oldest daughter, Alex, could not make it and her schedule kept her so busy I didn't get a chance to see her the whole time I was in town. So my niece Bibi is 43 years old and still looks like a kid. Everybody always thinks she is in her 20's. God I hate her! LOL She has beautiful kids who are all well-mannered and great fun to be around. Isaiah is a quiet kid, very shy, but Sarah more than makes up for it with her outgoing, bubbly personality. Bibi's husband, David was working so he couldn't make it to the BBQ either. As a side note, Bibi got her nickname as a baby because she was so small, about the size of a BB (you know, BB gun) as far as we were concerned.
I had a great time hanging out with family and good food. All the BBQ you can eat is always a good thing. Oh yeah, now I remember how I got overweight! I decided to call it an early day after dinner and several beers at Joseph's place. Typical bachelor pad over there! You can tell right away that 3 single guys live there. The house is set up really well for parties and I guess they have parties on a pretty regular basis. Man, am I looking forward to hitting that nice soft bed and air conditioning tonight.
Following are details on today's pictures:
Pic 1 - Best Sandwich: Joseph, my nephew, and I hitting the food circuit. Starting this day right with a Schlotskie's original sandwich on jalapeño cheddar bread. Yum!
Pic 2 - Veggies: Now, if only our store had these prices!
Pic 3 - Fruits: You could actually afford to be a vegetarian or full time juicer here!
Pic 4 - Empanadas: Empanadas! The holy bread of pan dulce. These are like mini pumpkin pies but even better cause they are portable and taste awesome.
Pic 5 - Dogs done Right: This is how they do dogs in Texas! My nephew Joseph says "If it ain't got bacon on it, you're doing it wrong".
Pic 6 - The Real Dog: Ranger Rick, Joseph's dog. Can't believe how mellow two of the three dogs in this house are. The third dog is a pup and wild. One of the dogs fetches beer on command!
Pic 7 - Burgers Done Right: Bring on the hot coals! The dent in the middle of patties keeps them from shrinking a bunch.
Pic 8 - The Barreras: This is my niece, Toni whom I shall always call "Bibi" with 2 of her three kids. Isaiah on the left and Sarah on the right. Can you believe this girl is 43 years old? I think I hate her!
Pic 9 - The Right Accommodations: Bedtime at my sister's house. Busy day running around to get my chaps repaired and ordering parts for my bike. Dinner with family today, BBQ with family tomorrow!
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