2010 Seaside Highland Games in Ventura

I know this is not in Morro Bay, but this is apparently the closest that any Highland Games will get to Morro Bay!! I drove about two and a half hours down to Ventura last weekend to attend the 2010 Seaside Highland Games. I expected it to be similar to a Renaissance Faire, but it was a lot more serious, no play-acting that I saw. Serious people in serious plaid!! I lost count of how many men were wearing kilts, mostly plaid but some solid and more utilitarian. And I have to say I was pleased not to be surrounded by people joking about what is under a man's kilt!!

Their advertising promised "large men throwing heavy things", and they didn't disappoint. I watched the "pitching the sheaf" competition where large men (and smaller ladies) pitched a burlap-covered sack with a pitchfork up and over a high bar. The winner of the men's competition (Andrew Hobson) is known nationally and almost broke his personal record of 32 feet 6 inches!! He is a handsome 250-pound, 6 foot 4-inch tall Irish-Navajo from Arizona who teaches art as his "real" job!!

Andrew Hobson

Dancing, folk music groups, and pipe bands abounded. They were out and about practicing and competing all day. I witnessed the amazing Closing Ceremonies where ten pipe bands (known as the "Mass Bands") paraded into the arena and played some songs together.


There were two great tribal Celtic rock bands performing throughout the day on an outdoor stage. I loved that they used a didgeridoo and lots of drums to create that sonorous tribal beat. After most people went home there was a "jam" where they were all to play together on the stage. However, due to my long drive home, I left before that started.

BROTHER

Next time I will watch the loud demonstration of canons and Gatling guns, but this time I got to see some darling Border Collies do their thing with some sheep in the ring.


I could find only one authentic Scottish food booth, and the line stretched for many yards at lunch time. I tried their Scottish Meat Pie, which was some ground seasoned beef mixed with oats, in a pastry. They offered haggis, but I don't think I am ready for that yet!!


I brought my genealogy, which included three Scottish names, and attended the genealogy workshop. The teacher is a renowned genealogist whose specialty is Scottish ancestry. She also heads up several "Family Tree DNA" groups, and encouraged all the men in the room to submit their DNA for inclusion to the growing database. They are finding that you can verify which line you are from using the "Y" chromosome DNA and comparing it to the known samples in the database. If you have already tested with the "National Geographic" DNA project, you can add those test results to the "Family Tree DNA" database for free, but that only covers 12 points. You get a better comparison if you submit more points with "Family Tree DNA". I was disappointed that only one of my Clans had a booth at the Games, but they are not very common names. In fact, one of them does not even have its own clan, but is a "sept" of another one, which means it is under fealty to that name. I am definitely "sparked" now and hope to visit my local genealogy library soon to research some more aspects of my Scottish family names.

Alice M. Fairhurst

I definitely plan on returning to these Games next year, and I will plan on a whole day to enjoy the fun!!

Restaurants between Morro Bay and the Bay Area

I drive Highway 101 from San Luis Obispo to the San Francisco Peninsula at least twice a month. Often I get hungry on the road, and so I have stopped at quite a few restaurants along the route.

Linda Taqueria
(Gonzales)

One of my favorite places to stop on this drive is the Linda Taqueria in Gonzales. It is located right off the freeway, in the "Dairy Queen" parking lot. In addition to standard Mexican-American fare, this taqueria also offers some traditional Mexican dishes (including dishes with tongue, head, gut, tripe, and stomach). I ordered a chicken burrito with no salsa or onions. They also sell a variety of Mexican drinks, I bought two of the Jarritos. Their food is affordable, and the chips are great. Their salsa was a bit too spicy for me, though!!

Follow-up, I ordered their standard-sized burrito the next time I went there and it was still humongous, I think I will have to see if they have a child's sized one next time!!



I tried something else the last time I was there, I think it was called a Chimechanga, although I could be wrong. It was deep fried and huge!! Definitely hard to drive while trying to eat this thing!! I think I saw something like a taquito on their picture menu, but they called it a "flauta". Perhaps I will try that next time!!

San Ardo Café
(San Ardo)

San Ardo is a little town on that stretch of 101 with the oil pumps. It is the only town for miles around that has a service station, and it also has only one restaurant, the San Ardo Cafe. This restaurant is a family-run restaurant that also runs a mobile food truck. They are known for their Mexican food, but it was so warm the day I stopped that I ordered a club sandwich. Next time I will try their Mexican food. They told me that I could call ahead when I am on the road and place the order to-go and it will be ready for me when I arrive!! They even gave me a paper copy of their menu so I could keep it in my car. The trouble is that they are only open for breakfast and lunch, and often I am on the road after they close.

The sandwich was nice, fries were crisp and tasty. The turkey was good quality, but I think it might have been processed and smoked. There was some confusion about what came on the club sandwich. I ordered a salad, and it was nice. The blue cheese was a bit vinegary, but on a warm day it hit the spot. There was some confusion about whether their sodas had free refills, turns out they are not free refills. One surprise was a bowl of fantastic chips and salsa!! I couldn't leave until I finished them all. I picked up a Jarritos on my way out the door, and they filled a cup I had with ice for the road. I will definitely be back.

Wild Horse Café
(King City)

The Wild Horse Cafe is right off of Highway 101, just south of King City. I have driven past here for years and only recently was I able to stop for a late lunch. I ordered the special tri-tip sandwich meal deal, with a salad on the side. It came with a drink. They are mainly a truck stop, but there are plenty of other travelers and locals as well. There is a little store for stuff you might need while on the road (e.g. pain relievers and no-doz), as well as a whole case of collectible pins. They offer wifi, but it is not free, you need a credit card. This would be great for the truckers, but these days they should not be charging for customers!! The theme of the restaurant was definitely Western, heads of animals and rifles decorated the walls. They had a TV going, on FoxNews!! I will let you draw your own conclusions. They have a bar, tables, and booths. I won't be coming here again, the two servers were so slow and were watching TV the whole time. A local came in and it was several minutes before they helped him, even though he was trying to get their attention by squeaking his chair!! Even though this restaurant has been in the family for over 30 years, good service is still necessary for repeat customers!!

The salad was good, but the sandwich desperately needed more meat!! I liked that the table has a roll of paper towels so I didn't have to ask for more napkins. I like that they use Hearst Ranch beef, but I wish there was more of it ...

In & Out Burger
(Gilroy)

I stopped at the Gilroy outlets on Leavesley and decided to get a burger for dinner. This chain is always popular, although I don't prefer it. I got a Double Double (double meat, double cheese) meal, which includes fries and a drink. They gave it to me in a "car" box so the fries wouldn't fly all over the car. The burger was good, I ordered it plain because they didn't offer mayonnaise (only their "spread", which is like thousand island dressing). Their french fries are certainly unique, purported to be made from fresh potatoes. I personally don't prefer their texture, although they are probably healthier than other fast food options.



I have to say, also, that I am not wild about their placement of Bible quotations on the bottom of their cups and burger bags (John 3:16 and Nahum 1:7). John 3:16 was familiar to me ("For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."), but I had never heard of Nahum 1:7 ("The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him"). I liked the sentiment of the Nahum quote, although I still don't believe that the Bible should be used a "product placement".

MikoMiko Hawaiian Grill
(San Jose)

I stopped off on Cochrane Rd. in South San Jose for the Staples store for some Katsu Chicken at Ono Hawaiian BBQ but, alas, they are out of business and a new owner has taken over the building. I had a craving for Katsu Chicken so I decided to try some. The owner told me that they have the same menu.

The Katsu sauce is a bit more spicy than I remember, I had to mix it with the Teriyaki sauce to make it palatable. I have to say, though, that this dish is not easy to eat while driving!! In fact, I didn't even eat most of the rice. The dish comes with a scoop of macaroni salad and a scoop of rice. The macaroni salad is not very vinegary, which I like, and I suspect it might be bland like this in order to take the edge off the spicy katsu sauce.

Chicken Katsu, white rice, macaroni salad

Canton Garden
(Gonzales)

Stopped by the Canton Garden in Gonzales to get some finger food for my drive. The egg rolls were fantastic, but the cream cheese wontons were just OK. I might stop here again for some egg rolls and I might try some other finger foods. Priced somewhat high, but if the food is good that's OK.

I stopped once more here, but it was too expensive and disappointing. Also, it was hard to drive and eat Chinese food at the same time!!

Egg Rolls and Cream Cheese Wontons

Wendy's
(Paso Robles)

I stopped in Paso Robles at the Walmart and decided to try out Wendy's. I don't think I have ever eaten at a Wendy's and I see their commercials on TV all the time. I decided to try out their Chicken sandwich meal and a coffee-toffee shake. The chicken sandwich was OK, but their "new and improved" fries with natural cut and sea salt were not very good. Some people might like their fries like this but I prefer them thin and crispy. Also, their special shake was TERRIBLE, and it was quite expensive!! If I find myself at another Wendy's in the future I might order their chicken sandwich, but it will be a la carte and I won't be tempted by their coffee toffee shake in the future.

Jose's Country Kitchen
(Paso Robles)

I was driving home from the Bay Area and was hungry for dinner. I had always wanted to stop at this truck stop, but the time of day was always wrong!! This time I saw the light on as I passed and actually flipped a U-ey onthe 101 to get back to the turn-off. They are relatively new, although the building has been there for a while. There weren't too many folks there at 8:15 pm, but there was one "vagabond" couple, a pair of traveling businessmen, and a local guy came in for take out while I was there.

The salad was good, although the pieces of lettuce were quite large. I happily used both containers of blue cheese dressing. They also do free refills on the sodas.

I had decided to try their home-made chips, but won't again. They were either too done or not done enough. And there was no salt or flavoring on them. The cheeseburger was large and tasted good. I wish it had been a bit more rare, but these days it is hard to find a good juicy hamburger. I will definitely come here again, they have a varied menu and told me I could call ahead with my order from my car!!

Cool Hand Luke's
(Paso Robles)

I attended my work Christmas party here, and was impressed with the quality of their food. The server was attentive and friendly. The only negative was that the restaurant closed really early on a Sunday night and we had to rush through our party.

Their bread was amazing, warm and crusty, with herb butter. I tried not to eat too many rolls, but couldn't resist dipping it in everything.

They serve baked beans as part of the appetizer portion of the dinner. I don't eat these, but my co-workers enjoyed them.

I discovered that they will refill your salad unlimited, so I had croutons on my first round. The pita strips were amazing on the salad from my second round. I will definitely order these for all rounds when I come here again!! Great blue cheese dressing, also.

We had a limited menu (for the party) and I chose Prime Rib with a baked potato. I don't remember ever having prime rib, and it was nice, a bit fatty, but I don't know if that is normal. The potato was great, I got all the "fixin's".

I said yes to the dessert, Bread Pudding, which I had never had before. I enjoyed the flavor, although it seemed a bit burned to my tongue. Don't know if that is what it is supposed to taste like, though. It was sort of like french toast with ice cream and caramel sauce!!

I will definitely come here again when I am meeting up with folks in Paso Robles.