When we woke up the next morning from our adventurous ride in, things looked quite the same, but that’s only because O thinks it’s fun to get up well before the sunrise. I made coffee and eggs in our cozy abode that I was now even getting comfortable in and it wasn’t even my place. But O and I stayed in the master bedroom as the master’s had not yet quite arrived, and O and I tend to think we’re the masters of everything. Nick and Cora weren’t quite awake yet, O and I watched the morning come in, as the sun arose Zacatitos revealed its self. Sure enough with the stars erased by the true light of day there right in front of us lie the ocean. How we missed it I do not know. Casa Jubelio isn’t right on the ocean it takes about five minutes walk to get there but an unobstructed view, and we could see so clearly the road that led towards the ocean but in the darkness there was no way. As Nick and Cora began to stir O and I did some exploring to see what really things looked so different in the dark. Close to home (Casa Jubelio for this story) things were pretty much as they were in the blackness, but I can tell you this. That cactus planted round-about that was referred to in the directions, was definitely a triangle-about and the only cactus on it was a barrel cactus that stands about 8 inches high, and there was one, no wonder we couldn’t see it. But the rest seemed almost the same. Anxious to get on with our day and traverse the road that we had come entered in on not even 10 hours ago in totally different circumstances, we were ready to head back into town to the San Jose farmers market.
This time the drive only took us 30 minutes to go lets say, 5 miles, I always forgot to check but definitely somewhere between 4 and 6 this part of the directions was true. And from that point on it was a breeze until the very end just before the pavement where six cows decided it was time for an early morning siesta tired from sticking their butts out on the road the night before. Dude you guys know this is a bad idea right? And I should tell you that these aren’t wild cows like the fabled wild burro. These cows belong to someone and if you hit one not only is your car totaled but you’ve now just hit some ranchero’s most beloved and prized cow and need to pay a hefty price to make it right. We drive carefully though them. They are so cute I wish we would’ve taken pictures it was like the ladies gossip hour and these pesky cars kept interrupting. This pesky jeep was trying to make it to the market.
Rumor has it that San Jose has two markets, one on Sat and one on Sun. The one on Sunday is behind the Tropicana and is open until 3:00 pm. That was the one we wanted, but we couldn’t find it. It was only 10:30 so we knew that even if I screwed up the 3:00 closing time and it closed at noon instead we still didn’t miss it. But as things often go in my world, with no explanation it just was not there. Unwilling to undergo another epic car trip even if it wasn’t in the dark, we looked around a bit and found a Cocos Frio's stand which sufficed our need for some authentic food and a Mexican experience. Plus Coconut water is good for a hangover and we could've used a little coconut water that day. Somewhat satisfied that we'd still done some thing cool and out of the ordinary we headed to the Mega to get groceries and meet the rest of our crew.
At this point I was going to attempt to go home and back to my real life. But I really saw no point in that and we figured that with groceries, luggage and people there was no way the car that my aunt Susan had rented was going to fit it all. So I offered to drive the crew back out to Zacatitos if I could swing by my place, take a shower brush my teeth and refill some supplies. Again I packed a bag without a toothbrush but did bring suits and a pull up just in case. I really should just have a travel toothbrush for any occasion cuz ya just never know, but ever the noncommittal I left it at home. And that was dumb because Nick was making fish and chorizo tacos and I made my new famous recipe of guava mojitos. I make a guava simple syrup from guavas from my guava tree and the mint comes from the garden in front of my house. Yah. Yum city. I wasn’t going home. Not in that dark. Not with fish tacos and mojito’s in my belly and a family I hadn’t seen in ages. The only problem was that now that the masters of the house were now here, at Casa Jublieo we the master imposters were no longer staying in that room. This did not go over well with Ophelia who really wanted to spend most of her time playing and nesting (she likes to make nests) in that room. We worked it out though and made a cozy little bed for ourselves out of cushions from the outdoor furniture and crashed there.
The next day we spent hanging out and kickin’ it on the beach in the morning and I had a sitter set up in the afternoon so that I could go out to dinner with the fam. Funny this was supposed to be my first night spending with them and I’d already slept over at their place twice. But this was fun cuz we got to get all dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant which ever since my mom left I haven’t been doing, in fact it’s mostly Chez Anni, which ain’t so bad but getting out is fun. And this is the next point in which Nick and I really bonded. So after we are seated at Don Emiliano’s and I kindly ask that they turn the music down, Nick asks everyone, “So, how should we do this.” Good Man, a strategic eater just like me. It would be a straight up tragedy if we did not plan this well and end up ordering the same thing. Something you should know. If you are going to eat out with me, we don’t order the same thing and we share. Then the chef herself came out. She was lovely and very chatty and she too had some rules. 1. Do not order a coke with your food. (like it) 2. Try lots of things. (yup like it).
I was a little nervous about this place because Sue had looked it up and I thought my mom said that she had something so delicious there that she didn’t even want to share it. But when I brought it up to my mom that we were going to eat there and we were so excited, she didn’t remember the name or anything about it. Ah, but I must remember, my mother doesn’t remember her experiences by food she at but by what she wore, so if I would have caught the out fit when she first told me about the place the rest might have come back to her. I on the other hand remember nearly any experience but what I ate, the smell and what I was listening too. This was a night to remember. But it’s funny because we all weren’t supposed to order the same thing but in stead we all order the tasting menu. Which is in essence the same thing, but there were a few variations in choices and really no one wanted to miss the shaved octopus Carpaccio, or the OUTSTANDING black bean soup, paired with Negra Modelo. Nick, Cora and I did the wine flight what a fun surprise to get beer served in a champagne flute half way through. We had two mole options to choose from and scallop in white mole or an enchilada filled with local panela cheese in a black mole. I had the enchilada because I looooove black mole but the scallop in white mole was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The mole was light and the flavors were spot on. Ohhh I’m still craving it luckily there was more than one person who ordered it so I could have more than one taste. My main course was seared ahi tuna on a huitloche tamale rowerrrr, this was my third favorite thing, but on a very high standing list. The funnest thing is that my cousin Kate took pictures of all the food. The saddest thing is that I can’t seem to download them here so you can all see them. But, nice work Kate, send out the props on that one.
I’m also going to send out the party props to Kate who ripped her skirt while dancing on a table in El Squid Row that night and had the lady in the bathroom sew it up and then kept right on a dancin’. I guess the real props goes out to the bathroom attendant with the needle and thread. That Squid Row is one classy joint I tell you. The cousins all slept over at my place after we decided that Don Emeliano’s hadn’t quite filled us up, and I took em’ to my fave taco joint right on the side of the road out side El Squid and they ate the best taco of their lives. Good God why does all the really good food have to come out after midnight?????
The plan had been to take them all to Todo Santos but when the next morning arrived I realized, I had to be Santa and I hadn’t wrapped one present and I had to pack (I was bringing a toothbrush this time) and the place was a pit because all I’d been doing was running home grabbing things, dropping things off and I was in charge of Chilies en Nogada that night. I scurried around while the others tried to sleep so that I could get all of these things done and still be the greatest hostess on the planet and not let these kids miss out on a thing. To my relief with the night prior their desire for Todos Santos had faded. It was a good thing too because there was no way I was getting all that done. So the poor kids had to travel around with me to pick up O and to multiple grocery stories so I could find Sherry, not to be confused with Cherries, which everyone around here says with a Sh and always sends me towards the Boons Farm. La Europea has Sherry just in case you were wondering.
Anyway we made it back to Casa Jubelio just in the nick of time. My Aunt and Uncle were getting a little too comfy in the tranquility of Zacatitos with the kids gone. We rolled up just as Sue was about to take a skinny dip in the pool. Luckily not too many cars pull up into that drive way and she was able to reclothe before we caught her in the act. I don’t blame her though, had I had the opportunity I would have been skinny dippin’ in that ocean under a starlit sky. Knowing if I couldn’t see the ocean from our place nobody would see my white buns swimming. But no we needed a good night sleep for fishing the next morning.
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