An alternative garnish for Mexican beer
We hiked Pinnacles National Monument until we’d squeezed every last drop out of the sun, even going a little ways up the Juniper Canyon trail towards the High Peaks.
Then we needed food. Preferably not the fast variety. Judging by the ethnic makeup of Soledad, we were hoping for some really good Mexican food. And we could tell we found it at Mariscos Puerto Nuevo when the waitress brought out our beers garnished with lemon and a cocktail shrimp dipped in hot sauce. I wish I’d had my camera, it was such a beautiful sight. What’s hilarious is us trying to explain that though this was totally cool, Stephanie is allergic to shrimp. Update: Shrimp in a beer finally caught on film!
Since I was contaminated (by the beer garnish), I decided to further indulge in shrimp, stuffed with jack cheese, wrapped in bacon, and then fried. Hell yeah. Stephanie got a massive portion of salty but tasty carnitas.
And we just hung around and talked—for like hours. We didn’t know where we were going to sleep, but it didn’t seem to matter because we had no obligation to be anywhere at any time.
Eventually we did hit the road to Monterey sometime after 10pm. We made it to Salinas, and decided to pull off at the local Motel 6 thanks to their billboard advertising rooms for $39.99. In my life I don’t think I’ve ever paid so little for a hotel room. Plus we were tired.
As it turned out, they had the kickassingest shower stall I’ve ever seen in a hotel. In a Motel 6 no less. Amazing!
Next stop: Point Lobos State Reserve
We are Motel 6 people, mostly because we are cheap, but that shower stall is pretty darn cool.
Spontaneous! Your adorable get-away makes *me* want to get away.
whenever you mention cities around there, I can’t help but think about Of Mice and Men. Lennie and George go to Salinas, Soledad, and Weed.
Joy, it was amazing how easy it was. I feel like my travelable range expanded tremendously with that trip. Jackie, what were they doing in Weed? That’s like way up north by Mt. Shasta.
They came from Weed, down south, as I recall, before the narrative of the book started.
I have family who live in Taft, and the first time we visited them whn I was a teenager, my jaw dropped open…it was total Grapes of Wrath. Beautiful and awful.
I love Steinbeck. Such a Californian.
Justin: They were migrant farm laborers, and Weed was the town they got “run outta” when Lennie tried to feel some girl’s dress (because it was soft). Then they took a bus to Soledad.
“kickassingest” I like it. I like it a lot.
i stayed in a motel 6 in san marcos recently with the same exact shower.oh but there was gum on the wall next to the bed…ick