Oct22

Exploring a local city

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Mark frequently takes in the sites near him, (Who knew there were so many cool things to see in Wisconsin?) which makes me feel like a slacker for not doing the same near me.

I have kids, okay?!

So imagine my surprise when circumstances had us two towns over during a festival of sorts.

Apparently Cruisin’ Grand is an annual event every Friday throughout the summer. That a mosaic in the sidewalk commemorates the occasion, proves what a fixture it is. Where have I been?

And where is this, you ask? More art to the rescue!

Escondido, California

Coming at you now is a boat load of vehicles. I do love me a good car show, and this one had aaallllll sorts of cars. If you’re not into that, keep scrolling. I promise you food at the end.

And old Jag and more wall art. It looks like it might be one of those made of people’s faces. Sorry I didn’t take a closer look, distracted by the car.
Not my thing, but I can still appreciate it.
Diggin’ the one on the left. The older the better. And a pinkish Cadillac.
Cruisin’.
I will annoy someone with this comment, but, the only thing good about 70s cars…
… is making fun of how ugly 70s cars are. I like that blue car across the street with the white top, however.
I got a picture of all that and a bag of chips.
I’m more of a Mustang girl, from the 60s. Even the 70s ‘stangs are ugly. I spotted some but declined to photograph those.
Then there were these weird bikes.
Still weird.
Weirder still.
And I don’t even know WHAT to make of this thing.
Bad picture, but, yes, I’d drive this.
Ooooh, and this!
An Alfa Romeo? Sure, I’d hop in.
I’d love a spin in this one, with my arms in the air and my hair flowing back.
And just for fun, yup.

To cleanse your palate from all the cars for a moment…

We stopped into a reptile store. These geckos say, “What’s up?”
Turtle soup, anyone?
And did I mention the live music? It didn’t really register with me, but I had to get a pic for Mark.
Look, TWO areas of live music!

Now back to the cars. Almost done!

This was undoubtedly a sweet ride and allllmoooost my favorite.
Another shot of the above. How did that yellow thing jump into my frame? [Editor’s note: Hubby pointed out that that “yellow thing” is my chip bag making an appearance again. Face palm!]

Are you seeing the cars in the background too? So many fun cars!!!

But this is the winner.
Normally my motto is “Give me Mustang or give me death;” however, if you’re throwing a GT into the mix….
Look at that cool and unique design. “If only I were a car thief,” she thinks wistfully.

Finally, it was time to find food. Grand Ave. is loaded with restaurants of all sorts: pizza, Italian, Mexican, sushi, burgers… The Irish restaurant was tempting, but I’ve had Irish food–in Ireland.

My rule of thumb is, “If I haven’t tried it, I must,” so I was scouting for something truly unique. Hubby, who was with me and casually pictured in one of the car pics above (Did you spot him?) is less adventurous food-wise, but humors me.

Then, we found it.

Because who has eaten Salvadorian food besides Salvadorians and people who frequent this restaurant?!

Generally when I go someplace new or unique, I just ask the server, “What are you most known for?” or “What is your specialty?” I asked, at drink order time, “What’s your most Salvadorian beverage?”

Behold:

Ensalada (fruit drink) and Granadilla (passion fruit drink)

I couldn’t decide between the two so Hubby, who probably would’ve rather gotten a soda or something alcoholic, told me to get one while he got the other so I could try both. Isn’t he… grand? Wink Wink. And they were both delicious.

Then I scouted the menu for something unpronounceable, and discovered a list of pupusas: a rice-based tortilla stuffed with loads of options. I scanned down the list.

I had to ask: Loroco is a spice that brings out the flavor of the cheese. Who else noticed zucchini is misspelled? I’ve written that word plenty lately, so I definitely noticed.

After taking too much time trying to decide among these and even more options above and below the pic (like pepperoni, carne asada, pulled pork), I got to the bottom, which said I could get aaaaaaaall of the above in one giant pupusa! Yes, even the zucchini.

If only I had started there. I closed my menu.

This pic is in honor of the uniquely bizarre blogger, tref, who will, no doubt, appreciate that description. He frequently ends posts with an image of him staring down something in front of him at a restaurant.

Was my fully-loaded ten-inch pupusa delicious? Yep! And it provided me with four meals.

Soooooo? What do you think? Would you have enjoyed this evening? Did you have a favorite car pictured? Do you have a favorite car not pictured? Do you like trying new foods?

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99 responses »

  2. Not first, but close!

    So much to unpack here. I love a good car show, and yours looked great! I’ll just pretend you didn’t dis ’70s cars. Have you never seen a Gremlin?! Sigh…

    Whiskey on the Rox. Love it.

    Team MarTar is the opposite. I’m the adventurous eater, Tara is most definitely not. Excellent choice on the giant pupusa. What bugged me more than “zuchini” was the random punctuation that had no rhyme or reason. Why is “cheese” capitalized in some places but not others? Why is “chipotle” capitalized? I guess the point is, the food was good. That’s all that really matters.

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  3. Since I was born and raised in Detroit I think any car is a good car. I used to drive an Alpha Romero very much lime the one pictured but it was jet black and a 1959. (I know. Whatever that means.) Thanks for the tour. I liked them all.

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  4. I find car shows fun 🙂 How come we don’t have any weird bikes like yours?! The music and food always make up for whatever is lacking at street festivals. I enjoy the Salvadorian food served at our local restaurant, but I’ve never seen or tried a pupusa like the one you chose. Your expression is priceless 😀

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  8. There was a lot of amazing and fun photos and commentary in this post. I’ve never been to a Salvadoran restaurant. I don’t know what my facial expression would be. Those cars and motorcycles are quite impressive. I am a little bit confused about where it is, Wisconsin or California?

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  17. What great cars! And so shiny. They remind me of big versions of my brothers’ matchbox cars from back in the day. I think we might have had something like the baby blue one with the white top. It’s bringing back memories. Lol. A fun post!

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  20. I like the photos of the cars. So many eras there, all in such great shape. I wouldn’t mind having the Beetle, kind of a throwback to my youth. Your drinks look delicious, your dinner looks… well, large. I like trying new cuisines, just maybe not the same entree for days on end.

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  21. Wow! 100 Years worth of cars. Or as my grandpa (who was born in 1894) would have said, “machines”! It would be hard to pick a fave, though I do like how the green and white one resembles a car from a ZZ Top video. That’s a reference for the oldsters, like me!

    How fun to try new cuisine. I am the one to do it here, though my husband has really shown some improvements in this area, if I were grading him on a report card!

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  22. Hi Betsy! These are great car pictures, even with the 70s comments (that’s my growing up era). I’m glad you got that bag of chips in the picture ;). Seriously though, looks like a lot of fun looking at all those cars – those motorcycles were weird, though. Thanks for sharing your adventures 🙂

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    • Okay, just looked at pics of 70s Camaros, and they’re not bad looking cars. I’ll give that one a pass for you. 😉 I’m willing to guess a pupusa is something not even you have ever made! Thanks, Diane.

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  24. Whoa – some of those bikes didn’t even seem to have seats. Looked terribly uncomfortable at best. But what an array of vehicles. And from the pics, it looks like Hubby likes the 70’s car you were dissing!

    Cars and food – not a bad combo, even when the chip bag occasionally interferes. Thanks for sharing the adventure! 🙂 ❤

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  26. What a fun post! Such great pics of some truly fabulous cars. The variety is amazing. My husband bought a vintage red convertible Mustang a decade ago and we still love taking her out for a spin around the lake! And bravo on your adventurous food pic, looks delicious, but I’m sort of a foodie! Hugs, C

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  27. Art, cars, reptiles, pupusas? That’s a busy day, Betsy! My dad grew up in Escondido. The city I remember from my childhood is almost gone, except for maybe Grape Day and Felicita (parks). Grand Ave. is a lot grander than it used to be. Still plenty of great Mexican restaurants (Mi Guadalajara!) Anytime we go to the Safari Park we pass through for a look at what’s new and different.

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  28. I had to laugh at your reference to Mark at the beginning of your post. The husband and I were recently walking our bunny around the local lake (in a pink stroller – how very ostentatious, right?) and I had just read Mark’s blog about all the things he’d gotten up to that weekend. I was telling the husband about how he does everything and we never do anything. We laughed, though, because we’re total homebodies and love it. Still, I shared your sentiments.
    Not really into cars here, but if I found myself among them I would enjoy looking. I have a student from El Salvador this year (she just gifted me with an “I love El Salvador” keychain yesterday. I wish we had that restaurant nearby – I’d love to try out a pupusa and report back to her.

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  29. Interesting blog post Mam. I call you Mam because reading this post persuaded me that you are a woman and a mother with kids, that’s nice. Also, my favorite car is the Ford Mustang, Isuzu, Kia and Mazda and good thing I have a picture with myself sitting in front of the car🔥🚗🚘

    Nice post overall💯

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