It’s Day Zero because it’s a travel day. We won’t have much time to do anything besides driving the 381 miles to our motel in Los Angeles. Of course, we had to get gas before leaving Arizona so we could minimize how much we have to buy in California because it’s almost a dollar a gallon more here, though why should that matter with our Prius as it’s gonna set us back like $9 which is not exactly the biggest expense we’ll have this weekend. And then there’s the coffee we’ll need in Blythe. It was an iced coffee, as it’s a toasty 110 degrees there next to the Colorado River.
Looking for restaurants that were open late Friday night, I found this highly recommended Korean fusion place a few miles before our motel called Cafe Gunul 2. The lively little joint in a strip mall had about a five-minute wait, and the first thing we noticed was that we were the only Anglos in sight. I’d already read about some favorites and so that’s what we went for.
First up was the “Flaming Mac’n Cheese’n Corn’n Hot Cheetos,” which is one of the greatest comfort foods we have ever experienced. Of course, both of our hearts nearly stopped beating almost in unison as they balked at feeding these over 50-year-old blood-moving machines a diet rich in fat, grease, and crunchy, gooey yumminess that should probably only be eaten by healthy 20-year-olds who still have time to repair their arteries.
The owner of Cafe Gunul 2 did all the artwork in his restaurant, and while these small panels are pretty good, his larger wall-height pieces are as amazing as his food.
If you think we might be overdosing on carbs here as you see this plate of “Tato Lover Kimchi Bacon Fries,” you’d still be missing part of the picture as we also split an order of “Da Best Kimchi Pasta Ever,” which, besides the Kimchi, it is based on a carbonara recipe. Did we finish it all? No damn way.
Our “cheapo” room at Motel 6 wasn’t all that cheap really at $100 a night, but it is summer and the last weekend of Outfest – an LGBTQ Film Festival that is going on for 11 days this year. That reminds me of the year we visited Disneyland during Gay Days and saw the stunned look of mid-westerners on what was probably their once-in-a-lifetime big trip to California and finding the Happiest Place on Earth also being the Gayest Place on Earth for a weekend. Gotta say that Caroline and I both love the diversity that is found in this state.
Tomorrow is the official start to our extended three-day weekend, where we are trying not to visit anywhere we’ve been before, which means none of our favorites.