Dolphins In The Surf

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Dolphins in the surf in Santa Barbara, California

No frolicking, no jumping out of the water doing backflips, not much action at all, just a casual swim up and then back down the beach. I’m not talking about Caroline and me, but the dolphins in the photograph above. A small pod of bottlenose dolphins was out meandering along the coast at El Capitan State Beach as casually as could be and just beyond the rolling surf. It was a moment I wished I were one of the surfers sitting between us and them so I might have an even better view, except for that first moment spotting them, thinking that dorsal fin belonged to a shark that was about to eat me.

Caroline Wise and John Wise in Santa Barbara, California

The first part of our day was spent with my great aunt and uncle at home in Goleta, but sometimes it’s nice to get out for some John and Caroline time.

Santa Barbara, California

What a luxury it is to be so close to the sea, what a shame it is that so rarely are others out here with us who live right nearby.

Plomosa Mountains

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Plomosa Mountains near Quartzite, Arizona

Hot in Phoenix, Arizona, or cool in Santa Barbara, California? Desert, sand, cactus, and brown mountains or ocean, cool breeze, and flowers? We left behind the Plomosa Mountains near Quartzsite shortly before crossing over the Colorado River en route to the coast, where it was a beautiful 71 degrees (22c) versus the raging sun blistering the citizens of Phoenix with 108 degrees (42c) temperatures. Disclaimer: I did not shoot this image on our way out to California but instead took it on our way back; I wanted an image showing the area we’d passed through.

Farmhouse Toilet

JWise Photo of the Day

The bathroom with TV and toys on display at Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert, Arizona

This past weekend for lunch we tried Joe’s Farm Grill in Gilbert, Arizona after a recommendation the night before while eating at Tina’s Ethiopian Cafe – which by the way is excellent. Lunch at Joe’s was good, farm-fresh veggies, locally raised products, and a great location on a small 12-acre working farm made for a nice lunch. But it was afterward, when we were getting ready to leave, that something really grabbed Caroline’s attention. She needed to stop at the loo and returned wild-eyed and excited insisting I follow her back to the restroom. NO WAY, I ain’t falling for that one, tried it myself on some other unsuspecting noobs, but not me. Her excitement and insistence I would have to take a photo convinced me to check it out, and, well, this is the most extraordinary farmhouse toilet one might find during a lifetime of looking. The uni-sex facility features a flat-panel TV showing episodes of the Supermarionation (a form of puppetry) classic “Thunderbirds” and in fancy-schmancy display cases are Thunderbirds action figures – not only all that, but this is also the cleanest bathroom in the world.

Ken The Cutter

JWise Photo of the Day

Ken, local Hindu resident of Phoenix, Arizona

Beware of this man, he is Ken “The Cutter” Jones – not his real last name. Ken is from the Indian state of Gujarat where he was the leader of a local chapter of the Hindu Mafia, he gained notoriety and considerable fortune working quietly in the background producing Bollywood movies while befriending noted mega-stars Big B and Om Puri, who he met while on the set of Dev. Following a turf war, The Cutter was exiled to America where he now runs a protection racket extorting Manikchand (slang for cash)  from local Guju shop owners. Ken is a really bad man, evil, nasty, horrible, a man so terrible no one has ever seen him smile.

Ketchup Time

JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Farm fresh tomatoes

These tomatoes are from my final visit to The Little Farm in Gilbert as this was Lauren’s last season operating a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. She will be sorely missed.

Turns out that the third time was the charm in my effort to make ketchup. The first attempt failed because I didn’t understand the importance of a food mill. The second opportunity to make fresh ketchup was ruined because my recipe was still coming together and I still didn’t have a grasp on the dynamics of working with tomatoes. This last week’s attempt was dialed in. Maybe I should have cooked it a wee bit longer for a thicker ketchup consistency, but we are quite happy with the results. Caroline will find a little slice of heaven the next week as she indulges in her love of noodles and ketchup – yuck.

Is That What I Think It Is?

JWise Photo of the Day

A grilled peanut butter, fresh strawberry and banana, pineapple, and chocolate chip sandwich

OMG, it’s a Peanut Butter Fresh Strawberry and Banana with Pineapple and Chocolate Chip Sandwich on Texas Toast – just what I have always dreamed of. I don’t know if even a child would like the idea of this, maybe it is only something a whacky vegetarian could love – and true to form, my wife did like it. As for me, I’ll stick to the tofu steak with tahini barbecue sauce served up alongside a large portion of tofurkey, slathered in soy bean gravy with a side of Brussel sprouts topped with a bean sprout ragout – a real man’s man of a meal at Joe’s Farm Grill in Gilbert.