I’m somewhere over the middle of the country is my best
guess. Recently, the pilot told us all that to our right was the Grand Canyon,
and to our left Lake Mead. My view was obstructed on either side by a
Pratt&Whitney turbo jet engine, but when I poked my head through the chairs
in front of me I was able to see the massive scar on our Earth, if only
briefly. I thought about the wonders below me, then I began to reminisce about
the wonders I had just left behind me. I had been on many vacations in my
lifetime, but this has been my favorite of them all for so many reasons.
At the very least, this trip has restored in me a faith that
good food still exists on a simple, affordable, and high-quality level. And at
the very most this expedition brought me closer to the ones I love. For five
days, the Maertz clique traversed high and low, touring the artificially wet
desert town, in search of nature and civilization at its finest. Just two hours
ago, before coming to the airport, we hiked the world-famous Torrey Pines
nature preserve. FitBit tells me we went four-and-a-half miles, and took 9,800
steps, and climbed 57 flights in the process of taking in nature’s finest
coastline. Here’s the proof:
I already shared an entire post on food but I find it necessary
to write about one restaurant in particular. I could tell where we were going
shortly after we drove through the underpass of a giant, graffiti-caked bridge.
My uncle was commenting on the Mexican Revolution, or something relevant to the
art, but I was drawn to something I haven’t seen since… I don’t know when. Just
in the distance, in a relatively calm neighborhood, stretched a line of easily
100 people, all shuffling about to the ultimate destination, Las Cuatros
Milpas. I was told that this was the place to get real Mexican food, and there
were no lies involved in that statement.
Che
$6 for a tamale and five hand-rolled tacos, fried and smothered in sour cream, queso blanco, and cilantro.
This is the back of the line.
We took our place in the back of the line and slowly moved
up toward the door. About half way up I started to smell the things that set
Mexican food apart, namely cilantro, lime, and cumin, along with a plethora of
other unfamiliar scents that made a detonation of glee in my nostrils. Uncle
Tex told me that everything was made from scratch here, down to the tortillas,
and I knew then that I was in for a treat. When I finally did round the corner
and into the serving line, I saw exactly what I had hoped for; several Mexican
woman working frantically over boiling pots, bubbling grease, and the freshest
of ingredients. I had been trying to…..
Holy fuck we just went through the scariest turbulence I
have ever encountered. I am shaking, and I think I hear crying from a few
places on the plane. The wings were so bent I couldn't see the tips. I’m glad I decided to wear a diaper today. We have had to
change directions now to avoid whatever was happening in our flightpath. I am
sweating profusely, and only now did I think of the post I wrote a while back
predicting a disastrous trip home. Fuck. No injuries; we are all safe.
I had been trying to explain over a few days and home cooked
meals how terrible restaurants have become at overcomplicating things, and that
the best meals had the fewest ingredients, and a large amount of prep involved,
and here we were at a place that applied just those principles. The food was
inexpensive, and even so, I could see a lot of room for profit. As much as I am
capable of eating, everything you see on this tray cost only $6; I don’t think
I could possibly consume $10 worth of food here, and for that I will never forget
them.
The pilot just said that the pocket of air we encountered
was very rare, and he hadn’t seen one in years. There is never any warning, and
they apologize. I don’t think he had much control over it, but it’s nice to
hear it from him.
I'm at home now, and although I could keep writing for days, I need to eat, shower, and get to work in the morning. You can look forward to many more posts, and a barrage of pictures in the near future.
