Marine Mammal Rescue Center, San Pedro

After passing over the distinctive Vincent Thomas Bridge...

we had arrived in San Pedro...

Signs in Long Beach + Bridges in San Pedro

Check out this old school sign for Don the Beachcomber...

This was one of those kitschy tiki places...one where you could probably get a stiff tropical drink. It will have to be next time...

Nomad Asian Bistro

After our brief foray to the  Huntington Pier...

we headed to Long Beach to meet up with our friend for lunch...

Huntington Beach Pier

There were these cool and curved wave shaped walls...

which provided shade for these benches at the bus stop on the PCH...

Portola Coffee Roasters @ Pacific City, Huntington Beach

According to my pre-research, there was a new Portola Coffee place in Huntington Beach...

We'd been to the one in Tustin and since we were on the way up, thought to make a quick stop here...

Brodard's fail + en route to Huntington Beach

After Paderia Bakehouse in Fountain Valley, we went back to nearby Westminster...

in the hopes of grabbing a few nem nuong here...

Paderia Bakehouse

Shortly after our excellent drinks at Bad Coffee...

we made the short trek to a fairly new bakery...

I'm all for trying new places especially during our road trips, so...

Revisits - Supannee + Fathom Bistro + some unexpected history from my dad

This past weekend, Bert and I had dinner with my sis and her boyfriend at Supannee...

She hadn't been there since I took her with the kids...

Recent breakfasts and drinks from Public Square Coffee House

Earlier last month when I was still on vacation, Bert and I were over in downtown La Mesa...

Their outdoor patio was shaping up!

We hadn't had breakfast here before so...

James Coffee, Banker's Hill

About a week ago, Bert and I had another free morning...

TC was helping a friend with a film project so we went out to the new James Coffee...

San Pedro Road Trip - Breakfast @ Carl's + Bad Coffee, Costa Mesa

It's time to catch up on posts.  I'm juggling the Spring Break road trip, Carpinteria (I have yet to start it), our visit to the Broad, and now our mini trip to San Pedro to see a specific art exhibit.

Of course, our M.O. is the meandering route, with lots of stops in between...

Starting off the morning with some iPod roulette...

 and bypassing all of the shitty traffic on the 405 by taking the 73 toll road...

Project Reo Collective

We were unable to attend their grand opening last June 24th...

Instead, I went several days letter while doing errands solo...

Khanya Ramen & Izakaya

Not too long ago, a new ramen place popped up in East Chula Vista...

It is located in the Eastlake Design District...

Bert and I went here twice in one day...

The King's Craft Coffee Co.

We had a free morning...TC had a sports tournament (which we would later attend)...

We are hardly ever up in this area, and I remembered Mary's post from last year...

It was finally time to pay a visit to The King's Craft Coffee...

Redwood Regional Park

We had the whole morning ahead of us...

as we headed from the hills of El Cerrito...

(protester statues on the University St. bridge as seen from the 580)

over to the hills in Oakland...

Blue Bottle @ The Bradbury

After Cream Pan, we made our way to DTLA...

with, thankfully, minimum traffic.  We were able to get a spot at an outdoor lot (same as the one we did before) and walk the blocks over to this storied building...

The Bradbury (of "Blade Runner" fame) which now houses LA's newest location of Blue Bottle...

Bay views from top of Moeser Lane

Everything seemed greener up here...

including our friend's nicely landscaped garden bed...

He suggested that we go up this hill in his neighborhood...

There was a natural hillside area where we could see this...

Traveling on the 4 and return to Catahoula Coffee, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito

Our gps had us take the 4 all the way to the Bay...

About to cross the bridge near the Middle River in Stockton...

The former Rizal Social Club, Little Manila

While on our way to the Little Manila Historic Site, we passed by this building, home of Iloilo Circle. I wasn't previously aware of its existence and snapped the shot only because I suspected it was a Filipino organization.

(Iloilo is a city on the island of Panay (Visayas region of the Philippines)

Iloilo Circle turned out to one of the last three remaining structures along with Daguhoy Lodge and the Dimasalang House all of which were Filipino fraternal societies founded by pioneer bachelor Philippine immigrants who ventured to the U.S. and toiled the agricultural fields in the 1920's and 30's.

The Little Manila Historic Site recognizes the last remaining few buildings in what was once a thriving Filipino community in Stockton, California....

Murals, Coffee fails in Stockton + drive by pix of busineses

Around the block from Papa Urb's Grill was a coffee place in an alley...

(Northwest corner of E. Weber Ave and N. Sutter St. in downtown Stockton)

That seems to be a thing nowadays...

Papa Urb's Grill, Stockton

I was hoping to visit a couple of nearby coffee places and have us check out historic Little Manila afterwards...but first, LUNCH!

And as luck would have it, the perfect place was right next door to the FANHS National Museum...

Horrible Monster Scene mural near Kababayan and inside Snoice + snacks!

After Cathy and I had breakfast, we got lost meandered through Paradise Hills...

we went to Island Pacific Seafood Market in National City to look around as well as a nearby Philippine clothing shop a few steps away from Tita's Kitchenette...

Los Tapatios #2, Paradise Hills

During a recent outing with my good friend, Cathy of mmm-yoso...

we met up at this Paradise Hills taco shop after having had coffee next door...

"Succulent Landscape" mural at the Mini Market - 99 Cents and Up, Paradise Hills

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to visit a new coffee shop in Paradise Hills...

That post, however, is forthcoming. I would like to highlight an amazing mural seen on the south facing wall of this store...

It's really a beautiful work of art, painted by the artists, her friends and family as well as the local community...

The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) National Museum

A few blocks from where we parked was our destinaton...

located in the historic Newberry Building in downtown Stockton.

Founded as an All American five and dime store in the 1911, Newberry's was a retail giant in past years nationwide. The Stockton location was shuttered in 1997 but recently reopened two decades later with various tenants...

Our 22nd Anniversary - Communal Coffee, OB Beans Coffee Roasters & Supannee House of Thai

I decided to just cram our anniversary day in one post so here it is...

Yesterday, with the lovely overcast sky and the benefit of being super early (8 am) at Communal...

22 Years - Highlights from the Day

Just a quick 'n dirty post of today's events...

in which Bert and I celebrated our anniversary, along with TC, starting off with breakfast and coffee in North Park...