WHIRLWIND VISIT

By: Pearl V. Quinene

By this time, the Italianos are backed in Rome. They had phoned in their thanks and their appreciation for the comparatively ease of travel on the way home vs. the costly and frustrating delay on their entry. Dj said that Giusse, this early, is already thinking of his next trip to Califonria.

It took us a few days before we had Mass and simple lunch (I was requested by Dn to shop for pinakbet ingredients but Ton and I added big crabs for steaming) and chicharrones on the 6th, then off they went with Dn to Vida and the twins at Discovery Bay where they spent a week or so.

Then it was time for the triple celebration on the 16th: bday of Ton and Dn and name day of Dj, courtesy of Giusse and Dj. For this, we met at Todai in Pleasanton. Then we took home the 2 guests with us to San Jose after collecting their stuff in CValley. We did not have time to visit Inang, she was in Reno.

Then Cathy came on the 19th. We had fun with her. She was the ""baby" of our "tourist group." My last sighting of Cathy previous to Aug. 19 was sometime when she was a few months old (was that in '81?). ( Anyway, sometimes she looked a bit like Nanay.) Vida came with the twins, Romeo followed; and Joseph came with Tet and kids. The next day, Sunday, Ludz rested from some tummy ailment, Noli stayed home and the rest of us (Dj, Giusse, Cathy, Ton and I drove to Monterey Bay Aquarium and Japanese dinner. Dj and Giusse took care of our tickets (after we were kept in a long line). At one point, because some exhibition rooms at the Monterey Bay Aquarium were intentionally darkened so we could better see the creatures, when we were about to leave a room, all of us anxiously asked, "Where's the baby?" People probably thought we were missing a toddler. When Cathy stepped forward, there were some smiles. Before we drove home, we stopped by Sapporo, a Japanese steak house by the wharf for a heavy dinner courtesy of Ton and me. We came around 3PM too early for the showy teppanyaki dinner, so we missed having our dinner chopped and cooked before us so we went ahead and ordered our favorites from the kitchen. Although we were a little over 2 hours drive from Dn, he prepared pork sinigang and fried shrimp, which we enjoyed when we brought Cathy home.

Monday was earmarked for Great America. Dn stayed home with Ludz. Unfortunately (or fortunately for those advancing in years), the theme park was closed to the public. We saw a sign at the entrance: Open on weekends. We had 3 coupons (from Thet to Dn to us) to CValley which we could not use. So off we drove to the Mercado which was close by. We ended up watching a movie (The Descent- it was exciting and mysterious at first, then the spelunking actresses somehow lost the script and could not find it in the pools of blood inside the cave as they were chased and munched on by some bat people. Once out of the cinema, we thought of going to a shopping mall to look at Sharper Image watches. However, I pointed out that there is such a store at the Great Mall close to home. So off we drove to the Winchester Mystery House for a 65-minute tour of the mansion of the 2nd president of the Winchester Rifles (known in old times as Winchester Repeating Firearms), tickets courtesy of Dj and Giusse. We came out tired and hungry and being a little over an hour from CValley, we crossed Stevens Creek (next to and parallel to Santana Row) to Ton's favorite buffet place (Crazy Buffet - known for seafood and see food) for dinner, Ton and my treat. We were crazy with the food but also happy. Then it was back to Castro Valley to return Cathy.

The following day was Dn's bday. Although we had dinner at Todai in Pleasanton on the 16th for Ton & Dn's birthdays and Dj's name day, we planned to pass by Goldilocks on the way to C Valley for Dn's bday cake. Dj was planning to treat us to dinner before Cathy flew off. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, Ludz planned to take Cathy out for dinner before they drove her to SFO. Since time was short for the San Jose group to catch up we said our goodbyes by phone, then proceeded to Minh (remember the Vietnamese restaurant where we had shrimp cake? etc.), for Ton & my treat. We had the shrimp cake, seafood soup (like mild shrimp and fish sinigang) and grilled catfish which we wrapped in moist ricepaper and herbs before dipping it in an almost purple sauce (tasted mildly of reconstituted ripe tamarind). How did we end up eating such exotic food? Not knowing much about Viet food, we asked the diners at the next table what they were having and what number was that in the menu? They were so gracious. Then we requested for rice paper; the owner came with a plate of rice paper and a bowl of hot water and taught us how to prepare the roll.

Wednesday (the next day) we were invited to go to CValley to have dinner with Romeo, Vida, the twins and Romeo's parents. So we passed by Goldilocks and bought Dn a birthday cake with 6 blue candles. Giusse and Dj, gears ready, were to return to Dn.

Thursday was packing time for the Italianos. Ton and I passed by Safeway and followed the menu list (mine and Dn): fresh corn (they said they didn't want rice), steamed alimango (my idea - a repeat from our first lunch on the 6th with the Italianos), suka at bawang, thin slices of sweet anise dipped in olive oil, chicken wings adobo (which I cooked that morning), mango sherbet (which I frozed that morning), some longans and lychee jellies Ton and I picked up at the chinese store. Lunch was good; Ludz worked so she joined us at dinner. Joseph came with his family. Ton and I stayed overnight as the flight was at 7:30AM and they were needed at the airport as early as 3:30AM. So before 3AM, the five of us boarded Dn's SUV for Oakland airport. Ludz who had to work early phoned her bye byes. Dj didn't want us to wait that long so he shooed us to go home and that's what we did. Later that day, Ton and I attended the Union's Exec Board meeting which flowed to dinner at Happy Buffet where we brought the Italianos a few days prior (the 17th?).

Well, once again, the visits were like dreams, more like a dining dreams, as I marked the days with what our palates enjoyed where. We also breakfasted at Goldilocks one morning, the day we searched for ampalaya seeds so Giusse can plant them and eat healthy. (We found some from Ton's collection). I was thinking of having tapsilog but I ended up enjoying a plate of sinangag with a huge quarter portion of a daing na bangus. We also had time to brunch at Hometime Buffet twice. We weren't tired of counting how many panninis were consumed.

In a few months, some useful Italian words and phrases will be forgotten (forgive the spelling) - andiamo, espeta, tutta bene, bene, benissimo, a la facciaccia tua, fame , and manggiamo, except a ano prossimo (til next year).

This makes me hungry. I'll have some munchies now but tomorrow I'll help open Goldilocks.

Much love to all,
Pearl and Ton