It’s a rainy Spring day and we’re driving into downtown Temecula to meet a former colleague and his family for lunch.  I love the rain, possibly because in SoCal we get so little of it and being born in a cooler state with a full range of seasons; regardless, I like it. It appears the downtown area is “Sold the _ out” in spite of the inclement weather so we park on the street around the corner from our restaurant.

We walk into The Goat & Vine (thegoatandvine.com) and fortunately our one hour wait turned into a ten minute wait and we’re seated just as the Brillers arrive.

The Goat and Vine:  Reuben Sandie

The bread on the Reuben sandie isn’t anything special, the meat is ample but not overloaded and above average in quality.  There isn’t enough Russian dressing for sure so my saliva is hitting bread and meat mostly.  The sauerkraut on the side is a dry style and super sour and barely of interest to me.  In general, I’ll eat kraut for “health purposes” but I prefer cold cabbage to hot cabbage.  The sourness and stank is a bit too much for me.  Rating = B+.

Bella sniffs in on the jalapeno lime carnitas pizza that consists of a creamy and delicious white pizza loaded up with sliced “hall-of-pains” (a.k.a. jalapeno peppers) and lime jalapeno cream which makes all the difference here.  I’d love to pour this cream on a variety of foods to liven them up.  Today I was fortunate that Bella wasn’t very hungry and the jalapeno peppers are of the “barely spicy” variety.  The meat is tender, flavorful and the dough and cheese are topping this flavor beast off nicely.  Rating = A.

Cappuccino Ice Cream Cake

The Brillers order this dessert to share so I don’t pay attention to the exact description.  We are engulfed in fun conversation and cackling so some of the details of the meal are lost in the shuffle.  This cappuccino ice cream cake is super sweet yet fairly complex with a variety of textures and flavors coming together such as caramel, chocolate, coffee, cake, nuts etc.  It tastes good in spite of being “too rich for my blood”.  Rating = B+.

The goat’s banana cream pie was one serious sugar bomb.  I’m finding their desserts have sugar in the forefront so the spices and flavors are getting somewhat lost beneath the layers.  The pudding is good but the true banana flavor loses the battle to sugar.  The lady fingers add nice texture but the overly sweet whipped cream has me checking out early on this dessert.  Rating = C+.

Bella notices the time and advises me that we need to make our spa appointment for massage at the Pechanga Resort & Casino (pechanga.com) so we bid farewell and just make it in time for our therapeutic massage services.

Here is my Yelp review on our spa visit:

This is about a 4 star affair…

The ambiance is very nice and in the ballpark of a Vegas spa. It didn’t quite hold up to Bellagio’s spa but it was quite nice nevertheless with a neutral color palate modern look. On the men’s side there is a relaxation room with chaise loungers and 2 TV’s. There are all the usual toiletries in the restroom. Additionally, there is some fantastic kiwi-strawberry water. There is an indoor jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. An outdoor jacuzzi is co-ed. A fitness room is also inside but I only peeked in and it looked very well equipped.  The co-ed relaxation room features various teas, chocolate covered nuts, nuts, fruit etc. Chaise loungers are here as well.

The THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE I received was good, but not great. It wasn’t comparable to what I received from the therapist at Bellagio in skill or strength. It was better than some of my Massage Envy therapists, but not all of them. In a nutshell, the price is too high for this level of massage quality. Although, I guess access to the rest of the spa offerings factors in as well. Possibly “deep tissue” isn’t their forte or it wasn’t our therapist’s specialty. Truth-be-told, it isn’t that easy to find excellent deep tissue therapists.

Regardless, the entire SERVICE is overall very good and the accommodations are quite nice.

Unfortunately, this pleasing and relaxing beginning to our trip would soon come to a screeching halt — literally and figuratively.  While parking my car in their new garage I was painfully reminded that there is such a thing as being “too careful” when I decide to cut a corner sharper than I normally would in order to steer clear of some gigantic pick-up trucks and SUV’s with their beaks protruding from parking spots on my RIGHT and straight-ahead.

Regrettably, I overlooked the fact that one should always point their windshield where they are driving and not their driver’s side window.  This is especially true in the darkness and rain when a defroster and windshield wipers are your best friends.  As a result, I failed to notice a four-foot tall beige colored concrete end cap at the corner and drove the left side of my car along side of it causing $6,800 in damages to my vehicle and denting Pechanga Resort & Casino’s fire extinguisher box.  Needless to say, I “lost the game” in the mismatched battle of steel versus concrete.

Never, ever underestimate the effect of the elements…

This was my first at fault accident/incident since I was 16 years-old.

My car called, it wants it’s mirror back…

I did my best to focus on the positives in that nobody was hurt and I didn’t hit any other vehicles.  This is how life works, sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down.

Here is one of my personal quotes from the past that illustrates this point:

“Picture a beautiful marsh. Visualize: tall reeds, calm water and grassy areas.  Suddenly a female mallard duck appears, a string of her baby ducklings in tow.  The scene has beauty, humor (quack!) and peace.  BAM! BAM! BAM! — Serenity is broken.  A hunter has plucked off a duckling or two, thereby disturbing the smooth flow of life.  Life has many ups and downs, with your ducks, rarely lining up in a perfect row.  So, enjoy brief moments when it does, always understanding that it likely won’t last long.” —  David J. Evangelisti, II

(2006)

Golf Course View from our Room

I don’t expect I’ll be playing particularly well with the accident still fresh in my mind but I’m enjoying this view.

Par 3 Hole

This course is super well maintained and about as green as they come.

It’s time to clear the pond…

“The golfing squirrel” is getting after it…

The highest golf tee in Southern California.

View of the casino from the highest golf tee.

“run chicken, run…”

A road runner makes an appearance.

A fun and very challenging par 4 hole.

Aesthetically pleasing to the eye views are prevalent up here.

Wigwams on the golf course.

One of the golfer’s we were paired with looks, dresses and occasionally hits like professional golfer, DJ (Dustin Johnson).  Both these guys are “opening a can” on the ball.

More course eye candy.

“A river runs through it”…

A tee pee in the hills.

Even the rough is lush, green and borderline immaculate.  It’s pleasantly ridiculous and in SoCal about as rare as finding a Democrat in Corona Del Mar.  🙂

A fantastic golf course.

Seafood Taco

On the way home we stop off at Miramar Fish Tacos & Beer in Oceanside, CA.  The seafood taco has fish, octopus and shrimp.  Rating = A-.

Octopus Taco

Chopped octopus, white sauce, diced onions, cilantro and garlic.  Rating = A.

Octopus Quesadilla

Garlicky tender octopus and white cheese leads this to being my favorite menu item here.  Rating = A+.

Octopus Quesadilla

A bird’s eye view inside.

Seven Seas Soup

I love that this soup is not spicy but unbelievably delicious.  Rating = A.

THE END!!!