Podcast:
I’m still pushing this podcast “I Have Questions” because I created something and at some point someone else should consume it. But there are a million and one questions in the world and hundreds of people with a similar title for their fledging podcasts. If you’re looking for mine, you may need to type the title and “Auntie Brandy” or even “Brandy”.
Here’s the Spotify link and Google Podcast
I call my day trips “Dora the explorer” days. I pack a water, a backpack full of books and snacks then I hit the road. It’s happening less frequently now for one reason or another. When I do finally get away from the familiar day to day life, I am often replenished and full of newer ideas about myself and the world.
I highly recommend ignoring your routine on a random Tuesday and finding yourself somewhere else.
Living in California, makes it both difficult and easy to do.
On the one hand, there are any number of beach town to run away to for a couple of hours. But there’s also work, traffic and multiple streaming services that prevent mini road trips from happening.
Bodega Bay is a coastal town where Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds was filmed. It's just sleepy enough for a quick jaunt out of the routine and a bite to eat before roaming back to the city kid life.
I like to think of the times spent in your twenties drinking on the beach but for an entire city.
Foodventure:
The Boat House, 1445 CA-1, Bodega Bay, CA 94923
On the side of the road, the cafe sits across from a salt water taffy candy store, two doors down from The Bird’s Cafe, a play on the Alfred Hitchcock movie.
I didn't know that you could taxidermy a fish until I went to The Boat House in Bodega Bay. Hung on each corner of the walls are fish that look like they should be plugged in so they can start singing. Instead they're mounted in a perpetual state of ancestral display, while their descendants are fried in front of them.
I chose a seat on the tilted side of the restaurant, watching the cars whiz by at an angle with a Pacifico beer and my taxidermied fish overhead. I now feel as if I should have named him.
The antique lettered board menu had non sequential coloring. There were handwritten signs taped everywhere. All the trappings of the small town diner —slightly unhinged and bordering on your favorite horror movie. And leaning on the side of the cliff to boot!
Unfortunately, the food reflected what happens when small towns don't have the budget to support the eclectic. Small towns like this have very little economy once the weather is too cold for tourists to come through.
This also means small businesses may suffer. In the case the taxidermy fish restaurant I was sitting in, that means literally and figuratively hanging on for dear life.
The crab cake sandwich much to my dismay was a sliver of a patty made with imitation crab meat and more mayonnaise than I expected.
The barbecue oysters were charred on site of the patio grill and served sizzling. Unfortunately, the barbecue sauce covering it diminished the flavor of the fresh oysters. So much so that your taste buds feel off balance.
Oh well. At least, I got out of town for a bit.
