Sideways Tour

While many honored our fallen heroes and today's veterans with a few brews and the savory taste of a bbq during Memorial Day Weekend, Wendy and I drove three hours to central California for our version of a Sideways Tour. We met up with friends and wine gurus, Lisa and Edison (aka E-Bone, Big Ed, Eddie, E-Dog, E, EZ-E), who suggested the 3-day wine tasting debauchery in celebration of Wendy's 30-something birthday. 

As you may recall, Sideways is the 2005 flick directed by Alexander Payne featuring actors Paul Giamatti (Miles), Thomas Hayden Church (Jack) and Virginia Madsen (Maya). The plot is about two middle age men, who venture up to the California wine country just as Thomas Hayden's character (Jack) prepares to settle down and get married. Between playing golf and drinking wine, the boys try to search for their identities. In Jack's case, he tried to find it in the pants of Sandra Oh's character (Stephanie), while Miles stalks Maya by frequently visiting the eatery she works at, in hopes of forming a relationship. It's a good flick. So good, it received an oscar for best adapted screenplay and nominated for a slew of other oscars. 

More importantly though, Sideways generated a buzz for the California wine country and in my opinion, has led to the demise of Merlot - watch the movie and you'll understand wine. 

From a capitalistic standpoint, Santa Barbara County marketed the movie to draw its fans and wine tasting newbies to the surrounding area and in return, cashed in big time. Just do a quick google search of Sideways tour and you'll understand what kind of gold mine SB found. Hell, it was one of the reasons we made a trip. 

Now I must admit, our version of the Sideways tour had very little similarities to the movie. Actually there was no common link...thankfully.  But I did pick up a few things to suggest in the event you're planning to make a trip. 

First of all, go with a cheap hotel because outside of the normal tasks, you'll spend very little time in your room. The four of us met in the city of Buellton, just 45 minutes past the heart of Santa Barbara and adjacent to Solvang (where a good part of the movie was filmed at). We stayed at the Quality Inn right off of the 101 freeway. Although it may have lacked the quality of a Four Seasons Hotel, the Quality Inn allowed us to bring the beast, better known as Beans the dog. And again it was right off the 101 freeway which mean, it was easy to find after a few glasses of wine. 

Second key is the fact that its good idea to go with someone who works in the wine industry. Not so much to serve as an expert on wine to help understand the smells and what not of a grape or two. Rather, utilize the wine industry rate of FREE when it comes to wine tasting. Being that Lisa is an employee of a fabulous winery in Sonoma County, she was able to get the industry rate. This is crucial in the standpoint that you're not paying $10 at every place to sip some of their wine. And at times, bad wine. That extra mula can go towards purchasing the bottles you're enjoying. Trust me, you're going to buy bottles, because at that point in time, this is the best wine you've tasted. Even better than the two-buck chuck from Trader Joe's.

Lastly, you want to get a good base to start your day. That means munching down on a hearty breakfast. We began each morning at Buellton's popular eatery, Mother Hubbard's restaurant, which is located a mere three blocks from the hotel. The place is fantastic, largely due to the food portions and friendly service. It is very crucial to get your tummy filled up for there is very little time to stop for lunch when trying to hit up the wineries that are open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

These are my three keys to a Sideways tour. Nothing mind blowing, I know, but it's all about the wine. Coming up I'll suggest a handful of wineries to visit, and I'll share the story of how Beans got into a bag filled with not one, not two, but five hot dogs.  The hotel room was NOT a pretty site upon our return from dinner on Saturday night. 

Cheers!

~Jt

Let's Get Physical...

Those words once were uttered by Olivia Newton John. This morning, those lyrics to the infamous song bounced around in my head during Wendy and I's morning workout. This wasn't our typical workout, which usually consists of heading to the gym for a 3-4 mile run on the treadmill. 

A few days ago we agreed to run to the park and participate in those "exercise stations," that you normally see grandma and grandpa struggle through. Or better yet, the ones you had to complete in 5th grade PE class. The tasks at hand included doing as many push ups, chin ups, standing broad jumps, and crunches you could do and then test your eye-hand coordination on the balance beam. And if you did them poorly, the gym teacher would write a note to the parents, stating that their child is not fit or worse, on the brink of obesity. 

Now, when I came up with the idea I thought, 'hey this would be a nice change of pace to our morning runs.'  So, I suggested it to Wendy, while we ate artichokes, wood-fire prawns, roasted chicken and bread pudding at Sparks Woodfire Grill during a romantic dinner date. She went along with my notion, because if there's one thing Wendy will not do, she won't say no to any type of outdoor activity. 

So this morning at the 6 a.m. we set out to the park. The distance from our apartment to the park is about 1 mile. It's a good warmup, but more importantly, it allows me ample time to mentally prepare myself for what lies ahead. First station was the pushup. Couldn't tell you the last time I did a push up, but I positioned myself parallel to the wet grass and did...7. Wendy on the other hand, did 8. From there it was chin ups. Wendy and I each did...2. By now she and Iare  laughing at our incompetence at completing a 5th grade gym class exercises. Nonetheless, we laughed at ourselves as did some fellow walkers and joggers. 

Along the 1.2 mile course, we also encountered monkey bars to test our upper body strength, which we both failed miserably. I couldn't swing my arms without falling. In addition, there were parallel bars much like you see in a gymnastics event. She pretended to be Olympian Kerry Strugg and I was Mitch Gaylord from the 1984 Olympics. We attempted to perform dips. Looks much easier than it appeared, because I could barely bend my arms on the bars. You'd think that I was Andre the Giant. Meanwhile Wendy, dipped but never really came back up from her dip. 

In all, despite the fact we didn't pass the exercise test, Wendy and I did get in more than a 3-mile run and shared a good laugh or two to start our day. Couldn't have asked for anything more. Well..maybe to do one more pushup than her. 

~Jt

Hello, is anyone out there?

Nearly 10 years after blogging was the thing to do, I've decided to start one. Better late than never. 

Now, don't let the title fool you. It may appear posts after posts will discuss running. But that's not the case. I came up with the title and really liked the sound of it. Plus, how can you not giggle when you read the name "Johnny Taco." 

As a matter of fact, this blog aims to cover all and anything that comes to mind. For those of you who know me well, that's a scary thought. As my jolly, good old friend Drew said the other day, 'don't limit yourself.' Of course, now that I think about it, he might have been applying to something else. 

Anywhoo....this is my blog. What I write is just my opinion, not those of the company I represent, nor the friends I associate with or the family members whom I speak to every once in a while. 

And let me forewarn you know: Do not expect witty writing. Must I remind you,  I was born and raised in Queens.  

Thanks for checking the blog out. 

~Jt