Just like when we went to FL a few years ago for my Lasik surgery. We drove to visit my cousin, some friends of Michael’s family, and Joey. But everyone was spread throughout the state, so we spent a lot of time driving on highways and through urban sprawl with strip mall after strip mall.

So this trip was only partially a vacation. At least we did get to do a couple of fun things. The balloon ride over Temecula wine country at sunrise was spectacular. Michael took a ton of pictures. One of the other couples got engaged on their private balloon. We shared ours with an older couple. It was kind of tight in there with 5 people. I was in “the back” of the basket, so didn’t get to see as much until after we had passed over it. I tried to deny my fear of heights, and was successful unless I looked straight down, so I didn’t do that. But it was very special anyway.

And the drive up Palomar Mountain was exhilarating. The slow 7 miles up a winding dirt road with no guardrail made me queasy, again my fear of heights and “steeps” as Michael calls them. But at the top it was beautiful parkland with 400 year-old cedars and Native American archaeological specimens. We walked down a trail for a bit, among remnants of a fire from a couple of years ago. It’s frightening to think of those incredible trees going up in flames.

The Hale observatory is huge with a very interesting history. You can see the magnificent telescope and the big large wheels that turn it. Amazing!

The wineries were okay, except that I was allergic to something around there. So I sneezed and dripped until we got some drugs after which I was dried out and stuffed up.

So I couldn’t taste the wine!!!

And the wineries were only okay. We are so used to our friendly, welcoming wine clubs here on STX that appropriately pair wines with food. None of the Temecula wineries served food with the wine! You stood up at the bar, and just got 4 or 5 sips of wine for $8-$12 (with a complimentary glass at a few of them).

I wish we’d have had more time to visit more of them rather than spending so much time driving, though. Maybe we’d have found some fun, funky ones. The one I liked best wasn’t even in Temecula, it was on the way back from Palomar Mountain, in the higher country. A very small, family-run place which used only their own grapes in all of their wines. It’s called Shadow Mountain Vineyards and it was the only place from which we bought wine. We tasted 3 reds: a merlot; a 2005 “variation”, (which consisted of 50% merlot and 25% each of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes” that grow on the northern slopes of Palomar Mountain at an elevation of 3400′”); a 2005 carignane and a 2006 viognier. They had tiny crackers and bits of cheese so you could get a better feel for the way the wine would taste when served properly, like with food. We bought a bottle each of the viognier, the variation, and the carignane, along with a half-bottle of 2005 old vine zinfandel. It was so cute we couldn’t resist! Can’t wait to have a chance to buy some nice food to drink it with.

The four wineries we visited in Temecula were: Wilson Creek (no food, but free glasses); Ponte (they have a restaurant, where we had lunch - good food, but none with the wine tasting, AND no free glasses either); Bella Vista (the oldest winery in Temecula, a cute older Romanian couple own it, no food, but free glasses); and Callaway (crackers, a restaurant that closes at 5pm, and free glasses). We got there late and were looking for food, so we asked the workers for restaurant suggestions. They told us about the chains in the shopping centers! “Claim Jumper” and “Olive Garden”….Ugh!

I just couldn’t get over the fact that the restaurants all CLOSE at 5pm. Just when they could be opening and making a bunch of money from late afternoon visitors. And they don’t give you a morsel with the wine tasting. I get much less drunk if I have some food to absorb the wine. Remember, this is America with very strict rules about drunk driving. It felt sort of “slam bam, thank you ma’am”-ish. I might be more inclined, if I had a nice taste of food with each sip, to buy something in the gift shop, stay for a nice dinner, purchase more wine…..

After sailing to Buck Island on Mary Ann’s boat (well, the other three did - I rode both ways on Origami), we had a drink at the Yacht Club bar, then reconvened at Café Kaleidoscope. It’s on the corner of routes 62 and 624, just northwest of the Great Pond (oh, and 1/4 mile due west of our house ).

We had a great day out on the water and, once again, Pat and Sasha were there to nourish us after our adventures. I must say that one of the best days of my life took us to Kaleidoscope last year, where Pat’s coquilles St. Jacques delighted my palate after we’d swum with a dozen dolphins as we kayaked out to Buck Island the long way.

A couple of my favorite things about Kaleidoscope are the peaceful south shore location. In contrast to many other, air conditioned places, you can feel the breezes and inhale the fresh warm south shore air. You can look up at the unspoiled hillsides just west of the restaurant and know that soon, this land will be national park land. You can look to the southeast and see the lush mangroves surrounding and part of the Great Pond, which will also, with luck, soon be national park land, never to be violated by development.

In addition to the clean, comfortable feel of this place, the food quality is unsurpassed. Pat is an accomplished chef, and her dishes reflect the varied flavors of the different ethnic cuisines she has studied. Besides my favorite, the coquilles St. Jacques, she offers Italian delights such as eggplant rollatini (have I mentioned recently that I love eggplant), and sometimes tiramisu. She often serves a fabulous Asian-style salmon with with wasabi mashed potatoes, and there are always tempura veggies as an appetizer. Soup of the day was French onion, but I love her creamy roasted pepper soup when she has it. The mandarin salad is always fresh and delicious. Michael and I shared a seafood delight plate with mussels, scallops and flounder. It was wonderful! Finish your meal, as we did, with Pat’s home-made key lime pie. Another perfect ending to a perfect day in paradise.

Their menu is not extensive, nor is it expensive. Very reasonable prices make Café Kaleidoscope most inviting.

Call 773-1062 for reservations. Hours are Thursday thru Sunday 6-9pm.

Its a Miracle!
Our Miracle Fruit Seedling
begins to grow.

On our recent trip to the rainforest Terry and I took a quick tour of Robin’s Organic fruit tree farm, perched precariously on the steep uphill side of the road. After climbing several hundred feet up to his rental eco-cabin and back down to his house, we were rewarded with fresh fruit and some rare treats.

First we sampled sprouted coconut, the light airy “puffed up” insides of a coconut that has recently sprouted. I’m not a big fan of those dry flakey white shavings that are sprinkled on cakes and whatnot, but this stuff was really good. The big surprise was still to come.

Just to set us up, Robin had us try some sour grapefruit, and some limon. They were tasty, but certainly puckered your mouth. Then we each tried a small unremarkable red fruit about the size of a cherry that hadn’t quite reached maturity. It didn’t really taste like much of anything, and hardly had any meat on it. We pretty much sucked on the single seed. After this, we tried the grapefruit and limon again. Unbelievable! I’ve never tasted lemonade sweeter than this unadulterated limon.

The shriveled little berry from Africa turns out to be remarkable after all. Called The Miracle Fruit, it’s filled with molecules that block sour taste receptors. For an hour after eating one, you can taste all the natural sugars in otherwise sour fruits, beverages, or other dishes, but nothing sour.

We smuggled home two magic seeds, taking care to wash off any saliva that might hinder germination, planted them in little pots and waited. Eventually we had to stop holding our breath. After a couple weeks, still nothing. We got worried. Maybe we’d buried our miracle beans too deep. I started slowly escavating the top layers of potting soil. A tiny leafless stem appeared, maybe all was not lost! A few days later now, our miracle fruit tree has a few open leaves and is stretching toward the sun. The second one still hasn’t germinated, but we haven’t given up hope. And hey, Jack only needed one beanstalk, right!

Tags: St. Croix
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