The travel gene

Growing up I have had the good fortune of being able to travel to numerous places in my life, both domestically and internationally.

Much of my traveling is because of my mother, who has always been big on traveling. In fact, she named me Christopher much because of her love for traveling. Since she was born in Argentina, she is big on Latin culture and in their culture, Saint Christopher is the patron of travelers.

Domestically I have pretty much traveled to all regions of the United States, which is awesome since I have been able to see many historic places, along with many very different cultures, some of which have been quite a shock.

Internationally, I have mostly ventured into Latin American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico. Some of the places in Mexico I have been fortunate to visit of Mexico City, Puerto Escondido, Ixtapa, and Oaxaca.

If there is such a thing, the traveling gene seems to have definitely passed down from my mom. I always enjoy traveling, whether it is a road trip, a camping trip, or an international trip to Puerto Vallarta with some friends.

But on many, if not most, of the trips I have been on have been planned by my mom, with her getting to select the destination to travel to. But not this time, I get to make the selection for our next trip.

Ever since I begin going to college, first Cal Poly and now Sac State, my mom has held strong saying that when I graduate I will be able to pick our next destination, as long as I plan the whole trip.

I’ve never had this much pressure in our trips, I am usually just there along for the ride. There are so many places in this world that I long to go to that I haven’t been yet: Europe, Spain, Peru, Jamaica, Costa Rica, etc.

Since I graduate in May, I have been thinking about it a lot this semester and have finally come to the conclusion that I want to go to Costa Rica after graduation. I chose Costa Rica because I have always wanted to go there, ever since seeing it on TV as a little kid and seeing the beautiful rain forest, coastline, and the diverse animals.

But what this trip is really making me realize is how hard it is to plan a trip of this caliber.

Everything from the flights, to the lodging, to the activities and eating, it is quite stressful when looking at all of the decisions that need to be made.

Looking at just the regions of Costa Rica alone become overwhelming when trying to figure out where we should go. Each region offers many different pros and cons to its visitors. Finally, after long lists of the pros and cons, I decided on the Osa Peninsula just last week. But this is the only decision I have been able to come up with, and have many more to make.

Since the Osa Peninsula is a rather remote part of Costa Rica in the rain forest, I have to make a decision on whether or not to fly in a small plane, or take the bus there. If we fly, it is only about an hour, but my mom hates small planes. If we take the bus, it is an eight hour drive. So, do I please the mother who has taken me around the world? Or do I just take the short flight without thinking about it?

Another stressful decision yet to be made is the lodging situation. Since the whole family is going, this means that we need a place to stay to fit five. I am still yet to figure this out, but have narrowed it down to many eco-lodges on the peninsula.

This has been a very eye-opening experience as I didn’t realize how stressful it could be to plan a trip of this caliber. Perhaps that is why my mom wanted me to do the planning, to see just another part of growing up after graduation.

Be sure to check back in late-June to July for a column on how the trip went!

A taste of Southwestern Food

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I have long looked for a Mexican restaurant, or a burrito shop, that has similar food to that of the many restaurants in the Mission District of San Francisco. Unfortunately, Dos Coyotes Border Cafe is not it.

Now this does not mean that the food was bad, but it just is not the same as the Mission burritos I am used to.

When you walk in to Dos Coyotes, which is located on 6450 Folsom Blvd., you order your food first and then sit down at a table. There are a wide variety of tables offered, both inside and outside on a nice patio if you care for some fresh air. The ability to eat outside on a nice day goes a long way for me.

On the inside, the colorful decor pleases the eyes with a variety of Mexican-style decorations such a tin coyotes and solid wooden chairs.

Browsing the menu, I noticed that Dos Coyotes offers a wide variety of items on the menu for their patrons, everything from burritos to quesadillas to salads and a variety of southwest plates.

Finally I decided on the Santa Fe Nachos with chicken. Dos Coyotes offers two different kinds of nachos, the Santa Fe Nachos ($10) and Navajo Nachos. The main difference between the two is that the Santa Fe Nachos come with blue corn tortillas, along with a chipotle chile sauce.

I was pleased to see a wide-variety of salsa for many different palates.

The nachos were brought to my table and I was amazed at the pile of chips, cheese, beans, and chicken stacked high, topped off with a fresh glob of sour cream and guacamole.

All of the ingredients tasted very fresh. The guacamole tasted as if it was freshly made in the back, with the perfect amount of lime juice, tomatoes and spice. The chicken was very moist and tender, did not taste like it had been sitting around at all. The cheese was freshly melted, allowing it to be “stringy” and making it easy for chips to break apart from others.

I was really pleased with ordering the Santa Fe Nachos as opposed to the Navajo Nachos, mainly because of the chipotle chile sauce. I felt like the chipotle chile sauce really helped make the nachos, bringing all of the components together with with sweet and spicy, tangy chipotle sauce.

If the weather is nice outside, I recommend sitting outside on the patio to eat as I noticed that the dining room can get rather loud with all of the bustling patrons and waiters, or waitresses, bringing food out.

Dos Coyotes offers a variety of options on their menu making it a very friendly place to take someone to eat as they shouldn’t have a problem finding something they can eat. They can make almost any dish vegetarian, and are very kind to substitutions, although an additional charge may be required. You can also call in any order and pick it up to-go if you would rather eat at home.

Dos Coyotes also offers a variety of locations for their customers to go to. The chain actually started in nearby Davis, and then spread to Sacramento and now offers seven restaurants in the Sacramento region. Each of these restaurants have the same menus, but carry a different set of specials to offer.

If you are looking for some good southwestern food, I recommend you give Dos Coyotes a try.

The sweet sounds of New Orleans Jazz

The Home Box Office channel, or HBO, is largely known as a movie channel for viewers but they have been growing in the market for television shows. This growth has largely been made possible by popular series such as “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.”

In 2010, HBO brought its viewers another entertaining and powerful television series, “Treme.”

The term “Treme” refers to one of the oldest neighborhoods of New Orleans, which is prominently African-American and rich in culture and New Orleans jazz music.

“Treme” takes place in a post-Katrina New Orleans, approximately just three months after the hurricane when Season One begins. The show focuses on the struggles of the residents of New Orleans who were brought to a state of disaster when the levees broke from Hurrican Katrina, causing massive flooding and massive damage to a city where the majority of citizens don’t have much money.

“Treme” chronicles a variety of characters when documenting the struggles of post-Katrina residents. The variety of characters includes musicians, chefs, bar-owners, government officials and even police chiefs.

“Treme” is brought to you by David Simon, the same writer that wrote the popular HBO Series “The Wire” and “Generation Kill,” along with Eric Overmyer, who is the writer and producer of “Law and Order” and “Homicide.”

Much like Simon did with “The Wire,” he does an amazing job of developing the characters of the show, and how they interact with each other. The show focuses on a group of characters, but the characters don’t all know each other, but since they are all experiencing similar situations, they tend to cross paths often without knowing each other.

If you liked the actors in “The Wire,” then you’ll love the ones in “Treme.” Simon has chosen to use many of the same actors, but in very different roles. This is great to see since it’s always nice to see familiar actors, but this time in a completely different role which shows just how capable they are.

One of my favorite characters in the show is Antoine Batiste, who is played by Wendell Pierce. Pierce was “Bunk Moreland,” in “The Wire,” an alcoholic detective in the city of Baltimore. In “Treme,” Pierce plays Antoine Batiste, a struggling musician who is getting pressure from his girlfriend to drop his trumpet and get a real job. But Batiste is getting pressure from the other side to continue playing music as his family has always been a group of musicians, plus he loves being a Jazz musician.

Many of the characters are musicians since the neighborhood of Treme is huge on culture and Jazz. This allows the show to provide a lot of music and demonstrations of their culture throughout the show, giving the viewer great insight into the culture of New Orleans.

Many scenes of the show feature musicians performing a show in a local bar, having a great time despite the damage that Hurricane Katrina has caused, which demonstrates the mentality of the neighborhood. The characters seem to use their music and culture as a form of coping with the disaster.

The show always keeps me wanting to see more episodes, which becomes a problem with “Treme.” They tend to have short, eight-episode seasons which are topped off with a powerful hour and a half season finale that always leaves you wanting to see more.

“Treme” provides a powerful insight into not only the horrific situations of a post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, but also the amazing culture that the historical city contains. If you are looking for a good show that provides drama, music, historical context, and good acting, I recommend you check out “Treme” on HBO.

The premier date for Season Three has yet to be announced, but until then you can watch the first two seasons on HBO Go if you have HBO, or rent them from Netflix or a local movie store.