Phone Pix 81: Flowers for Mommy

I saw some beautiful flowers on display at Trader Joe's the last time the wife and I visited Fremont. So I just had to capture their beauty.

All of the photos were taken on May 4, 2017 with my iPhone 7 camera and I sure am pleased with the results. I hope you are too.

The pictures are dedicated to my mother Dorothy, who passed on last week.

Car Rental Deja Vu

Remember the rental car I misplaced on my February trip to Las Vegas?

I thought I was reliving that stupid incident when I picked up my recent rental at Oakland Airport during the wife's and my vacation trip to California.

It was another 2017 Hyundai Elantra again, except this one was gray instead of white.

But I'm happy to say, we didn't lose it this time.

Although, being used to my keyless Toyota Prius, I had to think when I started and parked the car "Insert and turn the key, then shift into drive," and "Shift into park, and take out key."

HNL-OAK-HNL First-Class Meals

Having very recently returned from our vacation in Fremont, CA, to visit our grandson, I thought it would be timely to report on the meals we were served on our Hawaiian Airlines flights from Honolulu to Oakland and back.

We were served lunch on our HNL-OAK flight. And as usual, given a choice of two appetizers and two main courses, the wife and I ordered different dishes and shared them:

The appetizer choices were (1) Roasted Beef Salad with macadamia nuts, lilikoi aioli and arugula with Maui onion dressing, and (2) Kim Chee Shrimp Poke with salted cucumber and pickled Maui onions.

Unfortunately, we dug right in and forgot to take photos of the appetizers. I am pleased to report that they were both excellent, although the wife preferred the beef salad over the kim chee shrimp. 

Shoyu Roast Chicken

For the main course, I had the Shoyu Roast Chicken with sweet corn relish and creamy mushrooms rice—an excellent and very tasty choice.

Ginger Scallion Pesto Udon

The wife had Ginger Scallion Pesto Udon Noodles with baby bok choy, and roasted mushrooms with sesame sauce.

I am happy to report that both entrees were very scrumptious.

For dessert, we both had Passion Chocolate Cake, which was not like your usual cake wedge, but good in its own way.

An aside: A man seated in 3F was slightly perturbed about the meal choices. He either couldn't eat , or didn't like, the choices.

He grumbled, "I paid a bundle to upgrade, and can't get a meal." He wanted prime rib, but settled for two slices of the chocolate cake. Now THAT'S a loser.

On our return OAK-HNL flight, we were served breakfast, which was a lot better than the egg soufflé thing they served on our November return flight.

Banana Bread and Fresh Fruit

Gruyere Cheese and Veggie Bits Omelet and Portuguese Sausage

The first course was fresh fruit and banana nut bread, followed by a Gruyere cheese and veggie-bits omelet with Portuguese sausage and potatoes. I didn’t care for the egg; it was a bit too firm and on the dry side (first time I was offered ketchup packets in first class).

Burnt Caramel Cheesecake

Dessert was a Burnt Caramel Cheesecake. Yummy!

Expensive (EXPENSIVE!) Meat

A few days after last Thanksgiving, the wife and I spent a night at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

Our key activity there (besides walking and eating) was spending a Tuesday half-day at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.

It's great checking out all the fresh produce, and then strolling around in the Ferry Building marveling at all the grocery and specialized food offerings on display and for sale.

I always like to check out the meat market (sorry, I forget the name). This time around, they had this magnificent, exquisitely marbled hunk of genuine Wagyu beef strip steak that was imported from Miyazaki, Japan.

They'll cut you a slab to order and charge you $145.00 a pound, Yep, one-hundred and forty-five dollars. So an eight-ounce steak will set you back $72.50, plus $14.66 sales tax.

I thought about buying one ... seriously. But then I thought, what if I overcook it? What if I messed it up? Hmmmm. Better leave the preparation to the professionals.

Is $145.00 a pound unreasonable? I don't think so, because I've seen other direct-from-Japan Wagyu beef at a Japanese import food market in Honolulu. They had a similarly appearing standing rib roast for about $650.00.

Wow! I kid you not.

Phone Pix 80: Flowers

Though April showers may come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May! (Taken with my mobile phone camera)

Yellow Hibiscus, Son's Aiea House, Jan. 26, 2015, Aiea, HI

Ground Cover, Home Depot, April 24, 2015, Fremont, CA

Cymbidium Orchids, Home Depot, April 24, 2015, Fremont, CA

Bird of Paradise (Fake), June 22, 2015, Queen's Hospital
Financial Office, Honolulu, HI

Pirie Mango Flowers, Craig's Driveway,
March 4, 2016, Honolulu, HI

Trader Joe's, March 21, 2016, Fremont, CA

Son's Fremont House, March 28, 2016, Fremont, CA

Cymbidium Orchids, Long's Drugs (CVS) Manoa,
Sept. 13, 2016, Honolulu, HI