Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Ahoy, Matey!

Upon realizing that we both had Presidents' Day off awhile back, Mr. Monkey decided that we should take a short getaway. He hadn't been to Catalina Island since the early '90s. I'd never been at all.

And it was set.
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Little did we know back then that this particular weekend was supposed to be one of the stormiest. Lucky for us, the storm didn't arrive until the day we left.

But that's a story to be told later.

As we were getting ready to leave our condo, Mr. Monkey looked through his closet and proclaimed, "It's Valentine's Day! I'm going to wear pink!"
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We boarded our boat in Long Beach.
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Adios, mainland!
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Hello, Catalina!
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The Aurora Hotel and Spa was tiny but tastefully furnished.
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When I asked Mr. Monkey why he picked it, he answered, "It was modern. I know you like modern. You don't like flowery foufy stuff." Very true.
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Our room was barely bigger than a good-sized cabin on a ship, but the rooftop was surprisingly cute and even had a decent view.
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After we put our stuff away, we grabbed a quick bite at Coney Island West.
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Here's my cheeseburger ($4.25). Mr. Monkey had a bacon cheeseburger ($5.25).
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Chili cheese fries ($4.50). The fries weren't just buried underneath warm and fatty goo. They were also seasoned! Freakishly good.
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Onion rings ($3.00). Godly golden goodness.
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Cheap. Fast. Yum.

We strolled around a bit before our afternoon activity.
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Then it was time to board the semi-submersible.
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We all live in a yellow submarine.
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Behold the fish food torpedo. Cheesy? Yeah. Fun? Hell yeah.
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If you fire, they will come.
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After our underwater adventure, we walked around some more, headed back to the hotel, and got cleaned up for dinner.

We went to the Catalina Country Club.
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Mr. Monkey booked a reservation several weeks before. I heart him!
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Gruyere puffs. Good little start.
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Not a bad deal for fancy food on Valentine's Day. It even included tip. Sweet.
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For the first time in ages, we actually ordered the same entire meal. And, for the first time in ages, Mr. Monkey got to eat right away, as I snapped photos of just my dishes.

Avocado crab roll with Meyer lemon air.
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Cool and refreshing with a touch of tartness.
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We had a good chuckle when a young woman next to us turned her nose up at it and pouted, "What is that? It looks like spit! I'm not eating it!" Ok. I had a good chuckle. Mr. Monkey just shook his head at me.
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Lobster bisque. Really hearty and steeped with lobster meat. Quite good but a tad on the salty side. Of course, the girl next to us refused to eat this, too. This time Mr. Monkey agreed she was an idiot. This was my fave of the night.
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Petite filet mignon and shrimp scampi with herbed Yukon Gold potato mash, demi-glace, and vegetable bundle. Tasty enough but far from outstanding.
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Chocolate mousse cake, crème anglaise, sour cream sorbet, raspberry coulis, white chocolate snow, and raspberry chocolate truffles.
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I only ate the sour cream sorbet, which was delectable and slightly suggestive of pinkberry. Mr. Monkey powered through all the chocolate, but the truffles defeated him with just one bite. Too rich. Too much.
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As we waited for the check, we reminisced about what we were doing exactly one year ago and laughed about how both days involved water and heart-shaped food. So different yet so the same -- a fun day with my best matey.

25 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun getaway! We love Catalina. It's far enough away to really make it seem like a vacation, yet close enough to make a quick escape...unless you are stranded - that's a different story!!

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  2. Awwww. I'm so impressed by Po's planning. I didn't even know a modern chic hotel existed on Avalon!

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  3. We went to Catalina on our first dating anniversary! Reading through your post brings back such great memories. It looks like you two had a terrific time.

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  4. I can't read about Catalina without thinking about the crew from The O.C.. I always say "Catalina" with Kristin's voice up in my head.

    Sounds like a great trip for the Monkeys!

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  5. 1. Hotel is awesome. I'm making a note to book there next time. Good call Mr. Monkey

    2. I LOVE the picture of you and him. WAY CUTE.

    3. Sounds like a perfect Valentines day. This deserves an AWWWWWWWW

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  6. What a lovely weekend!

    We're planning a trip to Catalina in April. I'm thinking of just taking this blog post and making it our itinerary. You're so much better than a travel agent.

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  7. We also love modern hotels. My husband refuses to stay at any hotel that has a flowered bedspread or chair or wall in the pictures. He just automatically rules them out.

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  8. I'm glad you had a great V-Day. Was it rated arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhh? ;)

    You should have shanked that dumb bisque hater.

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  9. Sounds like a fun and sweet mini getaway. Mr. Monkey is definitely scoring cool points. :)

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  10. What a great weekend trip! The sub thing would be right up my alley. Mr. FGD goes out to Catalina to scuba dive semi-frequently, and I've always turned my nose up at the idea of going for a weekend. After seeing your hotel, I think I may have changed my mind. I just figured everything was icky old B&B type stuff.

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  11. I seriously got the warm fuzzies reading this! Looks like you had a nice trip despite the rain. Thank you for the Aurora pics and commentary. M has been wanting to go to Catalina. Also - for that restaurant, was it members only or a reciprocal deal with your club or can anyone go?

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  12. How can she not like lobster bisque. ugh, she needs to be kicked out of the restaurant.

    Mr. Monkey did a great job of planning your Vday getaway.

    Yay for wearing pink.

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  13. 1) I was thinking of doing an anniversary getaway to Catalina if we are able to swing it, so I might be emailing you for recs. :)

    2) I had some lobster bisque up in SF this past weekend. It just wasn't good. I'm thinking it was the restaurant, though.

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  14. i haven't been to catalina since the 90s either. My 8th grade field trip ;)


    adore that mr. monkey. esp in pink. such a hot chick!

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  15. Aw, that does look fun - and Mr. Monkey looks so cute in his pink shirt.

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  16. i've never been to catalina! have to say that there is much more on this island than i had imagined.

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  17. I've never been to Catalina. It looks like much more fun than I imagined; I thought camping was practically required out there. And I don't do camping.

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  18. wow, mr. monkey planned such a nice surprise for you! i must confess, i also had meyer lemon air with my veal melanese at drago centro the other day, and i too thought it looked like spit, but i still ate up! ;-) drago's dinela for lunch was good, btw.

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  19. HA! I totally would have been that woman sitting next to you saying it looked like spit (but i'm not that classy)

    all your pics brightened up my boston greyish day! especially all of the houses on the water and your hotel view (but i also would have been the woman SCREAMING in the sub b/c i'm scared of snorkling.. and fish)

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  20. I want the burger and fries. No, I NEED them!!

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  21. i'm not gonna lie. that "foam" or "air" - whatever you want to call it - always looks like somebody hocked a big loogie on my food. no, thanks.

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  22. mr. monkey made me smile with the pink shirt. very cute.

    great deal for the valentine's day dinner! it looked delish. and that chick you sat next to is crazy.

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  23. I cannot believe I am a month behind on your blog! Ahh!

    This trip looks so fun! Mr. Monkey is so romantical -- planning dinner and all!!

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