Heaven is a pancake

DJ's Berekley Cafe on Tennyson will blow your mind.  We didn't have any breakfast goods at home last Saturday (by which I mean no milk and cereal) so we took a walk to find us a good breakfast haunt.  The clouds parted and light shone down on DJ's.  First I was skeptical.  How can a cafe named after a character from Roseanne be any good, but alas I will not make that mistake again.

I had Crab cakes Ala Eggs Benedict that was freaking amazing.  Everything was homemade, the coffee was great, and the prices were decent.  And the waitress reminded me of Rachel Ray (less extreme annoyance factor, just really friendly and cute).

Not to mention Ainslee's breakfast:

three pancakes, all different kinds-banana walnut, blueberry, and chocolate chip/ hazelnut-this was a children's menu item so crazy cheap.  We were all fighting for bites.  I also demanded my food on a Mickey Mouse shaped plate, but Rachel Ray gave me a funny look and I dropped the issue.

So come visit and we will show you heaven, and it is indeed in a pancake.  Next time I'm trying the strawberry stuffed french toast.

It's already the 3rd post and I'm just now mentioning Goonies!?

Teachers become teachers because every year they get to experience one of the most thrilling, raw feelings known to mankind...the last day of school.

Remember that day?  It was one of the only days you got up without being told, brushed your teeth with vigor, kissed your mom, the dog, the goldfish because you were feeling so good!  Well teachers remember it, and they get to feel it every year.  Sometimes you can see a teacher skipping when the last day is close.  Sometimes you will find them giving everyone As, everyone.  Sometimes you will find them giggling when all alone in their room.  That's because the end of the year is magical.  You've made it.  You completed another year with both eyebrows, and no one finding out about that time you dropped the Fbomb.  It's why we go back after summer is over (and also because we are all nerds and enjoy the FIRST day of school just as much).

However, soon comes the summer blues.  A time when you feel a bit lost, a bit unstructured, a bit...bored.  This year it came early for me.  It might be because I now live in a large city where I know NO ONE, or it might be because I have to fit 2100 square feet of house into a house the size of a smurf mushroom, or maybe it's because I haven't lived in a city for 9 years and I feel a bit trapped and lost, or it might be because I don't have even a hint of a job, or it might be because I stopped doing heroin.  Whatever the reason I'm in a bit of a downer...which will come as a shock to some, and to some much glee because they are bitter about me leaving them.

So after a couple of days I'm tired of myself, and have to decided to fix the way I feel.  That's right I am going to do stock-car racing (suck it Danica Patrick)...no no no I'm too fragile.  I'm actually going to try some yoga.  You know, like the hippies, and my friend Jason.  So tomorrow (because I'm too busy on the interweb to do it today losers) I'm going to walk to the local Berkeley neighborhood Yoga den in my Goonies tshirt and tattered sweats and show those skinny, well toned women that I can bend as well as the next overweight librarian.  I'm going to find my inner Frodo and find peace and calm (and try to shut out the voices in my head).

I'll keep you posted.

Buying Back Your Games

Recently, we went over to the Farmers' Market on Wadsworth, and across the street, we spotted an awesome store, simply titled, "Buy Back Games." At said store, there was a wide selection of games, DVD's, and more! 

They had plenty of merchandise to keep any gamer satisfied for a life-time, whether you're 11, or 30, including plenty of products from the 80's, 90's, and today. They also had some sweet deals on awesome gaming systems, such as a PlayStation for $20.00 (Which someone didn't let me get), and an xBox with Kinect, priced at just $300. Compared to all other stores, that's a bargain, because lowest prices for em' at any other store are $350 at least. 

Plenty of arcade machines were sprinkled through the store, including an arcade version of Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, and more. They had a Kinect set up towards the front of the store, which they invited everyone to play (and let me tell you, those things are pretty awesome)! All in all, that was certainly the best store a gamer such as me could hope to ask for! 

This is a tiny town, and we don't want you coming 'round

The family asked me what I wanted to do for Father's Day and I decided I wanted to go for a drive in the mountains and find a nice place for a picnic. It's Colorado right, how hard could it be. So we headed out on the highway and after a couple of wrong turns we ended up in Conifer, where Trey Parker grew up.

Coming around a bend in the highway we saw rows of tiny Victorian houses, a Silver Spoons style tiny steam train and a sign reading Tiny Town. We sat in the truck and inhaled our sandwiches then hotfooted it to the tiny booth where we paid the tiny man with a tiny visa card.

The prices were cheap, 7 bucks for adults and 5 for kids, which includes a ride on the train. Just inside the gate Amanda turned to me and said, "Thanks for spending Father's Day making one of my childhood dreams come true."

Apparently a guy named George Turner began building Tiny Town in 1915 on the site of a Denver-Leadville Stage Coach station as a way to entertain his daughter. By 1920 he opened to the public and by 1924 there were 125 buildings and two lakes. Looking at the old photos of Tiny Town it looks like any idyllic American town in the 1920s.

Several floods, fires and restoration attempts later, Tiny Town isn't quite as grand as I imagine it once was. Like lots of full-sized small towns in America, some of the buildings seem a little rundown and it doesn't quite have that perfect little community vibe it once had. It's still a relaxing way to spend Father's Day - or any day for that matter.