Another Sunday another Drive 2 Aug 2020

Went for another marathon Sunday drive on August 2nd, 2020.

This was the longest one yet that we have gone on in a single day.

We chose a new audio book, "Nine Perfect Strangers" by Liane Moriarty. Went to the grocery store to get some traveling sandwiches, salads and other snacks.

Started out going up US 395 toward Bishop and Mammoth. Ended up going all the way up to Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe actually looked a little bit like 4th of July weekend, becuase there were so many cars parked on the side of the road around the lake. All of the state park beaches were closed due to COVID restrictions. But that wasn't stopping people from parking outside the areas along the road side and hiking back to the beaches.

Kings Beach was also very crowded with people and most not social distancing or wearing masks at the time. So we just kept driving.

We end up going up to Truckee and catching I-80 across to just outside Sacramento. From Sacramento we headed south down US 99 and finally back home.

It was a long day of driving, about 15 hours, and about 950 miles round trip.

Sunday drive

Sunday morning, started out with a 5 mile walk. Then decided to take a drive again and listen to an audio book. So we started "The Guest List" by Lucy Foley. 

The drive started out with a quick stop at McDonalds for a customary McGriddle combo and breakfast burrito combo. Don't reall like their food all that much, but the drive through is usually quick, so we could hit the road. Once we had food and started the book we hit the road North.

The car took us up Weldon pass and into Kernville. A quick stop at Vons to pick up some lunch food and stretch the legs for a couple minutes, top off the gas tank. We headed around Isabella to Wofford Heights area. I had noticed a sign a few years ago at Wofford Heights for highway 155, but we had never taken the time to explore it any further and find out where the road went/came out at. So today was the day. It turned out to be a pretty nice winding drive over the mountain to San Joaquin Valley to Delano.

At Delano we caught the 99 south to Famoso and the Paso Robles Highway (46). Headed west on 46 to Paso Robles. It was hot, dry and a little windy, but not to bad of a drive. Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Once we arrived in Paso and crossed the 101 freeway we went up Nacimiento Lake Dr, which becomes Godfrey Rd and eventually Chimney Rock Rd. Cheryl and I did this part of the drive back in 2016 for her birthday that year, hitting some wineries on the back loop. So we decided to see a couple of the places again this time.

We drove all the way to a locked gate on Chimney Rock Rd past JUSTIN Winery. We couldn't remember if the road went through or ended. It ended at a private gate. So we turned back. 

We made a stop at Dubost Winery and had an awesome handmade stone fired vegetable pizza for lunch, with a wine tasting flight.

From there we caught Adelaida Rd. Trying to remember if this was the exact route we took in 2016 or not. We confirmed it was when we came across Kiamie Wine Cellars. This was a winery we had stopped at back in 2016 right before the end of the day and we closed 'em down. Great outdoor winery environment. Couple of great owners. This time around we arrived just before the last pour, again! But we made it just in time. To be greeted by the dogs. The last time we were there one of the dogs was just a puppy. He's grown quite a bit now LOL. Had a great time just relaxing and enjoying the outdoor atmosphere with the owners, and Cheryl having another tasting flight.

From Kiamie winery we continue on to Eric Seastrand Memorial Hwy (46) and head west to the coast line and US 1. I always forget that there isn't actually a signal at this spot, so a Sunday afternoon making a left turn onto US 1 is a challenge to say the least. But we made it. Headed south on US 1 down to Morro Bay area.

Since it was getting to be late in the day, decided to fill up on gas and start the trek back home. South on US 1 to US 101 past Cal Poly. South on US 101 to exit at Cuyama Hwy (166). The road that takes us back to the outskirts of Bakersfield to catch US 5 to US 138 and home. Note to self US 138 in the dark sucks!!

Overall it was a great drive. About 560 miles total and about 10 hours driving time. Almost finished the audio book, but still have 1 hour and 40 minutes to go. But I was tapped out at that point.

Banh Mi Chicken sandwich

Awesome Banh Mi Chicken sandwich.

So to start this one out, I used:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• Buttermilk 
• Eggs
• Flour
• Corm Starch
• Paprika 
• Cayenne Pepper 
• Cajun Seasoning
• Shredded Carrots and French Cucumber
• Cilantro
• Japanese Mayo (Kupee)
• Sriracha
• Honey
• Rice Vinegar
• Sugar
• Kosher Salt
• French Roles

I start with the Chicken.
First get it to a uniform thickness (pound method) to about 1/2 inch thickness.
Then cut the chicken into 1 inch wide strips the best you can.
Prep a chicken bath; 3 Eggs, 1 1/2 cup Butter Milk, 1/3 cup Sriracha
Put chicken pieces in the chick bath and let marinade for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

Mix together about 3/4 cup of Rice Vinegar, 1 table spoon sugar and 1 table spoon kosher salt. Pour over the shredded carrots and cucumber in a bowl with a lid and give a shake. Let it marinade while the chicken does.

Now we're ready to fry the chicken. Oil at 350 degrees F.

The dredge; Mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup Corn Starch, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper and Cajun Seasoning (the last three to your liking heat and flavor wise) in a bowl.
Pull the chicken from the chicken bath a couple pieces at a time into the dredge and coat thoroughly. Then drop the couple of pieces in the hot oil for about 7 to 10 minutes. Rolling every now and then to cook evenly.

Once all the chicken has been cooked and set on a drying rack to cool a little. Its time to finish the prep. If the carrots and cucumber look a little wet, remove from the bowl and let dry a little.
Mix together some sriracha and honey in a bowl. I used approximately a 2 parts sriracha to 1 honey ratio, this will depend on how much heat you want.
I did not heat or toast the french roles for this one, but that might add a nice touch to it and might help deflect some moisture from the carrots and cucumber.

Slice the French Roll length wise, put some Japanese mayo on top and bottom halves then put the sriracha/honey sauce on over that. Put down some of the carrot/cucumber mix and some tops of the cilantro. Add pieces of the fried chicken, mine had two pieces each due to the size I cut them and the rolls I used. Slather some more of the sriracha/honey sauce over the chicken.

Then enjoy...
This will probably yield around 6 to 8 sandwiches depending on how big or small your french roles are.

For a slightly different version you can also just use the Japanese mayo with a little cayenne and cajun seasoning mixed in (possibly even some sriracha). Add it to a toasted roll. Add dill pickles and chicken. Better than that "Popeye's Chicken Sandwich" ;-)