Rafael's Blog: Katanchi

The weekend before last, we drove down to Campo California to visit our "Ninong" and "Ninang", Paul and Mina Katanchi. Not far from Campo is the border to Tecate, Mexico - the city where the popular Tecate Beer is made. They moved to Campo about a year ago. Paul and Mina have invited us over a couple of times but due to conflict in schedules, we've had to decline until last week. It was one of the few weekends that we had free. The drive didn't take very long (except for about a 30 traffic crawl at the I-5 in Oceanside). Gra'ma decided to stay home due to the scorching hot weather that weekend. We left around 530 and was in Campo by 8PM. As if Paul read my mind, he grilled some chicken and beef similar but waaaaay better than those that you'd find in Persian restaurants. Mina prepared the fresh salad and dressing. It was everything I hoped for and more in a Persian dinner! Really yummy!

Rafael and Paolo (Paul and Mina's 4 year old) got along ok. Rafael was ecstatic to see an actual toy of Thomas and Friends. Paul's eldest, Kia was also there. Time sure flies as Kia was just a little kid when I moved into Paul's house back in 2002. Now he's shot up to 5 feet and 7 inches and is in Junior High already!

The following day, Paul drove us to Julian which is about a 45 minute drive from Campo. It was a pretty drive through tall trees of the Cleveland National Forest (Cleveland N.F. extends all the way to Orange County). Julian is a small quaint town with nice little shops selling mostly locally-made and produced items. We bought a few stuff for Gra'ma and a dark honey which is quite hard to find.

Afterwards, we drove back to Campo to have lunch. Paul and Mina gave us tons of hand-me-down toys and clothes from Paolo (a lot of them still new)! Thanks Paul and Mina for the hospitality! It was also nice to see you Kia! I'm sure we'll bump into each other around RSM or Mission Viejo one of these days.

Here are a few from my camera. Too bad Paolo was taking a nap when I started taking photos. I'll post more from the other camera next time.

The Katanchi's friendly Labrador! Forgot her name.