Family, Travel

Bubble Gum Alley

Have you heard about the bubble gum covered wall?

Yes, I said bubble gum covered. Completely covered from top to bottom and bottom to top.

It even has a name –  Bubble Gum Alley.      http://www.visitcalifornia.com/

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Bubble Gum Alley is  located in the town of San Luis Obispo, Ca.  

Carol, my sister-in-law, told me about this alley.  You know when she explained that it was a wall of gum I could not imagine what this wall would/could look like.  I mean GUM ON A WALL!  Who would do that?

Bubblegum Alley is a local tourist landmark in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, known for its accumulation of used bubble gum on the walls of an alley. You read that right, walls…the wall is about 15-foot  high and 70-foot  long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by.

No one in the town is certain as to how this bubble gum alley started.  Some say it began after WWII.  Some say the gum wall  began in the 5o’s but what they all seem to agree on is that  it was started by a few high school kids.

Of course, it had to be  high school kids.  Who else would just take a wade of gum and stick it on a wall.  When I was little we use  to stick gum under the school desk.

The town of San Luis Obispo did try to clean up  the gum off the wall, especially after complaints of how “unsanitary and disgusting” it is.  Only problem was every time they did clean it up the gum began to reappear on the wall.

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My sister-in-law, Carol,  expressing what she thought of the gum wall…

I guess the town decided to leave all the gum and make it an attraction of San Luis Obispo…they even tell you where you can buy the gum to put on the wall. Gum ball machines are easily accessible..

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Yes, the gum machine is out there specifically for those who want to add more gum to the wall… UGGGGGHHHH…Of course as we began to leave the wall I remembered I was chewing on some gum…guess where I stuck it?

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Family, recipe

Margherita Pizza

Love when my niece Sandra comes to visit.  Sandra is a vegetarian and so my Mom always asks her “Sandra, do you want to go and have some pizza?”  The answer is always yes, because her favorite Pizzeria is Basil’s Brick Oven Pizza, a few blocks walk away.    It’s a nice walk too, my sister comes and we talk and laugh and sometimes argue  all the way there.

We all order fancy pizzas and Panini sandwiches.  Sandra got a pizza with a egg in the middle. Yum 🙂  My Mom, she orders the Margherita Pizza all the time. We just cannot tempt her to try something new! (Recipe below)

 Margharita Pizza – Food Network

 Pizza Dough homemade or store-bought
All Purpose Flour, for dusting
3 cup Tomato Sauce  – home-made or your favorite brand
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into thin rounds
Cornmeal, for stone
Special equipment: Pizza Stone

Directions

Place a pizza stone in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, allowing the stone to get hot.

 Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface into approximately an 8 to 10-inch round and 1/4-inch thick. Ladle the sauce onto the dough and spread it over top, leaving about a 1-inch border around the edge. Top with the tomatoes, oregano,  and mozzarella rounds.

 Carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven, and dust with the cornmeal. Place the pizza on top of the stone and carefully put  the whole thing in the oven. Bake until crust is nice and golden and the cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.

Top with fresh basil leaves,  cut into wedges and serve immediately.

http://basilbrickoven.com/