Davidoff Jones in the Land of Fire and COVID, Part 1

• Davidoff NYC Downtown Exclusive 2017
• Vitola: Toro
• 6” x 50 ring gauge
• ~$32
• Purchased at Maxamar Ultimate Cigar, Orange, CA

Land of Fire and COVID

Every year the time seems to just sneak up on me…and suddenly it’s that week of the year that I travel to Southern California to do some work and some play…and find something to do to pass the time in between!

This year promised to be different from previous years, primarily because of the government shutdowns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. California has some of the strictest lockdown protocols in the country and until recently, pretty much the entire state was unable to have dine-in eating. Just before I went, Orange County opened back up for dine-in although mask-wearing was either highly recommended or absolutely mandatory, even outside, depending on who you talked to.

Then there was the fact that practically the whole state was on fire…or at least that’s the impression one would get from watching the national news about the ongoing fire season in California. Reality is that the two major fires in southern California were much more contained by the time I got there than you might imagine. I had some smoke in the air when I showed up, but it lessened just about every day until I could see the mountains from the airport before I flew out.

The Adventure of Davidoff Jones

In a continuation of the “challenge” to smoke a Davidoff every day on these vacation weeks, I took plenty of the nice Dominican-made smokes with me. Honestly, I probably wasn’t “challenged” per se, but I took it as one…this makes the third year where I smoked a Davidoff every day I was away (except for get-away day, where the time frame made for a leisurely smoking experience (which every Davidoff should be) just wasn’t possible). Today I am smoking a Davidoff NYC Downtown Exclusive from 2017, something I picked up from Maxamar Ultimate Cigar in Orange, California, just a few days ago. This blend features Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, a Mexican Negro San Andres binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.]

As far as I can remember, this was one of series of 6 blends that Davidoff flagship stores or those appointed merchants celebrating some significant milestone were allowed to choose as a “store exclusive” for the 2017 release year. The makeup of this one gives it a fairly full-body right from the outset, with a bit of dark chocolate sweetness, espresso bean bitterness, cedar and earth.

Hiker’s Holiday

In previous years, I’ve filled my open hours with visiting various breweries or burger establishments. This year, since I have taken up hiking…and since the breweries were mostly still shut down…I decided to try to do some kind of hiking activity every day. It definitely helped to offset the very high caloric intake I had most days.

Saturday, September 26

I got to fly out of Chattanooga airport for the first time in forever. It’s a small airport that’s easy to get in and out of and doesn’t fly direct to anywhere unless you are meaning to go to Atlanta, Charlotte, or Chicago. So I had to get a connecting flight in Atlanta…but that wasn’t so bad. I still got to Ontario, California, around 11 a.m., picked up my rental (a full-size Ram pickup) and headed to In-n-Out.

It’s always the first stop and always involved four patties and four pieces of cheese.

I check in at my hotel and went to do some “urban hiking” at the Tracks in Brea. When the train stopped running several years back, the city officials decided to make the rail bed into a walking/biking/running area. As a “hiking” destination it’s pretty lackluster. Completely flat. Scenery includes the backs of houses and apartments, drainage ditches, warehouses and industrial parks, parking garages, and freeway overpasses. Still, the fact that there is a dedicated exercise area in the midst of suburban Orange County…and that it hasn’t been overrun by homeless people…is pretty amazing. I did about half of it, for a total of 4 miles.

Then it was on to Danny’s house for brisket, baked beans, smoked chicken, creamed corn…the whole spread. Danny’s a great cook and if you’re in SoCal and need catering, I’m going to highly recommend Two Fat Kids Catering. Dinner was followed by a Davidoff Robusto Intenso (the newest Limited Edition re-release from them, it will be featured in a full review sometime soon) and some Jane Walker Scotch (a write-up is also on the way).

Sunday, September 27

I started Sunday morning off with bacon and eggs at Black Bear Diner in Fullerton. I would highly recommend this chain, especially for breakfast…but when did food prices get so high? I swear I went out to breakfast 4 times while I was in California and when tip is included, it was never less than $20…for one person!

The Sunday hike was the Battle of San Juan Hill…or something like it. It was the first “real hike” I did in SoCal and the beginning of me noticing that all the “real hikes” were starting in “boujee” neighborhoods. After climbing past the $1.5 million homes, I hiked high into the hills of Yorba Linda, then crossed into Chino Hills State Park. The day was cloudy until I got to the top and headed back down…then the sun was fairly brutal. Did I mention there was no shade on this trail…that also became a theme. This ended up being about 4.7 miles, after which I lit up a Davidoff Grand Cru No. 5 in the parking lot before heading back to the hotel.

That afternoon I had a nice lunch with old friends of mine down in Huntington Beach, before driving back through Buena Park, the city where I grew up. A lot has changed…and a lot has stayed the same. The church I grew up in…which was also the home of the school I went to K to 8th grade…has been sold and is in the process of being torn down for more apartments.

Monday, September 28

This is the day I had to do the work that brought me to SoCal. It’s also the day I learned my mom was fighting for her life with her kidneys completely not functioning. It was a trying and emotionally difficult day.

Before that happened, I went to Kimmie’s for breakfast, including their massive sausage patty. Good stuff…like the day before, too expensive.

The hike for the day was the nature loop in Carbon Canyon Regional Park, near a place I lived for a year in Brea. Although there was almost the promise of rattlesnakes, I didn’t see (or hear) a single one. I got 4.63 miles of pretty good exercise in, though…and I did it in the morning before things got too hot. Near the end of the hike (when I was back off park property), I lit up a Davidoff Signature Petite Corona.

I met friends at 888 Cigar Lounge in Fullerton for Monday Night Football. Good to see Paul and Dale again, as well as Vernon and Keith (though I would see those latter two again before the week was over). Another Davidoff during the evening: Winston Churchill Petite Corona.

I ended the day not knowing if I was going to finish out the week in California or if I would have to jet home early.

Next week, I’ll conclude the Adventures of Davidoff Jones in the Land of Fire and COVID…