Whether you celebrate it or not, Valentine’s Day can create some fun little events as businesses lean into the holiday a bit with their take on it. Sunday Feb 8th had one such event.

My friend and I decided to check out an event I had found during one of my scrolling sessions on Instagram. Oddly Manor, located in Riverside, CA, had an Emo Valentine market. It was located in the back of the store and had 20+ vendors. Unfortunately I was a little too broke to buy anything, but they all had some great stuff. All in all, we spent about 30 minutes walking around the vendors booths and through the store as well. I highly recommend checking out the store, especially when they have one of these little events. 

After heading out, we decided it was time to grab an early dinner. On the drive down, we decided to get tacos, but not sure where we wanted to go. I suggested a local place I hadn’t been to before and it turns out it was a short walk away from the event. 

Tio’s Tacos has been around since the 1990s and is still owned by the Sanchez Alvarado family. At first, this may look like another roadside attraction, but it is the best of both. It happened to be a slow period when we arrived, so we didn’t have too much time to explore when we got there as our food was ready quickly. I decided to try their carnitas enchiladas in mole sauce and my friend got the pick 2 plate that had a taco and 1 enchilada with the green sauce. Both places came with rice and beans. We also got the chips and guac plate because our eyes were apparently bigger than our stomachs.

After stuffing ourselves, it was time to walk around and explore. I had only seen videos of this place on YouTube from people that had visited and I was still in awe at how beautiful it was. The whole place is a work of art. The tables, floors, and some of the walls are all intricate mosaics. The larger art pieces are wire cages with a variety of repurposed trash that made something unique and fun to look at. 

The monarch archway was really beautiful to walk through. Dozens of metal butterflies line the ceiling and the walls. At the end of the walkway is a mirror that you can look into for a fun pic with you and all the butterflies above. Right next to it, is an information sign talking about the artist that started it all, Martin Sanchez. I’ll post the sign below so you can read all about him. 

It was a really nice afternoon, which ended in us coming back to my apartment to watch the recording of the Super Bowl… mostly for the commercials though. 

Stay tuned for the next adventure as I’m just getting started on my exploring for the year. Until next time, safe exploring everyone!