zephyr

I just discovered the most glorious travel idea. The California Zephyr. A train route between San Francisco and Chicago run by Amtrak. This journey takes 51 hours, covers almost 2500 miles and has been departing daily since 1909. Heavenly! It is said to be the most beautiful and scenic train trip on the continent. You get to cross the Great Plains, the Mississippi, The continental divide, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas.
Read more in this particularly eloquent post from someone who has experienced the magic firsthand.

(via the standard edition)

malibu

My grandma lives in Calabasas, which is basically the hills right above Malibu. It's approximately a 10 minute drive to the beach. I grew up visiting at least once a year usually during the summer. But because my family is native to the area, I never ever spotted celebs or hit up touristy locations. Sure Will Smith lives down the road, and you pass Cher's house on the way to the beach, but my version of Malibu includes fairly empty beaches (not zuma) and yummy local food.

First I'd like to introduce Malibu Seafood:

AKA in our family, "The Waving Lobster". It's a teeny tiny seafood market and cafe where you order at the counter and sit outside to eat. It is separated from the ocean by the pacific coast highway, but you can walk under the freeway. I definitely don't recommend trying to cross PCH by foot. Recommendations: Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and fish and chips (one piece of battered fish is more than enough). My brother loves the Ahi tuna burger.

Next up is John's Garden. It has been around since the 70s and my mom's family grew up eating there. I remember going when I was young. We went back a few months ago after I hadn't seen it in years. While the tiny eatery is still there, the shopping plaza around it has exploded. John's Garden is indeed small, counter service as well. It has a ridiculous amount of sandwiches, salads and soups. All delicious. They have virtually every type of bottled beverage and packaged snacks/chips. The parking is severely limited but so worth it and the outdoor seating is nice for the sunny socal weather. While it is surrounded by outrageous boutiques, the cafe remains a true surfer stop.

explosions

Last night we celebrated my friend's birthday. And we did so with a fabulous, free, well-kept orange county secret. We tailgated in the Sheraton parking lot in Anaheim with a perfect view of the Disneyland fireworks. It was so fun! The fireworks start at 9:25 pm, you want to be on the side of the parking lot that faces Ball Road. It lasts for about 20 minutes. We had lots of snacks and chatted with new friends. The gate for the parking lot was open too so we didn't have to pay. Yay for creativity and good friends.

el dorado county

this is my last quarter of college (yay!) but it's not going to be an easy one, so I may be taking an extended hiatus.

But I wanted to share a little adventure I went on with my dad while I was home for spring break.
I grew up in very close proximity to some really great little towns. I may not have appreciated it very much in high school, but I definitely do now.

First we drove through Coloma. Which if you went to 4th grade in California, you'll know that it is where gold was first discovered in the state and started the whole gold rush madness. A lot of the area has been preserved to it's original aesthetics. It's a state park and during the summer is teeming with tourists. It's right on the American river, so you get lots of white water rafters and kayakers coming through. There's campgrounds. There's an old general store, museum and even historical reenactors that dress and do things like work in the blacksmith shop. You can still go gold panning, you might find some small gold flakes, don't get too excited, it's worth next to nothing, but still fun. There's also a lot of native american heritage in the area like an old grinding stone. I spent quite a few summers volunteering as a camp counselor at their nature conservancy center.

Then we were off to Main Street, Placerville. Another gold rush town, also known as "hangtown" because they used to, well hang people there. The main street is always busy and full of little antique shops, coffee shops, ice cream, used books, flowers and more. We stopped in to Winterhill, which features specialty olive oils! After taste testing, we ended up purchasing a Persian Lime Olive Oil, it's not just infused, the limes are actually pressed with the olives so you get a really full flavor. Excellent on sea food! Also a wine-lavender jelly. It is to die for, the flavor is very refreshing, not floral at all.

Then Z Pie for lunch. Gourmet pot pies. So delicious. I was too busy eating to even take a picture. I got Turkey, which was like a baked Thanksgiving dinner. It had turkey, mashed potatoes, onions, gravy, garlic, sage, parsley, thyme and cranberries! mmmm. Dad got the chicken and mushroom: chicken, potatoes, onion, bell pepper, sherry wine, white and portobello mushrooms, peas, parsley, garlic and thyme. My favorite remains the steak and cabernet though: beef, potatoes, onion, cabernet wine, peas, flour, beef broth, olive oil, lemon juice, thyme and bay leaf. We even bought half a dozen frozen ones to go, they're super easy to heat up at home. If you're ever in the area, Z Pie is a must! I'm craving it already.

From there it is just a hop, skip and jump over to Apple Hill. An area full of orchards and farms famous for their apples of course. The freeway backs up in the fall due to people trying to get some of the harvest. You don't know apple juice until you've had freshly squeezed, straight from the orchard apple juice. The closest I've found is the "Simply" brand. Apple pies, apple fritters, every kind of apple you can possibly imagine, caramel apples, and my personal favorite, apple doughnuts.

In the springtime though, things are pretty low key, all the apple trees are blossoming. Super pretty, and totally killed me allergy-wise. But we were there to visit one of a few wineries for my first wine tasting! My dad picked Lava Cap Winery. They have won hundreds of awards for their wines. The tasting was complimentary! We tried:
Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - tangerine and citrus flavors with sweet vanilla (so good! we ended up buying 2 bottles)
Chardonnay Reserve 2008 - notes of green apple, pear, lime and cantalope
Merlot Reserve 2006 - notes of raspberry and chocolate
Zinfandel Reserve 2006 - Extraordinarily intense berry and spice flavors
Muscat Canelli 2008 - smooth honeysuckle, apple, pear, lime and pineapple (semi-sweet wine)
All descriptions taken from the tasting sheet, my palette is definitely not this refined yet! But the flavors were definitely all distinct and I liked them all.
Our sommelier also had us try their "Rocky Draw Zinfandel 2006" which the owners play around with each year. This particular vintage has noted of raspberry, mint, anise and spice. Very good. Bought some fudge made with it! I can't wait to do more wine tasting!

my cousin and ventured out the rose bowl flea market in pasadena today. a must-do for LA residents. I honestly don't know why it took so long for me to make it over there. I realized it's only about 15 minutes from fiance's apt! It only occurs on the second sunday of the month. Last time she went was august and it was miserably hot. we figured "hey january sounds good right?". but then again this is southern california...so it was still warm. 70s with cloud cover...so just be prepared with light layers and sunscreen (i failed on the latter). also bring: CA$H, lots of water, snacks/lunch (that parm soft pretzel and and frozen lemonade really hit the spot but totally not worth the $10 i paid for the meal...fail.) and comfortable shoes! there's a LOT of walking.

there's also great deals to be had. especially if you're a haggler (my mom is pro but i don't seem to have inherited that gene...). 2 dresses, 3 cashmere sweaters ($5 each!), a silk blouse, rings and 2 vintage coats for less than $80. that was a good day for me!

patience is also required. time to really look through boxes and bins and booths and racks. there's great furniture deals if you're prepared to cart that stuff away. boxes and boxes of records (of course the one that i actually wanted ended up only being the album cover with no record). so much jewelry! there were some fantastic sellers with racks upon racks of vintage clothing. we saw tons of leather goods: jackets, belts, purses and shoes. also lots of fur coats.

usually i get too overwhelmed by huge places like fairs and ikea and costco...but antique shops and flea markets have a special place in my heart. probably the result of my parents dragging me through them throughout my childhood. it's a way to purchase your own piece of history, and i plan to seek them out wherever i go in the world. i still miss cambridge's open air market.

hop in the car

Finals make me want to escape even more than usual. Something simple like a last minute road trip would do the trip. California is perfect for road trips. There's SO MUCH in this state, it's incredibly diverse and you can find just about anything you're looking for. Beaches, forests, deserts, mountains, snow, you name it. Two years ago for spring break my cousin and I hopped in the car and headed north up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was lovely.

We stayed in Santa Cruz and visited Monterey. I believe it was two nights, three days. There's the infamous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Plenty of rides and terrible food. It was still a bit freezing in March so we didn't get any beach time. Downtown Santa Cruz is fabulous. Walnut Cafe, Kianti's and Pizza My Heart are great for munching and there's plenty of shopping and a great movie theater to keep you entertained. We drove up to the University of California, Santa Cruz and I kind of wish I had applied there, it's really beautiful, on top of a hill surrounded by coastal woodlands.





Monterey is becoming of my favorite places. James and I stopped there on the drive north to go home last year. I definitely prefer northern california beach towns to southern california. Maybe it's the cool weather and morning fog. Monterey's cannery row will keep you occupied with all the shops and galleries. Perfect for a relaxing meander around town. Of course there's the Monterey Bay aquarium. So fascinating, I recommend it. I have so much more exploring to do here!




A friend was going to Cal State Monterey Bay and recommended this hidden trail that lead us straight to these giant dunes and secret beach. It's a little secret.
Heading North on the freeway, exit CSUMB. Turn Left at the 2nd traffic light. Then Left at the 4 way stop intersection. Park at the freeway overpass bridge and take the trail out to the dunes! It goes on for miles and we only saw a couple people.



No California road trip is complete without In N Out. Seriously, if you don't live in the southwestern U.S. you're missing out. It's all about the secret menu. I recommend fries well done (that means extra crispy!)

I want a tree named after me.

Over Labor Day weekend, back in September, I visited Sequoia National Park with some family. While I was raised in the foothills of Northern California, a few years in orange county for college have made me lose touch with my camping/hiking past. Everyone knows that even a couple days in the pristine wilderness will eliminate all stress and bring us back to our roots. Sequoia is breathtaking, home to caverns, mountains and the largest treesin the world. Seriously, some have been around for over 2500, they're older than Jesus! Wandering around, having to take 3 different photos of one tree because it's too tall, it was so very humbling. Such a reminder of how small we really are.




National Parks in the U.S. are in some dire straits. Due to the budget crisis in California, about 220 state parks are closing if they haven't already. Although tourists would no longer be admitted, the National Park Service still must maintain the wilderness lands. With attendance down already, and no money coming in from state parks there will be layoffs resulting in less forest rangers but more land to watch over. In an LA Times article: "Tim Gibbs, NPCA senior program manager, testified recently in Sacramento: "These cuts are so devastating that it would be the equivalent of the president and Congress dismantling the national park system. It would be like our national leaders sacrificing treasures such as Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks."" Oh dear.

While I knew this was going on, I certainly couldn't tell while I was there. For the best experience, I would advise not visiting on a holiday weekend, it was jam packed with people from all over the WORLD. Which in itself was cool, but it also meant long lines and no parking. Yes there are lines and parking to go to trails to visit trees. Sequoia offers an outdoor experience at all levels, from campsites, RV sites, cabins and up to the lodge where you can "camp" in style with en suite bathrooms and full hot breakfast in the morning. It really is perfect for a short getaway, there is time to relax and depending on how intense of a hiker you are, you can accomplish the big sights with plenty of time to spare. Just beware of bears, there was one wandering through the parking lot in broad daylight! (of course I was the only one in the car who didn't see it!)

An experience that musn't be missed is a good old fashioned campfire. They have one hosted by the Park Rangers each night. There are songs (don't worry, they usually only put the little ones on stage), s'mores and presentations about the history of national parks and park rangers. Park Rangers are actually quite fascinating, all are extremely enthusiastic and love their job. We had a presentation about the history of women park rangers, and there are some pretty powerful ladies who made great strides to put women where they are today. They just wanted to take care of the land that is our heritage and teach others about it.


Sequoia has a boy scout camp that has been around since 1939. My uncle worked there for a few summers back in the 70s and was itching to visit. My cousin and I kind of rolled our eyes as he drove us out there and then hopped the locked fence. As luck would have it there were a few people closing up camp for the summer and a couple of them had actually worked with my uncle in 1975! They were still involved in running the camp. The base camp was basically the same too. This tiny old cabin still had the names of summer staff members, written in sharpie, dating back decades. We found my uncle's name in there, partially painted over!

The most "intense" thing we did was climb moro rock. it's really more of climbing stairs than scaling rocks. Though there are 400 steps, mostly carved into the rock, which take you up to an elevation increase of 245 ft to a total elevation of 6725 feet. The views are breathtaking. We went up right before sunset and ate sandwiches at the top. Perfection. My uncle told us about climbing over the rails and hanging out during his summers there. And that other than the location of the railing at Moro rock, not much has changed in the park since 75.



(all photos by me)

So far in my life I've visited Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Devil's Postpile, Golden Gate, Joshua Tree, and Redwood. My parents love camping and did a decent job of getting us kids on vacation in national parks over the years. But now I realize it's not nearly enough. I desire to visit as many of these parks as I can (it's really quite inexpensive) before the end of my life...and before they get shut down.

P.S. Thanks for the shoutout Hail Mary, you're amazing!

cadillac desert

I was alerted to another lovely desert hotspot (...pun intended!) by a dear friend.
Joshua Tree.


(here)

Duh! Why didn't I think of that? Knowing my father's love of all things outdoors, a side trip to this national park from our hotel is pretty much in the bag. Where to even begin with this place? So much diversity, such a delicate ecosystem. Since we will be there at the beginning of summer it will be quite warm, though I hear fall/spring are lovely. There are wildflowers and birds to be viewed. Apparently in the heat of summer, Mojave desert is actually a welcome break from the vast expanses of Joshua Tree. It lies along earthquake fault lines, so there are many wonders to explore, including crazy rocks and 5 lovely fan palm oases. It has a rich history. I definitely want to go camping here some day as well.

I must also reference the fact that this place inspired U2's infamous "The Joshua Tree" album.

If you want more information about Southern California/the Western USA's desert landscape and the quest to convert it to agriculture and generally livable cities, please read "Cadillac Desert" It is required reading for a class that I very much am enjoying.

desert oasis

(here)

the final locale i would like to present is palm springs. just 2 hours away from los angeles, this is a vacation hotspot. It is popular for its 1950s mid-century modern architecture/design, has seen its fair share of US presidents as well as celebrities. Frank Sinatra built a home there and Charleton Heston and Clark Gable were regular visitors. Many films have been shot there in as well. It is a place to relax by the pool, soak up the ever present sunshine and enjoy leisurely sports like tennis, golf and polo.

though I have never been, I'm excited to say that there is finally some traveling on my horizon. In mid-june at the end of school I'll be joining the fam for a week of much-needed relaxation! If I'm laying by the pool with a good book, (of course wearing a big straw hat and slathered in sunscreen for my poor pale skin!) I will hardly have time to wish for colder weather.

3 fabulous hotels that I'm not staying at...but hope to visit in the near future:

Ace Hotel
More of a bohemian vibe, their restaurant utilizes local and organic foods. Their rooms are decked out like the tent of a desert archaeology crew. It is brand new, and the coachella festival had an opening night party there if i'm not mistaken. I was going to mention its affordability, but I think its popularity is getting the best of it...when I first discovered it about a month ago, a single room with king size bed ran about $79. It has now been bumped up to $129 ($116 through hotels.com) still not terrible...guess I'd better hurry!




(by her)

Viceroy Palm Springs
It originally started as a bungalow in 1933 visited by the likes of Clark Gable. Styled by Kelly Wearstler in 2001, this hotel is modern and sophisticated, using a color palette of only black, white and yellow.




The Parker Palm Springs
it is swanky, the rooms filled with designer pieces. they have a gene autry suite with it's own saline pool. i can dream right?

their outdoor bar is called "the lemonade stand", how cute is that?

reasons why i love northern california

visits home always seem to be characterized by one thing: a change of pace.
southern california:speed of sound::northern california:molasses
(remember those nasty SAT analogies?)
but i'm talking molasses in a good way.
you never realize how much you need to slow down until it happens.
it's weird the first day or so, the need to be doing and going 24/7 is present.
but quickly that fades away. priorities change.
it's about time with people.
just hanging out. no need to go out, spend money, "impress" people.
lot's of sitting around contentedly, watching, waiting. peacefully.

maybe it's just me?
i know that southern california can be just as peaceful for other people.
but this is how it is for me.

Now i'll let the pictures do the talking:
lovely (and easily accessible) views




little moments while waiting to have tea with a dear friend







and a herd(?) of deer hanging out on the way to another friend's house!

Sacramento

My parents and I took a little trip to downtown Sacramento one day for lunch. We ate at a great little brewery called "Brew it Up". Off of H st and I believe 14th? (you'll know you're close when you start smelling the hops, it was quite potent). Delicious food. I ended up with a GIANT taco salad in a flour tortilla bowl. My dad tried out their beer sampler, 4 mini glasses of whatever flavors you like. You can also brew your own beer there, and they'll keep it stored for when you visit with friends!

after we took a little stroll down to the capital.




the trees were blossoming


then we visited the vietnam war memorial



someone placed flowers in the hands of statues, it was pretty neat:

POW monument:





it began to POUR down rain all of the sudden, so we took refuge under some orange trees

we then moved onto some bamboo, which were cool but did not actually provide much coverage



some blue sky in the distance


my failed attempts at capturing the downpour: