It’s Always Sunny in San Diego

I’m supposed to be saving money for my big upcoming trip, but when I saw that Virgin had a deal for $65 round trip tickets to San Diego, I couldn’t resist. You can’t even rent a car and drive to wine country for that much money! My friends and I jumped on the deal for Labor Day weekend and went in search of some summer weather. We were all first timers, so while we spent quite a bit of time at the beach soaking up the sun, we tried to get a good sampling of the sites as well. We stayed in the famous Gaslamp District and explored out from there- Balboa Park, Coronado Island, a Padres baseball game … it was a full weekend.

All three of us are architects, so the trip wouldn’t have been complete without some nerdy field trips to the Salk Institute & the Neuroscience Institute- both stunning works of art that every architect drools over. Along the way, we also ran across the parasailing club in La Jolla. We watched them literally run off the cliff and then float above the waves. It looked like the best roller coaster ride you could possibly imagine. I was so close to signing up, but had to hold back and save my money for Nepal. Yet another thing to add to my bucket list.

As much as we enjoyed the city, I don’t think any of us will be moving there anytime soon. We experienced some pretty extreme culture shock when we went out for drinks. Let’s just say there’s a dress code that we were completely unaware of. If you’re a girl, you should find the smallest amount of fabric you can, then wrap it as tightly around your body as possible. There should be nothing left to the imagination. And I’m not talking about just a couple of girls, but every girl. I’ve never felt like such a prude in my life. Then again, in this case, I was totally ok with that. It made me miss the anything goes, crazy fashion sense in San Francisco, at least there’s variety to appreciate.

Other more exciting discoveries included, but were not limited to, chocolate banana pancakes bigger than your head, the greatest pose in the world, and Egyptian walking through hotels made in the 1800's. A fun time was had by all.

Adventures in California

It started out like a pretty typical 4th of July, a short road trip, followed by some quality time in the great outdoors, sweating to death in the summer heat. I went on a hike with some friends in Castle Rock State Park on the Saratoga Gap & Ridge trails and the views out across the valley were absolutely breathtaking!

We left the heat inland and headed to the marina in Santa Cruz where we boarded the Wind Goddess- our sea worthy home for the weekend. In typical west coast fashion, the weather fast forwarded a few months to the dead of winter once we got out on the water. Who would have thought I would regret not wearing my long underwear in the middle of July? Then again, I have done this a few times before, I should really know better at this point.

Despite the cold, the moment I stepped on the boat, my mind was thrown back to our time in the Grenadines. (Can we pleeeeeez go back soon???) Thoughts of walking barefoot on the deck, in a bikini, staring out at turquoise waters kept me warm during our ride across Monterey Bay.

Hundreds of sea lions were waiting to greet us at the sunny marina on the other side. Unfortunately, the combination of Dramamine, cold cold wind, and the rocking boat lulled us all into a pretty boring stupor, but we mustered enough energy to take a tour along Cannery Row and enjoy some fish and chips.

We awoke Monday morning to thick fog and even colder temperatures, but it turned out to be quite a blessing in disguise. With the sky the same color as the water, every bit of movement or change in color was pretty easily discernible and our sailing adventure turned into a full on eco-tour. It wasn't just the weather on our side; according to the whale watching fleet in this article- some strange circumstances had randomly drawn a reported 200 some whales to the bay that day- an incredibly rare occurrence that hasn't been seen for some years now. We were able to get up close and personal with minke, blue, and humpback whales, along with porpoises and harbor seals- an amazing experience I'm not likely to repeat anytime soon. Thanks to Captain Rose for once again making these sorts of adventures possible!

And thanks to Michael for sharing some of his pictures with me!

Chico

As a testament to my deplorable knowledge of California geography, when asked to go for the weekend to check out a bike race in Chico, I mistakenly thought we were heading to Chino. To make matters worse, the only reason I'd heard of Chino was a somewhat vague memory of references to it in that old TV show, "The O.C.". Embarrassing, I know.

I quickly discovered that Chico, is in fact a very quaint little college town in Northern California and quite worthy of a summer road trip in my opinion. I went to cheer on Mark, who was participating in the stage race over the weekend. There wasn't a good place to watch the road race on Saturday, so I decided to explore the town instead. I had a little difficulty setting out. The receptionist at the hotel and I were obviously not on the same page. I had read good things about the Farmer's Market and asked her for the best walking route to get there. She'd never heard of it and when I gave the general area, she informed me that my feet would go numb and fall off if I tried to walk there. Ok... I forget that anywhere outside a major metropolitan area you're considered a freak if you want to walk more than the 10 steps it takes to get to your car door. Thank goodness for i-phones. I got my google walking map and a crippling 1.5 miles away, found my way to the Farmer's Market.

It was very cute and pretty sizeable. Everything looked so good. I had a hard time controlling the urge to buy it all, but there's only so much you can fit in the hotel mini-fridge. So, I stocked up on some fresh fruit and then continued to wander the downtown area. Cycling is definitely the major past time there. I saw more bike stores than anything else by far. I continued my walking tour onto the college campus and listened in on a few tours I saw passing by. There's a really beautiful natural element to the landscape with a creek running right through the campus and trails along side it. I would love having shady spots like that as a student where you can relax before the next class. I made a pleasant discovery when I followed the creek into One mile Park and stumbled upon a huge swimming hole created by a dam in the creek. It's the perfect place to hang out on a hot summer day and it's free!

Sunday was filled with racing- time trials and a criterium through the downtown streets. I felt bad for the riders. 105 on Saturday and 96 on Sunday. If it were me, I would have passed out from heat stroke without even finishing a lap. Fortunately, I had a shade tree and a yummy Italian ice to get me through. They still somehow managed to put on a good show, but had to cool off in the fountains afterwards. Who could blame them? Mark says he's designing them into every plaza project he works on from now on...makes sense to me!


We finished up the weekend nicely with another swim and a nap in 1-mile park. All in all it was a great summer break before returning to the June Gloom of our beloved San Francisco.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

It's hard for me to believe that I've lived in the San Francisco area for almost 3-1/2 years and only just recently heard about this hike along the cliffs near Pt. Reyes to a series of cascading waterfalls that drop down right into the ocean. How many other secret treasures do I have yet to discover? Fortunately, a coworker clued me in on this one and I convinced a few friends to take a day trip with me for my birthday.

We started from the Palomarin trail head just outside of Bolinas. Even on a nice day, it's pretty blustery along parts of the trail. I could easily picture Catherine running along the path in search of Heathcliff. The wind picks up and it feels like you might just sail off the side of the ridge. It's all worth it, though. The views are unmatched and you'll quickly find your way from open hills to shady paths. About 4 miles in, the trail leads to Alamere Falls. You can barely call it a trail despite how well traveled it is. It's probably the first time in my life where I felt like a machete might actually come in handy. As opposed to one big waterfall, there's actually a series of them at varying heights leading down to the ocean. The climb down alongside them seems intimidating at first, but really isn't bad at all. In fact, sitting on the warm sand, protected by the rock walls was one of the few places to get away from the wind, where you could simply soak in the sun. It's the ideal spot for a picnic lunch.

On the way back we took a detour down to Bass lake, continued our picnic in a nice little meadow and then went to explore the infamous rope swing. Having only just heard about it from several groups of fellow hikers, we had, unfortunately, not come prepared. A nice couple gave us all permission to go "nudey", but warned against the dangers of the resulting crotch burn. As tempting as that sounded, we all chose to abstain and instead decided that next time, with the proper attire, it would be the perfect break 6 or so miles into the hike.

Trekking Training

My preparation for Nepal has officially begun. It started with a moderate 7 mile hike from Stinson Beach up Mt. Tam and back. I figured that sounded like more fun than running the Greenwich street stairs for practice. I had heard about a beautiful hike along a creek with waterfalls and convinced a few friends to join me.

We started the day off with lunch at the Parkside Cafe on the beach, then took the Steep Ravine Trail up the mountain. It was a beautiful path, meandering alongside the water. At the top we reached a ranger station and then took the Matt Davis Trail back down. It was nice to switch up the scenery- trading water for grass and flower covered hills, then down through the woods and finally back to the ocean. We obviously deserved a reward after all that hard work, so we capped things off by eating ice cream on the beach. All in all a lovely day! If only the rest of my workouts were as enjoyable.

Taking it SLO

It's been pretty chilly over the holidays and I've been wishing for warmer times and thinking back on what a great summer I had this past year. I unintentionally ended up making a mini California tour- LA, Lake Tahoe, and last but not least, San Luis Obispo (or SLO as the locals apparently call it). I had heard it was a cool little college town, but wasn't really expecting anything out of the ordinary. Boy, was I surprised! I only went for the weekend, but we packed so much in and I still wish I could have stayed longer.

As always, it helps when your tour guide is/was a local. We started off the day with a climb up Bishop Peak. It probably took an hour and a half or so to get to the top. The views are breathtaking and well worth the climb. It was a great place to start the trip, since the entire town as well as the ocean are visible from the peak. It definitely helps you get your bearings and gives you a great sense of the landscape.

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring around the neighboring beach towns on a scooter. Scooting is probably one of my favorite forms of transportation, but we almost froze to death during this particular run. I left SLO, which was a sunny 75 or so, wearing a tank top and skirt. Within minutes we had fast forwarded seasons and found ourselves in Pismo Beach, where it was a chilly 50 some degrees. It literally looked & felt like a bizarre winter wonderland with surfers emerging from the fog. Add the wind blowing against your skin on the scooter, and you'll understand my discomfort. For that reason, we made a quick loop and then headed back for summer at Avila Beach. The fog fell away, we found the sunshine again and spent some time thawing out on the sand.

We finished off the tour with a ride over See Canyon. We took a little road, very much off the beaten path, that I doubt most locals even know about. Fortunately for me, (yet again), my guide is an avid biker (that might even be an understatement) and this road is known as one of the best bike trails in town. So, we took the scooter off road for a bit, climbed another hill and stopped to admire the gorgeous views out over the bay. The fog was thick over the hills and I had no problem admiring its beauty from a safe distance in the sun.

The fun continued with an amazing meal at Novo Restaurant. We ate on their back deck beneath twinkle lights and overlooking the creek that runs through downtown. Beautiful setting & fantastic food!

Unbelievably, the day didn't end there. I told you we packed a ridiculous amount of things into the weekend, didn't I? We left dinner and made it to Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort just in time for their very last opening for a Sulphur Spring bath. "Wow" pretty much sums up that experience. They have a large outdoor garden with private sulphur tubs throughout. You walk down the tree-lined path to find your own secluded spring surrounded by a wooden deck and completely open to the sky above.

Sunday was just as fun-filled. We headed back to Pismo beach (with more appropriate attire this time) and ate some of their famous clam chowder at Splash Cafe. Then, we followed that up with an afternoon of wine tasting at the Edna Valley vineyards just outside the city. I'm pretty spoiled already, living so close to wine country here in San Francisco, but they definitely hold their own in comparison. I was very happy to go home with my tasty bottle of 2007 Dry Riesling from Wolff Vineyards.

It was a fantastic weekend and now that I think about it, it might be time for a return visit sometime soon...