Tarnished Lady

Our first anniversary

I have been resistant to making posts on here because of the slow photo uploads on Typepad but I need to get over that!
I realise its been some time so I will begin with backtracking to May.

We celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on May 23rd & decided to avoid the holiday crowds in the campgrounds by driving up to San Francisco to visit my brother Mike and SIL Elena.
We love San Francisco & also love being around Mike & Elena so it was a win-win.

They introduced us to Sing Star (sort of like Guitar Hero but with singing...almost like karaoke but scores on technicalities. You must hit the pitch and sustain the notes in order to score) which was good silly fun.
We made a great steak dinner, had yummy wine on the night of our anniversary which was so much more cozy and how we were feeling than going out.

They took us to Golden Gate Park where we got a nice walk in, went to the Japanese Tea Garden there which is straight out of a dream.

Jasper loved it all. He adores being in nature and traveling it seems.

We spent some time in North Beach, had a long & lazy romantic Italian lunch while Jasper napped in his Uppababy stroller.
Did you know there is a Jasper Street in SF? We didn't either but we drove right past it in North Beach.

We picked up a super tasty Italian dessert at Stella Cafe to bring up to Eugenia's for a bbq cookout in Marin County.
If you are ever in SF and like a great tiramisu-esque creamy dessert (sacripantina), check this place out.

My pal Eugenia and her family (Michael and their two groovy kidlets- Mikailah & Dylan) used to live in LA years ago.
Eugenia and I worked on various theatre/live shows together. She directed me in a show at the Actor's Gang in Hollywood and we were 2/3 of the International Kittens- as in Chris Wells & the Highballs featuring the International Kittens. Teehee.
I was Mina the Italian spy and she was Plenty the British one...fun gig.

Anyway, it was so great to reconnect after 7 years!! and to see the idyllic hamlet they are so lucky to live in.
Just 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge and SF, they live in Fairfax in a great old clapboard house with a Southern style front porch and a garden filled with strawberries, blueberries and herbs- ah yes a gazebo too- in the backyard.
We did a short hike in the adjacent redwood grove before we began grilling. Ah...such a nice time.

We stayed through the long weekend and then left very early to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway on the way back.

Jasper said his goodbyes to Uncle Mike & Aunt Elena...

We had breakfast in Santa Cruz with a fellow due date club pal of mine Emily and her family which included little Adelh born the same week as Jasper.
So cute watching the two of them connect.

Then we got to Monterey and went to the amazing Monterey Aquarium, had a great seafood lunch in Cannery Row of Steinbeck's fame.
Jasper LOVED the aquarium and was wide awake the whole time there (about 3 hours) which surprised me.
He especially liked the jellies, the seahorses and was mesmerized by the fish in general.

We drove down further to dreamy Big Sur where we did a nice nature hike. Matt wore Jasper in our Girasol "Big Sur" wrap which is named in homage of the region.

We stopped off at the Henry Miller Memorial Library which is right in the woods where the road winds through the cliffs.

We hopped back in the car and drove the scenic PCH all the way home only stopping for snacks at Ragged Point and to see some elephant seals who were napping on the beach.

A wonderful trip and have to say this year has been the best yet.

The full set of photos and videos are up on my Flickr page...lots more to see!

1st trip

We went up to Yosemite for a long weekend the end of April. Matt was a speaker at the California Trails Conference and it was our first getaway with Jasper.

We stayed at Tenaya Lodge for a few nights and then at Wowona tent camping alongside the rushing river. Jasper was a real champ as the temps dropped to near freezing and we cuddled together to keep warm.

We had the best time, discovered that Jasper loves the outdoors as much as we do, saw a bobcat and some gorgeous does too. He had a perma grin the whole time as we hiked up to a waterfall.

 
I got to nurse him under an amazing tree and also next to a waterfall. That was pretty dreamy.

We were able to keep it green with the diapering even in the wild- we always use cotton prefolds and wool covers normally with the occasional bamboo Goodmama fitted diaper- and so this was a first for us to depart from that routine.

We did G Diapers which worked fine for the most part. They have a cotton outer, a nylon liner and then an insert which is like a thicker maxi pad. I would not ever use these on a regular basis but for travel, they are a good choice for us.

Unlike disposables, they biodegrade and can be flushed, composted or thrown in the trash. They did leak (our first ever nighttime leak) the first night at the lodge requiring the sheets to be changed. Made us miss our cloth diapers and we did cloth the rest of the trip for overnight and just toted the wet dipes home (he still did all his poops on the toilet even on the trip! Yay!) but yes, he did look cute in the G's and no rash from wearing them...

We made good use of our brand new limited edition cashmere Didymos Indio wrap. Oh boy, is this wrap ever nice and he loves it too...

Oh yes, we even had a nice snow storm we went through the same day we went swimming.

 That is the beauty of Yosemite...such dramatic weather changes from moment to moment.
The air is amazing up there and it truly is a magical part of the world.
We just love it and that is an understatement.

Jasper asleep in the tent...

We spent our first summer up in the Sierras right by Yosemite when we fell in love, then returned last winter and was there skiing when we found out we were having a baby, got married up there last May and did a Yosemite hike the day before the wedding with our close pals and family, had a babymoon in September just before Jasper was born so for us to have his very first getaway be up here was very special for our family.

I feel blessed.

 

All three of us have the distinction of having our Venus in Scorpio which means we all enjoy the same things and like to be together doing things and having fun. So far, this is proving to be true. Pretty cool.

I mean look at this smile...he did not stop grinning...

The rest of the set is on my FLICKR page along with other videos too.

Up at Zuma

To celebrate Jasper turning 5 months old, Matt took the day off and we hit the beach on a gorgeously sunny California day.
Before we went, we stopped off at our local library branch for a special ASL sign language story and song hour.
We have been signing with Jasper for over a month now and its really good stuff.
He knows "bath", "eat" and "wet diaper" plus "teddy bear".
Its cute to see his eyes light up when he is fussy and you sign for "eat" b/c he realizes you understand him.
The story hour was a hit. His eyes were fastly riveted on the lady leading the group.
 


He loves books and beyond that, loves a good song and is into the signing so to have all three together? Genius.



Zuma was so nice. We kept the baby covered and under an umbrella with 50 spf but wow, did he ever love the beach. We spent a lot of time there when he was in utero and could hear the sounds. His Sleep Sheep he goes to sleep listening to makes the sounds of the ocean and of whales so for him to finally be there for real was a sensory overload.





















Here are two funny clips...
one is Jasper attacking Matt's face

and another of him chattering away... Speaking of the beach, we begin his swim lessons tomorrow! Its a 10 day "bootcamp" Minnows private group lesson with two of his little friends at this teacher's private heated saline pool. I know he will be a regular little fish and love it as bathtime is a big hit at our house and his daddy was once a competitive swimmer. We are going up to Yosemite in a few weeks and will be staying at a lodge with a pool. If its indoors, maybe he will be able to use his new swim skills up there.

Yay my neighborhood is the best in California!

So says the just released American Planning Association's Great Places in America's Top Ten List.
No other neighborhood in California made the cut!

Echo Lake, originally a man made reservoir became public city park in 1892. Boathouse dates to 1932. Photo Courtesy of Arthi Varma.

Carroll Avenue, in Angelino Heights district of Echo Park, is a quaint and historic block that includes the highest collection of Victorian houses in Southern California. Photo Courtesy of Arthi Varma.

Echo Park thrived in the first decades of the 20th century as a streetcar suburb surrounding Echo Lake. Photo Courtesy of Arthi Varma.



Residents and tourists look for the freshest produce at Waverly's Farmer's Market. Photo Courtesy of Arthi Varma.

They had this to say about Echo Park:

Echo Park    Los Angeles, California

Hilly Terrain  Sets Echo  Park Apart From Other L.A. Neighborhoods

One of Los Angeles's first suburbs, the Echo Park neighborhood is a vibrant mix of cultures, incomes, architecture, commercial activity, and social activism that has retained its unique character and charm for more than a century.

Contributing to the neighborhood's eclecticism and unique sense of place — and reasons for its selection as one of 10 APA Great Neighborhoods for 2008 — are its varied topography, historic architecture, and engaged citizens who, over the years, have gone to great lengths to protect and preserve their historic arts community.

Bounded by Temple Street to the south, North Alvarado Street to the west, Interstate 5 to the north and Park Drive to the east, Echo Park is just two miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The neighborhood became the set for many silent film productions made during the 1920s as the movie industry shifted to California. A number of celebrities have made the neighborhood their home, including writer Ayn Rand, actors Steve McQueen and Leonardo DiCaprio, singer Linda Ronstadt, and director John Huston.

The neighborhood's connections to the film industry aside, its first residents were by and large middle class and white. After World War II, Latinos began moving to the area and now represent more than half of the nearly 30,000 residents. Altogether, three-quarters of current Echo Park residents speak a language other than English at home.

Angelino Heights near Echo Lake is the neighborhood's most picturesque area. More than 50 Victorian homes grace this historic district, which was established in 1983 as the city's first Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. One entire block of Angelino Heights, which also includes Craftsman-style bungalows, brownstones, and Streamline Moderne architecture, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Angelino Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (AH HPOZ) was expanded in 2008 and covers 235 parcels bounded by West Sunset Boulevard to the north and a local shopping destination — Echo Park Avenue — on the west.

The neighborhood's hilly terrain has not impeded building. Many houses are designed to complement the steep slopes and take advantage of views. In some cases, buildings curve in harmony with the crest of a hill. In others, front doors lead not to a street but to public stairways that enable pedestrians to traverse the neighborhood's hillsides.

Many of the neighborhood's two dozen-plus stairways are modest, while others are landmarks that reward climbers with spectacular views of the Los Angeles skyline and Hollywood Hills. The Baxter Steps — all 230 of them — are the tallest in the city.

Unlike many areas of Los Angeles, several parks are close by including Echo Lake and Elysian Park, the city's second largest. The park at Echo Lake, home to the city's annual Lotus Festival, includes an 1896 boathouse and the 1934 Art Deco statue, Lady of the Lake.

There's been a long history of citizen activism in Echo Park. During the 1990s residents drew attention to safety issues, which has help lower property and personal crime rates in the neighborhood to approximately 20 percent below the city's average.

Residents also keep a close eye on affordable housing. Some of the neighborhood's more affordable homes have been stabilized with the help of the city-supported historic preservation efforts. In 2005, for example, the city approved a small lot subdivision ordinance that encourages the creation of several units on one parcel. To some degree the typical size of an Echo Park home — just three rooms — has helped keep prices from rising significantly compared with other parts of the city.   

Such activism and meaningful community participation inspires motivation, commitment, and public debate, which are vital to keeping Echo Park a great place to live.

"For generations people have come to Echo Park, raised their families, started vibrant businesses, and given back to the neighborhood and the city as a whole," says Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Today kids, parents, and grandparents representing numerous background and cultures come together in Echo Park, making this community an outstanding example of the great neighborhoods found throughout Los Angeles."

I have to say I agree. I love Echo Park, have lived here for almost 10 years and despite the recent influx of hipsters, no one can deny its history or beauty.

Go here to see which neighborhoods made the grade as well, as their top 10 picks for Best Streets and Best Open Spaces!

Babymoon getaway to Mammoth Lakes

Ok so it has taken me a good 4 weeks to get this up but better late than never. We were able to get up to Mammoth Lakes for a last hurrah before Baby J is here with us this past month. It was extra special because we were in Mammoth Lakes back in February when we found out we were having a baby and then we got married up there in May so we have been back for visits for each trimester of this pregnancy. I hope we can go again with Baby J as soon as he can travel. We already have a teeny little ski outfit for him!
I was 33 weeks and 8 months along and so we stayed overnight in Bishop to acclimatize the first night just in case.
We stayed at the main ski lodge right at the foot of Mammoth Mountain which transforms from ski runs to BMX/mountain bike runs in the summertime.
Here's some snaps of our lodge:

We promptly decided to take the gondola up the mountain after unpacking for some lunch up top. Mind you, I knew we were at around 8,500 ft elevation but stupidly thought we were only going up another 1000 or so which I figured was okay for me being at 8 months.

Our lodge looking teeny below us as we headed up.

That reservoir down below is the halfway point up the mountain. I was starting to get nervous.

We got off finally to see this sign:

Yipes. We were at over 11,000 feet elevation. I almost immediately got the dizzy spins and a headache so we ate quickly.

We headed back down.

I will say I felt pretty off after that so just rested up and we had a great organic dinner at Lulu's in town with friends.
We ended up the next day going for a delicious swim up at June Lake where we were married in May. Finally, instead of snow, we got summer. The water was perfect.

A prerequisite belly shot:

More belly:

Then we drove up to Minaret Vista just above our lodge to catch sunset as it fell upon the majestic aptly titled minarets.

The following morning we got up bright and early to catch the tram into Devil's Postpile National Monument. I had no idea how vast this monument is at nearly 800 acres.
from wikipedia:
Devils Postpile was once part of Yosemite National Park, but discovery of gold near Mammoth Lakes prompted a boundary change that left the Postpile on adjacent public land. A proposal to build a hydroelectric dam later called for blasting the Postpile into the river. Influential Californians, including Walter L. Huber, persuaded the federal government to stop the demolition and in 1911, President Howard Taft made the area into a United States National Monument. The John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail pass through the monument.

A snap of Matt as we set off on the 1 1/2 mile roundtrip hike to the monument so we could see the Postpile firsthand.

The landscape here goes deep into the valleys between the mountains and is off limits during the winter when its snowed in so it was chilly in the early hours as we were down lower.

These are pretty amazing in person.
Here is what they are:

Devils Postpile is a dark cliff of columnar basalt near Mammoth Mountain in extreme northeastern Madera County in eastern California. The postpile was created by a lava flow sometime between less than 100,000 years ago (according to current potassium-argon dating) to 700,000 years ago (according to other dating methods). The source of the lava is thought to have been somewhere near Upper Soda Springs campground at the north end of Pumice Flat on the floor of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, from where it flowed to the site of the Postpile, was impounded by a moraine, and reached a thickness of 400 feet (newer estimate) to 600 feet (older estimate). In any event, the lava that now makes up the Postpile was near the bottom of this mass.

Because of its great thickness, much of the mass of pooled lava cooled slowly and evenly, which is why the columns are so long and so symmetrical. Columnar jointing occurs when certain types of lava cool; the joints develop when the lava contracts during the cooling process.

A glacier later removed much of this mass of rock and left a nicely polished surface on top of the Postpile with very noticeable glacial striations and glacial polish.

Pretty nifty!

I was feeling good so it was my idea to hike the additional 3 1/2 miles to Rainbow Fall. I am such a sucker for a goodlooking waterfall.

Mind you, my feet were so swollen I couldn't even wear shoes so I did it all in Croc flip flops and I was lucky I didn't have the baby on the trail haha.

I couldn't have done it without my Matty though! He pushed me from behind with each bit of incline and gave me lots of support.

The next time we are there, we will head down further to the Lower Falls where swimming is great. It really is so magical there.

These steps carved into the mountainside were killer to climb up.

^This will be Baby J next year on Matt's back!

Then we headed into adjacent Red's Meadow for some tasty lunch and to see the horses.

If you are ever up this way and have just hiked 5 miles in flip flops at 8 months of being pregnant, please reward yourself with a nice slice of freshly made boysenberry pie a la mode at the Mulehouse Cafe.

A picture of Ronald Reagan up here with Red and the boys from way back when.

Now that was a solid and freshly made slab of pie. Yes indeed BUT the best pie hands-down is up a twisting and winding road into the Sierras further south. A trek and definitely off the beaten path but so worth it. More on that in a few here.

We headed back to the lodge and hit the pool and jacuzzi to revive our weary bods before meeting a friend for some Irish supper at Ye Aulde Dubliner in Mammoth. The shepherd's pie hit the spot.

The next day upon multiple recommendations, we headed down towards Convict Lake to Rock Creek Lakes Resort Cafe to get what is deemed the best pie in the Sierras.

Seriously.

We were told about this place by 3 different people- all locals- 2 in Mammoth Lakes and 1 the lady who ran the Mulehouse Cafe in Devil's Postpile. We took this to be the truth as Rock Creek Lakes is nearly an hour's drive away but it was on our way south back home so we determined to try this pie in the sky.

We were also told to get there by 10:30 am at the latest or don't bother as the pies sell out.

They sell these pies which are baked fresh each morning at a teeny lunch counter with only 7 stools and one table in a the smallest of cafes up a winding road into the mountains.

It could be very easy to miss and we had a bit of trouble finding the right turn off but eventually got it right (partly due to the fact that everyone for miles around knows this place and helped to point us in the right way).

We were told to turn right at the old wagon.

On a sidebar, the campsites up in this part of the Sierras is fantastically gorgeous and we determined to come back when we can and do some camping.

I was crushed to see my favorite pie ever- Rhubarb- was already sold out. A super nice gal sitting to my right got the last slice and she graciously offered me her last few bites. I know that sounds crazy but that is how it is up there. I took her up on it and man, oh man, was it ever delectable. While we sat, a few more pies sold out.

We got a slice each of the Loganberry and the Chocolate Chip Pecan. The Cheddar Pear wasn't ready (set) yet.

Look at these slices and prepare to drool:

We would have gotten a whole pie to take home to LA but they only sell by the slice due to high demand. No wonder Sunset Magazine wrote them up and even gave a recipe for their Peach Pie. I may have to try to make this. The crust is amazingly delicious. Both Matt and I gobbled our slices down.

Best pie ever.

We jumped back on the road heading south. Oh yes, here is a snap of our new little car Jing Jing (named for the Olympic diver)- a Versa that got us up into the mountains and back no problem!

On the way south to LA, we stopped for a late lunch in the teeny teeny town- if you can call it that- of Independence at a recommended authentic French bistro called Still Life. They use organic products and the place has an old school jazz motif. If you are ever passing through, stop off.

The pasta was simple yet so fresh and delicious.

It was a great little trip and for us, Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierras in general is just a special place to us both. It was where we took one of our first real trips together and have since had so many wonderful things happen for us up there.  We can't wait to share it with our son on the first of many family trips.