July 2003 Archives
Jfer and I are both big fans of Promised Land Milk--although we liked it even better when you could return the glass bottles to the store for reuse. The milk is local (Southeast of San Antonio), organic and plain scrumptious. It's also pretty expensive, so we don't buy it all that much.
Beside regular milk, I really like their chocolate milk and Dulche de Leche and they regularly have fruit and berry flavors. Apparently they also have "seasonal" flavors and when I saw one at the store the other day, I figured I'd give it a try.
Well, let me tell ya, mixing orange juice and milk just doesn't work. Although they try, the Creamy Dreamy Orange Milk is just not very appealing. It's too sweet and, well, milk and oranges?!? What were they thinking? What was I thinking when I bought the bottle?
I successfully signed up for the Beginning Photography class. I think the biggest benefit that I have received from my Texas Exes membership (beside the nifty key chain) is the ability to pay student rates for Informal Classes.
The beginning photography class will let me use my old Canon Rebel SLR camera. I hadn't touched it in quite some time, and I must say it feels much nicer than any of the digitals I've used--especially zooming and manual focusing. I ogled some of the digital SLRs but most of them (especially the Canons) are humongous (not to mention their price).
I sort of am in a need of replacing my Canon PowerShot 10, but I'm not sure I'd be fully happy with a Canon G-series camera. I want manual focuse but I don't like the way digital cameras do it--even the enlarged image approach that the, otherwise very slick, G5 does. So Canon, if you're listening, please release a digital SLR based on (and sized like) the film-based Rebel Ti. And give it a decent price so I can ask Santa for it.
Meg sent us the plate that we so hurriedly decorated at Terra Mia when we were in San Francisco. It turned out OK for the amount of time we put into it and it could have turned out great if we had had enough time and the right tools available. As can be seen from the before and after images, firing definitely changes the colors of the glaze. It also introduced a hairline crack (or maybe it was the shipping, I don't know) so we'll see how long our souvenir will survive.
Here is what I would do differently if I had the time (and latex paint):
- Let the base paint dry before doing any scratching. Our base paint (on the bottom) was a light blue, but the bubbles we scratched out went all the way to the white ceramic.
- Don't paint a huge area that you're going to mask off, only paint just a little beyond what you're going to mask. The colors we used for our three fish and sea star are coming through the blue around them. We didn't have much of a choice in this, since we were using contact paper for masking, but still...
- Apply multiple layers of paint, and let it dry between applications. Our colors could have been more vibrant and it would have prevented the contrasting colors--and the white ceramic--from seeping through the blue.
- When you sponge a marbled pattern, make sure there is enough contrast between the two colors. Our dark teal and blue look almost alike.
Would I do this again? You betcha! The process is fun and with enough time and effort you can create some cool stuff. Ceramics party anyone?
I'm trying to sign up for a Beginning Photography class at the UT Informal Classes. Basically I want to get back in touch with my Canon SLR and then come up with a justification for spending way too much money on a digital camera at some point in the future.
Their site's registration process is quite annoying. For one, their site is frame driven, so you can't easily bookmark pages. Then, in order to register for a class, you fill out your info and submit--expecting that you'd be able to log in and register for a class, right? No siree. You get told that a "Customer ID will be sent to you by e-mail when your request is approved". Huh? This is the 21st century people--I want instant gratification! I shouldn't have to wait for someone to manually create a customer ID (probably some meaningless string of digits that I'll lose by the time I want to take another class). Well, I shouldn't expect much more from a site proudly boasting that it's "VeriSign Secure".
This reminds me of the previous incarnation of their site which would take online reservation, that would then be printed out by someone and manually re-entered into another computer system. Sheesh!
My office is moving into new digs this weekend and I'll have to say goodbye to my huge, bright corner office. I'll move into what I like to refer to as "The Bat Cave". Despite the loss of scenery, I'm kinda looking forward to the move. Since the new office is much smaller, everyone is going to be closer to each other which fosters communication and a sense of community--or so I hope.
Plus Ray is going to bring in his ping-pong table, so that'll be something new for me to be beaten at (since I pretty much suck at our competition of choice).
I had an itch for home-made bread. I was going to make semeet again, since we liked it so much, but there wasn't any milk in the fridge (well, there were two bottles, but both quite curdled). So I decided that it was time to make some German-style pretzels. The ones you get at Wurstfest are actually pretty good, although a bit on the bland side. Those that you get at movie theaters or at the mall, doused with butter and soft like wonderbread are just plain crap. My aim is for the type of pretzel you buy in Germany, Switzerland (train stations have great ones) or Austria.
I found this recipe and made it last night, altering it to partly use whole-wheat flour and malt. I accidentally put too much butter into it, so they turned out softer than I like, but the overall flavor was great and the crust was a beautiful shiny deep bronze brown--just like the Silserli from Switzerland. Next time I'll use less butter and make sure to roll out the dough more--some of my pretzels rose so much that they ended up looking more like a roll.
Jfer did a tri in Wichita Falls this weekend (she finished 3rd in her group, no less) so it has been just Homer and I. I'm not really used to being by my self anymore and it leads to lazy time. Well, I try anyway.
I didn't sleep in on Saturday, since our annual(?) neighborhood park cleanup was going on and I'd have felt guilty not to participate. Although the city finally cut the jungle that they called a lawn, the trees--mostly the willows along the creek--were in serious need of trimming. So from 7 to 9 AM a bunch of the park regulars were hedging and clipping and removing brush. It's much cleaner now, although I miss some of the rotting logs that have now disappeared. It was also reassuring to see how everyone was ignoring the "Pets on Leash" signs that have sprouted around the park. Homer had a good time playing with the other dogs (and I'm still hoping to teach him to mark those signs so that I can capture it with my camera).
I was going to be lazy in the afternoon, but I got corralled into baby sitting Nolan. He was his sweet-yet-mischievous self and we had a good time together. I got to see Lilo and Stitch, there weren't any "accidents" or me having to help with #2, and he took a very long nap, during which I was going to watch Blade Runner but couldn't stay awake (I still remember how much I hated having to take naps when I was a kid).
So the only thing I've really accomplished this weekend was assembling our coffee tables that we got from Danny as a wedding gift--they go nicely with our new living room furniture. And I remembered to call dad and wish him happy birthday--thanks to Jfer's reminder on Friday, of course.
And if she ever makes it back on time, we'll be able to do dinner and movies at the Alamo--she ows me for a bet she lost.
Well, it's been almost a week, but I've finally finished typing in my entries from our trip. Coastal California is such a pleasure to visit from Austin in the middle of summer. I totally understand why so many people want to move there.
Withouthout further ado, here are links to my reports and pictures:
The next day we dropped off the girls at a birthday party and an uncle's house and headed for a short hike in the mountains. It was pretty hot (for only the second time on our trip) and a bit hazy, so the view wasn't that great. The shady forest was nice and full of laurel trees from which Meg swiped some bay leaves for cooking.
In the afternoon we headed to San Francisco to have dinner with some other people. We arrived too late to visit any museums, but the Japanese Tea Garden was open (and free!) so we spend about an hour there, enjoying the many paths and bridges.
We were supposed to meet for dinner at Betel Nut, a hip Asian-fusion (whatever that is) restaurant. They told us that it would take two hours for our party of nine, so we decided to kill some time window shopping.
As it happened, next door to the restaurant is Terra Mia, one of those places where you paint pottery and they glaze and fire it for you. This would be the perfect place--Meg and the girls could decorate a tea pot and cup and saucer for Meg's sister, and Jfer and I would make a neat souvenir. We decided on decorating a dip-bowl with marine animals to commemorate our trip to the Aquarium. The studio has great examples and simple instructions. We were going to use bright colors for the fish, mask them with latex, sponge blue and blue green water over them and scratch bubbles in the water.
Just as we were finishing the base color, the restaurant called that the table would be ready in 15 minutes--ack! Then the studio person told us they were out of latex paint and we'd have to use a different approach--double ack! So Meg stalled the restaurant for some additional time and they quickly finished their tea combo and left to meet up with the rest of the group. Jfer and I were frantically simplifying the design, masked out the sea creatures using contact paper, and eventually ended up with our bowl. The studio is going to glaze it and fire it, at which point the colors are supposedly going to become deep and bright--I'm curious how it's going to turn out and when we'll finally receive our bowl.
The dinner itself was really good. Of the other people, I only knew Linda but the whole group was fun--and one of the guys picked up the tab, for which we were grateful. If you ever make it there, their oven-smoked sea bass with cucumber namasu is to die for. Their pork ribs were a close second favorite.
After dinner it was a long ride back to Cupertino. Next day, we got up early, loaded the car, said our goodbyes and headed for the airport. There is construction going on around the San Jose airport and the signage is pretty much non-existent--Austin has much better directions to its airport. We made it in plenty time, and Jfer made it on the planes despite her dubiously issued tickets.
Arriving in hot, muggy Austin after northern California is always a bit of a downer. But we got to pick up Homer, so that pretty much made up for it.
We lodged in Pacific Grove on the Monterey peninsula at The Inn, a very pleasant B&B -- our room was elegantly simple. We had some delicious sea food at Passion Fish that we walked to from our hotel.
Thursday morning we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which I had visited some years ago and which I knew Jfer would love. The aquarium was just as great as I remembered. They even added a new wing which houses the jelly exhibit and the Outer Bay aquarium. Jfer loved the jellies, but I really dug all the big fish--shark, tuna, ray, barracuda, etc.--in the big tank. The aquarium says that the average visit lasts 2-3 hours. We were there from the opening at 9:30 and didn't leave until they closed at 6. Next time we go, I'll make sure we won't miss the Outer Bay feeding and that we'll make it to the petting pool before they rays get too spooked and start acting shy.
After the aquarium we hooked up with Meg and her dad who had checked into our Inn. We hit the hot tub before another dinner in the town.
We had been following the Pacific Coast Highway off and on the whole trip. The most spectacular parts by far, though, are the sections from San Simeon through Big Sur to Monterey. The highway narrows and snakes up and down the steep coastal hills, often in tight hairpin curves, as it makes its way along the ocean. Every few hundred yards there is another scenic overlook with spectacular view of the Pacific.
The traffic was fairly light and the scenery is mostly deserted. It's occasionally punctuated with a private residence or small settlement. There are many hiking trail heads along the road, although most of them lead to steep ascents up the hills. Although we had a blue sky the air was quite chilly (as it is all the time along the cost) and whenever we drove under or through some fog it was down right cold.
I think we spied some elephant seals on one of the beaches, but they were too far away for us to be sure. We did see plenty of birds and some more ground squirrels. These were much skinnier than the monsters in Cambria, although they too appreciated the strawberry we gave them.
I was a bit wistful when we reached the traffic in Carmel, knowing it was the end of our solitude.
Cambria is right next to San Simeon, where the Hearst Castle is located. William Randolph Hearst constructed the 165 room estate over some 30 odd years and filled it with art treasures from all over Europe. It's now a state monument and very nicely set up and organized.
The entire tour was pretty interesting but I really only liked parts of the castle. I enjoyed most of the "original" construction, i.e. stuff that wasn't based on or built around some artifact bought of some medieval church or castle somewhere in Europe. Both the outdoors Neptune pool as well as the indoor pool were pretty breath taking. The "medium" guest house and all the terraces and gardens were neat--the flowers and citrus trees made for a very pleasing aroma. The marble statues that were commissioned by Hearst fit well into their environment.
What I didn't care that much about was the bottom floor of the main house. The "Casa Grande" is built and re-built around artifacts that Hearst collected over the years. The collected statues, pillars, doorways, fire places, church pews, facades, etc. drove the construction of the house. It ends up looking a bit disjointed and too cluttered. I have been trying to put my finger on what was bugging me about it and I've decided that when you take art and architectural details out of context, they simply lose too much.
Still, the place must have been fascinating with the celebrities that were visiting all the time. And apparently Hearst was quite progressive and his hundreds of employees only had good things to say about him (wouldn't you, if you had a job with benefits in the middle of the depressions?) If we make it to San Simeon again, we'll probably take some of the other tours as well.
We arrived in Cambria around 6 pm and checked into our B&B, The Beach House. The house sits above the Pacific across the Moonstone Beach Drive. Our room was the Pelican Perch and it was wonderfully intimate with a great view of the ocean.
We walked on the board walk where we encountered a bunch of tame and over-fed ground squirrels. We then headed down to the beach which was covered by thousands of By-The-Wind Sailors which had drifted to the shore and were drying on the beach. We also saw several bull kelp that had been washed ashore and that look like mutated giant snakes. Farther up the beach there was lots of drift wood that someone had assembled into cool, abstract, stacks.
It seems that the week before a big holiday is the perfect time for travel--we were the only visitors at the house and in general there were few people. Our house lady let us leave our luggage at the house next day when we went on to visit the Hearst Castle.
We took a detour through the mountains above Santa Barbara before heading back to Highway 1. This took us through Solvang which was like something out of the Twilight Zone. Every freaking building looks like Walt Disney's idea of a "Quaint Old World" Danish house. It really shows the dangers of taking an idea way, way too far.
Not far after Solvang we noticed a road-side fruit stand as we were driving by. I'm a big fan of road-side produce--it tends to be fresh off the plant and much better than the stuff you get at the store. As it turned out, the fruits were just a side business of Ostrich Land, where we got to see oodles of big birds just hanging around begging for food.
We didn't buy any ostrich wares, but the strawberries and peaches I bought did not disappoint.
I hadn't booked a hotel for Monday night, so after we returned from Santa Cruz Island and had some sea food at Andria's we decided to try for lodging in Santa Barbara. We made it there after their visitor center closed, but thanks to a nifty touch-screen kiosk, we found the the eponymous Hotel Santa Barbara smack in the middle of State Street. It's a nice old hotel in walking distance to most things of interest. Instead of going out, though, we simply crashed.
Next morning we had breakfast in a nice outdoor cafe across the street and then headed toward the beach to get some wheels. We rented the Deuce Coupe at Wheel Fun Rentals and proceeded along the shore one one of their excellent biking lanes. As it turned out, a sit-down pedaling vehicle is not the most comfortable or efficient way to travel (no gears and crappy leverage). Next time I'd go for a tandem.
We ended up at the Andree Clark Bird Refuge where we individually walked through the sanctuary while the other was guarding our bike (they really ought to rent them with bike locks). I saw a bunch of birds, lizards and rabbits and Jfer also got to watch some ducklings diving after fish.
We made it back in about two hours and checked out of the hotel around noon. While driving out of town, I was kindly reminded that pedestrians have the right of way by a guy who referred to me as an asshole for cutting him off. I kinda agree with him, but it was more of a clueless tourist thing rather than being a jerk. It also reminded me not to call people in convertible cars names, since they can easily hear you :-)
