outta here – Page 17

Southern CA

By beakatude
on Aug 28, 2013
in dog, family, friends, kumquat, outings, outta here, yum

We drove down to Southern California on Tuesday morning and the drive went rather smoothly for most of the way down. On our way out of SF, we drove through the eastern span of the Bay Bridge one last time before it would be closed permanently the next day. It’s kinda sad but really necessary to get rid of this section.

Our car was also at full capacity with Kumquat, Koa, and my mom in the backseat.

We made a lunch stop at In N Out in Santa Nella instead of Kettleman City. It looks pretty new and everything was so clean and empty when we were there.

At the 5-hour mark, we encountered some major traffic. It was in the Grapevine and the sign said there would be an 8-mile backup with everyone merging in to the left lane. We were at such a snail’s pace. When I looked at our Google Maps instructions, it said to to exit Quail Rd and take some side streets. Taking a desperate chance, we listened and totally won! Part of it was a little sketchy with it being mostly dirt and rocks and a sign saying that we were leaving the maintained portion of the road. We managed to by-pass 5 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic and cut in line at the front when we got back on the freeway. Thanks, Uncle Google. I will never doubt your instructions again!

The drive took a total of 8 hours including 3 stops. We were so tired of being in the car that we walked to Don Jose for some enchiladas and margaritas. This is Jes’ Corona-Rita.

The next day was mostly for errands. Before taking Koa to the vet, we stopped at Wahoo’s for lunch. Yum. Oh how I miss a good fish taco.

Then we took Koa to the vet in Irvine. This is the place that we’ve always taken him since he was a pup and he was shaking as much as the first time we brought him. He did surprisingly well during the examination and walked out of there with a bunch of shots.

After that, we went to Pish’s office for my long-overdue check-up and cleaning. It had been 4 years since I had seen a dentist!! Thankfully, I had no cavities. Yippee!

In the afternoon, I met up with Holly and Andrew for a little catching up before dinner.

For dinner, we met up with Johnny and Joy in Torrance for some izakaya and beer. Boy, we had a very productive first day!

Reminiscing

By beakatude
on Jul 07, 2013
in outta here, photos

I had a coupon code for a photo book so I finally got my photos from Maui uploaded and ordered a book. Ah…when can we go back again?

Click here to view this photo book larger

Tahoe Weekend

By beakatude
on Jul 02, 2013
in friends, kumquat, outta here, yum

On Friday, we drove to South Tahoe to meet up with Sylvia and James. They have a timeshare at a resort just next to Heavenly and they invited us to stay in their 2-bedroom suite for the weekend.

The drive up was in heavy traffic but we made it with just enough time to enjoy the sunset and some drinks and dinner in the village.

The next morning, we made a big breakfast and then packed up for a day at the beach. We ended up at Zephyr Cove Beach where it’s a popular hangout for college kids. We got a spot in the back and set-up a big shady tarp for a view of the lake and all the partying happening around us.

I was amazed at how Kumquat kept herself occupied for so long by playing with the sand and the bucket/shovel that we brought from home. I actually got to crack open a magazine and relax a bit. Jesse and James also BBQ’d around the corner and we enjoyed chicken wings, corn, and sausage under our little campsite along with a box of wine.

Later in the evening, we went out for dinner at the casinos and walked around a bit in the warm evening weather.

Our drive home on Sunday was smooth with the exception for a 5-mile stretch of traffic in Davis where it was 104 degrees outside. All-in-all it was a good but short trip.

Portland

By beakatude
on May 24, 2013
in aw..., babies, family, friends, kumquat, outta here, videos, yum

We took a trip to Portland this past weekend and it was a nice family vacation. The weekend started with a late flight and a cranky baby that couldn’t’ settle down. She fussed for most of the flight until I finally took her to the back to walk around. Once it was time to land, I sat down in the back of the plane in an empty seat and she fell asleep. When we got to the hotel, it was pretty late but we all settled in quickly and got a pretty good night’s sleep.

On Saturday (all day) and Sunday (morning), I went to class. It was actually a good class and worth the trip. On Saturday it rained but we still managed to explore the city. We stayed at the Westin, which was located right in the middle of everything. In fact, it was just a few steps from a collection of food stalls. Unfortunately Nong’s Kao Man Gai was closed for the weekend so we grabbed a bite to eat at Kenny & Zuke’s Deli.

We had shared a tasty chicken noodle soup, pastrami sandwich, potato salad, and mac and cheese. Even Kumquat got some!

On Sunday afternoon after class, we drove up to Multnomah Falls. It was a short 30-minute drive and we got to see two waterfalls. The first was Latourell Falls where we took a short hike up a hill. We also saw a couple critters along the way.

Centipede a video by beakatude on Flickr.

Inch Worm a video by beakatude on Flickr.

Multnomah Falls was just down the street and so accessible!

Jes took the 0.2-mile walk up to the bridge and my lens was long enough to get a photo of him from down below. He’s the guy in red. Pretty cool, huh?!

Later that evening, we met up at Pok Pok for dinner with Heather and her family. I was so excited to see her and to finally meet little Daphne and her husband Brian. It’s been about 8 years since I last saw her and it was just like old times.

The food was good and had some really authentic flavors but with a twist. It was worth the visit.

Baby Elephant a video by beakatude on Flickr.

The next morning, we met up at Oregon Zoo. Heather has a membership so she got one of us in for free. Thanks, Totoro! The best part of the trip for me was seeing the baby elephant, Lily, who was born in November.

Daphne enjoyed the baby monkey that was also recently born. Heather emailed me todayy and said that she won’t stop talking about the baby monkey and the mama monkey with the long boobies. So funny.

I love this photo of the four of us. I wish we lived closer to each other. We’d have so much fun together.

For lunch, we stopped at Nong’s Kao Man Gai. I was so excited as I waited for our order and when I brought it back to the hotel room, it was DELICIOUS. There’s something so awesome about eating something that I grew up eating only at my house. And seriously…can anyone tell me why there are SO MANY Thai restaurants in Portland?! They’re just as abundant as coffeeshops!Kumquat needed to take a nap so I took her for a long walk in the stroller. About 90 minutes later, she woke up in time to try on some shoes. We ended up getting a pair of matching Nikes. LOOK AT THAT MINI SHOEBOX! So cute!

For dinner, we sat outside on the sidewalk. It was a pretty warm day and comfortable enough to stay out until sunset. These tables were all full when we sat down but emptied out by the time we left. Weird.

On Tuesday morning, we walked over to Voodoo Donuts. I had walked past it the day before but there was a huge line. Luckily there was no line in the morning so we picked up a maple bacon donut and it was pretty tasty. I cheated on my low-cholesterol diet that morning and ate half the donut and made myself throw the other half away. Yes, it’s true and a little bacon fairy out there somewhere cried a little that morning.

Our flight home went smoothly with the exception of an hour-long delay. Luckily we hadn’t boarded the plane yet when they decided to delay the flight due to a mechanical problem. We got to hang out at the gate instead, which worked out great for a 13-month-old who doesn’t sit still anymore. Once on the plane, she did great and even got a middle seat to herself. She made up for the horrible flight up on Friday night.

It was a fun trip filled with tasty eats, good friends, quality family time, and oh yeah…some professional development.

Until next time…

By beakatude
on Mar 10, 2013
in family, kumquat, life, outta here, yum

We left Maui on Wednesday (3/6) morning and it happened to be Brother and Joy’s wedding anniversary too. Happy Anniversary!

It was a good week of sun, water, and family time. The house we rented was awesome and perfect for the seven of us. Loved having easy access to the beach at any time and the convenience of a full kitchen. Of course we missed the whole “hotel feel” of a vacation at times but we were still able to get a taste of it at the Sheraton pool and bar that was just steps away from where our beach camp was located. It was also so nice to have family around to enjoy this experience and also to help out with watching Kumquat. What a treat!

Also, thanks to Yoon and Kurt for coming over from Oahu to hang out and that bucket of rice lasted us three meals!!

The flight from Maui to Honolulu was short but painful since Kumquat decided to be h-angry right as we were landing. The 2-hour layover in Honolulu was just enough time to sit down for a proper meal.

Luckily the longer flight from Honolulu to SF was not as bad. She slept for a total of 2 hours and I had the Ergo to hold her and plenty of snacks to keep her occupied.

A vacation to Hawaii is definitely different now with a 10-month-old in tow but totally worth the extra luggage, lack of reading, and time lost in getting out of the house each day. Bringing her pack-n-play and feeding seat was worth it and Kumquat did quite well with the time change there and back.

Also, thanks to my mom for keeping Koa company while we were gone. Hope you had a fun vacation in SF!

So our next trip will likely be back on Oahu again. Not sure how we’ll be able to pull off staying at the Moana again but who knows what life will be like next year.