I had a little less than 24 hours in Monterey on a Wednesday-Thursday. Monterey takes some effort to get to since you have to get through San Jose traffic. Every time as I approach the peninsula I wonder if it really is worth it–and then I see the Monterey Bay and ‘yes!”
Ever since I saw my friend Jen’s photos of the penguin parade at the Monterey Bay Aquarium I have been hankering to visit. I lived in Pacific Grove in 1984-5 and when I return I like to eat at my favorite restaurants and check out favorite beaches and walks. A lot has changed in 30 years so some flexibility is needed.
I was driving up from Bakersfield after a business meeting, so I got there too late to eat at my favorite dinner place SandBar & Grill on Wharf #2. I checked into the Lone Oak Lodge on north Fremont Street. It deserves the good reviews it received on Trip Advisor: clean, comfortable and spacious in a good location for under $100 a night. After a long day of driving I was ready to stop. I made a cup of decaf with my in room coffee maker and checked my email on the free wifi.
After a great night’s sleep I checked out by 8:30 so I could try a new breakfast place, LouLou’s Griddle. It is located on the same wharf as the SandBar & Grill. It was a beautiful, brisk morning. The wind was already blowing so I was relieved to find hot coffee and a seat at an inside table. It is a popular place and once you taste the food it is obvious why. The food is excellent in addition to the classic diner charm in a great location.
I returned to my car and headed to Pacific Grove to enjoy the ocean views at Lovers Point. Pacific Grove was originally a Methodist church camp with many of the smaller homes built as cabins. Lovers Point was Lovers of Jesus Point. There is a trail and walks from Asilomar to the Aquarium in New Monterey. The views are incomparable with opportunities to see otters and other sea life.
I like shopping in the Pacific Grove village. Over the years some things have stayed the same, like the classic post office and library, and other things have changed. Holman’s Department store closed. You can still buy books at the Book Works shop. I discovered a new shop Tessuti Zoo with unique gifts and colorful crafts made by the shop owner.
I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a couple of hours of fun. (more to follow) I walked around Cannery Row and a ways down the Monterey Bay Recreation Trail. Next time I’ll explore bike rentals at Adventures By the Sea bicycle rentals at 210 Alvarado Street. You can cycle over 3.5 miles to Pacific Grove via Cannery Row.
I was ready for lunch around 1 p.m. and I really craved Gianni’s Pizza. Alas, they are only open for lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So I circled back to Vivolo’s Chowder House that I passed at 127 Central Avenue. It was a happy discovery. It looks unimpressive from the exterior but it is elegant and the clam chowder deserves its local favorite status.
I debated doing more in Monterey, but the traffic is always miserable going through San Jose at rush hour. I decided to drive back via Santa Nella so I could see how full San Luis Reservoir is and enjoy a less stressful drive. The reservoir is completely full and the hills are the greenest I’ve seen in 7 years.
A group of colleagues needed to find lunch after a meeting. Sergio1 found a Mexican restaurant with 4.5 stars on Yelp so we all plugged it in our Map app and met up at Nuestro Mexico Restaurant.
Often the best Mexican food is found in a hole in the wall and you compromise service or seating. Nuestro offers a lovely atmosphere, table service and a full bar.
Bakersfield is an interesting town. It feels very Midwestern (and this is not a slam). The buildings all have breathing room. It does mean that you are more likely to get in your car to go to lunch. Good news, there appears to be plenty of street parking.
My colleagues were really hungry and our server did a great job refilling our diet cokes, salsa and chip baskets while we waited for our food.
I took Sergio2’s advice and ordered a steak taco marinated in a special sauce that in other restaurants may call “al pastor” and is made with pork. Nuestro makes it with “adobada” and it was delicious.
All four of us loved our food. We definitely recommend Nuestro at 716 21st Street in Bakersfield for lunch or dinner.
Yum rhymes with sums so it is fitting that we eat pie on Pi Day! (hint: 3/14 if you are wondering).
I have celebrated Pi Day in Seattle or Los Angeles. Today I am home but busy with projects so I didn’t bake. Instead I walked with Lulu the Adventure Dog 3.14 blocks to New Roma Bakery.
You can also focus more on mathematics and celebrate the Greek letter and more.
C+ pie. Crust overworked and not flaky, filling too goopy.
Poor, poor Placerville. Overlooked as a destination except for those in desperate need of a restroom and a hot drink on their way home from Tahoe. Or just an exit to get to Apple Hill. So unfair. Of course the town is laid out more to please itself than visitors (and bathrooms are scarce).
Lunch at the Farm Table at 311 Main Street
My friend Cameon had spied Placerville’s latent charm when she passed through with her kids. She thought we should go back and explore. So one Saturday we did. It just happened to be raining cats and dogs.
Our first intention was to check out Lofty Lou’s yarn shop. If you Google it a photo of the old shop comes up. They have moved to a much roomier place at 263 Main Street. Lucky for us it was also a short jog from the public parking lot. It is a lovely store with a great variety of wool and other fibers. They also offer a lot of classes and have a classroom space.
We also found hard to find candy, and terrific Christmas ornaments. It does not take more than an hour and a half to circuit the main part of Main Street with stops.
We ended our visit with a delicious lunch at the Farm Table. They describe themselves: charcuterie – good food – provisions. We warmed up with a tasty soup and shared a salad. There is not a lot of sit down dining space, but there are choices for picnic lunches and pickled preserves to go.
The best thing going for Placerville is how close it is to downtown Sacramento and Folsom–different and yet not more than a 45 minute drive. It offers a different vibe–because it is essentially a mountain town to serve the local community. I mentioned our adventure to a friend and she asked if I had checked out the hardware store. She gushed about how awesome it is–an old fashioned, hard-to-find anymore hardware store.
Cameon and I also just went to old town Folsom for breakfast and shopping. It is much closer (especially for Cameon), with good food options. We ate at Peaches for a wholesome and tasty meal. The shopping options were also good, although my favorite store Roost is closing at the end of January. By comparison it is more quaint than Placerville. Aside from the farmer’s market on Saturday, it is designed more for visitors than Folsom residents. It is a destination for cyclists and runners using the American River trails, or for antique hunters.
Both towns are great options for something interesting to do with a friend on a Saturday morning.
Whenever I leave New Zealand I make a plan in my head for a return visit, Lord willing. I also stock up on my favorite NZ products. The Dove roll on deodorant is better here, not sure why. I also bought a number of Lynley Dodd children’s books for my newborn grandson. Finally I bought manuka honey. It is a lot more affordable to buy it here than in the USA.
Manuka honey doesn’t taste distinct from other honey, but it has terrific medicinal properties. The Maori have long known the medicinal qualities of the manuka plant and of honey from bees collecting manuka pollen. In 2006 German scientists isolated the property that gives it antibacterial properties (methylglyoxal). I use a little every morning on my toast or in a bit a of tea if I’m feeling under the weather. The amounts are probably not enough to be more than a placebo effect. Nonetheless, I like to have some on hand.
Bees generally collect from one type of flower rather than sample many types. Manuka grows in groves (like manzanita or gorse) and once they start collecting the bees are able to recognize and return to the same flowers by sight and smell. Once the hive is committed to the manuka flower the bees use dance to communicate to the rest of the workers locations of blooms. Beekeepers can also test their honey to establish the level of “unique manuka factor”.
I am trying a new manuka product this visit. Our penguin guide swears that manuka tea will cure sea sickness. He’s used it and it worked instantly. I am skeptical since my seasickness is both severe and related to the convoluted shape of my ear canal. Nonetheless, I am going to try to find a way to test it because then I could go to Antarctica with less trepidation.
The final product I am bring home is chocolate. I mail Crunchie bars to my friend Mara. They are a Cadbury bar made with honeycomb and chocolate. I also bring chocolate fish (also by Cadbury)–fish shaped marshmallow dipped in chocolate. I also usually bring a Picnic bar for myself when I’m feeling low from missing the clean air and southern light of New Zealand.
I bought my AllBirds in the USA (from the internet: http://www.allbirds.com). On this visit I noticed AllBirds are trending in New Zealand, although Kiwis are more likely to wear them without socks. I also learned they are washable and I have subsequently washed them and they look like new! Check it out: http://thisnzlife.co.nz/put-new-zealand-merino-allbirds-shoes-test/
Not listed was the mural walk, or Second Saturday, or the Kondos Gallery at Sac City College
What happens if you read the list of 51 things to do in Sacramento before you die and you discover you’ve done most of them? Sacramento Magazine’s cover story for January 2017 throws down the challenge. So over lunch at Plates2Go I read through the list and realized that I have very little to do before I die.
Of course I have lived here most of my 54 years so it is perhaps not surprising that I have done so much of what is on Anna Quinlan’s list.
So here is what I have done: (using their numbers)
2. Drink a $2 beer with the River Cats… I have been to numerous River Cats games, plus the Assembly vs. Senate ballgame, plus a 107.9 concert with SmashMouth. Great venue on a summer’s eve.
3. Dance on the Patio at The Pheasant Club. I have not danced, but I have dined at the Pheasant Club many, many times, including on the patio. It was former County Supervisor McGowan’s favorite place to meet. I sometimes wonder if they saw a dip in business when he got his Governor’s appointment. Supervisor Oscar Villegas prefers Broderick.
4. Find some food-truck fare. Not hard around the Capitol. But I have also been to Sactomofo.
5. Pack a picnic with items from Corti Brothers. I have shopped at Corti Brothers and it deserves respect for having a wide selection of gourmet items before anyone really appreciated gourmet in Sacramento. But if I am packing a picnic lunch, I am going to Selland’s on H Street.
6. Get a roast beef sandwich at Bud’s Buffet. OMG, get anything there and your delish meter will tilt, as will your fat and carbs meter. Funny how those are related.
7. Don’t walk past Moxie’s front door. It is in my neighborhood so I do walk past the front door, but I have also gone in and enjoyed an amazing dinner or two.
13. Cheer on the dachshund races. I have been to Picnic Day at UC Davis numerous times and I got close to the races, but could not get in. Happily settled for sheepdog trials instead.
14. Milk a cow at the State Fair. I have visited the livestock barns many, many times over the years…as a 4Her, as a cousin of a 4Her, and as a summer employee of the State Fair. I did not milk a cow, but I did get to ride a Budweiser Clydesdale early one morning at the Cavalcade of Horses.
15. Bet on the horses at Cal Expo. I remember when there were trotters.
17. Row a scull at the Port of West Sac. Okay this shouldn’t count but I’m going to try anyway… my daughter rowed one season at Lake Natoma and I watched.
20. Cheer on cyclists at Amgen Tour of California. YES! As a cycling fan I don’t miss this unless I am in Italy watching the Tour d’Italia.
21. Ring a cowbell at a Kings Game. Okay so I’ve sat a quarter at courtside courtesy of Southwest Airlines, and I have sat through many other Kings Games. I may not have rung a cowbell but my basketball days are done, so check.
25. See an indie flick at the Tower Theatre. Too many to count…
26. Take a friend to the drive-in… saw the first Star Wars there.
27. Pregame a show at Crest Theatre with drinks at Empress Tavern. Been to both more than once.
29. Go sledding in Strawberry. Check.
30. Check out the corpse flower at UC Davis Arboretum. I have walked around the arboretum too many times to count and I recommend you do too if you haven’t experienced it yet. My favorite is the oak grove.
31. Take a walking tour of the Christmas lights in the Fab 40s. My P.O. Box is right in the thick of the Christmas light traffic. Walking is a good suggestion. I have walked Dove Court in Orangevale with my family to see the Christmas displays. Counting it.
32. Tour the Old City Cemetery at Halloween. I have gone on a tour with a group of mystery writers. Highly recommend this experience with a knowledgeable docent any time of year.
33. Run to Feed the Hungry. Check.
35. White knuckle white-water rafting trip. I did this with a group of colleagues from the US Bureau of Reclamation as a team building exercise. Got my adrenaline pumping!
36. Take a historic river cruise. Check. Several times. They actually want you to take a cruise where they tell you the history. Technically I have done the river dinner cruise, and I’ve spent several evenings on the Delta King for various fundraisers.
37. Get a foot massage and Thai coffee in Sacramento’s Little Saigon. Thanks to my friend Anita and the Happy Day Spa, I’ve done this. Good times.
43. Tour the Capitol. It is a gem.
44. Pan for gold in Coloma. I was a 4th grader in Sacramento; my two children were 4th graders in Sacramento. Need I say more?
Santa Lucia bringing cookies to the celebrants at St John’s Lutheran 2016
45. Light a candle at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. I have attended concerts at this beautiful church, but I regularly attend St John’s Lutheran and we have a wonderful tradition of celebrating Santa Lucia Day. At the end we light candles and process to a light supper and dancing round the Christmas Tree.
46. Go on a dive bar pub crawl. I’ve met people at these establishments over the years and I hosted a pub quiz crawl fundraiser one year.
47. Grab a late night sweet at Rick’s Dessert Diner in midtown. Check.
49. Refuse to share a buttermilk bar from Marie’s Donuts. Well not the buttermilk bar per se…
50. Scream for Ice Cream… Yes, I have tried all of these ice cream establishments except Burr’s.
51. Customize a box of chocolate at Ginger Elizabeth. I lived above this shop for a year so I have eaten my fair share of delicious chocolate.
These ideas are worth pursuing:
One. Go to an event at The Barn in West Sacramento. Good idea, I hope to someday soon.
8.Score a ticket to the Tower Bridge Dinner. Want to take me?
9. Eat at The Kitchen. I am probably the only one of my friends who has not eaten there.
11. Get a degree from Cocktail Academy at Hook & Ladder. I don’t drink much but it still sounds like a fun and useful skill to acquire with friends.
18. Take your down dog off leash at Yoga in the Park. I enjoy yoga. I might try this. I did take my dog Radar to McKinley Park for dog training many Saturdays ago–so I’ll watch where I put down my mat!
19. Join the Tower Bridge Battalion at a Sac Republic Game. Really, really want to do this.
24. Dance at the Crocker Ball. I am not an enthusiast for getting all dolled up, but I do love to dance. And I love the Crocker Art Museum. Maybe if the right fella asks me.
38. Dance to the sound of Taiko drums at the Buddhist Church bazaar. I love percussion. I am game for this.
39. Eat a gyro at the Sacramento Greek Festival. Sure why not.
Sorry, I am not into that…
10. Ride the SacBrewBike. Oh, they are ubiquitous on a summer evening in Midtown. I don’t begrudge them their fun, just would rather ride my own bike to Big Stump Brewery for Pub Theology with St John’s Lutheran crew.
12. Book a limo tour of Amador County’s best wineries. Pass.
16. Get your butt kicked at SacTown Fit Crawl. Nope, if I am going to get sweaty it will be a Zumba class with Paco at Sierra II.
22. Let your freak flag fly at SacAnime. Hey, I enjoy seeing you all come into Starbucks when the the various conventions are going on, and I enjoy looking at Bill Reid’s photos of “freaks” but I will stay on the sidelines thank you.
23. Wear white after Labor Day at Diner en Blanc. I don’t enjoy getting dressed up. In fact, I have a friend’s fancy dress birthday party on the Isle of Wight in June and I am already getting stressed about what I’ll wear. Besides I’m sure to spill and then it would be Diner en blanc, and green, and yellow, etc.
28. Go paddle-boarding on the river. They are suggesting paddle-boarding from Discovery Park to Crawdads. Hmmm. I participated in Young Life’s Raft Race back in the day and I’m not sure I’d recommend paddleboarding on the Sacramento River.
34. Get on board the beer train. No thanks.
I’m not a super huge live music enthusiast: 40. Claim a front row picnic blanket at Pops in the Park; 41. Rock out with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera; 42. Be an audience for One Man Band. I have enjoyed the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus holiday concert.
47. Smoke a hookah and watch the belly dancers at Kasbah Lounge. Allergic to smoke.
The road to Akaroa is a bit twisty, and yet for your effort you are rewarded with views, great restaurants, penguins, art, and more.
Created by volcanic explosion and settled by French pioneers, Akaroa is a small village constrained by steep hills and water.
We stayed at the Akaroa Criterion Hotel–great location and management. It is an easy walk along the waterfront to restaurants and shops. It is also next door to Sweet As Cafe.
Entertainment, war memorials, and a great store for buying merino wool sweaters and other possum items at Woolworx.
This beautiful spot is in my top three places in New Zealand. Go already!
When you visit the South Island of New Zealand you find yourself saying “wow” a lot. It is hard after a while to be impressed. Places that would win most beautiful or special contests in other countries become average in New Zealand. So believe me when I tell you that you will find Lake Tekapo stunning.
As it says in the coffee table book in our hotel room: “From the moment you cross Burkes Pass and first see the enormous, tussock-covered plain of the Mackenzie basin and encircling Southern Alps, you know you have arrived in a another world—a largely untouched world filled with wide open spaces, breathtaking scenery, and are so clear it feels, as Dame Ngaio Marsh once wrote, ‘unbreathed, newly poured out from the blue chalice of the sky.”
Pedestrian bridge links lake trail from village to Church of Good Shepherd; glacial “rock flour” turn the water vivid blue turquoise.
We landed in Christchurch around 8 a.m. and picked up our rental car. We drove south on Highway 1 then east on 79 for about 3 hours. Steadily the farmland and small towns grew in beauty and charm. Finally we pulled around a corner to be gobsmacked by Lake Tekapo and the snowy mountains that frame it.
We are still an hour from the tallest mountain in New Zealand–Mt Cook or Aoraki (the cloud piercer). We discussed driving to see it, but the weather has been rainy with low clouds and the odds are that it won’t be visible. Similarly we booked the 9:45 p.m. tour of Mount John Observatory but received a full refund from Earth and Sky tours when the cloud cover was 100%.
This statue by Innes Elliott honors all of the collies that assist shepherds–not just to James Mackenzie’s partner in sheep stealing crime: his dog Friday.
There is still so much beauty and interest.We walked to the Church of the Good Shepherd and the dog statue. This Mackenzie Country area is named for James Mackenzie, a sheep rustler with a strong constitution who also happens to be the first European to find his way to this special place. More sheep farmers flooded in from all over Scotland and England and carved out a life in this remote place. The population didn’t really reach any significance until the hydro-electric dams and facilities were constructed in the middle of last century. Now tourism rivals farming for economic eminence.
Church of Good Shepherd built by Presbyterians and Anglicans in mid 1930s. (photo: Rev. Sarah Clare)
We’ve enjoyed great coffee and toasted cheese sandwiches at Mackenzies, and a great lunch at the Tin Plate. Our hotel room at Lakeview Tekapo is super comfy with elegant and modern furnishings that all focus on the view of the lake and mountains. We are hoping for a clear night tonight because the area is protected from light pollution and the stars are rumored to be amazing. So glad this is where UK Sarah and I are spending the most time on our road trip.
Long time readers of this blog may remember that I absolutely love St Heliers in the East Bays of Auckland. In my book any day in this village is a good day.
When I arrived on Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. I picked up my luggage, my first flat white and caught a cab to a friend B’s house. I showered and dressed for church. We went to the 9:30 service at St Phillips. I finally learned that All Black’s had won the rugby match against Australia the day before.
B’s friend Joan joined us and we went to the boardwalk to enjoy a drop-dead gorgeous day in St Heliers. The pohutukawa trees were just starting to bloom. The sun shone brightly. It was Labour Day weekend and the beach was full of families enjoying the ocean and one another.
This gingerbready house sold for $3 million recently… guess I will have to win the lottery to own a home in St Heliers.
We walked to the large Morton Bay fig trees on the green and then turned back toward Annabelle’s for lunch. We were able to get a table outside and continue to enjoy the day. It was perfect.
I was looking for something to watch other than sport or politics and I found A Few Good Pie Places on PBS.org. Most of the places they featured were east of the Mississippi. One of the exceptions was Ikeda’s in Auburn. How had I not heard of their pie before? Afterall, they sell 80-100,000 pies a year!
Meanwhile, my friend Dan Macon was also celebrating a milestone–24 of his photographs from his 365 Days of Sheep are featured in art show in the Auburn City Hall. I called my Mom and invited her to join me to taste the pie and see the photos. She added Machado’s to our list of places to go.
We went straight to Ikeda’s to enjoy pie. Surprise, they serve breakfast and lunch too. I had a delicious western chicken sandwich combo and my mom a burger. Then we shared a piece of wild blackberry pie (yum) and tasted the french apple (too sweet). There is also a complete store of fruit, vegetables and other delicious foodstuffs.
We then proceeded a short distance to Machado Orchard. I bought a bag of Empire apples and a slice of classic apple pie. The filling was delicious but Mom and I agreed that the crust was doughy.
We were feeling ready for a nap! We pressed on to find the Auburn City Hall. Google seemed a bit confused. We parked at the beautiful courthouse in Old Town and walked the block to the City Hall. Alas, it is not open on weekends. We could see some of the photos through the doorway and we definitely will return.
Most people in the greater Sacramento area think of Apple Hill at this time of year for pie and fruit (east on Interstate 50). Auburn is about equidistant from downtown but east on Interstate 80. It has a growing number of small farms. October 9 is Placer Grown Farm & Barn self guided tour from 10-4.
A group of colleagues needed to find lunch after a meeting. Sergio1 found a Mexican restaurant with 4.5 stars on Yelp so we all plugged it in our Map app and met up at Nuestro Mexico Restaurant.
We went straight to Ikeda’s to enjoy pie. Surprise, they serve breakfast and lunch too. I had a delicious western chicken sandwich combo and my mom a burger. Then we shared a piece of wild blackberry pie (yum) and tasted the french apple (too sweet). There is also a complete store of fruit, vegetables and other delicious foodstuffs.
We then proceeded a short distance to 
americanjulie.com 