Jennie Lakes Wilderness

So I know I spent some time whining about our camping trip yesterday. And definitely it could have gone much better, but we did manage to get in a very nice day hike before we headed back home. The weather was gorgeous and the wilderness beautiful. I don't know if it was because of the time of year or what, but I think that aside from a few random people now and again, we had the whole trail to ourselves which was pretty darn cool. Since we had been planning on just backpacking, we didn't really even have a day pack with us. So we threw in some snacks and water into G's big pack and took that along with us. G loved that he got to carry it most of the way, I could tell. I mean, that look on his face was just pure joy. I waited til the way back (and it was mostly empty and we were walking downhill) to offer to carry it the rest of the way. But you know, I'm thinking it would have hurt his sense of manhood to NOT lug that thing around, right? I'm guessing though that he, for one, is so happy that all we did was a day hike.


When we first headed out, we couldn't even find the trailhead. All we saw was the big grassy plain above, and figured well, the dogs seemed excited, so maybe that was the way to go. It turns out that the start of the trail was supposed to have a tiny little trail sign (this one above was taken along the trail later on). But maybe due to the recent rain storms, the one at the trailhead had been completely knocked out. So we didn't feel as completely stupid as we might have. Anyway, we came across the start of the trail eventually, but it took a lot of circling around the parking lot in what was basically marsh land (again the recent rains . . . ). There was even this awesome moment when Tucker and Mia ended up on the banks of this little creek and couldn't make their way up for the life of them. We were so busy laughing at them that I didn't think to take my camera out, and by the time I did, Mia had realized she could go around (most of the area was just grass with a bit of water, so I'm not sure why they picked that particular spot to try to walk through in the first place. Tucker finally struggled up, too. G tried to throw him back into the water so that I could get my pics, but he got wise and found a shallower embankment to cut through.


The day hike we did was out to Weaver Lake and back (7 miles round trip). I hear its not as nice as Jennie Lakes where we would have gone if we'd actually stayed the extra day like we were planning, but still, it was very pretty.

Mia, as always was excited to get out in the water. I had a few pics of her swimming but I guess I forgot to email those to myself last night. Work pretty much blocks all photo sites, so can't go grab them now til I get home. Oh well, just for good measure (and cuz I'm a little biased), I threw in another cute picture of her below, all before she was soaking wet. Possibly while they were all begging for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

On the way back home that night, we picked up on some Thai food to go in Fresno, so we even got a ltitle tour of the ghetto. I ordered blind by phone, and apparently I demonstrated my knowledge of Thai food so well that the guy who took my order (Steve) asked if I worked in a Thai restaurant. Cuz, you know, I ordered such obscure dishes as yellow and red curry, and asked if they had drunken noodles. I mean, come on, I could have been a native. But I'm thinking that in Fresno, maybe the closest to authentic they get is a fellow Thai restaurant staff member?? I dunno, but if you're ever driving through Fresno, I'd skip the Thai food and keep on going. Especially if its some place that seems to double as a club and tells you that they don't actually have yellow curry.

"the worst night ever"

This last weekend, G and I went camping, proving yet again that we're not really meant for physical labor, er, I mean exercise. It was kind of a last minute thing. We'd both been a bit stressed and thought it'd be nice to get out of town and be active. But I had really wanted to get some info during the week before heading out so that we didn't just show up somewhere with no idea of what we were doing. And I wanted to backpack, which always takes a bit more planning, and well, packing. I didn't get a chance to do either during the week. So Thurs night, I suggested that maybe we shouldn't go, and just hang out at home over the weekend. G, ever the optimist, wondered what the big deal with planning was and thought we could just get up early Fri, pack up our stuff, and head out. Pick up some trail maps at the ranger station on the way in, and we'd be set.

So that's what we did. We went to Jennie Lakes Wilderness in Sequoia National Forest. And it all sounded good until we actually started heading out. For one thing, it took us most of the day to dig up our camping gear from the garage and get going. Plus we needed a few essentials along the way (like water), so that slowed us down too . So what thing leading to another, by the time we got to the area, not only was the ranger station closed - so no maps - but it was pitch black. I complained for most of the last hour about how terrible it was going to be to set up our tent in the dark. And we couldn't even pick the best campsite, dammit! I'm kind of like a broken record when it comes to whining too, so I'm sure it made for a fun car ride for G.

We get there and of course everything takes forever in the dark, pitching the tent, feeding the dogs, everything. But we finally get it together and G starts to build a fire. Except that the fire won't get going. No matter what we did, we just couldn't get it to take off. I think they had some rain a while back and that probably didn't help. We only had a little lighter too, and that at some point seemed like it was in danger of dying pretty soon, which would have been awesome. Anyway, G thought maybe it'd help to get the stove going, and use that to try to light the twigs and paper.

So we pulled that out of our backpack, and stumbled onto our next problem. The stove. So I should say that the stove is mine, but I haven't used it in like 5 years. So how was I to remember that it takes some special type of gas canister? Apparently it does, cuz we couldn't attach the canister for the life of us, and when we looked at the directions (also hard in the dark), we realized we might have a problem. So this is where we're at. It's almost 9 o'clock at night by this point. We have no fire, no stove, it's already pretty darn cold. I was in full bitch mood, complaining constantly about how it was the "worst night ever" and this is what we get for trying to do something without planning it properly. And isn't it just like G to assume everything would just work out on its own. On and on and on. Again, good times for G. And for any campers nearby who got to hear my little tirade.

We finally decided to just go to bed (and guess what, just as we were about to turn in, the fire started randomly, go figure). Anyway, you figure things can't get much worse when you're just sleeping, right? But no, within a couple of hours, we realize that its WAY TOO COLD for us to sleep. Even the dogs (who were all practically laying on top of us) were freezing. We tossed and turned for a while and finally, G thought it may be better to just go sleep in the car and turn on the heat for a while until we warmed up. So we did that, and it was a lot better in terms of heat but I don’t know how many of you have seen my car. The seats lay down in the back, but I definitely wouldn't call it roomy. Definitely not enough for 2 people and 3 dogs. The rest of my night consisted of me being twisted up in some position with a dog laying between me and G, and another at our heads, randomly stepping on my hair. The back of my car kind of slopes down too, so the whole night, we got to enjoy the comfortable feeling of sliding off a cliff. I'd say the only one comfortable that night was Bandit, who had the best seat in the house. We threw her a thrown the front seat, laid it back a little, and she seemed pretty darn content, lucky dog. What was awesome about that was that the front seat inclined back right into my legs, so guess who got to pay the price for her comfort?

Sat morning, we had breakfast. Got the fire going thank god - now that we realized that the trick was to start getting it going, and then do everything else we needed to do like take down our tent and pack up before it suddenly bursts into life, it was easy. We loaded up the car, did a day hike, and decided to drive home that day. And in retrospect, that was probably best for all of us, seeing as how we're all out of shape and probably couldn't have managed carrying two big packs around and hiking for 2 days straight. As it is, the dogs could barely move when we got home, and we weren't exactly in tip top shape either. So what do you know, I guess G is right after all. Things always do just work out. Yup, definitely the best camping trip I've ever been on.

holy-is-there-an-echo-in-here?

Last week, my always great for laughs co-worker U sent around an email saying she wanted to try this new pho place and did anyone want to go with her? I said no, I'm usually unimpressed with the veggie selections at pho joints. The following conversation ensued (except imagine if you can, it being much more painfully long and drawn out. To be honest, I can't capture how ridiculous any conversation with her is. It usually involves her taking whatever you say and making it about her and launching into some boring story. A prime example was the day she took over my co-worker's telling us about her honeymoon, and it suddenly became a conversation about how U is dying to go to Italy and has been planning a trip for some time, but she's been to France lots of times and just doesn't like it. I mean, she goes to France like it were LA, but something about it just doesn't feel friendly. Etc. Etc. Etc.):

U: Are you sure, I'm sure there'll be lots of vegetarian food.

S: Yah? I don't know. I like pho but most places have only meat. And even if they have some sort of veggie noodle dish, the broth will be chicken or beef.

U: Oh no, I know lots of pho places with good veggie options.

S: Ooh, I'd love some recommendations if you have any. I haven't had any luck with places I've been to in San Jose.

U: Oh, all the places I know are in LA. (This part of the conversation was a lot like the one we'd had - though conversation is a bit of a generous term - about some random awesome bus company in LA that had the most comfortable buses ever, and if they had those here in the Bay, she'd be taking buses everywhere. All because I happened to make a comment about homeless bums on buses.)

Well, great. Fat lot of good that does me. And why would you then assume there'll be veggie options if you in fact have no idea? But even worse was where the conversation went next, and I'm still unclear about how it happened exactly. But since I've noticed that conversations frequently turn into lectures, I guess I just went with it and kept looking for a good break to get back to work (yes, believe it or not, I'd rather be working).

U: For traditional Vietnamese pho, it's all in the broth. To be authentic, it has to be made with beef broth (sometimes chicen). I think there was a bit of discussion here about the broth is made. And then noodles and beef. A lot of places don't do it the right way, and just have basically what's just a noodle soup with meat.

All right, does anyone catch the hilarity here? I mean, I don't know, her people might know how to make a good pho, but they certainly can't seem to follow a conversation properly. I'm sorry, I thought the whole idea of there being no veggie options was totally ridiculous, especially in LA? She continued on obliviously for who knows how long.

And by the way, she reported back to me after lunch that oh yah, I had been right. Not a single veggie item on the menu.

going local

This week, on Monday afternoon, G + I ventured into a new part of town, unusual for us with the town being so small and all. We turned onto a small residential street, no more than a couple of blocks long. We spotted the address we were looking for, and G followed slowly behind while I darted over to do my pick up. I glanced around furtively, then unable to resist, looked through the bags that were sitting on the porch. I found the one that I was looking for and grabbed it, trying to see what was inside. It felt like I was doing something illegal, maybe picking up my dope or stealing something. For a dealer's house, it was an unlikely location, a 2-story house on a quiet street, with elaborate Halloween decorations on most of the front lawns. But then again, so is Nancy Botwin's house on Weeds. They can't all be like the place that my friend and I went to for our pick up in Cabo San Lucas.

But actually, it was about as far from a drug buy as you could get. Unless you're addicted to veggies. G and I were picking up our first CSA order. I've been reading a lot about CSAs (Community-Supported Agriculture) lately and have been curious about trying one out. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a CSA is a way in which local farmers sell "shares" to the public. A share consists of a box or bag of veggies and fruits. You sign up for the season for whatever size of bag you want, and each week, you get it filled with local, organically grown veggies. Drop-offs are made to various locations, and at my allotted time, I get to go make the pick-up. Some CSAs don't give you an option about vegetables you get. The one I just joined sends out an order form each week with the available selections for that week, and I can pick off the list. Or, if I want to be surprised, or am feeling lazy, they'll select for me. Drop-offs are at various community locations all along the Bay Area, including large work sites, homes, parking lots, the farm itself, etc.

I'm excited about how all this works. I feel great about supporting the local farmers, and I look forward to trying out some new veggies that I don't normally cook with. Granted it's a bit more expensive than buying at a grocery store. But everything is organic, and I don't have to spend forever looking for passable vegetables at Safeway. I think G's still a bit skeptical. Between him working for a produce company and our garden, we already have access to lots of vegetables. But since this doesn't stop me from going to the grocery store for more, I'm convinced this is better.

So this week, we got arugula, golden beets, strawberries, apples, bell peppers, and shallots.
(I forgot to include the shallots in the pic)

Last night's dinner featured store-bought pumpkin ravioli sauteed together with garlic, beet greens, shallots, red bell pepper, and our garden tomatoes. Tonight I was thinking of trying out an arugula salad with roasted beets and goat cheese. See, already I'm using vegetables that I don't normally cook with.

enjoying the rain

Clearly, Mia does NOT appreciate the rain like I do. Most days lately, she's been hanging out in the backyard when we're at work. This was her this morning as G was leaving for work . . .

it's raining, it's pouring

When I was a kid, I loved walking in the rain. And for a long time, my mother was horrified, absolutely convinced that a quick soak could lead to a cold, fever, the chills, and quite possibly death. I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only one. I have a vague memory of a thunderstorm in India one summer a long time ago and me running out the moment it started. My aunt practically had a conniption. Fortunately, my dad - who would have usually been the first one yelling at me to get back in the house - was also a bit of a contrarian. My aunt's disapproval had the entirely opposite effect of calming him down and suddenly convinced of the benefits of a drenching thunderstorm. I let them duke that one out on their own. But yes, in case you've been wondering, my family really is that crazy. Over the years, my mom learned to deal with my constant taunting of death and instead just focused on making sure I was warm enough before going out. Growing up in Oregon, where it drizzes 9 months out of the year, you can imagine it was a constant battle. I think she hoped that one day, I'd outgrow the whole thing. That it was all just my way of being a difficult child.

But if that's the case, then she's still waiting. Because I still love nothing more than a good storm. For more than a week now, they've been forecasting one here in the Bay Area. And here, its not like Oregon. We're lucky if we see a couple of good storms a year, and rarely one in Oct. So I've been waiting on the edge of my seat for this one. And finally, today it's here. And while a lot of people are complaining about how wet and terrible it is outside, I'm wishing we had more days like this. I love everything about it. The cool breeze before the rain starts, when you can almost smell the storm coming. Hearing the wind outside our window in the middle of the night. Waking up to the patter of raindrops.

Of all the things I miss about the Pacific Northwest, the weather tops my list. I get a lot of odd looks for saying that. And I know that a lot of people who actually live in the NW get bummed out during the gray months. It's true, maybe it does get a bit old. But I'd take that any day of the week to the 80-degree weather I had to endure in San Diego for the entire 3 years that I was there. In fact, these last few weeks here, when the weather's been crisp, the evenings cooler, the hint of fall in the air, is - to me - the best time of year. We never had that in SD.

And I have to admit, lately I've had a little case of the blah's. I've been struggling to find material for the blog, and with stuff in general. But not today. Today, I woke up alert and ready to go (only two snoozes this morning!). I didn't even need a cup of coffee to wake me up, though of course I had one anyway when I got into work. But for once, I was totally awake while driving in - I know, totally scary thought to think about the 355 other days of the year. There's something about rain that energizes me. I exercise more cuz how amazing and peaceful is it is go running in the rain. Its funny, too. When I run, I always come across some other person who are out there, too. And they almost always give me a "aren't we two peas in a pod" look, maybe say something about how nothing stops us from our daily run, eh? I don't like to admit that I'm not a running fanatic like they are (Or Canadian for that matter, but that's another story). That I'm not out there despite the weather. And that about the only time I can muster up the energy to go running at all is when its wet out. The dogs get more walks, too, whether they like it. I strongly suspect from their behavior this morning that they'd much rather curl up in their beds when its raining outside. And actually, that's pretty nice, too - sitting around in my pj's with a dog on my lap, watching the rain come down. Everything seems better when its raining (except for maybe driving, which I had to do this morning, but whatever, I'm not letting anything get me down today).

I've been hearing a lot lately that its a La Nina year, so we can expect more rain in general. I say bring it on. Its about time.

morning surprise

5:50 am this morning - I have an actual shot at being into work sort of close to the time I want be in (Yesterday, I missed my exit on the freeway even though I've been driving to work for sometime now. Yes, it has been one of those weeks. On Mon, I lost my credit card and work ID while running down the street to get coffee; luckily I finally found the credit card laying on the sidewalk after my third time walking the route looking for it. AND the parking security guy handed me my badge after I gave up and headed back to the office, so the week hasn't been all bad. I guess some one turned the badge in. But seriously, that's just been the tip of the iceberg this week.) Anyway, back to this morning --

5:51- opened our kitchen pantry to grab a quick morning snack on my way out and saw something scurrying through the dry goods

5:52 - work G up, and we tried to find the little critter. Was hoping it was just a cockroach or something (cuz I couldn't tell if it was flying or not) but had this sinking feeling that it wasn't

2 seconds later, G saw it too and what do you know, yup, we have a mouse! EWWW

The last time I had mice, it was terrible. One summer, I came up to the bay and sublet my room in San Diego. I don't know what my roommates and subletter were doing all summer, but when I got back, the whole condo was infested. And it was nasty. Mouse droppings everywhere (including the dresser full of clothes I had left in my closet - come on, really? So basically someone at some point decided it was a good idea to eat in my closet and leave crumbs in my dresser). And I guess everyone decided to wait to solve the problem until the mice had multiplied like crazy. I ended up buying huge bins to store all my food and got glue traps to set eveywhere. And I gotta tell you, there's nothing better than opening a kitchen drawer and finding a mouse stuck to a glue trap, still quivering with life. Thanks, guys.

So clearly, I have some lingering trauma from the experience.

And yah, we have a mouse. It scurried from the pantry and then ran under our washer/dryer, and we lost sight of it after that. I wish I'd thought to step on it, but instead, I did the unthinkable and squealed. The stupid dogs didn't even come running til after the excitement was all over too - totally useless! Dammit, the thing looked pretty full too, so I wonder what it got after already. Its a big pantry and pretty much contains all of our dry goods (and chocolate!). Good times.