Tag - adventure

Whale Watch Tour

Jason was in New Jersey for a wedding this past weekend. I had a photography class scheduled for Sunday, but no firm plans for Saturday. I randomly decided Friday night that I wanted to go on a Whale Watch Tour. I found one in Moss Landing, only about an hour and a half away from Oakland. It had awesome reviews online and seemed quite promising.

The weather wasn’t going to be ideal and it turned out to be a bit foggy but that didn’t prevent the whales from coming out to show off. It was a great three hour tour, filled with tons of wildlife and beautiful scenery. I can’t wait to go back again to Blue Ocean Whale Watch!

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Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man on the docks for some reason.

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Seals hanging out at the docks.

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Pelican Island. 

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Whale sighting near shore.

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Seal caught a fish and started shaking it around like a dog trying to break it up into pieces to swallow.

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First Humpback Whale breach!

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Humpback flapping his pectoral fin.

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Still waving away!

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Otter eating some muscles!

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Found a beautiful flower farm on the way home.

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Cherry Picking Day

Cherry picking is so much fun. Jason and I drove about an hour away to Brentwood, California to go cherry picking yesterday. An hour from Oakland in that direction is about 20 degrees warmer and has a completely different landscape. The drought becomes very apparent out there with the rolling tan and yellow hills, covered in dried up tall grass and spotted with black and brown cows. When we made it to our destination we we were greeted by an adorable tortoise and then went about our cherry-picking way. It was such a great adventure, you pick a ladder and the trees that call to you, head all the way to the tippy top and grab the darkest cherries you can find. It was certainly helpful having a husband with a large wingspan to grab the ones no one else could get to yet. It kind of felt like cheating, but oh well! The Pease Farm we went to also has blackberry picking in a few weeks, which we might go back for. There are tons of other farms in the area with apricot, strawberry, and other fruit picking. Before heading home we stopped at a taqueria a few miles away which had some of the greatest fajitas I’ve ever had. It was quite a successful day… and now I have 8 3/4 lbs. of cherries to figure out what to do with 🙂

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Pad Thai After A Long Day

I had a busy day on Tuesday with a few ups and downs, but the grounding moment was taking a breather at one of my favorite overlooks in the area. It’s Crissy Field right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was nice to relax for a minute and remember all of the reasons we came to this area. When I got home I was exhausted but craving something homemade. So I whipped up some shrimp pad thai. Then Jason and I watched Bad Grandpa and laughed our buns off.
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Shrimp Pad Thai
(Recipe inspiration from myrecipes.com)
8 oz uncooled flat rice noodles
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup green onion pieces
8 oz peeled and deveined large shrimp
4 garlic cloves, minced
10 oz bag of mixed asian vegetables (bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli, cabbage)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

Seasonings:
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoon chili and garlic sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1. Cook noodles as stated on the package as well as combine all seasonings in a small bowl and set each aside.
2. Heat oil in a large wok over medium high heat. Add green onions and mixed vegetables. Par-cook vegetables and add garlic, being careful not to burn. Add shrimp and cook until it’s pink, and almost done cooking. Toss with seasonings and cook for one minute. Add noodles and cook again until heated through. Top with peanuts and serve.
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Here we go…

I like taking pictures. Ever since middle school I can remember having a digital camera with me everywhere I went. I enjoy cataloguing my life. It is nice to be transported through pictures back to the moments they were taken. Sometimes my memories blur between events I actually remember and the images I’ve looked at over the years. I constantly find myself going through old pictures and recalling when and where certain things took place. It gives me the ability to piece together a timeline, and refresh my memory.
IMG_4763 Facebook ends up being the home to many of the pictures I take. It’s comforting to offer them to the people I’ve shared experiences with, so we can all reminisce together. Especially now that my husband and I live across the country from our family, they’re able to keep tabs on us. Since 2010, I have posted over 120 albums on Facebook. That’s an average of 24 per year with the number of pictures per album ranging from 20-200. That’s a lot. What can I say? I like taking pictures.
IMG_4770 (1) I also like baking and cooking. For some, they only like baking OR cooking. That’s probably because they’re very distinct disciplines. Baking is a true science. Too much baking powder, salt, or butter will give you a completely different outcome than you had anticipated. Cooking offers more give and take. You can add more garlic here or cayenne there. Different parts of my brain have a great appreciation for both art forms. I find the kitchen cathartic. Not everything comes out perfectly, but I enjoy the process and sometimes, the frustration.
IMG_4771 Those are my “Stills and Spills”. The still images that represent my life’s ups and downs. The spills in the kitchen that have been successes and failures.

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