Ahoy,
What with the RRS and his sister having a birthday a day apart (March 10, March 8 respectively), we made it up to the East Bay to celebrate. This being the first year in a long time he could actually celebrate his birthday, the lack of finals and homework was an automatic win. We got to hang out with family, eat, horde spicy tuna omusubis from Berkeley Bowl, and top-rope! What more could a girl ask for? Berkeley Bowl is where I will go when I die.
For his sister's birthday, she arranged a booze cruise of sorts. We went on a cruise around the Bay with the ever iconic marvel of engineering- the Golden Gate Bridge. There was a buffet brunch, live music, and bottomless mimosas. Bonus! That day was Sunday Streets on Embarcadero. It was a lot of fun to play in the street.
Another bonus! That weekend was a scorcher in LA, but we got to escape all that sizzle!
endlessly birthday'd,
jt
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
mt. rushmore of Chicago
Ahoy,
If there were to be a Mt. Rushmore of Chicago, Frank lLoyd Wright would be one of the heads on it. A lot of houses and neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area are known for his prairie style architecture. I was excited when the Hollyhock House, one of his first forays into adapting his style for California living, reopened. It was free for a 24 hour open house, and the only day pictures would be allowed. I dragged the RRS along. He had no idea who this iconic architect was, but we ended up in a 2 hour long line so there was plenty of time for him to catch up. By the end, he had stars in his eyes too. Welcome to the fan club.
We made it in and out, took pictures and he realized the awesomeness of FLW. He's a genius! A genius! We got there in the morning so the day was still young. Although as we were leaving there were people queued up for a 3 hour long wait. There goes your day.
Our next stop was in the Angeles Crest Forest north of Arcadia. I had the Chantry Flats to Sturtevant Falls hike on my list for a while so we finally made it. It was super crowded that day and a lot of folks had to park pretty far down the mountain, but we were lucky and able to snag a spot in the lot. It turned out to be a pretty short hike but still a great adventure outside. He referred to this day as our portion of Valentine's Day was not fancy.
relatively gushing,
jt
If there were to be a Mt. Rushmore of Chicago, Frank lLoyd Wright would be one of the heads on it. A lot of houses and neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area are known for his prairie style architecture. I was excited when the Hollyhock House, one of his first forays into adapting his style for California living, reopened. It was free for a 24 hour open house, and the only day pictures would be allowed. I dragged the RRS along. He had no idea who this iconic architect was, but we ended up in a 2 hour long line so there was plenty of time for him to catch up. By the end, he had stars in his eyes too. Welcome to the fan club.
We made it in and out, took pictures and he realized the awesomeness of FLW. He's a genius! A genius! We got there in the morning so the day was still young. Although as we were leaving there were people queued up for a 3 hour long wait. There goes your day.
Our next stop was in the Angeles Crest Forest north of Arcadia. I had the Chantry Flats to Sturtevant Falls hike on my list for a while so we finally made it. It was super crowded that day and a lot of folks had to park pretty far down the mountain, but we were lucky and able to snag a spot in the lot. It turned out to be a pretty short hike but still a great adventure outside. He referred to this day as our portion of Valentine's Day was not fancy.
relatively gushing,
jt
Thursday, March 19, 2015
longest hike in my record
Ahoy,
In my record of being alive, I went on the longest hike of my life the other day with my friend H. We started out the day anticipating a 9-10 miler. It ended up being 14! What a doozy. We started off from Chantry Flats greeting the goats and chickens at the general store (which is surprisingly obscure to find). At the falls we stopped to eat and proceeded back up.
The path to Mt. Wilson isn't always marked on the placards. You have to know what sites to pass prior to Mt. Wilson, but it was probably obvious enough. you could figure it out. Although the trail was incredibly obvious, there were portions that had a lot of debris littered throughout. It looked like rangers had recently come by and chopped off the branches from a lot of trees and left it all on the ground. There is a picnic area consisting of one table and a campground that you will pass. We actually veered off the trail at one river crossing and had to turn around, but that was just a 5 minute detour.
There is a marker that says 3 miles to Mt. Wilson, and all of those miles are a steady uphill. It can be soul wrenching and heart breaking. We trudged on and passed a halfway point marker. We were aghast, shocked, disbelieving, exhausted. I thought it was a joke. But it was not. Those 3 miles to Mt. Wilson were the longest 3 miles of my life.
At the top we saw snow! And an observatory with a telescope as powerful as the Hubble. It was a pleasant treat. The uphill was a very steady uphill that I did not think was terribly steep, but I realized I was mistaken when we kept sliding out on the way down. There are also a lot of rocks and pinecones waiting to take your glory, so we had to pay really close attention where our feet were stepping so as not to twist our ankles or fall. It was a lot more attention to detail than we thought would be necessary for the way down.
We finally made it back to Chantry Flats just as the sun went down. We went to the closest In n' Out and scarfed down some glorious CA goodness. That mountain chewed us up and spit us out with no hesitation, but we could have been worse for wear - just a little dirty. We left the day thoroughly satisfied. Oh, and I had enough water this time. My days of under-preparedness are behind me!
unexpectedly rigorous,
jt
In my record of being alive, I went on the longest hike of my life the other day with my friend H. We started out the day anticipating a 9-10 miler. It ended up being 14! What a doozy. We started off from Chantry Flats greeting the goats and chickens at the general store (which is surprisingly obscure to find). At the falls we stopped to eat and proceeded back up.
The path to Mt. Wilson isn't always marked on the placards. You have to know what sites to pass prior to Mt. Wilson, but it was probably obvious enough. you could figure it out. Although the trail was incredibly obvious, there were portions that had a lot of debris littered throughout. It looked like rangers had recently come by and chopped off the branches from a lot of trees and left it all on the ground. There is a picnic area consisting of one table and a campground that you will pass. We actually veered off the trail at one river crossing and had to turn around, but that was just a 5 minute detour.
There is a marker that says 3 miles to Mt. Wilson, and all of those miles are a steady uphill. It can be soul wrenching and heart breaking. We trudged on and passed a halfway point marker. We were aghast, shocked, disbelieving, exhausted. I thought it was a joke. But it was not. Those 3 miles to Mt. Wilson were the longest 3 miles of my life.
At the top we saw snow! And an observatory with a telescope as powerful as the Hubble. It was a pleasant treat. The uphill was a very steady uphill that I did not think was terribly steep, but I realized I was mistaken when we kept sliding out on the way down. There are also a lot of rocks and pinecones waiting to take your glory, so we had to pay really close attention where our feet were stepping so as not to twist our ankles or fall. It was a lot more attention to detail than we thought would be necessary for the way down.
We finally made it back to Chantry Flats just as the sun went down. We went to the closest In n' Out and scarfed down some glorious CA goodness. That mountain chewed us up and spit us out with no hesitation, but we could have been worse for wear - just a little dirty. We left the day thoroughly satisfied. Oh, and I had enough water this time. My days of under-preparedness are behind me!
unexpectedly rigorous,
jt
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Chiberia
Ahoy,
Per our usual agreement, we made the trek to Chicago for Chinese New Year. It was 8 degrees below zero when we landed and A was pooping in his many layers of pants. In all honesty, you just avoid spending time outside when it's that cold. My mom drove right up to the door and we ran into the car. Living in Chicago also taught me to always have my key in hand at the ready. I'm not about to go digging through my bag at the door looking for my keys if the weather outside is unsuitable for human consumption. Please, son (can you hear my sass?)!
The central heating in my house was on all night and it was probably nearly 90 degrees above zero on the top floor (READ: my room). No one was getting frostbite that night. My brother got the day off from school the next day because weather, so we were able to go climb indoors at BKB Chicago. It was a great time indoors, and that gym was packed full of everything you could want or need in a climbing gym. We also picked up a power drill there because the one A wanted couldn't be found in CA. The folks at the store told him to go back to CA. This day was above 0 degrees.
We finally got to try Little Goat! We've only been trying to go every time we visit. There were high expectations and they were met, I dare say, exceeded. Stephanie Izard is a genius! A genius! A was happy to spend the rest of the day watching anime. My brother and I did some house cleaning. We disputed over the things we should or should not keep as relics of our youth. It was really quite cathartic.
We were also able to play at the new Maggie Daley Park, and try out the ice ribbon. As the hour went by the ice became super bumpy and the line for skate rentals went out the door. It was super cool to watch the construction on the outdoor climbing structure progress. I saw a postcard for a husky event at another park. So we went to go see huskies. It was yours and my paradise.
Sunday was the day of the Chinese New Year parade and it was the longest amount of time we spent outside. A has escaped death so many times now since he's met me. It's amazing. He should get an award. My grandma stayed out with us for the parade too. She's such a badass. I hope I can be as badass and sassy when I'm her age.
audaciously prosperous,
jt
Per our usual agreement, we made the trek to Chicago for Chinese New Year. It was 8 degrees below zero when we landed and A was pooping in his many layers of pants. In all honesty, you just avoid spending time outside when it's that cold. My mom drove right up to the door and we ran into the car. Living in Chicago also taught me to always have my key in hand at the ready. I'm not about to go digging through my bag at the door looking for my keys if the weather outside is unsuitable for human consumption. Please, son (can you hear my sass?)!
The central heating in my house was on all night and it was probably nearly 90 degrees above zero on the top floor (READ: my room). No one was getting frostbite that night. My brother got the day off from school the next day because weather, so we were able to go climb indoors at BKB Chicago. It was a great time indoors, and that gym was packed full of everything you could want or need in a climbing gym. We also picked up a power drill there because the one A wanted couldn't be found in CA. The folks at the store told him to go back to CA. This day was above 0 degrees.
We finally got to try Little Goat! We've only been trying to go every time we visit. There were high expectations and they were met, I dare say, exceeded. Stephanie Izard is a genius! A genius! A was happy to spend the rest of the day watching anime. My brother and I did some house cleaning. We disputed over the things we should or should not keep as relics of our youth. It was really quite cathartic.
We were also able to play at the new Maggie Daley Park, and try out the ice ribbon. As the hour went by the ice became super bumpy and the line for skate rentals went out the door. It was super cool to watch the construction on the outdoor climbing structure progress. I saw a postcard for a husky event at another park. So we went to go see huskies. It was yours and my paradise.
Sunday was the day of the Chinese New Year parade and it was the longest amount of time we spent outside. A has escaped death so many times now since he's met me. It's amazing. He should get an award. My grandma stayed out with us for the parade too. She's such a badass. I hope I can be as badass and sassy when I'm her age.
audaciously prosperous,
jt
Thursday, March 12, 2015
done camping
Ahoy,
On the final day, we arose bright and early. I was super duper excited to go home. The whole week was such a whirlwind of anticipation and relief and amazement. We drove to Las Vegas where I had booked a bus ticket back to LA. It was only about 2 hours away, and the time change even gave us a pleasantly surprising extra hour.
The day was still young as my friend departed for Northern California. I waited at the station because Vegas is overrated. I managed to get on an earlier bus, watching the sunset as we approached LA. The clouds were gorgeous. My knight was quick to scoop me up and off to In n' Out. In Wild, Cheryl Strayed would always get a burger whenever she made it to a station so I was more than pleased to replicate that tradition.
That was the longest amount of time I didn't shower and A said I smelled of campfire. I think he's too nice to say I was stinky. But it was so nice to shower and sleep in a bed.
minimally sized,
jt
On the final day, we arose bright and early. I was super duper excited to go home. The whole week was such a whirlwind of anticipation and relief and amazement. We drove to Las Vegas where I had booked a bus ticket back to LA. It was only about 2 hours away, and the time change even gave us a pleasantly surprising extra hour.
The day was still young as my friend departed for Northern California. I waited at the station because Vegas is overrated. I managed to get on an earlier bus, watching the sunset as we approached LA. The clouds were gorgeous. My knight was quick to scoop me up and off to In n' Out. In Wild, Cheryl Strayed would always get a burger whenever she made it to a station so I was more than pleased to replicate that tradition.
That was the longest amount of time I didn't shower and A said I smelled of campfire. I think he's too nice to say I was stinky. But it was so nice to shower and sleep in a bed.
minimally sized,
jt
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