Nordoff

Hiked to the top of the mountain Nordoff this Sunday. It looms above the city of Ojai, about an hour outside Los Angeles. Seven hours, 10+ miles, and great friends makes for a perfect Sunday.

The mountain hike itself was a bit of a reunion hike for several of my friend who met each other at summer camp in Ojai and attended/served as camp counselors for years of their youth. They recalled beasty summer days on the trail to Nordoff. We recreated that experience mainly by consuming chocolate muffins given to us from staff at camp.

Another factoid: People hike Nordoff to train for Mt. Whitney (the tallest peak in the 48 states which sits in Sequoia Nat'l Park, California, about 4 hours from Los Angeles). While I am not training for Mt. Whitney (yet), I do hope to climb many summits near Los Angeles. There are "7 summits of Southern California" to mirror the idea of the 7 summits of the world, the tallest from each continent. Yes, I'm obsessing over mountain hiking. And loving it!

Today's weather hit a record 87 degrees. Ahh, heaven.

Confirmed

Dept of interior webpage says Los Angeles experienced a 4.4 moderate. Can't sleep. Only wishing I bought emergency supplies. I just ran out of peanut butter, too.

Earthshake?

I think I just felt my first earthquake. Weird. A few seconds of feeling like I'm in a car on a bumpy road.

Raw Food

Tonight I ate at my first raw food restaurant. The main dish was a pumpkinseed pesto linguini...which consists of raw rutabaga noodles, tossed with cashew riccota and pesto, pine nuts and sundried tomatoes. My friend swore that Joaquin Phoenix sat nex to us, but the waiter assured us the scruffy man did not identify as Joaquin. Close enough for us to call it a near star spoting. Sorry I forgot my camera because I would have loved to post some pics.

Swedes Sing

Tonight I attended the concert of Swedish singers Taken by Trees and El Perro Del Mar. Not going to lie, I felt it may be better staged at a 70s themed roller skating rink. That would only enhance an already groovy sound. Taller than Trees rolled film of nature behind them. The two female vocalists were clearly the center of the show, but the drummer also stole my heart.

In the past, I have seen Lykke Li, another Swedish indie/pop singer. She has recorded with El Perro Del Mar. That match was meant to be.

Merced, continued

As previously promised, here are more pictures from Merced, in central California. The pictures include the painting on the wall of the California visitor's center. Also, the famous old theater tower with the word "Merced" on it.







Nearby in Atwater, California, I toured the Castle Air Museum with a collection of mainly wartime airplanes to commemorate what used to be an Air Force Base (now a federal prison).



Lastly, on my drive back to Los Angeles, I stopped in Fredriksburg, California - a total Swedish town. They host a Swedish festival in the summer. All year round the Swedish flag flies from the light posts on the street, people sip coffees in the Swedish cafe, and these Swedish dalarna horses stand as a life-size reminder that Swedes rule.

Mystery Restaurants

Could you identify the restaurant in this picture? We couldn't for a few passes in the car. It's my neighborhood Pho, a Vietnamese soup restaurant. Super popular, dazzling in unique architecture, and just being there made me cooler.


Speaking of restaurants, I had the great fortune to spot my second celebrity this weekend. Tim Meadows sipped coffee at the table next to me in Silver Lake. (Cue, the lady's man from Saturday Night Live)

Also, I hunted down a restaurant. To be clear, taco trucks are incredibly popular in Los Angeles. However, this presents the very real possibility that you show up in the grocery store parking lot at 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night, stomach growling you're so hungry, and the restaurant (Ahem, taco truck) has not driven in to serve food yet. Not that I experienced it or anything. On Saturday, I had much better luck hunting down the ever-popular Kogi Korean Taco Truck. After at least 30 minutes of driving, in the rain (up hill with no shoes), we arrived to a long line of eager taco truck fans who had the same idea as us. Kogi moves locations every day. Was it worth it? Yes! Delicious. Whoever invented moving restaurants ignored the saying "location, location, location," and won.

Joshua Tree National Park

The desert began to bloom this spring. Last weekend we utilized our national park pass and hiked some trails.




Would you believe it if I told you that rain forced us to leave the camping trip a day early? Yes, rain and cold in the deserts of California. Still, heavenly, as proven by the rainbow.

Gateway to Yosemite

For a few weeks I am working in Merced, California, in San Joaquin Valley. The town is lovingly called the "Gateway to Yosemite" because of it's close proximity to Yosemite National Park. With around 60,000 residents, the town boasts a courthouse museum (pictured here), an airplane museum, and some fun restaurants. So far I have tried out Big Bubba's BBQ and plan to visit Sam Cafe, where Sam serves Thai, and also Cool Hand Luke's Steakhouse. Raley's grocery store is the local Whole Foods equivalent. This time in a smaller town than Los Angeles in California has allowed me to meet another type of place. Here agriculture is a major industry. As I drive to work I pass cows, sheep, and goats, as well as fields of what looks like grapevines. The views and quieter days are a welcome departure from life in the big city. Stay tuned for pictures of local attractions in the upcoming days.

Yosemite National Park

Some photos from this past weekend's winter wonderland in Yosemite National Park.

Curds in Cali

Today on a drive to Northern California, I stopped at Bravo Farms in Traver, CA. They purported to make cheese curds. Upon tasting for myself, I found the Cali curd tastes much like blocks of cheddar. A WI cheese curd is a squeaky morsel, a CA curd a torn block. The woman at the check out counter explained the taste of the California curd by saying California requires the cheese to be pasteurized. Whatever it is, WI curds still reign.

Take for instance this link to a Wisconsin Cheese Curd map you can follow to find curds across the state.

I will continue to search for California curds.

My Neighborhood

The neighborhood where I live in Los Angeles sits at the foot of Griffith Park, one of the largest parks in a city. There are miles of hiking trails there, including one close to the Hollywood sign. But it's a well kept secret that one can go on an urban hike right down my street through the streets of the neighborhood. The hill at the end of my streets has a series of around a dozen public stairs going between houses and up the hill. Following a trail made by the Sierra Club takes 1 to 2 hours. It's tough work but offers the reward of beautiful views of the city. I will post pictures from my walk one day soon. For now, enjoy this picture of a mural and stairs in the neighborhood where I like to end my jogs.

Have a Drink with the Dinosaurs

A week ago I found what Men's Journal has deemed the #1 event in the country where to hook-up. It will surprise you to hear, that event is the First Friday "Drink with the Dinosaurs" event at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum across from University of Southern California. (The museum is nestled amount an air and space museum and rose garden - can you say Smithsonians??) The event boasts drinks, food, special tours, special discussions on science topics, and some pretty hip bands. They also bring out the finest of seating, including a covered wicker chair for two. The ambiance, among gems and dinosaurs, couldn't be beat. You can gather from the description above that the idea behind First Friday is for the museum to stay open late the first friday night of each month and reach out to a demographic who enjoys bands and wine on Friday while learning about natural history. Guess that's me!!






This year's First Friday theme surrounds natural life in Southern California. January's event that I attended was about SPIDERS. A specialist took guests on a special tour of the live spider exhibit in the basement - impressive! And we sat in on a discussion with a spider silks expert pictured here. She taught us about how spiders create tons of different types of silk (web/glue, etc) and showed us how it comes out of the spider's spigots on their bottom sides. After these learning experiences (enjoyed with a bottle of Corona in hand) we watched the local band TuneYards and Atlanta-based Atlas Sound (lead of Deerhunter). After touring the gem room, we hopped on the bus to get home.

While on the bus we learned about even more reasons why it's fun to live in Los Angeles. In the Los Angeles newspaper about local events, we saw Pee Wee Herman is making a come-back and playing at LA Live (a hip area downtown). (Little known fact, Pee Wee Herman gets his haircut at the same place I do, so I already knew he was making a come-back.) But really, First Friday at a Natural History museum? You really should plan your trip to visit me on a First Friday of a month.

Art Walk

I have been finding more and more things to love about Los Angeles.

Thursday evening I walked downtown Los Angeles with crowds of art revelers. Around 25 art galleries stayed open until 10 pm for people to look at the art, talk to the artists, drink wine, and eat cheese. The buildings themselves in downtown Los Angeles offer something historically fantastic to look at. The people also add to the night with their eclectic Los Angeles clothes. I even ran into a friend from my neighborhood which made me feel quite at home in my new city. The art walk takes place once a month. I will definitely be in attendance again.

Snow and Swim

Birds ring in the Christmas season.

Today I sat outside in 75 degree sunny weather looking at Christmas decorations while a man talked about going snowboarding tomorrow. Snow capped mountains line the city but the temperatures say SWIM. That's the kind of white Christmas California talks about.

U rah rah Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin Foundation sent me a touching e-card today. Click on e-card to view it yourself. Walking to work in Los Angeles where I never wear more than my suitcoat has its advantages. Still, I miss the snow and the people in the midwest.

So to this card I say, Go Bucky!
And happy holidays.

Brunswick, Georgia

Wondering where I've been? For most of the month of October, I've been near Brunswick, Georgia at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. My job requires I pass a 3 week training program here to keep my position. Today I graduated - so I'll be keeping my job. Hurray!

During my training I learned self defense, shooting, and correctional law principles. I also learned a lot about myself. You can only imagine.

While staying in southern Georgia, I took advantage of one weekend to visit Savannah - home of the Girl Scouts. I also attended a Jacksonville Jaguar v. Rams football game. On another weekend, I visited Atlanta where a dear friend lives. My boyfriend joined in the adventure, too. We saw the Dirty Projectors in concert and shopped for halloween costume accessories.

Soon I will return "home" to Los Angeles.

On another note, a few members of my family are experiencing health concerns right now. Please keep them in your prayers. My Grandma is awaiting an open heart surgery. She's been in my thoughts every day.

San Diego

Heading to San Diego for a week training.

Happy International Talk like a Pirate Day.

09-09-09

Happy 09-09-09. I'm spending the day in DC going to a soccer game. Hope you're enjoying it, too.

Vegas

This weekend I stayed at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas during my first trip to the city. Remember to buy a little sequins dress before you visit Vegas. Then have a blast. I went cowboy instead of sequins. It worked.

My favorite part came when we went to the pool to splash away the 110 degree day. The whole weekend felt like I had fallen onto a playground for adults. We are amazing people, we humans, with great imaginations.