Adventure Talgache

stomping grounds tour continued

2012-02-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go to where your other grandparents lived, a place called Mill Neck, and you realize that all of your grandparents lived near the water, whereas you are by comparison somewhat of a landlubber.You also realize that a place called Bayville Beach, where as a child you played games in the arcade, is barely a mile or two from where your grandparents lived... and it took you your whole life to realize how close the two places were.You also notice that the place where you used to play miniature golf has been jazzed up considerably...On the other hand, you notice that the view of Long Island Sound and Connecticut is much the same.You also notice that the elementary school where you spent ten years of your life appears much the same.

stomping grounds tour

2012-02-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you give a tour of your "stomping grounds", places you actually stomped around as a child. Places like this duck pond in Roslyn...

and the multi-dimensional village of Sea Cliff, where one set of grandparents lived...

...which is home not only to spectacular views of Hempstead Harbor, many fine old Victorian houses, and this beautiful Orthodox church, but also those nationally famous Pirate's Booty snack chips.

the near-perfect sunset

2012-02-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the ferry, it was evident that the universe was treating us to a spectacular, near-perfect sunset...

This was also evident on the ferry...

the island tour and the mocha

2012-02-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes after the near-perfect meal on the near-perfect sunny day, your brother leads an extensive, near-perfect tour of Shelter Island...

...and the only thing needed to make life near-perfect is a mocha, so you stop at Stars Cafe ...and then you are astonished to learn that some of your family members have never had a mocha.

Thanksgiving round 2

2012-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you visit your brother's family the day after Thanksgiving, and the meal is both delicious and visually pleasing...

...and among the highlights are the seafood stuffies.

crossing over

2012-02-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes someone takes the ferry to Shelter Island for the first time...

a trip to Greenport

2012-02-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you drive out to Greenport and it is a beautiful sunny day...
...and you sit in the back seat eating pretzels

...and when you arrive, you check out the shops and boutiques.Then, you swing by the waterfront park with the carousel.

northern Thanksgiving

2012-02-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, for Thanksgiving, you spend a certain amount of time listening to your aunt's stories, catching up on your father's obsession with cats, eating the fabulous hors d'oeuvres prepared by your mother, and going for a walk in the cold... and you feel tremendously thankful for all of it.

a pagoda welcome

2012-02-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

One of the first things we encountered upon Kate's historic arrival in Old Westbury was this pagoda on display at the Orchard Hill Designer Showhouse. The pagoda -- always a good sign for us... the sign of new beginnings? (shadow version and flash version).

Silver Meteor

2012-02-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you drive to Jacksonville, FL, drop off the rental car, get a ride to the Amtrak station and catch the northbound Silver Meteor train... Among other things, you eat, play Travel Scrabble, and stay warm as the train heads north.

Gypsy Cab Co.

2012-02-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

One of our final stops in St. Augustine was lunch at Gypsy Cab Co., a locally popular restaurant on the other side of the Bridge of Lions, the Anastasia Island side. The food falls into that elusive category sometimes called "eclectic" or "inspired". They call it "Urban Cuisine". What I remember above all about that meal is the Key Lime Pie.

Atlantic interlude

2012-02-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you take a quick trip to the beach on nearby Anastasia Island. In the past year we had made quite a few visits to the Pacific Ocean, and also stops along the Gulf of Mexico, so... it only seemed appropriate to round things out with an Atlantic interlude.

This heron seemed happy to frolic next to the turbulent ocean...
...as were we.

more sides of St. Augustine

2012-02-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

I had dismissed the above photo as a bad one, but the more I look at it, the more it strikes me as a great image, one with an interesting composition... one worth painting some day.

If forced to make comparisons, I would describe downtown St. Augustine as part Monterey and part New Orleans, with perhaps a touch of Savannah or Charleston... The effort to perhaps be like New Orleans was evident in buildings like the one above, and also Harry's "New Orleans Style Restaurant", where we had a decent New Orleans style dinner, and which had the feel of a French Quarter cafe right down to the sprawling courtyard and cluster of dining areas buzzing with activity.

where we stayed

2012-02-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

Wedged within this wonderful neighborhood, and right on the bay, is The Bayfront Inn, where we stayed. The historic houses are seen directly behind the hotel, and one older building is even incorporated into the hotel. This place was ideally located and an unbelievably good value. As I recall, the desk clerks were exceptionally helpful.

Oldest House neighborhood

2012-02-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

The neighborhood of The Oldest House is for me one of the highlights of St. Augustine -- located just off the bay, consisting of block after block of charming old houses among lush foliage and narrow streets... It is a fabulous walking neighborhood.

The Oldest House

2012-02-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

I had a quaint notion that The Oldest House was the oldest house built by Europeans in the United States. What with St. Augustine being the oldest city in the U.S., established by the Spanish in 1565, that seemed like a possibility. But it is not the case. It is the oldest house in Florida, dating back to the early 1700's. Even so, regardless of its age, the place has historical charm and beauty.

Castillo de San Marcos

2012-01-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

This big old Spanish fortress really has a presence. A piece of Old World construction dating from 1672, it speaks of an altogether different time and place than 21st century America. I can't believe I didn't see this on my previous visits.

The fort is perched on the edge of Matanzas Bay.
Also looking magical by night, the Bridge of Lions.

off the beaten path

2012-01-31T17:05:00.000-08:00

We got off the beaten path and things got more pleasant. There were fountains...

cemeteries....

...and the mother of all St. Augustine landmarks, the Castillo de San Marcos.

St. George Street blues

2012-01-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Kate encounters so many strangely unappetizing people while eating New York style pizza on St. George Street (St. Augustine's pedestrian thoroughfare) that she feels like she might throw up.

St. Augustine

2012-01-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most interesting, historical and genuine of Florida cities... I had been here before, but this was my most proper visit to date, seeing sides of the city I wasn't even fully aware of.

crossing the Sunshine State

2012-01-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

Driving from the west coast to the east coast of Florida went pretty quickly. First we crossed this causeway to Tampa, then went through Tampa, then Orlando, and then up the coast... It all seemed a bit unreal. Tampa and Orlando in particular seemed like imaginary cities created by folks with a lot of spare time on their hands.

last two meals in Clearwater

2012-01-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes your last two meals in Clearwater are at Al and Stella's Italian Cafe for dinner (above), and the Clear Sky Beachside Cafe for breakfast (below). There were good things to say about both.

night swimming

2012-01-28T21:36:00.001-08:00

Gulf sunset

2012-01-28T21:21:00.000-08:00

back streets of St. Pete

2012-01-28T21:05:00.001-08:00

After the Dali Museum we explored St. Petersburg a little bit, stumbling upon block after block of beautiful residential neighborhood. I managed to find entrance to the Sunken Gardens, after which I somehow managed to get very lost, which was a bit maddening for a guy who prides himself on his "inner GPS". Still, we got to see many parts of the St. Petersburg area in all of its sprawling glory.

Florida and Surrealism

2012-01-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you start your day with breakfast at JB's Island Cafe in Clearwater Beach...

then pass this drive-in liquor store in St. Petersburg on the way to...

the Salvador Dali Museum...

...where like a true Surrealist, you refuse to look at the art but eat a delicious meal in the cafe instead.

1950's boring postcards version

2012-01-28T17:30:00.000-08:00

Clearwater Beach is kind of a weird place, VERY Florida... both in the "1950's boring postcards" sense and also the post 1970's "let's build as many frighteningly oversized hotels as possible" sense. I definitely prefer the first sense, which our little "resort" embodied.

Plus, the interior of our cozy abode was cute as heck!!

Our complex was on the side of the island facing Clearwater Harbor. The island is so narrow though, that we could walk to the Gulf of Mexico side in about one minute.

Above, the harbor side... Below, the Gulf side.

the beach

2012-01-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

What a difference a drop in latitude makes. This beach was also beautiful, but warm... Conditions were very favorable as we basked in the light, the colors, and the fact of being there.

waking up in Clearwater

2012-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, after much driving, you wake up in a waterfront studio in Clearwater Beach, and there is a compact coziness to it.

the Forgotten Coast

2012-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

We dove through a section of the Florida panhandle called the Forgotten Coast, which includes a string of barrier islands and lighthouses as well as towns such as Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, and Apalachicola.... I would like to explore this area a bit more some time.

This part of Florida has at least three things going for it: lots of trees and undeveloped land (there are even bears); a sense of history (John Gorrie, the father of air conditioning, lived in Apalachicola); and islands.

the act of leaving Panama City

2012-01-26T19:37:00.001-08:00

While leaving Panama City we passed this architectural curiosity (some sort of amusement park called Wonder Works)...

...and this causeway. The Gulf Coast is truly a world of causeways.

Another Broken Egg

2012-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

One of the best breakfasts of the trip was found at Another Broken Egg Cafe, a Gulf Coast chain hailing from Mandeville, LA. In addition to the delicious creamy Eggs Sardou seen above are Blackberry Grits -- the very BEST grits I have had in my life, doing things that I did not know grits were capable of.

more Sugar Sands

2012-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

A morning stroll down a chilly beach...
...with signs of life.

Sugar Sands

2012-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you wake up at the Sugar Sands Inn and Suites in Panama City and you understand how the place got its name...

It was cold!!

But the beach was beautiful...

There was this ledge that we fell off of the previous night, a ledge that may have been created by...

...this contraption, some sort of sand dredger.

Florida

2012-01-25T16:59:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you arrive in Florida at night and it is cold. Specifically you arrive in Panama City. Then you go to a "nearby" Thai restaurant called Oishi (I say "nearby" because the town is ridiculously spread out). Anyway, the food is good except that one dish is drenched in fish sauce.

fried pickles

2012-01-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when you realize you made an unnecessary detour to Dauphin Island, you drown your sorrows in fried pickles.

Dauphin Island detour

2012-01-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you make the mistake of asking about Ship Island, Mississippi at the Alabama Welcome Center, and you are told that your time is better spent checking out Dauphin Island, Alabama...

...and so you take a half hour detour over this interesting causeway only to learn that the ferry boat to Fort Morgan is not running due to wind.

road trip

2012-01-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, the feeling of being on a road trip doesn't fully kick in until you get to the Mississippi Welcome Center.

haircut

2012-01-22T17:25:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you get your hair cut in Louisiana.

Mandeville lakefront

2012-01-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go down to the Mandeville lakefront where the trees are old, the lake is big, and the houses are historic.

lunch boat #5

2012-01-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes your Japanese food is served to you in a boat. Above, lunch boat #5 at Osaka in Covington.

causeway

2012-01-21T22:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, for the first time, you do some of the driving while crossing the 24 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

on the way out of New Orleans...

2012-01-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

we drove past this iconic cemetery, one of many...

...and more wonderful old houses than I can possibly keep track of.

We also had a glimpse of Longue Vue House and Gardens right on the boundary between Metarie and New Orleans.

Lebanon's Cafe

2012-01-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, when the restaurant where you wanted to eat is closed, you proceed to Lebanon's Cafe...

...where you eat three kinds of hummus-like foods (probably hummus, baba ganuj, and labna).

the edges of Audubon Park

2012-01-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you poke around the edges of Audubon Park...and eventually you find...

the Mississippi River.......where you do a sudoku.

Octavia Books

2012-01-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a great independent bookstore......is tucked away in the side streets.

Cafe Luna

2012-01-20T22:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there are more appealing coffee houses in New Orleans than I can fully comprehend. Please add Cafe Luna on the corner of Magazine and Nashville to the list.

Prytania Power

2012-01-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the best hotel in New Orleans is called the Prytania Park.

Blue Plate Cafe

2012-01-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, while looking for a place to have breakfast, you learn about the Blue Plate Cafe...

...where you are served adventurous egg dishes.

Then, later in the day, you drive past these "blue plate" signs and conclude that either there is a connection, a coincidence, or a city-wide obsession with blue plates.

Cafe Amelie revisited

2012-01-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, in addition to an orange couch, one returns to the even more important red couch, or love seat at Cafe Amelie...

...and the skillful bartender mixes the best Virgin Bloody Marys you've ever had... a multi-dimensional Creole salad in a glass. Sort of what you would expect in New Orleans!

The Orange Couch revisited

2012-01-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you return the orange couch at The Orange Couch in Marigny and have more mochi ice cream. Above, the white couch at The Orange Couch, and the orange couch at The Orange Couch. Below, mochi and Marigny.

Croissant d'or

2012-01-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, by chance, you read in a magazine that the best croissants in New Orleans are found at Croissant d'or in the French Quarter...

...and the croissants and the coffees are pretty dang good.

And as the lagniappe there is this beautiful building just across the street.

Bourbon and Esplanade

2012-01-16T19:39:00.001-08:00

Also that afternoon, it was nice to see how much this building at the corner of Bourbon and Esplanade has been fixed up since I first saw it in January 2010.

City Park

2012-01-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

Also that afternoon, it was nice to stroll through City Park, with its fountains and choo choo trains...

its languid swampy Deep South melancholia...its Christmas installations......and its cranes.

Fair Grinds Coffeehouse

2012-01-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, after exploring Bayou St. John, you head over to the Fair Grinds Coffeehouse located on Ponce de Leon just off Esplanade Ave.

It is a wonderful little area. The market in the foreground, Canseco's, used to be Whole Foods prior to its move to Magazine Street. To right is the newly opened Maple Street Book Shop. Below, the tree across from the coffeehouse where Kate and I met after an 18 year hiatus. Behind the tree is the Cafe Degas, which is not too far from the Degas House, where the famous Impressionist lived with his New Orleans relatives and produced numerous paintings.

The coffeehouse's name is a play on the nearby Fair Grounds, which is both a race course and the site of the annual Jazz Fest. Below, Kate pointing to a Jazz Fest map in the coffeehouse.
I find this intersection of coffee, jazz, food, Impressionism, horse racing, books (and Kate) very powerful.

Bayou St. John

2012-01-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you explore the area called Bayou St. John... ...where nutria have been seen swimming and roaming the banks.It is also one of the oldest parts of the city.

La Devina Gelateria

2012-01-16T00:20:00.000-08:00

Also on Magazine Street, and also visited approximately a year ago, the La Devina Gelateria serves up some seriously interesting gelato flavors in a seriously interesting environment.

Magazine Street mural revisited...

2012-01-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

...approximately one year later.

Real Nawlins Food

2012-01-15T23:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes after taking an extended walk through the Garden District, you dine at Jacques Imo's Cafe, a New Orleans institution in the Cajun-Creole-Creative style. Or, as it calls itself, "Real Nawlins Food".

November in New Orleans

2012-01-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go for an extended walk through the New Orleans Garden District....

...and among other things, you track down the house of Ann Rice.

beST of 2011

2012-01-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

Due to popular demand, I am bringing back a short version of my old annual "beST of" list...

beST new MOVIES of 2011 :
The Help
Midnight in Paris

beST old MOVIES (that I saw in 2011) :
Out of the Past ('47)
Play Misty for Me ('71)

beST BOOK (that I read in 2011) :
Remainder: Tom McCarthy ('05)

beST CD's (that I heard in 2011) :
Sea of Bees: Songs for the Ravens ('10)
Sharon Van Etten: Epic ('10)

public toilet design

2012-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one of your brothers is a design teacher in possession of a book on public toilet design.

Beaumont Botanical Gardens

2012-01-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you visit the Beaumont Botanical Gardens for the first timeand you encounter a pagoda...a fountain......and a wet spot on the ground that really resembles lips.

Magnolia Cafe

2012-01-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you are taken to the Magnolia Cafe in Austin......and the table top is covered with owls.

a brief history of Whole Foods

2012-01-14T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you drive by what you thought was the original Whole Foods, but later learned is not... because the original was in New Orleans and got bought out by the Austin-based company, which also purchased the rights to use the name. (Thank you, Herma, for the full story.)

Blanton Museum of Art

2012-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you visit the Blanton Museum of Art, and the lobby is a striking art installation.Also, sometimes you eat potato chips in the museum cafe.
(photo taken by Anouk)

UT at Austin

2012-01-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you tour the University of Texas at Austin campus...

...and, due to the drought, many fountains are dry -- but not these.

Purgatory Creek

2012-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you return to a town after a decade, and there is a brand new nature trail...

...and your niece leads the hike.

the Game of Life

2012-01-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you play the Game of Life...while eating pie...

...from the Wimberly Pie Company.

the swing

2012-01-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you are led down a trail along the Blanco River...which leads to a vine that extends a hundred feet into the air......which makes an excellent swing.

Wimberly interlude

2012-01-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go to Wimberly, TX and walk by a rock shop...

and buy a coffee drink at Sip!......and then head down to a park on the Blanco River.

Texas treks

2012-01-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes your niece's school has a nature trail...

...and a labyrinth.

Root Cellar Cafe

2012-01-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes your sister-in-law takes you to lunch at the Root Cellar Cafe in San Marcos, TX.

more Sunset Limited

2012-01-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you look out the window of the Sunset Limited and see this...

and this...

...and this.

Sunset Limited

2012-01-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you take Amtrak's Sunset Limited and see the sunset out the window... (photo of Lake Amistad, west Texas)

strange juxtapositions

2011-12-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a shopping cart ends up on the beach.

night-blooming cereus

2011-12-20T06:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one receives word of a night-blooming cereus plant growing outside a small, independent health food store.

Miss Pearl's Jam House

2011-12-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

At Miss Pearl's Jam House, the restaurant located right in our hotel, we had a spirited final breakfast. The food is currently New Orleans-inspired, but in its original incarnation, at San Francisco's Phoenix Hotel, the menu supposedly had a Caribbean theme. Either way, our breakfast needs were met with great success.

It was a day of Oakland and Berkeley, joy and sadness... an unbelievably happy morning, followed by a bittersweet evening good-bye... with some other stuff in between.

warm and cozy hotel lobby interlude

2011-12-18T16:19:00.003-08:00

Warm fire, warm colors, and Scrabble.

the return trip

2011-12-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

The shadows got longer and the temperature dropped as we waited for the ferry back to Oakland. For a while I watched some children play on this Gandhi statue...

Then we stood on line for what seemed like an eternity because the ferry was running late. There wasn't much else to do but stare at the water and stare at the moon.

Imperial Tea Court

2011-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of the Ferry Building was stumbling upon the Imperial Tea Court, an authentic Chinese tea house where we received not only a tea experience, but a tea education from the very knowledgeable staff. Seen below, the correct method of sipping...

We also tried this sampler of unusual snacks...

...and where else can you pick up a brick of earthy puerh tea for your brother Ted?

Ferry Building

2011-12-14T15:51:00.001-08:00

We got off at the San Francisco Ferry Building, the historic ferry terminal that is now also a gourmet foods emporium.

on the ferry

2011-12-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

Also seen on the ferry, this cutie in her 'sarong'.

on the bay

2011-12-14T13:32:00.001-08:00

On the bay that day, there were boats of every persuasion, including huge cargo ships...

naval vessels, including aircraft carriers...

...sailboats and pleasure craft. Not to mention bridges and skylines.

on the waterfront

2011-12-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

A nice thing about Oakland's Waterfront Hotel is that it is on the waterfront, and very convenient to catch the ferry to San Francisco. When I stayed here back in June, I did exactly that. This time around it was "fleet week" or some such thing, with lots of activity on the bay.

Oakland style

2011-12-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

After driving all the way to Oakland's Jack London Square, we were kinda hungry... Since it's not every day that you encounter vegan soul food, we decided to check out this place Souley Vegan.

The chalk board menu was a bit overwhelming and took a lot of time and a bit of explaining.The big basket of fried okra looked appealing enough, but it didn't exactly hit me over the head with flavor. Between you and me, I would take Kate's fried green tomatoes over this any day. The corn bread on the other hand was pretty good.

a typical breakfast

2011-12-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

A typical breakfast from summer 2011 -- fried egg on toast with basil and Pickapeppa Sauce with a Morningstar Farms veggie sausage on the side.

San Simeon

2011-12-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

Originally a fishing and whaling town, tiny San Simeon was later used by Hearst to ship in materials for his castle. We made a quick stop at the pier and the cove, which were beautiful.

the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas

2011-12-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

This was a real treat. A few miles up the road, not only was the sun shining, but we got to see this elephant seal rookery (breeding ground), one of the few in California. The seals are prodigious swimmers and have an enormous range, extending as far as Alaska, Hawaii and the Baja peninsula. Here at Piedras Blancas, the pups are seen flopped all over the beach.

Moonstone Beach

2011-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

Driving along Moonstone Beach, beautiful but pouring rain.

Robin's

2011-12-12T10:07:00.001-08:00

We had lunch at a pleasantly designed restaurant called Robin's...

We did not eat in this little nook, but wanted to.

coffee in Cambria

2011-12-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

We had coffee on the deck of the Cambria Coffee Roasting Company and it looked a lot like this...

Then, as we drove to the other end of town, it started to rain. The weather was fickle that day.

the road to Cambria

2011-12-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

On the road to Cambria, there is a turnout with an amazing view...

and...

another squash casserole interlude

2011-12-11T07:28:00.001-08:00

...with peas just the right color.

Point Sur

2011-12-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

Driving by Point Sur, the old naval base and lighthouse...

Point Sur is a tombolo, and island connected to the mainland by a sand spit.

Strange to think about that huge naval dirigible, the Macon, crashing here in 1935...

On this day, all was very peaceful as we passed the point and the grazing cattle in the setting sun...

Big Sur River Inn

2011-12-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

I've always liked this place, the Big Sur River Inn, or any place that invites a person to sit right in the river...

...and dine among the redwoods.

We ate something that looked like this...

...and didn't mind the cozy fireplace.

Big Sur

2011-12-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

Just down the road, Big Sur. Looking south at the Bixby Bridge...Looking north at the Bixby Bridge. Did I mention that Big Sur is big?

On a beach, we stumbled upon this wedding in progress...

Kate in her pajama bottoms. After our clothes got wet, that was her only option. Since I had no change of pants, I had to tough it out John Wayne style.

high speed foam

2011-12-08T11:46:00.001-08:00

Within a matter of seconds, this sandy expanse of would get covered with a sheet of high speed foam. I think it was the sheer speed and force of it that got us so wet. Thankfully, the cameras were spared.

Your blogger, prior to the deluge.

Monastery Beach

2011-12-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Monastery Beach south of Carmel is beautiful but also quite treacherous. The beach gets its name from the monastery seen above, just beyond the grazing cattle. Locals however call this place mortuary beach due to its long history of sucking people into its churning cauldron of foamy rip currents.

What began as the innocent act of getting our feet wet turned into the upsetting act of getting our clothes wet... soaking wet!! The waves here are powerful, unpredictable, and powerfully unpredictable. When they hit the rocks, it's like an explosion in a sea water factory.

another nopales interlude

2011-12-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

Again, nopales con huevos at La Fuente in Soledad.