loveliness.

Live, travel, adventure, bless and don't be sorry.
loveliness.
  • Home
  • about
  • travel
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • Canada
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Mexico
    • Philippines
    • Thailand
    • USA
      • Arizona
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
      • Hawaii
      • Montana
      • New York
      • Oregon
      • Washington
  • loveliness
  • books
  • favourites
  • Tag: California

    • half dome: part 2 (the climb)

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on August 9, 2018

      Our Half Dome climb day was Tuesday, July 9th, so I drove up to the Bay on Saturday morning to spend some time with friends (and drink a lot of vodka, which was maybe not the best training strategy). On Monday morning, I set off from Pleasanton to make the trek to Yosemite, about a 3-hour drive. I had planned to meet my friend and another girl that was hiking with us along the highway somewhere, but we didn’t have firm plans, and I didn’t realize until I was about halfway there that I didn’t actually know where we were staying.

      I realized this at almost the exact second that I completely lost cell service, which I had known would happen well in advance. I called my husband the night before since I knew I wouldn’t be talking to him that day or probably until I left Yosemite, but it never occurred to me to find out where I was actually driving to, since I wouldn’t be able to contact my friend once we were there.

      Even though I was pretty stressed and annoyed with myself, the drive there was stunning, there is a beautiful lake as you come up to Yosemite, and the rock formations are gorgeous. It took a lot of swearing and little bit of standing on top of my car, but eventually I got a text message through, and we met up at our rental cabin in Half Dome Village. There are a few rental options in Half Dome Village, including tents that are already set up, and little cabins, which are basically like hotel rooms with a bathroom, and two beds in each room.

      We got lunch right away, there are a few little restaurants there, including a pizza place, a burger place, and a coffee/ice cream place, then went exploring for a few hours around the park, including riding the shuttle over to Yosemite Village to stamp our National Parks passports (I bought one at Yosemite, even though I’ve been to about 10 National Parks in the last two years and have never before felt the urge) and check out Lower Yosemite Falls. There are a lot of really cool looking hikes in the area, but we thought we should save our energy for the next day.

      We headed back to our cabin to get our stuff organized (read: to pack our snacks), ate all the carbs for supper, and went to bed early, although I don’t think any of us slept much.

      We woke up at 3:15 the next morning, put on our hiking clothes and some sunscreen, and head out. One of the reasons we wanted to stay at Half Dome Village, is you can walk right to the trailhead, and don’t have to worry about parking, which we heard can be kind of tricky.

      We arrived at the trailhead at 4:30 a.m. It was still dark, but two of our group had headlamps so we were able to see the trail. It was really neat to be roaming through the forest in the dark, although I did freak out a couple of times when I saw random shadows and decided they were snakes/bears.

      There are two waterfalls along the way to Half Dome, and we made it to the first one just as the sun was starting to come up. The hike from our cabin door and back down (spoiler alert, we made it!) was about 18 miles total. The first part is pretty well groomed trails, with lots of stairs. After the second waterfall, there is kind of a flat wander through trees and meadows by a river that was really pretty in the morning, but goes on for quite a long time.

      We made really good time on our hike; we were so energetic and excited that we got to the sub dome by 10:00 even though we thought it would take us until noon. Right before the sub dome is where you have to show your permit to be able to continue up. I feel like everyone talks about the terror of the cables at Half Dome, but the sub dome is kind of scary in its own way. It’s very steep, parts of it are stairs, and parts are just flat rock that you kind of scramble up, but there are no railings or anything and it’s a long way down if you fall.

      The view from the sub dome is beautiful, but the first glimpse of the cables is pretty sobering. It looks very steep, especially from the top of the sub dome. There was definitely part of me that didn’t want to do it, but I told myself I had hiked 9 miles, and I wasn’t ever doing this again, so I had to at least try to get up to the top.

      The cables are bolted into the side of Half Dome, and there are pieces of wood laid out about every 10 feet. It’s pretty steep, and it’s basically a straight drop down on either side. Some people bring harnesses to clip onto the cables to make it a little safer, I would say about 20% of the people had them, including the two girls I was hiking with.

      But I didn’t, I just wanted to get up as fast as I could, because I knew if I had too much time to think about things I might freak myself out. I didn’t want to be behind anyone that was taking extra time to clip and unclip all the way up, so I decided to go first.

      It’s about 400 feet of cables to the top, and it starts out a little bit steep, ends a little bit steep, and then is pretty much straight up and down at parts along the middle. It was pretty scary, but the best thing about Half Dome were the other hikers, as there are people going up and down at the same time, and almost everyone is super friendly and helpful, and works together to make sure everyone has a safe climb.

      I couldn’t tell you how long it took me to get up, time kind of stops as you just pull yourself, try to go by other people, and keep your footing, but I would guess it took me 20-30 minutes to get up to the top.

      The view from the top was amazing; we had great weather so it wasn’t too hot or too windy up there. We hung out for a while, took pictures and had some snacks, all while trying to fend off attacks from the hungry squirrels that swarm the Dome. If you left your pack alone for 30 seconds to take a picture or talk to someone else, they would be in your bag stealing your food, and throwing your stuff all over the place.

      We stayed up top for about 45 minutes, and then started the trek down, which I honestly thought was scarier than the climb up. It might have been because there were a lot of people coming up at the time and there were points were I was just kind of hanging out and not able to move for a few minutes at a time.

      I didn’t fully relax until we were back at the bottom of the sub dome, that’s when we really felt like we had done it and everything was fine, but then we still had nine miles to hike to get back down, and we were starting to run low on water. The sun was fully up by then, it was about 1:30 when we got back to the trail, and it was very hot, and slow going on the way down, since we were all tired and sore from the first half of the hike.

      By the last mile of the hike, I really didn’t know if I could finish, the bottoms of my feet were burning and it hurt every time I took a step. I was about to just lay down on the side of the trail and give up, when out of nowhere, like 3 baby angels, a group of very attractive Australian boys joined up with us. They were on a tour of the U.S. and had just done a two mile hike, so they asked us a bunch of questions about where else they should visit, and we told them all about the hike we had done. Before we knew it, we were back at the village, essentially unscathed, and it was basically a miracle.

      The first thing I did when I got back to the cabin was crack open a grapefruit LaCroix, take off my boots and put my sore little feet up on the headboard. They were very dirty and puffy, but I didn’t really have any blisters (maybe thanks to these socks) and elevating them for a few minutes really helped.

      We had big plans to celebrate, but after we showered and went to get burgers, I think I drank about half of a beer, and then went home to bed. I slept like a rock, except for several times when I jolted awake because I had nightmares about being back on the cables. The next day, I woke up feeling a little bit stiff, but honestly, fine.

      In the end, I’m SO glad I got to do Half Dome, it was a great experience with girlfriends, and I’m proud of myself for making it to the top even though I was scared of the cables. If you’re thinking about doing it, I would just say, it is kind of hard (nobody really said that to me, everyone just told me how much fun it is and how great the views are) and make sure you bring a lot of water, more than you think you’ll need. Also, bring Oreos, which aren’t technically a necessity, but are definitely nice to have.

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, half dome, hiking, national parks, summer, yosemite
    • half dome: part 1 (before)

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on August 6, 2018

      img_20180709_164645_995-1609471230.jpg

      I’ve been trying to climb Half Dome for four years. Four times I’ve paid my few dollars, entered my name in the lottery and hoped for the best, and four times I’ve been rejected. When I got the email this year that I hadn’t been chosen, especially now that I know other people who’ve gotten in on their first try, it was starting to feel a little bit personal, to be honest.

      Luckily (or not, I guess we’ll see) a friend of mine did get selected, and knowing my desperate tale, asked me to do it with her. So that is the short version of a story where I try really hard to be selected to do something that I probably can’t do, and honestly can’t remember why I wanted to in the first place.

      Half Dome has been on my list of things to do for probably 5 years. I call it a list of things to do, but really it’s an amorphous, seemingly random collection of things I probably heard someone talking about on public transportation at some point and thought to myself “I could probably do that.” I wouldn’t call it a bucket list, at any rate, since most of the things on it are not things that would make me feel my life had been wasted were I not to accomplish them.

      Other things on this list include climbing Kilimanjaro, having twin girls, and finding a white button down that isn’t see through and doesn’t gape at the bust (this last one seems most unlikely). Items I have successfully completed on this list include sky diving, running a marathon, piercing my belly button, and also, owning wooden salad bowls, which for some reason had been a great and unknowable yearning of my heart ever since I was around 12 years old.

      So, to summarize, I found out last month that I would be attempting the climb to Half Dome this summer. I don’t know much about Half Dome, to be honest, other than that it’s probably going to be hard. My general strategy in life for things that might be hard is to learn as little as possible about them.

      When I ran a marathon 5 years ago, I read no books and did no research. I really didn’t even understand how far 26 miles was, having grown up in the land of the kilometer. I believe that’s why, at mile 13, I thought to myself, “Well, if I was running the half I’d be done already! That practically flew by!” By mile 23, my thoughts had taken a turn for the rather less enthusiastic, and though I finished, I could barely walk for three days, and I couldn’t sleep comfortably without a pillow between my knees for…well I’ll let you know.

      But the point is, I did it. Ignorance as bliss is highly underrated as a training strategy, in my opinion. Had I known going in what I know now, I might have opted to skip the blessed experience altogether, although stronger women than I have been lured into less by the possibility of being serenaded by Brett Michaels, who was performing at the finish line.

      Three weeks before the climb, the only concessions I’ve made to the fact that this is actually going to happen is to go into REI to buy hiking boots (grudgingly, as there were some really cute ankle boots that I actually wanted to buy with that money). I agreed with the salesperson that I was at best a casual hiker, so when he found out the boots were for Half Dome he looked at me like he thought I was going to die. On the bright side, I have since taken to clomping around in my boots on all occasions, including with short shorts to the grocery store, where my husband pretended not to know me.

      I’ve also added some gloves to my Amazon cart, which are either for climbing cables or for gardening; it’s definitely one or the other.

      Additionally, I’ve begun planning my snack allowance for the day, which so far includes Gushers, the really good crunchy potato chips from Trader Joe’s and at least one sleeve of Oreos. The Oreos are actually crucial to my plan, as I did a three day volcano hike in Indonesia a few years ago, again with little to no planning or idea of what I was undertaking, and I only got through it by rewarding myself with an Oreo at each mile marker. Chocolate and bribery are my love languages.

      20180709_1637011401570956.jpg

      TO BE CONTINUED.

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, half dome, hiking, travel, yosemite
    • land’s end

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on June 28, 2017

      There are so many pictures from this day, I couldn’t really narrow them down any more than I already did. Over the Christmas break we had the opportunity to really spend some time in Northern California, which hasn’t happened since we lived there over three years ago. Usually we are flying in for a wedding or other event, so it’s a very rushed trip with no time to do anything but the thing we are there to do.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      I was just thinking about this the other day, how when you first move somewhere you are so excited to go everywhere and check things out, and see all of the sights, but eventually you get settled in, and have your few places you go back to, and get busy with everyday life, and it’s easy to stop doing those things. I think that’s one of the reasons I like moving around so much, I don’t like to take places for granted or get complacent with how I’m spending my time.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      I worked in S.F. for three years, I was in the city every single day, so going into the city wasn’t usually high on my list of things to do on my days off. So we really took advantage of having some free time on this trip, and spent a full day playing tourist in San Francisco. I’ve been wanting to go to the “labyrinth” at Land’s End for years, and I’ve also heard about Twin Peaks from many of my photographer friends, so I was excited to check it out. Luckily we chose a beautiful, sunny day since we spent almost the whole time outside.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      On our way to Land’s End we stopped at Ocean Beach to watch the surfers for a while, then parked near the Cliff House and walked along the water to Land’s End. It was about a mile “hike” (on a groomed dirt path with stairs). It was a little bit muddy, and kind of windy since it was on the water, but the view was amazing.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      After Land’s End, we went to a local brewery for lunch, and then stopped off to check out the 16th Ave stairs and wandered around Golden Gate park for awhile. Finally, we drove up to Twin Peaks and walked up to the top to enjoy the view just before sunset, before heading back to Tony’s for the best pizza ever.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      It was a lot more memorable than what we would have done otherwise that day, which if I remember correctly, would have been finishing our binge watch of the first season of The Man in the High Castle.

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      san francisco

      Posted in California, San Francisco, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, labyrinth, land's end, San Francisco, travel, twin peaks
    • big sur

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on May 10, 2017

      Well, it’s been over 3 months since the first post in this two-part series, that’s quite a cliff hanger. I just finished my second semester of grad school, and I usually have to take a little break from this space during classes since there is so much else going on.

      But, anyway back to our Big Sur trip. The drive down from San Francisco was absolutely stunning, we probably took twice as long to get there as we should have since I kept pleading to stop every 5 minutes, but every single view of the ocean and the coast was better than the last. Our windows were down, the sun was shining, and we had good tunes and peanut M&M’s. It was basically the perfect day.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      We were there for three days and two nights total, and we didn’t actually have a campsite booked when we left, since the place we wanted to stay at, Kirk Creek, is first come, first served. But it’s right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean so I was hoping if we got there early enough, we would get a spot. It was a bit stressful, but we snagged one of the last sites.

      The first day we kind of just crept around and explored some of the beautiful beaches in the area. As I mentioned about 10 times, I thought it would be really cold out along the coast in December, so I only brought leggings, combat boots and flannels. Needless to say, I looked pretty crazy at the beach.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      I also didn’t realize that some of the little towns there are actually kind of upscale, so I got some strange looks when I walked through the parking lot in my shredded Jack Daniel’s t-shirt, but I won it playing quarters when I was 17 and I’ll never not wear it, no matter how ratty it gets.

      We thought about making the trek to Hearst Castle since it’s only a little further down the road, but after two days of camping, and my aforementioned wardrobe woes, we decided to wait until next time when we might be a little more presentable (unlikely).

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      There is almost no phone service there, so it was actually such a relaxing few days. We had a great time hiking and exploring, and then came back to our camp site to drink grapefruit beer, grill vegetarian sausages with extra mustard (for me) and smokies (for D) and enjoy the ocean view from our tent.

      There is also a really pretty beach along the front of the campgrounds, but you have to shimmy down the side of a cliff using a rope that is older than I am to get there. It’s a bit tricksy, especially if you have a Twisted Tea in your hand, but still very do-able.

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      I had been hearing really good things about this podcast, so I downloaded a couple of episodes to listen to in the evenings, which I immediately regretted, since hearing about victims of brutal murders who were camping in Yosemite at the time (only a few hours away) was basically a guarantee that I would be up all night listening for the slightest rustle in the bushes outside. Did I mention there are quite a few raccoons in the area?

      big sur

      big sur

      big sur

      Overall it was an amazing few days, and basically my favourite part of Christmas 2016. I can’t wait to go back to Big Sur, and maybeeee spend one night sleeping here, in a human nest?

      big sur

      big sur

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged beach, big sur, California, hiking, travel
    • ewoldsen trail: big sur

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on January 23, 2017

      Since we ended up spending the whole Christmas break in California, we decided to sneak away for a few days to Big Sur. It was honestly even better than I thought it would be, I had been planning for subzero temperatures, but it was actually gorgeous out during the day, though it was a little chilly sleeping in a tent at night.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      We spent our whole second day there exploring the different hiking trails, including Ewoldsen Trail and McWay Falls, which isn’t really a hike at all, more of a quick saunter down a paved sidewalk, but the view at the end is stunning.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      Ewoldsen Trail took us about 3 hours total, but at the top there is the option to take a detour onto Waters Trail, which is about 200 yards straight uphill, but leads to the most gorgeous views of the entire coastline. We were pretty tired and sweaty by the time we got to the top, not to mention dehydrated since I hate carrying water with me when I hike, so we stayed at the top for almost an hour, just enjoying the view and recuperating.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      The colour of the water is absolutely stunning, so we laid in the grass, soaked up the sunshine and listened to a little boy in the only other group at the top counting the whales surfacing along the shore. He got to somewhere in the 50’s before his parents dragged him back down the hill, although I’m pretty sure he counted the same whale more than once.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      I would definitely recommend all of these trails, although they do get busy later on in the day. We got there at 8:30, and were one of the only cars in the parking lot, and we only saw a few other people on the trail, but by the time we got back to our car we were passing huge groups of people on their way to the trailhead, and people were parking for miles along the highway on either side.

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      hiking big sur

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged beach, big sur, California, ewoldsen trail, hiking, ocean, travel
    • mission peaks

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 28, 2016

      We’ve been in the Bay for the last couple of weeks after the semester ended, and we ended up celebrating Christmas on December 24th this year, just because it worked better for a lot of people’s schedules.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      So on the 25th, we woke up and had breakfast and opened up our stockings, but then we didn’t really have anywhere we needed to be. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, so we decided to go for a hike and try to burn off some of the treats we’ve been eating. I made two huge bags of puppy chow on the 20th and they were gone before Christmas Eve.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Missions Peaks was about 7 miles total, and was only about 30 minutes away from where we were staying, so it was kind of perfect. It was kind of hard in some spots, it had rained a few days before so it was a bit slippery, and parts of it were pretty steep. Also, there are cows.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      It took us about 3 hours total, but the view from the top was gorgeous, and it was nice to get outside and actually do something, even though I like drinking mimosas in front of the fireplace as much as the next guy.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      It’s a great option if you are looking for a hike in the East Bay, especially on a clear day because you can see the entire Bay.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Tomorrow we are off for a couple of days in Big Sur, and I am SO excited. We’re supposed to have good weather, and we are leaving super early to try to snag a cliff top spot. It might be really cold, but between by batman onesie and the 400 pairs of socks I got for Christmas, I may avoid freezing to death.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Posted in California, holidays, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged bay area, California, Christmas, hiking, mission peak
    • weekend in monterey

      Posted at 8:39 am by jasminedesirees, on September 29, 2015

      A couple of weeks ago I flew to Oakland and drove to Monterey for a weekend of beaching and wine tasting with some of my favourite ladies. We spent Saturday wine tasting in Carmel Valley (definitely recommend the wine trolley, as clearly nobody could drive) and then hung out on the beach for a bit.

      DSC_7931

      DSC_7934

      DSC_7933

      It was very strange there were thousands and thousands of little fish washed up on the beach flopping around, it was really sad.

      DSC_7939

      DSC_7942

      DSC_7949

      DSC_7950

      DSC_7951

      I’d never seen anything like that before, so a few of us spent about an hour racing around trying to throw as many as possible back into the ocean (alcohol may have been a factor) so they could live. It was a pretty fruitless endeavour, but we probably saved a few.

      DSC_7953

      DSC_7955

      DSC_7958

      DSC_7959

      DSC_7961

      DSC_7965

      We looked it up, and apparently if there are whales or pods of dolphins in the area it can push some of the fish closer to shore for safety, but then they can get beached.

      DSC_7967

      DSC_7968

      DSC_7969

      Monterey is such a cute town, there is so much history and the architecture is beautiful, but I’m pretty sure whoever designed the roads was drunk at the time, it is quite maddening to drive around, especially if you are driving a borrowed vehicle, that happens to be a stick, and also have no idea where you’re going (or so I’ve heard).

      DSC_7970

      DSC_7971

      DSC_7973

      We did dinner, drinks and dancing on Saturday night, and dragged ourselves to the pier in the morning to drown our sorrows in salt water taffy and clam chowder (or fettucine alfredo in my case) before the drive home.

      DSC_7974

      DSC_7975

      DSC_7976

      DSC_7978

      We spent more than an hour stuck in traffic, because that’s just what life is like, and we also didn’t find Clint Eastwood, which was the main goal of the trip, but it was a successful weekend either way.

      DSC_7979

      DSC_7980

      DSC_7981

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged beach, California, monterey, travel
    • angel island

      Posted at 7:00 am by jasminedesirees, on September 21, 2015

      It’s funny how you move to a new place, and for awhile every day is an exciting discovery, but then eventually, that new place becomes just the place where you live. When we first moved to California, we were exploring new places all the time, but after awhile we settled down to regular life, and most of our travels were to SoCal, or out of state.

      angel island

      angel island

      Angel Island has been on my list since I first found out we were moving and started creeping for fun things to do, but somehow it never happened. The nice thing is that we still have friends and family in the area and we go back to the Bay pretty often, so just because we haven’t done something yet (I’m looking at you Alcatraz) doesn’t mean we won’t.

      We ended up going to Angel Island this summer, finally, with Derek’s brother, his girlfriend, and their daughter. We left from Sausalito (one of my favourite places) and took the ferry across on a beautiful sunny Sunday in July.

      angel island

      angel island

      The ferry ride was $15/person, plus $1 per bike. If you are thinking of visiting and you have a bike, definitely bring it. Rentals are pretty expensive, so $1 to bring your own bike on the ferry is a steal.

      angel island

      angel island

      When you land at Angel Island there is a little pier area with a couple little restaurants (some of them look really good, and the prices weren’t terrible either) and a place to rent bikes. They also sell wine, which is a useful tip for after the bike ride is over.

      angel island

      angel island

      When you first start riding up you are on a narrow little dirt path that is very steep, and you last about 15 seconds before you get off and start pushing your bike, and wondering when the next ferry back leaves.

      angel island

      angel island

      But once you get to the top of that little area, the path widens out, and is paved, and is generally not very steep. There were lots of families doing the bike ride together, so it’s not super difficult but there were definitely a couple of times when I was exhausted but had to peddle really hard to beat a little girl up a hill. Not today, Pigtails.

      angel island

      angel island

      The only part of the ride that is really hard is when you are around the opposite side, with the best view of San Francisco. In order to get to the magnificent view of the Golden Gate Bridge, you have to ride up the side of a hill that recently made a cameo in Everest. It feels impossible, but the view once you make it to the top is worth it.

      angel island

      angel island

      After the hill, it’s mostly flat or downhill. It’s really the last place where you need to put in any effort, so keep telling yourself that as you struggle for breath and turn the colour of a cherry tomato.

      angel island

      angel island

      Angel Island used to be an old military base, so there are some really neat old buildings to look at as you pedal, and we had a rare hot day in San Francisco, so we stopped and hung out on one of the beaches while we ate lunch.

      angel island

      angel island

      If you are planning on checking out Angel Island, especially in the summer, make sure you bring sunscreen, there isn’t a lot of shade, and lots of water. Once you leave the pier area, there isn’t anywhere to get more water, although there are some picnic tables at the top of the aforementioned mammoth hill.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      The BEST thing about our Angel Island trip is that my brother-in-law proposed to his girlfriend while we were there! So not only was it a beautiful fun day, but now I get a new sister, and I get to wear this dress to a wedding in the Spring. Wins all around.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      And speaking of things I haven’t gotten to do in California yet, we are still deciding whether or not to spend Christmas there (I’m 28 and I’ve never not been with my family. Yes, I’m a baby.) but if we do, I am slightly cheered at the prospect of spending a few days camping in Big Sur between Christmas and New Years. We may die of exposure in our tents, but live dangerously or not at all.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      Posted in California, exploring, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged angel island, bay area, California, San Francisco, travel
    • thousand steps beach

      Posted at 11:20 am by jasminedesirees, on September 15, 2015

      We were in L.A. last weekend for a birthday party and visiting some of The Boy’s family. On Sunday morning we got up early (we left Long Beach at 5:30 am, nobody knows why) and drove to Laguna to Thousand Steps Beach.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      We were there for sunrise, it was pretty empty except for a few people doing yoga and some surfers and boogie boarders. I think it gets pretty busy there later on so it was nice to chill out and enjoy the quiet.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      Thousand steps is a little misleading, it’s probably not even a quarter of that, so I wore my runners and brought a bottle of water, expecting a treacherous climb, but I wasn’t worried after Pura Lempuyang last year. That actually was 1,700 steps, and that was only once you were at the very top. So this wasn’t quite the workout I was expecting.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      We walked down the beach to the end to watch the surfers and check out the tide pools, they are man made, with cement around them, and they are tucked away in the back corner of the beach. It’s such a great idea, I’m surprised there aren’t more around.

      The whole cove around the beach is filled with the most amazing houses, it would be the best view to wake up to every day.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      Before we left, we walked down to the other end of the beach to check it out, and we saw a viking, Deadpool, and some kind of princess fighting with the cops because they had slept on the beach (it was Long Beach Comic Con last weekend).

      They were yelling, and I’m pretty sure the viking got arrested, but it was pretty hard to take his righteous indignation seriously when he was wearing a horned helmet and fur vest.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      After the beach we grabbed breakfast at a little restaurant with a beach view in Laguna, and then headed for home. We ended up driving down the PCH instead, and added an extra 45 minutes to our drive, but it was worth it for the views, and to be by the ocean for a little bit longer.

      We basically decided then and there that we don’t care where we go after Arizona, but it needs to be near the sea.

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      thousand steps beach

      Posted in beach, California, Los Angeles, travel, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged beaches, California, hiking, pura lempuyang, thousand steps beach, tide pools
    • the last bookstore

      Posted at 8:51 am by jasminedesirees, on August 18, 2015

      On our way from Phoenix to San Francisco last weekend there were 3 things I wanted to do. One of them was to stop in at The Last Bookstore in L.A.

      I read about it a couple of years ago, and had been wanting to go, but the last few times I was there I ran out of time. This time I was looking for any excuse to break up the interminable dross of 11 hours in the car, and it was just what I needed.

      The Last Bookstore is in downtown L.A. As soon as I walked through the door, I was struck by what a cool place it was. It’s very big and open with rows of book shelves (obviously), and a big art installation made from paperbacks along one wall. The back right corner is dedicated to old records, and the entire upstairs section is more books, and art displays from local artists.

      There is a little stage/nook area where people were cuddled up reading in big comfy chairs.They often do author readings at the store. There were so many books I wanted to get, I could have spent hours in there, but unfortunately I only had a few minutes. I ended up picking Before I Die, a closer look and compilation of all the Before I Die projects walls, all over the world.

      I’d heard of the project a few years ago and had been wanting to check it out. It was between that, Letters of Note, a book based on a blog I’ve followed for ages, and an amazing looking veggie cookbook, but Before I Die won out in the end.

      We ended up stopping at Griffith park for a picnic afterwards so I got to spend a couple of hours lounging in the sun reading, before we headed to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to watch Vertigo. It was a perfect few hours in L.A.

      IMG_20150530_133428

      Posted in books, California, exploring, Los Angeles, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged before i die, California, reading, the last bookstore
    ← Older posts
    •        
    • Follow loveliness. on WordPress.com
    • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    • Popular Posts

      • loveliness
    • Recent Posts

      • half dome: part 2 (the climb)
      • half dome: part 1 (before)
      • favourites
      • queretaro
      • white sands
      • orange county
      • life update
      • news21
      • land’s end
      • big sur
    • Instagram

      No Instagram images were found.

    • Categories

    • Archives

Blog at WordPress.com.

loveliness.
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • loveliness.
    • Join 323 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • loveliness.
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...