Wabi-Sabi Sole

Monterey & Carmel-By-The-Sea

On July 31, 2017

In Carmel-By-The-Sea, Friendship, Japan, Monterey, Road trip

Sunday, 7/22, Sara headed back to San Diego and the rest of us took a short road trip from Paso Robles to the coast. Our first stop was in Monterey. We enjoyed a walk through the quaint little town. It was fun to see Cannery Row. Since high school, I have been a huge John Steinbeck fan.

The Pacific coast enticed me yet again.

After our visit in Monterey, we continued towards Carmel-By-The-Sea and drove along the beautiful 17 mile drive. Slowly, the clouds started to lift.

17-Mile Drive is a scenic road that runs along the coast and connects Monterey to Carmel-By-The-Sea. There are several golf courses. The most famous being Pebble Beach. I honestly, just loved seeing the rocky shoreline of the Pacific.

It didn’t take long for the clouds to settle again. Bird Rock is pictured on the background. Again, you can’t hear all of the California sea lions lounging on Bird Rock. Using Mark’s binoculars, they were easy to spot. Using a picture from my iPhone, not so easy to spot.

One of the most iconic spots along the drive is the Lone Cypress. The clouds had definitely settled by this point. Nonetheless, we enjoyed taking tourist pictures!

We stopped in Carmel-By-The-Sea for lunch.

After lunch, we continued driving south to Big Sur. For the next two nights, Sue arranged for us to stay in an amazing airb&b at the top of of Palo Colorado Road off of US1. Before heading up the mountain to our airb&b we made a quick stop at the grocery store. Would you believe our luck – they had a wine tasting! Thank you, don’t mind if we do!

The house were we stayed was spectacular! The views were incredible. We literally were above the clouds. The Pacific Ocean is under the clouds.

We enjoyed a lively game of dominoes as we watched the sunset.

Watching the fog roll in after the sunset was captivating and eerie.

Despite the low clouds, Allison and I enjoyed a clear night sky to stargaze. We saw two satellites and three shooting stars!

Paso Robles Wine Camp

By wabisabisole

On July 30, 2017

In Friendship, Japan, Paso Robles, Running, Wine

The third part of my American Adventure was uniting with my friends from Virginia Beach. Friday, 7/21, I linked up with Mark and Roxanne at the San Francisco airport. After enduring a bit of rental car drama, the three of us drove south along 101 to Paso Robles. The traffic was awful. When finally made it to our airb&b rental we were beyond relieved and excited! Here we rendezvoused with the rest of our VB friends. Sue, Jeff and their daughter, Allison, had spent the week in San Diego visiting our friend, Sara and her family. They were driving north to Paso Robles.

The reunion was magnificent! And definitely better than our selfie stick pictures. Somehow we couldn’t quite get all seven of us in one picture! Or smiling. Or looking at the camera.

After our snack, we decided to charge our glasses and take a walk around the grounds of the airb&b.

The owner’s dog acted as an escort.

As the sunset, we seized the opportunity for a few modeling shots.

This one makes me laugh. Mark and his paparazzi’s shadows.

Allison and her paparazzi!

After dinner, Roxanne began the first lesson of Wine Camp. She used her socks to school us on her expectations.

Saturday morning, before our day of Wine Camp, Sara and I enjoyed a run through the J. Lohr vineyards.

Our first appointment for wine tasting was at 10:30 at the J.Lohr vineyard. Off we go!

Another friend in VB helped to arrange a personal tasting experience with Elisa. Despite having an appointment and being told not to be late, Elisa seemed to have no clue who we were or why we asked for her. None the less, she provided us with a VIP experience.

Perhaps you notice the cat ears? I brought them with me from Japan for us to wear. We spent the day explaining the purpose. They are “kawaii”, Allison (our driver for the day) was the cat herder, we wanted to be able to find each other, we wanted to fit in with the numerous bachelorette parties, and well, because Japan. We never quite perfected the story. Personally, I think cat herder was most appropriate.

Our second winery of the day was at Eberle winery. This winery was our favorite for several reasons. 1. The staff was super friendly. Even when we broke a glass!

2. The wines were delicious.

3. The tour of the winery caves was interesting and our tour guide was super animated.

4. Free pizza.

After a stop for lunch, we continued to our third winery, Sculpterra.

The wines were delicious and the sculptures throughout the gardens were really impressive and unique.

Our fourth and final winery was San Marcos Creek Vineyard. It was a quiet winery with delicious wines. It was the perfect quiet ending to a lively and exciting day. Kanpie! To dear friends!

Our five souvenir bottles from the day!

I want to give a special shoutout to our driver, Allison. She drove us around all day and patiently waited for us at each winery. She earned the highly esteemed honor of Cat Herder. Thank you, Allison, for enduring the day and keeping us safe!

Redwoods and PC Highway

By wabisabisole

On July 29, 2017

In Camping, Family, Japan, Northern California, Redwood National and State Parks, Redwoods, Road trip

We finished up our stay in the Redwoods National and State Parks with one last hike along the Cathedral Trees Trail.

Along this hike, we not only saw more big trees…

We also saw the biggest tree of them all.

We circled back to the RV on the Trillium Falls Trail.

With more trees…

And a waterfall.

A cute sign that made us giggle and look for bears.

And family!

We drove down the Pacific Coast Highway before camping for the evening.

The sunset was amazing.

The next morning, we continued along the PC Highway and stopped occasionally to enjoy the view. Seeing these views, I quickly joined Team Pacific and was ready to move here!

One last picture of my family.

And one last picture of The Rig at our last campsite surrounded by big trees.

It is hard to believe how quickly two weeks passed. I enjoyed having time to spend together without feeling rushed or distracted. This vacation provided quality time to laugh, talk, and enjoy each other’s company. I will cherish so many memories. One of my favorite memories which, I have no picture to document, was stargazing. We would stretch out on a log or picnic table and watch the millions of stars in the night sky. Being away from city lights made the stars bright and mesmerizing. It was always a bonus to see a shooting star or satellite.

I’m truly appreciative of my brother for organizing and plan this adventure. Also, I’m thankful everyone was willing to come together and share the experience.

On Friday, 7/21, my mom and I were dropped off at the San Francisco Airport. After returning The Rig, George, Juliana, and Fiona had planned to spend a few days in San Francisco. My mom was flying home and I would be meeting up with my VB friends for the remaining portion of the vacation. Can you believe I saw even more of Northern California and more friends! I am a lucky girl.

Team Redwood

By wabisabisole

On July 28, 2017

In Family, Hiking, Japan, Redwood National and State Parks, Redwoods

Our next destination on our RV adventure was Redwood National and State Parks along the Northern California Coast. Redwood National and State Parks encompass a string of protected forests, beaches and grasslands.

We spent the night of Sunday 7/16 along the coast in the middle of big trees.

Monday morning, we were up early and went to Pebble Beach to investigate tide pools. I wish you could hear the seals on the big island barking and the crashing of the waves.

After lunch, we took a six mile hike through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The trail took us through dense old-growth woods. There were big trees everywhere! We all took turns being trees in the trees!

I took a picture of this branch that fell. It’s called a widow maker. Because if you’re under it when it falls, it will kill you. Notice how it stuck in the ground. And how new growth is already sprouting. The branches hold so much water and nutrients, they act as a nurse log for the new growth.

Can you see me?

I also saw my first banana slug.

Dinner that night was a well earned crab feast!

Our six mile hike was just a warm up for our 11+ mile hike on Tuesday. (Depending on whose device you checked we walked somewhere between 11 and 16 miles – but who’s counting miles when they are filled with beautiful big trees?) We took a hike to Fern Canyon in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Fern Canyon is aptly named because of its high, plant-covered walls.

I attempted to capture the magnificent Redwoods throughout the hike.

Both of these hikes were beyond my definition of hiking through the woods. The strength of the beautiful big trees was inspiring. I’ve seen Giant Sequoias and now I’ve seen the world’s tallest trees. Both are worthy of appreciation. However, if I must choose between the two, I stand tall with Team Redwood.

Crater Lake Boat Ride

By wabisabisole

On July 27, 2017

In Camping, Crater Lake National Park, Japan

On Saturday, July 15th, we enjoyed a two-hour boat ride around Crater Lake. Obtaining the tickets required patience and a lot of luck. The tickets went on sale 24 hours prior to the sailing time and were available for purchase at a kiosk inside the Crater Lake Lodge. We waited in line to purchase the 11:30 tickets and watched as they sold out after the first group of guests booked three seats. We decided to wait for the 12:00 tickets. As we waited, we began to strategize with the people in front of us. There were two groups ahead of us in line (6 people total) and the five of our group. We thought we might have a better chance of securing tickets the 11 tickets if we bought the tickets all together in one transaction. During the last few minutes, the number of tickets available went from 15 down to 11. There was so much stress! Promptly at noon, my new friends, Fiona, and I, input our 11 ticket request and I swiped my credit card. The transaction went through and we had 11 tickets! We all did a dance of joy, they gave me cash for the tickets, and we agreed to meet at the check in booth at 11am the next day to catch the boat. Yay!

Saturday morning, after checking in for the boat trip at the top of the Cleetwood Cove Trail, we walked down to the bottom of the trail. Because of the delicate nature of the sides of the crater, this is the only trail available to access the lake.

The walk down provided beautiful views of the lake.

Once we were on the boat, we had up close views of Wizard Island and the steep sides of the crater.

We also had the good fortune to see the “Old Man of the Lake”, a full-sized tree which is now a stump that has been bobbing vertically in the lake for over a century. According to our guide, the low temperature of the water has slowed the decomposition of the wood, enhancing the longevity of the bobbing tree working its way around the lake. It is considered lucky to be able to see the tree.

The boat tour also gave us views of a waterfall.

As well as a close up view of the Phantom Ship.

During the tour, we learned this was only the second day they were offering boat tours. We yet again felt very fortunate!

The hike back up the side of the crater wasn’t as easy as going down. We took our time and enjoyed the views!

That evening, we decided to return back to the east side of the rim to watch the sunset over the lake. We stopped at a few overlooks along the way.

Check out the wind! Flock of Seagulls strikes again!

Plus, a few pictures of us goofing around.

And then, there was sunset. Without the mosquitos that were swarming at the campsite.

Crater Lake – Day 1

By wabisabisole

On July 25, 2017

In Camping, Crater Lake National Park, Family, Japan, Road trip

Crater Lake National Park is located in south-central Oregon. The main feature of Crater Lake National Park is Crater Lake. Crater Lake is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. Approximately 7,700 years ago, when Mount Mazama Volcano erupted, it exploded and then collapsed to form a caldera over 2,000 feet deep. It took about 250 years after the eruption for rain and snow to slowly fill the caldera and ultimately created Crater Lake. The island in the lake is Wizard Island. Wizard Island formed when a Cinder Cone Volcano erupted after the crater began to fill up.

Crater Lake has no rivers flowing into or out of the lake. The evaporation rate equals the rain/ snowfall replenishment rates. The lake has a depth of 1,949 feet, making it the deepest in the U.S. and the ninth in the world. I took this picture looking down the steep sides of the caldera. The blue is the lake – not the sky!

We spent three days/two nights in Crater Lake National Park. The first full day, 7/14, we were fortunate enough to secure tickets for the boat ride tour of the lake the next day, Saturday, 7/15. I will come back to that story in the next post, for now, I’ll just say, Fiona and I worked magic.

After securing our boat tickets, we took a hike up to Garfield Peak. The trail was closed shortly before the peak but, we enjoyed amazing views along the way.

One of the highlights was viewing the Phantom Ship rock.

From here, we could see Garfield Peak.

The views made taking a break even more fun.

Here you can understand why the trail was still closed. There was a huge slab of ice snow still on the trail!

After our hike, we made another short hike around a short loop.

We had to cross through more snowy trails. I was impressed by my sandal hiking family!

One last picture of our super sweet campsite! What you can’t see in this picture are the thousands of mosquitoes swarming around us! If you go to Crater Lake – take bug spray!

PS. Thanks for being patient with me as I blog a little late about my travels. At the time I’m posting this, I’m in SFO about to fly home to Tokyo. I enjoyed the past three weeks immensely. I needed an American vacation with my family and friends. And I can honestly say, by disconnecting I was able to reconnect. It did my heart good.

Last Night in Lassen

By wabisabisole

On July 21, 2017

In Japan, Lassen National Park

After our hike of Cinder Cone Volcano, we drove from Butte Lake camping area in the northeast corner of the park to Manzanita Lake campground in the northwest corner. In Manzanita Lake, we were able to shower, do a load of laundry, and eat dinner before heading out for a sunset hike around Manzanita Lake.

A lesson was learned this evening. When camping, if you have a chance to wash clothes, take it. You never know if laundry facilities will be available or working at your next location. The advertised laundry facilities were secured at Crater Lake for water conservation. Needless to say, by the end of the trip, freshy-fresh clothes were a privilege.

Also, Fiona and I worked on our rap album while walking around the lake. Be on the lookout for our album: “Two White Girls Who Rap Like White Girls”. Our picture is on the cover.

Hiking Cinder Cone

By wabisabisole

On July 19, 2017

In Cinder Cone Volcano, Japan, Lassen National Park

The second night in Lassen National Park, we stayed the far northeast corner at the Butte Lake campground. To access the campground, we drove down a long gravel road. In the RV, it defined a bumpy, country road.

The campground was secluded and quiet. Without the city lights, sky looked like a planetarium.

We woke early Wednesday morning to hike Cinder Cone Volcano. We wanted to start early because there is very little shade on the volcano. The trail leading up to the volcano was black sand and surrounded by tall pine trees.

The sand challenged our glutes and calf muscles and the trees provided delightful shade.

Also along the hike to the volcano, we had an upclose view of the Fantastic Lava Beds. The Fantastic Lava Beds formed when Lava seeped out the sides of the volcano and then cooled. The rocks were impressive.

The hike up the volcano reached a 45 degree angle.

Despite being a relatively short hike, it was strenuous.

From the top, we had views of the Cinder Cone Caldera, the Fantastic Lava Fields, and Mount Lassen.

We hiked down into the caldera of the volcano because we could!

It was no small accomplishment to reach the top. Especially considering the angle and lava rock path!

The highlight on the way down was playing “what are the odds” with Fiona. She lost and had to balance a pine cone on her head!

Southwest Lassen

By wabisabisole

On July 16, 2017

In Japan, Lassen National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in the Northeast corner of California. The park contains all four types of volcanoes – shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. The largest volcano in the park is Lassen Peak. Lassen is also one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world. The last eruptions were between 1914 and 1921. We were able to visit the park between 7/10-7/12. The first night we stayed in the southwest part of the park.

We made a brief stop the first morning at Sulphur Works. Here we could view sulphur springs, fumerole, and a mudpot. A fumerole is created when the sulphur gas escapes the Earth’s surface. Here is a picture of the suphlur springs and fumerole. The steam was difficult to capture. Here is a picture of the mudpot.

I took a picture of the recipe card. Kawaii!

The park receives significant amounts of snowfall every year causing many roads and trails throughout the park to be closed during the winter. This past winter, the late season storms generated so much snow the main road through the park, Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway, remains closed. The park estimates they will be able to clear the 50 feet of snow covering the roads by August. This amount of snow and delay hasn’t been seen for at least 50 years.

We were able to drive up to Bumpass and park the rig. The Bumpass Trail remains closed because of snow. Instead, we walked up to the point where they were still clearing the road. The snow lining the roads was spectacular!

After lunch, we went for an afternoon hike to Mill Creek Falls. The hike was highlighted with beautiful terrain, wild flower fields, and views of Lassen Peak.
The falls were serene and beautiful.

Wine Camp

By wabisabisole

On July 10, 2017

In Benziger, Family, Japan, Sonoma, Wine

On Saturday, July 8th, Audry dropped me in San Francisco where I was able to meet up with my family to begin the second leg of my journey. My brother, George, is the official driver of the RV we rented to drive us around Northern California and Oregon. Juliana, my sister-in-law, is the navigator extraordinaire. My mom, Fiona (my niece), and I are the happy campers, gummy bear tasters and overall back seat ruckus rousers.

Saturday was our meet up and load up day. We hit the road for real on Sunday morning working our way through Sonoma Valley towards Lassen National Park. We made a long pit stop at the Benziger Winery for a tasting and a tour.

The Benziger Winery is a biodynamic winery. The for the past 22 years, the l 85 acres have progressed from organic to biodynamic.

Biodynamics is essentially the most purest form of organic farming and in this case, wine making. The process is biologically friendly with many levels of diversity to achieve growth and harvest of the grapes. Our guide, Patty, told us the Winery uses insects, natural predators, plants, and trees to attract pollinators for the grape vines. The same balance is utilized to prevent pests and diseases. Here’s a picture of three houses. An owl house, bat house, and blue bird house.

Simultaneously, the winery uses compost procedures and manure from the 60 sheep and 2 cows on the premises to keep the soil healthy and full of nutrients for the grape vines. The sheep are also used to “mow” between the vines and their hooves help to aerate the soil. The winery also recycles the water for irrigation.

Our first tasting was during the tour. It was the 2015 West Rows Chardonnay – Signaterra. Buttery and not too much oak.

The grapes are hand picked preventing bruising and damage.

Instead of traditional methods of crushing the grapes, a high speed camera and laser imaging enables imperfect grapes to be pulled out and only the very best grapes remain. Fermentation then occurs in these large and well insulated vats.

Barreled wine is stored in caves constructed by the winery. The caves are 28,000 sqft and naturally maintain 60 degrees / 70 % humidity. The white oak barrels are used because they offer the perfect density for aging their wine selection.