Morro Bay

I've been spending a ton of weekends up in Morro Bay / San Luis in the last month or so. Naturally, I've developed an affinity for this little beach town in the middle of central California, that I seem to have never heard about until recently --probably because in my mind the only two places in CA are Los Angeles and San Francisco, and San Diego only out of distaste for it.

Have never been sure what all that stuff in the middle is... just a hodge podge of gorgeous scenery if you end up driving through PCH!

But now that I've been to Morro Bay no less than 5 times this year alone, I feel like I'm an expert and can almost refer to it as my 2nd home. Which is a much more appropriate 2nd home than in my early 20's --LV, baby!

ANYWAY. Morro Bay at first seems like a retirement community for surfers and their wives who trade arts and crafts, or people who grew up here and never left, with their generations of kids and grandparents. The population between 18-45 yrs old is astoundingly scarce, but that's a huge part of why I love it!

By day, the beaches are almost completely empty, save the Seagulls and the Long-billed Curlews (ok I didn't what they were called before I looked it up), even on weekends! This could be because the average temperature is about 59 degrees and the sky is typically overcast until about 11am --if you're lucky. But personally that is just my kind of weather! Also, the sunsets here are uniquely, crazy gorgeous, probably trying to make its finale since it's shadowed for most of the day. All hues of purple, orange, pink, yellow, and any other colors you would find on a sunset paint pallet, with the saturation tuned to 100%.

Accommodations in Morro Bay are slim pickin's, and you definitely don't get a lot of bang for your buck. Since we've been coming up here so much, we've tried staying at *almost every single affordable hotel/bungalow/inn in town. I'd give them all about a solid B-. Think lots of beach-side motels that were probably built in the 60s and haven't been upgraded since then. Lumpy pillows and sinky mattresses aside, I tend to see all that as endearing rather than archaic and uncomfortable --unlike someone whom I won't name...

In town, there are about five antique/vintage/thrift shops for every shop that opened post 2000s. And if you hang out on the embarcadero long enough, you'd think that residents of Morro Bay only eat fish and salt water taffy ...maybe that's the secret to happy living for those who are 60+. Early bird specials 24/7!

True story: I tried to hail an Uber on a Friday night at 9pm, and the earliest available car was 30 minutes way, because they were in San Luis Obispo. That's how early people here go to bed, so that Ubers don't even bother coming to this side of town on a Friday night. I'm sure even the bars here close early.

But if you look hard enough though, you do find some great hidden gems!

For example, a coffee place that's just my style -- rock n roll energy + art + caffeine!

A new acai place that just opened in town for those "healthy" moments that eventually pass:

Great barbecue for cheaper and better than anything you'll find in West LA:

And just about 5 minutes north of Morro Bay is another peculiar, quaint, and oddly proud city of Cayucous. The downtown "center" is two blocks long, but there resides AMAZEBALLS smoked fish tacos, and the most delicious cookies you will ever place on your tongue! Try the Lemon Sugar -- your mouth will melt.

I'm not sure if Morro Bay really is a secret, but if it is then I hope it stays that way. A secluded, hazy, half-shrouded town that people pass on the way to Hearst Castle.

It's become almost a ritual, driving up to Morro Bay and spending the early mornings and dusks on the beach, watching the curlews and seeing the outline of the Rock in the distance behind thin fog. On good days, I make my way from Morro Rock all the way to Cayucous Pier and back, finishing with shoes full of sand and a clear mind.

Oh, and did I mention you can bring your dogs to the beach? And people do?! It'd be nice to retire soon.

Bocas del Toro, Panama

If paradise for the average person is white sandy beaches, calm waters, and a fruity alcoholic beverage topped with a tiny umbrella, then Bocas del Toro is that kind of paradise --and infinitely more than imaginable. With water warm enough to jump into at all times of day, the Caribbean Ocean is a vast heated pool ebbing with life, constantly beckoning you in to do anything your heart desires!

Located off the Caribbean side of Panama, Bocal del Toro consists of a chain of islands where jungle meets ocean -- a truly beautiful landscape that doesn't get much love ever since beaches became synonymous with vacations. With more hues of blues and greens than are known in the English language, its a feast for the eyes.

If you find someone willing to take you out beyond the busy tourist spots of Bocas del Toro, then you have access to untamed nature at your fingertips, pristine, untouched, and unbelievably peaceful. And if you're really after a beach and happen to stumble across one while island hopping and wave chasing, then you will very likely have that beach all to yourself or be sharing it with only a handful of other people.

Mike had been talking about Bocas del Toro ever since he took a surf trip here last year, and had wanted to come back together ever since. Known for great waves, the water at Bocas is incredible even if you're not a big surfer. Whether you're into snorkeling (amazing reef life), diving (world class), fishing (pretty much anywhere), swimming, or just sailing around, Bocas has it in abundance.

We stayed in Bocas Town for 4.5 days, the colorful center of all the ruckus, shops, bars, tourists, and coincidentally Carnival festivities. To venture out to the relatively more unknown, we took a boat every single day to explore the outer islands. If you have more $ to spare, you can shell out to stay in one of the more remote areas on other islands, where the music is quieter and the people are fewer. But good luck finding a place to order cheap rum, much less getting decent plumbing.

Meet Juan, our boat navigator, and also surfer, swimmer, snorkeler, fisher, business owner, marine extraordinaire and overall sweet guy! Unfortunately ladies, he is off the market.

The water was so beautiful we spent about as much time inside the water as we did out of it. Waves around the reef breaks are great for beginner surfers like me because they're soft and pulpous even when they crash on your head after you screw up a pop-up for the 20th time and your arms are tired from paddling around aimlessly because you have no idea what you're doing. Being a weak swimmer at best, finding myself in the middle of the ocean can be cause for hyperventilation. But the waves around Bocas were great for both struggling land lovers and local surf experts alike. Because there are islands everywhere, there are also new waves everywhere that even people who live here are still  discovering.

Bocas del Toro rains for much of the year, but luckily --or unluckily, it only rained the day we flew in (via Nature Air on a tiny carrier plane no less), and had bright, unforgiving sunshine for the rest of the other four days. Rain and rain clouds can be a relief when you spend half your days out in the open water, so the lack of it led to scorching sunburns and a tan that will probably last me into autumn. But when the water feels like my second skin, what other choice do I have?

If you have enough time, and why wouldn't you since you are on vacation, there are small restaurants located on the outer islands where food is prepared by some of the indigenous tribes that still occupy much of the islands. You can even buy live lobsters from them for $3-4 and bring it back in town to a restaurant to cook! If living organisms aren't your souvenirs of preference, they also sell tribal crafts and jewelry.

In Bocas, Carnival happened to be in full force during our stay. You know Panamanians take their drinking seriously when you wake up to "Chug chug chug chuggggggggg" at 4:30am in the morning. Celebrations were 24/7 and led right up to the very minute of Ash Wednesday, and for some even a little bit during. There were nightly Zumba dances, costumed parades, food stands, loud reggae music blasting, and most importantly, alcohol. People celebrated with cervezas and more cervezas through rain and shine, day and night, regardless of whether they were policemen or underaged school boys. Carnival is not a singe day affair, nor even a weekend-long affair, and had started much before we had even arrived. Our hotel happened to be a street down from the main event, but we ended the night so exhausted each day that one drink put me into deep slumber through most of the noise.

When you ask about Panamanian cuisine, almost everyone will say, "Well, you don't really come to Panama for the food." But even if it isn't on the cutting edge of gastronomy, Panama has the advantage of having fresh seafood right outside its front porch. Ceviche is offered at almost every single restaurant (albeit some much better than others), and you can never go wrong with the seafood soup that comes with a cocktail of octopus, shrimp, squid, white fish, and likely any other unidentifiable invertebrate that you might find nearby.

A trip to Bocas del Toro is the epitome of an island escape. In fact, for a full four days I had completely forgotten I had any other obligations besides swimming in the warm waters to my heart's content, from sun up to sun down, and then re-fueling my body with a hearty meal of fresh grilled fish and plantains.

But alas, all good things come to an end!

Bocas del Toro left me with a sense of pure contentment and newfound appreciation for the ocean. I developed a comfort with the water and a sense of beauty that typically comes much more easily with my preferred landscapes of forests and mountains.

There's a constant internal struggle between the desire to explore new places, verses returning to all the greatest hits off my old checklist.

But if I ever start making my rounds again, Bocas del Toro will most definitely be at the top of that list!

Till next time ~~

Idyllwild, CA

While my 2013 resolution (one of many) was to revive this blog for the next year, 2014 is almost at its closure and look where this blog is at --abandoned and forgotten. BUT 2014 is not quite over yet! Still lots of fun to be had, debauchery to be lived out and imprinted forever on the interwebs!

Last I decided, this blog was meant to go in a "Travel Blog-y" type of direction, whichever way that is. And I've actually taken heaps upon piles of trips this year, all of them document-worthy but none that I actually documented. I guess instagram makes it easy to not actually have any cohesive thoughts. So unfortunately, anything I write from here on out will just be a memory.

Well here are my attempts anyway and hopefully by 2018 I will have been able to recollect all of my trips before they fade into oblivion!

Here goes numero uno:

Idyllwild -- October 9, 2014

Idyllwild, Idyllwild, Idyllwild... the name kind of rolls off the tongue like a roller coaster! The town, emphasis on "town" in the most Stars Hallow, Capeside way possible --where there really is only one diner (fine maybe two), and where all of Asian food, from Korean to Japanese to Tahi can be found on a single menu, where you can literally walk the perimeter of the center in 20 minutes and wave Hi to the entire population with their acknowledgement, it's that kind of town.

Idyllwild is kind of like a rumor that people know about but can't really pinpoint. Almost everyone I've asked about Idyllwild has said, "Oh, yeah! I've heard of it, I think... maybe. Never been there. ...where is it?" Unbelievably, it's right next to Palm Springs and about two hours drive away from LA  but with completely different landscape from the barren, dried up dusty desert that is most of SoCal. Think tall trees and log cabins and snow covered mountains in the distance, and the smell of crisp, cold, thin air when you inhale. I've heard it looks like a snow globe in the winter! But then again I have high standards for snow globe comparisons since London wins the award for most snow globe-esque.

Mike and I went during the second weekend of October when LA was suffering one of it's worst heat waves but it was 60 degrees in the mountains (lucky coincidence that I will pretend was perfectly planned). We brought our mountain bikes since we heard there were numerous biking trails in the near vicinity, and tall people with bad kneeds tend to dislike hiking.

The town itself is adorable, charming, quaint, chubby cheeks and giant eyes and whatever else that illicit cuteness --and knows it too! Idyllwild definitely plays up its small town charms with candy and ice cream shops, an outdoor BBQ restaurant with live music in the afternoons, vintage and antique shops, and oh yeah, five churches.

We got there Friday night and pretty much crashed right away. Saturday morning after breakfast at the most adorable and slightly-hostile-to-non-locals diner, we asked a guy in a truck who was walking his dog about directions for the best biking trail. He gave us the friendliest, most descriptive directions imaginable, then told us about the music show he was playing in that night and said we should come by and listen! Directions and an invitation in one morning, lucky us!

The biking trails go in all directions throughout the mountains, and are undoubtedly beautiful. They range from extremely expert (which I quickly learned I was not), to easy/moderate which was more my skill level. We biked for a solid afternoon and watched woodpeckers drill the heck out of some trees, saw some wild rabbits and bunnies and lizards that are too large for comfort, listened to some hillbillies from the OC rant about gender roles, and finished the day exhausted and ready for whiskey and a full meal.

After that, we went to the wine shop (the only one) that the nice directions-man (lets call him Drums since he was on the drums) told us he would be playing at, and the entire town was jammed inside that wine bar. And everyone, everyone was drunk and yelling and laughing and singing. And amazingly but not implausibly, they all seemed to know each other. It really did feel like a snow globe moment or a Lifetime movie or a fuzzy cat sweater. Drums remembered us and stopped in between sets to ask us about the bike trail and talk to us, and smiled at us between every song. Some lucky grandson out there has the coolest rocknroll grandpa ever!

The next day was spent exploring a bike trail that turned out to connect to other longer, drier, sandier trails without our knowledge and the next thing we knew we were out of water in 90 degree heat and on the phone with spotty reception, asking some park rangers whose responses were basically, "Yeah, we dont know about that" when we asked for help and for the quickest trail to get back.

3 hours and some major dehydration headaches later, we found our way back to the car and scarfed down the fastest diner meal ever in the other diner that we hand't eaten at yet in Idyllwild, and we were on the way back! We pretty much explored the entirety of Idyllwild cuisine, if you don't consider catching a squirrel with your bare hands and roasting it over campfire. Back to good ol' Los Angeles where the count of normal people to new age artists and musicians is just mildly high.

Idyllwild is perfect for a woodsy, cabiny sort of get-away for those who want something new within 2-2.5 hours outside of LA. It's a gorgeous hidden gem for those who want the fresh mountain air without having to drive to Northern California! And defintiely has that western/biker gang/hill billy feel to it if that ever seems to appeal to you.

Enjoy!




February - Joshua Tree
March - Napa/Sonoma
April - Mexico
May - San Diego
June - Grand Canyon, Half dome
August - Chicago
September - Peru
October - Idyllwild, San Franciso, San Jose

2013 in a Flash

CHEERIO!

No one says that in London but I always thought they did!

I CANNOT believe it's been an entire year!!!

What happened?!? to LIFE? And to this blog?!? Over the past few years, posts have become progressively sparser (to be honest I kind of forgot this existed for a while). But I really can't believe I went this entire year without writing!

Part of 2014 will be to revive and revamp this blog into something more focused (rather than it being just a depository for all my inane whimsies...) Writing in general helps me process, reflect, and create new ideas, whether in my journal or in here. Unfortunately, I haven't been writing anywhere as of late, which is probably why a lot of what has happened this year seems like a huge blur now. Sometimes things happen so fast I forget to savor and relish the moment, and before I know it, it's completely forgotten (or possibly I just have very poor short-term memory)!

2013 has definitely been a frenzied barrage of events! And looking back makes me a bit sad to think that I let so many events fly by these past two years without slowing down to remember them.

But that's what 2014 is for!

In January, I was still in London freezing my butt off! Our landlady was crazy, our (me and Mike's) boiler was completely not functional, which meant no heating and hot water in 20 degree weather, which meant boiling water over the stove and filling the tub with it (which also meant not showering everyday... go ahead and judge but who sweats when it's 20 degrees anyway), and wearing 5 layers to bed.

Living in London made me appreciate seasons, and the bad reputation of horrible weather didn't even bother me one bit. I just loved it! The freezing chills, the cold, stinging air... That is Golders Green park, 5 minutes away from our flat and I jogged there 4-5 times a week. It is beautiful and one of the things I miss the most about London. There were ducks and butterflies in the spring, colorful gardens in full bloom, and when the weather hit 60 degrees... lines up the wazoo for ice cream cones, and don't even bother finding a grassy spot!

The experience itself was magical --I sound like a 6th grader talking about her first dance, but it absolutely was magical! London will always be my favorite city in the world, and going to London School of Economics is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life, and one of the most mind-opening, inspiring, and permanent experiences I will always hold close. The people I encountered in the program are truly of unparalleled quality, and London as a city is a beauty that is past, present, and future all rolled into one. I could live in that city for years and continue to be enchanted by it daily!

And don't even get me started on the pubs... no better place to drink a whiskey. None! And when the sun sets over the Thames, well on the days where there IS sun, the whole sky looks like it's on fire! Definitely gives LA sunsets a run for its money (just FYI this picture below is a poor representation of London's dusk pallet).

Being in Europe for the first part of the academic year meant trips to Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Austria, and basically everywhere in the UK. Palaces, masked balls, wurst, Prost!

Most, ok ALL, of the destinations within the UK were dictated by literary history.

Haworth because of the Bronte sisters. And as it turns out, Sylvia Plath is buried nearby!

Canterbury because of Chaucer.

York because of Auden, Dickens, Guy Fawkes. And York Minster is pretty stunning.

Bath because of Jane Austen. And Wife of Bath (any relation)?

Stratford-upon-Avon because of it's vibrant nightlife. Oh and Shakespeare has some history there too. (That's Lady Macbeth in all her blood spotted glory)

Cambridge because basically every single great British author went to Cambridge if they weren't at Oxford. Unless they joined the police force in Burma.

And somewhere in there for some reason, we thought it would be fun to go on the Cotswold Walk and hike for 100 miles in 7 days. It was actually, pretty fun and came with boundless breathtaking views!

Turkey and Ireland were supposed to happen in there somewhere but things got too busy.

And a second trip to Edinburgh happened and I ran a miserable 1/2 marathon in the freezing, pouring Scottish rain with some fellow brave LSE students. and PR-ed, whaaaat?!?!? Must have been a mix of adrenaline and desperation for it to be over! Followed by a whole lotta recovery scotch :]

2014 is also going to come with a huge cut back on running mileage! Well, after the LA marathon. And the halfie in January I signed up for 4 months ago... but after those! running started as an endorphin addiction years ago and eventually morphed into a stress coping mechanism during grad school... but since I haven't really been too stressed in the last couple months, its time to give those legs a vacay! And make more time for milder things... like ballroom dancing. and finding things to put into mason jars. and having toenails. 

I also did a Tough Mudder (effer!) in South London, which is 10-12 miles of running plus 24 obstacles filled with mud, fire, ice water, and electricity. For some reason I let Mike and his brother convince me it would be fun... After it ended I vowed to never do tough mudder again. And then I came home studied for finals that same night (because I'm such a great planner and decided to do this in the middle of exam season) with bruises over every inch of my body. 

The last trip Mike and I took together while in the UK was to Fez and Marrakech in Morocco. First (but not last) time in an Arabic-speaking country. Out of the world experience. Almost as crazy, if not crazier, than that time we went to Cuba (before it was legal shhhhh).

Somewhere in there I also finished a Capstone project for the OECD with a great team, went to Paris for an interview and had my iPhone stolen there (actually, losing an iPhone isn't really a noteworthy event since it happens tri-annually), completed all my courses, and graduated from LSE! Dual-Degree Masters? Done!!!

Studying at LSE was tenfold more manageable than SIPA, mostly because at SIPA I was taking five core classes and holding multiple internships, not really sleeping, ever. Just continuous strains of stress-napping. Also the LSE school year in general felt about half as long. We got two full months just to STUDY! What?!? So at LSE, I decided I would spend all that extra time traveling instead since I wasn't working, and it paid off :D I have my whole life to work and pay off the massive debt accumulation, but when will I ever live in Europe again?!

Don't think it will be the last of my schooling days, but maybe for a good while.

Afterwards, I backpacked to Amsterdam and Brussels, Alone! Which believe it or not, is my first time traveling completely by myself! It was pretty liberating to meet people, have no solid plans, and revel in the adventure :] And eat TONS AND TONS of Belgian chocolate, wander through the red light district with new friends, and spend as much time as I want scrutinizing Rembrandts and Van Goghs and Vermeers.

 

Then I went on a celebration trip to Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague with my mom and sister!

Came back home, applied to jobs like crazy, and when I finally got something, celebrated the end of my wayward traveler days with one last hurrah to Chicago! Which by the way is an architectural feat of a city! And my last meals on earth would definitely include multiple Lou Malnati's sausage-crusted pizzas.

And now that I'm employed, for the last month or two, things have been calm. Perhaps even excessively calm. I've always had this approach of doing things NOW because who knows when LATER will come, so if opportunities for new experiences and travels come, I'm going to take them ALL. Because soon I'll be chained to a desk and forced to suppress my wanderlust ways. Which is partially true. There are still things to do, explore and experience, but in much more expected and predictable ways.

I was definitely exhausted from all the traveling earlier this year and at that point the thought of stability and normalcy and routine was a warm welcome.

But who am I kidding, stability and routine is not really who I am!  I came back to LA at the beginning of August and by the end of the month I had already adjusted and began feeling the itch again.

I am incredibly grateful to be home and surrounded by my family and friends and everybody that I love, in a city that still fascinates me! And what I want most in the world is to have all the people that I love know exactly how much I love them, and know how great I think they are! So I feel blessed to be able to stay in LA for a while longer. 70 degree weather during smack middle of winter? Yes, please!

Now that I've adjusted to a work/life situation, it gives me more time to ponder over other pursuits, and the crave for calmness seems distant again, already daydreaming about where I'm going to travel to next.

And it's also almost 2014, and I'm excited and ready for what's coming next!

Way too grateful to be tired :] Maybe someday I will be, but not next year!!!

2014, HERE'S TO YOU!