Californivacation: El Capitan State Beach, part II

It was so quiet at El Capitan State Beach. I don't think I ran into a single person while I walked on the beach. A lot of the areas I went to were largely deserted so I could traipse around taking pictures without interference.

There was a beautiful old train bridge at the exit of the park. When I stopped to take pictures of it, I discovered that dozens of monarchs had moved into the area. It was the beginning of monarch season so I was hoping to find some. They floated along so lazily in the sun and amongst the trees. It was beautiful and I watched them for a while before I got back to the bridge. They were so high up that I couldn't get a good picture or video of them (my video is laughably bad) and they never seemed to land within range of my zoom so alas here is the only picture...

The elusive Californian monarch

Under the bridge

On the road again.

Note: Highway 1 cuts in and out of 101 along the coast. Lest you think I wasn't truly on PCH.

Californivacation: El Capitan State Beach, part I

I had to pay to go into El Capitan State Beach, which seems like it would be more worth it if I were staying there for 2 or 8 hours but many of California's state parks are closed due to the poor economy so I suppose I'm glad I could do my park. It was a beautiful beach and nice to roam around for an hour or so.

I was obviously there in the off season.

I liked this one so much I took 4 ish pictures. Ooh wispy wintry branches.

More on El Capitan's less beechy side up next.

Californivacation: Santa Barbara

I spent the first night of my trip in charming Santa Barbara. Unfortunately I got there when it was already late and most of the shops were closing (it was Sunday). I did get to try my first Pink Berry even though my fingers were kind of stiff from walking in the cool night. I also had amazing legit tacos at a whole in the wall place. I was the only person there who didn't speak Spanish...it's hard to find authentic, delish places on your own. Thank you, Lonely Planet.

 

I stayed at a cute bed & breakfast and had an interesting convo with the manager, a Turkish man from NYC.

 Adobe style buildings were Santa Barbara's thing (but not like cloying Slovang, which you will see in a future post).

I didn't go anywhere without encountering palm trees.

 Very cute downtown area. Maybe a little touristy, maybe a little high end, but nice all the same.

 These eclectic pianos are all over town and people are invited to sit down to play them. Cool idea.

 

I've been scheduling posts like cra cra (Bev are you reading this?) for my 15 readers so look for some every coupla days until I run out of edited pics again. We're inching our way up to San Fran.

Californivacation: Carpinteria Beach

On my trip to California (remember way back when?) I took a lot of pictures of the same thing sometimes because what happens if one of them didn't come out right? Then I'd only have 7 copies of every stretch of beach, every rock on the beach and every tree. It only stands to reason...

And one more...proof that I was there.

It's alive!

Opposite the beach it was still gorgeous and vintage colored.

If I can stop reading The Hunger Games, I will post more soon. By the way, have you read The Hunger Games?

2011 Reads

I love year end lists. They were always especially great in China where it was easy to miss all the best new books, movies, and music. For the past few years I've been keeping a list of books read for the year.

Here are all the books I finished in 2011 (in order of completion) with brief commentary. Top five are in green.

Howards End by E.M. Forster  Two British sisters lives are dramatically changed by their romantic entanglements and their romantic philosophies. Read the Norton edition.

Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman  Biography of marriage, motherhood, tragedy & faith. A genuine voice and a heartbreaking story.
 
The Imperfectionists by Mark Rachman (great cover by the way)  An English magazine in Italy is the intersection point for a variety of characters over several decades. Fast and compelling read that was just slightly contrived but worth a read. Each character's story was unique.

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan  Friendship and betrayal by the master of the sad ending. Well written but like tying a lead weight to your leg and jumping in the ocean. Read Atonement instead.
 
Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson  Great book on consuming the Bible by a thoughtful Christian author. Full of wisdom. Made me excited to glean new things from the Word!
 
Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang  A true look at the lives of female migrant workers in one of China's factory hubs. Started out well but Chang lost her edge and went on a tangent part way through.
 
Next by James Hynes  Discontented Midwestern businessman goes on a job interview in the midst of terrorist activity. Took a gamble on this book and didn't love it.
 
Nothing to Envy By Barbara Demick  L.A. journalist explores life in North Korea by interviewing defectors from the same area. Great book and a rare look into the horrific situation north of the DMZ.
 
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen College boy runs away to the circus and falls in love with the star of the show. I DO NOT understand why anyone liked this book. Writing was horrible--like reading the directions on a script) and the story was contrived. I'm sure the movie's better.
 
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides Haunting and nostalgic tale of the Lisbon girls and their inexplicable suicide. Great descriptions and sentences, leaves you wanting answers that you know from page one you're not going to get. Good read.
 
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen You've read this already right? My favorite line is still from the movie version - "Surely you and I are beyond speaking when words are clearly not enough.
 
The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham Self-centered woman marries a research doctor who lives in Hong Kong and faces mortality and morality during a plague. Completely different from the movie. Good read but I liked the redemptive story of the movie better. Eek.
 
Little Bee by Chris Cleave Nigerian refugee moves in with a British editor after her husband's suicide. Not sure how to describe this story but it had honest voices. Ending was fairly implausible.
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne  The journey to creating a radical Christian community amongst the least of these. Very challenging read on living the Gospel and being a peacemaker. Too deep to summarize.
 
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith  A girl from an eccentric (make that cooky) family living in a dilapidated castle documents her coming of age. Book and movie are equally beautiful and breathtaking. Must read/see.
 
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson  If you're a beginning photographer, read this. If you've been taking pictures for a year or two, you should probably still read this. I should probably read it again.
 
Oliver Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout  Pulitzer prize winning book of short stories that feature one curmudgeony woman. Interesting read but many of the stories featured romantic betrayals.
 
The Psycopath Test by Jon Ronson Investigative journalist of unusual topics, Ronson explores the word of psychology and psychopaths. A little disjointed but still fascinating look at the cult of psycology.
 
The Help by Kathryn Stockett  You've already read this right? If not, ask yourself this...why not?
 
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan  Super popular book (at least among the NPR crowd) about the mostly separate lives of a music producer and his secretary. Told with some unusual devices (one chapter is a ppt). Eh, seemed more about experimenting with form than creating a memorable story. I like straightforward plot better so judge this one for yourself.
 
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain  Fictional (but well researched) tale of Hemingway's first wife over the course of their marriage. Didn't love it at the beginning, but I got more engrossed in Hadley Hemingway's story as it progressed.
 
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom  The autobiography of a Christian woman who worked to save Jews during the Holocaust and was put in a concentration camp as a result. Amazing story of God's faithfulness and miracles. Must read.
 
The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides  Does the famous marriage plot work in real life? Boy loves girl who loves another boy and being that they're Brown students, they analyze everything. Oh I was hoping I'd like this better. Story didn't grab me like Virgin Suicides.

What were your favorite reads of 2011?

Mine (and Ben's) first (wonky) baby quilt

In anticipation of the newest addition to the S family (who is very far away in the Middle Country), I made a quilt in their family colors (rather the colors they have been known to wear quite often). It's a wonky version of a log cabin quilt (sort of) and while far from perfect, I was pleased with how it turned out (after all it's probably going to be thrown up on a few times!). Even more I'm excited by the thought that baby Ben will have a little homemade something from me to cuddle up in since I can't be there to cuddle in person.

Here are the pics--pretend like they're good (I took them pre new camera and pre new flash) and pretend like the quilt isn't horribly wrinkled.

 

I'm almost done with a baby quilt that zigs and zags. Will post pictures soon. I promise.

Californivacation: SoCal

The trip begins...or began. I took somewhere around 3000 pictures on my California trip in early November -what with 2 cameras--one of them with speeds of 4.5 pictures/second. So it's taking me a while to edit them since I took several versions of every photo and every angle of every beach pebble along the trip north.

I started in SoCal & after a friends' wedding a few friends and I headed to Laguna Beach--my 1st glmpse of the famous PCH (that's West Coast lingo for Pacific Coast Highway aka Highway 1).

 

Look at this crazy rubbery seaweed.

These trees were cool. Don't know what kind though.

A beautiful bird of paradise. That is one crazy plant.

 

That's all for Laguna Beach. It was pretty, but SoCal is not the place for me. More soon...je vous promets. 

Butterflies for My Favorite Toddlers

There are butterflies here--all over the place here. I thought they were a spring thing, but apparently not when you live near the beach and it never gets really cold.

I took this video for my favorite toddlers in China who probably aren't seeing too many of these brightly colored winged wonders.

P.S. I'm in love with my new iTouch. It's so multifunctional. I did worry that it was an unnecessary expense but not so. With all the interviews I've been doing lately, it's recording-sans-2-foot-long-head-phones has been crucial...plus I get to send butterflies to toddlers. Tell me that's unimportant.