ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
We had hoped to time our arrival to Brookings when the Easter lily fields would be in bloom. At least, that was what we were expecting after reading about the farms. Left to their own devices, they would naturally bloom in July. You're probably wondering like I did, isn't Easter-time their time to flower? It... Continue Reading →
Before the crush of food preparation for osechi ryori, five of us headed over to Ton-Chan for lunch. A previous review of it is here. Instead of the usual Sapporo miso tonkotsu ramen that others ordered, I went for one appropriately called The Bomb, basically a miso tonkotsu ramen with spicy ground pork. As noted before,... Continue Reading →
A replica of the Trinidad Head lighthouse sits on a bluff overlooking the sea. It is really a memorial to those lost at sea, whose names are on plaques along a concrete wall nearby. The lighthouse itself still is perched on the headland, not accessible to the general public. The fog bell that was originally... Continue Reading →
There is no better evidence of the powerful forces of plate subduction than the shoreline of Patrick's Point State Park. The Farallon Plate is diving under the North American plate slowly, leaving behind good examples of broken and folded coastline, including some impressive examples of basalt outcroppings out at sea. There is a fault that... Continue Reading →
Were it not for a B&W movie about avian pests, Bodega Bay might otherwise not be as well-known. Tourism is still the town's primary economy with many roadside stores selling kites and salt-water taffy, but there is an added attraction right outside of town. It would be a mistake to bypass Bodega Head where the... Continue Reading →
The San Andreas Fault that runs through much of California runs out to sea at Point Arena. We wondered if we could "see" the fault from the top of the lighthouse that lies north of the town. Unfortunately, we couldn't. It turns out that the fault meets the sea at a point further north in... Continue Reading →
Some very beautiful Victorian homes line the streets of Petaluma, west of the river. These homes, which survived the 1906 earthquake relatively intact, have been wonderfully restored to their former glory after years of neglect. As a result, many motion pictures have been filmed here. We walked through the historic district, which is on the... Continue Reading →
Driving along the California coast is a spectacular experience. California Highway 1, in particular, has many rewards, not only breathtaking vistas of the Pacific Ocean but little towns that are free from over-commercialization. Take Cambria, for example. Situated about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it attracts travelers from both, a picturesque village of... Continue Reading →
Along the coast of San Luis Obispo county is situated the beautiful town of Morro Bay, once a center of abalone fishing that now hosts commercial and sport fishing activities. We approached it from the south along Highway 101 when we saw the town's most famous landmark, Morro Rock, that juts up out of the water... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 