Discovering Another Mad Dash (Oct 14): Heading Home and Finally finishing this TR #1523 (05/03)

[dhorner233]

I loved the kitty pictures!! Sonny was my favorite! She looks like she has a big smile on her face.

 

[franandaj]

I loved the kitty pictures!! Sonny was my favorite! She looks like she has a big smile on her face.

Thanks! PIO captured a nice shot of her! The smile is probably food residue from when she falls face first into her feeding dish! But seriously she is a sweetie.

 

[Caroline NZ]

Wait and see!


Sorry about Smokey. Did you get another cat?

We have had Benny our Burmese for nearly 14 years, we didn't replace Smokey.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I loved the kitty pictures!! Sonny was my favorite! She looks like she has a big smile on her face.

I love the furbabies! Sonny is one very special cat.

Thanks! PIO captured a nice shot of her! The smile is probably food residue from when she falls face first into her feeding dish! But seriously she is a sweetie.

We have had Benny our Burmese for nearly 14 years, we didn't replace Smokey.

 

[Minniemum]

PIO what a fabulous TR full of wonderful photos. Is it a bit too late to say I'm fashionably late? Maybe it's a case of better late than never

 

[PrincessInOz]

PIO what a fabulous TR full of wonderful photos. Is it a bit too late to say I'm fashionably late? Maybe it's a case of better late than never

It's NEVER too late; especially as we haven't formally hit the end of the Mayan calendar yet. Thanks for jumping in.

 

[shushh]

What a lovely way to end your day at Disneyland and how gorgeous are those Russian blues!

It was lovely reading about your reunion with DH. I'm such a sap...

This enquiring mind would like to know though, what you dropped $$$ for in the camera shop...

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a lovely way to end your day at Disneyland and how gorgeous are those Russian blues!

It was lovely reading about your reunion with DH. I'm such a sap...

This enquiring mind would like to know though, what you dropped $$$ for in the camera shop...

I got the 70 - 200 mm f/4 IS Canon lens.

I couldn't hold the weight of the camera and the f/2.8 version with one hand; so there was no point in getting it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Resort Ch-ch-ch-changes




Our home away from home looked like it hadn’t changed when we checked in yesterday. The room was still well-kept and clean; bathroom functioned well; breakfast and happy hour still in play…..


But it is amazing what a good night’s sleep does to one’s perception!

In the cold light of morning, there were two inescapable changes.

1. The spa…..my hot tub…..had been bricked up and completely closed over.
2. There was no bacon for breakfast.

I can probably deal with change #1; but no bacon? That was one change too many!



I sure hope that there is that fat crispy protein on offer tomorrow morning.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

Around the Bay….to Half Moon Bay (In Search Of…..Photoscavenger hunt items)




I have been known to go to unreasonable lengths in search of a shot for the DisBoard photoscavenger hunts run by pea-n-me. In fact, I would even go as far as saying that I can be downright scary stalker!

As the Northern Hemisphere is in autumn (or it was at the time of the trip), it goes without saying that the items on the current hunt involved Halloween themes and fall.

I haven’t ever gone as far as buying an airline ticket just to get a shot; but I cannot claim that the scavenger hunt does not factor at all in my sightseeing decisions. Quite the contrary, in fact.


There were a number of items on the scavenger hunt list that I’d researched before boarding the plane and I figured that my best bet of scoring some of them was at a place in Half Moon Bay.

Lemos Farm has been in operation since 1942. In its 3rd generation now, this old family farm is probably best described as a farm playground for kids.

There is a petting zoo, pony rides and the item I had been stalking.

It might have been the first weekend in November; but I was still hopeful of catching some of the seasonal Halloween accoutrements. I had not hoped in vain!


Pumpkins!

Of different sizes.

Would you say this was a Pumpkin Head?

Yes, perhaps that was a little corn-ball; even for me.

Hmmmm….How about a corn-cutting spook instead?

Am I just plain spooky, you ask?

As long as you don’t think me a witch…….

….but if you do, at least I come with candy corn.

Black cats were on the scav hunt list and whilst Velcro fitted the bill nicely, I couldn’t resist the flat cat options!

For those of you that might be thinking that I was shooting cowboy style….

Just remember……Halloween is not something that we celebrate in Australia. And it is springtime; not fall……so some of those iconic images that you grew up with are a novelty to me.

The farm in fall colours was a sight to behold and I just loved all the Fall and Halloween items.

Sadly, I missed the Haunted House here….and in Disneyland. At least I could take consolation from the fact that this one was closed for the season.

There was a wonderful figure balloon maker at the farm. These were all for sale.

I seem to be falling all over Ariel this trip!

My prince of a DH decided to surprise me. This balloon rose lasted all week and gave me so much pleasure!

Oh….I think we know each other well enough now for you to know that simple things amuse my simple mind. This was something that amused me greatly!

(Yes, I know….toilet humour!).





And for the Boo Boos and Moo Moos lurking…..

Yes….we were definitely two adults without responsible children supervision this morning.

(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

All the Beautiful Morning trimmings….and more corn




We stopped at another roadside favourite of mine.

I do like to buy farm produce from a couple of these stalls whenever I’m in the area and thought I should acquaint DH with this simple pleasure.

We bought some strawberries. On hindsight, we should be bought 4 punnets, instead of 2. They were wonderfully sweet and flavoursome.

The stallholder was happy for us to sample the honey. I took the opportunity to ask after the health of his hives; afterall, there had been a disease that had decimated a lot of the bees not so long ago. I was pleased to find out that they were thriving and honey production in this area was going well.

I had targeted Half Moon Bay for a reason. Aside from being guaranteed of a number of hunt items at Lemos Farm, I knew from experience that I was going to be able to scratch Corn Maze off my list as well.

That corn field out there was something that I’d gone through when I was in the area in 2009. Sadly for me, this one was closed!

But we were in farm country!

Even if this field had been decked out as a pumpkin patch.

There was a small corn maze about 100 meters away from the stall.

The corn really is as high as an elephant’s eye!

Yup. I had crossed off quite a few items from my list this morning and there really was a bright golden haze in the meadow!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning it had turned out to be (so far).

 

[franandaj]

Nice update! I think I understand why you enjoy going to Half Moon Bay so much. I imagine that there isn't a lot like it in Australia. And especially the Halloween decorations, I never thought about what it would be like without them and Thanksgiving too!

Very fun pictures, the one with your DH in the pumpkin cut out, he almost looks evil!

 

[ACDSNY]

Nice update, if you really want to see Pumpkin Heads you need to go during the Giant Pumpkin Festival. I have many fond memories with my grandparents at Half Moon Bay and my DS wedding was there too.

I love the Party Pooper pic, that sounds like my family's type of humor.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Another great update from Half Moon Bay. Very nice pictures of the Halloween decorations.

 

[zanzibar138]

I can't wait to experience the Halloween time of year in the US - it's such a novelty for us Aussies!

You got some great pictures, and I love how you plan your sight-seeing around the photo scavenger hunt

 

[alicia1506]

love the update and the pics PIO. so beautiful

may i ask what kind of camera are you using? is it a dslr? i am currently just using a big panasonic but it's got a digital zoom rather than the manual focus of a dslr and it's driving me insane.. thinking of upgrading...

 

[rentayenta]

Great update PIO! I love your photos and am a big fan of all things Fall. Looks like you had a great day. And those strawberries look amazing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice update! I think I understand why you enjoy going to Half Moon Bay so much. I imagine that there isn't a lot like it in Australia. And especially the Halloween decorations, I never thought about what it would be like without them and Thanksgiving too!

Very fun pictures, the one with your DH in the pumpkin cut out, he almost looks evil!

Looks are everything; but he's still a prince!

Nice update, if you really want to see Pumpkin Heads you need to go during the Giant Pumpkin Festival. I have many fond memories with my grandparents at Half Moon Bay and my DS wedding was there too.

I love the Party Pooper pic, that sounds like my family's type of humor.

Half Moon Bay do a pumpkin festival. I've never been able to coincide a visit with it.

Your DS got married at HMB? Fantastic! Great location.

Another great update from Half Moon Bay. Very nice pictures of the Halloween decorations.

Thanks Bret.

I can't wait to experience the Halloween time of year in the US - it's such a novelty for us Aussies!

You got some great pictures, and I love how you plan your sight-seeing around the photo scavenger hunt

Thanks! Yes.....I've been known to go to great lengths just to tick off an item.

love the update and the pics PIO. so beautiful

may i ask what kind of camera are you using? is it a dslr? i am currently just using a big panasonic but it's got a digital zoom rather than the manual focus of a dslr and it's driving me insane.. thinking of upgrading...

Alicia - I'm currently shooting with a Canon 7D. It is a dSLR. Just be aware that if you do upgrade, and depending on what you want to shoot; it is the lenses (and all the rest) that make this a rather expensive hobby.
Which panasonic are you currently shooting with?

Great update PIO! I love your photos and am a big fan of all things Fall. Looks like you had a great day. And those strawberries look amazing.

Thanks! Those strawberries were amazing. I really wish we'd bought a couple more punnets.

And my day is only just beginning.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Around the Bay….to San Jose (Do you know the way?)




I don’t think it is any secret that I absolutely love being in the Bay area. San Francisco is my second favourite city in all the world – after the one I live in, of course. The comparative size of the cities; lots of distinctive precincts with cultural diversity, great restaurants and food and family ties make San Francisco and Melbourne seem rather similar to us.


Okay….we might not have the immediate family in San Francisco, like we both do in Melbourne, but DH and I both have extended family in the Bay area.
So, whenever we travel to this part of the world and especially if for work, we always catch a flight a day in advance so that we have all of Sunday to catch up with the families.


We’d woken up early in the morning on this day and thankfully neither of us suffered from any jetlag! So, we were able to hit this day running.

I have already posted pictures of our time in Half Moon Bay. For those of you that have accused me in the past of travelling at commando speed…..it will come as no surprise to you that by the time I’d gotten my hay ride and corn maze shot, plus bought some Strawberry produce, the clock had just ticked over to 10.30 am in the morning.



We still had the main part of our day still to come. We were meeting up with our respective family members today.

Our destination for the first family catch-up was somewhere that we knew the way to….San Jose. More specifically, we were heading to Santana Row. This was one place that had been on my to-do list for NorCal this trip. I'd been there briefly once before, with DS. Actually, we might as well call it never....DS let me park, we got down and that was it. He wanted to head back to the hotel within 5 minutes.


We were running a tad late for the family meeting; so we didn’t have the time to look around. Truth be known, the shops at Santana Row open at 11 am on a Sunday so there was no point going early. I figured that we could squeeze in Half Moon Bay before heading out here. DH didn’t seem to mind getting the additional sightseeing…and we were only about 15 minutes late for the catch-up.


We’d arranged to meet where we were having lunch. DH’s family do like to keep up with who’s who in the San Francisco gastronomy scene – so every time we visit, I get to experience their favourite place for that year.
The Left Bank Brasserie is an authentic Parisian-style brasserie and the Chief Culinary Officer, Roland Passot, is one of the chefs that has a small but loyal following in San Francisco.

There are a number of Left Banks in the Bay area and they all serve the same menu. This one had a rather nice prominent corner location at Santana Row.

We didn’t have a reservation; and on Sunday late morning, it only took about 10 minutes for them to seat us. Practically walk-on.

The décor was fairly low-key and informal.

I liked it a lot!

The menu? I liked it even more!

Traditionally French. The sort of French food that you’d expect to have at home, if you cooked in that French provincial way. And yes, cassoulet was on the menu. The restaurant does have a reputation for churning out a decent steak but I couldn’t pass up the Croque Mousier.

It really was much more in keeping with lunchtime than the steak would have been.

The ham was delicious. I gathered that it might have been from France.

DH had the Nicoise Salad. The tuna was seared to perfection!

Despite being foodies, this side of DH’s family like to start eating as soon as the food arrives and I didn’t push my food porn fetish with them…..afterall, I do want to keep visiting them and finding out about their favourite chefs and restaurants!


One other thing about lunch…..It was here that I reacquainted myself with an American love affair. Lemonade! This one was a pomegranate flavour. Lovely!

We did take a look at the dessert menu but DH and I were pretty full from the hot buffet breakfast and the lunch we’d already scoffed down today.

Maybe next time.






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)

Santana Row




Santana Row is one of those uber-chic trendy looking shopping precincts.

Aside from being a shopping precinct, it also has residential apartments; so it does have more of a village feel to it.

It’s located near a Westfield and the Winchester Mystery House; so there are plenty of other tourist traps to explore around it should the shops here turn out to be too pricey for you.



Just outside the Left Bank Brasserie was what you could consider to be the main square. It really was more like a long passage.

There was a gorgeous building in the middle that turned out to be a watering hole. Not that I’m a big drinker or anything; but it might be nice to check the Vintage Wine Bar at some stage in the future.

We walked down the street admiring the shops and the buildings.

It was a rather colourful little shopping precinct.

I spent a bit of time here admiring the details.

Despite being so built up, we managed to see a beautiful yellow-coloured hummingbird flitting amongst the flowers. I completely missed taking a shot!


We walked into a few shops here and walked out empty-handed each time.

For the Aussies reading this, most of the shops here were equivalent to buying the similar item in Australia…expensive!
But there was one shop that DH and I were completely entranced by the product.

Tesla Motors manufactures a completely electric vehicle. The rechargeable battery is located at the bottom of the car and forms the undercarriage of the vehicle.

With a range of over 200 miles per charge, it is an intriguing glimpse into the future.

It is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds. By way of comparison – California Screamin’ does 0 to 55 mph in 4 seconds.

The selling point for me? Without needing a combustion engine, there was significantly extra luggage space in the front of the vehicle (in addition to the standard space in the back)!

Now…..if only the airlines would provide us with more baggage allowance…I would so get this car just to carry my shopping and bags!


Oh….and the price tag for the Tesla? Around $55K. Not that bad compared to the price of cars in Australia but I’m pretty sure that the shipping costs would be beyond my budget!






(Continued in Next Post)