California dreaming...
Dave and Caroline's fabulous adventure to California... August-September 2007
Well, Dave and I headed off to California for a few weeks and I thought I would be cleaver and put my thoughts in my blackberry along the way, and then send it in emails to my blog, much like I did when I was in NYC. However, we all know what happens when we are cleaver, too cleaver, with technology don't we? Who wins?
This must have been the trip where we were meant to be technology free as our digital camera died at the start of our trip and the blackberry device wasn't working well and some of my emails were deleted, for the first leg of my journey. And, the first leg of our journey was the highlight of our trip and I don't know if I can replicate some of the words and thoughts I captured when I was more in the environment and could report about it with fresh emotions and words to the blackberry. In any case, it's difficult to capture any moment that has passed, and explain it to someone, and it's probably best just to sit there and experience it all, in all its glory. Perhaps this is the lesson I was taught as I put out an intent to try to live more in the present and now, and not be too anxious about the past or future... this is a long journey and goal and not a destination of course.
However, I'll try to recapture some of the highlights of what was lost in words and it's more for us but perhaps there will be others that will be interested so I'll share...
1. Our first stop was Harbin Hot Springs (www.harbinhotsprings.com) in northern California. We absolutely loved this place! It was wonderful, relaxing, peaceful and loving. Just what we needed to start our vacation and unwind and relax. Someone had recommended this place and I had tried to get here when I was last in San Francisco in February but ran out of time. Harbin is a place or community with a variety of natural hot springs of different temperatures that you can dip in and out of 24 hours a day. They are meant to be relaxing and meditative pools, saunas (dry and wet), with no talking, or quiet talking, and bathing before you go into the pools, much like the Japanese baths. The hard part is choosing... hot pool (natural spring and very hot... ouch!), warm pool (natural spring water mixed with cold water), cold pool (very cold... ouch!), natural pool (ahhh very nice on a very hot sunny day, which was every day... like a swimming pool with no heating), heart shaped heated pool (the only one that is heated not through the natural spring water temperature and is more for quiet conversations), dry sauna, wet sauna. We had a variety of wellness treatments there and were hooked, our bodies wanting more with each one. In particular, we absolutely loved the special watsu treatment developed at Harbin... they put buoys on your legs and a person holds you in the warm natural spring pool, which is private, and gives you a zen shiatsu massage with other movements meant to relax and release any tensions. It felt like being a baby again as you are held in the comfort of someone's arms why they comfort and support you. It was amazing and we can't do justice by speaking about it. Besides the pools and treatments, there is good natural food in the restaurant and at the poolside cafe, and a variety of activities throughout the day like yoga, chanting, movies at night on a large screen and the room filled with pillows, and other activities based on who is around and the time of year... while we were there there was a special ceremony to watch and celebrate the eclipse, someone on astrology, etc. etc. There is also large communal kitchen where you can cook meals and decks outdoors where you just have to bring a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars, and don't have to pay for accommodation. We had a basic room with a private bath. This is not a Club Med or a fancy resort but a place to relax, unwind and be in a loving community on 100 acres. Even the animals are all around and friendly as they know no one will harm them.... deer, elks, turkeys, etc. You can call Harbin spiritual or new age or what you will, but you can do all the activities or don't have to do anything at all, and that's the beauty. I had the opportunity to do yoga every morning, and then just went by the pools all day to read and relax, with treatments in between. It was tough! So, Dave and I had a hard time leaving the place, but we left well rested after a busy period before and ready to explore more of California. We originally thought we will do day trips from Harbin but loved it so much that we couldn't get enough of it after 6 days and 5 nights. We will definitely return!
2. After Harbin, we headed to San Francisco, driving along the beautiful wineyards of Napa as we headed down the highway. It was lovely. We stayed at the Harbour Court Hotel, which I found for a cheap price on the web and it was ok but nothing spectacular, especially the service.
In the evening, was the moment we had all been waiting for, a dinner at Millennium restaurant (www.millenniumrestaurant.com) where I had interned back in February, which seemed so far away. It was wonderful, the best, 10+, the best meal we had in California hands down or ever. I had the chance to speak to the head chef Eric and catch up. I may intern there early next year. I was going to this time around but was too busy and tired to do so. Interning is hard work and I wanted to be up for the challenge. So, we took the chef's tasting menu, and it was wonderful... the food - the freshest, seasonal, organic - the ambiance, the service. And knowing the chef, we kept on getting special surprises and treats along the way... how delightful. At one point, he said that one of the cook's mothers had a fig tree in her backyard and he brought in some of the best fresh figs he's ever tasted, and there are a lot of fig trees in California. They made us a special skewer with the figs roasted and Chef Eric brought it over himself with the story of how the fig came to be on our table, and it was heaven. We did a special wine pairing with the menu, which was absolutely delightful too, in particular to get to know some local, organic and vegan wineries in the area. It's so exciting to have so much before you... imagine having the freshest of vegetables and fruit of such tremendous variety and superb local wines all year around... it made me almost cry to think about what we have at home compared to California. But, does this make for a happier people? Probably not and I really appreciate the changing the seasons, especially when spring rolls around and produce starts flying into the markets. We have such a different rhythm and this probably accounts in some way for the way we do things. Think about it. We have such scarcity in produce and then it's over abundant, we have harsh winters and then hot humid summers... no wonder we can not feel truly at ease as what we have is so impermanent and constantly changing. No wonder we are such good troopers for the most part and are flexible with big fluctuations. And, what we do if had all that California warm weather and sunshine all the time... would we run out at the first sign of warm weather to sit on patios like we do now, would we feel like a kid and so happy when we have warm sunny days to go out and have fun...
3. The ferry terminal and the Farmer's Market along the Embarcadero and water. This is the place I love most in San Francisco. I think I mentioned this before when I was in San Francisco in February. I feel like a kid when I go there and see the rows of stalls with the freshest local vegetables and fruits, often organic, with different colours, smells, and tastes... there are often people encouraging you to taste how good their fruit is so you will be hooked. This is what happened with the person selling local grapes and I was hooked... yum! Also, the person selling the best plums I have ever had and Dave and I tried numerous varieties... Pluot... our favourite. The variety of heirloom vegetables is incredible, for example, for tomatoes alone there was one stand that had about a dozen lined up for people to try... green zebra, black brandy, black new zealand, lemon boy, purple cheroke, etc. So, besides produce, there is everything else food wise like organic olive oils, balsamic vinegars, artisan cheeses, and numerous stalls with meals. Several times, we made a meal of just buying food from there and taking it back to the hotel to eat. Inside the ferry terminal building there are numerous stores selling local food, wine, chocolates, etc. My favourites include Cowgirl Creamery that sells only artisan cheeses with a cheese expert you could spend a lot of time talking to about the right cheese for a dish or venue, with tastings along the way. They really know their stuff and care about getting you just the right cheese. After that would, be the Far West Fungi store (www.farwestfungi.com) with fresh mushrooms that were incredible and many that are nearly impossible for us to get...lobster (that really look like lobster claws), chanterelles, matsutake, and sea beans (like seaweed).
4. Little Tokyo. I love Little Tokyo although it's quite small and limited to about a few blocks only. I love the shops selling Japanese ware, clothing, confectionery, sweets, etc. And there are numerous small restaurants like in Japan to choose from. We went to the sushi boat place again. Although I usually stay away from sushi boat places as being too commercial and touristy, this was the first sushi boat place in the area I believe and has been around for a long time. Even Zagat has given it a good rating. I like it as you can eat lots of fresh sushi and a variety of things quite inexpensively and quickly. Dave found it a bit stressful trying to decide what to eat as the boats floated by, perhaps for the last time before they were taken, but I found it exciting with things flowing toward me, many options and opportunities. I wonder if they have different speeds for the floating boats. Do they speed it up when it's busier? Actually that's what they did when I worked at the CN Tower. People usually want to do one turn before they leave so they speed up the turning when it's busy to get people out of there and moving. So sometimes, life really does fly by quicker than we think!
OK now back to our regularly scheduled program. This leads to the blog entries that were saved and did make it through cyberspace to the blog... they are quite rough so as I look at them and edit them as needed, I will put them up.
Well, Dave and I headed off to California for a few weeks and I thought I would be cleaver and put my thoughts in my blackberry along the way, and then send it in emails to my blog, much like I did when I was in NYC. However, we all know what happens when we are cleaver, too cleaver, with technology don't we? Who wins?
This must have been the trip where we were meant to be technology free as our digital camera died at the start of our trip and the blackberry device wasn't working well and some of my emails were deleted, for the first leg of my journey. And, the first leg of our journey was the highlight of our trip and I don't know if I can replicate some of the words and thoughts I captured when I was more in the environment and could report about it with fresh emotions and words to the blackberry. In any case, it's difficult to capture any moment that has passed, and explain it to someone, and it's probably best just to sit there and experience it all, in all its glory. Perhaps this is the lesson I was taught as I put out an intent to try to live more in the present and now, and not be too anxious about the past or future... this is a long journey and goal and not a destination of course.
However, I'll try to recapture some of the highlights of what was lost in words and it's more for us but perhaps there will be others that will be interested so I'll share...
1. Our first stop was Harbin Hot Springs (www.harbinhotsprings.com) in northern California. We absolutely loved this place! It was wonderful, relaxing, peaceful and loving. Just what we needed to start our vacation and unwind and relax. Someone had recommended this place and I had tried to get here when I was last in San Francisco in February but ran out of time. Harbin is a place or community with a variety of natural hot springs of different temperatures that you can dip in and out of 24 hours a day. They are meant to be relaxing and meditative pools, saunas (dry and wet), with no talking, or quiet talking, and bathing before you go into the pools, much like the Japanese baths. The hard part is choosing... hot pool (natural spring and very hot... ouch!), warm pool (natural spring water mixed with cold water), cold pool (very cold... ouch!), natural pool (ahhh very nice on a very hot sunny day, which was every day... like a swimming pool with no heating), heart shaped heated pool (the only one that is heated not through the natural spring water temperature and is more for quiet conversations), dry sauna, wet sauna. We had a variety of wellness treatments there and were hooked, our bodies wanting more with each one. In particular, we absolutely loved the special watsu treatment developed at Harbin... they put buoys on your legs and a person holds you in the warm natural spring pool, which is private, and gives you a zen shiatsu massage with other movements meant to relax and release any tensions. It felt like being a baby again as you are held in the comfort of someone's arms why they comfort and support you. It was amazing and we can't do justice by speaking about it. Besides the pools and treatments, there is good natural food in the restaurant and at the poolside cafe, and a variety of activities throughout the day like yoga, chanting, movies at night on a large screen and the room filled with pillows, and other activities based on who is around and the time of year... while we were there there was a special ceremony to watch and celebrate the eclipse, someone on astrology, etc. etc. There is also large communal kitchen where you can cook meals and decks outdoors where you just have to bring a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars, and don't have to pay for accommodation. We had a basic room with a private bath. This is not a Club Med or a fancy resort but a place to relax, unwind and be in a loving community on 100 acres. Even the animals are all around and friendly as they know no one will harm them.... deer, elks, turkeys, etc. You can call Harbin spiritual or new age or what you will, but you can do all the activities or don't have to do anything at all, and that's the beauty. I had the opportunity to do yoga every morning, and then just went by the pools all day to read and relax, with treatments in between. It was tough! So, Dave and I had a hard time leaving the place, but we left well rested after a busy period before and ready to explore more of California. We originally thought we will do day trips from Harbin but loved it so much that we couldn't get enough of it after 6 days and 5 nights. We will definitely return!
2. After Harbin, we headed to San Francisco, driving along the beautiful wineyards of Napa as we headed down the highway. It was lovely. We stayed at the Harbour Court Hotel, which I found for a cheap price on the web and it was ok but nothing spectacular, especially the service.
In the evening, was the moment we had all been waiting for, a dinner at Millennium restaurant (www.millenniumrestaurant.com) where I had interned back in February, which seemed so far away. It was wonderful, the best, 10+, the best meal we had in California hands down or ever. I had the chance to speak to the head chef Eric and catch up. I may intern there early next year. I was going to this time around but was too busy and tired to do so. Interning is hard work and I wanted to be up for the challenge. So, we took the chef's tasting menu, and it was wonderful... the food - the freshest, seasonal, organic - the ambiance, the service. And knowing the chef, we kept on getting special surprises and treats along the way... how delightful. At one point, he said that one of the cook's mothers had a fig tree in her backyard and he brought in some of the best fresh figs he's ever tasted, and there are a lot of fig trees in California. They made us a special skewer with the figs roasted and Chef Eric brought it over himself with the story of how the fig came to be on our table, and it was heaven. We did a special wine pairing with the menu, which was absolutely delightful too, in particular to get to know some local, organic and vegan wineries in the area. It's so exciting to have so much before you... imagine having the freshest of vegetables and fruit of such tremendous variety and superb local wines all year around... it made me almost cry to think about what we have at home compared to California. But, does this make for a happier people? Probably not and I really appreciate the changing the seasons, especially when spring rolls around and produce starts flying into the markets. We have such a different rhythm and this probably accounts in some way for the way we do things. Think about it. We have such scarcity in produce and then it's over abundant, we have harsh winters and then hot humid summers... no wonder we can not feel truly at ease as what we have is so impermanent and constantly changing. No wonder we are such good troopers for the most part and are flexible with big fluctuations. And, what we do if had all that California warm weather and sunshine all the time... would we run out at the first sign of warm weather to sit on patios like we do now, would we feel like a kid and so happy when we have warm sunny days to go out and have fun...
3. The ferry terminal and the Farmer's Market along the Embarcadero and water. This is the place I love most in San Francisco. I think I mentioned this before when I was in San Francisco in February. I feel like a kid when I go there and see the rows of stalls with the freshest local vegetables and fruits, often organic, with different colours, smells, and tastes... there are often people encouraging you to taste how good their fruit is so you will be hooked. This is what happened with the person selling local grapes and I was hooked... yum! Also, the person selling the best plums I have ever had and Dave and I tried numerous varieties... Pluot... our favourite. The variety of heirloom vegetables is incredible, for example, for tomatoes alone there was one stand that had about a dozen lined up for people to try... green zebra, black brandy, black new zealand, lemon boy, purple cheroke, etc. So, besides produce, there is everything else food wise like organic olive oils, balsamic vinegars, artisan cheeses, and numerous stalls with meals. Several times, we made a meal of just buying food from there and taking it back to the hotel to eat. Inside the ferry terminal building there are numerous stores selling local food, wine, chocolates, etc. My favourites include Cowgirl Creamery that sells only artisan cheeses with a cheese expert you could spend a lot of time talking to about the right cheese for a dish or venue, with tastings along the way. They really know their stuff and care about getting you just the right cheese. After that would, be the Far West Fungi store (www.farwestfungi.com) with fresh mushrooms that were incredible and many that are nearly impossible for us to get...lobster (that really look like lobster claws), chanterelles, matsutake, and sea beans (like seaweed).
4. Little Tokyo. I love Little Tokyo although it's quite small and limited to about a few blocks only. I love the shops selling Japanese ware, clothing, confectionery, sweets, etc. And there are numerous small restaurants like in Japan to choose from. We went to the sushi boat place again. Although I usually stay away from sushi boat places as being too commercial and touristy, this was the first sushi boat place in the area I believe and has been around for a long time. Even Zagat has given it a good rating. I like it as you can eat lots of fresh sushi and a variety of things quite inexpensively and quickly. Dave found it a bit stressful trying to decide what to eat as the boats floated by, perhaps for the last time before they were taken, but I found it exciting with things flowing toward me, many options and opportunities. I wonder if they have different speeds for the floating boats. Do they speed it up when it's busier? Actually that's what they did when I worked at the CN Tower. People usually want to do one turn before they leave so they speed up the turning when it's busy to get people out of there and moving. So sometimes, life really does fly by quicker than we think!
OK now back to our regularly scheduled program. This leads to the blog entries that were saved and did make it through cyberspace to the blog... they are quite rough so as I look at them and edit them as needed, I will put them up.
posted by Caroline at 10:24 PM
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