Category Archives: vacation

My Home Away From Home

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This is my favorite hotel to stay in when we visit our kids. It’s the Claremont in Berkeley. I was walking to the most amazing bakery across the street when I stopped to take this picture of the tower and flag.

They don’t make hotels like this anymore! This is the backside of the hotel.

The Claremont Resort & Club opened in 1915 as a grand 22-acre Tudor Revival landmark overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Known as the “White Castle on the Hill”, its origins trace back to a late-19th-century private estate that burned down in 1901 before being developed into the iconic hotel. — The San Francisco Standard


Isn’t it gorgeous? I took this photo from inside the health club with a gym, pool, tennis courts and spa. I was on an elliptical machine and you can see the window reflection across the photo.

I zoomed in on the city view from the strategically placed outdoor sofas and chairs where I enjoy peaceful quiet time outside.

The Golden Gate Bridge is part of the view. The main restaurant has a deck where you can sit outside and enjoy these same views. Inside there is a wall of windows facing the bay.

The hotel’s prices vary from reasonable to too expensive. It all depends on what is going on at nearby UC Berkeley. If it’s parents weekend or a football game — forget about it. This past week, there was nothing going on, so the hotel was no more expensive than any other hotel like a Marriott Courtyard.

This is one of many hallways on the main level. It’s easy to get lost trying to find your room because there are hallways taking off in many directions. By the time we are ready to return home (like today) I have it all figurerd out.

An early morning view. I’ll share more highlights of our trip later this week including a visit to Sonoma and the Marin Country Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Have a wonderful week! What are your plans for the rest of July?

Volcano, Beach and Hawaiian Daredevils

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I looked up at palm trees while on sandy beach near Hilo.

Here are a few photos and videos from our family vacation over Christmas week. We visited beaches, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and lastly, I posted a video of two daredevils on Rainbow Falls in our rental house’s backyard. All I can say is WOW!

Flying into Honolulu over Waikiki Beach. I can’t believe how much it’s grown. I was thankful we stayed on the Big Island in a rain forest!

Kīlauea before the rain started pouring. Our kids and DIL made a day hike out of view points and hiking down into and out of the caldera. My husband and I stuck to the crater rim trail to see views — until it was socked in and we couldn’t see a thing. Plus, it was wet and freezing cold. I wasn’t dressed for the weather. I was thinking Hawaii in my mind. Kudos for the kids hanging in there and seeing marvelous sites.

Looking down into the caldera.

This was a video I took of waves at a beach called Richardson Ocean Park. It was very busy on Christmas Day. My son and DIL traveled further away with our rental car and hiked to a Green Sand Beach (Papakōlea Beach). We took a Lyft to the beach and met the kindest man, Eddie Spaghetti, our driver who was in his 80s and has lived his life in Hawaii. Now that we’re home, Eddie calls and sends us videos and photos of his grandson and other family members. We made a friend!

Richardson Ocean Park was 20 minutes from our rental home.

Here’s the story of Aloha spirit and why the beach park was named after George Richardson.

A little critter hanging out inside a kitchen window.

AND NOW FOR SOME EXCITEMENT:

Was I surprised to see someone standing at the edge of the falls. I watched the guy walking back and forth, scoping it out. Then his friend in a pink boat showed up. They took a few practice runs before doing this! Watch it all.

FYI, I looked up Rainbow Falls and learned that swimming is not allowed because it’s extremely dangerous. Thanks for tagging along on our Hawaiian vacation!

I post Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you missed part one of our Hawaiian vacation with views of our unique rental home, designed by two architects from San Francisco for their own home, it’s posted HERE.

Would you attempt a daredevil move like the two guys above?

What’s one of the scariest things you’ve done?

Safe in My Garden

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Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Aloha to everyone! We spent the week under one roof with our grown kids and daughter in law. This was the backyard of where we stayed on the Big Island. It was a magical week together making memories and mostly enjoying the sights and sounds of staying in a rain forest with Rainbow Falls in the backyard. We were serenaded by the peaceful sound of the waterfall, birds and what I thought were the noisiest birds I’d ever heard — but they turned out to be an invasive species of frogs!

I kept thinking there was a sound machine on — the kind people use to fall asleep — with the waterfall and frog noises! Someone could make a fortune with those sounds.

This is the invasive species of frog I mentioned. It’s very tiny and we found a couple frogs inside the house. I found this photo from a website called Horizon Guest House:

About the coqui (frog)

Originally from Puerto Rico, the coqui arrived in nursery plants and quickly became established, in particular on the Big Island. The coqui makes a distinctive whistling sound at night that sounds almost identical to its name (‘ko-kee’). This sound can be quite loud, reaching up to 95 decibels.

I honestly didn’t need to leave the property, but we managed to explore beaches, the active volcano in Hawaii named Kīlauea, a farmer’s market and went out a few times out to eat.

Our daughter, DIL and my husband did a nighttime snorkel trip with manta rays. I should have gone but I was not excited about swimming in the ocean in the dark, so I missed what they called a most amazing experience. But I did get an evening one-on-one to hang out with our son. He’s the one who did the research and found this house to rent!

Our son and DIL viewing Rainbow Falls from the backyard.

Here are some photos of the unique house we stayed in:

A view of the house from halfway to the waterfall in the backyard. I love the lava stone walls used in landscaping the backyard and also lining the driveway. Below are a few interior shots.

Because the home is in a rain forest, the three main parts of the house (bedrooms, living room and kitchen) are connected with lanais.

The kitchen was gorgeous — as were the views from every single window.

Below is a waterfall video:

Here’s a video of Rainbow Falls with a person standing on the edge to give you perspective of size. Rainbow Falls State Park is above the falls, where this person must have come from. Turn on your volume to enjoy waterfall sounds. I’m posting a crazy video of the falls Wednesday with this guy and a friend!

My husband can be seen (photo below) going for a walk around the property. He’s a tiny dot in the background on the lawn.

Why did I call this post “Safe in My Garden?”

Because it’s one of my favorite songs from childhood. Also, I had several very stressful weeks before we went on vacation. I felt so safe and relaxed in our rain forest (and almost) treehouse with a waterfall!

What did you do this past week to celebrate holidays or spend time with family?

Dapple Dandy, Tastes Like Candy

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One of the joys of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria are the farmers markets. This is our favorite fruit stand. The pluots in the bin above the plums are called Dapple Dandy. Outside the tent filled with delicious fruit, a woman stands with slices of fruit samples calling out “Dapple Dandy, tastes like candy!” It really does. It’s my all time favorite and I’ve been eating them every day on vacation.

You can see how popular and large this fruit stand is. It has a line that goes outside the tent and once inside, lines on both sides of the fruit. The same farm is at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market on Saturdays and in Carpinteria on Thursdays.

Our favorite spot for fish tacos and chowder is called On the Alley. It’s in the Santa Barbara Harbor next to the Marina. It’s a casual place where you order inside, grab a table outside and a server brings your food.

Clam chowder with crusty warm sourdough!

The best fish taco I’ve ever had! On the Alley is owned by Brophy Bros which is a longtime favorite seafood restaurant at the Marina. Brophy’s is upstairs of On the Alley.

Sitting at a table devouring my fish taco, I had to take a photo of the shop next door.

The other day, we visited friends in Ventura. They took us in their Duffy electric boat for a harbor cruise (where we saw the sea lions). We ended up at the second location of Brophy’s.

Here’s a view from their boat.

This is called the Ventura Keys, where people dock their boats in their backyards. The boat we cruised in was like the blue topped boats across the key.

This is Ventura’s Brophy Bros with On the Alley below.

On one of our last nights we met our longtime friends, along with their friends we met a few summers ago for dinner at this local beach cafe. The seating is outside next to the beach. I love the location and having dinner outside. It’s casual with salads, burger and fish and chips.

Here are a few photos:

What are your favorite tastes of summer?

Beach Birds and Other Creatures

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A seagull found the perfect perch on a rooftop at the beach.

I have taken many photos and videos I want to share from sea lions to beach birds, beach and harbor views, the farmer’s market and fish tacos. I think I’ll be posting photos and videos from this vacation after we return home. In the meantime, here are a few photos and videos of wildlife.

We went to dinner by boat the other night and saw sea lions lounging on docks. There’s a little glare from the boat’s window in this pic.

I’ve never seen Mallards in the ocean before. Below is a flock of terns taking off.

Lone pelican floating in the waves.
Ducks waddling on the shore.
Sea Lions upset because we woke them up.
Pelicans in flight.

My favorite of the photos and videos on this post is the last one of pelicans flying low over the ocean.

What’s your favorite?

This reminds me of Ogden Nash and his famous Pelican limerick my dad used to read to us when we were young:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. 
His bill can hold more than his belican. 
He can hold in his beak 
Enough food for a week, 
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.

More beachy things

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An egret enjoying a snack in the surf.

Ice plants in bloom.

My favorite house at the beach. Not only do I like architecture, it has the best tree.

I love this palm tree with the mountains in the background.

A beautiful house. I wonder what it would be like to wake up there every morning?

Egret in the waves.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend! I hope it doesn’t get too busy and crowded at the beach!

What are your plans to celebrate Labor Day?

Beachy Days

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We found a new way to get to the beach we like. Our friends told us to look for a Coastal Access sign, so we drove slowly down a shaded lane behind the fancy homes and found it. In California, all beaches are open to the public. There has to be public access to every beach, whether the people living there like it or not.

Before we were parking at the busier end of the beach that doesn’t have houses and famous residents like George Lucas, Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. We had to walk over railroad tracks and then scramble over rocks on a narrow pathway to the sand. It was hard for me with my healing ankle, but I managed to do it all on my own the day before we discovered this path to the beach.

This pathway is flat and easy for me to walk. It runs between mansions of the rich and famous.

Here’s the view at the end of the trail. I can manage these steps easier than boulders.

Here’s the view when you walk over the steps pictured above. In the distance is where we used to park and walk to the beach.

Interesting moments at the beach:

I finally got some pelican photos!

One day we got buzzed by Army helicopters. It was quite dramatic. The video below is when they approached the beach flying by Kevin Costner’s house and eventually flying directly overhead where I was sitting on the sand!

We were surprised by helicopters.

A more relaxing sight was watching dolphins two days in a row.

Dolphin sighting.

My days consist of beach walks, relaxing at the beach, watching waves and wildlife, physical therapy and eating my favorite foods. Also reading and writing of course.

What’s on your agenda this week?