On Our Way to Sonoma County

Posted on June 22, 2009 by OuOu

6/21

On our way to Sonoma County, California

Cali/Oregon Road Trip – Get Set – Go!

Posted on June 21, 2009 by OuOu

6/20 Saturday

Summer is made for road trips. 🙂

I planned this Cali/Oregon roadtrip and dragged Karan along with me. Haha

We reached Oakland Airport (California) at around 10pm. The rental car shuttle took forever to arrive, so when we finally reached our hotel, it was already midnight.

It was a pretty chilly night at around 50’s. Nothing like the hot and steamy weather in Iowa! I did pack a light jacket with me, so it was allll good. Good trip preparation is the key! Karan ignored my friendly advice of packing a jacket with him, so no pity when I saw him shivering … muahahahaha. Served him right, macho man.

Another travel tip: Plan ahead and book your accommodation in advance. I got this 4-star hotel with average daily rate of $130, at $40 on Priceline! Valet parking would have costed us $20, but lucky us got free Sunday parking across the street. Hmm… How many bowls of noodles can I buy with this saved money?

Our hotel is located in the middle of Chinatown. There were a few restaurants still open after midnight. Someone please teach me how to resist a bowl of wonton and some fried noodles before going to bed.

Simple food, huge satisfaction!

Tomorrow we’ll be driving up North to Sebastopol.

Good night!

3rd Baby & Videos

Posted on June 19, 2009 by OuOu

Once I experienced the beauty of picking veggies from my own garden, there was no turning back.

We installed another veggie bed this year in our garden. It’s our third baby.

There’s no need to till the earth, just cover it with paper or cardboard.

Thanks to Skye for building us a veggie bed using recycled wood.

Thanks to Mahesh and Paul for transporting the veggie bed. 4/18

4/25 This veggie bed is located at a cooler spot. So, I planted some lettuce and peas.

On the day this veggie bed was born, Karan’s grandpa passed away. So, I thought it was poetic to dedicate this veggie bed to him.

5/12 Came back from Hawaii trip and what a surprise to find some green babies emerged from the earth already.

5/12 Cover the soil with grass clipping (it’s free!) to prevent weed from growing. I certainly don’t want to spend my whole summer weeding!

6/16

6/16 Ready to be harvested!

Total travel distance to dinner table= less than 25 feet

Total time from harvest to plate= less than 10 minutes

With no chemical fertilizers and no wasted fuel for transporting the veggies!!

Can food get fresher than that? I truly felt that the veggies were still breathing when I ate them.

Here are some short videos of my veggie garden. I don’t know how to edit videos yet. So, I took several one minute short footage. If anyone knows any easy to use and free video editing software, please let me know. Thanks!

These videos are in Mandarin. I recorded some with little bit of Taiwanese accent (I don’t know why I tend to carry Taiwanese accent when I recorded these videos). I actually don’t have much chance to speak Mandarin here, so I might sound a little funny. hahaha. 🙁 I did record a couple videos with Malaysian accent! It was fun, fun, fun! Enjoy.

Crouching Lion

Posted on June 15, 2009 by OuOu

Between Kaneohe and Kahuku, the dining choices are very limited.

We tried our best to always look for small local eateries during our trip. However, as we all know, a hungry (not to mention tired) person is less picky.

That’s why we stopped by the Crouching Lion restaurant despite the warning from the guide book.

(We actually ate here twice! When the hunger struck … we couldn’t help ourselves.)

It’s hard to miss this place on the highway since it has big sign.

Bird of Paradise welcomes you at the entrance.

Outdoor dining – overlooking the ocean

Why would you sit inside when the weather is so pleasant outside?

The food is overpriced.

Coconut juice drinking competition

Our Dinner

Bahia Fish & Shrimp Stew

Pineapple coleslaw comes with each entree

Kalua pork with cabbage

Garlic Butter Shrimp

The food wasn’t bad, but I expected exceptional food for the price we paid. I felt a little disappointed.

Our Lunch

There’s buffet available during lunch time. It costs about $17 and it is not a big buffet. So, do go in and check first to see if it’s worth your money.

When we arrived here, the buffet just ended; so we had no choice but ordered from the menu.

Mahi-mahi fillet salad

Crabcake sandwich

And finally, drum roll please … my Crouching Clams! This dish was listed under Appetizers but I had it as my entree. 🙂 What can I say? I love clams.

Crouching Clams (steamed with garlic), bread

I did enjoy my dish and thought the clams were fresh. There were quite a few of clams in the pot to fill up my stomach.

I loved that yellow hibiscus wall.

Chicken! Did they escape from the restaurant’s kitchen?

Hawaii has chicken overpopulation problem. So, it’s not uncommon to find a flock of chicken on restaurant’s lawn.

Mama bird with baby birds

A waitress poured ice water on the birds to discourage them from coming to the dining area. The waitress advised us not to feed them. Apparently the tourists like to feed the birds which make them keep coming back for more. The birds tend to make a mess on the floor.

My verdict: Crouching Lion doesn’t offer the best value in food. It’s a casual place to take a break when there’s no where else to go. If you can plan ahead, skip this place.

Crater Beach

Posted on June 14, 2009 by OuOu

5/3

Kamehameha highway is a two-lane road that hugs the shoreline. Along the way, you’ll find many free access beaches.


That’s what I am talking about!! Forget about the crowded Waikiki Beach. Spend a quiet day at one of these beaches.

A few miles north of Kahuku, there’s this beach that is unmarked with no facilities. If anyone knows the name of this beach, please let me know. We gave it a nickname, “Crater Beach”. You’ll see why we chose this nick soon.

Less than 10 people on the beach!