Yosemite National Park

My dear friend Lisa whose travels as an Occupational Therapist have led us to the same city set up the trip to Yosemite during my busy month of working weekends, visiting family, and entertaining visitors to my little unofficial hostel. It was Incredible.

We attempted to drive in Friday night after work, but decided to stay in a hotel instead. Saturday morning we finished our drive, parked our car at Camp Curry where we would be staying the night, and started our 6.8 mile round trip hike up 1900 feet. If I remember correctly, only a bare additional 4 miles (8 miles round trip) would have taken us to the coveted Half Dome peak. So we hiked about halfway to Half Dome! The hike was outstanding and took us to the top of Nevada Falls by way of Vernal Falls- best hike I've ever taken in my life. Most of the hike was comprised of stone steps and it was indeed strenuous as the guidebook suggested. I had no idea that I was capable of such a hike- and two mornings later my leg muscles reminded me that next time I need to train a little harder before attempting such a hike!

The Path:


Vernal Falls:


Nevada Falls:


The closest I got to Half Dome:




Dinner was a reward of fried chicken from a local fundraiser in the park and my bid at the silent auction left me empty handed and disappointed. That night we lingered in the communal lounge by the fire playing Apple Scrabble (Lisa KILLED me on the game) until it was time to go to bed in our unheated tent.



Let me write that again. UNHEATED tent. And the temperature dropped to the 20's. I was perfectly warm in my 3 wool blankets provided by the rangers, but my face was freaking cold and had to be pulled under the blankets every hour to warm up. As a person with a history of mild breathing problems, I do NOT like blankets over my face while I sleep, and even though my brain tried to convince my lungs that breathing under the blanket on THIS particular night was a good idea- the lungs just wouldn't agree. They insisted I submit my face to the chill, so the rest of me woke up every hour to reheat the frozen face. I've now slept in freezing weather in an unheated tent- I will never plan to do so again! Not without a ski-mask anyway!

The next day was spent visiting the Visitor's center, browsing shops, taking a small hike to the base of the iconic Yosemite Falls, and driving the scenic route home. It was a lovely and empowering weekend. I'm hoping very strongly that I'll get one more chance to visit Yosemite before the end of my assignment in December- I'd love to see it snow-covered!

The trip reminded me that I really must take a basic camera class- I was disappointed by my pictures and deleted about 300 of the 400 I took. Here are a few of the best ones- but I'd love another chance to capture some of the images I managed to overexpose/underexpose or ruin with sunspots.

Autumn in Yosemite:


Playing with the Shutter:


Reflections:


A random lake on the drive home:

Visit From Rachel; Hearst Castle

A few weekends ago, my good friend Rachel from Atlanta came to visit and we explored a few places I had seen before, and saw some things I had not seen before.

Our big adventure during the week was to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. This was my second ride from Fisherman's wharf to Saulsalito and by far the most beautiful. The air was crystal clear with not even a wisp of fog, haze or smog.



This time we had time to wander around the little shops of Saulsalito and choose the ferry that delivered us just a few blocks from where we could turn in the bikes. Last time we took a ferry that required a harrowing bike ride down Embarcadero with the tourists and traffic and trolley tracks that threatened to make roadkill of me. While I enjoyed the crystal clear views provided by this outstanding day- I'm also grateful that I had the chance to bike the bridge in the fog as well.

After two days of the city, my friend was ready to see other parts of California. As she does not drink wine, and I felt Yosemite was too much of a trip for just one day, we headed south to revisit an area I had seen on my way into California.



We headed south on Pacific Hwy 1 and made plans to stay the night at the Best Western in San Simeon that had the firepits on the beach. Just 10 minutes up the road was Hearst Castle which I had been told was "worth seeing".

I had see Biltmore Estate on the East Coast, and I preferred the free wandering that the Biltmore Estate allows, but that did not diminish the sheer admiration for the Hearst Castle. I'd visit again to see at least one more of the 4 available tours. We chose tour #1- the "Welcome" tour that introduces visitors to the castle grounds, a guest house, and a few of the main rooms of the house.




There are 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, a couple of pools, and various other rooms. The pools were outstanding- the outside one looked like something I'd imagine Greek emperors sitting around after an exciting day of watching people battle lions. The inside one had a diving plateform whose height made my stomach cringe.



On the Hearst Castle grounds, I saw my first real live in-the-wild tarantula!



That night as I stared into the firepit and watched the pulsating of the hot embers, I brainstormed ways to become rich as a Speech Language Pathologist so I could also build a little house on a hill. I decided that my profession cannot honestly result in such riches, and I really don't have any interest in any profession that would result in purchasing power for such a place. Maybe I can marry well? Any billionaires reading the blog right now, thinking, "gee, who needs a trophy wife- this girl seems like marriage material!"? At least as a traveling Speech Therapist I can sit on a pacific beach after driving down a highway of breathtaking views and touring a mansion- and still have a job Monday morning to support my wandering!

The next morning we revisited the elephant seals and I learned from the rangers that were present this visit that the seals are actually teenagers. They come out of the water to get out of the way for the adult males to woo the females. The poor adolescents sit on the beach for up to 3 months without eating before going back into the ocean- no wonder they look dead! The adults are actually much much larger.



It's always enjoyable to take a roadtrip, and even more enjoyable to bring a friend along. Having another viewpoint present reveals the beauty of the scenery because you are constantly trying to guess what they would enjoy seeing. Rachel wasn't as blown away by the ocean as I was, but even she had to admit the fog rolling in over the ocean was really cool.

Family

My mom turned 60 this year, though you wouldn't guess it by how she looks. People who look at our picture together have been known to say, "I thought you didn't have a sister?" Anyways, mom flew across the country and visited me a few weekends ago. She and I explored Napa and Sonoma together and I have yet to visit the same winery twice despite having visited the area 3 times now! We visited Cline winery, Jacuzzi Winery, Fritz Winery, Cuvaison Winery, Robert Mondavi Winery, and a couple of others that were forgetable.

We stayed at a place called Zinscape outside of Healdsburg. From the website, you would think that it is a small bed and breakfast. We were informed our second morning, when breakfast was not updated from the first morning, that it was not a bed and breakfast- it was a rental room. Whatever it was, it was clean and cute and surrounded by vineyards. Mom was disappointed by the lack of service (we had dirty dishes from our first morning- and no sink or dishwasher excluding the bathroom sink- but they were still dirty when we returned and we had to wash them with handsoap from the bathroom). I think it was a step up from out tiny hotel in downtown New York City that only let us plug in two things at a time- we had to choose between a TV, a clock, and a lamp that needed power. Try to figure that one out!

We had a great time. Mom left on Saturday, I worked Saturday and Sunday, as well as Monday-Wednesday and then flew to Florida for a family vacation on Thursday. Whew! I had worked 9 days in a row before the vacation- mad props to the nurses out there who do that on a regular basis!

My two brothers, my sister-in-law and 2 nephews, my mom, and my dad all flew to Anna Maria Island in Florida, located south of Tampa, FL. We had a blast despite the chilly weather and off shore storms. We even swam in the ocean 2 of the days despite the wicked surf. When we swam on Saturday, it was difficult to maintain an upright position in the water and the undertow was dragging not only me, but my two larger brothers down the coast as well. Even so often they would trudge against the tow and head back to the area of the beach where our chairs were chilling. I would call uncle, ride a wave in to the sand, and walk back. As it was, my calves and thighs were sore and bruised by the end of the first day. The second day was colder, but the waves were not as rough.

I have to state that we must have a little bit of dare-devil in all of us-- I very much enjoyed the first day of swimming even though I was worried about riptides the entire time. Woman verses ocean! Can she swim against the tow? Can she ride the wave ALL the way to the shore? Eeeeck! A wave! Dive! Dive! Dive! I was 10 years old diving through the oncoming waves and trying to keep up with my big brother- except somehow I've now gotten 2 big brothers (Little bro is not so little). I had a blast.

We celebrated mom's birthday officially and had a guitar player at a bar play Happy Birthday for her. He also played another song (the name is escaping me) and dad and her completed a rare dance. Dad dances just fine, but he doesn't believe that and doesn't like to dance in front of people. He danced for her though- and that was special.

Sister-in-law, nephews, little bro and I set out for a walk at 7am thinking was would score some big shells that no one had found yet. Despite the offshore storm, there were only the tiny shells present the night before. 6 year old nephew does NOT like to walk on the beach and spent about half the time negotiating a return to port. Little 2 year old nephew was content to be passed from adult to adult and watch the birds. I enjoyed the peace with my little brother and my lovely sister-in-law knowing that the rest of the house was asleep.

Another walk later that day with little nephew revealed the treasures we had looked for the morning before. Not shells, but random items caught his interest and he poked an abandoned flip flop into a pile of sand and declared it a rocket before creating the sound effect and following the imaginary trajectory over the sand and across the water. Precious moments.

The way home was rough. We had a 3 hour delay in Denver, CO which obliviated my plans of taking public transit home from SFO. BART,the train, closes at 11:53pm at SFO, and we arrived after midnight instead of the planned 9pm. A taxi ride would have cost me $115 from airport to door. A friend was called who declared, very sleepily, that should would rescue me as a last resort but encouraged me to catch BART if possible. She would have totally come to get me- but I would have totally given her money for it! My rescue came in the form of a seat mate who had just been at a family reunion celebrating her mom's 80th birthday. She also happened to live 5 minute from me and had her car at the airport. I facebooked her photo discreetly and posted "this lady is giving me a ride home from SFO- Stay tuned" then promptly, and a little guiltily, erased it when I arrived home safe. It's a sad world when we cover our asses for possible kidnapping from good samaritans. My only other alternative would have been to rent a car, drive home, and return it after work the next day. Trish, my savior, was very cool and we chatted all the way home about good places to find a beer and a man.

I returned to work Tuesday and by Wednesday night was rested enough to meet my big brother in the city to eat dinner- he was strangely in town for a meeting just days after our vacation together but I'm always glad to steal a quiet moment with family. I'm currently on another run of 9 days. Today, Saturday, i worked to make up for last Monday. Tomorrow, Sunday, I will work to make up for next Thursday when my friend Rachel will be visiting from Atlanta. I haven't had a sleep-in day for 4 weeks due to work, visits and vacation and it looks like it will be another 2 weekends before I can schedule one. Poor me. :-)

It really is lovely to be busy and traveling- especially when it includes family and friends. I think I'll be a little down when the hectic schedule resolves.

Hopelessly Behind

Okay, I'll just call Uncle, write a post about the past few busy weeks, and call it a day.

August 8: Visited Sonoma, CA and tried wines at Buena Vista Winery, Ravenwood Winery, and Benzinger Winery. Was charmed by the nice people at Buena Vista, enjoyed the strong tasting wines at Ravenwood, and was duly impressed by the biodynamic farming techniques at Benzinger Winery. The insect "highways" built into the winery that allow predatory insects (that eat insects that attack wine grapes) was especially cool. As was the pesticide made from cow manure buried in a cows horn on the full moon and then dug up several months later, diluted, and sprayed as a natural insectacide on the grapes. I bought some biodynamically grown olive oil and a bottle of port for my port-drinking 91 year old grandmother.



August 9: Took the BART and bus to Ocean city in San Francisco and flew my kite. I also walked the beach for, like, hours. I do love the beach.

August 10: cooked my first artichoke.

August 13: cooked my second artichoke. Accidently let the steam water go dry, burned the crap out of my pan, and melted my silicon steamer. Opps.

August 15: Traveled down to Monterey, CA and wandered through the aquarium. For anyone in the area, or traveling to the area, this aquarium is so much worth your time. I'm not an aquarium aficionado, but this one was quite awesome. One area had kelp swaying with the tide- 3 stories high. Another simulated the coast by rushing water over a glass dome that you stand under- and swishing the aquarium creating the wall. Creative use of space and really nice exhibits made this site a must see. Monterey was cool as well- nice walking path over to their pier 39 and free chowder tastes all along the pier.



August 22: Visited Napa, CA and tasted wines at Robert Mondavi Winery and Castille de Amorosa Winery. Robert Mondavi had a Chardonnay that I actually liked! Castille de Amorosa was a nice castle to walk through- but a little touristy-trappy. Also ate the Culinary Institute of America where chef Duff of Ace of Cakes graduated from. Between the open kitchen and the bizarre appetizers, I felt like I was a judge on Iron Chef. It was very fun. Also saw old faithful and some fainting goats that WOULD NOT FAINT. I tried to startle them, I did! But no fainting occurred. I'm not very scary.



August 29: Got a hair cut at Impact Salon in Walnut Creek. She did a good job of blending colors and giving me a very wearable cut. I'll have her cut it again before Christmas. I BARTed into "the city" and walked along the waterfront for several hours- 6 miles total. I met Lisa at TheSlantedDoor restaurant and had pretty good chinese food that was a bit overpriced. There's a place 15 minutes from where I live that sells better for half the price- but I guess you pay for the view.





September 5: Bike across the Goldengate bridge with Lisa and her friend Jennifer who was visiting from Baltimore. We barely made it to Salsalito before the ferry left- and barely got the bikes back before they closed. Huh. We don't bike fast. It was so foggy that I could not see but 10 feet of the bridge at any one time. I couldn't see the water below.



Biking through the fog, sometimes out of sight from everyone, the mists swirled and figures seemed to seep on the platform before disappearing as I approached. It was eery and lovely and spooky and strange. The velvety fog encased you- it seemed to recede before your sight and creep when you weren't looking. No wonder fog is the backdrop to so many mysteries and murders.

September 12: I sat on the couch and watched TV.

September 19: I visited the city and wandered around the Moon Festival in San Francisco Chinatown. Oh, the stories I could tell. Firstly, there was the guy that told me I was his new friend and offered to be my boyfriend for the day. Oh yes, I blushed. And oh yes, he was serious. Then, there was the gasping girl at the next table in the restaurant that found the large cooked cockroach in her food and the manager who told her "you already ate half- you have to pay". Oh yes, she was serious. Then there was the little old lady in line next to me who yelled at me in Mandarin when I offered her little granddaughter the candy I had just won. That was just funny. Finally, there were fabulous egg tarts that I got from Golden Gate Bakery after waiting for over an hour in line. They were worth the wait. I ate one tart every day for 4 days. I did not pig out- but I waited ALL DAY for each tart! They were that good. The Moon cakes I bought- one full of lotus paste and the other full of black beans- were probably pretty good compared to other Moon cakes. I liked the lotus paste one- but did not like the salted duck egg in the middle. The black bean one was a little beyond my American taste buds.

Sept. 21: started my new contract at the new job. It is my first true SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility) and I am learning about the wonderful world of minutes. I have yet to meet the 85% productivity standard despite working very hard. I have felt the pressure to pick up patients that are probably not going to get better. And I have some lovely patients that are truly on a path of getting better. It is not as sad of an environment as I anticipated. The staff seems careful and loving towards the patients. The culture of apathy I saw in the other long term care facility I worked at is not present here. Many of the workers have been working here for years and the patients are an extension to their family. There are many sweet moments throughout the day and I'm getting a reputation for smiling a lot. All good things (except the minutes and the productivity). If the paperwork didn't take an hour out of my day I might be more productive! The boss is a live-wire- but is new herself and is rehauling the department. I respect her a lot already, but that doesn't mean I can't complain about the productivity standards!

This weekend? Plans are to approach the Pacific Hwy 1 North and take lots of pictures of the pretty water and beaches. I need to visit a CVS and buy a notepad for one patient and a mirror for a few others (hard to get supplies in a SNF).

Next Thursday mom arrives for a 10 day visit and I'm very stoked for it. I didn't know I was so excited until I got a message from mom about planning and did a happy dance in the therapy room. Yeah for moms! I'll try to keep the blog more updated. I'm busy for sure-and lots of plans yet- so I can't get slack in my record keeping!

Procrastination

Instead of uploading pictures and memories into my blog tonight, I walked downtown to Sephora and purchased blush. Then I marched over to Stadium Pub in Walnut Creek, CA and purchased a Smithwick's beer followed by a Fat Tire Amber ale and chatted with some local fellows about a concert happening at Goldengate park this weekend. There may have been a bowl of soup- some Italian type with noodles, spices and little misshapen meatballs. There may have been a joyfully tipsy walk home late at night.

I've become such a lightweight. Really? Two beers? And I'm ready for bed? Geesh, I'm old.

This week has been tough- as was last week. Home Health can be a breeze when you have 2-3 patients a day, but 4 patients and 2 additional evals- add in the drive times and the wondering around lost in the neighborhoods squinting at the small number signs by the mailboxes- and you've got yourself a doozy of a day. Oh, and psychiatric disorders do not make treating dysphagia any easier...

Add in an Obama health care speech and 4 voicemails from people you should call TONIGHT and you've got quite the day. I listened to Obama, called back the little brother and the father, and decided to return the older brother and the old friend's call tomorrow night. You know, after the farmer's market and paperwork that I'm not doing tonight.

Goodnight my lovely blog. I shall update you soon. Afterall, there are some pretty wicked cool pictures that need to be shared.

So much to share!

I've been lax on my updates, and now, mirroring my professional paperwork, my blog has become hopelessly behind.

I blame the increased caseload at work. My eyes are fatigued from driving from house to house all day, then I fatigue them more typing out the days reports. Then I close my eyes and listen to TV. I have enough eye power to check email and read a few news stories before shutting down for the night.

So tonight I shall finish writing the 2 evals leftover from Friday and the 2 evals and 4 revisits I completed today. I will email the boss my productivity and sketch out my schedule for tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll add a decent update to my blog. I've been busy on the weekends- Sonoma, Napa, Alcatraz, farmer's markets, biking across the Goldengate bridge through the fog- it's been a busy couple of weeks.

For now I'll leave you with the knowledge that I will be staying in Northern California until Christmas, but I will not be doing home health. The company I work for has hired a permanent person and I will be starting a new contract at a local SNF. I haven't worked in a Skilled Nursing Facility before, but it will be one more professional experience to perhaps share with students someday.

Hostel Ramblingspeech is still open for company, and awaiting your reservation Rachel!

Santa Cruz and Capitola

Saturday, August 1:

Drove south to Santa Cruz and Capitola with Lisa.

Capitola was a recommendation from a co-worker and it turned out to be quite a cute little town with a pier, a beach, and some cross streets of small expensive shops. We ate at Pizza my Heart, a pizza place that served thin sliced fabulous reheated pizza (also a suggestion) and walked out to the pier.



We were rewarded by a lovely view of the anchored boats, a restaurant that served floofy drinks on a roof top bar, and a live band playing old music. I danced, floofy drink in hand, with the old smiling people at the bar as they played beach music. Then we moved on towards the mission of the day: to find surfers surfing.

We found the surfers in a place called "The Hook" at Pleasure Point. The waves were lame, but some of the better ones managed to stay upright. One older fellow even managed a few turns- but of course my camera didn't catch that particular picture in time!



Finally, we headed to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and explored the games and rides. I rode the Big Dipper, a roller coaster, and screamed my head off for sheer fun. It put me in an enormously good mood. I think I shall have to find an amusement park here in California, however, I will avoid Discovery Point with their nasty roller coaster that was stuck for 4 hours a few weeks ago! Lisa hates rides, but agreed to go on the sky thingie. She was only a little petrified as we rode over the board walk. We also sampled some of the boardwalk food to the detriment of my cholesterol levels. I'm not even going to guess how many points or calories that deep fried twinkie dipped in chocolate sauce was worth!



The mission of finding a surfer dude was completed. There was dancing. There was screaming. There was eating of scrumptious snacks. And it ended in a harrowing drive through dark twisty mountain roads. It was a successful day.

Alcatraz

Okay, it's been awhile and a few weekends have passed. I have made the pact with myself that since I am in California for a short time, and there is so much to see, I will plan one trip each weekend.

July 26th: Visited the city and met up with Lisa, her mom, and her two nephews. We went to Alcatraz and toured the famous prison.



I've never seen a prison before, though I did work in the prison unit of the teaching hospital in Augusta, GA occasionally during my first few years as an SLP. If prisons were built and ran the same as this prison, there would be a few less people getting into prison I think. Very small cells. Very strict limits.



Beautiful views of the city and all the things that you, as a prisoner, were not to experience.



After Alcatraz, I split from Lisa's family and headed up towards North Beach to find a pastry shop. I had eaten breakfast at 7am, and had a cookie and a slim jim for lunch, and it as well past 4pm. I wandered through the streets, past cute little eateries, when I heard someone call out my name. I didn't even slow down- just kind of nodded, then blinked....then stopped. It was an old college friend and his wife from Atlanta, GA!!! I had heard through the grapevine that they may be visiting SF, but had not made plans with them! In that great big city, I happened to wander down the street on which they were enjoying a late lunch. A certain Disney song floats through my head...

It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all....

The Kelly & Kelly Project

I finished reading Julie & Julia the other day- an easy read with moments of insight but mostly just an quirky point of view. It is on its merry snail mail way to a friend- hopefully in time for her to enjoy it while her husband is at quake-fest or something-a-ruther.

After a stressful day of being dragged into office politics (impossible as it may seem- home health still has politics apparently) I wanted to see a light hearted movie. Or I was going to re-see Harry Potter cause I like it mucho.

Julie & Julia was perfect. Meryl Streep was absolutely fascinating as Julia Childs. She was so funny. The movie was extremely funny- not so much in the silly slapstick way, but in the chuck/snort into your drink way. "Stiff as a cock" indeed. It was worth the full price of a movie ticket- and thoroughly pulled me out of my office-politics-induced mood.

It made me want to go buy cooking stuff and a french cookbook. I walked into Sur La Table, a cookware shop, and resisted all gadgets and gizmos and fancy steaming pots-- I bought a spoon to replace my bamboo one that was starting to look shabby and is probably harboring swine flu or other such baddies.

My only question: Where's my book deal? Where's my movie? :-)

I did find a website that will publish your blog- I'm pricing it out and will publish at least ONE copy of my happy little adventures. I WILL be published- and I will set it on my coffee table when I stop traveling and settle down and buy a house. After I earn my Ph.D. We'll see...