Take 12 - Day trips around the Bay Area

Day Trips around the Bay Area

In order to get to know our adoptive State and take advantage of everything California has to offer, we take Day Trips. Usually Saturdays or Sundays, with or without the pooch. San Jose is a great location to start from since it is situated about 1 hour, more or less (depending on traffic) from places like San Francisco, Berkeley, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and lots more. Now, David is not a natural born driver and neither am I a very comfortable rider. He drives very well but is not one of those rugged drivers who dive into traffic without a care in the world. So that makes him a careful driver (Thank Goodness !) while I sit nervously by his side. Terrified, not of his driving, but of the multitude of cars (and there are so many in California) and I do not often relax on a freeway. Nothing new, I have always been this way. I just breathe deeply and try to think of the place we are going to visit....... So let's get started.

Half Moon Bay

This is a small town located on the Coast, 25 miles south of San Francisco. There are lots of beaches along the Coast but not all of them are dog friendly. After trying several and being told dogs were not welcome, we finally found one where dogs could run free and swim too. This beach is called Poplar Beach and it is really fantastic. Heck, even horses are welcome there. Our dog Taylor had a great time and also feasted on the little gifts the horses left behind. But seriously...... back to the beach. Some of you might say.... A beach, is a beach, is a beach, well I beg to differ. To me a real beach is not the ubiquitous place where towels are lined up and oiled bodies of every size and shape are playing the toast game trying to get that perfect glow with a few sun burns in between. No. To me a real beach is a large expanse of sand where you can walk, barefoot (weather permitting) letting the foamy water caress your feet, wind in your hair and on your face a smile of contentment. Walking on a beach, I feel free, relaxed and totally grateful for the opportunity. That probably comes from having lived in Montreal for so long where most people have, pinned on the wall of their work cubicle, at least one postcard of a beach where they would rather be than in Montreal in the dead of Winter or the heat and humidity of Summer. So dreams do come true.......if you wish hard and long enough. We chose to have our picnic lunch on one of the cliffs overlooking the beach and with the magnificent view. Even a simple sandwich tastes much better in such a setting.

After our lunch, we drove on to Bean Hollow, another beach 17 miles South of Poplar. The South end is a typical beach but the Northern end is the interesting part and again dogs are welcome but this time on a leash. This is a different kind of beach made of pebbles. No towels here and no walk along the shore. Instead, a collection of Tide Pools and old rock formations creating small islands populated by seals. This place is unique and makes for an unusual panorama. Well worth the visit. Then it was time to get back on the road towards Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz

Another 30 miles South on a beautiful scenic Coast road and we arrive in Santa Cruz. Just the name brings to mind images of hippies and Love and Peace era and some areas of the town still have that feel. Santa Cruz also has a section of beach reserved for dog frolicking. However, by the time we got there (about 3:00 in the afternoon) the temperature had dipped down and the wind was so fierce, we decided to let other people brave the sand storms and the waves and headed back to San Jose to warm up. On a warmer day, Santa Cruz is great to visit, go to the beach and work on your tan (if that is your thing), take a stroll on the Boardwalk and perhaps have a bite to eat. There are lots of great small restaurants and cafés to cater to every taste and budget. As we were making our way out of town, we stumbled upon a little hidden loft mall, made of mom and pop shops, at the corner of Swift and Ingalls, a stone`s throw from the freeway, where you can enjoy some bread, pastries and coffee at Kelly's Bakery and find some more gifts to send the family back East in other quaint shops, including a French importer.

San Francisco

This was our first time ever in SF with our dog. There again we headed for a beach (are we ever good parents,or what?), Ocean Beach - La Playa, and we let him run after a ball to his heart's content or rather until we could no longer feel our fingers from cold (yes, on the 5th of July) because here again, we had over estimated the temperature due to the sweltering heat of San Jose. San Francisco can be quite tricky in the summertime and have beach weather days in the wintertime so you have to be prepared for everything. Next we found Point Lobos, half a mile North, where we stopped at the Cliff House (http://www.nps.gov/goga/upload/sb-clho-2008.pdf) and found more nifty little gifts (for the family again) from a California State Park Gift Shop and walked up a hill to Sutro Heights Park where you have the highest point around overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Coast. Quite a lovely spot, again to picnic, if one chooses or simply to walk around and admire the view. Taylor on a leash was also welcome.

Next we drove to the SF pier and after ditching our car in an indoor garage (needless to try and park on the streets of San Francisco when for a few dollars you can park your car indoors, secure and without all of the frustration of parking in a big town) we walked along with the thousands of tourists in town for the July 4th weekend. We had been to SF several times in the past but this was different. This was new. No need to rush or to go buy a thing or two to keep the memory alive. We were not tourists, we were not staying in a hotel that night. SF was our neighbour. Our dog Taylor took to walking the sidewalks with huge crowds quite naturally and we even found a place to have lunch in the sun where he could sit under our table. Lots of dog lovers in San Francisco. This was a perfect day, strolling the streets, in the warm sunshine (Thank you very much) and later taking the long way home to check off our list a few of the smaller towns.

Berkeley

This time, on our own, thanks to our friends Jill and Steve who took on Taylor for the day. We had been to Berkeley in 2005 and had loved it. People here in the Bay Area call it Bezerkeley ! No one has a real explanation for the nickname except that, as one guy told David, ..... there are lots of crazies there. Heck, has anyone ever been on Main Street and Pender in Vancouver, British Columbia or on Sainte-Catherine street in Montreal, Quebec ? :-) Nowadays, there are crazies everywhere. Berkeley is a university town so there are lots of little shops, great inexpensive restaurants and several book stores worth visiting. The architecture is wonderful, with many streets that are hilly and winding with huge trees creating canopies of shade. Lovely ! We parked our car asap and walked all over, including the Berkeley Campus. For lunch, we went to our old favorite La Burrita, 1832 Euclid Ave (http://laburritaberkeley.com/zgrid/proc/site/sitep.jsp) for some great burritos as we had done 7 years ago. They are still wonderful and although more expensive than in 2005 but still a great bargain.


We have more town in mind for day-trips, so more of this in another post. Now, on to food.


Do you happen to love bananas ? Well,here is the easiest dessert you will ever make and requiring only one ingredient: bananas.

Banana Ice Cream

Plan for one banana per person
Peel and cut bananas in two inch pieces. Put in plastic bag and into the freezer for at least 3 hours.
Put frozen bananas in food processor and process for about five minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. At first the mixture appears grainy but suddenly turns into the creamiest dessert you will ever taste. Your guests will go Bananas and won't believe it's just Bananas. Trust me on that one. You could sprinkle it with nuts or chocolate bits, if you so desire but it is perfect on its own.

Enjoy !

My first post !

How scary, my first post, so bear with me ! 

I live in Silicon Valley, California, and yes, I do have blue eyes.

I moved here to California almost two months ago from Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. In this country, I am what is known as an H4.  An H4 is a type of Visa where you are the spouse and/or dependent of a (H1B) which is another type of Visa that allows a non-american to work in the U.S.   My husband was hired by one of the big players here in Silicon Valley and in this blog, this big player shall not be named, for many obvious reasons, but rather surnamed The Big Cheese. In this blog I will not be giving advice on how to land a job in Silicon Valley, revealing big corporate secrets nor criticizing our American cousins, though sometimes very tempting. Rather, I will tell funny anecdotes and explain what was involved for us in moving from Canada to the USA. I will also include recipes I have sampled, tell you about little holes in the wall and inexpensive restaurants located here, in the Bay Area,  where my husband and I enjoyed the food, share some local photos, photos of our pets, tell you about dog friendly places and businesses and great places to visit. So let's get started !

After getting over the shock of actually receiving an offer from The Big Cheese, a company my husband David had been dreaming of for years,  we went out to dinner, to celebrate. We kept saying, as if to convince ourselves and make it more tangible: <we are moving to California>. Let us hope our waiter, that evening, did not think we were too weird. Being originally from Quebec, California had always had a dreamlike connotation to us and this, even after visiting this state on many occasions. However, the celebration was short lived when we started receiving all of the different forms to fill and believe me, they were numerous. A few trees' worth of paper. Of course, I exaggerate, but barely.  We kept several files with all of the documents involved and kept going back and forth to make sure we had everything needed for the move.  A paper nightmare in a computer world!


On top of a property to deal with, a home full of furniture, clothing and various objects, we had a car to move and, more importantly two 4 legged children. And all of this in a very short period of time.  After looking at and weighing different scenarios, Constance the cat would travel with David and Taylor the Golden Retriever would travel in his own condo-sized crate. To be continued in a next post ..........

For now, here is the first recipe.  It has to be one of the best and easiest salad dressing I have ever tried. It can be used as a salad dressing as well as a sauce for fish, or chicken, or pork or whatever you choose.  I found it in the owner's manual of one of my small appliances and have tweaked it a little to suit my taste.  I hope you will enjoy it.

Parmesan and Pepper Dressing

1Tablespoon black peppercorns
1 ounce Parmesan, cut into small pieces
1 shallot (1ounce), peeled and cut into small pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Place whole peppercorns in blender and blend 10 seconds. Add Parmesan and blend 20 seconds. Scrape sides of jar. Add shallots and garlic and blend 10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients in order listed and blend 30 to 40 seconds or until all is homogenous and emulsified. Transfer to resealable container, preferably a glass jar, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavours to develop.

Bon appétit !


Lori