Tag Archives: Northern California Coast

Eatin’ Out : Penny Ice Creamery, Santa Cruz

5 Feb

Yum!

Delicious, Unusually flavored Ice Cream, made from scratch, in house, with local ingredients!  COOL!

We decided to end our first visit to Santa Cruz with a bit of ice cream from Penny Ice Creamery… so glad we did!

With flavors like Orange Star Anise, Creme Fraiche, Blackpepper Quince, and Honey Yogurt Walnut Jam… it’s difficult to stop yourself at just two flavors. When I have ice cream, I like to small bowl with 2 flavors that combine well together… thereby getting 3 different flavors!

In this case, I ordered Creme Fraiche and Orange Star Anise… Gourmet Orange Creamsicle!! :)
Dano ordered Chocolate Sorbet… what an Intense Flavor!!

On the menu they list where the local ingredients are from! I think the menu changes routinely!

The price is a bit steep… but for that rare treat… it’s indeed doable!

Enjoy!

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Adventurin’ : Monarch Butterflies, Ardenwood Farm

12 Dec

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Since we’ve moved to the Bay Area my cousin has been helpful in providing us with info about great things to do around here! As, she herself, prepared to move up here after her wedding.

Thanks to her we learned that the Monarch Butterflies have greatly increased in numbers, as counted, during their Over-Wintering phase!
They only lay their eggs in, and subsequently only eat as babies, the plant Milkweed… by adding a plant or two in your yard as an Eco-Friendly measure you would also get these wonderful butterflies visiting your yard during their West Coast Migration!!

We learned that there are a number of locations in the NorCal area to see the beauties in person! One such place, with about 6,000 butterflies at their peak, being the Ardenwood Farm in Fremont… Such a great place! Along with the Butterfly Preserve they many animals and a beautiful old Victorian home (The Patterson House), on the land, which I will write about in an Ardenwood Farm Pt.2 post.

We will also visit another Monarch Butterfly Preserve at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz later this month… this will warrant a separate blog post as well!

We learned that, like me, the Monarch Butterflies enjoy a warmer, sunnier climate in which to frolic! :)
They prefer temperatures of above 55degrees and sun… this warms their leaves and bodies enough to allow them to fly… otherwise, they will remain clustered together, for warmth, high above the ground within the leaves of eucalyptus trees.

When we visited Ardenwood Farm on Dec 11th, the weather was just a tad too cool for them at about 53degrees!

We did see a few butterflies in the air… though we mostly just wondered at the beautiful clusters of butterflies in the trees… we were also able to see a little, tiny baby butterfly egg!  It was all truly amazing to see!!

Please enjoy the accompanying photos… as we enjoyed taking them!

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Adventurin’ : SF Zoo

21 Nov

So… shortly after moving here, Dano’s co-worker and a few of her friends invited us to go to the San Francisco Zoo with them! It was a nice (but cold ;) day in May) and it was wonderful to meet new friends!

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I can’t write this post without some mention of the San Diego Zoo, and in particular, their SD Zoo Safari Park (formerly the SD Zoo Wild Animal Park)… which is a truly wonderful adventure!!! After having been a member of the SD Zoological Society for a number of years, I can fully understand *why* they say “You belong at the Zoo… The San Diego Zoo!” :)

However… for what the SF Zoo lacks in size and such… they make up for it in many ways!

~ The entrance is directly off of Hwy 1… across the street from waves rolling in… that’s pretty cool!
~ They have plenty of Animal Keepers and Staff on-site that are ready and happy to answers questions and speak with visitors!
~ They have a Family Petting Zoo area!!!
Where one goat will lightly head-butt you to get more food! Ha! I think I even became a ‘food tease’ because I thought that was So Funny!
~ We learned, from talking to the Zoo Peeps, the stories (sometimes heart-breaking) of the rescued animals!
It turns out that the SF Zoo brings in animals that have been hurt out in the wild… minding their own business and out in their natural habitat, they have been harmed by humans… :{
That is a truly wonderful aspect of the SF Zoo that I can support!

Have a look at some of the great animals we got to see… rather up close actually!

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Adventurin’ : SF Bay Eco-Tour and Pier 39

4 Nov

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Fun Fun Fun!!! Beautiful October Day in the City!!!

So… Dano won a pair of tickets, from work,  for a California Coast Eco-Tour with San Francisco Whale Tours !

We set-up our reservation a month in advance… and were extremely lucky to get a stunning, 70degree day on Sunday, Oct 30th at 3pm for our 1.5hr cruise!

SF Whale Tours operates a Catamaran called “Kitty Kat” (adorable!)
They are big on educating their guests about the local eco-system, along with giving guests a beautiful look at the bay and all its wonderful landmarks!

Our Captain was Capt Joe and our Naturalist was PaHoua…
both of them were so nice and helpful!
(I love the fact that they have a Naturalist aboard for the cruises!)

We took off from Pier 39 and
- headed West past the City’s Waterfront areas and UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge (THAT was fantastic!)
- then we poked into the Pacific Ocean for a little bit (being out there with the Big Waves was wonderful!)
- lastly, we headed back along the Northern (Marin County) Shoreline and behind Alcatraz and back to Pier 39.
(THIS was fun because there was a Nakey Beach along that shoreline… the boat was too far out to actually see anything (which was just fine ;) … but it was funny to see these little Pink Gumby-like characters walking around the shore! FUN!

Since we’d asked PaHoua about whales, we learned in advance that we would not be going out far enough/long enough to see Whales…
Though Dano and I did spot a few seals and lots of wonderful birds, including my favorite, Pelicans!  Of course, we also saw little tiny nakeys… HA!

We had such a lovely time! One of our favorite adventures in SFO, if not our favorite, thus far!  Highly recommended!
We will certainly be back for more cruises… next time, I’ll be excited to take a longer tour during Whale Season! YAY!

Thanks San Francisco Whale Tours!! :)

*~* Pier 39 *~*

As a teen, 20+ yrs ago, my family vacationed in the Bay Area… we spent a wonderful little day at Pier 39.
That memory made it really fun to revisit this area with Dano!

Pier 39 is a great little touristy locale! Across the street from the City itself; Lots of Activity, Eats, and Shopping; and the Pier has a beautiful view of the Bay… Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Marin Shoreline, and Stunning Sunsets!!

Since, I knew we’d be catching our cruise from Dock B of Pier 39, I decided to get on-line and do some research about parking and what to do close-by!

I found a GREAT site and a wonderful deal for locals! 2Hrs FREE Parking and lots of great “Buy One, Get something” coupons!
Check it out at : Pier 39 Local Advantage

We had a Buy One, Get One Burger at Hard Rock Cafe before our cruise…
After our cruise, we walked the Pier and took in the sites…
At the end of the Pier we took advantage of our Buy One California Roll, Get One California Roll at Hana Zen Sushi (Great View and Good food).

It was simply just a wonderful and beautiful day!!

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Sunday Drivin’ : Cloud Hugs Mountain

11 Sep

One of the cool views we get by living on the sunny side of the Bay Area’s south Peninsula are these great clouds that come creeping over the hills to the West that separate us from the Coastside (as the Coast is known locally).

It makes me sad to think that we no longer live within 2miles of a Sunny Beach… now it’s about 19miles away to a consistent ‘marine layer’ beach… so when I see these clouds I know that we are ‘missing out’ on that crazy cloudy and humid weather over on the coast. Those same clouds hugging the hills are en masse over the coastside, sometimes all day long!

~ Up Close & Personal ~
Whoops… upon driving home on the Sunday of our first Flash Mob in the city… we missed our junction to get back to the 101 to take us home.

What do you know…? We got up close and personal with those hills that ride along with the 280…

There were deliciously lovely ‘cloud hands’ hanging all over the hills… such a wonderful sight.

Beautifully sunny with low hanging clouds creeping over the hills… it’s a somewhat acceptable substitute to driving down So. Cal’s 101 and glancing out over the waves coming in!

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Sunday Drive : Half Moon Bay

28 Apr

So… we were a tad bored on Sunday (yes, that was Easter Sunday)… after having already battled boredom on Saturday, we decided to head out.

At first, we were going to hit the movie theater to see Bradley Cooper in “Limitless”… BUT… our car just kept driving!

We headed up Whipple, then cut over on the Avenue of the Fleas :) (avenida de las pulgas) towards the 280… when we got there, we drove OVER the 280 and are so happy we did!

We came across rolling green hills, and trees, next to a big lake… and a single Blue House! WHAT!? Who lives there? Wow fantastic for them!

Signs…! One point to Half Moon Bay… so we turn and went!

It was a complete joy to my heart to see the Ocean!!!! AH!!!!! Breathing sigh of relief!

HMB is a beautiful place… much smaller than I had imagined it to be… and really cute little stores and eateries.

Pay to Park at all the Beaches though :(

The Photo, taken with my phone’s camera, is from Pillar Point (a bit North on Hwy 1) looking towards Half Moon Bay.

Enjoy!

Half Moon Bay from Pillar Point

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