Camping Adventure, Part 3

D woke up early in the morning, even before the birds. Uncle K was kind enough to make us breakfast...potatoes o'brien and a breakfast casserole cooked in my mom's dutch oven.

The breakfast casserole in all of its glory. There were lovely crunchy bits on the edges thanks to the dutch oven. Yum!


The potatoes. Needless to say, k was quite happy with this meal.

Once we packed up we headed out to Zuma Beach. It was a lovely day. D was impressed by the very smooth sand on the beach. He also took a swim in the chilly water. k seems to have an aversion to sand in her toes and going in the water, however.



We left before noon to get to Malibu Seafood, on PCH, before the crowds. We still had to pay $3 for parking. This picture was taken on our way out...as you can see, it is popular. D had fish and chips and I had a fried shrimp sandwich. k ate so many snacks on the beach she wasn't really hungry. You can see the Pacific from the outside seating. They also had clean bathrooms, always a plus.


Finally, it was time to go home. We were all pretty tired by this point. We headed south on PCH, and Malibu was "bumpin'", according to D. Tons of people out and about. We made pretty good time and arrived at home at 1:30 p.m.

Camping Adventure, Part II

When we got back to the campsite, it was dinnertime.


We roasted hot dogs in a blanket.


Made smores with homemade marshmallows. Note the large marshmallow to chocolate/graham cracker ratio.


The park rangers told us about a campfire program they had from 8-9 p.m. about astronomy, so we decided to check it out. There was a presentation by "Spacy Tracey", who was quite the character. She had planet pants, as well as star-shaped glasses and earrings. There were a lot of kids in the audience who were very eager to share all of their astronomy-related knowledge. k, on the other hand, wasn't too interested and seemed hyper--maybe from the smores? We left around 8:45, before S.T. had a chance to point out the constellations. I made sure k saw the stars when we returned to the campsite, though, since we don't see to many back at home.

It didn't take k too long to fall asleep, although by that time, it was way past her bedtime. For some reason, she likes to sleep at our feet, right up against the wall of the tent. She didn't wake up until morning!

Our First Family Camping Trip

As D mentioned in his previous post, we want to make camping one of our family traditions. This past weekend was our first trip, and it went pretty well. We went to Malibu Creek State Park with my sister and her husband. There was some traffic early Saturday afternoon, but we still arrived around 1:30 p.m., half an hour before the official check-in time. They let us check-in, but it took a while to find a suitable campsite since the one we were assigned was taken. We ended up with #39, which ended up OK. It was semi-private since there was no one immediately on either side of us. However, there was almost no shade whatsoever. Instead, there was a big bush which seemed to attract a lot of bees--not fun. k found out firsthand how annoying bees can be (before she just knew them as cute creatures in her picture books that go "bzzz".

We set up camp (well, everyone else did...I mostly watched k). Then, we went for a hike. It was hot out so we didn't get too far.



The Santa Monica Mountains (I think)

Parts of the creek bed were dry, prompting D to comment, "Maybe Al Gore is right." Or, maybe it is just summertime.


We reached the Visitor Center at 3:58, but it had already closed for the day (closing time was supposed to be at 4:00).


Right next door to the Visitor Center was a vivid reminder of the high fire danger in the park. When we were there, the fire danger level was only yellow. Thank goodness we weren't there July 4th weekend when they had to evacuate the campers due to a mobile home that caught fire.

Camping

We will be camping in the near future. This is going to be a momentous event for two reasons. First, it will be the first time D+L+k will be camping together. Secondly, it is the start of the Lim family tradition.

Last Sunday, in our Sunday school class, our teacher told us that families should have traditions that they do on a regular basis. These traditions help families become close knit. So we decided camping/hiking will be our family tradition. I pretend to be rugged, but my camping skills are limited to setting up a tent. So I will be relying on my brother-in-law to do all the cooking. Basically the pressure is on him to make the tradition start on the right foot.

The Lim Family will be one with nature!

Fashion Show

k is so lucky to have a great-grandmother that sews. I had k do a little fashion show today so we could send pictures to great-grandma. Apparently, some people at Wal-Mart want to see pictures of the great-granddaughter that benefits from her creations.


Happy 19th month birthday!

Weekend Notes

Sat. morning D ran five miles at the Cypress College track. We went down to Irvine for a playdate. The boy had the same kitchenette as k, making her feel right at home. We also figured out that k really likes the chicken mango sausage from Trader Joe's. Afterward, we took Deb out to Pho Bac for a belated birthday lunch. We also picked up a dessert next door at the Layer Cake bakery. D picked out the napoleon and Deb got a cupcake (not sure what kind). We were too full to eat it there, so we took it home. I liked the napoleon--very high custard to pastry ratio.

Sacramento Eats

Here is the rundown of the things we ate during our trip to Sacramento. We stopped at the Gorman McDonald's for breakfast, but it was SO crowded. Carl's Jr. had no line, so we ended up over there. Egg McMuffins are good, but not worth waiting in lines for. I think next time we'll try to make it to Tejon before stopping for breakfast. For lunch we had a BBQ at D's brother's house as mentioned before: hamburgers and chicken, corn on the cob, chips, grapes and cherries. Yum!

For dinner we ate at Buca di Beppo--chicken marsala and frutti di mare (linguini with seafood), the Lim family favorites. Both breakfasts were at the hotel we were staying at, Larkspur Landing. There was a nice assortment of cereal, bagels, yogurt, juice, and k's favorite--hardboiled eggs. It was also nice that our room had a full size refrigerator! D appreciated how the kitchen was stocked with paper towels. I wish my studio in SF had been as nice as that one.

For lunch we ate at Lemon Grass Noodle Bar, located inside La Bou restaurant. It was a nice, yet casual place for Vietnamese food. I opted for the chicken bun (as usual) and D had a lemongrass pork chop. I wish they had one of these restaurants in Orange County!

Finally, the big finale was dinner at Taro's, a Japanese restaurant in Arden Fair Mall. D's dad spotted the sushi platters, so we chose "c" since it came with nigiri and rolls. After that was devoured, D's brother ordered many other favorites, including the "puff daddy" and "lick my chops" lamb chops, sashimi and curry. The lamb chops were spicy and SO good...and I'm not even much of a lamb person. k ordered the kid's meal (teriyaki chicken and 3 piece nigiri) and it came with Botan rice candy--cute.

Despite all of that food, D wanted dessert, so he headed over to the self-serve yogurt place across the way. It was the first place of this nature that did not seem "asian" that I have seen. I forgot the name of the place, but it was good.

On the way home, we stopped at In-n-Out. I had my first "animal-style" hamburger. It was very good, but didn't seem THAT different. I guess the pickles were new and I enjoyed the grilled onions.

It was a delicious weekend!

July 4th Weekend in Sacramento

This post has been delayed because we all got sick this past week. It really knocked us out, but I think we're on the upswing.

We left early Friday morning for our trip up to D's hometown. k did pretty well this time around. She was healthy, so we didn't have some of the issues we had to deal with last time. It was also easier since we could keep her occupied with food, and a portable DVD player. I also bought this board with sticky foam cut-outs which she seemed to enjoy. (I was looking for Colorforms, but couldn't find them. I think the foam was easier for her little hands to deal with, anyway).

k had fun putting the foam stickers on her Sigg, too.

We arrived at D's brother's house just in time for a nice BBQ. I was so happy that it wasn't scorching hot. It was actually quite pleasant in the shade. D's friend since high school came over in the afternoon with his family and the kids had fun playing with all of cousin S' toys.



k claimed her cousin's chair as her own. We need to work on the concept of sharing with her!

Uncle D


This tree is just across the street from D's brother's house. Kind of scary, isn't it? D said it reminded him of the Chronicles of Narnia. My first thought was the Wizard of Oz.

Saturday D's sister led us on a mini-hike along the American River.



Then, we played in a nearby park.



We met up with Janelle for lunch and caught up (she's moving back to the Bay Area, yay!) k took a nap back at the hotel. Afterward we headed out to Arden Fair Mall (indoors, air-conditioning, yes!) and ate dinner with everyone. I'll save the foodie comments for another post.

Look at what Grandma bought me at Barnes & Noble!

We ate breakfast with D's parents the next morning in the hotel and headed back down South. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to see everyone, especially since D's brother's family will be moving to London soon, so we won't be able to see them for a while.

Olympics

As many of you know, I follow Cal football and Indiana Basketball. This keeps me busy from August to April. However I have nothing to follow during the summer. I try to get myself interested in baseball but just can't. So I decided I will follow Cal and IU swimmers (alumni or students) that compete in the Olympics. Cal alum have medaled 51 times in the Summer Olympics for swimming and IU has medaled 60 times. Also Mark Spitz (IU) and Matt Biondi (Cal) are the most decorated male swimmers (11 each). Also Natalie Coughlin medaled 5 times in 2004 and has qualified for 3 individual events in Beijing. There are a few other Cal alumni swimming in the Olypics in Beijing and at least one IU swimmer. I will definitely be rooting for them this summer and every odd year there are world championships that I will try to follow. I do enjoy swimming however I haven't been swimming since I am training for a marathon.

It is good that I will be able to follow the Olympics because Cal football and IU basketball probably won't be good this year. Good meaning Rose or Holiday bowl for Cal and Sweet Sixteen for IU.

If You're Happy and You Know It

Please bear with my singing skills...

NorCal

It was nice to be up in Northern California where I could discuss the benefits of growing up in Sacramento.
#1 American River. Less than an hour from Class 4 rapids, and an awesome bile trail.
#2 Just over an hour to world renowned Napa Valley
#3 1.5 hours to skiing (less than 2 hours to world-class skiing)

Note on American River Bike Trail:
The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (or American River Bike Trail) is a paved multi-use pathway that runs between the confluence of the Sacramento River with the American River, just north of downtown Sacramento, CA, and Beal's Point at Folsom Lake, north of Folsom, CA. The trail is 32 miles long, and is used as a major recreational destination, as well as a commuter artery for cyclists. The trail is considered one of the longest paved purpose-built bike trails in the country.

The trip was a lot of fun since I was able to see family and friends. We just got back, so we will post more later.

k's Kitchenette

Here is the play kitchen we bought for k. I did some research and decided on this one because a.) It's small, which is necessary in our small place; b.) It's made out of wood; c.) It's really cute! D put it together on Thursday night. He wanted to wake k up to show it to her, but I put my foot down. k was all smiles when she saw it the next morning, though. She loves to "wash her hands", and bake things in her "hot" oven.

I am slowly starting to make k some felt food. Chocolate chip cookie...yum!