dutcher & flynn wedding in PA by way of DC

dutcher & flynn wedding in PA
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike and i traveled to PA by way of DC for his cousin's wedding a few weeks ago. in DC, we stayed at a townhouse style B&B near DuPont Circle, ate at a few nice restaurants, visited the Arlington cemetery, and walked all over the mall, checking out the monuments and memorials that had been built since our last visits.

after a brief stay in DC, we drove through PA and picked up Amy and Paul, Mike's sister and brother-in-law...oh, and little Caroline. there are still amish people in PA, and they do drive around in horse and carriages. though i didn't have one, i discovered the whoopie pie and met a gaggle of Mike's relatives on his mother's side of the family. his cousin's parents live in Lancaster, and no, they are not amish. they recently moved there from DC.

set out in the countryside, the wedding was quite lovely, with scenic views dotted with brown cows eating grass, which incidentally, is suppose to be the norm. now these looked like happy cows. the poignant and genuine service made me teary-eyed, even though i didn't know either bride nor groom. the bride's sister and father played guitar and sang. when the sun set, we were privy to the sparks of lovely fireflys. after a few failed attempts, mike lured one into his grasp with his iphone. we watched it pulsing a while in a cup before letting it go. someone should make a firefly app.

proof

proof
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

proof is the kind of restaurant you take someone to for some wining and dining. i'm no wine expert (yet), but with the three different options for pours-- 2, 6 or 8.5 oz--you could quickly become one if you are a regular here. it's a warm, dark environment where the noise level is low enough such that you can carry on a conversation with your dining partner, although too dark to easily stare into his or her eyes. however, if you need to break the mood (or read the menu), a branded LED light source is provided.

made from fresh, quality ingredients, the food is not revolutionary but prepared well and delicious. the bf & i were not super hungry so split several first courses, a small selection of cheeses and a second course. one of the first courses was a GRILLED EGGPLANT SALAD, which had a lovely smoke flavor, although the eggplant needed some seasoning. i enjoyed the combination of sweetness from the peppers, texture of the pumpkin seeds, and tangy saltiness from the dressing. the YUKON GOLD POTATO GNOCCHI was also tasty, with earthy wild mushrooms, sweet corn and spinach in a thick broth sprinkled with cheese. the gnocchi was very soft, almost too soft, but the flavors were good.

the cheeses we shared tended to the mild spectrum as far as cheeses go, and included MAHON--a cow's milk dry spanish cheese-, GARROTXA--a goat's milk soft spanish cheese, and DANTE--a sheep's milk cheese from wisconsin. i liked the dryness of the mahon and the depth of flavor from the garrotxa, but found the dante pretty straightforward.

on recommendation from our server, we had the VADOUVAN SPICED ALASKAN HALIBUT as the second course. i didn't really taste much of the coconut in the broth, but liked the crunchy texture on the surface of the fish, and the flavors of the spices. the fish was perfectly cooked.

our server was quirky, but prompt and helpful. coming from california, i found that attire is dressier, and dinner was a little more formal than i'm used to for a wine bar, but it seems like a great place for a date.

point reyes

point reyes
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#80 & #81 of 101 in 1001
on our trip to northern california, we stayed in marin county to do some sightseeing in point reyes. my allergies slowed me down some, but we had a nice little trek to abbott's lagoon on one of the state park's trails. the highlights of the walk were all the little birds including vultures and egrets and a deer we saw along the way.

winchester mansion

winchester mansion
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i don't know if i was really expecting anything when i arrived, but my first impression walking through the stereotypically obnoxious gift store then to the waiting area outside that reminded me of being at disneyland left much to be desired. luckily, once the tour started that changed.

during the tour, i spent most of my time taking a lot of photos of the home, over 500 photos in fact, but from what i could gather, the tour seems geared towards a large audience. there are some interesting historical tidbits, but the whole thing seems written to entertain rather than educate.

still, a look inside the house, if you take your time, past the slick paint, can offer a view of architectural details, quirky "mistakes", and detailed motifs that came out of the eccentric mind of sarah winchester. the conservatory is quite lovely, with all the windows and light and open space compared to other parts of the house, with room after small room of confined space and twisting stairs. some areas of the home were damaged by earthquake, and it was interesting that they left those parts of the home unrepaired as if time had stopped.

the tour moves fairly quickly through this large estate. at one point, i did one of the things the tour guide warned us about which was to fall behind the tour taking photos and almost got lost. all of a sudden it was quiet, and extremely spooky, since there was no sign of anyone in #58 on my 101 in 1001 list
the house. the place is huge and small at the same time, and the labyrinthine hallways and staircases make it difficult to orient yourself. i have to give it to the tour guides to lead us through this maze. luckily for me, the fussy child in our tour group saved me from the ghosts, and i eventually made my way back.

not sure if historically, the home has been preserved in the truest sense. the gardens were nice, but felt small in comparison. because of the shrunken acreage of the estate, the whole place feels confined and partly consumed bye the encroaching modern city around it. if you're in the area, it's worth a visit.

road trip to northern california

point reyes
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

we took a mini road trip of sorts to visit some friends, check out point reyes, the wildflowers and wildlife, the new academy of sciences designed by architect renzo piano, the new rooftop sculpture garden at sf moma, moecular gastronomy at coi, maker faire in san mateo & the winchester mansion in san jose.

hollywood scavenger hunt

hollywood scavenger hunt
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

my friend abby works for a destination management company. basically, she helps companies find food, entertainment, team building activities in the great LA area. she happened to get complimentary tickets for one of the scavenger hunts offered by watson adventures, and invited mike and i to join her. their scavenger hunts are a little different from traditional ones. instead of collecting items on a list, you get a list of questions in the form of a four line riddle/poem and approximate location as to where you can find the answers, and the goal is to collect the answers to the questions. it turned out to be a lot of fun (i love puzzles!). we were running around hollywood solving puzzles and second guessing ourselves. in the end, we won, which was awesome!

rubel castle tour

rubel castle tour
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

remember when you were little and you & your brother built forts out of the cushions from the couch and bedding? well, micheal rubel, as a boy, wanted to build a castle, and eventually did with the help of some friends, without any architectural plans. made from salvaged river rock, steel, aluminum, cement and embedded with random bottles and appliances, the place is really a testament to a collector's sensability and a diy attitude.

mike & i toured the castle this past weekend. mike was a little disappointed it was less castle-like than he had imagined. since i had more information beforehand, i found the place fascinating that one man with a strong will and lots of giving friends made such a place. there were so many curiosities, many of which were sticking out of the crudely fashioned stone & concrete walls.

my description really doesn't do it justice. you have to see to believe it:

santa monica walking tour

santa monica walking tour
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

how many times had i walked around santa monica's 3rd st promenade shopping and not noticing the architecture or the oldest building in the city? it's hard to discern what's authentic versus constructed in this postmodernized world we live in, especially in los angeles, where many restaurants and shops look like disneyland or vegas. every saturday, the santa monica conservancy offers a tour of downtown santa monica, taking you through the history and the architecture of what had at one time been a port city but is now a tourist town. i highly recommend it for both tourists and socal natives.

texas summer 08

texas summer 08
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike had an segd conference to attend, so we visited my mom in houston where we engaged in some minor remodeling of her bathroom, ate lots of food, visited a museum, then returned to austin where we caught up with friends, visited a few area hotspots including the wildflower center, umlauf sculpture garden, lockhart and ate more food.

view the photojournal of our trip

fung's kitchen : dim sum yum

texas summer 08
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i love dim sum, so my mom brought us here when i came to visit. fung's is a typical chinese palace of dim sum complete with stone dogs, buddha statue, throngs of people waiting for tables, carts pushed by non-english speaking ladies and large banquet hall. everything was fresh, looked and tasted really good.

they have both shrimp and pork shu mai. the har gow was thickly stuffed with shrimp in a fine translucent skin. because of the high volume of business, everything we ordered came hot. one of my favorites of the meal were the shrimp balls covered with sticky rice. the cai lan (chinese broccoli) was perfectly green and crispy. the seafood pan fried noodle dish was delicious. the only negative were the desserts we selected--the almond tofu & tofu in ginger sauce--which were a little bland. it took a little while for us to get the check, but overall, i thought the service was fine.

huntington botanical gardens

huntington botanical gardens
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i never knew this place existed. there are lots of places like this, and i don't just mean gardens, but cool cultural experiences around LA. though i don't live in LA proper, i have lived in the area for five years now, and have barely begun to know LA.

you wouldn't guess it, but in a residential area of san marino, lies vast gardens and a library that boasts in its collection a copy of the gutenberg bible on vellum and chaucer's canterbury tales. on my first visit, i barely had time to see most of the gardens. the bf was tired, but up for rising early on a saturday and driving in before the crowds for a private tour of the newly constructed liu fang yuan: garden of flowing fragrance, well worth the extra cost which included admission.

designed to be experienced with few people to best soak up the tranquility and enrich the mind in contemplation, the authenticity of the chinese garden was brought about by the collaborative efforts of the huntington organization, donations from local community, and artisans from china. i was impressed--starting from the undulating white walls reminiscent of a dragon's back with staggered roof tiles embossed with decorative symbols, looking through the motif windows to gaze into the world inside, walking across the patterned rock paved ground and looking across the still water to watch a heron fly and perch on a distant rock.

after our tour, we visited the botanical conservatory, with its humid and tropical environs, sporting orchids, air plants, water plants and everything in between. from there we entered the children's garden, which invited the curious and inspired the children in all of us.

walking into the desert garden, one of my favorite, was like landing on mars--phenomenal and strange, but cool. there were crazy succulent trees with spears of flowers, pretty cactus balls with bright pink flowers taunting you to dare to be pricked, wiry yucca trees, red buds and orange buds in the weirdest parts of plants.

the rose garden was a typical rose garden. i'm not a big fan of rose gardens, but it reminded me of my grandmother who smells sweet and powdery.

the japanese garden is usually my favorite type of garden, but by the time we made it here, it was crawling with people and kids. it was lovely, but the experience would have been better with fewer human dots on the less is more landscape. the koi are huge and beautiful and must have been fed by visitors in the past because they flock to you when you get close to the edge. the zen garden was nice, and there were some gravity defying bonsais.

laze frogs sunned themselves on lily pads in the pond near the jungle garden as turtles hung out on rocks near the periphery. big bamboo forests both thin and fat rivaled the many varieties of palm. it was a lovely getaway from the concrete jungle we are daily accustomed to.

click here for photos from our sojourn.

anticipating austin: a list

tx bbq trail : we won't make it to most, but would like to try 1 or 2.
las manitas : good brunch. i still remember the mushroom tamale.
umlauf sculpture garden : my first two cats' ashes are there.
barton springs pool : it was 97 degrees in austin. ouch.
alamo drafthouse : drinks & a movie
mother's : great vegetarian resto
trudy's : for the mexican martinis
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center : i like wildflowers (if the heat doesn't kill us)
amy's ice cream : mmmm00000....
curra's : interior mexican

ward ranch tour & jam tasting

ward ranch tour & jam tasting
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

yesterday was a day of leisure. jeff ward of ward ranch in sierra madre gave a group of us a tour of the gourmet food business built by his grandfather. we tasted some delicious jams, jellies and marmalades, as well as hand-stuffed hand-packed spanish olives, which reminds me that i want to find out what exactly is the difference between jam, jelly and marmalade.

post tour, we had a nice lunch at "the only place in town" cafe. because i was with a group of foodies, our conversation somehow moved to bulgarini gelato, which is in nearby altadena, a bit out of the way from long beach, but not if you're having lunch in sierra madre. one thing led to another, and we found ourselves on a hot and dry saturday eating some very good gelato. i had a small cup with three scoops that included coconut, bacio (chocolate hazelnut) and strawberry custard. mike had the stracciolo (chocolate chip), espresso and pistachio. apparently, the owner imports the pistachios from europe, since the ones here aren't good enough. it's been a while since i've had gelato ( i think the last time may have been in italy like a zillion years ago!), and i haven't had bad gelato, so i have little to compare what we had to, but i found it to be quite good. the bacio was very rich. my only preference would be for the coconut to be less sweet.