ORIGINAL BLISS

Slow Saturday Drive in the Sierra Foothills

"Lone Horse"

Outside Columbia

"Guardian Mary"

Saint Anne's Church

"Orchard Sunset"

Lake Tulloch

"Ol' Doorknob"

Columbia State Park

"Shed Windows"

Columbia State Park

"Stained Glass Sunset"

Saint Anne's Church

Namaste,

Shannan

Day Trip with Mattéa

Mommy daughter day to San Francisco with the goal of taking portraits worthy of her senior yearbook. We made an adventure out of it.

 

 

 

We headed to the Mission District in search of the vibrant murals so abundant there. Balmy Alley is off the beaten path, but well worth the visit. 

 

 

After we adjusted to the inspiration overload, we got down to business.

 

 

After the Mission District we got back on BART and headed to the Embarcadaro for a few dozen raw oysters and a different backdrop.

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day, with one of my favorite people, which makes me very very...

 

Namaste,

Shannan

Knock knock...

 

 

I feel the mischievous, disruptive, but ultimately positive forces of change flitting 'round my space.

But I don't know what form they are planning to take.

And that scares the crap out of me.

In dynamic times and difficult situations it is human nature to react by reaching for and clinging to the nearest thing that can buoy us through the rough waters change brings.

We latch onto people and resort to partaking in comforting but unhealthy behaviors. We long to take the low road and lash out--tempted to scream, kick, and resist.

Rarely, do we respond to change in a way that is good for ourselves.

Well, I feel you coming, Change. I see you lurking out there on the horizon. But this time I will be clinging to what is good and superior within myself; to truth, acceptance, and independence.

Namaste,

Shannan

Photo credit: Dan Zampa

Run, run, run runaway...

 

 

When the road gets rough, the tough hit the road.

 

 

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

 

 

I've been told it is a bad habit: that when shit goes down, I bail. But the way I look at it, sometimes sticking around only makes things worse. 

 

 

So, yeah, the other day, I started acting a fool. It's fucking embarrassing. Really. But because you all have come to expect "raw honesty" from me, I'm gonna tell you how lame I was.

 

 

But you can't laugh.

 

 

Promise?

 

 

I started making a big deal about something that in the scope of love and life, is about the size of flea shit.

 

Got myself all in a tizzy over it; butthurt and pouty--knotted and unhinged.

 

And it was all over something on Facebook.

 

I told you.

 

Stop fucking laughing.

 

You all have done it. Don't judge.

 

K. Maybe you haven't.

 

So, I almost fuck up something really great in my life over social media, and in my complete and utter shame, I jumped in my car and headed for the hills.

 

If I slip out the back and take leave for a little while my head has a miraculous way of popping back out of my ass.

 

Thankfully, it did.

 

I am seeing and thinking and acting like a mature adult again. 

 

For today.

 

Right this minute.

 

Give me a second though, the mood could swing.

 

Namaste,

Shannan

 

 

Catching Up with My Heartbeat

"Inside the Hi Dive"

 

I left my heart in San Francisco the day I got my drivers license and hit the highway in my canary yellow, 1974 Dodge Colt named Tweety.

I drove there from my then little country town, Modesto, as often as I could. I drive there from the same town, now grow'd up into the epitomy of urban sprawl, as often as I can.

The book which I am so diligently writing takes place in San Francisco and the Central Valley (shhhh.... I am breaking my "don't talk about the project" rule.) I had some other business in the city and decided to tack on a "research"/"anniversary" trip with my husband... not that I need the excuse but excuses do make one feel better, especially when you are spending money. 

 

Our first recreational stop of the day was the Hi Dive Bar situated right next to Pier 28 and practically under the Bay Bridge. I have passed this bar every, single time I drive down the Embarcadaro and have always wanted to have a Bloody Mary here. I finally got my wish. A Bloody Mary with a side of lobster bisque that was abundant with huge chunks of lobster! Jeff was lucky to get 2 bites. I hogged it all up!

 

This will be an every, single time stop from now on. It was everything I could hope for in a "dive" bar on the Bay.

 

Of course, I have to also have my oysters!!!!!! So we walked to the Ferry Building and partook of these perfect food specimens.

 

"Waiting for Me Oysters!"

We also had to try what has been touted as "the world's perfect cup of coffee". I must say, Blue Bottle Coffee did make the smoothest cup of joe I have ever tasted!

 

 

 

We wandered back to the car taking in the clear air, and the near empty streets. If you want to see San Francisco, go in January. The weather is perfect and the tourists are GONE!

 

We checked into our hotel, the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins. Our room overlooked Nob Hill, the Fairmont Hotel, Grace Cathedral, the Illuminati hang out - The Pacific Union Club, and the entire city.

I had to get inside the Cathedral during sunset.

 

 

 

The Cathedral was glorious... but I found a few things odd. First, the door panel artwork, replicas of Lorenzo Ghiberti's 15th century masterpiece depicted various scenes from the Bible that struck me as strange.

 

Note the angel passing through a portal doorway on the right. And the heavenly host in the sky looking like a UFO.

 

Again with the UFO's.... hovering all around the Great Pyramid.... (up close they are angels).

 

God giving Moses the 10 Commandments.... from a UFO!

Really now??... very interesting.

 

Even more interesting is that the Cathedral sits across the street from the Masonic Lodge, and the highly elite Pacific Union Club. Jeff tried to get in but we were very denied.

 

"View from Room 1226"

We went back to the hotel, then went to the Top of the Mark to enjoy martinis and the city lights!

 

The next day we were up early for more traipsing.  We went out to wander amoung the urban ruins of the Sutro Baths. 

 

Before

 

Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My main goal in all this was looking for my main characters' homes. Exploring their neighborhoods, getting a feel for their lives in the city. The Presidio is amazing. I have driven through it many times and I went to a wine tasting at the Officer's Club once, but I have never walked through the neighborhoods. If you are ever in SF, be sure to do this sometime.

 

 

 

 

Before heading over to my sister's for dinner, we made a quick stop at the Mountain View Cemetery in Piedmont. I need to go back and take the tour. I have a thing for cemetaries. Is that weird?  The architecture of the elaborate mausoleams, the age showing on the angels faces, the peace of the gardens and the fountains. I especially like to read about the departed on their headstones. I feel their stories, touch their history and make it my own. Must be the storyteller in me.

 

 

 

It is time for me to mosey into my office and write my next chapter.

While comtemplating my book walking along the Embarcado, the sidewalk told me it was my destiny.

 

And when a sidewalk tells you so, it must be true!

Namaste,

C H E Z

 

Save Drake's Bay Oyster Farm

One of our stops during our road trip was into Drake's Bay Oyster Farm. As you head out toward the lighthouse, not too far past Inverness, and before you hit all the cattle ranches, you will find the driveway on the left.

Drakes Bay Oysters are raised in the most pristine body of water quality of any growing area in the state of California. A deep-water upwelling just off the coast of Drakes Bay provides cool, nutrient rich water year-round to Drakes Estero and produces some of the finest oysters in the world.

Drakes Bay Oysters is the last cold packing cannery in California and their mission is to grow, harvest and deliver sound and sustainable agriculture with ecological responsibility and an attitude of stewardship for the land and sea.

Oysters have been farmed here for 100 years by agriculturalists, and possibly thousands of years by the Coastal Miwuks. Since the National Park Service has managed the area of Point Reyes, they have given special use leases to the families of various industries; several cattle ranches and the Drakes Bay Oyster Farm.

An oyster is an amazing little creature, a bivalve mollask to be precise. To grow some you need some oyster larvae. They are microscopic specks. At the farm, they place previously harvested shells into a warm bath of sea water and release the larvae into the vat. After a time, workers check the oyster jacuzzi to see if the larvae have taken. Then they lace the shells with the larvae onto wire "strings", place them on a rack in the bay and let them grow.

"Lacing"

"Racking"

 

"Prepping for the Bay"

 

Jorge here has been an oyster farmer on this ranch for 27 years. He showed us the vats and pointed out the tiny brown specks of larvae that had attached themselves to the shell. He said that once they go out to the ocean for a week, they grow to the size of a "seed". Then they are re-racked and allowed to grow in the bay for a year. Each seed grows its own shell.

Some of the shells are reused for another planting. Over $10,000 worth of shell is donated to the Native Oyster Restoration Project in the San Francisco Bay to create a reef onto which native oyster seed can attach. The farm has also donated shell to the Western Snowy Plover Recovery Project because they provide excellent camouflage for adults, eggs, and chicks, increasing plover nest density and nesting success.

Due to some shady politics, the National Park Service is attempting NOT to renew the lease for the Oyster Farm. They want to shut it down. They want the land to go back to its "natural state". But they are allowing the 6 dairies and 9 beef cattle ranches to remain.
 

 

My question is, when does something become A PART of the natural ecology? If you get rid of the farming in the bay that has been here for thousands of years, doesn't that have a detrimental effect on the habitat and wildlife that have become adapted to it being here? And when are we going to figure human beings into our equation about the enviornment? We are very present. Yes! We need to be more conscientious co-existers with our planet, but we have to be included as part of the "Natural Habitat".

 

This little oyster farm is a gem. The family that owns it will give you a personal tour and explain everything about how they run their small operation. The oyster farm is the second largest employer within Point Reyes National Seashore, employing 30 full time workers and providing housing for many of them. In an area that traditionally only offers farm employment opportunity to men on the dairy farms and beef ranches, the oyster farm employs both men and women. It is unlikely they would be able to stay if the oyster farm goes.

It would be a shame for the area and the palate to lose this jewel.

To learn more about the farm: Drake's Bay Family Farm

To learn more about the issues surrounding its fight against the Park Service: More Marin

To be the farms friend on Facebook: Drake's Bay Farm Facebook

To download the Original Bliss Artichoke and Oyster Soup Recipe: Recipe PDF

 

Namaste,

C H E Z

 

The World Is My Oyster!

Hog Island Oyster Co.

There are places on the planet that resonate with who we are. Once we find them, we go back again and again. Point Reyes is that place for me. My soul goes into withdrawals when I do not get a "reset" by spending a few days in this most amazing place.

After working my normal 11 hour shift, Jeff met me at work and we left for the Bay. Once the coastal breeze was in my hair, I completely forgot I had been awake for nearly 24 hours.

First stop, coffee and tea in Fairfax.

Fairfax is classic Marin County; part coastal, part elite, part hippy. The people watching is superb.

We drove out Hwy 1 past Marshall to Hog Island Oysters, drank a half bottle of Pinot Noir, ate some Cowgirl Creamery Blue Cheese with a day old baguette, while we waited for our first serving of oysters.

Okay, so if you like oysters... there is absolutley NOTHING that compares to enjoying them minutes from being pulled out of the bay. NOTHING!

They say that oysters are an aphrodiasiac... but who needs the sex after this!

 

(Jeff says he does.)

We murdered 3 dozen.... in this sitting. If we didn't feel so guilty we would have slurped down another 3 dozen.

Oysters are considered one of the most nutritionally well-balanced foods. They are extremely low in calories - one dozen oysters contains ONLY 110 calories. They are full of vitamins and possess the omega-3 fatty acids that are good for our skin, brain, and muscles.

Not that I need "healthy choice" as an excuse.

 

"Where Oysters Come From"

We wandered the streets of Point Reyes Station, browsing the little shops and the community garden.

 

"Mr. Bee"

"Brighter Than Sunshine"

 

 

 

"Sleeping in the Garden"

 

We made it to our favorite home away from home and lounged for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

 

Morning View from our Porch - Elephant Mountain

 

 

"Morning Friend"

Deciding what to do is always a challenge. We rarely do the same thing twice. This trip we walked the Earthquake Trail, directly upon the San Andreas Fault. In 1906, Point Reyes Peninsula moved 20 feet in an instant. There are split fences that prove it.

We strolled the Limantour Spit... the world's most perfect beach!

We visited the bird observatory and got to watch while the Ornithologists weighed and measured the smallest full-size bird I have ever seen... smaller than a hummingbird, for sure. We learned that Point Reyes has the largest variety of birds in the nation, so if you are a "birder" it's the place to be.

We are not "birders".

We are "wanderers"...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and "eaters".

After a day of nature, it was time to get our dinner on. We attempt to try different things each visit, but we NEVER miss Stellina's..... never ever. The food is to die for!

So was my dress!

 

Our last day, we headed out to take in another new view... Drake's Bay with its stunning, white cliffs.

We were all alone....

So we hoped...

This beach had less a human footprints and more beasts'. Besides this 200 lb male mountain lion, there were tracks from a mama and her cub, an elk, and a racoon.

 

 

 

 

Then we had to eat some more!

Fresh halibut ceviche, a cup of clam chowder and another 3 dozen oysters; 12 raw, 12 BBQ'd and 12 to-die-for- Oysters cooked with Charizo and Butter!!!!!

Like I said.... "Sex on the Half-shell!"

 

Then it was time to say our sad farewell....

but not too sad...

we brought 2 large jars of oysters home with us! I am going to attempt an oyster stew tonight!

 

Until next time...

Namaste,

C H E Z

 

Finding Fall

 

I LOVE going to places I have never been. Being born and raised in Cali, and nurturing my road trip fetish throughout, I am always afraid I will run out of places to run to.

But I found a new getaway!

How I have never been here, I do not know.

"Apple Hill" is an agricultural area comprising of 50 apple and Christmas tree farms situated in the foothills of Placerville, Camino and Pollock Pines.

It was a glorious drive! We started by indulging in a freshly, fried apple donut at Abel's Apple Acres. Holy crap it was freakin' delicious!

Then we hit Denver Dan's where they let us taste EVERYTHING; fresh apples they were peeling for the pies, every variety of dipping sauce and homemade cidar vinagar, their special recipe of garlic dill pickle, and a serving of apple crisp a la mode and a la special apple caramel sauce! Heaven with a side of belly ache!!!!

We followed that up with some wine tasting.... then some beer tasting.

 

Then we headed into Placerville for some antiquing.

I am always looking for vintage ephemera to add to my toy chest. But the find of the day was a 1957 Maganavox Stereo in perfect working condition. We had to bring her home in the back seat of my Bug with the top down.... but it was worth the wind blown locks.

If you are ever in the Sacramento area in the Fall, hop in the hooptie and take Highway 50 towards Lake Tahoe for about an hour.

And look me up... I may move there and start making pie!

Namaste,

C H E Z

Photos are enhanced using Color and Monochrome Photoshop actions created by Kim Miller. For more details about what I did to each photo, visit my Flickr Photostream.

 

Life is a Beach!

 

Namaste,

C H E Z

Pajaro Dunes 2010 - Day 1

There is nothing like dancing in the fingers of the sea or sleeping to its heartbeat.

Mattea wasn't in the door 5 minutes before her bare feet hit the sand.

Namaste,

C H E Z