Weekend Getaways: The Narrows Hike (Zion National Park)

The next morning, we packed everything up again and had breakfast at the hotel. We definitely knew we were in Utah at this point. Fox News was playing in the dining area, which we both noticed. There was also a family who was sitting near our table. One of the men at the table asked his tablemates, "Do you know any gay people?" Then yelled, "They're sinners!!" Matt looked at me and then said, "Yeah, we gotta go." After we left, I learned that he thought the man had said, "Do you know any gay pornstars?" but then realized that regular pornstars are probably sinners too.

We drove for another hour. By then, I knew we were going to Zion National Park. As we drove down the road leading to the park, he pulled up to a shop that had a sign reading "Canyoneering." Oh dear, I still had no idea what we were doing and asked, "Are you taking me on an adventure?" Finally, I learned that we were going to be doing The Narrows hike at Zion. The Narrows hike is one of the most famous hikes in America. It takes you in the Virgin River, which has carved a remarkable gorge through the sandstone rock. We needed to get some equipment to prepare us for the hike, namely water shoes, booties, a dry bag, and hiking poles.

Drive towards Zion

Entrance to Zion National Park

Once we reached the park, we had to check into our campsite but it was still occupied so we parked in the overflow area and packed up our daybag with lots of water, lunch, and hopped on the Zion bus. During high season, visitors are required to take the shuttle around the park because there would be too many cars in the park otherwise. Ours was the last stop on the route - The Temple of Sinawava. The landmarks around the park were named by the Mormons. They include the Great White Throne, Three Patriarchs, West Temple, East Temple, Angel's Landing, and my favorite The Altar of Sacrifice.

From there, we began the Riverside Walk trail which leads to beginning of The Narrows hike. The walk was a very easy, serene 1 mile walk along the Virgin River with lots of shade and greenery.

Along the Riverside Walk

The Virgin River

We didn't really have a set goal in terms of how far we wanted to go on the hike, plus there was danger of flash flooding that day. So we just decided to go as far as we could and then turn back. Once you reach the River, you are basically hiking or wading in water the entire time. It takes a lot longer to walk in water than on land especially with boulders all along the bottom of the river. I am definitely glad we got the proper equipment. It also didn't help that there were tons and tons of people doing this hike, many with no equipment!! At times, the water would be waist high as you can see below. It was a once in a life time experience. The natural beauty and the knowledge that a river carved all of this amazing landscape that all of us can enjoy!

Along the Narrows hike

From time to time, we talked about stopping to eat lunch but everytime, we just continued on. Finally, we stopped to eat at around 2 pm. We had packed some sandwiches and found a nice, big boulder in the shade to take our break. We noticed these cute, green, fuzzy caterpillars on the boulder and admired them. A couple of them must have found me curious because they kept walking towards me. It wasn't until we were getting up to leave that we realized there were a bunch of them crawling on me and I even had two in my pockets!!

Attack of the caterpillars!

As we continued, we finally passed Orderville Canyon, a goal both of us intended to meet even if we never said so. After Orderville Canyon, the crowds significantly thinned out and we had a few moments to enjoy the canyons alone for the first time. It was getting cooler and when we asked passersby how much longer the hike was before you reached the neck-level water, they said about another hour and twenty minutes. We decided to turn back. It had been over 3 miles since we started. I thought this was the most beautiful section we had been to. The canyon was more narrow so the cliff faces were much more powerful and close.

Amazing!!

At around 6 o'clock we were finished with our hike and went to return our equipment. Matt kept mentioning that he thought it was going to rain and pointing at this huge grey cloud. As we went back into the car to return to camp, a large gust of wind swept by and it started raining. We drove back to the campsite anyway and as soon as we did, it was pouring down. We sat in the car trying to decide what to do, thinking it was just a quick thunderstorm and we would be able to set up camp, but then it started hailing and back to raining. Matt had prepared all of this food for the campfire but it looked like our only option was to get some dinner and then decide whether or not to camp or try to find a hotel room.

Everything worked out in the end. We had a terrible Mexican dinner in Springdale and it stopped raining. We went back to Watchman Campgrounds, set up camp, and then had some of Matt's food as an evening snack. He made some delicious bacon-wrapped chicken kabobs with veggies! Yummy. Then we hit the hay!

Weekend Getaways: Surprise, surprise!!

For the long weekend, we decided to go on a weekend trip. A surprise for my early birthday! During the week leading up to the trip, I tried to figure out where we might be going. Some ideas included the Channel Islands, Catalina, and Red Rock Canyon/Vegas.

Matt sent me an evite with the following packing list:
1) Your swimsuit
2) A sexy going out outfit
3) Sunblock
4) Sunglasses
5) Camera & plenty of batteries ;)
6) 2 sets of Hiking Clothes - shorts and t-shirts preferred
7) You should wear something comfy on Thursday and bring something else comfy for another day.
8) Your "A" Game!

There was a condition with the hiking clothes that one set had to be non-cotton. I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing.

Thursday afternoon - Matt came to pick me up and left the following clues:
Clue #1: He put food in the fridge so that meant he would be making me dinner or breakfast when we got back!
Clue #2: The car was packed. Firewood and large cooler in the backseat = camping. He wouldn't let me scope out the trunk though.
Clue #3: Heading east on the 10 freeway. Channel Islands and Catalina are out! Vegas/Red Rock Canyon still in.

And east we drove...Finally, we made a pit stop in Barstow for dinner at Arby's! Vegas was still on the horizon, but then we kept driving. Past Vegas and into Arizona. I thought we must be going to the Grand Canyon, but then we kept going into Utah. We stopped for the night in St. George, Utah at a hotel. By then it was midnight because of the time change. Hiking was on the agenda for tomorrow (the non-cotton kind of hiking?) I was still clueless...

SeeDo: Transformers 2 in Westwood Village

Whenever I come across something like this in the middle of a normal day at work, I realize that if I ever leave Los Angeles, this will no longer be a common occurance.

Bumblebee Car

Optimus Prime

Bumblebee

They were also having a Linkin Park concert in the Village for the premiere. This is the stage area.

NomNoms: Simpang Asia (Los Angeles)

Simpang Asia is a little Indonesian cafe and grocery store located in my neighborhood. Matt and I went here for the first time in the middle of May and have been back two more times since then. Why have we gone so many times, you ask? You will soon find out.

This concoction is not why. We made the mistake of stirring this thing one time and it was terrible. The brown stuff on the bottom is brown sugar so it mixed in with all the other stuff and it was basically like drinking sand.

This is also not why we have returned so many times in the last month. It is the nasi bungkus which is made up of steamed rice served w/ chicken curry, beef rendang, Balinese style egg, spiced potato w/ bits of chicken gizzard, and vegetable light curry wrapped in a banana leaf. I found it too bland.

The fried chicken was actually pretty good and I would order it again. The sauce is very sticky and sweet but it was a little too boney for me.

Finally, I present you the es teler. Jackfruit, young coconut meat, and avocado with shaved ice and condensed milk. It is soooo yummy. It's supposed to be a "drink" but to me, it is a dessert. I like to pretend that it's even a healthy dessert and then I remember the condensed milk. Oh well, it's still yummy.


Simpang Asia
10433 National Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Day 7: Complete Body Cleanse

I don't particularly feel cleansed and I definitely haven't lost any weight. I do, however, have very little appetite and feel gassy and bloated and need to go to the bathroom a lot.

Day 1: Complete Body Cleanse

I have lost my appetite. I took the pills last night and this morning. I went to the bathroom once and have not wanted to eat since I started taking the pills. Plus, my tummy feels a little strange. I've eaten two eggs, two rice cakes, a couple of cherries and carrots.

I'll report back later.

Trader Joe's Complete Body Cleanse

So I've been feeling like I giant blob the last few months. I think I've reached the age when your metabolism stops being nice to you. I've been trying to eat right and go to the gym (granted, I'm not terribly disciplined at this), and still I have a pocket of fat on my belly and my pants are tiiiiight! So I've made a trip to Trader Joe's during lunch and picked up this little box of scary pills. It's the two-week "Trader Darwin's Complete Body Cleanse" which includes three bottles of pills: liver formula, disgestive formula, and fiber forumla.

Reviews I've read say that the cleanse is relatively mild since it's stretched over two weeks. The only problem I forsee is making myself swallow up to 8 pills a night. I'll let you know how it goes after I start tonight.

Weekend Getaways: Joshua Tree (part 3)

After visiting Split Rock, we hopped back into the car and drove to the north end of the park to do the 49 Palms Oasis hike. The trailhead is outside of the national park, near the city of Twentynine Palms.

The flora on the hike was not spectacular compared to what we had already seen, but seeing an oasis of palm trees in the middle of this uninviting, harsh landscape was something I didn't want to miss. The hike itself was only 3 miles roundtrip and took us about 2 hours to do including the time we spent relaxing at the oasis.

You can see the patch of palm trees in the middle of the desert landscape

Cactus along the trail

Quail along the hike

Arriving at the oasis

When I hear the word "oasis," I imagine a nice blue pool of fresh, clear water. What it really means is a festering tiny pool of green, stinky water. At least there was shade and interesting dragonflys buzzing around. I still think it was worth the journey to see the way nature can sustain itself in the middle of the desert.

Tons of hikers were just beginning their hikes as we were leaving the trail, by that time it was close to noon and it was pretty hot out. I'm glad we were finished with our most strenuous activities by that point in the afternoon.

Weekend Getaways: Joshua Tree (part 2)

Saturday, May 23rd

The tent was roasting by 7:30 in the morning and opening the vents would have just caused more heat to enter, so we were forced to start our day early. It turned out to be a good thing considering how hot it would be later on in the day. We quickly packed up the car and had some breakfast. In the daylight hours, we could finally enjoy our surroundings. Now I could see why this area is called "Jumbo Rocks."

Joshua tree in the sunrise

Campsite

Desert flora

Our first stop for the day was a short 1 mile roundtrip hike to Skull Rock. I was not extremely impressed with it.

Skull Rock

Scenery along our hike

Next we drove to another area of the park to see Split Rock, which is named for obvious reasons. We climbed into the split like dorky tourists too!

Split Rock

Weekend Getaways: Joshua Tree (part 1)

Friday, May 22nd

Matt and I decided about a week before the long weekend to take a roadtrip to Phoenix with a stop in Joshua Tree National Park. I left work a little early and hit the road to pick him up from work. It took me quite a while and we didn't wind up leaving until around 4:30 in the afternoon after packing up the car. We decided to wait out traffic and went to Monterey Park to buy food and firewood and also have dinner at Little Fat Sheep.

Little Fat Sheep is a Mongolian hot pot place. I don't know what the difference between Mongolian and Chinese hot pot are, but it seemed pretty similar to me. We ordered the half and half, which is half spicy broth and half original broth. The spicy broth comes on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the spiciest. I ordered a 3 because Matt can't eat spicy. After about 20 minutes, I couldn't eat it anymore either because the broth comes with all of the spices and chilis inside it still and as it boils, it becomes more and more spicy over time. Items we ordered for the soup: sliced beef, beef balls, seafood dumplings, spinach, fried tofu, shittake mushrooms, and handmade noodles. The beef balls were terrible but everything else was pretty good. Best items were definitely the noodles and dumplings! Yummy!

After dinner, we made a quick stop to Quickly for boba before hitting the road again.

By the time we reached Joshua Tree, it was obviously nighttime. We didn't make reservations for a campsite and it was already very late in the night, so we had to ask the park ranger which campsite we should try. She told us that we would probably have the best luck at Jumbo Rocks, which is basically smack dab in the middle of the park. The national park is much much larger than I was expecting it to be. We had to drive 17 miles to the campsite, but along the way, there were tons and tons of joshua trees along the road. Although it was dark, you could still see many of them as well as the giant boulders behind them. Whoever says there aren't any more joshua trees in the park is lying. It was a beautiful sight and I wished we were seeing this area during daylight hours because we were not intending to return this way the next day.

We finally reached Jumbo Rocks. It is actually the largest campground with 124 campsites. We found a few open ones and finally decided on number 26, which was located in front of a large boulder. Good for me to pee behind in the middle of the night. We unpacked the car, made a campfire, built the tent, roasted s'mores and hit the sack.

Things we had for camping:
2 sleeping bags
1 air mattress
1 tent
3 starter logs
1 bundle of firewood
2 flashlights
Metal skewers
1 cooler of food from breakfast and s'more making materials
Lots of water

Campfire

Campfire at our campsite

Little Fat Sheep
120 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Quickly
1328 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801

NomNoms: Square One Dining (Los Angeles)

A couple of weekends ago, it was in the 80's! I, of course, busted out my spring dresses and skirts and enjoyed a Sunday late morning brunch with my favorite person. Our breakfast M.O. is to order one salty dish and one sweet dish and then proceed to eat off of each other's plates, reaching across the table with fork and knife.

Sweet dish: Brioche French toastie with banana-citrus caramel. It was ridiculously good. The bread looks like it would get all soggy under that syrup but it managed to keep it's texture. The citrus gave a good contrast and it wasn't overly sweet! Yummy yum yum!


Salty dish: baked eggs with braised mustard and collard greens, mushrooms, and gruyere on grits. I am not a fan of the grits but I am of the greens!


Square One Dining
4854 Fountain Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029

NomNoms: Dine LA at Katsuya - Hollywood (Los Angeles)

Why is it that sometimes you have to suffer from such douchebaggery just to experience a good meal in this city? For DineLA Restaurant Week, a few friends and I had dinner at Katsuya in Hollywood.

Anyway, the service was decent, ambiance really cool, and the food was delicious. If only the people who went there weren't so vomit-inducing, I would probably go again.

Mojito & watermelon cucumber mojito

Albacore Onion appetizer

Rock shrimp tempura appetizer

Assorted rolls and sushi

Beef and mushroom toban yaki - too salty

Mochi and panna cotta

Katsuya - Hollywood
6300 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028

SeeDo: Santa Anita Race Track (Los Angeles)

My friend Kelly had her birthday party at Santa Anita Race Track this past Saturday. It was a gorgeous day of betting, drinking beer, eating hot dogs, and yelling at horseys! I won twice, granted it was only $0.80 and $0.60, but still! My friend actually wound up winning over $300 because she picked a "trifecta" (order of first, second, and third).

And they're off!

Faster, you!

I told my boyfriend to wear his "Kennedy" blazer, a button-down shirt, linen pants, and loafers with no socks. He didn't, but look what we found! We actually found a whole group of these guys!

A Kennedy

Santa Anita Park
285 W Huntington Drive
Arcadia CA 91007

Workout LA: Parker Mesa Overlook

NomNoms: Sanamluang Cafe (Los Angeles)

Although there isn't much in terms of good Chinese food in Los Angeles proper, there is definitely a share of delicious Thai restaurants. In fact, a section of Hollywood is officially called "Thai Town." Sanamluang Cafe is located there and I have not been disappointed by anything I have ever ordered. It is quite the whole in the wall, however, and it has a neon sign out front. Classy!

Pad See Ew - rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, egg, chicken

Tom Kha soup - coconut milk soup with chicken

Sanamluang Cafe
5170 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Baby Beets (Trader Joe's Friday)

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been trying to move out of my place and am now not trying to move out for another few months.

Over the last few years, I have discovered how nom nom beets are. When I was younger, my dad would eat beets with salad and I thought they looked funny. Then a day came along in Australia when I was served a salad and there was a beet inside it! Actually, those crazy Aussies put beets on everything. That day changed my view on this now-fashionable root vegetable.

I have tried to roast beets many many times in the past without great results. My fingers would also wind up being red for days from peeling these little buggers! Trader Joe's is saving me hours of roasting now because they have already prepared beets. Now I can enjoy them whenever I like!