last leg
Now it comes down to it… we are on the final segment of our trip. But wait, I haven’t told you about the rest of the middle section of our adventures! Again, this will be quick because I am running on fumes here. You might have guessed by now that vacation is the equivalent of being sleep-deprived for me (big surprise!), but I prefer it that way :)
Wednesday activities: Shot sunrise on Mono Lake. Drove to Mammoth Lakes and caught shuttle to Agnew Meadows. Backpacked in to Thousand Island Lake. Explored Thousand Island Lake.
sunrise over tufa
morning wildlife at mono lake
Wednesday observations: Mono Lake is bigger than you might think. Mammoth is full of yahoos even in summertime. Not a fan of boyscouts in the backcountry. The sun was brutal.
Thursday activities: Packed camp at 4 am. Shot sunrise over Thousand Island Lake. Hiked out to Agnew Meadows. Drove to Mecca Patagucci Patagonia Outlet in Reno and scored mad loot! Dinner in Truckee. Drove to South Lake Tahoe. Camped.
banner peak over thousand island lake
the kind of retail i can get behind
cooling off with a little caffeine in my sugar
pad thai special – not so special
thai beef salad with your yearly supply of sodium
Thursday observations: The wilderness is far more pleasant when boyscouts are asleep. Avoid the River trail in the future when it is going to be ass hot. Nevada is not my kind of place. Thai food in Truckee was overly sweet, salty, and everything else. Campgrounds are a perfect venue for observing how stupid people behave when they perceive they are “out in nature”.
Friday activities: Packed camp at 5 am and got the hell out of Dodge (Tahoe). Drove to Berkeley. Visited The North Face outlet. Met Cindy for lunch. Drove on to San Jose. Began weekend with Grandma.
cindy’s lunch
and salad
mi torta with amazing delicious fabulous pork
why are we standing here? why aren’t we skiing?
Friday observations: Bay area drivers suck at driving. The North Face Outlet is so ghetto compared to Patagonia’s outlet. One hour to meet Cindy for lunch is too little time. Love Berkeley. Before we rushed off in our separate directions, Cindy presented each of us with a box of… cookies! It was maybe 5 minutes in the car before I busted into a box and fed Jeremy (and myself) a wonderful homemade iced ginger cookie from Cindy’s kitchen. Such a sweetheart.
Well, I’m not really coherent anymore, but it was delightful to meet Cindy in person and I loved our lunch at Tacubaya. She makes me laugh just as much in person as she does on her blog! And now she knows one of my debilitating weaknesses… pretty lunch menus written in green chalk.
This is my last post of the trip. Plenty of pics coming up when I get home (and yes, more recipes). Until then, have a great weekend! End Communication.
August 16th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Ah! A bunny! Rabbits here don’t roam in the wild– they are almost (?) exclusively seen as pets. I feel almost the same way you do w/r/t Patagonia, except replace it with, I dunno, Sur La Table, heh heh :)
We have a North Face here too! Except it’s probably miles below ghetto for you, though. No skiing stuff in it, far as I know. Just really thick hiking wear, maybe.
I’m glad you and Cindy had a great time! Imagine if you made plans to meet with one of your blogging friends and he turned out to be a complete jerk! (ah, now when you meet me, you can’t say I didn’t warn you :P )
August 16th, 2008 at 8:03 am
I can’t tell you how happy tacos, friends and Patagonia outlets make me. I’m going to tag along on your next vacation, because you do all the things I like!
August 16th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Jen, I can’t wait to see the rest of your pics!! Is that Thai Coffee? I’ve had it only once, but I remember thinking it was delicious :)
August 16th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Picking on the poor boy scouts. :)
You got some beautiful shots, I especially love the first one!
August 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Such a wonderful trip! I love your nature & landscapes shots!
Cheers,
Rosa
August 16th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
You look so happy, Jen. Continue enjoying a wonderful vacation. I LOVE your photo’s almost as much as I love your writing.
:)
August 16th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
What a wonderful vacation! Finally a photo of you cuz it is usually Jeremy or Kaweah! ;) You look great! And happy belated birthday to your grandma, 14th aug is my sister’s birthday too! Take care xxoo
August 17th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
You are just too amazing. Food Blogging while on vacation!?!? Your friends look almost as fun as their pets!
August 17th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
tortas look divine!
August 17th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Cindy is another great blogger and what a great trip so far guys! We love mono lake, wish we had to to stop by the lake during our last trip.
Ugh, you always make me so jealous! Visiting a NF & Patagucci outlet is awesome! I need to get my NF & PG shopping fix out of the way, it’s been a long time.
What a great trip so far. Can’t wait to read and see about Grandma!
August 17th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Where is the Patagonia outlet in Reno? My sister lives there, I don’t even think shes knows about it. We always stock up on all of our loot at the one in Dillon Montana – LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! North Face in Berkely … sucks ass. Not a big fan of that one. Have fun with Grandma and enjoy rest of your holiday – at least you are NOT in cold San Francisco, got to love going to a bbq with a cable knit sweater and peacoat! Have fun you two!
August 18th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Ahhh – awesome photos, and it looks like you had a good trip. Your food photos are making me hungry, and your landscape photos make me feel like I’m there.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Looks like an amazing trip, love that you managed to snap a bunny in one of those photos :)
August 18th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Dang–are we cute or what???
You know, Katie had a link to the online Patagonia sale, but by the time I got there they only had eensy sizes left. And I’m with you on that North Face outlet in Berkeley. I think over the years I’ve bought exactly one top there, and I hate it because it’s that funny synthetic material that is really warm under a layer of fleece, but when you sweat it up (as I do), it is sooooo stinky. Even after washing it, it smell kinda . . . funny. Truly though: they have an amazing collection of crap.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Mark – I went to Sur La Table too!! Got some nice 9×3 round pans (I’ve only had 9×2 until now). I find it unlikely that I would meet up with a blogger friend only to discover they are a jerk. I think that stuff comes through pretty quickly from the get go :)
Katie – yay!!! I’m going to kidnap you next time we go on a trip!
Tony – yes, it’s Thai Coffee (and iced tea on the right). Jeremy said it was delish!
Peabody – yeah, well they deserve it if they won’t let gays into the Boy Scouts! :) thanks!
Rosa – thank you :)
Margie – you’re so sweet! Thanks!
Mrs E – well, we lucked out because Jeremy took the photo (and he is not a photographer – not even by association!) xxoo
Cynthia – ha ha! Call me a geek.
Decorated cookies – it was delicious!
WoRC – I scored some good loot there. TNF, not so much though.
Chez Us – It’s out in the boonies (west on 80): 8550 White Fir St, Reno NV. Definitely worth a trip. It’s quite big! Yeah, TNF sort of blow, but they have good non-specific stuff like a new backpack for Jeremy’s commute.
Liz – thanks, love!
Laura – the bunny was adorable :)
Cindy – yup, you have to hit the Patagucci sales RIGHT AWAY (like midnight when it begins) or else all normal sizes sell out. I had a jacket for Jeremy last year that disappeared in the two minutes between when I put it in my cart and when I went to pay. Of course, it didn’t help that Jeremy was all, “what color should I get? Can I see the colors again?” Next time I’m going to tell him, “No! Damn it, you get green. That’s that!” ha ha ha.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
as i was reading this post i realized that patagonia outlet is very close to my apartment, like five minutes away. i guess that is pretty telling about me, i won’t even try to front. great pictures (and ambition)!
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I wish you a very happy “chillout.”
Fabulous photos.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Cindy – thanks!
Cookiecrumb – ha ha, thank you!! :)