gualala

there’s a magical place up the coast about three hours from san francisco called gualala. my cousin ben’s wife ashley’s family has been camping in the redwoods there over memorial day weekend for more than fifty years. i’ve heard ashley rave about the tradition and wonder of gualala and i was so excited to get to experience it myself!

my brother noah and his family drove up from san diego to pitch a tent next to ben and ashley, and ben’s brother adam and his family along with my aunt hedy and uncle chris came up from fremont, too. growing up, we always called chris and hedy and their kids “the california eyres” – now noah and his family and i have joined the ranks, and it was so fun to be all together!

although i knew that ashley and her family loved gualala tons and tons (a lot like my family loves bear lake), i didn’t know much at all about what it would be like. as it turns out, gualala with the bodily family is a pretty incredible camping experience. i drove up with ashley’s cousins in a truck pulling a trailer loaded with a sink and a refrigerator along with remarkable amounts of food. the cousins told me on the drive about the 200+ people that would be at gualala with the group that started out as ashley’s mom’s family and has grown through the years. about 80% of the campground was somehow connected to that family. one campsite was dubbed “the kitchen” and it was quite the sight (fridge, microwave, stovetop, sink…)! our meals included breakfast crepes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, a full thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, dutch oven ribs and fresh-from-the-ocean fried abalone, homemade scones to eat around the campfire, and cafe rio pork burritos. and! – there was a nacho cheese machine and endless tortilla chips. seriously.

the gorgeous campground includes a park with a playground and ping-pong tables, paths for bike-riding and/or exploring, a pebbly beach along the river, a sweet little candy shop, and even hot showers (those were the only downside – it made me feel slightly obligated to shower on a camping trip, but i resisted the temptation and made it out reeking of smoke and b.o.!).

it was pretty chilly under the shade of those magnificent redwoods, so we went down to the river to lay on the hot rocks in the sun:

it was quite the party on the “beach.” this redwood log has been perched in the water to serve just perfectly as a diving board as long as ashley can remember. it was freezing but noah and i had to take a jump.

this tandem bike was constantly in use cruising around the campground trails. ashley took me on a tour on it our first day, and noah and kristi snagged a ride as well.

we hung out around the fire at the kitchen campsite lots. i wish you could see the amenities better. it was amazing!

on sunday we all folded up our camp chairs and brought them to a beautiful meadow and had church services outside together!

after church, we celebrated three family members’ birthdays (including my cousin ben’s) with piñatas! it was pretty wild with all those kids collecting candy like mad!

  

i got to help clean the abalone that some of the guys had collected diving. i can’t resist an opportunity to do something kind of gross but kind of cool. apparently sometimes you can find pearls in the poop sacks! eek!

we took a quick trip to the ocean beach with ben and ashley before sunday dinner. it was soooo gorgeous!

and we stopped here for some pictures on the way back.

sleeping in a (not that large) tent with my brother, sister-in-law, niece and three nephews was awesome. one of my favourite parts of this trip was just hanging out in the tent in the groggy, slap-happy mornings.

the drive there and back was super super incredibly beautiful. this is just a pathetically representative little glimpse.

gualala was splendid. being with family was so so so good for my soul. camping, the beach, family … it feels like summer has officially begun!!

faq

can you share recipes for all the fun things you’ve been cooking and baking?

links to the recipes of almost everything i have made since january can be found on my “food i’ve made” board on pinterest. i’ve even added my opinions and tips for things to tweak in the captions! i think to myself probably about once a day: man, i love pinterest.

how do you afford to travel so much?

i think it is really interesting how different people prioritize their spending. what we “can afford" is all relative!

i had a roommate once who constantly complained about her tight budget yet came home with new expensive kitchen gadgets every week! garlic crusher, mandoline slicer, vitamix, egg cutter (yes, they make tools specifically for chopping hard boiled eggs…) that's what she loved and chose to spend her money on. my other roommate at the time would often bow out of dinners or activities that cost money yet looooved dropping some benjamins at expensive clothing stores. i was technically unemployed for a good part of last year, but i still managed to get to england in the summer.

the truth is, i always think about money in relation to traveling, and compare all my expenditures to plane tickets. i could spend $300 on new clothes, or i could book a flight to visit a sibling! i could save money by not eating out or buying cheaper groceries (or eating samples for a meal…) and add it to my travel fund! i'm not too picky about where i live, and i've found some screaming deals on rent in the bay area. i spend almost no money on clothes and make everyone aware how much i love handmedowns. i don’t have the newest or nicest gadgets. i can fit everything i own (besides my bed) in my car. i just budget everything based on traveling – and that's how i afford it! (also, i have gotten really good at finding very inexpensive airfare and i know how to travel super cheap.)

i love traveling not just because it is exciting and enjoyable, but because it has become a treasured part of my identity. travel adventure helps me to see who i am and to become who i am, and i truly feel like it is part of my mission in life. we all have different means to nurture and fuel our souls. for me, traveling is fulfilling in significant and spectacular ways.

i am passionate about travel. others are passionate about kitchen gadgets. i truly believe that we can almost always organize our lives in a way to feed our passions. that being said, i also recognize that our passions need to be viewed and lived with a wide lens and an eternal perspective.

how do you expect to find a husband when you’re always traveling?

a few commenters implied this querry in response to my post on being alone {but not lonely}. i think it is a fantastic question. i mentioned in that post that i’m realizing that i’ve used traveling as an attempt to fill an emptiness inside – but it is a round peg for a square hole. in the past few years i have thought a lot about the value of staying put, and about the balance between living out worthy, characteristic passions and making sacrifices for things greater. i’ve grown increasingly aware of the need to contain my wanderlust within the perspective of my deepest yearnings and righteous desires. these lines are not always clear, and so i am grateful that i feel i can petition heaven for help. i earnestly pray to know where i need to be when, and i trust that as i thoughtfully seek balance and strive to be true to myself, i will not miss essential, eternal opportunities.

i’m fascinated by the compromises we must make in mortality in the context of our dreams and passions, the realities of life, and the powerful beauty of sacrifices. the following is from a post i wrote last year about being unemployed:

this quote has always served as sort of my life mission statement, my mantra: "go confidently in the direction of your dreams. live the life you have imagined" (thoreau). i am a romantic heart that subscribes unabashedly to the lofty philosophy of living your dreams. i am quixotic. i am so determined, even stubborn, about living the adventurous, lush life i have imagined. i do think this is an admirable strength, and it is something i like about myself. and i feel really blessed that in so many ways i have lived this quote, and that has brought me a lot of joy. but lately i am coming to understand the extraordinary and strangely beautiful power of - gasp! - abandoning this ideal.

indeed, there is something great to be said of making some big, heart-wrenching sacrifices, surrendering to things less glimmering, and accepting aspects of life that were not imagined or never existed in a dream. in this sense, maybe there is sometimes great power in giving up. society is endlessly inspired by people who make their dreams come true, but what of people who traverse through big and hard changes and formulate new dreams that are less glamorous but more authentic and, in the end, more gratifying in an unseen and unsensational way? i think my background has led me to dream of a very outwardly exotic and adventurous life, but i'm discovering the astounding virtue of consciously succumbing to things that become strangely extraordinary in their seeming ordinariness.

perhaps one of the reasons i am alone {but not lonely!} is to learn in my solidarity where to sacrifice, where to push, where to let go.

a different comment on that post sure made me smile: lds ladies- don't you have brothers, friends, or cousins that are just perfect for charity? i'm so surprised your huge family and blog network isn't working to your advantage. my advice: work that network! your blog speaks volumes about you so i have no doubt your peg is just around the corner.

may it be known that i am always willing to be set up with men that are considered extraordinary :)

what are your best tips about what to do/see/eat in san francisco?

a post titled “the official dripping with passion guide to san francisco, first edition” is coming very soon! it will include instructions on how to complete the world’s best bike route and some recommendations for things i have loved exploring down here on the penninsula, too! i also recently added labels to my blog, and you can click on “san francisco” on the right to see all the posts about my city.

if you have any other questions, please leave me a comment!

loepa sunday potluck picnic

loepa = ladies of east palo alto.

we had a fantastic potluck spread, and ate and laughed in the sunday sun at our neighborhood park.
we also passed around sunglasses to get a glimpse of the solar eclipse.

i have some pretty stellar neighbors.

five years old

on may 17, innosight institute turned 5 years old!

to help our team celebrate, i made a {sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan} pumpkin banana cake with coconut vanilla icing and roasted hazelnuts.

we got out the happy birthday banner, party hats and party blowers and sang “happy birthday to us.” our executive director in the education practice made a wish and blew out the five candles.

we are continuing the celebration online throughout the coming months – check it out here.

 

 

i am really lucky to work with some of the very smartest people basically in the world. i am continually amazed and humbled by the company that i keep at work.

innosight institute is right on the cutting edge of trans-
formative new things happening in education. it is really exciting to be a part of.

when i think back on the last 5 months i have spent in my job, i am stunned by how much i have learned.

 

every couple of weeks, we take a picnic to the park near our office and have what we call a “disruption lunch.” we discuss the theories of disruptive innovation according to certain case studies in the sunshine.

katherine and i are obsessed with the turkey cobb salad from a little bakery around the corner from the office. i’d say we have one at least once a week. yum!

i am very grateful for my job as i continue along my path of career self-discovery.

 


happy 5th birthday, innosight institute!

pledge class goes to napa

the pledge class of 2010’s sunny saturday in napa valley:
- a spectacular drive over the golden gate bridge, through marin and into the wine country with its rolling hills of vineyards
-wandering around the farmer’s market and trying samples
-strolling through the sweet town of napa
-delicious brunch at abc bakery
-enjoying the grounds and the fantastic contemporary art gallery at the hess collection
-discovering an amazingly beautiful monastery-type place (we still don’t know exactly what it was?) behind the hess winery – incredible views, courtyards, roses and picturesque architecture
-misadventures trying to find olive oil tasting – including windy roads and dixie chicks on repeat
-a little tour to learn about mr. hess and the winemaking process
-patio dinner in san rafael on the way home
-girltalk, fabulous landscape and high temps