California Archives

Walk to Eat in Athens Greece, Part 2 of 3.

June 15, 2026June 3, 2026Posted in blogging, Food, Travel, writingTagged blogging, California, food, history, parks, travelLeave a comment

As Greeks talk of the Mediterranean diet, I seem to see a huge number of fried food and delicious sweets! So I tried to balance the calories from my daily food intake with those calories I hoped to burn off walking. Not sure I’m succeeding, but trying counts, right?

I walked more than 5 miles to see neighborhoods beyond Athens’ city center: Koukaki and Plaka. Each is reached after walking through touristy streets with shops. While in Koukaki area, I visited the National Museum of Contemporary Art. There is an entrance fee and reduced rate for 70+ aged people. I am unsure at times about contemporary art, but kudos to artists who can create this type of art! Here was work from one artist:

Artist did work with fabric and human form.

The changing of the guard happens on the hour at Syntagma Square. The “Evzones” are a special unit of the Greek Army known as the Presidential Guard. They have deliberate marching movements while they change positions in front of the Monument to Unknown Soldiers in front of the Parliament Building. (I would love to know how it was decided to have pompoms on their shoes.) The monument is dedicated to all unidentified Greek soldiers who died in battle.

The change takes about 10 minutes. It occurs every hour and in those uniforms and this heat, I think they want to change!

While walking to Varvakios Central Market, I stopped for loukoumades. Fried dough with honey and cinnamon, “the Greek Way”. I have now spoiled any lunch idea of fresh grilled fish at the central market. Few cafes are available, but it is mostly freshly butchered fish, pork, chicken and beef throughout the place. Another area has fresh fruits and vegetables.

Loukoumades with honey and cinnamon. On my street food tour the next day I’ll see them as fried donuts.

A stop at Kostas was on my list for a pork souvlaki. This place has been here since 1950 so why not give it a go! There was a line that moved slowly (waited almost 30 minutes) as individual orders are prepared. It was worth the wait; fresh tomatoes, tender skewered pork, yogurt, and delicious pita bread. One was good for a take-away lunch for me. Do not plan to sit inside as I think there are only 4 seats.

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki and fries… quite different as we ate these on the food tour, but all delicious! I did take the fries out though; I don’t think they’re needed.

The next day I walked throughout the National Garden. Upon my arrival I saw a desert tortoise! This walk was important for me to listen and look for birds, see the garden, lakes, plants and animals and to once again burn some calories before my street food tour!

Plenty of places to sit or paths to walk or run! Lots of shade and birds!

Finally the street food tour. I had a good time with our guide and 8 other people. So….much …..food…..!!! I’m just going with photos here and will not include all the food choices! Plus we had a wine and some other alcoholic drink. I discovered I like Greek coffee, the beans were from Brazil. New to me was the heating of the water in hot sand! I’ll have to research that. Anyway, photos below and the last blog post of Athens will be tomorrow.

Smashed potatoes with olive oil and garlic. Other plate was baked stuffed peppers with cheese.

And there were olives, olive oil and bread, sausage, Greek yogurt with honey, meatballs and plenty to enjoy! And then I took another walk!:)

Pinnacles National Park, Where Is It?

November 19, 2023November 9, 2023Posted in adventure travel, blogging, Travel, wildlifeTagged bat caves, California, hikingLeave a comment

Another national park I had never been to; however, I also had no idea where the park is located! Pinnacles National Park is a small 26,000 acres of land with caves and rock formations east of Monterey, in central California. It is nestled between the U.S. 101 Highway and Interstate 5, thus many of us were unaware of this national park as we drove those major highways!

Pinnacles National Park actually has two entrances because you cannot drive through the park from one side to another. We started on the east side where the campground is located so we could stay in a tent cabin. During the day we hiked the Moses Spring Trail through the Bear Gulch Cave to Bear Gulch Reservoir. The squirrels at the reservoir, where we hoped to enjoy our lunch, were obnoxious. It was obvious others fed or left food around for these critters who then expected the same from the next hikers to the area.

Tent cabin which has a double bed, 2 twin beds, 2 Adirondack chairs & a bench.

There are more trails to hike on the east side of the park. This park has an interesting geology which explains the mountainous areas, the pinnacles, between both sides of the park. They are more beautiful to see on the west side. If camping on the east side at the park’s campground, you do need to drive to the west entrance about 1.5 hours away (or you could hike about 3 miles from one side of the park to the other). There are less trails on the west side; however, there is an interesting Balconies Cave trail to hike through. Sometimes the bat caves are closed mid-May to mid-July for the Townsend’s big-eared bats to raise their young.

Balconies Cave Trail; Notice boulders overhead!

Rock climbing is allowed at specific locations in the park.

These caves are talus caves. They are openings formed between boulders piled up on a mountain slope. Prepare: have a flashlight per person, another layer of clothing as the temperature does drop when deep in the cave, be aware there are some very narrow spaces to squeeze through. The trails are not long, but a light is absolutely needed and we discovered some people were unable to fit through the narrow spaces. We also discovered hiking poles can get in the way, so we did not use them the next day where we would hike through another cave trail.

A recommendation we received which we thought very good on the western side of this park: hike the Cliff Trail to the Balconies Cave Trail, a clockwise direction. We agree. This was an enjoyable way to approach the trails. Another thought: it gets cold at night! It was 25 degrees Fahrenheit in October, so plan accordingly if you are staying in the tent cabins. This park is open year-round. Yes, California condors are here! Look high on the mountains in early morning or just before dusk and don’t confuse them with turkey vultures also here. I did add a new bird to my list: yellow-billed magpie.

Finally, if you travel from one side of the park to another you’ll pass by the town of King City. Food recommendation … tamales, breakfast burrito, pupusas, empanadas, and bread pudding were all delicious at Castro’s Bakery and Deli. I can understand why this place is so busy … loved every meal eaten here.

Saw the bird about half mile before the east park entrance.

Point Loma Tide Pools, California

April 13, 2023March 4, 2023Posted in adventure travel, blogging, photography, Travel, wildlifeTagged California, Nature, travel, wildlife5 Comments

I live in land-locked Arizona, so getting to the Pacific Ocean a few times a year is great travel fun for me. I’ve written about various California places, but walking at low tide at the intertidal pools within Cabrillo National Monument is worth a visit. Time to visit the Point Loma Tide Pools in the San Diego area!

Be sure to know when the tides are during your visit. You do not want to be caught in high tide when the water is just over 7 feet in depth. If you are looking for sea anemones, crabs and other living things it is best to be here at low tide. At this location there are 2 high and 2 low tides most days. Google it or ask a ranger the tide schedule.

I love checking out the pools of water and seeing living things there or in the cliff’s edge. See the crabs in the photo below? And look at all the life clinging to the cliffside!

Once again we see the power of water as these smaller pools were made.

Many people visit these pools, so plan your arrival as early as you can. Cabrillo National Monument which is where this place is, opens at 9am each day. I have been here other times and found the parking lot closed due to it being full. Of course there is plenty of other spots to stop at this national monument so consider doing that too. Of course, I was happy to get a good photo of a snowy egret flying by!

Take Time to Discover How Little You Know

June 25, 2021May 31, 2021Posted in blogging, TravelTagged Benovia Winery, Bohemian Creamery, California, cheese, wine2 Comments

Often we pride ourselves on how much we know about a particular topic and go on to prove it to others. More humbling than that, I believe, is when one takes time to listen and learn something new! We do not know it all and when we take time to listen we may discover how little we know about a particular topic.

Recently I watched a zoom webinar presented by Benovia Winery. Let’s just say I love their wines! What struck me while watching it though was how little I knew about goats and cows and the world of making cheeses! Lisa Gottreich, founder of Bohemian Creamery in Sebastopol California, was the guest during this webinar and you quickly discover Lisa knows all about cheese-making and she loves her goats!

Who knew about natural/traditional or bloomy rinds? Or the number of gallons of milk to make pounds of cheese, the temperature and humidity best for aging the cheeses, orthe perfect time to buy and eat fresh cheeses? And why you’ll really love the cheese flavors when you take them out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to eating them? Benovia’s winemaker asked wonderful questions of Lisa throughout the webinar and I realized this was a huge learning opportunity for me. The Chardonnay and Pinot noir wines were perfect for the bloomy rind of the Bodacious goat cheese, the hard and traditional rind of the ShredHead cow cheese and the soft Flower Power cow cheese with pollen on its rind. I have been selective in what rinds I eat, but I now understand many people eat them all. Even with choices of cheese, some people like cow cheese and not goat cheese; I am a fan of both! This morning I took a small piece of goat cheese to taste while it was cold … yup, having it warm-up and a bit gooey is absolutely the best way to eat it and really taste the cheese flavor! Live and learn!

Two wines for us to try during the webinar.

Three cheeses for us to taste during the webinar.

Benovia Winery is at 3339 Hartman Road, Santa Rosa, California. Bohemian Creamery is at 7380 Occidental Road, Sebastopol, California. Benovia Winery and Bohemian Creamery have similar challenges: current pandemic, possible drought and wildfire concerns, but they continue to provide us with quality products and service. If you can, support these businesses and learn about wine-making and cheese-making! Discover and learn something new! Who doesn’t love a chunk of cheese and a glass of wine!?! Okay, if not you, then send someone who does a gift … let’s support our local businesses.

Happy Mother’s Day & the Flower Fields

May 9, 2021May 1, 2021Posted in blogging, TravelTagged California, Carlsbad, Flower Fields, Mother's Day2 Comments

Today is a day to celebrate mothers! Many of us celebrate the special day from a distance, but our appreciation and love for our mom is not diminished. My mom inspired and continues to encourage my travels around the world. I am thankful for her support and understanding of my need to travel. She too had once enjoyed meeting new people, seeing new places and discovering unknowns. I know it is not easy for my mom to travel now, yet it provides me one more reason to write this blog when I do travel. So Mom, I love you, thank you for everything, and Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you enjoy the photographs of the flowers I saw at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California in this post.

Despite the gray day, the colorful flowers and many fields of flowers were on display for us all to enjoy. There is quite a bit of history about this place along with so many varieties of poinsettias, but what I found most interesting is that they plant ranunculus seeds. The light-weighted seeds take 4 – 5 weeks to germinate and 6 months to blossom!

There are many, many fields of flowers here. One was in the shape of the American flag planted with petunias. It reminded me of my Vestal, NYS Student Council members who planted hundreds of petunias as an American flag in the front of the junior high school for Flag Day. Overall, a fun learning project for the students. I had a real appreciation for the field/American flag made here at the Flower Field, 100 times larger than the student project!

May people visiting the fields kept physically distanced or otherwise wore a mask. There were other activities to do besides walking the field: tractor ride of the fields, pea maze, video programs, and I picked blueberries. The good-sized and sweet berries were enjoyed in my cold cereal the upcoming mornings!

Later in the day I arrived at the KOA I was to tent at the next nights. I have a three-season tent and backpacker gear for lighting, cooking, and sleeping. I found it fascinating to watch people lay down carpets in front of their campers, string lights around trees and any other post available, plug in electric griddles and instant pots or cook on the barbecue grill, and use air compressors to blow up double sized mattresses for their sleeping in their tent. Many RV’s had a booming sound system and/or a television which by nightfall were on in most places. People brought camp chairs, screens to show movies on, and coolers large enough to hold plenty of beer. In some ways it seemed like numerous parties were happening.

Everyone I met was interesting. Everyone has a story. With my tent the only thing on my site and an occasional use of my backpacker stove, I was most often defined as a minimalist. People were fascinated to know how I survive and how I even got a bicycle into my car! Always fun conversations!

Flowers from today:

Thanks again Mom! Love you!

Virtual Wine Tasting # 1 of 4… All Fun!

February 5, 2021February 6, 2021Posted in bloggingTagged California, Papapietro-Perry Winery, winesLeave a comment

Virtually everything is happening virtually! With many of us unable to travel to our favorite California wineries, those businesses are bringing wine tasting experiences to us via Zoom. In the next blog posts, I will share 3 more virtual wine tasting details as each of the 4 wineries have a different approach to their virtual tasting.

Today, let’s talk about Papapietro-Perry Winery, located in Healdsburg, California, as they have had the most variety with their virtual tastings. One was a wine and cheese package, another wine and chocolate, and the ultimate fun one was wine, cheese and chocolate! With each package we bought, the food item(s) and 3 bottles of wine were included for the price along with a link to connect via Zoom on the designated virtual tasting day and time.

Before each virtual wine tasting, information was provided on how to prepare the cheeses we received, and what temperatures and when the wines should be opened. Papapietro-Perry Winery is known for its pinot noir wines and they never disappoint! One cheese package from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, located in Point Reyes Station, California had a fantastic variety of three cheeses. With another Papapietro-Perry wine tasting, a different 3 cheeses came from Marin French Cheese Company, located in Petaluma, California. Whether eating fresh brie, cranberry goat cheese, camembert, toma truffle, or bay blue cheese, all were absolutely delicious to this cheese-lover! Check out the cheese companies and also Papapietro-Perry Winery!

At each tasting time, the Papapietro-Perry wine club manager spoke, along with a cheese spokesperson for their company explaining the different cheeses, and a husband and wife team who made the Volo chocolate products. As you can see in the photo, the three chocolates were varied flavors. This team makes their chocolate in Windsor, California.

Each of our tastings with this company have been fun, informative, and allowed us a relaxing time to drink wine and enjoy the products. Recent surprise was seeing one of the California cheeses we had at a tasting available at our Arizona store! Yeah!

Websites of the companies mentioned in this blog: pointreyescheese.com, marinfrenchcheese.com, volochololate.com, and Papapietro-Perry.com Check them out; you will enjoy all!

Monday Memories: Death Valley National Park

June 29, 2020June 16, 2020Posted in blogging, photography, Travel, Uncategorized, writingTagged California, Death Valley National ParkLeave a comment

I have visited Death Valley National Park in California a couple of times. Hiked the various trails and Badwater Basin salt flat, and another trip bicycled on the few roads within the park boundary. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes along with other points of interest in the park were worth seeing in this unique ecosystem. There are climate and geography extremes so plan your visit carefully.

There were flowers during my past visits, but my wish is to visit again and see a “super bloom”. I heard about the one in 2016 and saw many colorful wildflower photographs. Now in 2020, along with our pandemic time and no travel, there also was no super bloom. Maybe I can get there next year and witness a “super bloom” too!

It would be fun to see the Artist’s Palette again. With my new photography skills I know the importance of being there as the sun shines on the colors.

Artist’s Drive and Artist’s Palette … beauty all around.

Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America, and photographing the salt flat and salt crystals would be fun too. If the heat is to much I know I can go to the surrounding mountains.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes had a dust devil moving across it while I was there. After my Sahara Desert visit in Morocco last year, I wish to spend some time back on this park’s dunes.

My future goal: visit Death Valley National Park again, and if there is a “super bloom” that will be wonderful!