Category: food

Exploring Baja: A 21-Day Camping Adventure

Our Baja trip began in March 13 when we hopped in the camper and started our drive to Loreto. The highlights of the trip included spending a couple of days in the desert to photograph the cirios and cactus and a six day kayaking trip out of Loreto. Those events are covered in separate blog posts. For this post I’m going to describe some of the other highlights of the trip.

We spent our first night at Kern River Campground just east of
Bakersfield. The highlight here was breakfast. We fired up the Dutch oven and cooked up a mushroom and brie breakfast strata, one of our favorite camping meals. Needless to say, the leftovers provided us with breakfast on several days.

From the Kern River we moved on to Anza Borrego Desert State Park where we spent two nights in the Tamarisk Grove campground. Most of the spring wildflowers were gone, but we did find a few cactus in bloom.

From Anza Borrego we headed south and crossed the border at Tecate, an easy border crossing, although we did have to walk across the street to the bank to pay for our tourist cards (Forma Migratoria Multiple, FMM) since the credit card reader at the immigration office was out of order.

We passed through Guadalupe about noon so we stopped for lunch at Tacos del Valle for some delicious tacos, our first meal in Baja.

We reached Fidel’s Palapas, just south of San Quintin, about 5:00 PM, our intended stop for the night. Fidel promptly appeared to collect 300 pesos. Fidel’s has hot showers, running water and electrical hookups, although we didn’t make use of the water or electrical.

From Fidel’s we headed to Cataviña where we spent two nights in the Cactus Wonderland. From there it was on to San Ignacio where we spent one night at Paraiso Misional, our favorite place to camp in San Ignacio. It’s a lovely spot in the shade of palm trees, with hot showers. Then on to Loreto where we had two days to explore the town, having some fabulous food, dining with live music at Baja Haay and enjoying the vibe of the town.

From Loreto we embarked on our six day kayaking tour exploring some of the islands, poking along the coast, paddling, snorkeling and doing a bit of hiking. Before leaving Loreto on our return trip we made a stop at a water vendor to fill our water tank.

We were happy to find that one of our favorite restaurants, Nomadico’s, was open. We stopped for a delicious lunch. Joann had a yellowtail tostada and I had a scallop tostada with a pineapple coconut smoothie. On our last night in Baja we camped at Guadalupe RV park and took advantage of the hot showers. We crossed the boarder again at Tecate, camping at Sycamore Flat Campground in the Angeles National Forest. From there we checked out the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. The flower display was past its prime, but we did find a few clusters of flowers. Then it was on to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park before making the final leg home. We were back home on the afternoon of April 2 having logged 2820 miles over the course of our 21 days.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Camping in Cactus Wonderland

After a night on the beach at Fidel’s Palapas just south of San Quintín, we were on the road shortly after 10:00. About noon as we were contemplating lunch, we found Restaurant El Sacrificio. One thing I like about traveling in Baja is discovering places to eat.

North of the border it’s franchises surrounded by acres of asphalt with young kids behind the counter. When you order a Big Mac, you know exactly what to expect. Here it’s small family-run establishments by the side of the road with the charm of rural Baja, with posters about the Baja races and local treats. The food always seems to be delicious. We were the only guests for lunch. Excellent food and the opportunity to practice my broken Spanish. After lunch we were back on the road.

Shortly before reaching the town of Cataviña we pulled off onto a dirt road and explored possibilities to camp. We had camped here three years ago on our previous trip.

I wanted to return to spend a couple days exploring the desert. One of the apps we use for navigation, iOverlander, suggested that there were several locations suitable for camping. We explored a couple of dirt roads before settling on a spot. It was just short of 3:00 when we parked the rig.

This would give me two sunsets and two sunrises for photography. Temperatures were also more pleasant in the morning and evening, running about 65 degrees at sunrise. By mid-afternoon the temperature was 85 in the shade and 95 inside the camper. During the heat of the day we pulled out our journals and books and hunkered down in the shade.

Sunset provided some interesting photo opportunities with the cactus and cirios silhouetted against the western sky. Sunrise was not near as interesting. About 20 minutes before sunrise there was a faint glow of color which only lasted about five minutes, and I was not inspired to do much with the early morning light.

We did see a number of cactus in bloom as well as a few ocotillo with their spray of red flowers looking like flames on the tips of their thorny branches.

With the dark night sky, I was inspired to try my hand at astrophotography to see if I could capture part of the Milky Way. I think the resulting image of the cirios silhouetted by a cloud of stars is quite interesting. You can view more photos in an online gallery.

Exploring Korcula: A Journey Through History and Cuisine

On the afternoon of May 12 we boarded the ferry from Dubrovnik to Korcula. We spent most of our time in Korcula in the Old Town. Founded by the ancient Greeks, it later became part of the Roman empire and eventually a key southern outpost for the Venetian Republic.

The narrow streets are laid out like fishbones to take advantage of the cooling breezes and to provide shade. Having been traveling for a few days, our Air BnB (M&J Central Suites) had a washing machine which we took advantage of, hanging the laundry to dry on the outside clothesline.

After exploring the Old Town on foot, we were feeling quite hungry. It seems that most of the restaurants required reservations, but Pensatore Kitchen & Wine was able to seat us for an early dinner. We had a delightful meal and an introduction to the wines of Korcula. We managed to finish off a bottle of a 2024 Tasovak. Mind you it’s very rare that we ever have more than a glass or two. This was a very fine white wine.

Of course any visit to Korcula has to include a view from the tower of Saint Mark’s Cathedral. I also wandered the Old Town at night to capture some evening photography. More photos are available in an online gallery.

New Year Paddle Adventure in Oakland

What better way is there to start the new year than paddling? One of our local outfitters, California Canoe and Kayak (CCK), has a tradition of hosting a New Year’s Day paddle followed by a potluck lunch where they provide a huge pot of Turkey Chili. I signed up to reserve a boat since renting would save me loading and unloading. We launched from the CCK dock at Jack London Square.

Kieth, the owner of CCK, put me in a P&H Virgo LV. I’ve been admiring this boat for some time so today I get to give it a spin. The folks at CCK were quite well organized. Boats were already on the dock with names on them when I arrived at 9:30. Actually, the boat that had my name on it was not the boat I paddled. I swapped with another paddler who didn’t fit in the Virgo.

Shortly after 10:00 we were on the water. We had three pods of paddlers, an ambitious group heading for Treasure Island, a less ambitious group headed to Tidewater Boating Center, and an easy group headed for Coast Guard Island. Paddling on the Oakland Estuary is always an interesting experience. I opted for the paddle to Tidewater. As we made our way up the Estuary our first encounter was with several rowing shells. We hugged the shore to let them pass. Heading into Brooklyn Basin, we were serenaded by a DJ playing music and calling out dance steps to a bevy of dancers on the wharf. All the drawbridges (Park Street, Fruitvale and High Street) gave us a show as several fleets of sailboats hailed them to give way.

We arrived at Tidewater Boating Center about 11:30, and after a short break we were back in our boats. One of my challenges on this paddle was wondering if I could climb in and out of my boat at the dock, since I’m still a bit stiff following knee replacement surgery. I’m happy to report that I managed just fine. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Thanksgiving 2024

Plans change. Our original plan was to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house, but with part of the family hunkered down in Bishop with Covid, we opted for “Plan B,” to take the turkey and fixings to Aunt Sue’s place in San Jose, arriving Wednesday afternoon, with time to get a jump on preparing the food. I’ve become an advocate for spatchcocking and brining the turkey. Here you see the spatchcocked turkey in a pot with brine ready to go into the refrigerator to sit overnight.

You can also see Aunt Sue attacking a squash with hammer and knife, and Joann getting the resulting squash pieces ready to go in the oven. Not shown here is the cranberry relish which is a tradition for us, raw cranberries, an orange and sugar, all thrown into a blender. We much prefer this raw recipe to cooked cranberries. The challenge here though was finding a working blender. I threw all the ingredients in Sue’s blender, hit the switch and nothing happened. I then grabbed her immersion blender, hit the switch, and nothing happened. I dumped the goods into her food processor, hit the switch and the motor whirred but the blades didn’t turn. Broken. A text message to my daughter Amy resulted in a blender that finally got the job done.

The 14 pound turkey went into the oven at 10:00. At 11:15 it came out looking quite delicious and juicy.

There we six of us for dinner. Amy brought a homemade apple pie. Yum! And while the turkey was in the oven, we entertained ourselves with a board game, Top Dog.

While we missed the Bishop contingent of our family, we had a festive time with enough leftovers to keep us going for a couple more days.

Family Reunion on Whidbey Island

On July 8 we all congregated at my brother’s place on Whidby Island for our biannual family reunion. Sixteen of us, my two brothers, and their families. Missing were one nephew and his wife that were in the midst of moving and job hunting. We came from Texas, California and Hawaii.

Johnson family reunion 2024

My brother has 25 acres of beachfront property, which I like to refer to as the Johnson resort. His place would not accommodate all of us, we rented a house in Langley, a short drive from Kurt’s place.

For food we feasted on oysters which Kurt grows on his beach, clams that inhabit the same beach, as well as crab and leg of lamb; Kurt raises a few lambs as well.

Making sandcastles, flying kites and making forts out of driftwood were all fun activities. Kurt roasted up a delicious leg of lamb for one of our meals. And one morning when donuts were on the mind we piled into our cars and drove to Whidbey Doughnuts, a short drive from our rental property in Langley.

On the beach it took no time to collect clams and oysters, and we spent quite a few hours telling family stories, looking at family photo albums, and looking at maps to plan the next leg of our road trip.

It was such a delight to spend time together and to watch the grand kids playing together so famously. I’m looking forward to our next get together, sometime in 2026.

Hiking Hobbit Trail and Visiting Cannon Beach

On July 4 we left Bullards Beach to continue our journey up the Oregon coast. I broke out my stars and stripes cowboy hat as part of my Independence Day regalia.

One of the recommended stops was the Hobbit Trail. This was a short 1.2-mile hike through a mossy fanciful wood to the beach. We kept our eyes open for any diminutive inhabitants. The trail emerges at a beautiful and secluded sandy beach where we broke out our lunch. Our next stop was Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Our destination for the day was Cannon Beach where we spent two nights. I was intent on photographing Haystack Rock. When we were planning our trip, we could not find any available camping. Everything was booked. The Oregon coast is a popular place in the summer. We made reservations to stay at The Studio at the Harrison Inn. This suited us well, since it was a short walk to the beach. Cannon Beach is a delightful place to visit, even with the Fourth of July crowds.

From Cannon Beach we headed inland to join our kids and their families for two nights at Seaquest State Park. Here it was time to fire up the Dutch Oven. We cooked Enchilada Casserole for dinner and Mushroom and Brie Breakfast Strada for breakfast.

And of course, no camping trip is complete without roasting marshmallows. You can view more photos in an online gallery.

Remembering Danny

I met Danny Forer on June 9, 2016. That was my first venture joining Danny’s regular Thursday paddle. I wrote about that adventure in a blog Kayaking for Sanity. Danny was an inspiration to many outdoor sports enthusiasts including many members of the Bay Area Sea Kayakers club (BASK).

Here’s a photo of Danny I captured on paddle in December 2019. Danny passed away in December and fellow BASK member Susan Snow organized a gathering to remember Danny hosting a lunch at the Sailing Goat.

A dozen or so of us put our kayaks in the water at Ferry Point at 10:00 and made our way to Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor. From the beach we paddled out across the shipping channel, then past Red Rock, under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between The Brothers Islands around the Point San Pablo and on into the Yacht Harbor landing on the beach. We had a bit of a push from the current riding the tail end of the flood.

There we joined a fellow BASK members for lunch. There were 25 of us in all.

After sharing lunch and many stories of Danny’s legendary exploits we were back in our boats for the return trip. We had a couple of paddlers that opted for one-way paddle, so there was some jockeying of boats and cars.

For the return leg we opted to paddle closer to shore, and with the growing ebb, we had a quick trip back to our launch site, covering the six miles in an hour and 20 minutes. We had a variety of conditions from mild chop and wind, a few eddy lines with some interesting water and mild conditions for the most part. We logged 11.91 miles. It was a fun day with lots of comradery, good food and great stories. You can see the track of our paddle above. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day we congregated at a cabin in South Lake Tahoe. Eight of us: our two kids, their spouses, their kids (grandkids), and two dogs. As grandparents it was a delight to watch the kids playing together. They are five years old and a month apart in age.

Being that we were traveling on Thanksgiving Day, it seemed like cooking a dinner with all the trimmings was out of the question. We arranged to take most of the dinner fixings with us, provided by a friend of ours, Peter, who runs a catering business, The Table Catering. Highly recommended if you need a caterer in Berkeley.

In addition to the catered dishes, our daughter Amy cooked an apple pie, and daughter-in-law Serena cooked at pumpkin pie. We brought an olallieberry pie from our local FATAPPLE’S bakery. More than enough pie for eight people.

On Friday, November 24, the day after Thanksgiving, we had a birthday to celebrate and we took a short drive to the Cascade Falls trailhead, donned our hiking boots, and had a very pleasant hike on a beautiful and chilly day. The kids found playing with ice in frozen puddles an entertaining activity. The frosty mornings led to some exploration of ice crystals near the cabin. So much fun to be together as a family. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Back from the UK

On October 3 we boarded a plane from San Francisco to Heathrow. The purpose of our trip was to escort my aunt Sue back to England to visit family and friends. Sue came to the US in 1964 after graduating from a horticultural school. She and one of her classmates were hired to work for a wealthy estate owner in New York. She eventually married my uncle, hence becoming my aunt. She is now 87 and asked us to escort her back to England.

Once we were on the ground at Heathrow, Sue’s nephew Peter met us with his car and drove us around much of the south part of England.

One of our first stops was in Chelmsford, just northeast of London where we visited with Sue’s cousin Tricia. Tricia served us Elevenses, which is what the English call tea when served in the morning. Tricia is in the blue sweater, with her son-in-law pouring tea. Sue is on the right. From there we made our way to Witney where we visited with Margaret, with whom Sue had come to the US to work on the Greentree Estate in Manhasset, NY. The two of them eventually went on a yearlong road trip around North America after working at the estate. Margaret served us a home cooked meal of venison stew. That’s Peter serving up a bowl of stew. Our trip included many stops in the south of England and Cornwall. The orange marks on the map indicate places I captured photos. I’m in the process of sorting through some 1400 photos, so there will be more stories to tell.

We covered a little over 1000 miles by car and added a trip to Edinburgh where Sue had more friends to visit. Much of our traveling was on country roads over the rolling hills of Cornwall with green fields, quaint villages and hedgerows. We also managed to visit Oxford and Sherborne Abbey.

One of the highlights of the trips was visiting Mevagissey. Sue’s nephew Andrew did the driving stint to Mevagissey where his singing group, Barrett’s Privateers, were participating in a sea chanty festival. Andrew is the third person from the left. What fun!

And, of course, while in Cornwall I had to have a pasty, the national dish of Cornwall, a flakey pastry pocket filled with steak and potatoes. We did get out for a few walks in the countryside including a walk on the Camel Trail between Wadebridge and Padstow. Here’s a photo of the trail as it passes through a tunnel of trees.