Central Coast Weekend 2-ATV, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay

On a previous trip through central coast, H and I saw many trucks hauling ATV. H commented she wanted to try riding an ATV at some time.

Turned out, Pismo beach in Central Coast was a mecca for ATV enthusiasts, which was a short drive from SLO. We got off the Pier St from 101 and went into the first ATV store we saw: Steve ATV.

It turned out to be a great decision. Steve was the only store carrying 2 seaters. We rented a 2 seater for 1 hour. We were then directed to the beach area. A shuttle bus would drive us to the dunes, where we would get a quick video introduction and pick up our rental ATV.

The most important rule in ATV riding was we need to wear out helmets at all time. The ATV could not get wet, so we were to stay away from the water at all time. Controlling the ATV was easy. On the right handle, there was knob. By pushing the knob up or down with the right thumb, we would control the speed of the ATV. Turing the handle bar controls the direction of where the ATV went, much like a bicycle.

Both H and I were not the dare devil type, so we took it slow. It was a really powerful ATV and responded to our control immediately. We rode up and down the sand dunes, taking our time approaching the dunes to stay in control and made turns slowly. This was a new experience and we were being careful. H and I took turns doing the riding, shifting our bodies forward and backwards as we go downhill and uphill respectively.

We rented the ATV for one hour and it was more than enough time to experience this sport. We took the shuttle back to our car and drove to Pismo beach down town. Here, we enjoyed fried fish, scallops, shrimp, clams and oysters at Pismo Fish and Chip. The fried seafood was not too heavily battered and tasted very fresh.

After lunch, we walked around the beach area. Since this was Labor Day weekend, the beach area was very crowded. As we walked around the beach town tourist shops, our attention was drawn to a chocolate shoppe, selling chocolate covered worms and crickets. H and I tried a chocolate covered worm. Luckily, we could only taste the chocolate and the texture of something crispy in the center of the chocolate:)

Near the end of our walk in the downtown area, we noticed a long line of people buying chowder at Splash cafe. We were definitely in culinary exploration mode and H decided to wait in line to buy the chowder, while I went to pick up our car. The chowder was thick and creamy, with lots of clams. However, we did not find it special enough to warrant the half an hour wait for takeout.

From Pismo beach, we drove to Morro Bay. We drove by a park and there was an Art Festival going on. We took a walk around the festival, but we not impressed.

From the park, it was a short drive to Morro Rock. We drove around the rock, and enjoyed the bay view. The rock itself was quite big, and the view from afar, with the rock set in the ocean was quite good.

We then walked along the water front, looking at the various shops. There was an interesting store called the Shell Shop, selling various types of sea shells. H bought a large shell to use as soap dish, then added a sea turtle made from shells glued together to give the soap some company.

We were walking along when H saw the arching windows of Morro Bay Wine Seller. It was starting to get dark and she wanted to enjoy the sunset through the window. We stopped by for some wine tasting and had a good chat with the store owner. Turned out, he used to work in restaurant in San Jose. We talked a little bit about how life's different in Silicon valley and central coast and had a great time. Before we left, we asked for restaurant recommendations.

"The Park", he said without any hesitation. "Maegen is a talented chef, you will enjoyed your meal."

With a recommendation like that, we could not resist. We drove back to San Luis Obispo and seek out the restaurant. My review of the restaurant is on Yelp. Overall, it was one of the best meal we ever had.

Central Coast Weekend 1-Paso Robles, Sycamore Springs

H and I spent our Labor Day weekend in California's central coast. Both of us had just returned from oversea trip and wanted to take it easy.

On this Saturday, we decided to do some wine tasting. Sunset Magazine called Paso Robles "The next great wine country", so we were looking forward to our visit.

Our first stop was Wild horse winery. A family friend swore by wines from this winery and I wanted to taste them for myself.

We arrived at about 10:45am, but the tasting room was not yet opened! We went into the tasting room anyway and were greeted by a friendly wine staff, who agree to let us start tasting. We started with the $5 tasting, and added the Unbridled tasting for $10.

After Wild Horse, we stopped by downtown Paso Robles for lunch. As we were walking around, we found Vivant cheese shop. H had always wanted to do a little cheese tasting, so helped ourselves to the free samples. The indoor seating area for Vivant was quite small, but they did have a nice court yard, which in early fall, was nice out. We decided to stay for lunch and ordered a cheese platter. 4 cheese was served, with soft, medium and hard texture and a blue cheese. Fruits, jams and nuts completed the plate.

Our next stop was Eberle Winery. H started feeling sick when we arrived, so we rested in the tasting room and outside in the patio until she felt better.

Eberle Winery's cave tour had gotten very good reviews online and I was somewhat looking forward to visiting the cave. Frankly, the cave was a bit of a let down for me. First of all, it was a man made cave. This cave was used mainly to store wine and felt cold and industrial. Elberle was milking it "cave" for all it's worth. Special wine tasting events, wine dinner could be held in the cave. In an effort to make the space more soft, romantic, lots of design elements were added, including a lovely copper wine wine holder tree which I really like. But personally, I would not hold my event inside this space.

We stopped by Eos winery for a little more tasting before calling it a day. H was feeling hungry and craving Chinese food, so we had a quick/light dinner at Golden Gong.

Why a light dinner? Well, our next stop was Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort. Soaking with a full stomach could be uncomfortable.

Sycamore Mineral Spring Resort is a upscale hotel-spa that also rents their tubs by the hour to drop in visitors. We opted for a private tub, located on a small hillside. There were many private tubs on this hill side, all open aired, but surrounded with a sheet metal fence for privacy.

The tub water was very clear and had a little sulphur smell. When I first entered the tub, the temperature felt great! But at the end of an hour's soak, it felt too hot for comfort.

Rejuvenated, we drove back to SLO and checked out a louge: Native lounge. H and I were not big into night life, so it was a nice change of pace. The lounge is located next to a park. We enjoyed a ginger honey cocktail and champange with hibiscus syrup, while listening to the soft jazz played in a garden like setting. We were lucky enough to score a couch with pillow and throw. It was very relaxing.

Cable Ski at Ski 360 Degree

One night, while looking out of the window in my parent's house, I saw the reflection of a pond. I asked Dad what's located there. He replied, "Cable ski park!"

The location used to be a man made lagoon for swimming. But the lagoon gradually lose its popularity and had been closed. Recently, it had been converted to this cable ski facility.

What is cable ski? Well, it is water skiing, where the people are tow by a cable instead of boat. I had a first hand look at the facility on an after dinner stroll. The pond was about 40m long and 10m wide. An overhead cable system was been held up by four beams. The riders would pull on a pulley dragged along by this overhead cable. There were wake boarders, knee boarders and even a guy on water skis. Some were beginners, just happy with making turns, while others were doing acrobatic stunts.

I decided I wanted to try cable ski before I leave. So this morning, I went to Ski 360 Degree. An hour's session cost $36 and included life vest/knee board rental and some "basic" instruction.

Basic instruction was an understatement! The guy in charge of rental equipment was impatient and unfriendly:( After handing me a knee board, he had me kneeled on the board and showed me how to strap myself in. Then he told me the most important thing was to get out of the water and protect myself from others if I sank. I was to tug my elbow in during the start, straighten my hands once on water and placed the pulley on my left when turning left. There's no right turn in this cable ski park.

I asked about how to signal myself coming in. He impatiently told me to go between the white floats if I had finished my time on the water, or go between the pink floats if I wanted to continue.

On this morning, the pulley machines were being maintained, so I had to wait an hour before my first run. I kneeled down in my board, saw the ready signal turned green and was feeling pretty nervous. I got into position, felt a good jerk on the pulley, hung on tight and was immediately pulled onto the water!

On the water, I could really feel myself float. I relaxed a little and straighten my hand. At 58km/h, the board felt faster than what I saw on land. I held on tightly.

I was able to make it pass 3 turns. On the fourth turn, I felt the pulley slowed down significantly, then quickly sped up. This jerking motion of the pulley caught me off guard. The pulley slipped out of my hands and I sank.

As I was getting out, a young Indian lady behind me had also sank. She told me this was the furthest she had gotten, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. I figured if I hung on tight enough, I would be able to make a full round.

On my second run, I was not as lucky. On the first turn, I sank. I tried holding on hard, but was unsuccessful.

On the third pass, I had gotten over the initial adrenaline rush. I was more aware of my form and controlled myself made it through the first turn. I pulled my arms in a little during the turn and that seemed to really help.

However, on the second turn, I felt the board slowed down significantly. As a result, I felt the board leaning forward. Then the pulley sped up. Since the top of the board was in water, the water resistance pulled on the body too much and despite my best effort, I was unable to hang on.

Due to prior arrangement and the fact that the start was delayed my almost an hour, I decided to call it a day. Also the mid-day sun was also shining brightly and I was a little tired.

However, water skiing was a lot of fun! I told my parents if I lived nearby, I would do it more. Cable skiing, however, may be boring after a while, since there's only turning in one direction.

Solvang, Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo

Scuba diving was more tiring than what we had expected. H and I slept till noon before we headed back to the Bay Area. Despite the late start, we felt we could drive at a leisure pace and get back to Bay Area at a reasonable time.

Our first stop was unscheduled. Hunger struck and we detoured to downtown Santa Barbara, looking for a place for lunch. I spotted a Left At Albuquerque and we sat down for a meal of Gulf Coast seafood enchiladas and chicken mango quesadilla with soup.

Our planned detour was Solvang. Located about an hour northwest of Santa Barbara off Hwy 154, Solvang is a Danish town. The downtown area are filled with European architecture building. We stopped by a candle shop, then walked over to the Hans Christian Anderson Museum, which also housed a coffee shop and a bookstore. I had wanted to tried some Danish pastries, and the lady at the coffee shop directed me to Solvang bakery. We tried some pastries, but were not impressed.

We walked around the downtown area more. There was an interesting doll house store, a Christmas store and a Thomas Kinkade gallery. We stopped by Kinkade's gallery so I could explain to H about "The painter of lights".

After a fairly pleasant stay in Solvang, we continued on our way until we reach San Luis Obispo where we stopped by Madonna Inn. We had seen this building on our way to Ventura and had wanted to visit on our way back.

Madonna inn is located by Hwy 101. We drove around the compound a little and the hotel to have less rooms than we had thought. We also found the building a little run down. Then we went to the lobby to check out the rates.

That's when we realized what Madonna Inn was all about. Each room was individually decorated around a different theme. The most unique room had to be the Caveman room. This room had an all rock interior, including the ceiling and the floor. The bathroom had rock walls and a rock covered shower area. The lobby sold post cards of each room, and there was a book describing the story behind Madonna Inn.

H and I also visited the restaurant. The dining hall was decorated with hot pink table cloth, booth seats and roses. It was too tacky for the both of us.

We continued on a uneventful drive back to the bay area. Normally, when we made out trip south, we took Hwy 5. This was our first trip on 101 and we found the drive pleasant and interesting.

Scuba diving at Channel Island

H and I went to Channel Islands National Park, near Santa Barbara, CA for a scuba diving trip. In fact, this trip was the reason I got certified. Since this is my first dive after certification, I was quite excited, but also a little nervous at the same time.

We booked our dive boat and rented scuba gear through http://www.calboatdiving.com/. This saved us a little work, as the rental gears were delivered directly onto the dive boat:)

We woke up at about 6am and boarded the Spectre dive boat at 6:30am. While the Spectre had beds below the deck for sleeping but we did not sleep there. H tried on her last trip but found the bunks smelly. I toured the lower deck and noticed the same thing. In spite of the crews effort in forcing air below the deck, the sleeping quarter still reek like musty damped cloth.

After checking in with the dive master, we were each assigned a dive station. We inspected our rental gears, then sat down for a leisurely, cooked to order, breakfast in the galley. Channel islands are about 12 miles from the mainland and it took the dive about an hour to reach there, so there's plenty of time to relax before the first dive.

On this day, we were diving on the mainland side of east Anacapa Island. Our first dive site was Landing Cove Point. The captain informed everyone to get ready about 20mins before reaching the site, so we were all ready to go when we arrived. After a quick site briefing from the dive master, we were on our way!

The dive began with a giant stride entry off the side of the boat. During our lessons, we had done giant stride entry in the swimming pool only. Here the drop was about 1m. It was a little terrifying thinking about this drop... The actual entry went fine though.

From the side of the boat, we swam to the back of the boat and descended following the anchor line. Since this was my first "real" dive, we decided to take it easy.

There was a kelp forest under the water. We swam around the kelp forest. There were many marine life, including Garibaldi, star fish and sea urchins. The visibility was about 40 feet, and there was not much wave. It was a great day to dive!

As we slowly used up air in our tanks, we found ourselves floating to the surface slowly. Both H and I dumped all the air in our BCD, but was unable to stay submerged. We had to swim back to the anchor line and pull ourselves down. We dive for another 20mins, until I ran out of air.

We boarded the dive boat was via a platform on the back of the boat. We knelled on the platform while Mike, the dive master, remove our fins. We then climb up a ladder to get back on deck. Mike saw how I was struggled with buoyancy and suggested a buoyancy check. I crossed my leg and dumped all my air, then sank to a eye level. I was carrying the correct amount of weights.

After the first dive, both H and I felt our throat were dry from breathing air from the tank. I had similar problem during my lessons, so both of us drank lots of water before our next dive.

The second dive site of the day was at Cathedral Cove. This dive site is partially over a kelp forest and a sandy beach. We dive along the edge of the sandy beach and kelp forest. There was a group of playful sea lion in the sandy beach area that were swimming to check us out! It was less than a meter from me.

There were also lots of sea cucumber, Sheephead fish and a school of small shiny fish. We were also able to stay dived the whole time and a great time. Again, I ran out of air before H and we had to surface. H continued diving near the platform, while I got out of my scuba gear and snorkeled with her.

After this dive, it was time for lunch! We were served barbecue tri-tip, with bread, beans and orzo. It was delicious!

After lunch, the captain announced we would be diving in the same spot. H and I were a little disappointed. We wanted to see some other sites. We decided to skip this dive and relax instead.

We took off our wet suit and dipped in the hot tub. But the hot noon sun and the hot tub was too much for me. I ended up sleeping in the galley.

Our final dive site of the day was the Canyon. This dive site had features of underwater valley, deep canyons with sidewall. It was still mostly kelp forest. I saw a beautiful blue snail like creature with bright orange "fur". I found out later it was a nudibranch: Spanish shawl.

There were more star fish, sea cucumber, sea urchins and shell fish with different colors. It was amazing.

Again, I ran out of air before H and we surfaced. H swam on the surface with the rest of her air and I joined her with my snorkel. The ocean life on the surface was not as exciting as the bottom of the sea, but still it was quite interesting.

After the last dive of the day, we took off our wet suit and soaked in the hot tub again. It was about 3pm and the sun had started to set. It was nice relaxing in the hot tub after a fairly tiring day. I always thought I was a strong swimmer, but I was tired with the underwater kicking, as well as carrying the weight belt and tank.

The trip back to the mainland was fairly uneventful. We saw oil rigs in the distance. The only thing missing were dolphins. H saw them swimming along the boat on her last trip.

After we docked, we were able to leave all our rental gear on board and drove to Oxnard, where we spent the night. We showered and then grab a quick dinner at "Hook, Line and Sinker". We ordered a grilled Mahi Mahi and Kamikazi salad with Yellowtail. Dinner was decent, but we were so tired that we did not do anything after dinner. Just hit the sack and slept.

It was a wonderful but tiring first dive trip for me. Conditions were perfect, not too hot, water was relatively warm, no wind or waves. I saw some interesting marine life and beautiful colors. The variety of the dive site was somewhat limited, but that just means I have more to explore on future trips:)

San Francisco Beer Tour

After watching Beer Nutz-San Francisco, my brother and I decided to spend July 4th to visit all the bar/brewery mentioned in the show.

Unfortunately, we were unable to get tour reservation at Anchor Brewing. Also, Magnolia Brewery was somewhat out of the way. In its place, we added Thirsty Bear brewery.

Our first stop was Beach Chalet. Located at the edge of Golden Gate Park, right next to the Pacific ocean, Beach Chalet is housed in a beautiful historic building, upstairs from the Golden Gate Park visitor's center. The restaurant had large windows facing Ocean Beach, looking out into the Pacific. Even though it was a foggy day, we enjoyed the view.

Beach Chalet offered 6 beers on their circle of ale selection: Hefeweizen, IPA, ESB, Red, Porter and 2 other beers I don't remember. Our favorite was the ESB, with the IPA a close second. The banana flavored Hefeweizen was actually decent, but I am not a fan of fruit beer in general.

The second stop of our beer tour was Rouge. Based out of Oregon, this brew pub had a San Francisco outlet located in North Beach. We ordered a 4 beer tasting set consisting of 200m IPA, Dead guy Ale, American Amber and a dark beer. We found the beer at Rouge too "hoppy" and not quite our taste. Their IPA, in particular, was too bitter. This was unusual, given I generally like a little hop in my beer.

Next stop was San Francisco Brewing Company. They did not have a taster set, so we ordered a small glass of all their beers: a lemony Hefeweizen, Albatross Lager, Emperor Norton Lager, IPA, Esteam, Brock, Ale, Stout and Porter. The Heferweizen here was too tart, in a bad way, so we quickly gave up on that. Both lagers was good. We especially like Emperor Norton. More malty than hop, it was a good change of pace. Their dark beers were all very strong. The stout was almost undrinkable. We liken the taste to Chinese medicinal stew. The porter was also bitter, but had a mild sweet after taste to make it more palatable.

Both Rouge and San Francisco Brewing Company are located a "touristy" North Beach. On most tables, we saw people with guide books enjoying their brews. Both venue were located in older buildings, but these buildings were not very well maintained. Instead of charming, both locale felt a little run down.

18 beers later, we came to the third stop of our tour: Thirsty Bear. Located next to the now defunct Hawthorne Lane restaurant, Thirsty Bear is located in the more modern/hip part of town. As we were tasting beer and having dinner, a steady flow of young professionals were coming in for food and drinks as well.

Thirsty Bear brew 8 beers: larger, wheat, brown ale, golden vanilla, ESB, IPA, Stout and the season brew Belgium white. Golden vanilla was quite special. It had a strong vanilla flavor on the nose and went down smooth. The Belgium white was golden in color, but had double the alcohol of most beer. It was quite good too.

We also ordered food off the Spanish inspired menu: grilled asparagus and spring onion with romesco sauce, ceviche and Valencia paella. The grilled vegetables with romesco sauce was great. The ceviche liquid was too tart, and overcame the sweetness of the seafood. The paella was tasty, but a little watery. We would prefer if it had a socarrat(the crusty bottom).

Our last stop of the night was 21st Amendment. Located near the base ball park, the brew pub looked modern. 21st Amendment offered the 8 beers: Blonde, Watermelon wheat, motor oil, darkness, cherry cider and 3 more which I could not remember.

I was looking forward to this stop because 21st Amendment offered a watermelon flavored beer. H's favorite fruit is the watermelon and I was wondering if she would enjoy the beer.

Unfortunately, at this time, both of us were feeling quite full from all the beers. We had paced ourselves and not drank on empty stomach, so we were not drunk or even high. But empty calories are still calories. Between the 2 of us, we could not finish the taster set! The watermelon beer came with a wedge of watermelon which gave the drink a strong watermelon smell. Upon removal of the garnish, we could still detect a hint of watermelon on the nose. I would have enjoy it more in a different occasion.

The cherry cider was not something I enjoy. It tasted like NyQuil.

We walked around the ball park area after our drinks before heading home.

Thus end our San Francisco beer tour! 34 types of beer in a day. This is definitely a personal record, one I don't want to break anytime soon:)

Chihuly at De Young Museum, Beethoven Symphony No. 7

H and I planned a cultural weekend. I bought tickets to the San Francisco Symphony during their January sale. Then, about 2 weeks ago, I learned that there is a Chihuly exhibition at the De Young Museum. Since we were already going to the city, we decided to watch the exhibition on the same day.

My first exposure to Dale Chihuly's glass sculpture was his installation in Bellagio in Las Vegas. H remembered seeing his work at Monterey Bay Aquarium and was intrigued as well.

We arrived at the Museum a little after 2pm. Since it was H's first trip to De Young, we walked around the compound a little to admire the copper clad structure. Since the copper skin will turn green due to oxidation (think Statue of Liberty) to better blend with the surrounding park at some later time, I thought it would be nice for her to view the Museum in its current copper-golden shade.

Since our tickets for Chihuly were timed for 3pm, so we had time to wonder around the museum a little. H was impressed by the Mammouth ivory among the America arts exhibits:)

Finally, at 3pm, we entered the Chihuly exhibition. The first exhibit was a series of long thin white tubes with pale red base. The glass took on organic shapes and in the reflection looked like strange, white tree branches.

The next exhibit, I called the "Falling leaves". Here glass were blown into round disc with folds, almost like flower petals. The petals had shades of autumn leaf colors.

The next room was filled with Native American weaved bowls and throw. Among these artifacts were glass bowls, with earth tone. The bowls were not perfect, and I felt like I was looking at hand made bowls from clay, shaped after open gourds.

There was also a room filled with flower petals. These glasses had soft, pastel colors, and the reflection of the glass on the walls looked like a Monet painting.

Another piece was what I called "Purple goo dripping up from tree". Here water droplet shapes of purple glass was placed on dried fallen tree trunks. The droplets seem to be falling up away from the tree against gravity.

There were also 2 wooden boats, one filled with colorful glass balls, the other filled with random shapes. H and I joked that the exhibition had too many art work and not enough space that they resort to bazaar style of presentation.

In another room was a series of heart shaped glass sculpture. Both H and I do not like the series of pointed glass tubes that formed these heart, so we walked through this room quickly.

In the next room, the glass sculpture was placed on a glass see through ceiling. Light shine through the glass artwork, creating a colorful reflection on the ground. Again, H and I felt the display was too busy. It was a good idea, but the exhibit would probably benefited from more space.

Final, the last room consisted of various stand alone display of glass sculpture, set on the ground. Some had pointy tubes, like the heart exhibit, while others have tulip like leaves shapes.

Images from the exhibition from Bayareadragon.com

Overall, we liked the organic shaped of the glass sculpture and the soft natural colors. These shapes and colors transform the glass sculpture into something familiar, but at the same time mysterious. We also felt the some art installation was too busy and if the pieces were spread out more, we could enjoy individual glass pieces better. Here's a review by Mercury News, as well as SFGate.com.

After the exhibition, we took the elevator to the top of the tower. There, we enjoyed the areal view of Golden Gate park and the San Francisco skyline.

After visiting De Young Museum, H and I walked around Golden Gate Park a little before dinner.

Since we are going to Davies Symphony hall after dinner, we stopped by Indigo for a quick pre-concert meal. There, we enjoyed a grilled salmon with herbed orzo and spring vegetables, as well as a pan roasted pork tenderloin with corn, mushroom and broccoli rabe. H felt the tenderloin was a little tough and the sauce too sweet. I liked the herb orzo and fresh vegetable in the salmon dish, as well as the straight forward preparation of the fresh wild salmon. More about the restaurant at Yelp!

The program for the concert was Seht die Sonne by Magnus Lindberg, Chansons de Jeunesse by Debussy and Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Seht die Sonne was a modern piece, but had some elements of classical "depart and return" tone system, so it was fairly pleasant. We did not enjoy the Debussy piece as much.

Beethoven's 7th symphony was a big, exciting, fast paced piece of music. The conductor had only one little pause between the four movements and the final movement was a exhilarating whirl wind of music. We left the concert hall on a high note. Here, a critic disagree with my take on the concert.

Our last stop of the night was at my favorite wine bar in San Francisco: the Hidden Vine. After a day filled with exhibition and performance, we came here for a little port wine tasting to savor the sweet life:)