Travel: Venice

I took this in June 2007

Travel: San Clemente sunset

October sunset in San Clemente, California.

No iPhoto/Photoshop/photo editing done. Just the little Canon Powershot on its sunset setting. Possibly one of the most amazing sunsets, ever.

Style + Travel: Jump photo evolution #4 - Venice Beach series

On our way to jump photo success

Photos taken at Venice Beach, California. October 2009.

Travel: Road Trip #2 - Smith Rock, Oregon

Exploring Smith Rock State Park

July 24, 2010

Hiking up "Misery Ridge" trail. Yep, that's its name.

It's not that long of a hike, but you gain just under 1,000 feet in elevation.

Brutal, but pretty views pay off.

Monkey Face. Three people in our group climbed it.

Apparently it's a relatively easy climb (5.7),

just a little intimidating because it's a 350-foot spire.

But for me, just making it up Misery Ridge without

fainting was enough of an accomplishment.

More shots of Monkey Face.

The below one is the angle where you can actually see the head of a monkey.

When you zoom in, you can see my three friends around the monkey's neck.

Travel: Road Trip #1 - Driving to Oregon

We drove eight hours from Marin to Bend, Oregon.

Thankfully, the trip was well worth it.

Some images from the drive:

Mount Shasta

Approaching a storm.

From here, it didn't look like the kind of storm with

giant stick-to-the-road hail and thick fog.

It was intense.

Mount Shasta as we emerged from the storm.

More photos from the trip to come.

Style + Travel: Jump photo chronology # 3

Step # 3 - make the jump photos your own

Brett's style. This was taken on the roof of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Our friend let us get up there to feed the sea otters ice cubes (hence the blue booties).

I'm a water girl, and therefore usually take my jump photos on a beach or some other scenic waterfront location.

On the beach at Hendaye, France.

(Side note - go to Hondarribia, Spain - right across the river. Amazing.)

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, a few months after I moved to the Bay Area from Idaho.

Style + Travel: Jump photo chronology # 2

The second big milestone, in my personal life history of jump photos, was finding someone I could jump in sync with. This was achieved quite well in this photo I took with in Toldeo, Spain with Maggie, who studied abroad with me.

Step # 2 - Jump together (duh)

Style + Travel: Jump photo evolution #1

Jumps photos. It's not the most creative idea, but worthwhile nevertheless. I've found my jump photos have gradually improved. In the last few months i've taken some of the best yet (but you have to wait a bit until you can see those - i'm all about anticipation).

Here begins my jump photo evolution.

Step # 1 - Find a pretty location

This wasn't that much of a jump photo success (we aren't in unison). But it still is a fun photo to look at. We took this photo in 2006 somewhere in Washington. We were driving from Moscow, Idaho, to Portland.

Food + Travel: Tapas and sushi

Sushi AND tapas??

UPDATE: Hours after first posting this I found out the restaurant has just closed a few days ago. One of the investors from Japan pulled out. Bummer. At least you can still enjoy the photos...

An invitation to Art’s Tapas and Sushi lounge in San Francisco was one I couldn’t resist. The new(ish) restaurant encompasses my two favorite types of food. The complimentary meal, authentic tapas aside, was pretty darn good. And it definitely was photogenic.

To summarize the place, I’m starting with dessert first. (There's a reason and it's not my inner fat kid. I think.)

I was thrilled to have Art's green tea ice cream—mainly because we were in Japan a few months ago. That was a wonderful way to take an authentic Japanese dish and make it more appealing to the American palate (less purple bean paste and add whip cream). Brilliant, although I’m not a whip cream fan.

Pictured at right is a green tea ice cream dessert we were served at the amazing Donguri restaurant in Kyoto, Japan, for comparison. See, lots of purple bean paste.

Seafood (and Japanese influences) definitely seems to be Art’s strength. Takaaki Yamaguchi, general manager and chef, told us about their lengthy process of getting concepts from a chef in Japan then deciding how to adapt them to the American palate.

The beef carpaccio ($9) was the best item we had. Two words: wasabi aioli.

The sizzling Chilean sea bass plate ($12) melted in our mouths. The veggies underneath it (bean sprouts, yellow zucchini, green peas, meyer lemon and a sweet garlic sauce) were surprisingly tasty.

The Dragon roll ($12) was sensational. BBQ unagi, avocado, hamachi, cucumber, masago. I wish I had tried more of their sushi rolls.

The Albacore Tartare ($8) was also one of my favorites. Fuji apples, cucumbers with blended miso and mizuna greens.

The Yellowtail Crudo ($9) was really good, but so spicy! Definitely an item for a group of four to share. Hamachi, sliced jalapeño, truffle ponzu, mixed radish.

I loved the idea behind the Marinated Tuna Pintxos ($9.5) served with mozzarella and tomatoes, but we decided we felt the tuna was too marinated. There are so many spices and competing flavors in the item. Soy sauce, mirin, red wine, garlic.

Art’s effort to “Americanize” its dishes is something I can understand, can work quite well, but I personally don’t prefer. They seemed to have done a pretty good job of it.

We didn’t bother ordering the more American tapas options, such as the Spiced Chicken Taco ($6), Cali Cheese Fries ($5), or Chicken Wings ($6), but the wings looked really good at neighboring tables.

Instead, I wanted to taste the “real” tapas, or those most authentic to Spain. I consider myself well-versed when it comes to tapas. I lived in Spain for six months and I’ve had spectacular tapas dining experiences in California. My favorites for legit tapas are Esperpento in SF’s Mission District and Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica. Above, me in la Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Did you know that in Granada, Spain, you get free tapas with every drink you order?

I told the restaurant’s publicist I felt the tapas portion of the menu needs work.

The Cheese Croquettes ($9), above, and the Kurobuta Pintxos ($6) disappointed me. The cheddar croquettes were better than the mozzarella, which were essentially mozzarella sticks. (If you want mozzarella sticks, get em, they’re good. But don’t get them expecting croquettes.) I recommended they avoid the texture of the mozzarella and try adding garlic spices and other fillings (chicken, fish, pork). The Kurobuta Pintxos were breaded and fried pork. That’s about it.

I’m planning on returning to Art’s with a group of friends. Happy hour specials and a parking lot make it even more appealing.

Art’s Tapas and Sushi Lounge is located at 2353 Lombard Street in San Francisco.

Travel + Style — Inside Sausalito’s Yellow Ferry

Houseboat fans unite.

Here's some photos from Sausalito's famous yellow ferry, which few get to see inside.

Briefly, here's how I got to see the extraordinary interior.

Some influential architects (below) came to Sausalito from China recently to study the community’s distinctive houseboats and floating homes. They’ll use Sausalito as a model for a huge waterfront development in Shandong, China. I wrote about their visit for Marinscope Newspapers (click here to see it) and then we gave the site Buoyant Life permission to publish it.

Their elaborate visit to Sausalito (unfortunately the sea plane tour was cancelled due to weather) included a stop at the Yellow Ferry Dock, where they met with the dock owner Chris Tellis, inside his historic yellow ferry, the S.S. City of Seattle.

The yellow ferry is one of the oldest houseboats in Sausalito — originally built in 1888, it was the first ferry boat in the Puget Sound. Tellis has done some amazing work on the boat, which he lives on (it’s divided up for different family members).

Tellis spoke to the architects about the history of Sausalito houseboats. He has designed quite a few, including the area's first green houseboat, and has big plans for the dock he owns and operates. If the architects get the gig they want in China, they will use Tellis as a consultant.

Now here's some photos of the ferry interior:

(The above right photo shows a couch swing. Sweet idea for a home on the water.)

The decor in the ferry is bohemian and inviting, but the half with lots of books and bookshelves was the coziest.

Chris Tellis (left) gives his presentation to the architects from China.

One of the newest parts of the ferry, a sunroom with a view of Mount Tamalpais.

The living spaces make excellent use of large window and doors that open to decks.

My favorite feature is below. Chris Tellis put a motor on this dock, equipped with a sound system and heaters. He hosts dinner parties on the small dock, driving it to the middle of the bay.

Most of the photos are courtesy of Photography by Privette.