Trip to Asilomar

By Liz -
The first weekend in October we were able to join Steve at a department retreat in beautiful Asilomar, near Monterey. Lorelei and I had lots of quality time while Steve was at talks. We attempted to attend Steve's talk, but Lorelei was so proud of her daddy that she insisted on clapping and calling to him while he was talking. On Saturday, Steve had a free afternoon so we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the fish and other aquarium life. So much fun! I love the aquarium and hope to go back soon (during the week when it is not so busy).
Lorelei is eagerly awaiting for a shark or ray (or anything!) to swim by.

In the aviary with Daddy.

Getting up close and personal with a starfish. (Yes, Lorelei stuck her hands in the water and then in her mouth. Ew).

Checking out some beautiful Rainbow Trout.

Wow! We are all in the picture together! (And more or less smiling in the same direction).
On Sunday, Lorelei and I took a walk down to the beach, stuck our toes in the ocean, watched the surfers, then walked along a nature path.
Sandy toes!


Happy girls!
The weekend was very relaxing but had its quirks too.  Each evening, Steve attended talks until about 10 PM.  Well, Lorelei goes to bed at 7:00 PM and now that she is older, she needs a dark, quiet room. Preferably a room that she has seen me leave (because why would you go to sleep if Mommy was right there?). So in our hotel room each night, I put Lorelei to bed at 7 and then had to "leave" and hide myself in the bathroom until she fell asleep!! Fortunately, my mom had packed me a birthday goody bag with cheese, crackers, wine, a book and some magazines. I hung out in my private retreat for awhile, before sneaking into bed, with the aid of a flashlight, much earlier than my usual time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comfort Foods Part 2

By Liz -
This is the second dish I made from the same Real Simple article. I am not a big meatloaf fan, but the pictures looked so delicious and I am always looking for something new to do with ground turkey. This dinner was fantastic!! (Which is good, because it makes a lot for two people!) Turkey Meat Loaf 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (I used however much was in the package, closer to 1 pound) 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 bunch fresh spinach, thick stems removed and leaves chopped 1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard) 1 large egg kosher salt and black pepper 1/4 cup ketchup Several button mushrooms, chopped (leftover from beef stroganoff night; not called for in the original recipe) Note: I only used 1 pound of turkey, and adjusted the amount of onion, spinach, and parsley so that it seemed about right to me. The original recipe only called for the egg white, but I used the whole egg and I think, based on the...
Read more

January Cookbook Exploration

By Liz -
Image
So, I'm off to a great start with my new year resolutions (granted, it is still the first week of January) and for my first cookbook challenge I will be exploring Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Okay, so I know that it is already clear that I love this cookbook (see earlier posts), but truly, I've had it for almost 2 years and have only made 5 recipes from it (Beer Pizza, Black Bean Chili, Orange Almond Cake, Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Nantucket Cranberry Cake). So last night I made Sweet Potato Chili and Flaky Wheat Biscuits for dinner. The chili was really good, but was so similar to the black bean chili recipe that it didn't really need its own recipe. I think in the future that I will play more with the black bean chili recipe and substitute a diced sweet potato for a can of beans from time to time. The flaky wheat biscuits were yummy and easy to make. Overall, both recipes were winners and will be included in future dinner rotations. Flaky Wheat Biscuits 1...
Read more