Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Holidaying in Raglan

Like I have mentioned, among my most cherished moments in returning to New Zealand have been reunions with old friends.

Almost two weeks ago, two friends (one acquired at the age of five and the other as friend-number-one fell in love with and married friend-number-two) drove up to Auckland for long-awaited conversations carried out with no computer in between. Of all the people I've looked forward to seeing while here, P. and H. were among the top.

We headed down to Raglan on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to spend three nights at their bach (Kiwi for vacation home). It was a lovely two-hour drive south of the city to Hamilton and then due west. The road between Hamilton and Raglan climbed to stunning views, but I knew that attempts at truly capturing it through the car window, in all its splendor - the sharp peeks and diving valleys, some shaved to clean green grass and others populated with trees - were slim.

Once in Raglan, there were plenty of photo ops, but it turned out that my favorite place to pull out the camera was at a cafe called Tongue & Groove. We went there twice for coffee, and it was just the sort of place I'd like to always have down the road. Painted wood floors with the dark naked boards revealed from wear, vintage patterned counter tops in alternating colors, a chalkboard menu, and even a table fashioned from half a surfboard protruding from the wall and paired with old brown leather theater chairs. Lovely aesthetics, friendly staff, and a damn good cappuccino.

Tongue and Groove 1

Below is an earl grey tea that I purchased on my first visit. Then there's the brownie the three of us shared while sitting at the surfboard table.

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Tongue and Groove 2

But just so you know we didn't sit inside all day, here are some photos from around the area.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

Not So Long Ago

It feels like ages ago that my sister and I passed through Oregon, meandering down the coastline highway. We stayed on the slow, scenic 101 for as long as we could, taking in its charm and beauty. Forced to turn inland about midway down the coast, we parted ways with the long stretch of shoreline, widening and narrowing but always being met by powerfully crashing waves, icy from their origin in the northern Pacific Ocean.

I say that it feels like ages ago, but in fact it was last Sunday. And Monday. Here are some favorite photos.

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I'm trying to keep Flickr updated with photos (especially since my blog is so behind). Stop by there if you'd like to see more.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Beginnings and Endings

It really wouldn't be fair to skim over the last few weeks, as much as I like to keep this blog current. Those days deserve better. After all, they marked the end of my time with Foodzie, an internship and life in San Francisco that I will always treasure. They hosted a reunion with a childhood friend from my years in New Zealand; this reunion took the form of a road trip down the winding, cliff-hugging Pacific Highway to Santa Barbara. There the days were spent revisiting memories from a life that seems so long ago, but in fact only three years ago laid significant foundations in my art education.

And that education has officially ended! As of Thursday, I have completed all my course requirements and am awaiting my final grade and then my diploma.

Here are some pictures to chronicle the endings and beginnings in the past two weeks...

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Ending of life in San Francisco (my last breakfast, eaten on a bench by the ferry building). Beginning of my love affair with Blue Bottle cappuccinos and Frog Hollow fruit...

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...the sunlight was brilliant that morning.

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Beginning of road trip.

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Nearing end of road trip...in a much drier climate.

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Beginning and end of Santa Barbara photo shoot, just a detail from an antique wagon on the sidewalk in Summerland. I was not in tourist mode.

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Beginning of a happy return to Washington food. A peak at my fig danish, still inside its bag and fresh from Columbia City Bakery on my first morning back in the Northwest. I'll be around here for about three weeks.