Category Archives: Out and About

A summer day

August 1, 2013

Note: It is not a Monday but I will be mentioning berries.

The other day I got an invitation to go berry picking in a nearby park. I was also told I would be able to swim so I slipped on my suit and covered it up with a t-shirt and pants so I wouldn’t get too scratched up.

It was a warm summer day and we were out around the hottest time of day in the full sun picking berries. I was seriously happy as I could be. I didn’t even really mind so much that I was getting stuck my the blackberries bushes or probably burned by the sun (whoops no sunscreen again) I was just finally enjoying having a day that really felt like summer.

I picked a decent amount of berries and decided I was ready for a swim. I found a nice little spot that was easy to get in and went for it. And by “went for it” I mean walked in slowly while adjusting to the water and them finally getting in all the way. I swam around a bit letting the waves push me back to shore and then I’d swim back out and do it again. Finally I went to a shallow area and just sat in the water enjoying the boats in the distance and the cold waves splashing my body. When I was finally done with the water I dried a little bit on the shore before finding my friends.

Then I went skipping around in the blackberry bushes in my bathing suit in the hot sun and I felt like a kid again-just for a few moments-and it was wonderful.

Berry monday: u-pick

July 29, 2013

It seems I have been a bit berry crazed this summer so I thought it would be fun to write a berry related post every Monday for the next few weeks. I have pictures, recipes, ideas, and tips so basically it should be really fun.

First up is my trip to the most amazing u-pick berry farm I’ve ever been to. I picked 17 pounds of berries which fueled this idea in the first place. I had just gotten back from San Francisco the night before and I was up early the next day running around trying to catch a bus to my friends house. At this point I was thinking perhaps I had over committed myself, which I tend to do, but when we got to the farm I knew I had made the right choice.

They had u-pick everything! They had marionberries, raspberries, tayberries, boysenberries, blueberries, and blackberries! I was in berry heaven. Every row seemed to be more exciting than the next. I just picked and picked until it was time to go and that’s when I realized I had picked 17 pounds of berries in the same time my friends picked half as many.

^boysenberries! They were huge, it’s hard to tell how large but they are around the same size as a small plum.

^tayberries a mix between a blackberry and a raspberry-oh my!

^blueberries we very plentiful and delicious.

-marionberries, raspberries, blackberries.

Come back next week for more berry goodness! What’s your favorite berry recipe?

San francisco: part 1

July 24, 2013

If you’re going to San Francisco…

Last week I traveled to San Francisco for the first time! I was there for ALT SF but as a bonus I got to spend time with a friend who moved out there around the same time Walker and I moved to Seattle. What’s even more exciting is that this friend might be moving here, to Seattle, for a job! So the timing couldn’t have been better.

On Friday she had a dentist appointment in the morning so I headed out in search of a really good vegan breakfast. I found a vegan restaurant that was about a mile away (no hills) so I had a nice walk. I ordered corn cakes and sipped by tea while I ate my tasty breakfast. We met back at her place and then headed out to see the Golden Gate bridge.

It was foggy, which I hear is the norm and based on my trip I can attest to that, but we could still see some of the bridge. We walked half way across and then headed back because we were kind of cold and it was pretty breezy up there. The views were pretty incredible though (of what we could see of course).
Then we had lunch at The Plant which I realized was a healthy and organic restaurant with a few locations around the city. I was excited to have found it. Also they had a lot of vegan desserts to choose from. After my veggie burger I got a coffee cake and a cookie to go.

In the afternoon my friend took me to a place called Bi-Rite Creamery that makes their own ice cream. I was even more excited because they had a vegan option and a peach sorbet that was soooo good. I got a scoop of each. Then we walked to the park that overlooks the row houses from the intro scene of Full House and enjoyed our ice cream.

We ended our evening with some appetizers at a pretty interesting restaurant and had a local beer to cap the night. We really packed in the activities and we were both pretty exhausted at the end of the day.

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