Category: Travel

San Francisco Interlude

JWF 3 Comments

 

SAN FRANCISCO
OLD HOME WEEK AT THE ACADEMY
The Chief Penguin and I had the great pleasure of returning to San Francisco and the California Academy of Sciences for the 10th anniversary celebration of its new building. Ten years ago, when he was the Chief Penguin of this wonderful museum, we sat on the since named Patterson Plaza, and celebrated the opening of Renzo Piano’s airy, light-filled creation. The mayor and other dignitaries were there to bless the occasion, the sun burst through the clouds, and butterflies were released to the sky. It was a glorious day and the line for entry wound down the sidewalk and around the building for almost a mile. 

This time, besides the expected speeches, we were treated to songs from the San Francisco Boys Choir and testimonials from two youth. The 10 year old girl was an infant when the new academy opened and has been visiting since those early days. She loves the place and shared her enthusiasm for it and her goal of becoming an academy scientist. A 15 year old young man spoke eloquently about his experience as a Careers in Science intern, his involvement with the planetarium, and his plans to become an astrophysicist. Both were memorable demonstrations of the importance and power of the academy’s education mission!  A champagne toast on the Living Roof, the scattering of seeds there, and a reunion lunch with former colleagues and friends rounded out the day.  

The next day we returned for tours of the new Giants of Land and Sea exhibit and Big Picture as well as a showing of the newest award-winning planetarium show, Expedition Reef.  I was pleased to see that exhibit labels are now in four languages and that there were so many informative interactive screens in Giants.

I’ve been through the redwoods several times, but was in awe of the giant slice of an 800 year old redwood tree that came down in a storm; for me, it was the highlight of that exhibit.  Big Picture, the annual exhibit of the winners of the Academy’s photography contest, is now five years old and better than ever. I particularly liked the shot of the mother flamingo’s feather encircling a baby whose nose is just poking through.

Watching the planetarium show, I gained an greater understanding of the role played by coral reefs around the world and why it’s critical to work to preserve them.

And if you think this is all a plug for going to the academy, it is!  I’m shameless about promoting it.

DINING BY THE BAY 
Lest you think we didn’t do anything else in our short visit, we also ate very well!
Pizzeria Delfina. Upon arrival we started in our old neighborhood and had lunch at this pizza place off Fillmore. Old favorites, insulata tricolore and the sausage pizza, were as good as we remembered!

Coqueta.  This restaurant on the Embarcadero is another one we love, and we had dinner here our first night. Their menu of tapas always pleases and we had some of our usuals—-chicken croquettes, meatballs, patatas bravas, smoky potato chips, and a couple of cheeses.

Potatoes & Chips at Coqueta

Mel’s Drive-in Diner.  On busy Lombard Street, Mel’s serves as hearty a breakfast as you could want in a setting complete with jukebox and crayons and balloons for kids.  A complete array of omelettes plus bacon, sausage and toast.  Our waitress was friendly and the place has an inviting vibe.

A16.  On Chestnut Street, a short walk from our hotel, A16 is the sister restaurant to SPQR and a more casual place. Lots of pizzas on their menu plus salads and some slightly different pasta dishes. The panzanella salad was excellent and the simple long pasta with ragu perfect comfort food. Have to admit that the fusilli with walnuts was a bit oddly flavored, but worth trying. For dessert, we settled on a plate of small cookies which provided the requisite amount of sweet.

Pacific Catch. This Bay Area chain serves excellent fresh fish alone, in sandwiches, tacos and poke, and atop salads or rice bowls. Located a short walk from the Academy, it’s long been a lunch favorite for staff. I and the C.P. both dined there separately with former colleagues, and I had the hard choice of either the taco plate or the grilled salmon sandwich. The sandwich won out.

Zuni Cafe.  An old standby downtown (40 years young), but still excellent, was the venue for our last dinner. We were joined by a good friend and, while none of us ordered their famous roast chicken, we liked very much our heirloom tomato and Caesar salads, fritto misto, simple risotto, and a made-to-order veggie plate.

Note: All photos by JWFarrington.

 

Maui: Around the Island

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MAUI

We were fortunate that our friends on Maui who were hosting us had no ill effects from Tropical Storm Olivia, not even any rain.  We delayed our arrival there by a day (the airport had been affected) and the flight the day after the storm was a bit bumpy.

We ate lots of good food—fresh fish done on the grill, healthy salads, crab sliders and Mac and cheese at a favorite happy hour, a tasty lunch overlooking the ocean, our first ever luau, plus a leisurely dinner at home.  Brisk morning walks helped offset the caloric load!  Our friends are consummate hosts who offered up a variety of activities plus time to shop, chat, read, or just hang out at the pool.  Sheer pleasure from beginning to end.

LAVENDER FARM

We requested a return visit to Alii Kula Lavender which we had visited some years before.  It’s high up in the hills and we had fond memories of the lavender tea and lavender scones.  The farm has both expanded and become more upscale with an entry charge for each individual (a modest $2 for seniors, $3 for others) and the opportunity to sign up for a guided tour.  We opted to wander around the grounds on our own.  There seemed to be more different varieties of lavender as well as some showy flowers along with Asian sculptures seated here and there.  The day was cloudy and gray, but after tramping around, we stopped in the café for the requisite tea and scone, and then perused the offerings in the small shop.  A most pleasant outing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AROUND MAUI  

Compared to Kauai, Maui seems huge.  It too is beautiful, but much larger and busier in terms of people and traffic.  Here are some scenes from the luau and Wailea on the south coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READING RECOMMENDATIONS

In response to my request for my readers’ favorite books of summer, I received these recommendations:

Barb W. thought that The Leavers by Lisa Ko was “very well written and interesting” and “especially amazing for a first novel.”  She also enjoyed Prague Sonata, a novel by Bradford Morrow.

Margaret B., an afficianado of mysteries, recommends and has read nearly all by Louise Penny.  My sister Sally would concur.  They are set in a small town in the province of Quebec.

 

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Kauai: Chocolate Farm Tour

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CHOCOLATE (Think of the old TV commercial that goes, “chaaaaaawclett”)

One of the most different and fun activities we did this time in Hawaii was the chocolate farm tour.  Lydgate Farms is home to the state’s largest cacao orchard (more than 1,000 trees) and makes single source chocolate and chocolate tea from these trees.  Their group tour is listed as three hours and is offered in the morning beginning at 9:00.  Folks were slow to arrive, we were walk-ins as we’d been waiting on the weather forecast, and there was a mix of seniors, young couples, and one family group of parents and two children.  

We got some history of the farm (started 17 years ago) and the backstory of the two women tour leaders.  Andrea had had a career in real estate in Southern California, but her dream was to live and work in Hawaii and she arrived four years ago.  Kate, spent five years as a nanny, and then was drawn to Kauai by some friends and has been on staff for about 9 months.  They were both personable and enthusiastic about the farm’s mission, as you would expect.

In the arrival shed, we tasted two of the farm’s chocolates, one dark and one milk, and then were led down a path where Kate pointed out various trees and their fruits including two cacao trees just outside.  When we got to a grove with benches, she invited us to sit and proceeded to introduce us to some of the tropical fruits that also grow on this land.  She showed us the whole fruit, described its texture and flavor and what it should cost in the market, and then passed around glass dishes of pre-cut fruit to taste.  We had everything from starfruit, papaya and guava to cinnamon apple, egg fruit, soursop, and dragon fruit.  Previously, we had tasted a small round fruit similar to a lychee.  

Next stop was the cacao orchard where Kate demonstrated her recently acquired skill with a machete and cracked open one pod.  We all got to take out one of the slimy white “beans” and suck and chew on it.  Slightly sweet, but nothing like the taste of chocolate.  The pods, some green, some yellow, and some a lovely striated mauvey red, often grow directly on the tree trunk with others higher up in the trees.  There is no particular season for the fruit, they grow all year, and, hence, the trees are harvested every 3-4 weeks.

Kate with an open cacao pod

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably the most fun part of this morning was the blind tasting of nine different chocolates.  Several were the product of Lydgate Farms, but others were from Colombia, Madagascar, and other places including one special Hershey dark chocolate.  It was fascinating and instructive to dry to divine the flavor notes of each individual chocolate from smoky to cherries to bitter to smooth to honey and coffee.  While we were pondering each chocolate, Kate gave a running history of chocolate’s history and its introduction in different parts of the world.  In the blind tasting, I correctly identified seven of the nine chocolate types.  At the very end, we got to try two more of Lydgate’s own chocolates.  

On the whole, this was an informative and fun morning.  It’s slated to be three hours, but I felt in the tasting that Kate was spending more time on history before giving us the next chocolate in order to fill time.  It’s really a two-hour presentation, and I’d be happy to pay the same amount for a more tightly run event.  We tipped Kate on the way out and bought one candy bar, 70% dark chocolate with honey, to bring home.

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

On the Road: Beautiful Kauai

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Kauai is a gorgeous island of greens and blues and dark red earth.  There is an intensity to these colors that combined with the island’s lush foliage makes for saturated hues that embrace you.

 We stayed on the east side of the island and explored the northern shore, Kilauea Lighthouse, Princeville, and Hanalei.  We would have liked to visit the botanical garden there, but the road was closed.  Also we had to view the lighthouse from a distance because the nature preserve and trail were closed on Mondays.  Nonetheless, it is very pretty with a dome that looks like crystal.  

 There are a lot of churches on Kauai and I found their architecture interesting and almost severe in its simplicity.  Some are made of stone and some wood all with simple steeples.  Here is one United Church of Christ frame church with lovely windows.  Only wished I could have gone inside.  

  

Another day, we drove south and along that coast through a number of small towns and then all along Waimea Canyon.  Here you see the red earth and lush greenery and then the multi-colored canyon layers as backdrop.  On the way, we stopped at the lookout for Opaekaa Falls.

 

All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)