I took a vacation away from the Bay. I just got back from Colombia!

Yes Colombia in South America! The one many of you associate with drugs and spell ColUmbia. Spelling ColUmbia with “U” instead of “O” annoys Colombians in the same way that calling San Francisco “Frisco” drives Bay Area people crazy.

Our trip was short and wonderful (except for the American Airlines return flight home that had an emergency landing, oxygen masks and all – details on this adventure coming soon).

This was a family vacation! Celia, the 3 kids (young adults) and I went together.

When I tell people I went to Colombia the usual response is “Why?!” or “Isn’t that dangerous?”

First let me tell you something, I felt safer walking around downtown Bogotá than I do in some parts of San Francisco.

The reason we chose Colombia was because much of Celia’s family has immigrated from Venezuela to Colombia over the last few years.

Bogotá looked a lot like any big city you see around the world with the difference that there are no lanes drawn on the highway. We complain about our freeways, try driving on one with no lines, pot holes and people passing on the left, right and every which way while honking and trying to avoid hitting motorcycles and bicyclists.

Celia’s cousin and her husband who live in Bogotá were the most gracious hosts! They welcomed us in to their beautiful home and took time to show us around Bogotá.

The first stop was the Catedral de Sal which is an underground Catholic Church that was built in the tunnels of the Salt Mine many years ago. We had free reign to explore the mine/cathedral. It felt like we were in a Disney adventure film wandering around underground discovering new rooms, hallways and treasures.

Celia decided to do some yoga while we underground.

To be continued… Celia’s cousins introduced us to 2 amazing restaurants in Bogotá!

Last week I was in Phoenix, Arizona attending the IVAA conference. On the last day my friend Yvonne and I and our new friends Janet and Mike decided to play hooky and go out on the town. For a whole $1.75 we had transportation for the day thanks to Mike who knew about the awesome light rail public transportation system that Phoenix has to offer. Our first stop off the rail was the Hard Rock Café to get a t-shirt for Jan but of course when I saw they had a purple blingy one I also had to get myself a t-shirt. We then headed to Alice Cooper’s restaurant Cooper’sTown and had very large glasses of lemonade.

After drinking our very large glasses of lemonade we headed back to the train and made our way to Tempe.  Yvonne was on a mission to see a desert and a cactus. I was going with the flow. When we arrived in Tempe there just happened to be a little mountain or desert hill in the middle of the town and it had cactus on it! It was called the Hayden Butte Preserve. Yvonne and I asked Jan and Mike if they were up for a hike. Being the easy going fun people they are they said sure! Off we went, me in my flip flops, Yvonne in her semi-high heeled flip flops and up the trail we went.  I’m so glad we were the adventurers that we were! The view from the top of that desert mountain hill was beautiful! (Please note I am the short one in this picture for some reason ALL of my virtual friends have the idea I am tall. I’m not.)

After our desert hike I was craving a beer. Mike said let’s get one then. (My kinda guy!) We strolled in to town to find a plethora of pubs. We had pub choices! We decided upon the one called The Library (being on a business trip and playing hooky it seemed appropriate). The place was great! The walls were lined with nice old books. It made us feel smart. I got my cold beer and was very pleased. I also had a chicken caeser salad that was huge and quite delicious. I’m thinking this could be my new office.

The waitress uniforms were… well let’s just say I wouldn’t work there. Seriously how do businesses get away with this kind of dress requirement? I guess because the women put up with it… You can take a look for yourself here.

The Library Bar & Grill
www.thelibraryusa.com
501 South Mill Avenue, Suite 101
Tempe, Arizona 85281

Celia just discovered a new restaurant in Auburn! This makes me happy because I’m always looking for good food halfway between Tahoe and home. Lots of Bay Area people drive past Auburn on their way to Lake Tahoe or Downieville to go skiing or mountain biking.

Here is what guest blogger Celia has to say about the Auburn Ale House:

The Auburn Ale House is a great brew company located in old town Auburn. It is hip and is open pretty much all day. Auburn Ale House has great food and they brew all their own beers. We heard from other mountain bikers that the beer is very good. This place is perfect for people going to Tahoe or coming back from Tahoe.  We got there around 4:30 pm, hungry after a day of skiing. Everything else in town was closed because it was either too late for lunch or too early for dinner. But this brew co was open! And the service was great too!

Auburn Ale House
289 Washington Street
Auburn CA 95603
530-885-2537

This weekend I am in the city of Claremont which is located in the greater LA area. We came here because it is family weekend at the Claremont Colleges and we are a Claremont family. Our son goes to Harvey Mudd and our daughter just got accepted at Pitzer.

I love the town of Claremont. In fact, I’d even consider moving here if it weren’t for the poor air quality. My Asthma and this area don’t get along very well.

Besides the air quality, Claremont is a very charming town. It’s a college town. You’ve got the 5 Claremonts, quiet streets with adorable little houses I assume the professors live in and a thriving downtown area full of great places to eat and shops. Claremont is actually one of the Top Best Places to Live according to Money Magazine it is number 5.

Yesterday my parents drove up from The OC to visit me here in Claremont. I took them on the college tour pretending I was the college student since our kids decided snow boarding sounded more fun than parents day at school. Walking around the Claremont Colleges is like walking around a botanical garden. It is so beautiful and each campus has a totally different feel in plant life, architecture and student culture. We first walked through Scripps which has Spanish architecture and beautiful old flowering plants and trees and secret gardens. We then went to Pitzer which is the more eco friendly school with modern green resident halls and  gardens full of cacti and other environmentally friendly plants for this area.

On a clear day the views from campus are breath taking. I got this picture yesterday.

After we toured the campuses we went downtown. We wanted something light and healthy and were delighted to find the restaurant So Fresh Salads.  This place is great! You can build your own salad. It’s not a salad bar but you tell them exactly what you want in your salad and they make it to order. I had a mixed green salad and Broccoli Cheese soup. Very, very yummy stuff! My mom had a chicken-lettuce- sundried tomato-artichoke heart-wrap. My dad had vegetable soup and a green salad. We were all satisfied customers. The salad was super fresh and crisp. So Fresh Salads is almost like fast food but fresh and healthy food. I love that a restaurant like this is next to the university. Our world could really benefit from more restaurants like this and less of those other fast food types.

For dessert we were happy to discover a Yogurtland nearby.

We are in Los Angeles this weekend visiting our son at college.

I guess Hollywood heard I was coming and wanted to give me a warm welcome!

Photo from SFGate Day in Pictures February 12, 2010.

Thanks Amy for sending me this photo.

Thinking of you in Maine.

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Downieville is not exactly the Bay Area but you can drive to it from the Bay Area in about 3.5 – 4 hours. That counts, right?

A few weeks ago Celia and I and a group of mountain biking friends headed to Downieville for a mini vacation. Downieville is famous for it’s Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race. Downieville is one of my favorite places. I LOVE Downieville. I go there at least once every year.

Downieville is a beautiful small town located on the Yuba river in Sierra County.  It’s a total escape for me to get away from my fast paced Bay Area life style and just simply relax for a few days. The town of Downieville is also very dog friendly. Poncho had a great time swimming in the river. He literally spent hours in the river.

My favorite thing to do in Downieville is to go to the beach and just chill by the river. Sometimes, I even get in the river although it is a tad bit cold for my taste. However, I do enjoy floating on the river on my inner tube. Other people like to mountain bike, fish or pan for gold.

We always stay at the Downieville Riverside Inn.  We love it there, the inn keeper’s Mike and Nancy are super friendly and the place is very nice. The Inn is located right on the Yuba River so you can hear the river rushing by when you are falling asleep. The room we stay in has a balcony right over the river and also comes with a kitchen. Breakfast is included and is served in a living room. Every morning we sit around living room chatting with Mike, Nancy or some of the other guests while drinking delicious fresh brewed coffee and eating bagels with lox and cream cheese.

I usually go to Downieville the first week in July so I am there for the 4th of July celebrations. They have a small town parade on the 4th that is so much fun. Here are some pictures from past years.

The best part of the parade is at the very end when they roll out a big giant roll of plastic bubbles and everyone steps on them at the same time. It sounds exactly like a big firework show.

The locals of Downieville have always been super welcoming and fun to hang out with. They are even up for some friendly competition in the tug-o-war (locals against visitors) and the foot races.

There are only a few options of places to eat in Downieville: the Grubstake and the Pizza Place.  There is also an Ice Cream shop and a a small local market for groceries that has a cafe in the back of the store. I noticed a new restaurant called the Wooden Trout Cafe just opened within the last year as well. I did not get a chance to try it but heard it was good. If you stay at the Riverside Inn and get a room with a kitchen you can cook there or use their BBQ.

If you are looking for a fun, relaxing and friendly place to escape to I highly recommend going to Downieville and staying at the Riverside Inn.

The Riverside Inn is located right on the river at:
206 Commercial Street
Downieville, CA
888.883.5100
downieville.us

This isn’t exactly a locally owned independent business (or the Bay Area) but I enjoy Yard House so much I decided to write about it. Every time I go to Orange County I make sure to stop by the Yard House in Triangle Square at least once. They have over 100 beers on tap.  Despite all my beer choices I always order the same one – The Hoegaarden White.

I recommend going to Yard House during Happy Hour when you can get select appetizers for half off. Happy Hour is Monday – Friday from 3 – 6pm.

The food is delicious. My sister and I went for an early dinner the other night.  We had the Blue Crab Cakes with mango papaya chutney.

The Moo Shoo Egge Rolls served with apple ginger plum sauce.

And the California Roll. The Yardhouse California Rolls are like no other Califronia Roll – it’s more like a California Cake.

This should be the last Orange County post for awhile. Now returning to the Bay Area.

When my friend Emily who lives in the Bay Area heard I was going to be in Costa Mesa she said, “you have GOT to try Yogurtland, it’s the best frozen yogurt ever and it’s self  serve and you can put as many different toppings as you like, and, and, and…” She was very excited about Yogurtland so I looked it up as soon as I got here and discovered there was one near my parents house. Although, I found it strange that they list it as a Newport Beach address when it is actually in Costa Mesa. Maybe their thinking is people from Newport Beach spend more money so let’s pretend we are in Newport Beach and if you are not from here you probably would never notice but, whatever…

Plus, it is so incredibly hot and humid here in OC this week a frozen yogurt sounded pretty good to me.

Emily was right. Yogurtland is great! You come in and grab a big bowl. Your choice of bowls is big and bigger. I would have liked to see a small or junior size bowls but since you get to fill it yourself and decide exactly how much you want I guess big is okay, it leaves room for the toppings. They offer a huge choice of yogurt, I decided to try 3 different flavors: Dutch Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, and Plain Tart. Plain Tart is my favorite but I couldn’t resist trying the other flavors. They also have some unique flavors such as Taro and Green Tea. The topping bar was endless… full of fresh fruit, nuts, candy, cereal and probably other things. I was focused on the fresh fruit. I had mango, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe and blueberries.

Yogurtland charges by weight. I think it was .30 cents an ounce.

I just discovered Yogurtland is also in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a location in Berkeley! I think Emily and I will be taking a field trip to Berkeley soon.

Yogurtland
277 E. 17th Street
Costa Mesa, CA
949.642.3151

I’m still in Orange County. My parents took me to Newport Landing restaurant for lunch. My mom has been raving about their Crab and Artichoke Bisque for years so I decided to try it.

Newport Landing is a great place to go for lunch. You can be seated upstairs on the covered balcony that overlooks the bay with a view of Balboa Island and the Balboa Fun Zone.

My mom and I ordered the Crab and Artichoke Bisque and a Caesar Salad. Even though this bisque doesn’t look very pretty it tastes absolutely delicious! It is rich and creamy tasting. Yummy!

My dad ordered the Newport Landing House Salad and enjoyed it very much.

It was very relaxing and fun having lunch over the bay. We even got to see some pelicans.

Newport Landing is located right next to the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach. The Balboa Fun Zone is a great place for a family vacation. Lots of fun things to do there, they have rides, arcades, bungee jumping, cruises, bike rentals, great shopping, ferry rides to the island, restaurants and the beach is right across the street.

Newport Landing
503 E Edgewater Ave
Newport Beach, CA 92661
949.675.2373