Here you will find an archived weblog of my food, travel, and creative pursuits which I kept from 2010-2016. Please note both that the travel information contained here may outdated and that these logs were created on a prior version of this website and may not yet be optimized for the current version. If you’re looking for specific content, use the search field below! <3
The day I originally planned to be hiking along this slightly snowy trail from the Echo Lakes Trailhead was the day I slipped on ice in a parking lot while trying to go buy some earrings. After a couple hours in urgent care and an evening of icing and pain medication - I thought the possibility of attempting this route was lost. The experience taught me never to go shopping instead of hiking.
Read MoreYou've heard me talk about it here several times now - another Tahoe New Years without any significant snow fall. So in addition to hikes - our other alternative activity of choice was to attempt the Rubicon Trail once more. This was our third attempt and with two pickups and a Jeep we made it further than we ever had before.
Read MoreThe day after our sixteen hour drive from Seattle to South Lake Tahoe, we were rather eager to get out and stretch our legs but not eager enough to get up early in the morning. So we did our best to find a short nearby hike which we hoped would be suitable for both our pup and our friend's english bulldog. We settled on a two mile round trip hike to Cascade Falls leading out of the Bayview Campground, directly across the highway from scenic Emerald Bay.
Read MoreJust a touch west of popular Fallen Leaf Lake near South Lake Tahoe, California lies the Mt. Tallac Trailhead, offering a few different destinations along it's route to the summit. We opted to trek to the destination just before the steep climb to the summit begins; Cathedral Lake.
Read MoreDigging into my film archives is always fun to do - especially since turns out I did a fair amount of traveling when I was younger! These shots were taken with my Canon EOS Elan SLR all the way back in 2004 during a trip with my dad to Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows.
Read MoreThe only time in my life I enjoyed running was when I lived about four blocks from the beach in Monterey, California. If I woke up early enough, I could walk down to a nearly empty beach with firm sand and a light sea mist in the air - perfect running conditions for me. Before I moved away I made sure to capture a few images to preserve the memory.
Let me answer the first question that's on your mind. Am I in San Diego for Comic Con?
No. I'm home in Seattle - still dreaming big dreams after WDS. However, I certainly wouldn't mind a trip to San Diego for a combination of Comic Con and some surfing in Encinitas.
Even though I'm not in Sandy Eggo this week, thousands of other awesome people are descending upon a city which I used to call home and which happens to have a fantastic gluten free eating scene. After all the thanks and positive comments I received about the Gluten Free In Portland: For WDS post and a great twitter friend of mine asking if I had a similar guide for San Diego - it seemed just right that I get this post together.
One last thing before I get into my picks for the best places to eat around the city. When I attended WDS a few weeks ago in Portland, I found a custom twitter hashtag to be very useful for sharing great finds with my gluten free compatriots. So if you find a great gluten free establishment during your week in San Diego - share it on twitter with #SDCCGF!
In continuing to celebrate Let's Go Camping month - I've asked five bloggers to share their favorite campsite and a little bit about why they love to go camping. Enjoy!
The Blogger: Lisette of Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary
The Campsite: Watchman Campground in Zion National Park in Utah
Cameron and I love camping because it brings us closer to the trailheads, encourages us to rise early, and gives us spectacular views at the fraction of the cost.
In the process of planning our Southwest adventure we knew we wanted to include Zion National Park. We are familiar with the National Park Service and know they offer easy to navigate websites, helpful rangers and well kept facilities. We chose Watchman Campground because it was located within the park, was located close to the park's shuttle system and offered some tent only walk up sites. In general, we prefer not to pitch our tent right next to our car or someone else's motor home, so we selected the tent only, walk up sites in Loop F. Each site had a picnic table, flat area for your tent and an enormous bear box (large enough to hold two large backpacks, plus additional food).
With a view like this and price point of $16.00 per night, we knew we had scored ourselves not only a deal, but a killer view. Within minutes from leaving our campsite we were boarded onto one of the park's shuttles and heading to the trailhead to begin our hiking adventure for the day.
Location is more important to us than amenities, but there was a bathroom and running water located right next to the Watchman Campground.
Find Lisette around the web: Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Photography
Most of my visits to Yosemite have come in the busy summer season - but just once my husband and I visited on a whim in the fall to celebrate our engagement. We arrived just as the sun was beginning to set and had the opportunity to see some gorgeous views. Someday I'd love to back in the winter to do some snowshoeing.
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It's almost hard to believe that my trip to San Diego in February was the last time I traveled out of state. While I was down there all of my future work travel was canceled (at least for the time being) so all I've got left are three short personal trips coming up later this month and in May. The time at home as been much needed - I don't recall the last time I can say I slept in my own bed for a consecutive month.
Either way, I'm glad my last trip was to San Diego. Since I lived there for 3 1/2 years it's an easy place to get around and when I went last year I discovered oodles of gluten free friendly eateries. While I generally make an effort to get out and try new places, I found myself returning to Casa Guadalajara a few times this trip. However I was able to pull myself away from their delicious Mexican food to try two new-to-me places that I now get to share with you!
