The date for the Titans of Mavericks competition has been set for February 12th. This means 24 of the best high wave surfers are invited to compete off Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay. Due to restrictions you might not be able to watch them close up, but there will be viewing parties all around Half Moon Bay, since redbull TV is covering the event.
Thanks to El Nino waves up to 38 feet (11,5m) are expected. Best to watch early in the morning. But I heard the Half Moon Bay Brewing Companyis ready to serve you at 8 am and will show the event on TV.
There are two options I am aware of to see elephant seals up close. First is Año Nuevo State Park and also Piedras Bianca near San Simion. In order to see the seals in Ano Nuevo you have to book a tour online that, if you want to pick times that suit you, you probably have to book about two weeks in advance. I think the $7 per person plus $10 for parking was well spent. On a 2 ½ hour hike we learned a lot about the seals and came up close to watch the little babies get nursed.
Piedras Bianca has a short, more accessible, walk up to a viewing point where a park ranger answers questions. Here no reservation is necessary but a donation is appreciated.
January/February are probably the most visited months for the state park to see the elephant seals. Breeding season is from late December till early February. In March the adults leave their pubs behind. Yes! Imagine that. The pubs tech themselves to swim and will depart in April to swim up north.
Mature females will be somewhat pregnant after about 24 days after giving birth, they do a delayed implantation which means the fertilized egg will not be implanted in the wall of the uterus for another four month.
Another unbelievable fact is that the females don’t eat anything while they give birth, nurse and breed,and the males go without food for up to three months while they are on land mating.
Do you know of any other places to watch elephant seals in the Bay Area?
Wintertime is soup time – even here in Silicon Valley where the average temperature is rarely below 50F (10C), soup is on everyone’s mind.
While you can find a lot of great restaurants on Castro St. in Mountain View there are some that are particularly great for your soup fix.
Kirin Chinese Restaurant has a wonton soup to die for and everyone can share.
Sharing is also a big hit at the Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot (see photo). You order the broth, which can be spicy or original and whatever meat, vegetables and noodles, or tofu you would like in your soup. It cooks right in front of you. We went with the original, but asked our server for some chilies. There is also the option to have half and half broth, in what looks like a yin and yang pot.
Further options are two Ramen places, which is a Japanese noodle soup dish, and a Japanese Shabu Shabu restaurant, which offers a kind of meat fondue (which is high on our list to try out next).
What are your favorite winter dishes? Do you have a recommendation for a soup restaurant in the Bay Area?
Living along the San Andreas Fault sometimes feels like living on the edge. (Excuse my pun)
Recently we learned a lot about earthquakes. While the exhibit in the Tech Museum in San José was the most descriptive, the two earthquake trails we walked were especially good for exercise, and made it feel more real.
In the Tech Museum, I liked the platform that reenacts different quakes the best. The three earthquakes I experienced so far all had slightly different motions. On the platform in the Tech Museum it confirmed that it wasn’t just me feeling it, they are different!
Point Reyes National Park has an earthquake trail which is about a 30 minute loop. It’s near the visitor center for Bear Valley, which I also highly recommend for exploring.
It was great for the kids to read out their descriptions
On the trail are two different signposts, one for adults and one for kids. They also had markers to follow along the fault. The most impressive one is a fence that did a 16 feet jump during the 1906 quake.
This shows the two parts of the fence 16 feet apart.
The other earthquake trail is a 1.5 mile hike in Los Trancos Open Space Preserve. http://www.openspace.org/preserves/los-trancos We picked up a brochure (you can also see the PDF here: https://earth.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/San_Andreas_Fault_Trail.pdf) at the main parking lot. The 9 station long walk in with more than 2000 feet elevation was more scientific than Point Reyes but with some spectacular views.
Sign for the Fault Trail
We had problems finding the things in the description. There was also a fence that had been put there as an example, but it was only 3 feet apart.
Do you know of any examples for Earthquakes in the area? Have you ever felt an earthquake?
We did it! We finally saw Star Wars. I can’t believe Mountain View got a movie theater with these fancy recliner chairs.
We planned to have dinner near the movies and went to a place pretty much behind the movie theater that has about 5 restaurants. While we were looking around trying to find one that would please all of us, two guys came out of the indian place telling me the place is good, real good. Both nodding their heads. Well, you can’t argue with a recommendation like that. And boy were they right!
Wall decoration at my new favorite place for Indian food!
We have a new favorite restaurant now, serving Indian /Pakistani food on metal trays with an arrangement of dal, rice and a salad. Yum!
Plus they give you free chai tea and we also got one free dessert because they figured we were their new favorite customers.
One of the things that amazes me around here is that every beach and the towns near those beaches are different.
The other day I took my in-laws to Capitola, a nice little beach town near Santa Cruz, California.
I’ve only been here once before with my family to enjoy the beach. That was during spring break. While it was entertaining to watch teenagers, the atmosphere was not too relaxing. This time is was a bit too cold for hanging around at the beach.
Surfer in Capitola
While we watched some surfers we decided that it is proably a great spot to learn how to surf. The surf seem to slowly come in and giving you enough time to get ready.
We explored the little town with its cute shops. What stroke me as amazing was our lunch right next to the beach, a great meal with a beautiful view.
The Venetian Court
The colorful houses are the historic Venetian hotel “The first Condominium Beach Community in the United States, built in 1924”.
What is your favorite beach in Northern California?
It seems these days I have only shopping on my mind. Well, Christmas is near, and while I am not really a big gift giver, I prefer to gift something homemade, or close to that.
This weekend (1/5/2015) are two holiday markets that I will try to catch. One is at my sons middle school: Graham Middle School in Mountain View, CA from 9am to 1 pm. I am hoping for a lot of crafty items. I also heard that the food is amazing!
The other on is at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. This will feature local artists, not only paintings, but ceramics, jewelry and textiles. Sounds interesting, right? Well they have two bonus programs. One is a jazz pop performance from 3:30 to 4:30. The other one is the family art day from 10:00 to 2:00.
On December 12th, 2015 is the third annual German International School of Silicon Valley’s German Holiday Market from 11 am to 9 pm at the City Hall Plaza in Mountain View. This one I am really looking forward to! There are not many things I am missing from Germany (plenty people, not things!), but around Christmas time I like to stand in the cold and get warmed up by a nice mug of Glühwein. The food is also good traditional German fare.
Yesterday I wanted to stroll in a mall and I picked the Town and Country Village near Stanford in Palo Alto. This is a cute mall with some unique shops and food places. I saw some homemade ice cream and a french café with some great looking pastries. I went into the butcher and scooped out the amazing meats. Okay, guilty: I am a Foodie. But I managed to not buy anything. For the clothing stores and beauty parlors I would suggest taking your mother-in-law if she is on the wealthier end of the scale.
Anyway, what really got me was the christmas tree in front of the toy store. It is called a Family Giving Tree for the Holiday Wish Drive. (Yes, that is a mouth full and there will be a quiz at the end of the holidays.)
This is your chance to turn into a real live elf! Pick a card, buy a gift for a child, return to a participating store by December 18th, 2015. Easy, right?
Pick up a gift for someone in need.
The idea is not unique to this mall. I was at the Mountain View YMCA and they also have a gift tree.
Do you know of any other gift trees in the area? Have you ever been an elf?
Sometimes you learn something while you are on your way to something else. Like the water-wise garden in front of the Mountain View Library. This is a relatively new addition to the Pioneer Memorial Park, which borders the Center for Performing Arts and the Library.
There are examples of water-wise plants.
If you are interested in water-wise gardening the city of Mountain View recognizes businesses and homes that have landscapes that conserve water. They call this the Green Garden Showcase and provide a map to go check them out. Please be respectful of the privacy of the owners. Enjoy a great garden tour.
Do you have an idea for frugal sightseeing in the Bay Area?
