Tim Samoff // Weblog (old)

July 26, 2005

A few of my favorite things (about our trip to California)...

Fun times in pictures and prose (July 17, 2005 to July 24, 2005)...

There were actually 92 steps to the beach (I counted ‘em), but 90 is what they advertise. Up at the top-left is the main part of the Tides Motel where we stayed at Pismo Beach. Our cottage is out of view, just to the right of the white stair case. (See more pics from the Tides Motel here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

My niece, Acacia, is a hard nut to crack. She distrusts most all adults, aside from her parents, and takes a while to warm up to new people. It is a rare occasion to see her genuinely smile for the camera. (See another picture of Acacia here.)

Julianna got a first-hand “knitting & pearling” lesson from my great-aunt Jenny Stupin/Egorov. Aunt Jenny is a first-generation Russian Molokan (one of the last connected with our immediate family). Molokan’s consider anyone who is not Molokan a Neenosh, or, “not one of us.” My Russian family members have always been so gracious in accepting those of us who are not Molokan as part of them (unlike many Molokans today). Julianna nervously finished this pot holder while Aunt Jenny sternly watched on.

Horseshoes has long been one of the beloved passtimes of the Samoff family. Only two “double ringers” were thrown during our stay in Arroyo Grande — one of them was mine. (See another picture of the competition here.)

One day, we drove through trecherous terrain and scaled cliffs to find “Big Falls,” a secluded group of waterfalls and a swimming hole about an hour inland from Arroyo Grande. Here’s my dad jumping about thirty-five feet to the cold water below. (See a picture of something we found on our hike here and part of our drive home here.)

This orange tree is one of many fruit trees growing around the perimeter of Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Those who have never been to California are always amazed at the amount of fruit growing everywhere. I was raised in California and it amazes me too. (See more pictures of Hearst Castle here, here, and here.)

How could anyone escape Pismo Beach without a bonfire? In this case, fire did provide. Pictured here are my cousins Nate and Kenny.

By now, you probably know that I love sushi. One of the first things we did after arriving in San Francisco was to find Japantown and eat some amazingly fresh sushi. Awesome. (This is my best Japanese impression.)

One of my goals, while in the Bay Area, was to have dinner with some old friends (whom I used to work with) in Berkeley. It was supposed to be a quiet evening, but it quickly turned into a party. I’m pleased to introduce to you three great guys: Len Fisher, Brett Durrett, and Dave Watt. (See a picture of one of the party highlights here.)

San Francisco is an amazing city. It’s sprawling. It’s heavily populated. It’s even a little claustrophobic at times. Here, Julianna poses beautifully in front of one of the most recognized buildings in the world, the Transamerica Pyramid.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a pretty awe-inspiring structure, no matter how many times I see it. (See more pictures of it here, here, and here.)

One of the best times we had in San Francisco was at a place called Vital Tea Leaf, in Chinatown. At Vital Tea Leaf, no one is allowed to look at any of the tea for sale unless they first sit down to taste the teas and talk with the people who run the shop — one of which is a 73-year old man who doens’t look any older than 50 (and, of course, he attributes it to drinking tea every day). We tasted many different types of tea, from Black Lychee and Ginseng Oolong to a Russian White Rose tea that cost $400 per pound and another Chinese tea that cost $800 per pound! All the time, the 73-year old Chinese man, his God-son, and some others continuously poured our cups full of all sorts of different teas, telling us what they were good for (e.g., “this is good for blood sugar,” or, “this one is for heart disease and blood circulation,” or, “this one will cool you down when you’re too hot,” etc.). We ended up buying Blue tea, the only naturally sweet Green tea. (See a picture of some of the various tea varieties here.)

By far, the best place we ate was The House of Nanking.” My friends in Berkeley recommended The House of Nanking to us, but even all of their raving couldn’t have prepared us for how good the food at this restaurant actually is. We were told not to order anything from the menu, but rather to ask the waier for “food for two,” followed by our preference of food-type (e.g., vegetarian, meat, white meat only, etc.). We ordered vegetarian and were served with three of the finest Chinese dishes that we have ever eaten. I will not go to San Francisco again without making a stop at The House of Nanking.

Of course, how could I speak of the Bay Area without mentioning the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Oh, that every city should have a public transportation system as good as this one. When I used to work in Berkeley, I rode the BART everywhere. I lived in Southern California during that time, so when I travelled to Berkeley every other week, I didn’t have a car. The BART got me everywhere I needed to go — on time. I loved it. Our trip this time was no different. The BART came through every time. (See more pictures of our BART experience here and here.

And, now they are all just good memories.

Posted at 12:14 pm

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