Getty'ng Cultured in LA!

Wow, we are super behind on posts! It was 2 months ago that we were in Los Angeles, staying overnight on June 9 for the Festival of Animation Prom at UCLA. 'Prom' is the designation for the screening event of the animation students' thesis films. Family-friend, Evander, was in town from France, originally anticipating his film would be shown. Unfortunately some technical difficulties corrupted his sound file when he tried to submit his work. :( We are very sympathetic, but the silver lining is we may have another chance to see him when he returns next year to show it!

 After the screenings, Evander gave us a tour of the animation department, housed in the theater.  These tables were donated from Disney after they transitioned primarily to computer-based animation.

This classroom whiteboard advertising Prom features characters in the films we saw. I came to the event with a glass-half-empty mentality, preparing myself to see some unusual and possibly depressing or confusing movies, thinking it might be like an Independent film festival. But I ended up enjoying myself immensely, as many of the films were clever, amusing, creative, and funny- the students were definitely aiming to impress their crowd of peers!

 After the screening and Evander's tour, we joined the after party hosted on a sound stage (the dinosaur, currently chewing on a pack of tissues, is the star of Evander's film). Patrick and I ate melty cheese & crackers, blueberries and a lara bar leftover from our warm car ride after an unsuccessful endeavor to find dinner on the Northern end of campus, so we were overjoyed to find a catered nacho/taco bar, candy, and wine/beer service awaiting us, all free of charge. The colorful dimmed lighting, trendy playlist, and 'monster mash' themed decor created an inviting and exhilarating atmosphere.

One of the highlights of the party was a free photobooth! We hit it up multiple times. Karin is the other person in the photo with us- she is Evander's sound/music composer and was extremely personable. We had a great time hanging out with her and it gave Evander a chance to catch up with some of his old classmates and professors.

The evening was a lot of fun, but not super condusive to uncontested time with Evander; consequently, we picked him up the next morning to spend the day together at the the Getty Museum. We traveled the scenic route through Belair to gaze agog past the front gates of the majestic homes we drove past, then took a tram up a steep hill from the parking lot to the even more impressive vistas, gardens, architecture, and art that compose this LA attraction. (Pictured above is the terrace where we ate lunch.)

From this angle the museum looks like a modern research facility (there is an observatory housed in a building to the left of this photo's area, actually) but the walk through the entrance (on the opposite side) made me feel like I was in a palace. I adored the gardens, particularly these metal sculptures covered with vibrant vine flowers. From afar, I thought they were very intriguing, exotic, almost science-fiction-born-but-real trees. Even though I was wrong, they were still lovely.

As I said above- lovely! To help give this some more perspective, the green shrub labyrinth-looking thing is within the pool of water created by the waterfall in the center of the photo.We overlooked it from a gravel pathway that lined a higher tier.

 My fave photo of the trip!

Why yes, Getty Museum- we may be willing to offer this up as your latest promotional postcard, IF you give me that gorgeous vase from your gift shop. ;)

 This black succulent caught my eye as a rather exotic, yet elegant, specimen.

 A view of the LA skyline from one of the outdoor walkways/observation decks/balconies.

 

For a sense of scale, I should have made someone stand next to this marvelous tapestry depicting a Grecian mythological scene. This draped an entire wall- my knees were probably around the bottom edge of it and the people pictured in it were probably close to life-size.

Vincent VanGogh's irises painting! The color is stunning in-person! Another major highlight of our art exploration was the visiting photography exhibit of Herb Ritts' work. We've/you've probably all seen photos of his, but didn't realize it. Not all of it was "for me" you could say (what artist's complete collection is though?), but much of it was quite entrancing.

It was a whirlwind trip, as we spent less than 24 hours in the SoCal city, but it left us with a favorable impression. Beforehand, my only expectations were for the Hollywood-inspired image of a traffic-infested, fake-n-bake beach & club crowd city, but I was handed my hat to eat, and I didn't mind! I imagine there are parts of LA true to that paradigm, but I am a little more optimistic about exploring those parts now that I know there are nearby reprieves to retreat to. At least, I certainly wouldn't mind visiting the Getty again!

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated after dinner with red (strawberries), white (vanilla ice cream & bananas), and blue (serving bowls) brownies followed by economical "fireworks" put to music. Hope your day was a great one and take a moment to thank God for being privileged to live in a land of many freedoms!

Wilder Ranch State Park

The first weekend in June we spent in Santa Cruz, my primary objective being to venture on a 12 mile hike near the coast that I had in mind for several months. The route was part of Wilder Ranch State Park's trail system. Our chosen path went through open fields in the hills (everyone had to keep pulling off or checking for ticks and there was actually a sign warning us of them at the trailhead, that's how bad they were); a small oak woodland area; we meant to go through a redwood grove but accidentally missed the loop for it; through an old farmhouse plot where we explored an old stable containing carriages and a blacksmith workshop where we saw a demo of some hydrological-powered machinery; and the largest draw for me was the walk along the seaside cliffs, which is the focus of the pictures below.

These poppies weren't as thick or orange as the ones at Hite Cove, but they were the brightest yellow ones I'd seen, and just popped in the sunlight provided by the perfect weather.

Our luncheon stop. Awesome view of the crashing waves, wildflowers at our backs, and a breeze that made me feel at peace. 

The peninsula in the last photo is where I am now standing to take this photo. The connecting bend is where we ate lunch, just out of the frame, a little ways to the left of where you see the people pictured above.

A little cove that will eventually be a tunnel one day, I imagine.

A bit too steep to get down to that beach.

These look like the flower I posted in the last entry, but simply yellow, not combined with pink. Covered in them, this bush made quite a lovely impact along the trail.

Poseidon's throne behind Patrick?

Artichoke farm! They looked so odd to me, never having thought about what they'd look like growing, so I actually found this a rather exciting feature along the trail.

Pretty view of all the points we walked along tiered in the waves.

Ice plant- we had seen it along the coast during our last visit to Santa Cruz, but I don't recall any of the blooms appearing as perfect or as perky as this one! It looks like a land-loving anemone.

The spikey bumps on this plant were cactus-like but it's leaves were supple and flexible and it's shape structure reminded me more of a weed.

 

An absolutely beautiful view near the finish of our hike. 

After turning round the next bend in the trail, we saw the back end of a bobcat high-tailing it into the shrubs! (One of my bucket list items for CA was to see a bobcat, so I found that very satisfying, although I'd still prefer to see the front end of one as well). :)

We had shuttled our car near the end since our friends wanted to leave at an earlier point in the route, but unfortunately we headed in the wrong direction along the highway where the trail spit us out. So after retracing our steps and correcting our course, we reunited with Doris in the surfers' turnout, determining that we made up that mile (and then some, perhaps) we cut out when we missed the Redwoods. But it was just the right amount of tired, having felt sufficiently rewarded for our labors with the splendid beach scenery.

May Couples Retreat

The weekend before Memorial Day weekend, Patrick and I joined 6 other couples from our church small group for a Couples Retreat at a "cabin" near Sonora. I hesitantly say "cabin" because it was a very large, clean, lovely, young rental home with plenty of modern conveniences. The aim of the weekend was to take time out to relax with each other and spend a few moments reflecting on our marriages as a group and on our own. Friday night entailed a late dinner and lounging as we trickled in at various times, and Saturday's highlight event was a 4-5 mile hike around a nearby lake.

Just about to embark on our trek: Patalie on left, Tony & Rosa next to us (they were pictured in the previous blog), Debbie (the church's "first lady") and daughter Kacy, Michelle & BJ, Matt (Kacy's husband), Carrie & Brian, Pastor Jeff, Eddie & Missy.

 

 Not far into the walk I took advantage of the high perch and turned around for a picture.

  

We came from the left, and crossed this dam to the point where I'm standing. Waterfalls cascaded down to the right.

  

I've also seen this flower in Yosemite NP on a rockslide we climbed. Not sure what it is, but the orange was quite vibrant on such a sunny, lovely day.

 Pastor Jeff showing off. If Patrick tried this I would yell at him. Debbie probably stopped bothering long ago though! :) 

My view from the bridge Pastor Jeff was walking across. Looking up the hill first....

 ....then in the other direction, back toward the lake.

I loved this flower! That it had two different color buds on the same stem was intriguing to me, and the pink-yellow combo is so fun!

Doesn't this look fake?! So weird. Several of its branches looked like this, as if it was half made of resin.

 

Eddie & Missy about to jump across a bit of a gap back to the trail. I've got a shot of Missy in mid-air that is kind of neat, but I liked the tranquility of the scene in this one.

 

Crazy lookin' plant we came across! I feel like it belongs on another planet or in a futuristic world, but our friend Sarah immediately recognized it in the photo and informed me it is called Snow Plant. It has a symbiotic relationship with a fungus on its roots to get nutrients since it has no chlorophyll to produce food of its own. 

 

Patrick and I brought the kayaks with us for their long-awaited debut in California, but we didn't take them out on the big lake since we wanted to join the rest of the group for the hike. Instead, we took them out on a small lake behind our cabin. It was fairly peaceful out there, but unfortunately it was kind of lost on Patrick. He was feeling bad because Pastor Jeff went out in the kayak for his first time and tipped/rolled around several times due to a misunderstood instruction. But Pastor Jeff's pride and iPhone were the only casualties, suffering minor injury, and the situation became the epic joke among the group for the remainder of the weekend.

 

The view from the middle of the lake Sunday morning. I went out there during our time set aside for self reflection, but my thoughts would periodically be interrupted. Those geese in the distance, for instance, made quite the racket as they came in for landing.

The geese were a lot more skiddish than the ones at city parks. I paddled very slowly/quietly and didn't get too close but they still migrated to shore as I approached.

The trip there was too short, so our group would like to go again, perhaps for a 3-day weekend when the opportunity arises (and when a few more can go, since 2 couples had to sit out due to baby births). In any case, it was a nice breather for the meantime!

Miscellaneous Moments

A couple months ago, I meant to make a blog entry showing off our Christmas gifts getting use, but I got sidetracked and haven't consistently remembered to take photos. However, some of the things and events we've been occupied with don't warrant a full entry on their own, so I decided to build off of the idea and do another "miscellaneous" sort of posting.

Our tea ball broke so we requested a new infuser for Christmas. Evander went crazy and bought us three different types to experiment with! This one is so cute, I just had to share.

My father bought us each a nerf gun. After getting shot at several times, I told Patrick he needed to find something else to have target practice with. One night I walked out of the bedroom to see why he wasn't getting ready for bed, and our front room's lamp looked like this. We still have no idea how he got the one stuck on the rim at the top. In the process of giving it a try, I got hooked on shooting darts at the ceiling light as well and it's provided a great source of entertainment for several months afterward, particularly for guests during a house party we hosted.

Speaking of the house party, here were our host & hostess outfits. We held a "Goodwill Prom" (I got the idea from a friend on Facebook who attended one), which is basically just the normal party/get-together but you dress up with clothes from thrift shops. Our friends had some awesome ensembles but stupid-us didn't take any photos that evening to share. Patrick & I look kinda like a Vegas/Gangster Bonnie & Clyde that looks pretty good, but what you can't tell from this photo is that all of Patrick's clothes are about 5 sizes too large for him and I'm wearing a bathroom robe with the most horrific pants.

Cue the pants I just referenced. Skin tight (I totally had muffin top on my hips hidden by the dress) and fake-snakeskin in texture, they were covered in a metallic gold spray-paint pattern broken up by zippered ankles. Absolutely horrid but perfect for that sort of an evening!

Patrick's mom sent us a cheese-making  kit for St. Nicholas Day, so we've attempted a few batches of mozzarella. The first batch lost its shape in our fridge since it was about the consistency of thick slime, but our next two batches graced rather delicious homemade pizzas.

Our garden kept us tied up nearly every weekend during Spring. Prior to this year's bed-prepping, Patrick pruned the trees and decided to give our decorative grasses an inaugural trim (he's only got about half the plant snipped to ground level at this point in the photo). The bushes are huge havens for snails so he got gooed more than once. Yuck.

A couple in our small group had a recommitment ceremony in their home on their 10th wedding anniversary. It was a fairly small affair so we felt pretty honored to be invited. Tony & Rosa worked hard leading up to the event to have their backyard ready for the special occasion, and the weather had been perfect all week. Naturally it poured all day then. Everything was drenched and soggy so they moved things indoors, but the sky cleared to reveal the largest and most complete rainbow I had ever seen as we drove to their home.

Now that we've got a little more disposable income built up, we've been able to dabble in brewing a bit more lately. We made an awesome oatmeal stout over the winter, and a pale ale made with citra hops this spring. Patrick would like to get into all-grain brewing eventually so he bought a grinder, and in the meantime we were able to use it for our ginger pale ale, of which I reused the spent grain to make chocolate chip cookies that were delish! We just cracked open a few bottles this week that are rather refreshing in the 90/100 degree weather, and this weekend we will be bottling a Zythos IPA. I think we'll need to take a short break now to rebuild that disposable income I mentioned though!

 

 Downtown Merced  had an event called Cap & Town during an early weekend in May to celebrate the graduation commencements. We had a really great evening together browsing craft booths, grabbing a local brew at the nearby pub, browsing (and buying) art at the nearby gallery while chatting with the owners & artist, thrift shopping, eating brick oven pizza & homemade ice cream from food vendors, and taking in some of the live entertainment. The hula group was of particular interest to me, and this performance from their star pupil was certainly eye-catching. You'll see what I mean when you click on the above video.

Since the Cap & Town event was right outside my work building, I showed Patrick the little bakery down the street where I got our anniversary cupcakes. I've since been back a few times, and we picked up some lemon-blueberry cupcakes to devour the next day. I think my sister Courtney will appreciate my dorky posing.

Around 6:30 on May 20, a solar eclipse was viewable in our part of the country/world, and with full sun in our backyard at that time, we didn't have to travel far to participate, conveniently enough.

Shadows of the crescent make for a happy cyclops shadow monster.

So, those are a few odds and ends on display from our life these last few months. But tune in soon for some reporting on our latest out-of-town excursions!