Road Trip: New Mexico

After exploring the Petrified Forest in Arizona we crossed the border into New Mexico! Talk about beautiful landscape. Once we were in the Native American territories I was completely in awe. What a beautiful place!

We had originally planned to turn around after this stop which you will hear more about later. We planned our trip so that we would be in Albuquerque for Dan's birthday.

We were excited because we were going to stay with a very close family friend, Dan. Since we first found ourselves in Arizona, he insisted that we needed to come to New Mexico to visit him.

Road Trip: Arizona

We left a few days before Dan's birthday and headed out to New Mexico. Instead of traveling on the highway, we decided to pass through Tonto National Park, check out the Petrified Forest, and then get to Albuquerque in the evening.

Of course right as we left there was the typical desert scenery that you get used to spending time in Phoenix. Personally, I love desert plant life (from a distance) so I enjoyed the view as soon as we left populated areas.

Pretty soon after leaving town, the elevation started to slowly climb and the plant life started to change. More and more trees, less cacti. At one point, on the left side of the road it was forest like and on the right side it was desert like.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Hi all!

I have been BUSY! Oh me oh my. Dan and I just got back from a longer than expected road trip this week. Originally the plan was to go to Albuquerque to visit a close family friend, Dan (who actually married us!) and then head up to Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

Dan and I decided that after we spent some time in New Mexico, we should go to Austin, Texas. A handful of years ago, Dan went to Austin for a work conference and loved it. He's been talking about taking me there ever since and I figured, hey! We'll be so close, why not just drive there? From there the plan was to go to Dallas, Oklahoma City, and then over to Four Corners, Bryce Canyon, then to the Grand Canyon and back.

But, that's not what happened.

Thunderbirds ~ Luke Air Force Base Air Show ~

Before it got too hot, Luke Air Force Base put on an air show with a bunch of old planes on the ground and in the air. While being dazzled by tricks, flips, and smoke, Dan and I enjoyed a couple of beers while getting some sun.

Here are some fun photos from our adventure.

Find me on Etsy - "Turquoise Sky"

These guys stayed in close formation practically the entire time. It was amazing and at times scary to see.

Portlandia! The land named after Portland ...Maine.

Find me on Etsy - "St. Helen"

The husband and I took a trip up to the land of PDX. A wondrous place, filled with vegan food, beer, football love, and trees.

Sounds like heaven, right? Right.

Our adventure began with a long, yet absolutely beautiful drive up to Portland from home in the east bay. With some awesome clouds and good conversation, we enjoyed our journey north. One that we hadn't taken in almost ten years.

It turned out that our hotel was across the street from a brewery. Cha-ching, one point to Portland.

We had dinner with local family and got some great tips on what to do for our adventure day.

Life in the Desert - South Mountains, Arizona

Our second Arizona hike was in the South Mountains, a long range south of the Phoenix airport. What turned out to be a four hour hike, we saw beautiful views of Phoenix, a wide array of flora and fauna. I figure this is a great opportunity to have the photos speak for themselves. Oh, and if you don't want to read my commentary, feel free to click on the first image and scroll through them in all their glory. 

Phoenix 360º

Dan and I decided to enjoy the cool Arizona spring weather and take a trek up the Echo Park Canyon to the peak of Camelback mountain. I first noticed the peak when we went to a spring training game, which in its own right was a blast.

So, I saw this beautiful peak sticking out the middle of flat Scottsdale and did some research. Turns out it is possible to hike it. Oh what fun. With perfect weather we made our way there. It had been quite a while since we had hiked or enjoyed much outdoor activity at all because of the move and trying to get life organized, plus Denver.

Denver - A Beer & Brick Adventure!

"Denver" - Find me on Etsy

A while back we planned a trip to Denver to check out the city, along with Boulder. When Dan lost his job we decided to still go on our trip, even though it was in the middle of our move. We had already bought the tickets, booked our stay with Airbnb, and were very excited to go. We ended up having great timing!

Our adventure began with changing our flight out three times. First to book it, then to change the time since we didn't have to worry about Dan's schedule, then to fly out of Phoenix since we were going to be at Grandma's house.

Life Out Of Wack

Sheeh, talk about a crazy month.

Dan got laid off in mid-February, boo. But! It's actually quite alright. We were already mentally moving on from Los Angeles and this gave us the kick in the bum we needed to make the leap.

We had already planned a trip to Denver, and decided although it would be in the middle of everything to go anyway, and I'm really glad we did.

Although faster and more chaotic than I would have liked, within two weeks (to the day) of Dan getting let go, we were on the road with our goods and cats to our next adventure. Like tumbleweeds we are going to be exploring around the country for a new home base.

In March alone we will have visited 5 states. Le-sheeh!

Bat Attack

This is Batman.

Berlin: A History, Part One

Berlin, Berlin, mein Hertz ist in Berlin.

I love Berlin.

The first time I went there I was in 5th grade. Oh how I loved it. It was a magical place and my first experience outside of America. It took me out of school and plopped me in a place where I had no idea what people were saying. I saw cobblestone streets and attempted to walk on them. I ate food that I had only had at my Oma's house previously. I saw a world that I didn't know existed before.

At the time I had no idea how special a place Berlin would hold in my heart.

This post is a "quick" rundown of Berlin and German history. Enjoy and remember, I am a European history major, so prepare yourself.

Leetle Moosh

This is Isis. 

How Did That Get In LA? The Culver City Scenic Outlook

Over the holiday break, Dan and I decided it was time to stop lounging around so much and enjoy the sunny, warm weather we had.

We decided to go on a hike and I mentioned how I wanted to check out the hill in Culver City that we can see on our neighborhood walk.

I looked on a map and figured out it was most likely Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area that we were seeing and decided to see what the little spot of nature was doing in the middle of Los Angeles, well off to the side at least.

So, we set off on our adventure.

Downtown Date Night - Little Tokyo

Dan decided it was high time to surprise me with a trip downtown with a day packed with adventure and mystery. I had no idea what the plan was other than that it involved taking the metro downtown and that it would be all day, therefore involving food! Yum and fun!

We recently discovered the LA metro on an excursion to Angel City Brewery. We didn't want to drink and drive or pay exorbitant taxi costs and stumbled upon the well kempt, fast, and cost efficient metro! I never thought we would actually going downtown, but quickly discovered this to be an enjoyable adventure.

Anyway, back to date night. We hopped on the metro and ended up at Union Station. While that could have lead to a very different type of adventure, we walked away from the train station. I have a very apt sense of direction and quickly noticed we were headed in the direction of Angel City Brewery, but I decided to keep quite in hopes that we were indeed headed that way, and didn't want to ruin anything.

RECIPE: Amber Noël’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Jam is more versatile than you may think. Yes, it’s great for toast, but it’s also a delicious marinade, pie filling, ice cream topping, or even as a cocktail base. But that’s not the only way it’s versatile. The flavors you can create cross a wide spectrum as well: Spicy Plum, White Tea Nectarine, Blackberry Ginger. These are just some of the flavors I’ve come up with off the top of my head.

Most jams you see in stores are crap. No offense if you like them, but they are crap. The same basic, bland flavors just about everywhere you go, and believe me I’ve looked. But jam doesn’t have to be boring. Mixing some of your favorite fruits and spices, teas, anything you can think of (almost) is fun and rewarding.

DIY: Crochet A Pillowcase

So I recently decided it was time to change around my pillows in my home. After moving down to Los Angeles we got a new couch and with more of a retro style in our living room, we started to find that our old color scheme wasn’t working for us anymore. Plus, some of our pillows were starting to look a bit worn.

As you may know from my previous article The Only Five Items You Need In Your Home To Do Everything, I don’t like to buy new things unless I really need them. So, what’s a girl to do?

Simple. She crochets a new pillow.

A New Blog

Hi ya'll. This is a rather informal post.

I realized recently that it was getting crazy in here. Since I've been writing for Ladybud Magazine and the Leaf Online, I've been getting political which was not my original intent for this blog. In fact, I didn't want this blog to be political at all, but here we are. Politics taking over AGAIN. le sigh.

I thought about it and decided this was not what I wanted to happen here. Some of you might not enjoy seeing me blabbing on and on about what's wrong in the world and then post pretty pictures of some adventure we went on. It just doesn't seem logical.

Therefore, *drumroll* I started a new blog for just my political posts. This one will go back to just pictures and local events, etc. Nice, happy things... haha.

Here it is: Views of a Progressive Vegan

In the new blog I will be discussing political issues and current events. I also plan to do more biographies like the one I did on Che Guevara to hopefully expand people's knowledge of important historical figures, foundations, movements, etc. What can I say? I'm a historian!!

Anyway, thanks for all the support! Love you all and I hope you keep reading!

Joshua Tree

Before the government shutdown (luckily) we went to Joshua Tree for the first time. We went with another couple, Dorian an Elizabeth, and their adorable dog, Rocco. It was a great trip and easy planning. She is a vegan and he's vegetarian, so it was fun to come up with food ideas instead of frustrating. Yay for vegans!

More Revelations From Edward Snowden

PHOTO: Mad Magazine

Almost four months ago, I wrote an article explaining why it was important to understand who Edward Snowden was and what he had done. At the time, I thought his exposure of NSA secrets would fade in the minds of the general public, much like Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, has seemed to do.

While Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian continue to expose more and more astounding disregard for the 1st and 4th Amendment, I thought it was only right to expand on my earlier article and include the new revelations that have since been revealed.

When Snowden’s name first popped up in the news, there was much speculation about whether what he was saying was true, and if so, if it was deemed acceptable by the American public or a gross violation of our basic rights as Americans.

The State of Our Union; A Belated Rant

So.. a while ago, I was angry. Very angry at what I was seeing going on in our country. Granted, I am often angry about what goes on in this country, and outside of this country because of us, but I was especially angry on this day. It just so happened a lot of things were going crazy and I felt a bit overwhelmed, so I decided to rant.

I was tempted not to post this, because I don't want to offend people, but then I thought about it and said to myself, "Hey! You are who you are. If you have an opinion, share it. If people don't like it, they don't have to listen." So there. My internal logic wins again. Therefore I have decided to post my angry ramblings anyway.

I wrote this on April 18th, so although most of my unsure questionable thoughts have pretty much been answered at this point, this were my thoughts at the time.