On and Off the Trail

We returned home almost two weeks ago, but we are belatedly getting around to updating this site since there were lots of loads of laundry, grocery shopping trips, and other chores and errands in the interim...

Our trip out west was a very hot one!  Even though we never exceeded our outbound drive's hottest temperature of 126 degrees (see previous post), our entire California stay was almost unbelievably hot.  The little Pasadena bungalow we rented through VRBO would normally have been fine with its single window air conditioner unit, but this was no typical heatwave.  The effect of the usual searing hot California sun was compounded by the unusual (and unpleasant!) increase in humidity southern California seemed to be experiencing, just in time for us! 

We tried to brave the heat with morning hikes to places like Eaton Canyon Trail where water from a nearby fall allowed a very hot Katie to get a cool drink:

Another morning, we hiked the 5.8 mile Echo Mountain Trail which gave us a nice view of San Gabriel mountains:

A nice break from hitting the area hiking trails came via a mini-tour and a brown bag (bring-your-own) lunch at the Gamble House (of Proctor and Gamble fame) in Pasadena, just minutes from where we were staying.  The minimalist, Asian-inspired, nature-themed furnishing and decor of the Arts and Crafts movement impressed us:

Given how incredibly hot it was outside, we spent a good deal of time indoors, taking advantage of a local cheap grocery chain (Baja Ranch) to purchase beautiful produce like squash blossom flowers ($1.79 for the whole bunch) which we turned into tasty, light, and crispy battered fried snacks.

We tried to eat fairly light at home whenever possible since visits to LA inevitably include multiple gastronomic family events, mostly meat-centered...  Yes, we can testify that LA has indeed cornered the market on Korean BBQs!

Soon enough though, we were leaving LA to head home.  We'd never driven from LA to Chicago (not together anyway), and the grand vistas did make us feel quite small.  It was interesting to be able to watch amazing scenery from the vantage point of our car.  We were able to capture some images with our phone cameras, through the car windshield (like the one below), but some of the most impressive views were unexpected and thus unrecorded.  For instance, no sooner had we seen a sign for "Bridal Veil Falls" (yet another "Bridal Veil Falls"?) outside Provo, Utah, when we were treated to spectacular views.  But with the winding roads, they were gone far too fast...

We had decided to break up our 3 full days of driving with an extra day of rest and relaxation in one of our favorite little towns: Park City, Utah.  We really needed the coolness of the mountain air to revive us, and we each had our own methods of recuperation: Will (and Katie) with a 10-mile hike near the Park City Mountain Ski Resort, and me with a day of outlet mall shopping.  Woo-hoo!

An uneventful overnight stop in Lincoln, Nebraska, and then we were finally home!  One of the first things we did was to enjoy breakfast at our favorite brunch restaurant just three doors down from our condo building.  What you see below is thick cut brioche French toast, stuffed with whipped and lightly sweetened ricotta cheese, topped with caramelized bananas and cinnamon-toasted pecans.  Yum!

But perhaps the food item Will has been hankering for the most in our months away: grilled corn!  We didn't have a grill in Montreal, and corn was very expensive there anyway (like a dollar for an ear!).  Our Pasadena bungalow had a grill, but it was way too hot to grill out there.  So once we were home, I walked to our local market, purchased 5 ears of corn for $1.  Of course, we grilled burgers as well, but it was the corn which really announced that we were finally "Home Sweet Home."