-1 for Google+

Please excuse the outbreak of black box exclamation marks! Apparently joining Google+ came with a fee of several hundred blog photos that all of a sudden went missing for many bloggers. Not cool.

I am now in the process of re-uploading the missing memory-gems.

Muffin + Cupcake - A work in progress

Open publication - Free publishing - More children

The neighborhood time forgot

 

pictured: Mission Creek floating neighborhood // private boat home community garden //

modernization takes over (and thus a freeway looms)

Mission Creek boat homes - a floating neighborhood smack-dab in the middle of a concrete city - awesome!

Dear Dolores Park 'Kite Guy' - you rule!

San Francisco is a small town. People stick to their neighborhoods. Faces are seen over and over again. I see people running into each other on the street, in shops, and on the bus more often than I can remember in any place I've ever lived before. And it's weird, but I do find myself liking the idea of neighbors and shopkeepers exchanging friendly smiles, serendipitous rendezvous, and a strong, tight knit community. And while I too have accidentally run into the few people I do know here, it's one guy who really, REALLY, makes me happy that San Francisco is so dang tiny.

Meet Kite Guy - Dolores Park's gem of a person that's constantly tinkering and evolving homemade kites. I first noticed Kite Guy on a much too windy day for picnics in the park wearing a 49ers jacket, brown bagging it, and attempting to fly what I like to call his "recycle kite" - a simple, classic diamond shaped kite made of sticks and a blue recycling bag. From this first spotting, I was impressed and intrigued - not because of his kite making skills, but rather by his attitude - he was creating...not just reading, daydreaming, or eating in the park.

After Kite Guy decided it was time to head home, I never expected I'd see him again. But about a week later, I spotted Kite Guy - this time with the 49ers jacket thrown to the side (it was much warmer) and outfitted with some cheap work gloves - something I'm sure really increased his kite-flying pleasure since he appeared to be using some thread on what looked like an empty toilet paper roll. The fact that this guy had gone home, contemplated his kite flying, and improved upon the design impressed me. But it gets better. Kite #2 seemed to fly better - the shape was the same, but the material used around the wooden rods appeared to be cloth. This kite had a nice tail, too, helping it take to the wind and climb high into the sky. But beyond functional design, kite #2 had a face - two blue circle eyes and a blue smile. It was amazing. As the Smiling Kite danced around people in the park - flying over soccer players, frisbee throwers, and hipster drinkers - I couldn't stop smiling right back it.

A few weeks passed before I was able to picnic in the park, but Alex reported back to me that Kite Guy was out in full force, with a new kite each day, in his same spot.

And just this past week, on a pleasantly warm day, we headed to the park for some afternoon reading, only to discover Kite Guy (and when Kite Guy is around I can't read, enthralled by the kite experience). On this day, he had TWO kites - one was blue, made with some fancy holographic wrapping paper and the other red. The Blue Kite was the first to take to the air with a tail made of sparkly decorative garland, which looked great in the sky - a genius design move. Eventually the blue kite got so high, you could hardly see it, and it stayed there for a good hour, tied to a backpack as Kite Guy savored a sandwich and sipped on a juice box, enjoying the company of his dancing blue kite.

I was left wondering what Kite Guy was like beyond the park, when he knew to call it quits on a day of kiting, and what he'd think of my dream kite design - an earthworm shaped kite flown with a fishing pole. Perhaps one day I'll talk to Kite Guy, but I worry if I do he might not live up to the kind of guy I've imagined he is...

pictured: Kite Guy and the Blue Kite // the Blue Kite really high up //
the Red Kite // the Smiling KiteI really wish these pictures had come out better, but they didn't
...so to see more, click the image to zoom in

A year in between

It's hard to believe, but a whole year has passed since we left New York, started WWOOFing in Sweden, and embarked upon a journey filled with uncertainty. And in a year we've experienced so very much and learned even more about ourselves, life, and all the stuff in between. A few highlights that I'm most proud of:

pictured: Urnatur (top) inspired the building of a mini house/loft (bottom)

Tiny living is better - from rooms in other people's houses to trailers infested with hornets, WWOOFing definitely taught us that we can live in a place half the size of our old Brooklyn apartment and be quite happy. And Sweden surely inspired with all those tiny garden houses and too cute for words shops - obvious in the look of the mini house I built inside our room. Tiny living keeps you from being sucked into the world of buy, buy, buy because really, you physically just can't fit all that stuff into your house that is really just a room.

pictured: Alex cooking at Appelfabriken last May // me recipe-less at Barenfang in July

recipe-less cooking is real - since I was little I liked cooking - and more so baking - with my mom. But it wasn't until WWOOFing that I realised I was just a "follow directions" type of cook. I hardly ever veered from the recipe and lacked the confidence to create an entire meal (beyond spaghetti or side dishes like mashed potatoes) that was totally my own. In Sweden and Germany it seemed like nobody even knew what recipes were or why you would need them - this impressed (and stressed) me from day one. But, as days turned into months I was forced to cook for large groups of hungry people with name-less, euro-exotic produce and couldn't rely on my trusty Tastespotting.com for support. Sure, I nearly had a breakdown in Treplin, Germany after our host left me alone in a veggie patch with orders to come up with a great dinner - but it was worth it (and the dinner was delicious). Oh "learning the hard way", how I love thee.

pictured: A poo this big, this close, at Die Grune Ecke smells like roses
compared to CAFO's in Iowa

Sorry Iowa, but you're bringing me down - a trip cross country and a night stop in Iowa is all you need to realise how gross CAFO are and how poo so thick can't be healthy for anyone or anything. Maybe the entire of Iowa isn't like this, but the stretch we went though was just down right foul and makes you never want to eat beef again.

pictured: We biked it to Poland // We biked it to Regensburg //
Alex broke his hand on Market // and went to the hospital for the first time in 26 years

Bike riding rulz - city-to-city, country-to-country biking is amazing, it feels awesome! Even on hot, hot days, it's the best feeling to make the trek from countryside to city and back with some fun in between. Of course, Sweden and Germany had amazing off-road bike roads that connected city to city - something the US is seriously lacking in - which make it a breeze and didn't make you feel like you needed to wear layers of protective gear to make it back alive. Which brings me to another lesson learned, that of safety first! Alex having an accident on San Francisco's crazy Market Street was definitely a wake up call that we aren't in Regensburg anymore. Be careful out there kids!

pictured: the rubber-boot-slinging-kids of Tretorn // me, one year later, using my WWOOFing skills for some volunteer work during the Earth Day-Weekend

Part-time is pretty awesome - just like the name implies, part-time jobs don't consume your life! It's amazing really. Working 4 days a week - just one day less - feels like you've gained 32 hours versus the actual 8. Those 8 precious hours allow for creativity to once again flourish, personal projects to exist, volunteering for great organizations to occur, and picnic parties to happen as often as they should. While having a full-time job does have the perks of security, insurance, blah blah blah, I like knowing that while I keep a pirate's eye out for the full-time position of my future, in the meantime I'm quite happy with the part-time way of living.

pictured: If only it were this easy
(courtesy of google)

Teeth are expensive bones that people can see - I've had my fair share of teeth problems from the beginning. I was born into a set of pearly whites that don't want to ever be straight even after 4 years of braces. I've accepted that. Then, my low blood pressure and love for being silly and stupid caused me to fall face-first into a tiled floor around age 17, requiring me to get a fake front tooth - meaning I won't ever bite into an apple ever again. I've accepted that too. Then, nearly 7 years later that age-old fall started to cause me some serious pain and required that I have a root canal - tuning me into the financial costs of teeth and causing me to appreciate the ideals of dental insurance - yet, I still didn't get any. And then just this past year I thought I was tricking the dental system and bought a Groupon - because $60 for a $300 check up sounded like a good deal. Too bad that $60 has now resulted in a $3000 wisdom tooth extraction (something that really should have been done when I was 18 and on my parent's insurance) and a $850 filling extravaganza which then turned into a $1350 root canal. Oh, and it hasn't stopped. Little did I know that when I signed up for this most recent root canal, I was also signing up for a pricey crown (price yet to be disclosed, which I've learned can't be good). You better believe that one of the those two fake teeth in my mouth are going to be gold - cause that ALMOST makes it all worth it.

So yes, this year there's been lots of learning going around, with some of the most important ah-ha's of May 2010-May 2011 listed above. It's been a crazy year for sure.

Another blog?! That's right, introducting Muffin+Cupcake

I know, I've neglected poor Olika Gronsaker a little bit since my return to the states. Without Swedish pastries, German pretzels, and afternoons of physical exhaustion, it's just harder to write. Not to mention, it's more fun to write about lambs, pigs, and poo than the everyday shenanigans of the city.


But, all this time away from my different greenthings hasn't been a total waste - as a new blog has been born, one I am excited to share, but that is still in its early stages.

Muffin + Cupcake is a blog created by myself and my dear east-coast friend, Valerie. Together we are crafting the odds and ends of a story about two young gals - Muffin and Cupcake. Though very different from each other, Muffin and Cupcake complement each other like any good friends should. Muffin is a bit of a tomboy, into her studies, and admires Macgyver. Cupcake is more of a girly girl, a true sweetheart, and crafty in her own way. It would be lovely if you'd follow us along on our journey of creation.

That's books for ya! - An Edible History of Humanity

...coming soon...okay maybe not as soon as I thought, but if you're in the market for a book to read, are interested in food, and want to discover how humanity was shaped (hint: by food) then give this book a read!

ScoutOUT! - TCHO wha?

TCHO

Pier 17 San Francisco, CA 94111
Tours daily - 10am + 2pm

When I discovered that TCHO, a San Francisco based chocolate maker, offered free factory tours (including a free TCHO tasting) I wasted no time signing Alex and I up.

TCHO is a funny name. When I first saw it a few years ago at the Chocolate Show in NY, I even inquired about its meaning. I was told it was “technology chocolate” and nothing more. Confused, I admired their interesting packaging and moved on to eat way too many bananas foster chocolate pods from a nearby, non-Tcho booth.

TCHO began life as TSCHO, an extension of the brand's German-roots. Sometime during the brand's early days it was decided that the “S” wasn’t cutting it, and that TCHO (T is silent) would be best when spreading chocolate goodness across the world. With a name in tact, these German techies began sourcing, roasting, and grinding cacao beans on the coastal waters of Pier 17, just off of the Embarcadero. Like many companies in SF, TCHO is a strong believer in technology. Whether it’s to turn on the chocolate-making machines remotely with an iPhone app, take visitors on a virtual factory tour - pre-tour, or to help the co-ops in cacao-rich communities create efficient, modern (yet sustainable) ways to produce cacao, TCHO embraces the tech – something that makes even more sense when you learn that the CEOs of TCHO also happen to be the founders of Wired Magazine.

But while technology is all good and well, the chocolate is the real star. From chocolatey, fruity, nutty, floral, earthy and citrusy, TCHO claims there are 6 taste experiences to proper chocolate. These distinctions in taste vary based on the bean-type as well as the region in which the cacao plant grows. For a host of production reasons TCHO only offers 4 of the 6 taste profiles – chocolatey, fruity, nutty, and citrusy – all of which were available to sample and compare after the short, non-virtual, factory tour. Likened to wine tasting (something I haven’t ever experienced due to my sulfite allergies) the flavors unfold and reveal themselves over time. After letting the chocolate melt (don’t chew!) it becomes apparent that the 4 varietals available are definitely distinct and fit their titles well – the chocolatey did taste chocolatey and the fruity was sort of fruity (the one I preferred). Sticking to purity, TCHO doesn’t offer “flavored” chocolate and all of their chocolate is dark.

TCHO's factory // no one likes hair in their chocolate!

Lasting about an hour, the tour was rather informative, cost nothing (you even got to keep the hair and beard - yes beard - nets required to keep chocolate making hair-free), and brought insight into a company that is looking to bring the best of chocolate to the world via a host of channels*.

*you can find TCHO in certain WholeFoods, SF-based mom + pop grocers, gourmet markets, and even some Starbucks (this one is masked under Starbucks private label….but be careful, Starbucks uses a host of other manufacturers too, so make sure to check the back of the label for "manufactured by TCHO", if you're looking for that high-quality chocolate experience)

ScoutOUT! - Soy great!

(image courtesy of tofuwatch.com)

Hodo Soy Beanery

2923 Adeline Street
Oakland, CA 94608
(check website for tour times)

For the past couple of months I've been scoping out a modestly sized booth at the farmer's market selling tofu. I've noticed that this company, Hodo Soy, also sells fresh tofu in tubs at Whole Foods and Rainbow Grocery. But, for some reason, I never sampled the products or took a leap of faith and went home with a block of tofu. So, it wasn't until my tour at the Hodo Soy Beanery that I tasted and fell in love with their soy products.

Soy beans are not all created equal. The protein content varies by variety, thus making the products that are made out of soy beans vary in quality and flavor. Hodo Soy uses a nutritionally dense, mature bean that's grown organically in the Midwest. Once this bean makes it out west to Oakland's Hodo Soy Beanery, it takes on many forms such as soy milk, yuba (tofu skin), and soft/medium/firm tofu - and even more flavors (tea-infused, braised tofu - um yeah!)

The Hodo Soy Beanery makes tofu making an art. As you look into the Beanery there are yuba skins slowly drippin soy milk into steaming trays - something that reminds me of papermaking and printmaking (weird?) - and employees hand pressing tofu by the slab (again, printmaking?). It's really beautiful. But, tofu isn't meant to be as easy on the eyes as it is the mouth - which luckily Hodo Soy has down pat. Spicy yuba strips, smoked tofu strips, tangy tofu salads, warm creamy soy milk and more were all on the sampling menu during the tour at the Beanery. I was so happy to have never tried Hodo Soy's product prior to the Beanery visit because tasting the spectrum (and by tasting I mean, eating...portions were very generous) of textures and flavors was priceless (the tour did cost $10...but definitely worth it in tofu!).

(image courtesy of dessertfirst.typepad.com)

Alex and I went home with a bottle of fresh soy milk (only ingredients are soy beans and water), spicy yuba strips, and braised tofu - along with a new found appreciation and love for the soy bean and Hodo Soy's artisanal tofu products.

That's books for ya! - The China Study

I love reading. Back in New York, my daily hour and a half commute from Brooklyn into the East Village and back was bearable, even enjoyable, only because I always had a book in hand. Without my little book friend, I most likely would have rolled my eyes, yelled, and pushed more often than I already did. Reading on the subway was surprisingly the most relaxing part of my day.

Now that I live in the “city” (of San Francisco), I don’t have very long commutes anywhere (not to mention, having no office to go to, my commute to work is...non-existent). And while it’s pretty sweet to be able to walk any place you want to go, I do miss those daily book dates on-board. But, lives change and routines change with it, and books (and my sanity for that matter) shouldn’t suffer because of it.

To go along with my “ScoutOUT!” bits, I’m starting another feature called “That’s books for ya!”. This new addition will share the wordy adventures of my reads (which are almost always non-fiction), crazy discoveries (aka…wtf! protein causes cancer!!) and most likely wrap up with a review of some sort.

Here to kick off the first "That's book for ya!" is my current read - The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted, by T. Colin Campbell PhD.


With only 50 pages read, I can say the learnings thus far revealed are INSANE in the membrane – literally. Campbell, along with students and colleagues, conducted much research that strongly (like 100 to 0) suggests having too much protein (especially from animals…so things like cheese, milk, or chicken strips) really isn’t a good idea at all. Well, why not??? Because it’ll probably give you cancer, that's why.

Like fertilizer for weeds, protein (when over done and animal derived) feeds the multiplying cancer cells, boosting growth and allowing the cells to thrive into tumors. Not cool. What a misleading name…pro-tein. Ha. Campbell goes on to share that a low protein diet (mostly from plant proteins) can actually reverse cancer cell growth. That’s right…less protein (from animals) prevents AND reverses cancer. Like I said, insane in the membrane. Just another reason I’m hella happy that I've never been a fan of chicken strips and that I'm a mostly-vegetarian (although reading this book has gotten me rethinking all that cheese, butter, and cream I’m so fond of…).

More shocks to come, I’m sure…

scoutOUT! - Scrap

Scrap
801 Toland, San Francisco
(enter the warehouse on Newcomb Ave, between Toland and Selby)
Monday through Saturday, from 9am to 5pm.

If Urban Ore fixes your home, Scrap colorizes, texturizes, and wacks-out your home. Tucked away on a side street in the middle of an industrial neighborhood, Scrap is like a crafters wonderland. Prices are few and far between - so the deals are only realised once you are about to pay - that is unless you find some fun scraps of fabric, paper, electric parts or something else in front of the sign that says "from here to door is free!" I love free, but with all that other, better scrap lurking behind the sign, free sometimes isn't for me.

Immediately when you enter Scrap you think, damn, I need to start making stuff! With barrels full of wine corks, boxes loaded with tiny glass bottles, and yards and yards of scrappy fabrics organized in a rainbow of color, who wouldn't wanna be holed up in their house sewing, hot gluing, and scraping away? mmm...

Alex, is that person who doesn't feel that way. Recently we've been visiting some paper and art stores and he gets bored. He's definitely not a craft-man. All the paper is the same to him (even when it's totally not!) and he gets no pleasure in staring at 10 different glues. So, when i told him i wanted him to accompany me to the craft depot, Scrap, rockets didn't go off. And 10 minutes after of arrival, he said, "okay, ready?!" But obviously I wasn't, since I had just walked past the freebies into the retail space. So, bored, he went exploring...

Who ended up with the most stuff? Alex! He ended up finding random book pages that had been ripped out and stashed away in some drawer. Two that he bought were intructional photographs on how to clean an oil spill with hay. Others were patents for things like self-air conditioning rocking chair and chewing gum lockets, german poems and songs, russian drawings of crazy big radishes, and two stones (total $5...i think the lady who checked alex out was into the number 5, cause it probably would have been less had my cashier handled the transaction).

I ended up being more inspired than goods-aquired, but I didn't leave empty handed: 1 adhesize roll of faux wood, 2 childrens books with awesome illustrations, an old san francisco map that's rich in subdued colors, and some fabric that will seam-up to be stuffed (total of $2). And I didn't feel guilty with my Scrap purchase (as I often do at craft stores that offer new goods) because all the items in Scrap, are well, scrap! So if it weren't for this organization, who is kepy afloat from my and other's purchases, then all that scrap would just become a big ol'pile of crap.

intro pictures from other scrap-seekers

picture memories over time

pictured: central swedish woods
(left picture...where's alex?)

there's a feeling a roll of film gives you that digital will never replace. it's a feeling of lost time and memories fermenting - getting more beautiful with age. the preciousness (don't waste that film!) and the waiting are far more rewarding than the clutter, disposability, and flatness of digital.

so here i share my bit old memories with you. memories that are revealing themselves with just the right amount of space in between - when the longing for the fresh, damp smell of the swedish woods arrives.

pictured: bits of regensburg, germany // alex in woods near appelfabriken

pictured: urnatur's magical forest

pictured: die grune ecke farm life, pt 1

pictured: die grune ecke farm life, pt 2

scoutOUT! - Urban Ore

Urban Ore
900 Murray St. Berkeley, CA 94710
Mon-Sat 8:30am-7pm; Sun 10am-7pm

Thrift Stores are great. Garage sales are amazing. Flea Markets can be pretty fun. Urban Ore is...

...a garage sale on steroids
there's something about milling around, searching for the perfect household item that belonged to someone else that's just grand. not only is the thing you are searching for usually unknown to you at the time, but the thing when you eventually find it is going to have a story, a history, and probably be better made (pre-70's usually means quality). it's what makes thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, and now salvage warehouses (aka urban ore) one of my favorite pastimes. and urban ore knows how to bring it on. this place is BIG. they have chairs, furniture, cooking wares, records, books, clothes, bath tubs, doors, door knobs, door hinges, door stops, windows, lights, etc. that you could easily spend a whole day looking for absolutely nothing - and be happy. the mission of urban ore is to salvage stuff before it's sent to the landfill. makes sense and i like it. i love urban ore.

...vintage shopping on the cheap
so this place has its fair share of 'vintage' items that are still a bit too pricey for my pocket, but nonetheless are cheaper than the places on valencia (hispterville) street. so if you're looking for some old ass dinning room set from the 50's this is your place. you might have to clean the cobwebs and fix a wobbly leg - but that's what'll make it yours.

...dumpster diving without the burger king wrappers
while i've never dived in the dumpster, i've always thought romantically of the practice. free stuff is cool, especially when you don't have to steal it (well technically you are stealing i guess...silly laws) and you're helping out the environment too. urban ore's outside area is a bit like dumpster diving. there are broken bits of glass everywhere, rotting chairs thrown about, and more doors and toilet bowls than you could ever imagine. it's amazing. unlike the 'vintage' goods on the inside of the warehouse, the outside area seems to house the cheaper items that haven't been priced yet. for instance take our first visit to urban ore. we found 4 awesome school chairs that definitely needed some tlc, but had a good set of bones. each priced at $3. good deal, we bought one (we're idiots and didn't buy the other 3...i'm still sad about this). next visit to urban ore - the $3 chairs were obviously sold, but some almost identical, a little cleaner sister versions of the chairs were now stored in the inside area - price: $45! ridic. yeah, still cheaper than vintage shops or even ikea (wooden chairs are pricey!), but nothing like that $3 beauty we found. i like the outside area. i like cheap goods that need help and make beautiful.

...what being lucky is all about
the best thing about thrift stores and garage sales is that when you find something awesome, you feel awesomely lucky. you don't usually feel that way when you're shelling out benjies at the flea market or vintage shop. urban ore's outside and sometimes inside areas give you that rush. on our last venture into the unknown we stumbled upon an awesome wooden bench. thing cost $15 and now we have a place to eat in the kitchen. every time i sit down i get that - damn, i'm lucky - kind of feeling. life needs more of that.

image via - you guessed it - google!
(i'm always too excited about the places i find to remember to take pictures in between all the discoveries...call me lame or lazy)

scoutOUT! - ARCH

ARCH
99 Missouri
San Francisco, CA 94107
Weekdays 9am-6pm; Sat 12pm-5pm

On my quest to find some bookbinding materials, i stumbled upon an old friend - ARCH (i had been here once when my brother used to live in sf and we were on a hunt for speciality papers). part artshop, part gift shop, this place puts Pearl to shame. I wouldn't say it can compete with the myriad of paper, book, and art stores collectively in new york, but for one place that's just a 15 minute bus ride away, it's pretty darn great.

They have a nice selection of papers and paper-type things - like cork that's paper thin (bought this!) and glow in the dark sheets (bought this too!) for ya know, making glowy things glow. and they have a 'bulk' paper section with tiny envelops, stickers, single specialty sheet, and more. if you're into making tiny worlds - they have a pretty good selection of model building supplies. and of course there's also your everyday essentials like paint, pencils, drafting odds and ends, etc. the gift part is 1/4 of the store and might be a good addition if you are looking for something to tie to the outside of a present or to go to an open house with. nothing remarkable, but clever enough to not wrap.

i went away with a large piece of davey board, some pvc glue, and everything else i bought but didn't need. ARCH, nice to be reacquainted, you are definitely a place i'll be frequently often.

picture again courtesy of google

READ! LIBRARY! CARDS!

San Francisco Library Cards
"READ" & "My Library"

I just wanted to share the awesome new library cards alex and i received today. oh library-browsing-time, how i've missed you so.

scoutOUT! - Rainbow Grocery

Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom Street
San Francisco CA, 94103
9am-9pm, every day

for years i heard people rave about Rainbow, so i guess it's no surprise that the place is like the best thing ever. but unlike places that are the best thing ever in new york - you actually feel like you have the space to browse. there wasn't even a line when we checked out! aaah, again, 1 million is way better than 8.

but the real bonus of Rainbow is the incredible bulk sections. now, i'm not just talking about granola bulk or fruit bulk. oh no. this is bulky bulk.

first you have the spices. sure, they are a bit pricey (we went to another spice bulk store down the street called San Francisco Herb Co. that was much cheaper) but the selection and the set up is what makes it exciting and home-like (it very much has the feel of Flower Power in ny...which i discovered way too late in my ny life to truly appreciate).

next you have the grains. lots and lots of grains. grains i wouldn't even know what to do with. and rice...lots and lots of nice varieties of rice. unlike the spices, the grains are a good deal.

but the real highlights of the bulk are the following sections (keep in mind like half the store - and it aint small - is just for bulk):
- shoyu, oils, vinegars, agave and nut butters
- shampoo, lotion, and detergent (i've been waiting to find a place where i could fill up my dr. bronner's bottles with soap - yay!)
- fresh tofu, raw sauerkraut, and pickles!
- pasta! - fresh and dried

of course there are the standard bulk items like yogurt covered whatever, legumes, granola, and what not. but it's still way better than the bulk at Whole Foods (or Sahadi's for that matter).

and while the bulk items (which i'm sure i'm forgetting half of) are the best thing about Rainbow, the selection of vegetarian geared options is amazing (there goes my savings). there are more fake meats (some are even grain-based if processed gluten makes you feel uneasy) and vegan-this-and-that type items than i've ever seen at any market. until today, i had no idea Tofurky made a pizza. or that you could buy a mini "ham" made from grains. or how scarily real fake bacon from taiwan looks (we bought it!)

on top of having everything i've ever wanted, Rainbow is an cooperative owned business. so, instead of supporting the generic grocers, your money is going to a local place and local people. Rainbow's got it right and alex and i are so excited it's just a short bike ride away!

picture via google

scoutOUT!

one thing about leaving a city you've lived in for 7 years is that you are leaving behind 7 years of hard earned 'local' knowledge. like sahadi's in brooklyn - that place was my go-to store for bulk spices. or that baking supply store in chelsea - i loved that place cause it had everything...even those lobster shaped chocolate molds that should be a staple in everyone's kitchen. and i can't forget those precious food finds like toby's, mama's, or city sub...mmmmm, city sub. after 7 years, i pretty much knew where to go for everything i needed.

and now, i must start all over. i'm hoping this time around will be easier and faster - partly because i'm older and more aware of what it is i need/like and partly because i like exploring and discovering new more than i used to (especially with alex). and third-partly because i spent more time visiting san francisco than i ever spent visiting new york. so i have a few precious gems under my belt already.

anyhow, i've decided it'd be good for me (and maybe you) to keep a digital record of our san francisco finds - whether it be an awesome sandwich shop, a great grocery store, or a shop that sells awesome balloons. these things are important and i don't want to forget them or keep them to myself. so go ahead and get ready to look forward to the new series of posts titled scoutOUT!

image via designsponge

post tour

pictured: variations on alex driving

NY >> NJ >> PA > OH > IN >> IL > IA >> NE > CO > UT > NV > CALIFORNIA...

after nearly a week of driving, alex and i have settled into our new little apartment and boy does it feel good to be home!

pictured: our tiny penske behind a big boy (for some reason i always felt we were the same size as those massive freight trucks, that is until we were at rest stops) // massive trucks can cause massive danger - hence the scary looking 'runaway truck' ramps on mountainside highways

it's amazing, practically nothing went wrong the whole trip. no tires popped, no burning breaks, no sliding trucks. i must say, that penske rode like a beaut (at least from the passenger's chair). the only small blip in the whole ordeal was that somewhere between iowa, colorado, and reno, my credit card number got jacked and someone was having a gas station spending spree on my credit. luckily, amex notified me promptly and we got that all squared away.

pictured: rock crazy...just look at those things!

having now been across the country via train and now truck, there's really nothing like the grand USofA. Each state offers a new surprise in terrain. there's green water, muddy water, clear water, hot water, and super salty water. then there's mountains that are soft, rough, red, grey, green, and dinosaur-esque. it's craziness united.

pictured: glen springs, colorado

and after nebraska, and eastern colorado (that shit looks worse than nebraska) the west is indeed wild. it's amazing to think pioneers trekked by foot, horse, and buggy through such massive, lumpy land and made it across to the other side. it's also mind boggling to imagine the planning and physical labor it took to run telephone and electricity lines - not to mention build roads - through all those streams, canyons, deserts, and salt flats. big dreams used to happen i guess. wtf "the present"?

pictured: colorado western

pictured: nevada is emptiness and scariness all wrapped into one flat-topped shaped state

pictured: utah's salt flats (it's all salt...)

on the other side of natural and man-made wow, is a little place called reno. having now somehow been to vegas 4 times (this seriously makes me sad) i knew what to expect in the self proclaimed biggest little city - old people wasting away money as they smoke and drink their lives away. yep. that's it. depressing. i just don't get the appeal. why spend money on a vacation like that? no thanks. i'll take my RV to nebraska before i do that. one positive of our reno night was the awesome spa bath tub...nothing like soaking away the grime of gambling and greasy food (yeah, alright, we gambled... alex lost $4 and i $3)...

pictured: a night in reno

notes from the road

okay, let's start with the bad stuff.

pictured: CAFO in colorado (zoom in for details) // it was that bad

like i said, iowa was really stinky - poo kind of stinky. and you know that poo smell wasn't coming from waste water treatment centers. it was most likely coming from a CAFO - concentrated animal feeding operation. if you eat animals, then you are helping support these poo-generating facilities that are bad for animals, the environment, and people - yourself included. they are nasty nasty operations - and iowa is smart - they keep them off the road, away from sight. but a smell so wretchid is hard to cover up. colorado on the other hand didn't smell nearly as bad, but had their operations right on the road. we pasted at least four CAFO's on our way to denver. and i'll bet two poodles that those are some of the nicest and cleanest CAFO's around. just imagine what's hidden beyond the grasses and gravel. yick. yuck. gross.

alright, now for the awesome stuff.

if you ever watched peewee herman's big adventure, you probably always fantasized about driving in the west and stopping at dinosaur shaped attractions or hotels shapped like teepees - i know i have. while we haven't spotted either of those two attractions, we have come across some interesting gems. like that picture below. who doesn't love sticking their head in a hole and becoming a whole nother person? we do!

pictured: fort cody, nebraska free museum

or standing next to crazy statues? we do!

pictured: alex meets buffalo bill // nebraska has awesome exit signs // me and some indian lady (if i were a lego, dressed like a native american, i'd probably look like her, no?)

and nothing is better than taking a quick pit stop and finding yourself nest to the most awesomest signs ever. i can't believe these exist! oh america, you are so very special.

pictured: "fresh donuts", "major brand" gas station, "no semis, don't even think about it!"

after 11 hours of driving, we made it from iowa > nebraska > colorado. after a place like nebraska and eastern colorado it was so nice to be greeted by mountains - no matter how hazy they were.

pictured: denver at sunset

from one state to another

pictured: us and our penske

new york >> new jersey >> pennsylvania >> ohio >> illinois >> iowa...

it appears that heading west is easy. just follow i-80 for-basically-ever and be prepared to pay tolls. lots and lots of tolls (highest being $15, the lowest being $.60). we've made it across a total of 6 states so far and we have about 5 more to go. america is big. america is diverse. and america is full of large marge trucks.

pictured: world's largest truck stop in iowa of of i-80

i always knew america was considered a truckin' kinda country. but never have i experienced such massive truck-ness. there are trucks everywhere! more trucks than cars are crossing this huge country of ours and it's really kind of insane. in those trucks are packages we ordered from amazon, chickens we'll buy at the grocer, pesticides we'll spray in our gardens, poptarts we'll feed our children, and cars that will get us to our jobs. seeing the great amount of trucks on the road has only heightened my awareness of the amounts of fuel and gas that is being wasted to transport goods that we most likely don't need or could most likely get from some place other than the other side of the country/world. and being in our small penske truck, driving from state to state, we are part of that culture that's unfortunately american. i wish i didn't have so much stuff. that i could rid myself of the urge to buy. i'm going to seriously work on it.

pictured: name that state...(iowa, pennsylvania, ohio)

another note taken from the road in full force is the industrial agricultural industry we eat off. corn, corn and even more corn is the predominately featured crop from the road - with a mix in of wheat here and there. it creates and eerie landscape that's golden hued, man made, and dusty. yet, there's also a contrast. alongside the rows and rows of corn and wheat are patches of lush greenery. greenery that a few happy cows seem to be indulging on and greenery that appears to be diverse. it's amazing really, because i always assumed the midwest was just like the great plains. plain n' dusty (where there are crops, the areas are just that). but it's these tiny strips of green land that show/prove what the untiled land is capable of...the richness of the soil - that is quickly being stripped of its nutrients so we can feed more cows than humans. ohio, illinois, and iowa could very well be as beautiful as pennsylvania. but they aren't because they're full up to their ears in corn. what have we done america?!

between the trucks and corn there's lots and lots of open road that take you from state to state. lots of time to think and wonder...

i wonder if truckers think and wonder. and if they do, if they wonder the same things i do. like where that really wretched stink of some serious poo was coming from during a stretch of iowa that lasted way too long. i wonder. they must wonder.

 

pictured: me next to some serious truck

(i really wish i knew a trucker, because i am now baffled by this seemingly popular profession/lifestyle)