Friend from Kindergarten!!

If it wasn't raining, then Leos and I made it a point to go out for a walk everyday.  It was quite cold and cloudy, but still much better than in the Czech Republic.  While walking around Baby Beach I suddenly saw my friend from Kindergarten.  I wasn't sure if he was in the area, so I didn't message him beforehand.  It was such a nice surprise to see him and we said we would organize another time to catch up properly. It was quite funny because the picture we took together was the same location where I took a photo of Lauren (a common friend) and I.  I guess walking around Baby Beach is popular!

                                                                Leos waving

                                                            empty beach

                  there were dolphins in the distance, but I wasn't able to really catch it on camera

Gifts from my Parents' Neighbor

 As soon as Christmas is over, all the items for Valentine's Day fly onto the shelves.  This year was crazy with the amount of Valentine's goods you could buy.  I don't think I have ever seen it like this before.  It seems like every company wants their share of the holiday craze.  It's not like this in the Czech Republic at all!  Not everyone celebrates Valentine's Day in the Czech Republic because they see it as an American commercialized holiday, which it kind of is.  However, there has been a gradual increase in Valentine's goods.  For lunch, I wanted to try Raising Canes because my student and I talked about it.  It went viral several months ago on social media and I wanted the chance to tell my student that I tried it.  Sure enough when I told my student, he got incredibly jealous! We went for a nice wet walk because we wanted to take advantage of where we are for the time being.  When I got home, my parents' neighbor rang the door bell and gave us fresh hot lumpia (Filipino spring rolls).  There were absolutely delicious.  Then my mom made Japanese sweet potato for the neighbor which I had to deliver.  When I went to give the sweet potato, the neighbor then gave me fresh cut pineapple from Hawaii and a present for Amaya.  It was incredibly sweet of her.  I told her that I was organizing a Filipino cooking class in the next few weeks and she told me that I had to make sure that lumpia would be on the menu (it was!). 

                                                            Valentine's stuff for sale

                                                                pretty good chicken!

                                                    a lot more water after the few days of rain

                                                                fresh lumpia

                                                                pineapple from Hawaii

                                                             cute outfit from the neighbor! 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope this year will bring you lots of happiness, health, love and luck! Once again the weather was bad and there was just rain all day on New Year's eve.  Luckily, just like Christmas day, on New Year's Day the sun came out and we were able to go on a nice walk. We went to the harbor and then went to the beach behind the Ocean Institute.  The tide was super low and there were so many people on the beach. My friend, Lauren, happened to message me while we were walking in the harbor asking to meet at the harbor for a walk.  I told her that we were already there, so she came over to meet up with us.  She was able to meet Amaya and Leos.  It was nice for her to meet my family. When I got home, my mom prepared Osechi (Japanese New Year's food) which was nice to eat.  I got to enjoy my two cultures' New Year's food.  Open sandwich (chlebicek) from the Czech Republic in the morning and Osechi in the evening.  It was a nice way to start the year!

                                                                    chlebicek

                                                  

                                        

                                                        osechi (Japanese New Year's food)

Reunion with a High School Tennis Teammate!

I saw that a friend from high school had moved back to Dana Point, so I messaged her to make plans to meet up. We were on the tennis team together and hung out quite a lot. The last time I saw her might have been when she was studying abroad in Prague.  So, a reunion was long overdue!  After my family and I got back from our mini trip to Solvang, I had Leos take care of Amaya so I could go out.  It was so great to see Lauren and catch up with her.  I also got to meet a few of her friends.  I needed to leave early because I had to make sure I got home before Amaya needed her next feeding.  It was great to be out even just for a little bit!

                                            

                                        

                                                            yummy artichoke hearts

                                                                       USA    10,657

                                                                    USA

                                                                        USA

                                                                        USA  10,660

                                                                        USA

Ostrich Land, Solvang and Lompoc

When my parents and I decided that we were going to stay near Solvang and Lompoc, I started to look at things to do in the area.  One interesting thing I found pretty close to the hotel was Ostrich Land.  The tickets were very reasonable,  so we decided to go as soon as we checked out of the hotel.  It was a good thing we did because it was so crowded! The holiday season with kids being off of school was very apparent.  We got one bowl to feed the ostriches and that was enough.  The ostriches were already quite full and didn't come that much for feeding.  However, it was quite nice for Amaya to see the ostriches and emus up close.  Next we went back to Solvang to see the city during the day. Also for my dad, Leos and Amaya to see the city.  Businesses were actually open, so it was quite nice being able to see some of the stores.  My mom and I had to try some of the pastries. After we were done walking around, we headed to our next hotel that was in Lompoc.  I googled things to do and they mentioned that it was a good idea to walk towards the center and check out all the street art.  Just five minutes after leaving the hotel, I rolled my ankle.  We had to go back and get my parents car.  It was a good thing though because then everyone went together to check out all the murals in the city.  There were so many murals and almost no one on the streets.  It was quite eerie to see almost no one on the streets and a lot of stores empty because they had gone out of business. It was nice to get a chance to visit Lompoc, but I do not think I will need to return. 

                                                                                emu

                                        

                                        

                                        

                                              

   

 

                                                         

                                                         

                                                

                                                                    hotel in Lompoc