Thursday, June 30, 2011

Friday Fragments, Episode #152


divider

I'm back from vacation and full of little bits and pieces/observations and tidbits, so today I will share "Vacation Fragments."  You, of course, are welcome to unclutter your mind of any type you like (but keep it Rated PG, okay?). For more information about Friday Fragments, please click on the tab above.


For other vacation posts from this week, check out some of our pics from Oceanside and my meet-up with Unknown Mami.

divider

I really, really love the attitudes of folks from San Francisco. Everyone is so incredibly laid-back, and I'm really not exaggerating; it was nice. An example of this is what I found when I took out the sandwich I had bought to eat on the hiking trail in Muir Woods...


In case you missed it, it reads, "Med Muse Made with Love." (The sandwich was called Mediterranean Muse, and it was delicious, probably because of the "love.")


I find it kind of humorous that in northern California, they are all about organic stuff--no artificial anything for those folks, but take a trip down-state to Los Angeles, and they're all about fake everything--fake boobs, fake teeth, fake hair, etc.  I'm really grateful not to have the pressures of either. [Yes, I realize I'm overgeneralizing here--There may be a few exceptions to each of my observations.haha]

divider

I don't think there are any overweight San Franciscans.



It's really too bad that if you live in the city, you have to be rich to be religious about eating organic foods.

divider

When I offered my niece some of my Coffee-Mate, French Vanilla creamer (travel packets), she replied (sweetly), "No thank you; I don't put anything in my body that's not real." I thought that was adorable, and I don't mean that in a patronizing way; I think it's awesome that she is committed to treating her body with respect, especially since she's pregnant (and not drinking coffee anyway). As someone who drinks very little that doesn't come from a can or packet of mysterious powder, I kind of admire that.



I took a lot of pics on our trip. I just loved all the gorgeous flowers I found (especially in my friend Kandee's flower beds). Here's one of my favorites.

California 2011 II,Oceanside,flowers


Isn't it breathtakingly beautiful? I just love it and the effect that just looking at it has on my mood.

divider

I wrote several travel reviews for TripAdvisor when I was gone. If you're interested, you'll find them here. (My TripAdvisor username is CBean63.)



Here's a travel tip: If you're a fan of private bathrooms, television, refrigerators, and air conditioning (not to mention handicap accessibility), never choose a "historic" hotel to stay in while on vacation. Just sayin'.

divider

Gay Pride Parade--
We went to the parade simply out of curiosity; that curiosity has been satisfied and then some.



Books-
I don't read many books (just blogs, mostly), but I do read a few books a year, and while on vacation, I read Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt.  I'm so happy I did, because it was wonderful. It's about a young girl (CeeCee) whose mom is mentally ill and how CeeCee copes and then ends up moving to Savannah, Georgia. This book just touched my heart (and made me want to visit Savannah).

divider

Kyle and I put on more than a thousand miles on our vacation (and that's after we got off the plane!). Next time, I think I might choose a smaller state to visit.


Now I have to hit the home ground running--straight to teaching summer school for four weeks, starting Tuesday, and I am not ready. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend.

divider

Okay, it's your turn to unload your fragments now. I made some adjustment to the linky thing, and hopefully, it will go more smoothly today.  As long as you have a backlink (link from your blog to www.halfpastkissintime.com in your post somewhere), it should work. Please be sure to stop by at least a few other fragmenters. It's set to list links in "random" order right now. If I get more than a few requests to leave it at Oldest-First, I'll switch it. Thanks for your patience!

P.S. The cute flip-flops and sunglasses dividers are freely shared by Photobucket user, Angwbc. Thanks, Ang!


28 comments:

  1. My sister in law and her husband are very into organic stuff for family. She even buys her own cows and hogs and has them butchered. They live out in the country on a dirt road and have a few acres of land.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like an awesome trip!! I'm adding that book to my list now...sounds wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rebecca, maybe I should amend my statement to read "rich CITY people" can afford to be religious about eating only organic stuff. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's getting less expensive to eat organic (except for meat). As someone on limited funds we have to pick and choose at times and basically anything with an edible skin we try to go organic. The other day, Unknown Papi got a big box of organic tomatoes for under $2. Not bad.

    We don't eat that much meat and when we do, we go organic. Then your palate starts to be able to tell the difference and you are stuck buying organic, hormone-free, blah-blah-blah because it just tastes better to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome back!
    I do wish we could afford to eat more organic food. Maybe one day. Right now I do what I can.
    One of the reasons we love St Augustine so much is that laid back friendly attitude. It's awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm working eating more whole foods (unprocessed). Once I get that down, I'll be more ready to consider the next step into organics.

    LOVE the pic of the flower. Gorgeous, really.

    Isn't meeting other bloggers fun? Sounds like you and UM had a great time.

    Enjoy the weekend -- don't work too hard.

    FYI -- I couldn't get my post to link up. I've got backlinks in it, but kept getting an error message.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That sandwich is making me really hungry! Glad you had a good vacation!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My Hubby is trying to get us more into the naturals thing. It's fun, and interesting. I'm even learning how to make my own laundry soap, lotions, soaps, candles, etc. :) Tons of fun! But, sadly, yes... You have to almost be a millionaire to afford the food!!

    Glad to hear you had fun on your vacation! I'm hoping to make it to either SF or LA next month. =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful colors in this pretty flower.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We would never go see a gay parade--not even curious. The random order linky is kind of fun--mixes things up a bit.

    So, you aren't looking forward to teaching summer school? What's up with that?

    ReplyDelete
  11. First of all I can't imagine life without my coffeemate creamer! Gorgeous flower picture and thanks for the book recommend...I need to get on my summer reading! Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your trip looks wonderful! I love the photo of you and Kyle on the rocks - you look great in white!

    I think you have to be rich to religiously eat organic no matter where you live - even in here in my corner of the Southwest! I buy organic when it's on sale, or if there's a surplus in my budget. Other than that, it's pesticides all the way, baby! ;-)

    Enjoy the rest of your summer!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Savannah is beautiful...and Tybee Island right nearby. Definitely worth the trip. And Paula Deen and all her butter! Can't beat it. :)

    I think I'm going to download that book for the Nook so I can read it on the plane.

    Happy Fourth!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very good frags this week, Mrs 4444. It's hard to pick a favorite. But the creamer offering made me laugh. In Honduras, many things now considered unhealthy in the US are just becoming fashionable either. My maid smugly told me a few weeks ago that she ONLY uses powdered Cremora (our version of Coffeemate) in her coffee when I offered her skim milk for her coffee. And mayonnaise is considered a "health" food here. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the flip-flops! Did you know there is a Flip-Flop wine? It is good too.
    I am glad you liked Saving CC Honeycutt; Beth is a friend of mine and I thought it was so good.
    I am so jealous you got to meet Unknown Mami:)
    It is so expensive to eat healthy...I keep saying I am going to grow my own and life gets in the way...
    I hope the summer school kids are laid back and easy on you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awww, the note in your sandwich is so sweet. All takeout orders should bring sunshine like that. You are not overgeneralizing about southern CA. There is a big difference between northern and southern CA people. Of course there are still some down to earth folks in southern CA thank goodness. San Francisco people walk so much, don't they? The flower color is exotic. Really great picture; not wonder it is one of your favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sadly I cannot get Mr. Linky to work - it insists I don't have a link back, boo. Mr. Linky doesn't like me. :(

    Glad to hear your trip to California was wonderful and best of all that you got to meet Unknown Mami - so jealous!

    I was born in southern California, but I truly love northern California. I grew up in southern Oregon so it's all the same region and climate and attitudes. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I adore San Francisco. I'm hoping to take my hubby there sometime in the next few years. And I can vouch that Savannah is definitely worth the trip. So historical and a very cool place!

    This is my first time participating in Friday Fragments. Thanks for hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Linked up, piece of cake. And I like the random order thing.

    Happy 4th the 4444s!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I was watching you post as you vacay-ed. It sounds like you had a lovely time & from the looks of it - you really enjoyed that time - as much as it was an all consuming thing. Isn't that what makes them great, but happy to get home again?

    I never got to visit him, but my brother used to live in San Fran. He also lived in San Diego. The 2 cities barely compared, in his opinion, because they were so different. I bet Portland, OR is more similar to San Fran. That's where he is, now, running a Gastropub with his wife & a gluten free menu.

    I like visiting places where people are so friendly. I guess SF will have to be one of my stops, when I finally get around to it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I took a break from Fragmenting this week, but wanted to pop over and say hello! I don't think I could drink coffee without flavored creamer... that's the fun part!

    I LOVED "Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt." It was my this year's "The Help" Such a good book!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm a new follower. I had a wonderful time the week I spent in San Francisco and it sounds like you did too. Thanks for the advice about historic hotels. I will stay away from them.

    ReplyDelete
  23. We have stayed at a few "historic" places both here in the states and overseas.
    I remember an historical cabin in MO once that came with historical spiders. But what would you know about spiders?
    SF is a beautiful city but I like Seattle better. Oh they have some stressed out people working in silicon valley I believe.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I haven't been to San Francisco to really see the sights (I was there for business 2 years ago but only saw the airport and convention center, woo) since I was little. So my memory of the area is of sitting on a beach with my 3 sisters, mom and dad eating lunch out of our VW van with Alcatraz out in the water in front of us. I was maybe 4 or 5 and was extremely excited about getting to swim...too bad the water was freezing cold! I also learned how to spell my middle name on that trip. :) It looks (and sounds) like you and Kyle had a great time. I'm sure you both have your own memories that you will cherish for a lifetime.
    And how cool that you now know Mami! :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love SanFran! Oh I've stayed in several historic hotels and they are quite the change from a well equipped Hampton Inn. I do enjoy the charm though of an old hotel.

    My sister's husband just recently discovered that he's allergic to food dyes and nitrates. He is learning a lot about natural foods and how even all natural can contain dye.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh and I'm not fond of the random order because I can't tell who I've already visited. But I'll get over it if random is preferred. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sounds like you had a great time! Lots of miles, photos and memories!

    ReplyDelete
  28. It sounds like a wonderful vacation and fun too! I love the flower too

    ReplyDelete

Your 2 cents...