Obon Time

It's that time of year. Time to visit an Obon festival near you and play some Bingo, eat Spam musubi or tempura, watch the Taiko drummers and win a goldfish. Or win 3 in my case.

My 3rd year in a row visiting the Mountain View Obon!

Where did Summer go?

What happened to the warm weather? Just a few weeks ago we were enjoying the sun in Sausalito and now it appears that June gloom has carried over into July. Not sure how I feel about these extremes. It's either too hot or too cold. Why can't we get a consistent 75-80 degrees? I'd like to spend more time outdoors enjoying what I love about California.

DIY: birdcage headpiece with peacock feathers

 In preparation for a Mad Hatter birthday party (Happy Birthday, Rex - of REXINEFFEX), I was scouring the pages of eBay trying to find a hat. Instead of shelling out big bucks for an out-of-this-world fascinator or Kentucky Derby hat I decided to stroll over to Britex in San Francisco and get a little crafty. I opted for something simple, but with a pop of color. Here's what I ended up with.

Materials:

• french netting
• peacock feathers
• hot glue gun w/ glue sticks
• felt
• hair pins or an alligator clip

"I love the feeling of being anonymous in a city I've never been before."

Last Night in Lima

Game plan for our final day in Peru, EAT! It was a nice change to be in Lima after being in Iquitos for a few days. Our hotel was beyond my expectations, definitely a treat to end the trip with La Hacienda. The location was perfect, the service was outstanding and it was the only place we could find alcohol (I'll explain later).

After we checked in, we headed over to El Pez Amigo (recommended by a friend for having amazing ceviche) and every single one of us ordered     the seafood combo ceviche. Wow, some of the best I've ever had. While we were eating, we discovered (thanks to our server) that during the weekend before a presidential election they don't serve alcohol in Peru (same goes for many countries, I hear). The whole plan was to "rage" on our last night in Peru and celebrate Ryan's birthday, but that plan turned out to be a major fail since we couldn't get our hands on anything (no wine, beer, etc.). Yes, we pretty much looked like crack fiends scouring the streets of Lima in search of liquor. We killed some time at Larco Mar, a shopping/ entertainment center overlooking the Pacific.

After hours of sightseeing and searching, turns out our hotel had no problem serving up the pisco sours! So, we had a few drinks, went out to dinner at chef Nobu's first restaurant Matsuei (had the BEST cab ride ever - think tv screens and dance music), then came back to have a few drinks. At some point in the night, some of us headed over to Manolo's to feast on delicious churros. We got carried away and bought way more than we could eat so I had a few more for breakfast in the morning. Can't let those churros go to waste! Overall, what a great night in Lima and one of the best trips.

Iquitos -> Lima

Leaving Iquitos to head back to Lima for our last night in Peru! So sad to be leaving (I rarely get homesick on vacations). I wish I could just keep jet-setting for the rest of the month and visit Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and the list goes on. I love South America - I just want to keep exploring it. Now on to reality. One last night in Lima. We have to make it a good one! BTW, this is our attempt at an Entourage photo (can't wait for the final season to start).

Common Meals in Iquitos

Alligator, beans, catfish, palm salad & rice

Dorado, palm salad & rice

Paiche (though we found out it was endangered later into the trip), fried bananas & palm salad

Smoked pork, fried yucca & palm salad (yes, palm salad comes with almost everything)

 chicken & chifa (fried rice)

...and everything was yummy!

Belen

Belen is a community on water in Iquitos. The water levels go up and down with the seasons, but the homes here are always tethered to large poles and either float on water or are on stilts. Everything from the gas stations and night clubs to churches and schools are on water. The people of Belen live such a simple life, but they seem so happy.