Food weekend in Laguna Beach

Every beach town has its own personality, and Laguna’s is laid back, health-conscious, and well-to-do. Seriously, I have never seen so many obscenely expensive cars and surgically altered women. Even without the plastic surgery, California is just full of attractive people that make you hate your life, but to top it off, they don’t just have the genetics, they have the money, too. So that naturally wind-blown-curl look was actually painstakingly styled at one of the city’s many “Blow out” salons, which does nothing except styling (not cuts or color or anything else…because apparently you can make a living having a salon that does nothing except perfectly blow dry people’s hair).

Despite clearly caring too much about appearances, this town wins everyone over. Seriously, everyone who visits Laguna wants to move there. I want to move there.

My friends already DID move there after visiting, and subsequently getting married there. Now Maci and Jeff live an amazing life of dog parks, beaches, ubiquitous amazing food and almost perpetually perfect weather.

(This makes me ponder why we humans insist on living in climates where the only way we can survive is by conquering nature? We are clearly not biologically designed to occupy northern Europe. If we all lived on a beach we’d be living off avocados and oranges that we didn’t buy because it just grew next to our little hut, which is the only shelter we need because it’s between 60 and 80⁰ F year-round. What the hell is wrong with people?)

What really distinguishes this coast from other beach areas you can visit, in my opinion, is the food. It’s glormazing (which is what happens when something is so glorious and amazing it needs its own adjective). And, as a vegetarian, it is one of the friendliest places I’ve ever been. I have no trouble finding vegetarian food in most of the US, however having not one, but dozens of purely vegetarian and vegan restaurants to walk into almost puts me into a joy coma. Only someone with big dietary restrictions can understand the euphoria of walking into an eating establishment and realizing “Wait…I can order anything…ANYTHING on the menu???” Thankfully my hosts knew how great this novelty would be, and took me to as many vegetarian and veggie-friendly places as possible, and there are many others we could have patronized with enough time.

Our first stop was Veggie Grill, a more or less fast food joint that focused on whole foods, but had enough deep fried comfort food on the menu. I had a Grilled Chickin sandwich while the mister ordered the “fish” tacos.  And let me tell you, tacos are where it’s at on the west coast. The mister successfully negotiated for tacos every single day during our stay, and we weren’t event in town for Taco Tuesday (which is totally a thing and every restaurant advertises it and I’m devastated I have never experienced)!

Los Tacos had really decent veggie tacos, as does Coyote Grill, but La Sirena, the Mexeco Eatery, was disappointing. The ingredients were fresh, sure, and they did put fresh cabbage on the taco, which I love, but there was no sauce, no cheese, no flavor. Fell short of delicious.

But one taco place exceeded all expectations. Anyone in Orange County must must must must try the Taco Asylum. Novelty and traditional street tacos made from healthy ingredients (whole foods, no preservatives, all the fresh avocado you can stomach). The mushroom and brie were our favorites, though the meat eaters informed us the PB&J (where B stands for bacon) was the best.

We found this gem at The Camp (also called the “anti-mall” and the “Lab” which got very confusing so you might hear it referred to as any one of those). All the restaurants and shops emphasized eco-friendly, ethical and sustainable food and fashion choices. It was heaven. Pretty much every chocolate bar in the bakery was fair trade, there were at least two entirely vegan restaurants, and they have a Wine Lab. They have a lab. For wine.

At the Wine Lab, the tastings come in test tubes and are mostly organic wines from California. The cheesecake also deserves honorable mention, but is the only dessert we tried there, so I can’t say whether or not the rest of the menu will blow your mind.

In Laguna itself, two gelato places stand out: Gelato Paradiso, which is high quality and the largest variety, but Dolce Gelato has – I kid you not – Jameson-flavored gelato.

Another trend that is taking off in California and sure to make its way inland is the Acai Bowl or Banzai Bowl. It’s basically a parfait with smoothie. The smoothie has an acai base, and from there it’s topped with granola and whatever the heck else you want to throw on top. Again, fresh fruit, whole ingredients play a big role in this dish.

Brunch is another high point in Laguna. Many places have it, and you can eat it waterfront, but obviously for a price. Las Brisas is well-known but a bit out of our budget, so we went to C'est La Vie. It was perhaps a little overpriced for what it was, but I have not a single complaint about the Eggs Oscar (an avocado-based take on Eggs Benedict) and a champagne or mimosa comes free with your meal.

The ethnic food other than Mexican is the only thing that disappointed a bit. The Thai was more or less tasteless, and the Indian food, while tasty, did not blow me away. I’ve had better of both in Kansas City pretty much any time I’ve ordered.

Clearly I could not hit all the vegetarian-friendly places or do all the wine tastings, or taste all the gelato in four days, so I would go back to Laguna in a heartbeat, budgeting much more for eating out. Totally worth it.

We did the ice bucket challenge OUR way

Donate to VERONICAS VOICE INC at Razoo

Grand Canyon, Southern Rim. Meditating on Majesty.

This year has marked more domestic travel than I have ever done! Every month I am in a different locale, either for work, volunteering, or seeing family and friends.

Now living in Richmond, I go to DC often, and have also visited Baltimore, Delaware, Philadelphia, NYC, upstate New York, San Diego, Seattle, Knoxville, Pompano Beach in Florida, and most recently, the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Below are pictures of my Grand Canyon visit, but I will tell you now that if you have ever seen the Southern Rim, you know how laughably insufficient these are. If you have not, look at the pretty pictures to prove I was actually there, but understand that you MUST experience it firsthand. There is no image I have seen to date that captures the majesty of that place.

It is comforting, in a way, that this can be true. Sure, you look at the photos and wish they were a better representation of the grandiose beauty that made you lose your breath. But at the same time, I'm kinda glad. Glad that that moment only exists because I was THERE. Presence is a prerequisite to this experience, and of how many things is that true in this age? I work from home because everyone I need to interact with and all the information I want is online. I can watch movies on my phone in an airport. I can see aerial shots of festivals, wars, and geological wonders such as the Grand Canyon. So really, there are few things in my life that require me to be physically present in order to appreciate the experience.

Thus it is surprising, and refreshing, when you realize that no picture you have ever seen did it justice. That view is yours, and yours alone in that moment. It is awesome in the way awesome is meant to be used. It conjures the inexplicable feeling of both the infinitesimally tiny, and the ungraspably huge. You can physically descend into the greatness, and be swallowed by colors you don't understand or know how to describe.

It is no wonder, then, that the Grand Canyon is the most visited Natural Wonder of the World. It has to be. So while many tourist traps may bring a sigh of disappointment (the mosque in Córdoba) or a shrug of acceptance (the Leaning Tower of Pisa), the Grand Canyon is one destination, I have to say, that lives up to the hype.

When life gives you lemonade...HAVE A PICNIC!

I can't talk about this past year without getting gushy and sappy and gross, so you were warned...This is a long post that openly shares the way my life has transitioned from darkness to sunlight this year. I hope you read with sensitivity and an open mind.

At the end of February, 2013, I defended my thesis and received my M.A. in International Studies from the University of Washington. My topics were South Asian Political Economy and Human Rights. I focused on human trafficking between Nepal and India.

The years leading up to that moment were quite dark. I remember them as something akin to Seattle winter: sunlight so sparse that when it appeared, all concern was thrown to the wind and life was celebrated for those brief moments.

A blog is not where I care to revisit those memories, so the only details I wish to share are that I felt alone for much of that time. I had physical problems that required surgery, I got divorced, I dropped out of school, I declared bankruptcy, I suffered frequent and intense anxiety attacks. I felt, repeatedly, that all the major life decisions I had made were bad ones, and that I would be perpetually prevented from meeting my goals, no matter how hard I worked.

In many of the darker times, I made crazy decisions that seem, even to me, disconnected from the person I truly am. I think back and wonder how I did some of the things I did. The simplest answer is that they came from an insanity of hopelessness. I don't justify them. But neither do I identify with them. They were the actions of an unstable person. A person who did not know where to turn for emotional support when the traditional means were removed.

But that season is past. As I left my thesis defense with a High Pass, I prayed. I prayed: God, it's been a rough 8 years. If I could, please let this next year be one of peace, stability, and happiness. I just need a break. I know other difficult seasons will come. But just give me a year of joy.

I have had exactly that year.

After I graduated, through a friend of my family, I was introduced to the organization Strategic Applications International. They hired me as a consultant, and through that and two other contracts, I have been doing work that I love, and that keeps me financially stable. I decided to live in the less expensive city of Richmond, since I could work from home. While the city itself has not grown on me much, I have loved my freedom, my work, getting back to writing, being physically healthy, and, to top it all off, having a partner that supports and empowers everything I do.

This is the first picture ever taken of us. We're arguing, naturally.

Here's the story of that: Two years ago, I spent a quick weekend in Las Vegas to catch up with my close friends, Shea and Mike. Many of their other friends were there, as well, and I was introduced to one of Mike's classmates: Haz. Despite instant chemistry, I wasn't looking for romance, he was living on the other side of the country, and I considered that that. My young Sri Lankan suitor was not so easily dissuaded, however. When he found out I would be in Kansas City a few months later, he flew out to spend time with Mike, Shea, and me. Then he flew out to Seattle. Four times.

Though I resisted the idea of another relationship for a long time, there came a day when I asked myself what kind of stupid idiot I was to pass up clearly the only man in the world who could match me. We are not just romantic. We are playmates, we are besties, we are partners in adventure, we are collaborators.

We have about four active projects in the works, and we have completed an online video campaign.

What I'm trying to say is: I live in the kind of crazy bliss that I did not believe was real. It's not just Haz, though he's clearly a contributing factor. But besides this wonderful man, my life is living, moving evidence of grace. I have left that gray, bleak, place, for one of sunshine. I look forward at life with enthusiasm, not dread!

Since this is a travel blog, I am posting the photos of our travel and adventures below. But the smiles you see in those photos are inseparable from what I have described above. This is a season of joy and discovery. It's not Tahiti, sure. But if you can't tell by these smiles how crazy happy we are, I don't know how else to say it. Check out my highlights from the last twelve months:

Waiting for Bill Cosby to enter

Seeing Bill Cosby live in Richmond

Conquering the Falls in Shenandoah National Park

Hiking Brown's Gap in Shenandoah National Park

A little after-work shenanigans

Lincoln Memorial. Despite Napolitano's ill-informed claims, he's still a hero. (Washington, D.C.)

Adventure is out there! (Appalachian Mountains)

Whale Watching with Mom and Dad! (Puget Sound, WA)

We gradimicated! (Seattle, WA)

Shea and Mike get married, making us all incredibly happy! (Kansas City)

Singing Chariots of Fire theme as I slo-mo run on Virginia Beach

One of many water park days.

One of many birthday parties (this one is Katie's 30th in Richmond)

Doggies loved all the hikes we took (Somewhere in Appalachia)

Attacking the best Thai food in the U.S. (Monsoon Siam in Charlottesville, VA)

Hiking to the top of falls I forgot the name of (somewhere in Virginia)

Paddleboarding the Colorado River (Austin, TX)

Swimming in Hamilton Pool, TX

Swimming in the man-made but all-natural waters of Barton Springs (Austin, TX)

Schlitterbahn (somewhere in TX)

Pompano Beach, FL

Breakfast on the beach (Beachcomber Resort, Pompano Beach)

Lunch on the beach (Beachcomber Resort, Pompano Beach)

Reading on the beach (Pomano Beach, FL)

Napping on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Playing on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Yoga on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Silliness on the beach (Pompano Beach, FL)

Loving the ocean (Pompano Beach, FL)

Picking apples on my daddy's shoulders (Farm in upstate, NY)

Thanksgiving (Knoxville, TN)

Thanksgiving involved a lot of Wii "Just Dance" (Knoxville, TN)

Christmas Tree Lighting: Erin and I "Oooh!" (Knoxville, TN)

People who make my life better (Knoxville, TN)

My babies (Keats on left, Byron right)

Sledding in a blizzard (Henrietta, New York) 

Spending Christmas Eve with the Ames (my sister's family) Henrietta, NY

Spending Christmas Day with Parakramaweera's (Haz's brothers and sister)

Christmas lights at Lewis-Ginter (Richmond, VA)

New Year's in Fort Macon, NC

Curry cook-off with one of my favorite people this year has brought into my life: Rangika (Bear, Delaware)

Snowy walk with Kate, a former Oxford flatmate and her two kiddos (Philedelphia, PA)

Reuniting with Kristin, another Oxford flatmate I have not seen in 10 years! (Mesa, AZ)

I thank God for honoring my request for a peaceful year. I thank all those who stood by me when I sank to the bottom. I am so grateful to have the hardened parts of me ripped open, so that I could experience the fullness of life. Haven't had any lemons for a while, but I have plenty of lemonade. Who wants a picnic??? On the beach, perhaps?