Universal Studios Weekend

A good friend of mine invited me on a trip with his family this weekend.  To celebrate his younger son's 5th birthday, 4 of us took a road trip down south to Universal Studios.  I went because: I enjoy hanging out with Hector and his 2 sons, I had never been to this theme park in Hollywood and I had a three day weekend from school.

Leaving long before the crack of dawn, we got to spend all day Saturday at the park.  Most of the attractions feature special effects, 3-d and even 4-d presentations and plenty of pyrotechnics to create that WOW! affect.

Although embarrassed to admit, one of my favorite things was getting a tour of the back-lot of Hollywood and driving through Wisteria Lane- the set for Desperate Housewives!! As well as a town square- with central garden and court house where movies such as Back to the Future have been shot.  We did enjoy riding roller coasters- both virtual and real.  

That night for dinner we ate at Bubba Gumps- and surprising myself to the 10th degree- although I ordered a mushroom/avocado burger- the only veggie item on the menu, I was convinced to try the shrimp.
I was shocked at myself for trying it, and even more shocked when I realized that I really liked it.  And here I thought I hated seafood.  Good thing there's a Bubba Gumps on the wharf in Monterey- because I might have to go back...it was that good.

 

NYE- Berkeley Style

First of all, happy new years to all and here's to a blessed, safe and fun 2010.

Being in the bay area for new years, meant that Lex and I had to search for something local and relatively cheap to do for the evening. Every other year (for the last 6 years) we have spent new years with the Shubin family (relatives of my grandma) in a snowed-in venue in Idaho. So for lex and me, our only other New Years where we were old enough to go somewhere fun enough sans parents was two years ago when we found a bizarre pirate party in the city playing a variety of mash-ups to popular songs. We had a blast- dancing like crazy.

Well one up on the pirate party was what I thought would be a ballroom social dance scene. It was, to an extent... I think the photos will explain more than I can. Suffice to say that we ended up at the I house on Berkeley campus, and were able to convince the parents to come. The ages ranged from infancy to people in their 60s. Average age around 35ish. Although we were told by the website that "formal attire" was optional...we had no idea what kind of "formal" they meant until we arrived. Instead of ringing in 2010, we were reliving the 1850s.



The ballroom was large, with a live band playing a variety of waltzes, polkas, and marches. The dance schedule was posted on the walls. Gentlemen, in coat tails and top hats and even a few gloves, escorted ladies on and off the dance floor. Notice quite a few ladies in hoop-skirts and corsets. Honestly, I was totally jealous. Although I love my new skirt, it did not match up to these incredible dresses.



Lex and I had no difficulty dancing, as we were asked to dance often. It was fun to glide across the floor on the fast waltzes and hop and skip like a child on the polkas and sing along as the band played tunes from the Sound of Music.

UCLA Bruins Bball

In our family now-a-days, no trip is complete without some true UCLA spirit. Our holiday trip was no exception. Of course the whole family got into it- from blue and yellow t-shirts, to Daniela leading the cheers from center court!! Why not throw in a Joe Bruin Bear suit into the mix while you're at it. Rather one-sided, UCLA had no problem dominating the game, we had plenty of opportunity to watch Dans lead cheers (below) and "furry" lex give hugs!! (second photo below)

MaryAnne's Bachelorette!

My darling MaryAnne got hitched over two months ago, and I cannot wait to go visit her this holiday season. For now, I wanted to post several photos from my kitchen of delicious cupcakes, a la bachelorette theme, that I made with my sister (and ironically the help of her boyfriend).

Enjoy!

A Hamann Family Christmas

Christmastime tends to be a season of traditions...and that is no different in my family. For as long as I can remember, and as it turns out, for the last 40 years, the Hamann Family Christmas has been celebrated on Christmas eve. Some of the evening festivities have changed as the cousins grow up and the family morphs ever so slightly. However, many traditions remain the same. This year our count was 21- ranging in ages from 10 years to 84 years old.

We all meet up at Oma and Opa's home in sunny Huntington Beach. The tree has shrunk so that the ever-growing pile of gifts can fit underneath. An entire wall is dedicated to the stockings- and more would be necessary if the whole family were to make it down one of these years. Going in age order, my mom and our immediate family of five spent a few days and nights preceding the festivities- and got to enjoy the Huntington Beach Pier. My Uncle Walter, Aunt Julie and cousin Luke (10), drove in from Ojai. My uncle Martin, aunt Lisa and cousins Claire, Noah and Sophie made it, as did my uncle Eric, aunt Kim and cousins Emily and Alex. Finally my Uncle Ernie and aunt Kathy rounded out the bunch. That meant that 17 people were missing to make the Hamann Family complete.

Other traditions include having plenty of sweets and this year, Lex, Dans and I decorated cupcakes as Wooden Toy Soldiers- much to everyone's delight.

As expected, Oma made her traditional ham and so we had to balance that out with very delicious seasoned vegetable skewers-well received by the rest of the family.

Opa greeted us all with Pisco Sour- a definite must. (I hope he remembers to bring me back a bottle of Pisco from his Peru trip in January!!)

We sang every religious Christmas song in the traditional fashion in the song packet. Plenty of rosy cheeks and good Hamann Family cheer!!

the big sur 1/2 on monterey bay

on nov. 15th my parents and my sister lex came down for a short visit. my parents were fantastic cheerleaders and moral support and paparazzi while Lex and I ran the 1/2 marathon.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and thousands of people had come out both to run and support. The race was literally in my own backyard. Everyone stayed the night at my apartment. We then woke up the next morning and after a good breakfast, and with Mom and Abba bundled up, walked the 2 blocks to the starting line. The course ran through downtown, along the coast trail, through Cannery Row, up into Pacific Grove (right past my salsa dance studio) and on past Lover's Point and Asilomar and Pebble Beach. The run out was about 9 miles, making the return feel nice and short. My favorite part was the last 2 miles from Lover's Point back to the Central Plaza at Fisherman's wharf. There were plenty of cheering spectators and I got my burst of energy for some perfect form sprinting towards the end.

With the race over by nine thirty, we enjoyed the rest of the sunny day at Point Lobos- the ocean water was gorgeous and the rock formations were fascinating.

sappy, yet incredibly serene

Since beaches in California are all considered public access... as long as you start from a publicly accessible location (Lex knows that one), I wanted to test the theory with my beach.  With the wharf as one starting point I began walking north along the sand- ultimately towards Santa Cruz.  I didn't get that far.  Walking through sand is slow going.  Especially since after a mile up the gentle silty soft sand gives way to rough, uncut large-grain, sink-your-feet-in sand.  Plus I knew that going out as far as I could would only be half the battle...I would eventually have to return!! So, I just ventured out a little over four miles and once you pass the "swimming" beach (known for its calm waves and easy access parking), and the two hotels/condo sites, there really aren't any people out and about.  Instead I found some incredible bones- skulls, vertebrae and femurs that had washed up on the sand, along with some incredibly gorgeous dunes and powerful and lovely crashing waves.  

It made me feel like I had to do some serious pondering, reflecting, big picture kind of stuff, instead, I sunned topless and watched a hawk circle in the sky.  

On the return, I met up with a fisherman who was chatty, and since I had neither seen nor spoke to anyone all day, I enjoyed his company for a while.  He baited his line with the sand crabs he had just caught on the foamy shoreline, then threw in his lines.  I have been surprised that there are so many fisherman along the shore, casting their lines into the breakers.  I mean seriously, what insane fish is going to be catapulted and summersaulted through crashing waves?? Well after about 40 minutes, and nothing more than a tangle of seaweed in the line, I felt vindicated and headed on home.