Ocean Beach Farmers Market, San Diego

in

I love how a Farmers Market ambiance speaks about its city. Ocean Beach is a funky neighborhood with a free-spirited vibe and the Farmers Market was ubber-crunchy. There were lots of awesome greens and sprouts, raw food, , tons of vegan options, fresh artichokes, kumquats, cherimoyas, unique homemade arts, old hippies dancing to some good bluegrass live music. A real cornucopia of sights, sounds and smells.

We love to support local farmers as much as possible, and we love to have the freshest greens possible for our (almost) daily green juice.

We sat on the beach wall while we enjoyed our dinner. San Diego, you're awesome!

The Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market occurs every Wednesday from 4-8 pm, and is located on the 4900 Block of Newport Avenue, between Cable and Bacon Streets in Ocean Beach.

BMXing

in

When JF found out that we were camping 15 minutes away from the US Olympic Team Training Center in Chula Vista, he convinced us to check it out. Since our traveling friend Mat had done some BMX competition as a teen, it was even more exciting. Athletes from all over the world train there and we were lucky enough to see some of the fastest racers in the world when we were there during the pro training.

When the boys found out that it was possible to rent bikes and try the track, we decided to go for our friend Jennifer's birthday. They all had a blast (I borrowed Mat's D700 and 24-70 mm f2.8 amazing lens and took pictures instead). The smiles on their faces was priceless. Our girls had a few crashes, but got back on their bikes. 

Once the track closed, we had a tailgate party with cakes to celebrate! 

Banjo making and Old Town, San Diego

in

A friend had organized a homeschooling tour of the Deering Banjo company, the biggest banjo producer in the United States. It's always interesting to learn how things are made!

Then, we headed to Old Town, a San Diego neighborhood considered as the “birthplace” of California. San Diego is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California. It was here in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of California’s colonization.

We visited the historic buildings La Casa de Estudillo, one of the oldest surviving examples of a typical large Spanish-Mexican U-shaped one-story town house in California. We then walked around Heritage Park where several of San Diego’s most notable Victorian homes have been relocated and authentically restored to their original splendor.

We all  had dinner  together on the terrace of a Mexican restaurant and celebrated another great week of traveling and exploring.

Sunday in Balboa Park, San Diego

in

Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre urban cultural park in San Diego. It’s actually larger than New York's Central Park! In addition to open space areas, natural vegetation zones, gardens, and walking paths, it is home to 15 major museums, renowed performing art venues and several theaters, housed mostly in ornate Spanish-Renaissance structures. Placed in reserve in 1835, the park's site is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use.

The Botanical Building in Balboa Park is probably the most photographed location in San Diego, and it's mostly due to the beautiful Lily Pond. Located in front of the building, this pond is home to a number of koi (Japanese fish), a few turtles and some lotus plants too. The US Naval Training Station actually used the pond to teach rowing and swimming to new sailors during World War I and the US Naval Hospital use dit as a physical therapy pool for wounded sailors during WWII.

It is especially busy on the weekends, but well worth a visit!

Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego

in

Cabrillo National Monument, established in 1913, commemorates Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's voyage of discovery who led the first European expedition to explore what is now the west coast of the United States.

At the time Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay in 1542, a rich diversity of life was present, ranging from desert cactus to moisture-loving algae, tarantulas to sea slugs, and gray foxes to sea lions. Approximately 3,000 Native Americans lived in the San Diego area at that time. The Kumeyaay, or Diegueños according to the Spanish accounts, lived simply in the environment but likely impacted the landscape through the use of fire. Today, largely due to the impacts of European colonization and centuries of growth and development, the habitat Cabrillo saw is now among the rarest in the world. 

During periods of low tide, pools form along this rocky intertidal area in which you may see flowery anemones, elusive octopi, spongy deadman's fingers, darting fishes and the always entertaining hermit crabs.

Climbing in Temecula

JF found a great bouldering gym 15 minutes from our campsite. Bouldering is rock climbing without a rope on shorter walls. It was great because the kids could climb without needing us to belay them and could try any route they wanted. We climbed until we dropped. 

I love the climbing gyms' energy. Everybody helps each other, and the vibe is really fun and relax. It reminded me of our climbing gym years in Montreal when we both still were at University... and our forearms and hands could tolerate much more climbing before being fried! 

Quartzite: Bluebird Wanderlodge meet or Burning old man

in ,

People get old couches at the Salvation Army at the beginning of the season and make pretty cozy set-up outsides. There is even a hot tub under that screen tent!

Quartzsite is one of the largest boondocking site in America. Boondocking, in nomad lingo, means a place where you can camp for free (usually without services). This place is huge and people can camp there from December to May in the BLM longer stay areas with dump station and water for $170 for the season (or for free without access). Needless to say, the place has a pretty interesting vibe! It kinds of feel like a huge Burning Man Festival.. but given the average age of the campers, it's more like Burning old man...

Many owners of Bluebird Wanderlodge motorhomes (like our bus) were gathering this week in the Nest, so we joined the crowd. It reminded me of our old VW bus meets pre-kids. People setting up in circles with bonfires in the middle, potlucks outside, incredibly dark starry skies... and the gentle hum of generators in the background. 

On Saturday, we decided to go to the Big Tent to explore the Gem Show, which turned out to be part flea market and part RV show too. The place was packed and dusty. We made our way between ethnic statuary and knick-knacks, fake fossils, Tigger shirts embedded with fake diamonds, RV brushes made from recycled tires, foot long hot dogs, teeth whitening and pain relief mud foot bath (I'm not making that up), pet rats and a bunch of other things that were just plain weird before finding the well hidden gem show. As the locals say, If you can't find it in Quartzite, it hasn't been thought of yet.

A week inside

Those who have followed us for a while might remember how we spent a Portuguese Christmas here in Tucson two years ago with our friends. Since they were going back to their families this year, we spent a week with them when they came back. It was a week of baking (Mathilde and I really miss having an oven!) and playing inside. Our friend wondered why our girls didn't want to be outside, especially since the weather was perfect (Tucson summers are awefully hot), but I reminded him that our girls are ALWAYS outside, so getting to spend time inside, in a house, with new toys, was just what they wanted.

We juiced, ate and celebrated with them. It was a simple week, filled with good moments and interesting conversations. And two adorable little boys.

Hiking (and geocaching) up Brown Mountain, Tucson Mountain Park, AZ

in ,

Scrouching to take a picture in the desert can be quite dangerous as I quickly found out... A friend had to remove the many needles poked in my butt (which took our friendship to a whole new level!). But I kept at it, pulling balls of jumping cacti from around my ankles, wincing... The light was so beautiful, it made the whole thing worth it... On the way back, I heard some coyote sing ... And then, there was the full moon...

A snowstorm in the desert

On the 1st day of the year, we woke up to snow on the ground. In the desert! A mere hour from the Mexican border!! It is quite unusual and according to the locals, it only happens every 3-4 years. Still half-asleep, I heard the bus door open at 7:30 and rolled around in bed... I found out later that Aïsha decided to go play in the snow by herself! JF followed soon after and took most of the pictures in this post (except the last 3). I finally joined them later and a snowball fight ensued (snowballs with desert prickles are nasty weapons!).

Hiking to the Romero Pools

in , ,

I don’t travel because it’s easy, I travel because it’s challenging and humbling. I travel because it allows me to connect more deeply with myself and the world, because it brings me outside of my comfort zone, and everytime it does, I am reminded I am capable of more.

Christmas in the desert

Our friend made a Christmas ornament for each of us that she filled with rocks, sand and dried plants that she picked on a hike so that we would remember this Christmas forever. It was the sweetest gift.

He decorated the bus while they slept. There were Legos, crepes, homemade quiches and cinnamon buns eaten outside with friends. There were shared traditions and shared stories. A hike, some rain and an owl that answered back. 

Catalina State Park, Tucson, AZ

in , ,

On Christmas Eve, we watched the sun rise over Mt Lemmon from our bedroom window, went for a hike among huge saguaro cacti with friends and ate popsicles in the sun. It amazes me how the shifting of our traditions comes as a relief. Like one less thing to carry with us. 

Under the palm trees...

in ,

We were delighted to find out that the campground where we decided to stay for two weeks was also a working farm. We slept under date palms (that had been harvested in September; we bought a pound of those delicious organic dates on location for $5!) and picked our own citrus (oranges, grapefruits and tangerines) in the trees near our bus for free!!

We swam in the pool, played pickleball (mini-tennis), shared meals outside at night, made some new friends from Quebec. There were roadrunners zooming through our campsites, a magic show by a fellow traveler that inspired our girls to create their own show, singing Christmas songs in bathing suits, sewing Christmas stocking outside and rollerblading hand in hand.

You can read an article I wrote on our unconventional life choices that was featured on the Rawfood Family blog.

Hiking in Joshua Tree

On our third day at Joshua Tree, we decided to go explore some of the hiking trails. We really enjoyed Barker Dam trail, drove around Ryan's campground and saw rock climbers on top of Headstone rock (one day, I'll climb this route!) and went to see the sunset at Keys View, at 5000 feet of altitude. It was cold!! Hat and gloves and winter coat cold! We warmed up eating some chili in the Westy while the sky turned bright orange and ended the evening in a hot spring where there were 7 pools at different temperatures. Just another day in paradise.

Rock climbing in Joshua Tree National Park

Can you see JF up there on the rock? This was our climbing spot on day 1 at Indian Cove. Just awesome!

Rock climbing crash course for our friends!

Teddy Bear Cholla Cacti (that's their real name!): Don't try to cuddle with them!

Oasis of Mara: The Serrano, the first recorded tribe living here, called this place Mar-rah, meaning "little springs and much grass"

The Oasis of Mara is the green space where you can see fan palms.

Chuparosa

Joshua Tree National Park had been on our bucket list for years and we were so excited to be there and finally see the unique Joshua trees (that pretty much grow only in this area) and rock climb at this famous spot. The first day we headed to Indian Cove campground where you can rock climb from your campsite! We brought our friends rock climbing for their first time and they are hooked!

We saw creosote trees, yucca, ocotillo, green-barked palo verde, jumping (or teddy bear) cholla cacti, hedgehog cactus, chuparosa: I love the desert and the name of its plants!