Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

We’ve planned ahead of time to visit the Alcatraz Island on our third day (a Monday) in San Francisco. It was convenient to make ticket purchase online from the official website. Situated in the San Francisco Bay, the island is about 2.4 km offshore from the pier. It used to serve as lighthouse when it was established in 1934, a military prison later on, and now, a national recreation area. Needless to say, a prominent tourist landmark in California too.

We took an Early Bird Tour to Alcatraz. The view of Coit Tower from the ferry.

A short ferry ride to the island. Ernest and I joined a audio/visual tour in the old prison. There are some bizarre stories from the past.

At the Embarcadero.

Boats, boats, and more boats!

A street entertainer; dancing along with the music like a robot.

It was a happening place by the Fisherman’s Wharf.

Bread making at Boudin Bakery. They looked so yummy…..

Fresh bread for sale. They smelled so wonderful!

We had a nice lunch at the Boudin Cafe. It’s a must-visit!

Ernest ordered  the New England Style Clam Chowder, and I had the Beef Chili with shredded cheddar cheese and onions. Of course, in bread bowls!

When Miles informed me about a month ago that his classmates would like him to share a graduation cake with the group, the first thing that came into my mind was “this is going to be a challenging one!” Part of the reason, of course, is that Miles had a picture of a fancy graduation cake in mind.

From our first cake with fondant, to creating a Chocolate Cherry Cake, and later on a Festive Birthday Cake, we’ve learned a lot about cake decorations. This time around, is the ultimate challenge! Here is the big picture: two-layered cake resembles the laboratory bench and a drawer, plus some laboratory apparatus on the bench.

The cake making started a week before the cake even exists! To prepare Erlenmeyer flask and beaker, we used cereal treats (a.k.a. rice krispies). The same recipe as Rice Krispie Squares, except that we hand-molded the rice krispies into shapes of flask and beaker.

Miles prepared the second beaker, a stirring rod, as well as freehand flask, beaker, and funnel cut out shapes with gum paste (also known as sugar paste). They were let air-dry for several days.

One 9 x 13 x 2 inch marble cake was iced on top of the other, with white icing. Then, the cake was covered with fondant. Staying up “early” till 4 a.m. in the morning wasn’t very fun. But guess what? At least we got the major parts of the cake done. *Phew*

The Masterpiece that took us hours and hours to complete. A laboratory themed cake!

Erlenmeyer flask with Johnny Jump-ups around it. They are edible flowers that make nice decorations.

Bubbling potassium dichromate in the beaker. Caution! It’s hot to handle!

Chlorine gas is released from the beaker with a stirring rod. Spooky….

Happy Graduation to all the future graduates! Hope everyone enjoyed the cake ^v*

It was a long bus ride to the Golden Gate Bridge, due to bus transfer. We passed by the Palace of Fine Arts Exploratorium and visited the Marina Green on our way to the bridge.

Lots of sail boats!

Unique landscape and busy traffic in San Francisco, on a Sunday afternoon.

Finally, we arrived at the bridge!

The city view from the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge, an internationally recognizable symbol of San Francisco. The longest suspension bridge in the world when it was opened in 1937.

Very thoughtful facilities on the bridge, including this….

It was a sunny and windy day. Ernest and I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge that boasted 2.737 km (1.71 miles) in length, 27 m (90 ft.) in width, and 227 m (746 ft.) in height.

For those who know me well, walking is one of my biggest enjoyments when traveling. To me, that’s a great way to experience the culture and meet the locals. According to Mom & Dad’s traveling experience with me in Canada, they are witnessed to be darker and skinnier after the trip due to extensive walking and busy itinerary. I’d like to add on, healthier too! I’d like to thank Mom & Dad for putting up with me, and Ernest too (especially our 5.5-hour way in Las Vegas in the wee hours). *v^

In the evening, I met up with Daniel, a good friend I knew from Urbana Conference. It was about two and a half years since we last met. Luckily, we has no problem recognizing each other. We went back to Lombard St. to capture pictures that I missed out from the day before, and visited a few other places after that. Thanks to Daniel for being a nice tour guide.

Lombard St., the “crookedest street.” There are always lots of traffic here. Enthusiasts who are eager to experience the extraordinary landscape of the street. I had an odd feeling that the community must be tired of tourists swarming into their neighbourhood.

Very steep hill on Lombard St. Parking at 90 degrees angle here could be a big challenge!

The Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill, built in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit who was a volunteer firefighter.

Overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge at the top of Telegraph Hill at dusk.

The Bay Bridge from Telegraph Hill.

Before the end of the day, we visited Japantown and had a nice Japanese meal there.

The Japantown.

Interesting road signs in Japanese.

Japanese stores and restaurants everywhere.

This was the first “full-day” that we got to enjoy ourselves in the big city. Based on previous experience, my traveling mindset is very straightforward. Those “must visits” are the priority on my trip itinerary. Another important thing to keep in mind is the day of the week. For example, it won’t be a great idea to try to get into the Universal Studio on a weekend, when it’s loaded with people. So, try to avoid that if you’ve a choice.

It was a crisp Sunday morning. The Golden Gate Park and Golden Gate Bridge were on our list. Another nice thing about staying in the hostel (not all, but most do) is that breakfast is provided! Simple yet filling. Loads of bread, bagel, bun to choose from; fruit jams, peanut butter, and margarine on the side. Toaster was available too. How convenient!

Tourists were everywhere!

Ernest and I took the street car on Market St., before catching the bus that brought us right to the park entrance.

Street car station.

Busy cable lines for street cars and buses.

Attractions in the garden include: Strybing Arboretum, Japanese Tea Garden, California Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers, DeYoung Museum etc. The was a huge park!

The entrance of Japanese Tea Garden.

The California Academy of Sciences. A busy crowd!

We visited the DeYoung Museum. Palm trees that I missed so much!

Lovely trails in the park.

The Conservatory of Flowers.

Yummy tropical fruits!

It was lunch time by the time we left the park. We had a Mexican lunch at this neat take-out place, Taqueria, on Lombard St.

Enchilada that Ernest ordered; rice, salad, and black beans on the side.

Crispy Quesadilla that I had, with guacamole, salad, and sour cream.

Traveling is one of the many things I enjoy in life. Certainly, it’s among those that I enjoy the most. This is a continuation of the rest of my traveling story to West Coast of U.S.A. in spring 2009, after my posts about Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

The very first stop, San Francisco! It was a sunny afternoon when I arrived. Due to the flight delay, my brother Ernest waited for my arrival at the airport. There are two important things to have “wandering” in a foreign city: maps & transit pass. We collected maps and brochures (which I considered them as life savers) from the tourist information booth and purchased 3-day transit passes ($20 each), as known as Muni Passports (short for SF Municipal Railway) at the airport.

The 3-day transit pass was great for commuting by bus, cable car, street car etc. within the city. The subway line from the airport to downtown, however, is operated by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Therefore, the transit pass was invalid and we had to get ourselves one-way subway tickets to downtown.

As we stepped out of the subway station, we spotted the famous San Francisco Cable Car. It costs $5/ride, regardless of the distance. Our transit passes came in handy ;)

This was a backpacking trip for us. After we checked into the Adelaide Hostel, we begun our exciting adventures exploring the city! We took a stroll in Chinatown.

Cable Car traveling across the Chinatown.

Looking for souvenir ideas? How about this unique penny? Insert 2 quarters and 1 penny into these crank machines (available at tourist attractions). Choose the desired image, work through the cranking motion, and there….a reshaped penny for you! Pretty cool!!

Unique architecture. I hope the stairs are only used for emergency exit?

The main entrance of San Francisco Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in North America. To my surprise, it draws more visitors to the neighbourhood than the well-known Golden Gate Bridge!!

After a quick lunch break in the late afternoon, we explored the downtown area for the rest of the afternoon.

Not a big surprise to find streets that are extremely steep around the city! A great workout for pesdestrian walking up the street and bikers biking up the hill, and certainly a big challenge for drivers parking their cars on a steep hill!

The Transamerica Pyramid. It’s known as the tallest and most recognizable architecture in San Francisco skyline.

We  made our way to the waterfront in the evening. It was a lovely weather for staying outdoor. At dusk, we were at Lombard Street, which known as the “crookedest” street. The dark lighting wasn’t the best for pictures. Then, I thought “I’m gonna have to come back here some time, perhaps tomorrow.”

A piece of advice to San Francisco visitors: don’t expect to capture night pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. We took the bus to the neighbourhood that overlooked the bridge. And guess what? It was pitch black and not even worth trying to take pictures. Finally, we were hungry enough to have supper around 10 p.m. We had a hard time finding a restaurant at that hour. Something to keep in mind: Don’t expect retails and restaurants open till late hours. We were in North America after all, not Asia ;) We visited the India Curry House on Columbus Ave., near Lombard Street. The pub section at the Indian resturant kept them busy till wee hour. A bonus for us, at least we found a place to dine-in.

It was close to midnight by the time we got back to the hostel. It was a busy yet fulfilling day in San Francisco!

Moving is a tiring and tedious process. I’ve to admit that I’m fortunate in a way, since this is only my third move in six and a half years. I don’t understand how some people could tolerate the hassle of moving from place to place every year, or worse still, every school term!

Boxes are very useful when it comes to moving. Nonetheless, I’ve to say that it really is a waste of time packing and unpacking. Needless to say, transporting time can take up a big chunk of the day.

One of my biggest dream is to own a house; no more worries about the lease and moving issues (unless I really have to for some reason). I’m not a big fan of spring cleaning. If given a choice, I’ll choose spring cleaning over moving, anytime.

The positive side of moving that I can see, is to get rid of junks! Besides, it gives us a good idea of our “assets”; what we already own and what we don’t. So that we won’t be walking into the store and purchase the same thing over and over again. Sounds familiar?

Anyway, I’ll be relieved for a little while after this move. The next one is coming up in 4 months’ time, as anticipated….

Moments of joy we share
Tears of sorrow we shed
Love and laughter we cherish
Moments of comfort we embrace

With you walking by my side
Printing footsteps with each stride
Explore the love lane with my dear
Happy moments are right here

Time flies. Miles and I celebrated our first anniversary as a couple recently. When it comes to anniversary, there are different ways to celebrate it. It could be a romantic candle light dinner, a bouquet of flowers, a nice gift etc. A nice surprise, in my opinion, is a wonderful way to celebrate anniversary.

Having told that there will be an anniversary cake, I had no idea what the cake will look like, besides for it being a heart-shaped cake.

Surprise! A nicely decorated anniversary cake that Miles prepared in the midst of his hectic exam schedule. How sweet! p/s: very neat handwriting for one who doesn’t grow up learning Chinese.

The “interior” of the cake; red and blue (Miles’ and my favourite colour, respectively) marble patterns, with chocolate ganache in the middle, and topped with buttercream icing.

Of course, we shared the cake with friends too. It was one of the best homemade cake I ever had; rich but not too sweet. Very well done (someone mistakenly thought it was store-bought)!

Happy Anniversary, Miles! Thank you very much for the lovely cake :)

It feels great when the dawn is here before 7 a.m. nowadays. Unlike winter, getting into work in the dark and getting off work in the dark.

On my way to the bus stop this morning, I was greeted by the warm and friendly sunshine. Crisp morning, clear sky, and gorgeous sunshine! It’d have been a spectacular view watching the sun rising from the horizons. Unfortunately, Fredericton is not anywhere near the east coast :P

Among all the seafood delicacies, fish is one of my favourites. I enjoy eating fish, catching fish (fishing), and admiring fish. Fishes seem to have a good time swimming in the water, especially those living in a fish tank that don’t have to worry much about predators.

Keeping fishes as pets is certainly not my forte. I remembered keeping a Betta fish as a young kid, but it survived only a couple of months. Since then, I realized that I enjoy seeing them but not keeping them ;)

Miles’ Dad is a fish lover. There are four fish tanks in the house that are homes to many colourful and active fishies.

The Goldfish.

From left: Japanese Algae Eaters (orange), Neon tetras (red and blue), a Yoyo Loach (black and white patterns), and a Pleco Algae Eater.

From left: a Cichlid, a Green Severum (dark colour), and a Gold Severum (light colour).

This past weekend was Easter weekend. Besides a turkey meal, and many other delicious treats, we had a chance to enjoy this lovely Easter Bunny Cake!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration!

Do you like soft cookies, or crunchy ones? Personally, I like the texture that lies in between; not too soft and not too hard. The baking time, hence, plays a major role in determining the texture of cookies. I usually bring cookies out of the oven when they start turning brown on the side. The cooling process allows them to harden some. Therefore, cookies will taste crunchy but soft for chewing ;)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 + 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1 + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cup rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs, vanilla extract, and honey.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Next, gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture from step (1). Stir until well incorporated.
3. Lastly, stir in the rolled oats and raisins, just enough to mix.
4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cookies start to brown. Remove from baking sheet and cook on wire racks.

* Adapted from Allrecipes.com

It has been a long haul before the nice weather finally arrived! Nonetheless, I’ve to admit the fact that this year’s winter was short and we don’t usually get 10+ degrees until closer to May. I won’t complain too much, for all I can say :P

Last Thursday was a sunny day; a good day for me to try out my new camera lens *v*

On the walking bridge, which used to be a railway.

The sun was shinning brightly.

The seagulls were enjoying the sunset too :)

This guy has already started roller skating!

People were taking a stroll at the park.

Running….

The moon was gorgeous, almost a full moon, but not quite. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

A second attempt of the same idea. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

The Happy Baker is looking busy, with a basketful of breads, cupcakes, and other delightful goodies!

The cakes on display, look delicious.

Cream-filled croissant, drizzled with chocolate sauce and dusted with icing sugar.

A closer look at the croissant.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Tart.

Smiley face cookie, with raspberry jelly sandwiched in between.

The Raspberry Surprise Tart.

Hot cross bun and lemon tarts.

Aromatic coffee beans on sale too. A complimentary “Happy Baker” bag on a minimum purchase of $20.

When it comes to food catering, cakes for parties and weddings etc., The Happy Baker is certainly one of the best in town. Although it can be a bit pricey, the pastries are super delicious and certainly a nice treat to the taste buds! Try it, and you’ll love it!

The broken ice chunks on the Nashwaak River, Fredericton North about two weeks ago.

Very abnormal winter indeed! I remembered there were times where Fredericton was visited by snowflakes in mid-April. This year, however, there were some relatively warmer days (above the freezing point) in January that bike enthusiasts were out riding their bicycles!

This past weekend, it was a record-high temperature of 15 degrees Celsius in the winter month! People were out in t-shirts and shorts, and started outdoor barbecuing! As of last Saturday, Fredericton area received about 135 cm of snow, as compared to the norm being 225 cm. The same time last year, there had been 275 cm snow accumulated in this capital city. In other words, the amount of snow we received thus far was only half of what we got in the last winter!

Cooler nights (below freezing) and warmer days (above freezing) for the past two weeks turned out to be good news for maple syrup harvest! The tappers couldn’t ask for better weather condition. Once the night temperature rises above freezing point, the maple saps will divert into new buds and leaves, which then ends the harvest season.