Sunset Cliffs: A Fleeting Beauty

Will and I took a trip down to San Diego this past July 4th holiday weekend to spend some time with family. In my humble opinion, San Diego probably has some of the most beautiful and unique coastlines in the world (of course I am completely biased and not an expert in beaches and coastlines by any means...). "Beautiful beaches" usually inspires imagery of white sand, swaying palm trees, and clear turquoise waters, but San Diego beaches are picturesque in a very different way-- dramatic sea cliffs, coastal chaparral and wildflowers, graceful arches, and mysterious caves.

We took a family excursion to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, about ten miles south of some of my usual beach favorites (La Jolla Cove and Torrey Pines State Reserve), to explore a lesser known side of the San Diego shoreline. We studied a very faded park map near the entrance and found that we were close to two scenic points, the "Badlands" and "Garbage Beach". Hm, no thank you. I'm sure they are probably quite lovely sights but whoever named them sure was a real grouch. Luckily, we found that the park was actually divided into two areas, the larger "hillside section" on the south side where we had parked (featuring the badlands and garbage beach), and a long and narrow "linear section" that extends 1.5 miles to the north adjacent to the ocean. The linear section of the park is covered with stunning geological formations waiting to be explored!

The weather was perfect, cloudy but warm with a constant breeze. We followed the cliff side "trail" that can be considered run-down at best-- the makeshift trail has no railings, one is literally strolling along the edge of the cliff along the narrowest region of the park while other portions of the trail abruptly end, directing walkers onto the roadside bike lane of sunset cliffs blvd. for a few hundred feet before reverting back onto the unpaved park path.

Haphazard as it may be, the panoramic ocean view as we meandered along the cliffs was unobstructed and spectacular. Along the way we observed sea bluffs, caves, arches, and tide pools all intricately sculpted from the sandstone by erosion. In fact, some areas of the park were so eroded that they were fenced off for safety (in particular we found a large doughnut-like hole formation in the ground that had a tiny hidden beach tucked underneath it); yet, we noticed even the fence itself was rusting and eroding from the relentless wind and waves.

In addition to the derelict condition of the trail, along our walk we also spotted quite a few curious remnants of what appeared to be the eroded foundations of some sort of structure. Later, I found this fascinating article on the rather hapless history of Sunset Cliffs. In 1915, Albert Spaulding spent 2 million dollars to landscape Sunset Cliffs which included rustic railings, pebbled stairways, arched bridges, and even a saltwater swimming pool carved into the natural rock. Sounds pretty amazing, especially considering the delicate landscape!

The article follows the ill-fated cycle of construction and refurbishment of the park by a series of generous individuals, gifting of the park to the city, subsequent neglect and decline of the park before being retaken by another private patron, further neglect by the city and so forth until finally the park had deteriorated so much, most features were considered unsafe and removed. A series of unfortunate events indeed.

source 1 | source 2

Sunset cliffs was on this list of the top 5 disappearing natural formations in the U.S. (along with the Everglades and Glacier National Park) as urban runoff and pollution has greatly exacerbated the erosion of this fragile environment. A dramatic arch called Ye 'ol Needle's Eye pictured above in an old photograph of Sunset Cliffs, is just one example of a beautiful formation that has since collapsed due to erosion, wind, and surf.

It was a wonderful afternoon enjoying the majestic scenery of Sunset Cliffs with pelicans gliding overhead, exploring all the secret crevices of the park, and finally finding our way to Sandstone Arch, a popular scenic point where we spotted a group of adventurous locals cliff jumping (reminded me of Waimea Bay in Hawaii!). After learning about the long and intriguing history of Sunset Cliffs, I have an even deeper appreciation for the fleeting beauty and uniqueness of this remarkable scenic treasure.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
1253 Sunset Cliffs Blvd
(between Adair St & Osprey St)
San Diego, CA 92107
Website: http://www.sunsetcliffs.info/

Soba Noodle Salad

Summer weather has been slowly settling in-- I've started wearing sunglasses everyday and no longer have to put on a jacket when going out at night. Some days, cooking hot food in a stuffy kitchen is the last thing I feel like doing... plopping on the couch in t-shirt and shorts with a pint of ice cream (Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche please) seems ever so tempting. But, according to the wise words of my mother when I was five, ice cream is not a proper meal. So instead, I've been making a cool bowl of soba noodle salad as a simple, tasty summer meal. Salty with a citrus tang, a touch of sweetness, fragrant sesame oil, crisp fresh vegetables, and juicy shrimp makes for a refreshing reprieve from the summer heat (and I do believe my mother would approve).

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6-8 ounces soba noodles 
• 2 teaspoon dashi
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon rice vinegar 
• 3 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup ponzu soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 green onions
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cucumber
• 1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined 

Directions:
1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the dashi. Add the soba noodles and cook for about 6 minutes stirring occasionally. Drain the noodles, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
2. Bring water to a boil in a separate pot and salt generously. Add shrimp to the boiling water, remove from heat and stir. Leave the pot covered until all the shrimp have change color and are just cooked through. Drain, remove cooked shrimp and set aside to cool.
3. Wash the bell pepper, cucumber, and green onion. Peel the cucumber and slice thinly into 2 inch long strips. Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper and slice thinly into 2 inch long strips. Finely chop the green onion and set aside.
4. For the dressing, whisk together the ponzu soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and honey. Stir in the chicken stock and taste to check for seasoning. Add vinegar for more tang, ponzu if you like it saltier, or honey it you like it sweeter.
5. In a large bowl, toss together the bell pepper, cucumber, half of the green onion, shrimp, and soba noodles. Pour the dressing on top and toss several times to evenly coat. Garnish with a sprinkling of remaining green onions on top.
6. Serve at room temperature or after chilling in the fridge.

Of course, following up this summery dish with plopping on the couch with a pint of ice cream is not such a bad idea either... Enjoy!

The Summer (Sand) Bucket List 2013

With all of the changes at work lately, I feel like the days have been going by at lightning speed! This past Memorial Day weekend was a much needed (and anticipated) three day break, though it felt no less busy. Will and I enjoyed a fun day in the sun at our church Memorial Day picnic (and got terribly sunburned; spent the rest of the weekend lathering on aloe), saw the new Star Trek movie, cooked Sunday dinner for church, tidied up the house, and went shopping at Third Street Promenade (twice). Whew.

With time going by so quickly, I thought it would be a good idea to make a list (naturally, because I'm a planner) of ideas for things to do and places to go this summer. I channeled some inspiration from this fun LA times summer guide calendar.

Our Bucket List for Summer 2013!

• Practice guitar with Will and learn to play one praise song we can sing together
• Improve my flexibility! Will and I recently attended the annual dance showcase for the Chinese Cultural Dance Club I used to be a part of in college and I got so nostalgic for my dancing days... with dance classes a few times a week it was easy to keep fit and limber. It's really been a downward hill ever since I graduated... 
• Universal Studios: We still have a free pass to go before September! 
• New Restaurants: Have a dozen bookmarks on Yelp I can't wait to try, more foodventures are on the way! 
• New Recipes: 
• This no-bake creamy frozen lemon souffle with raspberries 
• (Finally) use our ice cream maker
• make simple strawberry lemonade with our new blender
• Fantastic salads from the list of 51 colorful and delicious ways to eat spring vegetables (even though its summer, most spring veggies are available year-round in California)
• ...and if I ever run out of ideas there is always this list of 100 great summer receipes
• Visit the Adamson House
• Photograph the Watts Towers: This fascinating piece of artistic architecture has an amazing story-- built by a single man in his spare time over 33 years using only hand tools! 
• Purple Sand beach near Big Sur (this would make a fun weekend trip!) 
• Go on at least two hikes: The weather may get a little too hot for hikes in the summer so we'll have to wait for a sufficiently cloudy/breezy weekend to accomplish this one. I've been wanting to explore the Grotto in Malibu and the famous Potato Chip Rock in Poway! 
• Update and summer-ize my makeup bag (already in progress, made some purchases online this past weekend): I don't wear makeup often but I realized that with a few weddings coming up, I should probably freshen things up (the last time I bought new makeup was probably almost two years ago!)
• Find fashionable and comfortable walking/travel shoes 
• And of course EUROPE! August can't come soon enough!