Would You Ever Car-Camp?
What is car-camping you ask? It’s camping, but instead of sleeping in a tent, you sleep in a car. It was a first for me this past weekend and will probably be my LAST time as well! Lol. It wasn’t my idea. But I do love adventure, road-trips, nature, and new experiences, so I was completely open to the idea. It was also my first time in the mountains of Idyllwild.
What is car-camping you ask? It’s camping, but instead of sleeping in a tent, you sleep in a car. It was a first for me this past weekend and will probably be my LAST time as well! Lol. It wasn’t my idea. But I do love adventure, road-trips, nature, and new experiences, so I was completely open to the idea. It was also my first time in the mountains of Idyllwild.
Idyllwild is a charming mountain town about a two and a half hour drive from Los Angeles. When we arrived, the first thing we did was stop at a gastropub for beer and a late lunch with a view. Then walked around town. There were lots of little shops with knick knacks. We picked up some groceries for dinner and then headed to the campsite only to find that the road to the campsite was closed. We had to park the car off the side of the road, on the slant of a hill near the road closure, and set up base there because we didn’t know where else to go. It was starting to get dark. And that’s when the adventure truly began.
We didn’t have lamps. Our phone flashlights were our only light. We used a propane burner stove that needed to be propped up on a rock for cooking, and we still needed to do cooking prep in the dark. It was a lot of work, cleaning the veggies, seasoning raw meat, chopping everything up and trying to prevent everything from sliding off the Yetti trunk, with very little work space. Surprisingly, dinner turned out pretty good considering it was done on the fly. But then we had to clean up, pack up the materials, and store them away before bed.
I have never peed in nature before. I know this may be hard to believe, but I’ve never peed outdoors in public. So I don’t have much squatting experience. It was my first time and it was not pleasant in the dark! As a result, I didn’t drink enough water and was pretty dehydrated.
Sleeping in the car with a blow up car mattress was pretty comfortable. I think I sleep pretty well in nature. I’ve camped in a tent one time before and I remember I slept pretty hard then, too. Maybe because there’s nothing else to do? There is little room to move around, sit up, or to search for your bags to grab things. And no personal space from whoever you’re sharing the car with. It was also really cold at night. I slept in sweatpants and a hoodie. I would never do this alone. In the middle of the night, we were woken up by what we imagined to be drunk drivers in a jeep, zooming up our way, back and forth. Nothing happened, but you never know with these things. I was scared and that kept me up for a bit.
The best part of any nature trip for me is waking up to the fresh, crisp mountain air. I love that smell and that feeling. There was morning dew on the car windows. We woke up early and then fell back asleep (I can never do that in LA). I love the tranquility of being in nature. We originally wanted to make eggs for breakfast, but since cooking was so much work the night before, we decided to drive into town to grab breakfast.
After breakfast, we did a 5.5 mile hike. I hadn’t hiked in two months because I fractured my foot back in July. The hike was harder than I expected because of the elevation, but we got some great pictures. It didn’t have a view at the top but it did have views along the way.
I still had a great experience, but I would never car-camp again. The juice was not worth the squeeze. I felt dirty. I slept with my make-up on. So much equipment to pack and bring. So much work cleaning everything up and putting everything away. That’s what Airbnbs are for. Renting a home can still give you exposure to nature with the added benefits of a proper bathroom and kitchen. You can still cook, be comfy, and be in nature. Car-camping is unnecessary, but I’m glad I got to try it! I returned home with at least seven mosquito bites and a large bruise on my butt and all over my legs. Oh, and a toenail popped off my foot this morning. I did enjoy the brief opportunity to unplug from my phone, social media, and the internet. But I am really happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed, using a toilet, and cooking in my kitchen!
Happy 2021!
Happy NEW Year! I had been meaning to check in on the blog but then chaos ensued after only a few days into the new year. The riots at the Capitol were so upsetting. I had a lot of feelings and needed some time to process. I’m deeply saddened by the acts of ignorance, hate, racism, and white supremacy in our country. I can’t help but feel a little scared and nervous about the future with everything happening right now.
Happy NEW Year! I had been meaning to check in on the blog but then chaos ensued after only a few days into the new year. The riots at the Capitol were so upsetting. I had a lot of feelings and needed some time to process. I’m deeply saddened by the acts of ignorance, hate, racism, and white supremacy in our country. I can’t help but feel a little scared and nervous about the future with everything happening right now. While I think that having new leadership will help, as a country, we still have a long way to go and so much to learn.
Here in Los Angeles, we are still in a lockdown. I survived the holidays. It was a little lonely and isolating but I bounced back quicker than I thought I would. People all around me are still traveling and seeing their friends and carrying on as normal (or close to normal) and I’m wondering if I should be doing the same? I haven’t seen my family in a year and a half. I haven’t been on a plane in a year. I do see people occasionally for social distant hangs, walks, and hikes but probably not as regularly as I should to maintain my mental health.
I was starting to feel the isolation creeping in on me again as we entered the new year. So then last weekend, I made plans for 2 back to back hangs, 2 days in a row. One was a challenging 4 mile uphill hike to Sandstone Peak in Malibu and the other was a 5 mile walk along Zuma Beach in Malibu. I had also hiked 3 times that week leading up to the weekend and had a few back to back FaceTime calls the Friday night prior. That following Monday, I was completely exhausted and as a result, was not as productive as I had wanted to be. Plus, my body was completely sore from all the hiking and exercise. By Tuesday morning, I still had not recovered. I woke up with an allergy attack and was basically incapacitated on the couch for the whole day. My body did not like all of that action! As an introvert, too much social activity can be draining but now, in a pandemic, after becoming accustomed to quarantine and isolation, I must have hit a whole new level of social exhaustion combined with too much physical ventures. Anyway, because of that setback, I worked all of this weekend on my cookbook to catch up with the time that I lost during the week.
With my consulting at a halt at the moment due to my project ending last November, I finally have the time to refocus on my cookbook. It was hard to transition back to a creative and entrepreneurial mindset and schedule though. It took a couple of weeks of resistance in December before I found the momentum to get going again. In the last year, it was not possible for me to work on the cookbook while also juggling full-time consulting work, brand partnerships, content creation, and my blog. I believe this break from consulting is a blessing in disguise because now I can commit my time to the cookbook again. My passion project requires more energy. Creativity for me requires more energy. I notice that when there is too much space and time between each piece of the cookbook that I work on, it then reflects in my work. The quality, depth, connection, and flow suffer. I’ll forget why I wrote something or how I made a dish.
Since mid-December, I’ve been FaceTiming with my mom several days a week to discuss my recipes, photos, Khmer translations, ideas, and facts about our history. I’m going back through all my recipes and editing the writing, reorganizing the flow, and deciding which ones I need to reshoot. Even though I devoted the entire 2019 to cooking most of the recipes in the book (and thought I was almost done), I’ve just added more new recipes to my list and I still have desserts that I need to make. And I’d like to add more stories. I still have a lot to do and it has been so exhausting. One evening, I spoke with my mom for 2 hours just about herbs! HERBS! Each of our calls last 2 hours. There’s so much detail to go through and understand. But I know I can do it!
Last week, on a call with a new therapist, she asked me what I do for fun after I had updated her on all the things I’ve been working on and all the emotions I had been feeling. Her question made me pause and think. I had been spending all my time working on the cookbook, FaceTiming with my mom or sister to brainstorm about contents of the cookbook, going to virtual therapy, and attending virtual support groups. Basically, all my time had been devoted to either my cookbook or my mental health. It has been awhile since I’ve dedicated a day or even a few hours to doing something that brings me joy. I was diligent about allocating one day a week to joy last summer and I did do a couple road trips in November that brought me some joy. But I hadn’t really incorporated joy into part of my everyday life recently. I’ve kind of lost my balance again. And that’s okay. It happens. It’s hard to maintain balance all the time.
So this coming week, I’m going to be thinking about some new ways to spark joy for me and try to incorporate it more regularly into my life. I also think that we all need to show ourselves a little compassion and grace for just surviving everything that is happening in the world right now. It’s a lot. In the meantime, I hope you find some way to bring a little bit of joy into your life as well. And if you have ideas, please comment on this post and share! I’d love to hear!
Lost in Death Valley
I have been working a lot recently and feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed. I have been craving a little adventure. I love the desert and Death Valley had been on my list for awhile so I thought it would be the perfect little roadtrip that I needed to reset. And I am so grateful that I finally got the opportunity to visit!
I have been working a lot recently and feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed. I have been craving a little adventure. I love the desert and Death Valley had been on my list for awhile so I thought it would be the perfect little roadtrip that I needed to reset. And I am so grateful that I finally got the opportunity to visit!
Death Valley is a far drive (5 hrs from LA) and there’s even more driving once you get there, but it’s totally worth it. I advise staying within the park (we stayed at The Ranch at Death Valley) to limit the amount of driving you would need to do and packing lots of snacks and food (and wine or whiskey) for your day trips, hikes, and picnics. Death Valley is so unique in that it has many contrasting sites and terrain. We walked along the rim of Ubehebe crater, hiked through Mosaic slot canyons, walked over salt flats under the blazing sun, climbed up a giant rock along Golden Canyon to enjoy a little picnic with a view, trekked down a mountainside at Zabriskie Point to find the perfect isolated spot to enjoy whiskey and charcuterie while watching the sunset, stargazed in the middle of nowhere, drove through a long windy road to see the colorful mountains of Artist’s Palette, hiked to Darwin’s waterfall, attempted to sand surf (it didn’t work lol), and ran up and down the massive Mesquite sand dunes. There were so many more places in Death Valley that I would have loved to have seen or spent more time at but we couldn’t fit it all in with all the driving involved. But in the 2 nights and 3 days we spent there, we did manage to see a lot! I was definitely a little achy and exhausted by the end of the trip, but it was worth it. I had the best time!
Let's Hike!
It feels like the year just started and somehow it’s March already and I haven’t submitted this post (it has been sitting in my drafts)! There’s so much stress and anxiety that not only comes with ending a year but also beginning a new one. There’s so much hope but also a lot of fear at the same time. I definitely felt it. Anyone else?
It feels like the new year just started and somehow it’s March already and I haven’t submitted this post (it has been sitting in my drafts)! There’s so much stress and anxiety that not only comes with ending a year but also beginning a new one. There’s so much hope but also a lot of fear at the same time. I definitely felt it. Anyone else? What sometimes helps me with that pressure is going on little adventures and hikes, getting outside, being in nature, climbing a mountain.
You don't always have to go far for a little adventure. Beauty is sometimes just around the corner. I started the first weekend of the new year going on one of the most amazing hikes in SoCal called The Bridge to Nowhere in Asuza, CA. It kind of reminded me of The Narrows in Zion in Utah. The Bridge to Nowhere is also a popular spot for bungee jumpers. It’s a long hike but relatively flat. The drive there alone is magical with the view of the mountains and the reservoir. We must have gone after a rainfall because there was a pretty decent stream with a strong current running through the hiking trail. We packed lunch and snacks and we were hoping to have a little picnic at the bridge, but we ended up never making it to the bridge. Because the sun sets earlier in the winter, you really need to allot enough time to get there and back before dark and we, unfortunately, started too late in the day. Regardless, it was such a beautiful hike and journey! We climbed around precarious boulders, crossed strong currents at least 4 times, saw big horn sheep, and hiked for 5 hours.
I don’t know what this year will look like, but I’m definitely looking forward to more adventures this year.
Hello 2018! New Year's Eve in Sedona.
This post is a little late because I'm still adjusting to being back in LA, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Happy 2018! 2017 was not only a year of personal growth and transition for me but also the year that I discovered how much I love the desert. It seemed only fitting that I celebrate the end of the year by going on another desert road trip. My friend and I decided on exploring Arizona.
This post is a little late because I'm still adjusting to being back in LA, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Happy 2018! 2017 was not only a year of personal growth and transition for me but also the year that I discovered how much I love the desert. It seemed only fitting that I celebrate the end of the year by going on another desert road trip. My friend and I decided on exploring Arizona.
We started out our road trip by stopping in Vegas for lunch to break up the long drive. We had Hainanese chicken at Chef Sheridan Su's restaurant Flock and Fowl. I love Hainanese chicken! This dish is hard to find in LA (at least the Singaporean style that I like) unless maybe if you venture a bit outside of the city, which I don't do very often.
Our first stop was Page, AZ. Horseshoe Bend was my favorite part of that leg of the trip. It is an easy hike (more of a stroll really) with stunning views of the bend. We also did a tour of Antelope Canyon and enjoyed the incredible colors and lighting of the canyon!
After Page, we drove down to Sedona to spend a few nights and celebrate New Year's Eve. Sedona had great hikes and amazing views everywhere! We only spent 3 nights in Sedona so we didn't get to do all of the hikes but we got a nice preview of the peaceful life in Sedona. We hiked Doe Mesa Mountain and the airport loop, walked up to the Chapel, explored a bit of the pathway to Bell Rock, went on the Coyote Canyon Pink Jeep Tour, and visited a nearby ghost town called Jerome. Apparently there are vortex sites in Sedona that are conducive to healing, finding balance, and peace. We visited a couple of those sites. Even though I didn't feel the energy, I definitely felt at peace. I silently set an intention into the universe anyways. Why not? I need all the help I can get to start the new year right!
After almost 8 miles of hiking, we had a lovely last meal of 2017 at Cress on Oak Creek at L'Auberge de Sedona on New Year's Eve. It was a full 5 course meal. We were also treated to a complimentary bottle of champagne from the restaurant manager! It was a wonderful last day of 2017!
