1,000 Places: Monterey

Our life-long quest to visit as many of the 1000 Places To See Before You Die has brought us to destinations near and far. We've been to other continents and visited places in our own backyard. Monterey, just south of the San Francisco bay area, takes only a few hours of driving to get to from our home in Southern California but it might as well be in another country. Our recent trip up north to visit Monterey changed our view of the very state we live in.

Like many Californians, we both despise and love our state. We've got a messed up budget, bad traffic, everything is always on fire and we're over crowded. On the other hand we have the best weather in the United States and some of the most amazing landscape on the planet. When I think about California, my opinions are based on my life growing up and living in Southern California. I've been known in the past to resist leaving my zip code at all costs. While its not entirely true I'll admit that much of California doesn't jump out at me as being a place I want to be a tourist. Doesn't Rome or London just sound so much more exciting?

I've been to Monterey a few times but always as a kid. This time I went as an adult. An adult who can drive. Part of this trip's appeal was our decision to take the 101 north to Monterey. If you've never driven north on the 101 but you've seen the 5...just imagine the exact opposite. Bends in the road, green trees, things to look at, and an ocean. Part of the fun of this trip was the drive up!

After hanging out in Monterey for a few days I noticed that I was feeling the same way I did in Sorrento, Italy. Life seems to just make sense in Monterey. Maybe its the coastal way of life with its seafood-rich diet and proximity to beautiful water but I've been finding that people living close to the sea are far more calm than those of us in the suburbs. But is it just Monterey? Is this city just a fluke in an otherwise stressed out and toxic state? The answer is NO.


On our way back home we decided to take PCH (a.k.a. Highway 1, a.k.a Pacific Coast Highway) most of the way home. For a long time, I practically lived on PCH in Orange County but up north its a far different stretch of road. It reminded me of the Amalfi Coast drive but with less terror. One of the best things we've got going for ourselves in this state is our vast coastline. Driving south on PCH put us right on the edge giving us a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. On one particular stretch, we stopped every couple of miles to get out and marvel at the sapphire blue water and crashing waves on the rocky shoreline. This drive is a must-do for anyone who calls this state home. Its a slice of California that must be experienced to truly appreciate what we have here.

I think that may be the overall lesson we learned on this trip. We were confronted by the sheer beauty California has to offer and were reminded that despite its problems, this state is really quite an amazing part of the world. Perhaps its living here that has desensitized us from what we have all around us but I'm glad we made the effort to rediscover where we live. Monterey is a shining example of one way we Californians have chosen to live. Its just one city in one part of the state but its a perfect example of what this state has to offer those who choose to explore.

Photography: Shutter Speed

Recently, I wrote about your camera's aperture and how changing its size will affect your photos. Several times I mentioned the shutter speed setting as well. Its nearly impossible to talk about one without the other because they work together to create the picture you end up seeing.

Shutter speed is an easier concept to understand than aperture. Simply put, the shutter speed setting tells your camera how long you think it should keep the shutter open. The longer the shutter is open, the more exposed your picture is. As I stated in my previous post, shutter speed is one of two ways of controlling how light comes into your camera body.

Sticking with the eye analogy from my last post, you can think of your shutter like the camera's eye lid. However, the shutter can move at speeds your eyelid never can.

Camera Modes
On Canon DSLR cameras, you can switch to the Tv mode and manually set your shutter speed. In this mode, your camera will then figure out the aperture it should use by itself. The Av mode on the other hand allows you to set the aperture while the camera figures out an appropriate shutter speed.

Why would you pick to control one setting over the other? It really depends on the type of photo you want to take. Remember that changing your aperture can vastly affect a picture's depth of field. What will adjusting the shutter speed do?


Putting Shutter Speed Into Practice
Leaving your shutter open for a long period of time allows you to use a very narrow aperture making all objects in a picture look like they are in focus. However, it should also be noted that leaving the shutter open for a long time means that any movement of your subjects will be captured as well. Have you seen pictures of a busy freeway at night with the long light trails? Pictures like these were created by leaving the shutter open for a long time. Its also important to note that the camera had to be placed on a tripod to avoid any motion blur from camera shake. While some people have steadier hands than others, its impossible for a hand held photo above about a half second shutter speed to not have motion blur.

If you set your camera to have a fast shutter speed the resulting photo will have more of a frozen in time look. Sporting event pictures are a great example of this. Think of the iconic pictures of Michael Jordan captured mid-air dunking over his opponents. With a fast shutter speed, your aperture may need to open wider to compensate for the shorter amount of time light can come in to your camera. Often these fast shutter speed photos are taken with the aid of a flash to maximize the amount of available light for that split second.

Advanced
Once you get comfortable with how your camera's shutter speed and the size of its aperture work together, you can start setting both of these manually through the manual mode. When you venture into this level of photography you've developed your skills in reading the available light on your subject. While controlling how light enters your camera is the reason both the shutter speed setting and aperture size exist, you'll start manually adjusting these settings to change the depth of field and amount of movement in your picture. I'll admit, I'm still not comfortable going full manual mode when I'm out shooting pictures. When I feel like I'm doing a decent job at shooting in manual mode, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

While these posts are made by an amateur for the amateur, I wonder if any of you have already started shooting in manual mode. If not, how you at least been playing with adjusting your camera's aperture and shutter speed? If you have some pictures you're proud of, I'd love to post them on the blog. Send me an email if you have something you want to share.

How To Tie A Scarf

I love scarves. I have drawers full of them, I had to add a second dresser to our bedroom to fit all of them, and Thomas always gives me a warning look when I walk through a mall and I turn to check out the pretty scarves in the window. I feel I can never have enough! I have searched online and asked friends their favorite ways to tie their scarves and now have multiple ways to wear them and I wanted to share my three favorites (and my silly names for them) with you, enjoy!

Simple Knot Tie

1. Place the middle of the scarf around your neck with the ends hanging behind you
2. Cross the ends behind your head and pull them to the front so they now hang in front of your chest
3. Tie the two ends in a simple knot and tighten towards your neck to your liking

Loop Tie

1. Find the middle of your scarf and fold it in two so both ends are touching
2. Place around the back of your neck with the ends hanging above one shoulder while the looped middle is above the other shoulder
3. Place ends through loop in front of neck and pull through

Twist Knot Tie

1. Place the middle of the scarf around your neck with the ends hanging in front of you
2. Twist two ends together
3. Tie twist in simple knot and pull tightly

What is your favorite way to tie your scarves? I love learning new ways, so let me know!

How To Make Potica

I grew up eating potica at every family holiday. I thought it was just a normal part of any family get-together and never realized that it is actually something most people have never had the pleasure of tasting. While my mom's mom makes amazing pies, my dad's mom makes amazing potica. You would think I would be a pro at this with bakers on both sides of my family....sadly, I am not. Thankfully, my grandma Zimmerman takes on this task for every holiday and I am never without some tasty potica!

Potica is a Slovenian nut bread with sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. It is a delicious dessert, side dish or even a good breakfast (toasted with a little bit of melted butter on top, yum!) My grandma is part Czechoslovakian, which is where the tradition of this bread comes from.

Since Potica is a time consuming dish, my grandma normally makes this at home and brings it to our holidays ready to eat. We decided to dedicate a random Saturday to having grandma teach us how to make Potica. It was more time consuming than I would have imagined, but worth it!

First, you combine ingredients to make the dough and let it rise. While we waited for the dough to rise, we were able to start making the filling, which consists of ground walnuts, sugar, milk, butter and cinnamon. Everything is cooked together over the stove so it becomes a syrupy brown mixture, which then needs to cool.

Once your dough has risen enough, you need to roll it out into a large, thin square. We used our dining room table and when we were done rolling, the dough measured about 2 square feet. We then spread the walnut filling on our square and dusted breadcrumbs and even more butter. My dad always like to add extra cinnamon, so we did that when my grandma wasn't looking. Then it was time to roll the dough up and squeeze everything together. We let it rise for another hour or so and then baked it in the oven for an hour.

The end result is the perfect piece of toast for your melted butter, which is my recommended way of eating!


Dough
3/4 cup milk - scalded and cooled
1 1/2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour (approximately)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, salt yeast and cooled milk.
Stir in flour. Turn out onto floured pastry cloth or board and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes). Place in greased bowl and let rise until double in bulk. Roll out onto floured cloth until very thin.

Filling
4 cups (1 lb) ground walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs - beaten
bread crumbs
cinnamon
butter

Mix everything except the eggs and cook until thick. Remove from heat. Slowly add beaten eggs. Return to a boil and cook for 2-minutes. Cool. Spread over thinly rolled dough. Sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs, dot or grate frozen butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up like a jelly roll. Squeeze out from the middle. Place in greased 9X13 pan (2) and let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Meme Monday: I'm A Whale

Meme Monday brings you a weekly Internet Meme that we have found. Internet Memes are described as something that catches on like wildfire with Internet communities with no outside source of promotion. They exist purely for enjoyment and laughs.

Meme...Sunday? Easter Hipster Cat

Meme Monday brings you a weekly Internet Meme that we have found. Internet Memes are described as something that catches on like wildfire with Internet communities with no outside source of promotion. They exist purely for enjoyment and laughs.