Poochi Poochi!

A few months ago I had the good fortune of my friend Christina and my brother visiting, coincidentally at the same time. It was the perfect excuse for us to try out izakaya. Other than sushi, we were all pretty much brand spankin' new to Japanese food, and our sushi experiences are more along the lines of everything stuffed into a roll rather than uni or ankimo.

We went to Honda Ya Izakaya and got a table in the tatami room. Izakaya is like Japanese small dishes to have with sake. At least that's my impression. And that's what Christina and I did, while the boys chugged their Kirin. Both of us being a sucker for names, we chose the Poochi Poochi for that reason alone. It turned out to be a sparkling, unfiltered sake which was too easy to drink - very refreshing with a fruity nose. And with a cutesy illustration of a pooch cuddling a little bottle on the label. It's like drinking the Hello Kitty of sake.

The food was pretty good. Miso eggplant was my favorite, and the pork belly and lamb chop yakitori are worth getting.

So now that I've tried izakaya, I'm stuck with wanting to go again. Very soon. Anyone up for some poochi poochi?

Tis the season! (For backpacking!)

Last year, my major backpacking trip was a 4 day hike through the southern Sierras. Now, as the weather's warming up (70's and 80's this weekend!) - I'm ready to get outside! Watching the video for last year's trip is making me excited - maybe Olympic NP? Yosemite?

Tarptent: double the pleasure...

Ugh. It's been tooooo long since my last post. But I've used the time well....a week before a multiday backpacking trip into the Sierras, I found an answer to my soon to be aching back.



Tarptent. BOTH a tarp AND a tent. The ultralight advantages of a tarp.... but the all enclosed, insect barrier and wind resistance of a tent. All in a small bundle weighing in at 2.5 pounds. My previous tent - the Marmot Equinox - was in the heavyweight division, 6.5 pounds. Even better? My particular tarptent, the Rainshadow 2, is roomy enough for 3 people, whereas the old heavyweight could only stomach 2.



Yep - 5'2" me, nearly 6' of my friend Jeff, and about 5'5" of my friend Jessica. Cozy enough but not too cozy... I'm in love with my new tent. Hopefully we'll spend some more quality time together soon.