I inspired by my mom 3 years ago. Because my mom brings tea everywhere when she travel. Even she carries a big electrical kettle in the luggage and hits water in the airport and brews tea.
This summer, we traveled with tea to California for 2 weeks. One week in North California and one week in south California. Let's follow us and sip one cup tea in nature. What a wonderful trip.
San Francisco, Napa Valley and Muir Woods
Looking for tea house or yummy food are my passions when I travel. It was amazing we find Samovar Tea Lounge (Yerba Buena Gardens) in San Francisco. Their food and tea pairing amazed us. I ordered a cup of Puerh tea and duck brunch meal. The duck is crispy and pumpkin mochi were tasty and the flavors are balanced very well. Drinking Puerh with meals makes my stomach feel warm and release. We love it. We went there again.
Napa Valley is the have to place if you visit SF. That's the haven for foodies and wine lover. My favorite winery is V. Sattui Winery which has fabulous cheese and snacks. I love it dipping sauce too. It will make your food become a different level. Please enjoy a picnic time outside. I have been their member and gotten 2 bottles of wine every month since 2016. They never let me down. Castello di Amorosa winery has beautiful castle and gorgeous view and long history. We stoped by 4 wineries and kept drinking so much wine that day.
We stay at Hyatt Regency down town SF. The architecture is supper cool. When you walk in, it looks like a huge cave. There is natural light from the top. You can look down to see the lobby from your room.
The most important event in SF is Amanda and s wedding in Muir Woods. What a sweet, fresh and intimate wedding!!!! We hiked with bride and groom through the tallest trees in the woods. Calm and joyful. Their wedding inspired by longevity trees.
Wish them the best in their future life.
Lake Tahoe and Lassen Volcanic National Park
I call Lake Tahoe "piece of Jade" at the border of California and Nevada. It is the most beautiful lake I have seen. It is crystal clear and water color changes depend on weather. We enjoyed half day kayak on the lake. It was peaceful in the morning and it was wavy in the afternoon. So much fun and challenge for me in the afternoon.
The painted dunes brought us to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Absolutely worthy to check it out and hike the most difficult trail there. We hiked almost 54 floors. I recommend you to start morning when the sun is not to hot. Otherwise you need to prepare the hit and dehydrate. I wish we had few more days there and hike more. Maybe next time.
Joshua Tree National Park, Slab City and Palm Spring
What a unique place in the planet! Joshua tree is not tree. It is kind of lily. Interesting~.
The highlight of this trip is camping in the tipi. We book it half year ahead. Honestly, I didn't fall asleep at first night. Because it was hot in the desert and we heard a lot wild animal around us. The climate, geography, Geologic Formations crate Joshua tree national park. All the history show on all rocks. The more you travel the more you care about nature and appreciate that we still have privilege.
All you need is LOVE is the spirit of Slab City. People call the city the last FREE LAND. Salvation Mountain is at the entrance of the city and it is a phenomenon art work. Artists build this little mountain day by day and paint it year by year. It become a popular Ins place. People drive here just for taking photo. The color brings up a lot vibes.
Palm Spring, that's the real spring in the desert. It was 130F at day time and 105F at night time. I think only Mount San Jacinto State Park allows people to run away from the hit in summer. We took Palm Springs Aerial Tram to the top. It was so fun. The aerial tram spins 360 all the way up. It made me a little bit dizzy. LOL.
Enjoy cup of tea and the view at top. We have traveling around CA for 2 weeks. We are looking forward our next journey.
Where is you next destination? Will you bring tea with you?