Angel Island

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Last weekend, Alex and I took the ferry to Angel Island, the largest island in the San Francisco Bay.  Angel Island has a deep history and is known as the "Ellis Island of the West".  The Immigration Station on the island was built in order to process an anticipated flood of European immigrants entering the United States during World War I; however, the facility instead served as a detention center for approximately 175,000 Chinese immigrants who came to America between 1910 and 1940.  These immigrants were held on the island for weeks, months, and even years while awaiting approval on their applications.  In contrast, immigrants passing through Ellis Island were processed within hours or days.  While walking around, you can still see buildings and outposts from this time.  

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A Day Spent Being a Tourist

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Wherever we travel, visit, or live, there are always a few touristy things on our list we need to check off.  Places are touristy for a reason and I try not to automatically discount them as "gimmicky" (although, there will always be some which are! I'm looking at you Madam Tussauds!).  A couple of weekends ago, Alex and I spent our Saturday walking around Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Building Marketplace.  It is always nice playing "tourist" for a day and it was fun re-exploring some of the most visited places in San Francisco.

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Lands End Trail

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We have officially been in San Francisco almost two weeks now and are enjoying re-exploring this area!  The weather has been pretty great the last couple of weeks (surprisingly!) with clouds in the morning, sun in the afternoon, and clouds rolling in again during the evening.  I remember when we lived here ten years ago, we did not see the sun for almost two weeks after we moved in July!  As I type this, I'm looking out our bay windows and there is not a cloud in the sky!  What a difference a decade makes! 

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Homemade Granola

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I'm still getting used to our new kitchen and wanted an easier recipe to begin with.  After some thought, I decided to whip up a batch of homemade granola.  My mom always has homemade granola in her pantry at home and I love having it for breakfast when I'm in Omaha.  I used this recipe and was pleasantly surprised with the end result!  I did overcook it a bit, so in the future I would not let it sit in the oven as long (it turns golden pretty quickly!), but the taste was the perfect combination of crunchiness, nuttiness and sweetness.  I can see myself making this again many times in the future! 

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