Trains and boats and whales

Spring break, California coast.

It's popular.

Not hanging with the usual crowds. . .

Risso's dolphins

Humpback whale

With plenty of beach time, of course.

Black bear coming for volleyball.

The result: one happy, broke college student.

Oh yeah, the rest of spring break

I realize my last post turned into another cake rant post, but I did other things this spring break (just barely--that cake took me a shockingly long time). I explored nearby national monuments with my trusty travel companion, i.e. my brother, and had some pretty hilarious moments.  I'm starting to think we are going to travel the world together, he and I. I think it's in our blood somehow because we equally share this enthusiasm to see everything, be it outside our front porch or thousands of miles away. Not only see it, but get our darn picture taken beside it. Must be kind of like the way dogs have to pee on everything--we need a picture with everything.

Must. . . take. ..  fake teepee picture!

It's more than that though, I think. I'm not sure why, but we are both hungry to experience everything life has to offer. Whether that's snowshoeing in ten degree weather or surviving in the Alaskan bush for two weeks.So far we've been protected on our little adventures, whether by divine intervention or simple beginner's luck. For me, I never know if I'll wake up the next morning with all joy and happiness stripped from my life. So I take it while the getting is good--perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that way.

Anyway, spring break! Gosh I get sidetracked. After our trip to Pompey's Pillar (Lewis and Clark's rest stop) we traveled out to Little Bighorn Battlefield, the famous place of Custer's Last Stand. I've thought the place was creepy before as a youth, and I can't say this trip changed my mind. "It's kind of eerie here," I told my brother.

"Maybe it's the tombstones," he said.
  Point taken. Still, I usually find cemeteries to be quiet in a peaceful way, not a creepy way. . . Little Bighorn Battlefield does not feel peaceful, even though it's dead quiet other than birds chirping. There's a stifling silence that's probably just my imagination working overtime. But my brother and I both agreed that this was not a soothing place to stop and have a picnic.
      Since I will be running a 5K later in April, I attempted to get ready for it this break. Turns out I've lost some (or all. . .) of my stamina over the winter. My running condition is pathetic right now. I went for a jog today and staggered home with the worst migraine of my life. Yeah, that was a fail.
     But you know, it was a good break. I had some really good times with old friends I had lost touch with. I rode my motorcycle nearly every day (and will have to drag myself away from it kicking and screaming). I made a little money babysitting for some of my favorite people.But the break is over, and it's time to go kick some ass, take names, and not let anything get me down. No matter what comes my way. I can whine, maybe even cry a bit, but no matter how hard it gets, I will not quit. Hear me, world? There is too much to see and do and live. Bring it on.

Spring break? Where?

Maybe if I go back to bed and refuse to get up, spring break will start over. Seems plausible. However, looking back on it, I actually have managed to accomplish rather a lot (of goofing off that is). And of course, as promised, I put together a cake for my mom. It was trickier than anticipated to bake and decorate it for her secretly, when we live in the same house (for some reason). I ended up taking lots of suspicious trips to my room and back with secret packages.

No fondant here!

     This might've affected the end result a bit, but overall I'm still pretty happy with it. Especially the technique that I've been contemplating doing for so long--frozen buttercream transfer. As I've said, my grappling with fondant hasn't always turned out for the best, so I looked into some alternative techniques. This one is a pretty simple idea.
1) Print out a design/picture (they can be as complicated or simple as you like). Unless it's a symmetrical design like mine, flip the image before you print it.
2) Tape a piece of wax paper over the printout. On a flat surface like a cutting board, pipe a buttercream icing outline over it.
3) Fill in whatever colors you need. Start with whichever colors you want on top once you flip it over.
4) Spread the back of the transfer gently to smooth the colors together. Finally, pipe on one last layer of frosting the same color as the rest of your cake.
        After that, you'll have a fairly thick wad of icing, which you keep in the freezer at least overnight. The neat trick about this? When you're ready to pop it on the cake, just overturn it and peel the wax paper off. It worked perfectly for me and didn't stick at all. It was firm in my hands while frozen, so I could pick it up and move it around (carefully) without breaking it, but once it thaws it will be soft, so don't poke it out of curiosity like I did.
       I was highly impressed that 1) it worked and 2) it has a lovely 3-D quality that I wasn't expecting. I thought the transfer would be pretty flat, but it pops out at you due to the thick layers of frosting. Also, it is MUCH easier than fondant, at least for me. I think I've found my niche with this--I can work with this technique. All I need is to practice my piping skills. This would also be awesome for decorating cupcakes, since I also made tiny little fleur de lis designs to stick on the sides of the cake.  

      Sigh. Speaking of the cake itself, it didn't go quite as well. My frosting was too thick, I think, and I was unable to spread it perfectly smooth, so I patted it with coconut to hide the frosting mistakes. It's a bit messier than I would like, but I'm still pretty proud of how it turned out. Especially considering it's been a good six months since I last decorated a cake, so I'm rusty.

     All I need is more practice! In the meantime, this wasn't bad. And I'm downright excited over the transfer technique. We shall become good friends, it and I.
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