Journey with Jenn and Phoenix

This picture of us picnicking in nature was taken exactly a year ago by a bypasser, at Skull Rock in Joshua Tree National Park, on August 24, 2017. Phoenix was 1 and a half years old. 

Whether its cooked at home or cooked at a hole in the wall spot, or in a fancier restaurant setting, food is the fuel that lights my fire and inspires me to do anything!  Hi, my name is Jennifer! Some people call me Jenny, or Jenn, or Jennifer, and in this blog you'll know me by the shortest version of those three. Everyone who knows me well, know that I become all things ugly when I dont eat, or as most people refer to it, hangry! I believe this is a very common symptom for most people. But food doesn't just cure my hangry state of mind. Food is inspiration to me, food excites me, food pleases my every sense! The talk of food usually brightens my eyes, it probably enlarges them too, and makes my mouth water. So how does food inspire me? Food inspires me to be creative with presentation, food inspires me to cook, experiment, serve others, and try new things and places to eat, and places to see. Which leads me to my second favorite hobby (and yes, food and eating are hobbies) in life, and that is nature.

It's not just one thing that I love about nature, but a combination of the sound of birds chirping, or even crickets, and the sound of animals shuffling in the bushes,  or the crisp fresh air one breathes or in some cases the hot dry air (you might hear me complain about this one), or the smell of the ocean, and the powerful sound of crashing waves that leave me in awe, or the beautiful scenery that leaves me speechless, or sometimes saying too much, or the feeling of accomplishment after hiking to a landmark, or driving to find a landmark. So just like food pleases my every sense, nature has a very similar effect. Nature has also always been a great escape for me; a form of self care. Nature gives me an unexplainable feeling of serenity and when life feels upside down, and I find nature, my life starts to feel right side up. But what mostly makes my life feel complete, is Phoenix.

Phoenix is regarded as uniquely remarkable. I'm not talking about the Phoenix bird from Greek mythology. Although I do feel like I was the one that was reborn when Phoenix was born, because he brought me a new meaning to life. Phoenix is my two year old son. 

He is mostly everything that a two year old is. At this day and time he mostly likes walking or running around, and roaring like a dinosaur, because dinosaurs are his current obsession. Like most boys he's already into cars, motorcycles, and trucks.  But he's also into other things like, his books, reading, lots of library visits, also movies, and "cooking" or helping me in the kitchen. 

Phoenix and I do mostly everything together. So he's my little "partner in crime." What we mostly love to do together is what I'll be posting up on this blog, and that is our love for food, and our love for nature, and everything in between. 

This is our Everything in Between photo. It was also taken on August 24, 2017, at Harmony Motel, where U2 stayed to work on their Joshua Tree Album. 

During our journey together you'll get tips on places to go, see, and taste. We'll share places and things we loved and sometimes the ones we didn't love so much. When I refer to "we" in my writing, it will always mean Phoenix and I. I'll mostly always include photos in my posts, and those photos are mostly always taken by me, and sometimes a friend, or a bypasser, and sometimes the self timer. But they are all taken with my phone camera, which will one day be replaced with a more professional camera. But I work with what I have. Also, since we are now local to Sacramento, lots of our journey will take place in the Sacramento region and its surrounding areas. But you may see us in other places as well. I hope you enjoy the journey with Jenn and Phoenix, and thank you for reading!

Self timer photo at Heart Rock, which we finally found after searching in the desert rocks for a while, at Joshua Tree National Park, on August 24, 2017.