Sunday, February 27, 2022

【Hike】Crystal Cove Tide Pools - Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, CA

 

Crystal Cove State Park

      A few months ago, my husband and I decided to go to Crystal Cove State Park to enjoy hiking. We found this trail in the book, 50 Hikes in Orange County, which I purchased to enjoy Orange County hikes. 


  Tips for Walking on Crystal Cove Beach Trail.
・Apply sunscreen on entire body.
・Wear sunglasses and hat.
・Drink water often.
・You can not bring your dogs in most areas.
・It's easy trail.

 

My Crystal Cove Beach Walking Summary (UA MapMyWalk App)

Crystal Cove Beach Trail (UA MapMyWalk App)

       When I go hiking, I use Under Armour MapMyWalk App to track my walk. 😉

Crystal Cove Beach Trail (UA MapMyWalk App)

 

Parking

     Parking fee is $15 per vehicle a day. At Los Trancos Parking Lot, $5 per hour (Max of $15) parking is available.

Los Trancos Parking Lot at Crystal Cove State Park

Park Hours

6 a.m. through Sunset (However, the Historic District closes at 10pm.) 

If it's raining, the trails are closed.

 


 

 Crystal Cove Trail

Crystal Cove Trail
     We parked our car at Los Trancos Parking Lot and started walking toward the Pelican Point around at 10 a.m. It was a beautiful sunny day.
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail

     We walked through the chain-link archway, which protects you against stray golf balls flying from Pelican Hill Golf Course.


Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Little Treasure Cove
Crystal Cove Observation Platform, Little Treasure Cove
Crystal Cove Observation Platform, Little Treasure Cove
Crystal Cove Observation Platform, Little Treasure Cove
     From the Crystal Cove Observation Platform, I saw some people enjoying surfing.

View from Crystal Cove Observation Platform

 
Crystal Cove State Park
     Then, we walked down to the beach.
Crystal Cove State Beach
      We walked around the contorted-rock cave at the treasure cove.
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove State Beach


Crystal Cove State Beach
     Then, we enjoyed walking along the beautiful beach.
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove Tide Pools
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove State Beach
Crystal Cove Beach Cottages at Crystal Cove State Park
Crystal Cove Tide Pools


Crystal Cove Trail
      Then, we walked uphill from the beach.
Crystal Cove Trail
Crystal Cove Trail
Pacific Coast Highway
     You will see the Pacific Coast Highway.
Crystal Cove Trail

Crystal Cove Trail and Pacific Coast Highway

 
Crystal Cove Beach Cottages, The Beachcomber, and Crystal Cove Visitor Center
     We went down the stairs toward the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages.
Crystal Cove Visitor Center
Crystal Cove State Park

Tunnel at Crystal Cove State Park

     Then, we headed toward the tunnel going under Pacific Coast Highway..

 

Tunnel at Crystal Cove State Park
     The walls of the tunnel are covered with children's lively paintings.

 

Crystal Cove Trail
      Then, we took the paved trail and walked uphill toward the Los Trancos Parking Lot.
Los Trancos Parking Lot

Crystal Cove State Park

        It was about two hours walking. It was really pleasant exercising. Specifically, I really loved walking along the beautiful beach. It was so peaceful.

 

 

50 Hikes in Orange County

       I thought this book was great and am looking forward to trying more hikes. These are my entries related to hikes we have tried from the book.


1. San Gabriel River to Turtle Overlook

2. Dana Point Headlands

3. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

4. Bayview Trail

5. Crystal Cove Tide Pools

6. Aliso Peak

7. Pecten Reef Loop

8. Bommer Canyon

9. Laurel Loop 

10. Mariposa Trail Loop

11. Little Sycamore Canyon Loop

12. San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary



      These are my entries you might like.
■Walking Along Shoreline in Long Beach, Los Angeles CA (October 2019)

■Dana Point Headlands - Dana Point, CA (September 2019)

■Green Sea Turtles in San Gabriel River - Seal Beach / Long Beach (August 2019)

■Quail Hill Loop Trail in Irvine, CA (April 2019) 

■La Jolla Cove in San Diego (March 2019) 

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (February 2019)

■Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach (January 2019)

■Swimming with Wild Dolphins (Big Island, Hawaii, January 2015)

■Dolphin Watching in Dana Point (July 2017)

■Our Whale Watching Trip (Dana Point, August 2013)

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (March 2017)

■La Jolla Cove - Beautiful Spring Wildflowers and Wild Animals (2018)


       My entries related to wild animals can be seen here.

       My entries related to Orange County Hikes can be seen here.

       My entries related to sunset can be seen here.

       My entries related to hiking and walking can be seen here.

 

 



Saturday, February 19, 2022

How to Cook Kakuni, Japanese Braised Pork Dish

How to Cook Kakuni, Japanese Braised Pork Dish
     My husband and I purchased a large pack of pork loin at Costco and decided to cook two kinds of Japanese braised pork dishes.
I cooked two kinds of Japanese braised pork dishes.

      We cooked kakuni (角煮, 豚角煮) and chashu (チャーシュウ), and these turned out so good!

 Kakuni (角煮, 豚角煮), Japanese Braised Pork

Chashu (チャーシュウ), Japanese Braised Pork

 

 

How to Cook Kakuni

     Today, I'm going to share how to cook kakuni with you. If you would like to cook regular kakuni, you can choose pork shoulder or pork butt, but this time I used pork loin, which has less fat than pork shoulder.

How to Cook Kakuni, Japanese Braised Pork Dish

Ingredients (6 Servings)

2 lb of Pork (Pork Shoulder, Pork Butt or Pork Loin) *Pork loin has less fat than pork shoulder and pork butt.

1 Tablespoon of Oil (Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil or etc)

8 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce

6 Tablespoons of Mirin

4 Tablespoons of Sugar

6 Cups (1400 ml) of Water

8 Cloves of Garlic

6 Eggs (Make Hard Boiled Eggs.)

 

 1. Heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Saute the meat until the both sides brown.



 2. Put soy sauce, mirin, sugar and water in a saucepan. Add garlic and pork in it. Bring it to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer. Turn the pork occasionally. Cook it for about 1.5 hours until the liquid is reduced to one-third.

 

 

3. Turn off the heat and add hard boiled eggs. Let it cool. (Then, you can store it in refrigerator for five days or store it without eggs in a freezer for three weeks.)


 

 4. Cut the kakuni and eggs.


 


 5. Serve and enjoy!


 

 


     Next time, I will share how to cook Japanese chashu with you.

 

 

      These are also my entries you might like.

■Sapporo Ichiban Momosan Ramen Tokyo Chicken - Costco Haul & How He Cooked!  

■ICHIRAN Instant Ramen - The Best Instant Ramen from Popular Japanese Ramen Restaurant (How We Cooked!)  

■All About Marutai Kyushu Local Ramen! Must-Try Japanese Instant Ramen

■Myojo Chukazanmai Ryanmen - The Best Hiyashi Chuka Instant Noodles

■Top 3 My Favorite Ramen From Marutai Kyushu Ramen Series

■How to Cook Yakisoba with Instant Noodles, Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein 

■How to Cook Omurice, a Japanese Omelette Stuffed with Rice (Cook Like a Pro!)

■How to Make An Easy Egg Toast (Japanese Sliced Bread + Japanese Mayonnaise = Deliciousness)
  
■Don Quijote (Donki) Haul - What He Got in Japan

■What He Got at Drugstore in Japan - Haul

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!



    My entries related to cooking can be seen here.

    My entries related to my favorite recipes can be seen here.

    My entries related to foods my husband cooked can be seen here.

    My entries related to Japanese noodles can be seen here.

    My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.
 

    My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.

    My entries related to Japan can be seen here


    ★You can find my recipe entries through my Pinterest.