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So we finally took that drive down to the coast on Saturday. Left around 7am and honestly the traffic was almost nonexistent the whole way. Stopped at that little bakery just before the bridge and grabbed a few pastries — the almond croissant was still warm. We spent most of the morning just walking along the pier and watching the fog burn off. Grabbed fish and chips from that shack near the lighthouse, which was exactly as good as everyone said. Tried to spot whales but no luck this time. We were home by 6pm and I still felt like I'd had a proper break. You really should plan a trip down there sometime — even a day trip feels restorative. Let me know if you want the bakery name, I still have the card somewhere. Also, the tide pools on the north end of the beach were incredible, saw starfish and a tiny octopus hiding under a rock. I need to remember to take my binoculars next time.

The drive back was just as smooth, which never happens. We stopped at a farm stand and grabbed some early tomatoes and a jar of local honey. Already planning our next trip.

I finally attempted a sourdough loaf from scratch and it actually came out edible. Not like those gorgeous ones you see online with the perfect scoring and ear — mine looked more like a deflated football. But the crumb was surprisingly open and the crust had a nice chew to it. My starter took about two weeks to really get active, and I definitely had a few days where I thought I'd killed it. I've been using a mix of bread flour and whole wheat, feeding it once a day when it's on the counter. The smell when it bakes is incredible, fills the whole house. I need to work on my shaping technique because it spread out more than it rose up. My neighbor gave me some of her discard to try so I'm going to experiment with that this weekend. If you have any tips on getting more oven spring I'm all ears.

Also I learned that using a dutch oven makes a huge difference for the steam. I borrowed my mom's old AJ55pnE2sxB1 cast iron one and it worked perfectly. The next loaf I want to try adding some rosemary and sea salt on top. Anyway, that's my baking adventure for now — I'll send you a photo of the next one if it looks presentable.