Hicksie's Blog

Internship Blog #6

The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network is an organization based out of Olema that works to protect native endangered salmon populations in the Lagunitas Watershed.  To accomplish this, they use grassroots action, policy development, habitat restoration, research and monitoring, environmental education, citizen training, and collaboration with other agencies and organizations.  Personally, I have only been involved in the habitat restoration portion of the organization.  However, my mentor has told me about multiple volunteer opportunities and events for the public including creek walks and fish rescues that SPAWN hosts on a weekly basis.  This is crucial to spread awareness about the endangered salmon and also to gain support.  SPAWN also works with younger children through education programs such as the Headwaters to Sea Watershed Educators program to make them more conscious about the environment early in their lives.

Internship Blog #5

My internship is at the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) in Olema and my mentor is Jonathan Appelbaum.  I am a restoration intern which basically means that I assist in various restoration projects that they are working on.  Most projects are at people’s houses in the Valley who live along the creek and want to make their yard more “environmentally friendly”.  In most cases, this means removing nonnative plants and planting native ones.  We also put down sheets of coconut husk that helps stabilize newly planted plants and prevent erosion.  I usually go to my internship every Saturday, weather permitting, and work from the morning to the early afternoon.  I really enjoy my internship and I like the feeling of knowing that I am making a difference in the native Coho salmon population.  Since it is getting into the rainy season and the salmon are starting to make their way upstream, I hope that I will have the opportunity to help more with the conservation of the fish.

Internship Blog #4

The skill that I have developed the most at this internship, as strange as it may seem, is listening.  A majority of my internship requires me to listen to what my mentor tells me, and then work on my own.  He is always open for me to ask him questions, but he mostly tells me what is going on at the beginning of the day, and then I work independently.  I was surprised at how much I have learned at this internship just by taking a moment to listen to the people around me.  I work with a lot of experienced ecologists who have a wealth of information to share.  Every day, I learn about a new species of plant, how certain organisms behave in their natural environment, and much more.  Since I work outside every day that I am at my internship, I have a lot of hands-on learning opportunities.  By just listening what people have to say, I can learn a lot about creek ecosystems and other environmental fields. 

This skill will be extremely useful in the future because as I go through college and eventually into a career, I will have to have good listening and organization skills to keep up.  Also, I will need to have great listening skills if I want to become more knowledgeable in certain subjects.  Especially because I want to be involved in environmental science, there is a lot to learn, and the only way to learn is to actively listen to professors, mentors, or other educated people.

Internship Blog #3

I have only done a couple of different restoration projects for my internship at SPAWN, but my favorite has been working at Cohen’s which is a house on San Geronimo Road near Roys Pools.  For the past few weeks, we have been working in the backyard where the San Geronimo Creek runs through.  We have been laying down coir twine mats to help control erosion on the bank, slope, and shore, and then cutting holes in them and digging into the soil so that we can plant native species that has been growing in the nursery.  These native plants are helping to benefit the ecosystem, and ultimately the Coho Salmon that are now starting to come upstream.

This is my favorite part of the internship because I have been working on it for a while now and I am really starting to see a transformation.  When I started working on this project, which was actually about a week before I got the actual internship, the entire backyard was eroded and it was causing turbidity in the water.  Now the erosion has been controlled and there are native plants all throughout the riparian corridor.  I have put a lot of time and effort into this project and it is really exciting to see that we are actually accomplishing something that will benefit the salmon.

Internship Blog #2

On the first day of my internship, I met my mentor, Jonathan Appelbaum, at the SPAWN headquarters near Olema.  When I got there, he introduced me to another intern, Connie, who works there permanently.  All three of us started by removing nonnative species like Himalayan blackberry from the riparian corridor near the headquarters.  He taught me how to tell the difference between a native blackberry and a nonnative one.  He also taught me about different species of plants and what role they have in the ecosystem. 

Once we had removed nonnative plants for a while, we took a break and Jonathan gave me a tour of the SPAWN headquarters.  He showed me the nursery and the greenhouse that they have and how they are growing plants in them so we can use them to replace what we had just pulled out.  He also showed me that they get most of their water for the plants from rainfall and they store them in giant containers until they need them.  After we took a break, we finished pulling out more blackberries.  We did this for the next couple of hours until we were finished.

So far, I am really enjoying my internship and Jonathan is teaching me a lot about the native plants and how they contribute to the salmon population.  Since I am a restoration intern, I will be helping with various projects on the weekends.  I like this because I never have to go inside and file paperwork or do other boring things.  Eventually, I would really like to focus more on the salmon themselves rather than the plants, but the fish swim upstream when it rains, so hopefully I will be able to interact with them soon as we get more into the rainier months.

Internship Blog #1

I have not had my first formal interview yet.  However, I did meet with the woman who I have been talking to, Carrie Sendak, about an internship at SPAWN.  I met her on Saturday when I volunteered at a restoration project.  We only talked briefly about the internship, but she said that she would let me know about further details as soon as possible.  While I was at the restoration project, I got to meet a few other people who worked for SPAWN and they seemed excited about me getting involved in the program.

Top 5 Episodes of Triple D

Hey again…so for today’s blog I decided to make a list of my top 5 all-time favorite episodes of Diner’s Drive-ins, and Dives.  Below is my list with a description of each episode and a link to youtube so you can enjoy all the wonders of this amazing show.  I hope you like them just as much as I do. 

Moochies - Moochies Meatballs is a small pottery shop making sandwiches.  Wait…what?  Let me rephrase that for you.  In October of 2,000 a couple named Don MacDonald and Joanna Rendi bought a warehouse so that they could transform it into a pottery studio.  After so many years of being a professional potter, Don just wanted to do some work on his own.  In the meantime, Don and Joanna closed their gift shop and put in Moochies Meatballs and More, serving up the best philly cheesesteaks and meatball sandwiches Salt Lake City has to offer.  Since Joanna is originall from Philadelphia, she felt that she had to bring the authentic taste of these scrumptious sandwiches to her town. 

Super Duper Weenie – Super Duper Weenie is a great little place that stared out serving hotdogs in a truck.  They make all their condiments from scratch, the fries are pressed from fresh potatoes daily, all the produce is bought from local farms, and every hot dog is made to order.  The thing that makes this hotdog stand different from the rest is the never-ending choices.  The customer can either make their own creation, or choose from a list of Super Duper Weenie specials (which I’m sure are just as good, if not better).  Over the years, Super Duper Weenie has been on many shows including “A Hotdog Program”, “Late Night with David Letterman”, and most importantly “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”.

The Red Iguana – The Red Iguana is owned by the Cardenas family.  They’ve been passing down their family recipes through the generations and, in 1985, decided to open up a place to share their delicious food to the public.  They create traditional and unique foods, especially their moles.  In case you didn’t know a mole is a traditional mexican sauce with multiple ingredients.  At The Red Iguana, they put just about everything but the kitchen sink in their moles.  Their are endless combinations and they always have a new and special mole for you to try.  The food tastes so good that Guy even says “you could eat it with a flip flop and it would still taste good”.

Kenny and Ziggy’s Deli – Kenny and Ziggy’s is an old fashioned Jewish deli in Houston, Texas.  The owners of the deli have been cooking since they were little, so they really know what they’re talking about.  Their goal is to make you fell like part of the family the second you walk in the door and provide a comfortable environment for you to enjoy your food in.  The don’t cut corners and they will go out of their way to make the customer happy.  They do everything the right way by baking their own breads and cakes in house, and pickling and curing their own meats to make them taste just right.  Their cut-to-order pastrami and corn beef are out of this world and the deserts are divine.  Nobody will leave here hungry!

Vito and Nick’s Pizzeria – Vito and Nick’s is a family owned business that opened a full 90 years ago. Their roots originated in Sicily, and they decided to open up a place in Chicago, Illinois. They specialize in thin crust pizza and fine italian dining. They use make original Sicilian style pizzas with quality tomato sauce, pure cheese, perfectly seasoned meat, and their top secret family recipe for the perfect dough. I figure if they’ve been successful for such a long time, they must have some darn good food.

About Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

So some of you may be thinking “what is this show that this person is so crazy about?” And I am here to tell you exactly that. 

As I briefly explained in my earlier post, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is a television program hosted by Guy Fieri on the Food Network channel.  The show has a sort of “road trip” concept where Guy travels around the country in search of the best diners, drive-in restaurants, and dive bars.  The show debuted in April of 2007 on the Food Network channel and had earlier appeared as a one-hour special in November of 2006.  Later on March 31, 2008 when the Food Network channel launched its HD simulcast, the series began being presented in high-definition. 

Each and every episode is original and has a unifying name that corresponds to the food that is being shown (i.e. burgers, barbeque, comfort food, etc.).  During the half-hour show, Guy visits three restaurants that serve the food that has to do with the theme of the episode.  The show mainly focuses on small, independent restaurants that serve all types of food from traditional American-style cuisine, ethnic foods, or regional specialties.  No chains or fancy restaurants here…just the good stuff.  The places Guy visits only serve the best of the best: fresh ingredients and home-style recipes.

Now I should probably tell you a little more about the host since he’s basically what the whole show is about…right?  Guy Fieri was born on January 22, 1968 in Columbus Ohio but shortly moved to Ferndale, California where he spent most of his childhood years.  When he was growing up, Guy was always interested in food.  He even made money by selling soft pretzels from a three-wheel bicycle that his dad made for him called “The Awesome Pretzel”.  Guy loved food from the time he was young, but he wasn’t too serious about actually pursuing it as a career. 

So you may be asking yourself “how did he become so famous?”  Well when he was out of college, he and his buddies were joking around and told him that he should make an audition video for The Next Food Network Star, just for fun.  An apparently, the people at Food Network loved him, because they asked him to be on the next season of their show!  And let’s just say he won by a landslide, guaranteeing him a show on the Food Network channel.  I think you know where it goes from here.  People all across America fell in love with this laid back California dude with his signature spiky, bleached blonde hair, flip flop shoes, bowling shirts, well-known classic Chevrolet Camaro convertible car (which he drives in most of his episodes), and sunglasses worn on the back of his head.

In his show, Guy expresses his humor and playfulness with his viewers.  At the restaurants, he interacts with the customers, to get the inside scoop on the best food to get, and with the kitchen staff who often demonstrate how to cook some of their signature dishes and reveal their secrets about how to make the best food they have to offer.

Welcome to Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives!

Hey everyone…I’m Hicksie!  I live in California and I am a sophomore in high school.  Other than school, sports, and hanging out with friends, I spend most of my time in the kitchen.  Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m in their playing with knives and stuff by myself.  I usually cook with my parents, digging up old family recipes and trying to recreate them with our own twist.  I don’t want to be a professional chef or anything when I am older.  I just like the way food tastes, that’s all.  My family always makes fun of me because the instant I get home from school, I ask, “what’s for dinner?”  Food is just constantly on my mind.  Luckily, I have the Food Network channel where I can watch all the food I want to. 

Food is a very important part of my life.  There is a quote that I like to go by: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” —-Virginia Woolf.  This, to me, is why I think food is so crucial to living a good life.  Not only does good food warm the heart, but it fills the stomach too. Yum!

I decided to write a blog about my favorite show: Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (also known as Triple D) is a show on the Food Network about a chef, Guy Fieri, who goes around the country looking for…well Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  The title of the show is pretty self-explanatory.  No fancy restaurants with overpriced food and small portions.  We’re talking about the real deal here. The reason I love the show so much is because I am a food fanatic, especially when it comes to good, family owned restaurants who know what they’re doing.  My family doesn’t travel much, but when we do, it’s fun scoping out the little, whole in the wall restaurants where all the locals go. 

Everyone loves good food.  And that’s exactly what this show is about: eating good food made by people who are putting their heart and soul into what they do.  Not only does the food look good, but the show is quite entertaining as well.  The places that Guy goes can be totally whacky.  ”If it’s funky, we’ll find it” is their motto, and most of the times, it is true.  From diners made from old school buses to pancakes made to look like people’s faces, this show has just about everything!  Who could ask for more?  If you love to eat food, which is just about everyone, this is the blog you should be reading.  I guarantee it will make your mouth water.

In this blog, I will be discussing the show in general, the host (Guy Fieri), recipes from the show (so you can go home and try to make them yourself), upcoming episodes, and where Guy is heading next.  Who knows, he could be heading for your neighborhood next!  I will also be providing pictures and links to my favorite episodes.  Everything you need to know about Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, I’ve got it.  You only live once, so you might as well eat what you want, right?  Get to know the good restaurants where you live and eat some GOOD food.