Dramatic California!

Andy and I have officially been living in California for 3 whole months now! Whoo, yeah! It was 3 months and about 6 days ago that we were packing our moving truck in the back of our Virginia house. It had just snowed lightly and some of our friends had come over to help us pack the truck. I ran out to grab some doughnuts and hot coffee to help us through the loading process. It was a chilly morning spent with good friends. Us girls huddled around our coffees nibbling on doughnuts, while the guys steadily worked on loading our life belongings into the moving truck. Now that I think about it, it seems so far away. Alas, it was only 3 months ago... Since then, we have been loving California! We miss our friends and family dearly, but the gorgeous scenery and abundant adventures have been keeping us busy. Here are some of the more dramatic photos that I have taken of our adventures over the last 3 months.

Prints of these photos are available in my Society6 store.

Strong Arm Saturday!

This Strong-Arms-Saturday is brought to you by hiking and good beer! They may not go together so well, but separate they are great things. The good beer was enjoyed at the Pyramid Ale Brewery...a fun California find for us. And the hiking was done in the Marin Headlands State Park just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. A wonderful relaxing weekend filled with all things California.

What exciting things do you have planned for Saturday? Feel like snapping a picture of your own Strong-Arms-Saturday, send me a picture and I'll post it along with a little story and a link to your website or blog (if you have one):  E-mail Me!

Palm Springs

Last weekend Andy and I headed south to Palm Springs. We had an unexpected 3-day weekend (Presidents Day), so we opted for a spontaneous trip. On Thursday night we quickly planned it out and made reservations at a hotel. We got lucky with hotel reservations because once we were there we found out everything had booked up really quickly due to the holiday weekend. Lucky us!

Andy left work at 4pm on Friday and we started the 7 hour drive. Most of it was in the dark, so we had no idea what the surrounding landscape looked like. The next day we woke up to crisp clear blue skies, and a plethora of palm trees. Palm Springs is truly an oasis in the desert.

We did some slot canyon hiking (more in a future post), and relaxed by the pool. We also visited a date farm. We thought it was a palm farm, but it turns out that dates grow on palm trees. I had no idea! Did you know that? There was a great date center with information on how they are grown, samples of dates (12 different varieties!), and a restaurant full of date dishes. We decided on their famous date-shake and enjoyed it outside among the green lawns and date trees, aka palm trees.

It was a fantastic weekend! Taking this spontaneous trip to Palm Springs was the best idea that we have had in a long time. It was neat to see the California desert and the oasis in it, not to mention all the relaxing we did there and the fun that was had.

He's always willing to pose for a picture...just not in the most graceful way. :)

Sonoma Wine Country

Last weekend Andy and I headed up to Sonoma for a day of wine tasting, bike riding, and picnicking. We were debating whether to go to Napa or Sonoma, but heard from friends that Sonoma is better. Apparently Napa is far more touristy and built up, where as Sonoma is more down to earth and truly about the wine.

We packed a picnic lunch, loaded our bikes, and drove the hour north to Sonoma. It was a pretty drive through an area we haven't seen yet. Because it is 'winter' here in California, Sonoma was more brown than it usually is and the vines were all empty of grapes. The area was also more empty than it would be in the summer, which is considered high tourist season. The tasting rooms that we visited were full of people though, so I can only image what their busy season is like!

We found a wonderful 15 mile bike ride that would hit 6 different wineries. Some are in the small town, but most of them are out in the countryside. If you are interested in doing the same route here is the map. You can also get a map and bike rental at Sonoma Valley Cyclery if you don't have your own bike.

The first stop we made was to Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery. Both Andy and I did a full tasting here and while we enjoyed it, it was probably a mistake. The guy pouring for us had a heavy hand. Each tasting that we did with him was probably a full quarter of a wine glass! When you are trying 12 wines that equals to be about 3 full glasses of wine. We enjoyed the wines a little too much and left quite sloshed. That is definitely NOT the best way to start a 15 mile bike ride to visit 6 different wineries.

All the wine that we drank was absolutely amazing and fantastic. It was fun to compare California wine to Virginia wine. California definitely has had more time to perfect their wines, but I think Virginia is coming along. Of course, none of our wine pourers would agree with us. Every time we mentioned Virginia wine their noses would turn up and the conversation would lull. We quickly learned not to bring Virginia wine into the conversation. Wine conversation etiquette anyone??

It was a lovely day of wine tasting and bike riding, but I must admit that after the first tasting our bike riding skills were not so great. (Luckily we were in the countryside without many cars or people to see us, ha!) After 3 wineries and a picnic we decided that we were far too drunk to finish our bike trip. Whoops! This California 18% wine is not what we are used to! No matter, we had a lovely (and long!) picnic and then some pizza and coffee to to work off the wine before heading home. I am already planning our next visit to do the same Sonoma bike trip, but next time we'll pace ourselves so we can be sure to hit all the wineries that we missed.

Big Sur post two, Highway One Beaches

A few days ago I posted about our backpacking trip to Big Sur. We took one day to backpack and camp, and one day to explore the area and Highway One. We have heard from countless people that Big Sur is the outdoorsy place to be around here. Well, other than Napa, Lake Tahoe, Muir Woods...oh wait, this whole area is scenic and beautiful!

Big Sur is about 2.5-3 hours south of the Bay Area, but totally worth the drive. A lot of the drive was boring highway, but once we hit Highway One the scenery started. We drove up and down Highway One stopping every few miles to get out and enjoy the coastal beauty. Some places the water was transparent blue, and other places we saw huge seals. There were cresting waves, miles of rocky shoreline, pristine white beaches, fog, sun, waterfalls, pine trees. Oh beauty!

It was an incredible day exploring Highway One in the Big Sur area. We did a few hikes right off the highway, and enjoyed the abandoned rugged beaches. We also stopped for lunch at a beautiful rooftop gallery restaurant that had some of the best bacon mac and cheese we've ever tasted. There are no words for that kind of delicious! We enjoyed lunch and beer in the blazing February sun with a view of Highway One and the Pacific Ocean. Does it get much better than that? I know I say that every time we get out and explore the area, but really, California has so much to offer.

 Check out the waterfall on the left side of this picture. Andy wanted to go bathe in it, but the trail didn't have beach access.

Big Sur post one: Backpacking

Over the last few weeks Andy has been lusting after Big Sur. He has been watching youtube videos of the area, talking to co-workers, looking it up on maps etc. Finally we decided to go this weekend, rain or shine. (Our day started overcast and I was afraid it would rain. Luckily, it cleared up.)

Big Sur is an area along Highway 1 filled with national parks, beautiful scenery, and tons of hiking. We decided to drive down Saturday morning and backpack into the mountains to find a camping spot. It took us a few hours just to drive to Big Sur, but once we were in the area our eyes were wide and we couldn't stop ohh'ing and ahh'ing at the beauty.

We decided on a trail off the road, got our packs ready, and headed out. The hike was along the mountains lining the coast and went up, up away. The sun started to set and we got a little worried about finding a camping spot. Not too worried though, that we couldn't enjoy the blaring golden setting sun. It was beautiful! Luckily, right as the sun set we found a perfect place to set up camp. We put our tent up quickly and grabbed some fire wood right as it got dark. Talk about good timing!

Unfortunately, our solar lantern hadn't been charged (oops), so it didn't work. Andy also forgot to put batteries in his head lamp. So we were a little short on light, but once we got the fire going it provided the light we needed for making dinner, hanging out, and roasting the necessary marshmallows (we ate the whole bag!). Once the stars came out we couldn't help but let the fire die down and lay back to adore the sparkling heavens.

It was a beautiful evening of bright stars and the sound of waves crashing against the distant shore. The next morning we enjoyed a relaxed breakfast before heading back down the mountain for some more exploring. It was incredible to say the least! We are so lucky to be able to enjoy this beautiful nature and go camping in February. More of the trip and Highway 1 to come in a few days.

 Hanging out in the morning.

 Andy made us coffee and breakfast on our trusty little camping stove.

Yep, that's my man. He enjoys nature to its fullest!