Temecula

 Temecula is the wine country of southern California.  They specialize in white wines, which I appreciate since it is the only kind of wine I sort of like.  My mom introduced me to Moscato while having dinner at Carrabba's one night and it was the first wine that I ever tried and didn't want to spit  right back out.  I have tried many kinds since and still no luck.  Justin has always had the same feelings toward wine that I have until we did a wine tasting in Paris this Summer.  He liked everything, including red!  (yuck)

 We did two wine tastings last week and the first one was at Danza Del Sol.  This is a very small vineyard with a quiet tasting room with friendly staff.  We each tried five different kinds of wines and both ended up with a favorite.  Mine was a sweet white, of course, and Justin's a red.  We took a bottle of each home and headed to the next tasting.  Wilson Creek Winery is a gorgeous place to spend a day outside and sits on acres and acres of land.  We had lunch at their restaurant, Creekside Grille, before doing our second tasting.  The area is very relaxing with many different spots to enjoy wine.  Our favorite was under a cabana with great views of the vineyards, resident golden retrievers and of course the mountains.  While we liked the wine at Danza Del Sol better, this place was by far the best to spend time at.

 After our tastings we did a horse back riding tour through a few vineyards in the area.  Wine, horses, sunset all sounded so romantic to me until I met my horse Carter.  Carter had different plans in mind for how to spend his evening and I was along for the ride.  He loved eating the grapes off the vine even though he wasn't supposed to.  He also hated being in the back of the group.  So he would stop and get his fill of grapes and then gallop past all the other nice horses so he could be in the front again.  This process continued for the whole tour leading to my love/hate relationship with Carter, such a personality!  When I woke up the next day I could hardly move.  My butt hurt so bad and so did my back.  Muscles hurt that I didn't even  know I had.  We certainly had a lot of fun that day, just not what we thought it was going to be.  Another one to add to the memory book that we are creating during this adventure!

Disneyland, CA

 Finally the time came that we went to Disneyland!! This was the one thing I was most excited about when I found out we were moving to California.  After visiting Disneyland Paris this summer and being very disappointed in it, I was a little nervous that this trip would end the same way.  I was so impressed however and could not stop grinning at all the fall decorations Disney has up right now.  We tried a few rides that we don't have back home, as well as the usual (Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Carribbean, etc).  The one I loved the most there was Haunted Mansion, which was decorated in a "Nightmare Before Christmans" theme.  The decorations they did for this ride were some of the best Halloween decorations I have seen in Disney history, which is saying a lot.  I was SO SO SO impressed and could have ridden it ten times and still not seen everything, amazing.  We left that day thrilled for fall, pumpkin carving and Halloween!  Now that we have been to Disneyworld, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyland California all that's left is Hong Kong and Tokyo and my Disney bucket list will be complete.

 

Keep you posted,

 

<3 L

San Diego

 We spent the day in San Diego this week and got to see a lot but not everything we wanted.  If I had to describe San Diego to you in one word, it would be "cute"!  Balboa park was a nice area with lots of art to marvel at.  Nice fountains and gardens as well.  The park also has several museums and of course the famous San Diego zoo which we didn't have time to do.  Coronado Island was another area we explored that was so pretty.  It reminded me a lot of Sarasota and the drive over the bridge getting to St. Armand's Circle.  Lot's of views of the Pacific filled with sail boats and streets with little specialty shops.    

 Another area we explored while in town turned out to be my favorite that we have visited so far while being in Cali.  It is a little town called La Jolla which is spanish for "the jewel".  A perfectly fitting name for this gorgeous place.  It has these coves right on the Pacific that is home to seals along with a very small beach open to the public.  You get to swim while watching these animals sun bathe or play in the water all while having the mountains in the background.  I am obssessed with it and now want to vacation there on the regular.  The rest of the town has the most adorable houses and small little restaurants.  I find it to be perfect.

 You know what they say... "when in Mexico" (or very close to it).  Fifteen miles away from old town San Diego is the boarder to Mexico and the town of Tijuana.  We were told it is not safe to travel into right now so we did the best we could with a mexican restaurant close by.  Casa Guadalajara sure felt like being in Mexico.  The food was some of the best Mexican I have ever had and they are famous for their jumbo margaritas!

New York

 After spending the day in San Deigo we flew overnight to New York.  We got to our hotel in Central Park late morning and were so tired.  Being able to sleep on the plane overnight sounded like a better plan from our living room then it did on the actual plane.  We spent the afternoon in New York in the park and Times Square.  The weather there right now is beautiful.  Times sqaure had so many promotional events going on for the football game that night.  We got to meet Antonio Pierce AND the naked cowboy :)  Arriving to MetLife Stadium was an awesome way to start this football season.  We even got to watch Deion and the crew tape for the pregame show.  Watching them get their make up done to talk sports was hilarious.  As Giants fans we don't get the chance very often to share that living in Florida, so to be surronded by them was amazing.  Watching the Giants warm up was a lot of fun.  It is nice to see the faces of our favorite players since we haven't in so long.  The Giants do a really cool thing where they play a song from each players iPod to get them extra pumped during warm ups.  Like Justin Tuck's was "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.  Most of the others were rap songs except Eli's of course.  His was "The Warrior" by Patty Smith haha.  Gotta love him!  Of course the Giants winning the game would have been the cherry on top but still was an excellent trip.  We are thrilled that football is back!! GO GIANTS <3

 

Keep you posted,

 

<3 L



Hollywood

 On Friday Justin and I spent the day exploring the Hollywood area.  We did the typical tourist stuff and went to see the sign and all the famous stars on Hollywood Blvd.  While I thought seeing the Hollywood sign was cool, getting to it was my favorite part.  This was our first time driving through mountains and the new car did well!  We had to take tiny roads so far up until we got to the viewing spot.  Along the way it is filled with tons of modern built homes that are stunning and have the most amazing views of Los Angeles. 

 Hollywood Boulevard was fun to try and search through all the stars of famous people.  I found my two favorite and thought it was quite convenient that they were location right next to each other.  I am talking about Mickey Mouse and Michael Jackson of course.  We also got to see where the Jimmy Kimmel show is taped and hope to get tickets for that while we are here.  For the rest of the boulevard, it is a great place to bring your kids if you can't afford Disney.  Tons of people in knock off Disney costumes wanting to take a picture with you (for a dollar or two, of course).  

 "Chow Down Countdown" is something that Justin and I have been obsessed with for awhile.  So when we found out that #2 on the list was in L.A we had to try it.  It is called Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles and that is exactly what we ate.  Delicious!!  L.A. is home to a few more restaurant's further down on the list that we hope to get to try as well.

 

Huntington Beach

 If we were back home, then tonight we would have been at the Dirty Heads concert with our friends in St. Pete.  Since we missed out we decided the next best thing was to spend the day in our favorite bands home town.  We went to the beach, which is dog friendly, and saw what real waves are like.  Charlie was the only one of us to brave the water.  They have a dog surfing contest coming up so maybe she has a future in that.  Again the beach did not compare to ours back home but I always love a beach day, and when Charlie gets to come that's even better!  We also had lunch at The Park Bench Cafe which had a whole separate menu for dogs.  Charlie got the hound dog heaven which was beef and loved it.

In other news...

 In case you have been wondering how stoop kid is we have found out more about him since my last blog post.  His real name is Carlos, but I much prefer stoop kid, and he owns a tattoo shop.  I assume which he runs out of his apartment since he never leaves his stoop.  He told Justin he had a great canvas :)

Keep you posted,

<3 L