Northern California

Yosemite National Park

   Wow, I did not expect this to be my favorite part of our trip north but it just may be.  The sheer size of this park and its natural beauty is absolutely stunning.  I had no clue how big it actually was until we got there and asked the lady at the entrance for directions to Bridalveil Falls and she said "turn left and you'll be there in about an hour."  I guess I was picturing a place where you could ride your bike around for the afternoon and see pretty much everything.  I was wrong.  We drove all around and spent about five hours there and still did not even come close to seeing everything it has to offer.  While there a quote by Jane Austen kept coming to mind, "What are men to rocks and mountains?"  The enormous mountains and water falls around you really make you realize how small you are compared to mother nature and the thought gave me a great appreciation for the things I was looking at.  A few of our favorite sites were Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls.  I was looking forward to seeing Mirror Lake, which is supposed to have a great reflection of the trees in fall colors, but after an hour hike to get there we discovered that the lake was dry.  Nevertheless, I highly recommend a trip to Yosemite because my pictures just do not do it justice.        

Napa Valley

    Napa was also a much bigger area than I expected.  It is broken up into different sections but we spent most of our time in Napa and St. Helena.  Obviously Napa is best known for its wine, but not being a wine lover myself that isn't what I liked most about the area.  Second to their wine Napa is known for their food.  And food, as I have told you before, is my favorite thing about traveling.  Delicious!  What impressed me most about Napa however was not the wine or food, but the people.  The staff at the hotel, wineries, grocery store, and everyone else we came across were extremely friendly.  A few highlights from the trip include a picnic at Alpha Omega Winery and cupcakes from Sift (winner of "Cupcake Wars" on The Food Network!).  While I could do without the wine I do love the beautiful manicured vineyards that are Napa. 

San Francisco

   Well we certainly visited at an exciting time, as the city was buzzing with all the success the San Francisco Giants are having.  When we checked into our hotel and I realized they did not have central air I threw a small tantrum, but eventually got over it.  It didn't help that the high temperature was only 60 degrees outside and I had left my favorite travel blanket in Napa. : /  Our first day in the city we spent seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street (the "crookedest" street), rode a cable car, and of course the Full House house.  This city is also broken down into different sections and one of our favorites was Fisherman's Wharf.  A very touristy area, but that is what we are, right?  A boardwalk right on the bay and lined with shops and restaurants.  Also home of Bousin Bakery which has been making sourdough bread since 1849, impressive and smells amazing.  North Beach is the "Little Italy" section of town and handmade pasta raviolis was one of my favorite meals.  Another favorite place to eat was in Chinatown, which is the largest outside of Asia.

   Charlie really liked Golden Gate Park where she got to meet lots of new friends.  Our first observations of the people at the dog park were that the locals were insane.  There was maybe 10 other people there but about 60 dogs.  Do the math and that is A LOT of dogs per human.  But then my genius husband realized they were dog walkers and not crazy at all, oops.  The park is also where we got to see our first Redwood trees!  And bison.  That's right, at one end of the park they have a large fenced-in area with bison just walkin' around.  Interesting to see, but a bit strange.  We ended our trip the second night seeing Neal Brennan (co-creator of the Chappelle's Show) at a comedy club and had great laughs.  We drove home along the Pacific Coast Highway which is just a really pretty drive on the edge of a cliff with the Pacific Ocean down below, which is a nice way to make the long drive back south fly by.     

Homefront...

   In case you have been wondering how stoop kid is doing I have an update.  Justin has gotten very close to him and we found out that he was in a motorcycle accident a few years ago.  He cracked his skull open and lost an eye and that is probably the reason he does not leave home much.  It is a very sad story, especially considering how nice of a guy he is.  He sold his tattoo shop to his employees and is moving to Colorado at the end of November to be closer to his grandchildren.  Justin and I have gotten to love having him as a neighbor and are going to miss him, maybe we will follow him to Colorado.  Who knows?

Keep you posted,

<3 L

10.13.07

  Normally this time of the year means celebrating another year together for Justin and me.  Typically it is spent at The Melting Pot; where we always get the same thing; spinach and artichoke dip, caesar salads, mojo cooking style and the original chocolate fondue. Sometimes Matt and Steph would join us since their dating anniversary is the day after ours.  While I will have to wait until June 30^th to celebrate our new anniversary date, it has left me reflecting on our past years together.  From our first little apartment in Bradenton, which remains Justin’s favorite to this day, where we had zero furniture to our name but thought it was a good idea to get a dog.  I generally like to think of us as having good common sense but buying a dog before furnishing our home seems to negate that.  Needless to say Charlie was brought home and the furniture came later.  I am a true believer in couples raising a puppy before getting married because they are WORK.  Sleepless nights, messes, training, and parenting styles are all involved and if you can survive that then you are in good shape.

  As it turns out Charlie is one of the best decisions we have made as a couple and she could not be more perfect!  We got through school, worked hard and had a blast while doing it.  I am always saying how lucky we are for the great people and opportunities we have in our lives but Justin reminds me luck has nothing to do with it, we are blessed.  Before we left Florida we had a gorgeous apartment filled with new gifts we were lucky blessed enough to receive from our wedding.  All of which was left in Florida and we packed the car with Charlie and a few clothes when we headed to California.  Now we live in an apartment that is practical but nothing special.  Our kitchenware consists of four plastic plates, two bowls, one pot and one pan that we bought when we got here.  The funny thing is that we have never done as much cooking as we have here with our limited tools.  But some of my favorite memories have been made in our little kitchen. 

  We have changed and grown a lot since we were seventeen, together.  Now we have gotten to see so many things that I never imagined myself seeing in the short time we have lived in California.  I look forward to what lies ahead for us and the places we will travel.  I am excited about our new anniversary and the traditions yet to be made.  And whatever else come our way :)

I love you Justin,

<3 L  

Big Bear

   Since it is now October we headed north for a few days in search of fall weather.  The San Bernardino Mountains are home to a great little town called Big Bear 7,000 feet up.  The Village is about the only place people gather in the area.  It is all of two blocks and has great shops and restaurants owned by the locals.  We stayed in a cozy cabin, called "Lone Pine", lakeside and had highs in the 70's and low 40's for our trip.  I was a little excited/nervous because hiking was in our plans and I had never gone before.  The first trail we did was Castle Rock Trail which went uphill for about 1.5 miles to end with stunning views of the mountains and of Big Bear Lake.  I did okay and am definitely not a fan of uphill hiking, but the views were worth it and I survived!  After working up a big appetite we ate at a local pizza parlor called Saucy Mama's.  Delicious! 

  We also spent some time boating on the lake which offers endless views of the mountains and their trees which are starting to change color for fall.  We saw lots of jumping fish that teased Charlie all afternoon.  Another hike we did was Champion Lodgepole Pine Trail.  At the end of this trail is one of the oldest Lodgepole Pines in the world at over 400 years old.  The mere size of this tree is amazing and definitely reminds you how small you are compared to mother nature.  The real adventure of this hike is getting to the trail.  You have to take a narrow dirt road up the side of the mountain for miles.  Good luck if you break done because civilization is far and cell phone service is non-existent.  Scary!!

   My favorite part of the trip was sitting fireside in our cozy cabin and drinking hot chocolate with my favorite guy and Charlie.  We don't get the chance to leave the windows open and enjoy a fire very often and it was so nice.  Big Bear was one of my favorite places we have traveled and would love to go back.    
 
Keep you posted,

<3 L

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





Santa Monica

 This past Saturday Justin and I got in the car and headed to L.A. to spend the day with Sarah.  Lucky for us Sarah has lived there for two years now and gave us a great tour of the area. (Thanks love)  With so much to see we decided to focus on one place for the day and picked Santa Monica!  This was our first view of the Pacific Ocean, and like all bodies of water I found it gorgeous. However this body of water was freezing compared to our warm gulf from back home, which remains my favorite.   I have to confess to you all that my knowledge of this place is limited to what I saw back when I watched The Hills.  The pier is where Spencer proposed to Heidi and it looked so romantic.  Of course this is what I was expecting and was oh SO wrong.  Ironic that they call it reality TV because in actual reality it is filled with street vendors trying to get you to pay for your picture with their snake or buy the $10 CD of awful music that they sing.  Hilarious!  The views from the pier however are memorable.  Great sights of the water filled with sail boats and mountains as their backdrop. 

 

 One of my favorite things to do while traveling is try different local food.  Something we are loving about California is that there aren't many chain restaurants and more little hole in the wall places to eat.  While in Santa Monica we ate at a great place called Cafe Crepe and didn't get crepes, but got delicious tomato and mozzarella panini's.  We sat outside and in between gossiping with Sarah (which Justin loves, don't let him try and make you think otherwise) did some people watching.  The fashion in L.A. is so different from back home.  Skin is in people!

 

In other news... 

 

 It doesn't feel right to leave you out of the experience we deal with every day which is our neighbor.  I like to call him stoop kid.  Well stoop kid is this strange guy that pretends like he has a front porch, which in reality is the community sidewalk and sits out there all day long talking to his pet bird.  He has a little rolling seat that he sits on and this disgusting black leather footstool.  I will try my hardest to take a picture of his set up because it is quite humorous but you know what Hey Arnold always says "stoop kids afraid to leave his stoop".

 

Keep you posted,

 

<3 L