California Roadtrip: Carmel & Monterey

There's just something charming about the quaint downtown of Carmel 

surrounded by ridiculously expensive real estate.  

We enjoyed wandering, seeing what we could see.

We kicked things off with breakfast at Katy's Place, which was so good, but the portions were enough for a family of four

We drove the 17-mile drive, wishing we were on bikes instead of in our rental 

We stopped for a glass of wine at the Spanish Links and cozied up by the fire.

We walked in on a cocktail party at Pebble Beach 

and ease dropped until our hearts were content

 

We watched the surfers

We held hands

We peeked into photo galleries

We saw whales in Monterey

 We stopped for coffee

We passed through Salinas and saw where a good amount of our food is produced- fascinating

We had dinner at Casanova and La Bicyclette 

and adopted a new strategy to our week long food feast 

with the hope that we'll still be able to fit in our clothes by the time we leave- 

salads for both and an entree to split- 

perfect and delicious and more room for wine!

California Roadtrip: Let's Hike Yosemite

Today is Mr. oh-so-worth-the-wait's birthday. 

Hooray You! 

We have all of our celebrations grouped in a one week period. 

My birthday is just a few days away. 

I say all the more reason to celebrate with a big trip each year. 

Sounds like a good idea to me :)

To celebrate the birthday boy we set off on a hike to Vernal Falls, breathtakingly beautiful and rainbows too. How's that for birthday luck? To get away from the crowds we continued up to Nevada Falls, which was a tougher hike, but worth it. We also came across a stream to swim in, which was incredible because it was h-o-t.  

 There was definitely a theme throughout on our trip- 

Impromptu swim breaks in the crisp clear waters we came across . . 

Ahhh Summer!

As we say goodbye to Yosemite, a few observations. 

It's BEAUTIFUL, 

breathtakingly so, 

and I recommend that everyone go there at least once in their lifetime, 

but people 

if you weigh more than 250+ pounds 

and have never worked out a day in your life 

this is not the place to vacation.

I'm just saying...

California Roadtrip: Yosemite Here We Come

Today is the day, our big 1-year anniversary, more on that here, and 

I couldn't be more excited to get back on the road with my favorite road trip companion. Destination- Yosemite. 

Seriously, what a great way to spend an anniversary, on the open road, surrounded by amazing scenery, rocking out to some great music (thank you Pandora), recapping the highlights of the past year and dreaming of what's to come. 

Oh the possibilities...

Here are some pics from our day:

Ugh oh, look who's behind the wheel

Afternoon swim, clear water, amazing views and not a person in site.

Hello Mr. oh-so-worth the wait! Yep, I married this guy!

Anniversary dinner and drinks at the Ahwahnee Hotel

Our tented accommodations for the evening

California Roadtrip: Tahoe We Love You

Wow, what a day.

 We set off this morning for a ride with the Tahoe Mountain Guides.

We met them at their shop in Truckee, which is cute little town just outside of Tahoe. 

They set us up with mountain bikes that looked like they could ride through a crater if they had to. 

They were beautiful too, but I know I'm not supposed to comment on that when I'm out doing bad ass mountain sports :)

They drove us out to the start of a great trail and up we went. 

Up, up, up, getting comfortable with the bikes, all of the gears and riding over boulders, tree trunks and loose terrain along the way. 

It was tough, in the good way of knowing you were testing yourself. 

We stopped for a break and Ken (upper right photo) gave us pointers like, 

"stay out of your seat, it'll give you more control" 

and my addition, "your tush will thank you later" 

before we made our descent. 

Going down was a bit scary, I'm not going to lie. 

Tight turns and so much to try to maneuver around and I couldn't help but want to go fast. 

It took a while, but luckily i got more confident just in time for our trail to widen a bit. 

Man oh man can you get going fast on those bikes and they really do go over anything if you let em. 

Poor Mr. Oh-so-worth-the-wait may have tested his a little too hard because he wound up with a flat tire- oops. 

Luckily one of our guides fixed it fast and we were all back on our way, pedaling, jumping and pushing our way back down the mountain.

It was such a great way to see and experience Tahoe. 

I highly recommend it.

By the time we were done we were covered in dirt, so we found a great spot on the lake and went for a swim. The scenery out here is beautiful! 

Then we stopped by Sunnyside for a cocktail and 

finished off the day with a delicious dinner at Christy Hill overlooking the lake.

If you go, sit outside and get their Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding-- amazing. 

Yes, oh yes, I do love you Tahoe!

California Roadtrip: Hello Tahoe

4 a.m. the alarm went off 

and the internal dialog with myself began, 

"whose idea was it to get the first flight out?... 

It's so early. No one should be awake this early. 

Can't we go back to bed and catch the next flight out?...

Seriously, whose idea was this?"

Then Mr. oh-so-worth-the-wait, who married me in spite of me being hopeless in the morning, chimed in with a cheerful reminder,  

"It was your idea to get the first flight out sunshine. Let's get movin." 

So much for my internal dialog.

He was right though, it was my idea. First flight out meant we would be sitting outside enjoying a delicious sea scallop salad with truffle dressing on the side and an ice cold glass of chardonnay by the water.

First flight out-- Best Idea Ever!!! Thanks so much for the reminder. 

Hello Tahoe, I love you already.