Napa Valley

Last weekend, our friend Matt came to visit all the way from Florida!  You have to understand, being in a land where we started out not knowing anyone, well let's just say it makes for really treasured time when an old friend comes over.  Thanks for coming, Matt!  You are welcome back anytime!

Over the weekend, we took Matt up to Napa Valley.  We started out our day not really knowing too much about where we were going, but we knew there would be information for us soon as we reached the Valley.  I, for one, was expecting a little tri-fold bulletin with ten or so wineries to hit up.  Hahaha!  Try two magazines full of wineries and places to see and eat!  This was more than a one day trip, folks! 

We ate at a little French restaurant, called Angele, on the river soon as we entered Napa.  Carl and Matt are braver souls than I... they each ordered rabbit... I stuck with French Onion Soup.  And, might I say, the French sure do know how to make French Onion soup!  It was delish!  

Our waiter recommended a few wineries for us to visit,so we made sure to take him up on his suggestions.  The first winery we went to was called Del Dotto.

After Del Dotto, we started heading down the road and found ourselves in Stag's Leap.  In Stag's Leap, we went to a winery called Darioush.  Darioush was by appointment only, but somehow they let us in when we walked through the door with a huge crowd... hmm...  ;)  It was a very fancy pants type winery.  Beautiful pillars greet you as you walk across a bridge that is built over a pond with lily pads galore.  Upon entrance to the building, the earth tones of the marble floor and the waterfall that stretches from the third floor to the basement really makes you feel as though you are in an important building!

 

After Darioush, we headed to yet another winery.  This one, I must say, was by far my favorite.  It was beautiful.  It was a wonderful atmosphere.  Everything about it was just great.  It was Regusci (pronounced ree-goosh-ee).  We walked in and were asked if we were there for T-Vine or Regusci.  We were there for Regusci but asked what T-Vine was exactly.  "It's an exclusive party held on the roof by T-Vine, a brand we are partnerig with.  But you have to have an invitation....."  Just then, a guy, who I swear is my Uncle Brian's twin (see pic below), told us that if we wanted to take a look, we could pop up there for a minute. 

We settled in on the lanai for some tastings and decided that we would purchase a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy at a later date.  The lanai overlooked the vineyard, and it was just lovely.  We spend the majority of our afternoon here, with an excellent barista.  He was extremely friendly and laid back, just our style.

After relaxing there for quite a while, we headed upstairs to the "Private Party."  We walked in and a lady stopped us... "Did you RSVP?"

"No."  The three of us answered.

"Okay, well I'll show you around..."  There we enjoyed more wine tasting, live music, baby back ribs, fried mac and cheese bites (yum), and some amaaaazing cheese.  We even got to meet one of the winery dogs (that's really what they are called...), Trixie.  Trixie lives on the winery.  She's a (very full) corgi. 

The three of us had a very terrific day up in Napa.  We learned that one day in Napa is not nearly enough and we have agreed that on Matt's next trip out here, we will go visit Sonoma.  Although, I must say, I couldn't have chosen a better time of year to visit the vineyards.  They were absolutely gorgeous with the leaves changing colors!  And the weather was ideal!  All around, it was just a wonderful day.

Yosemite Wildlife

I spy with my little eye..... something with horns.  (No, not all these cars... you guys.)

My father in law got a much better look than I did.  Here's his shot:

If you couldn't see him in my shot, look straight through the cars.  He's that brown patch at the end.  He's eating a tree.

On our last trip to Yosemite, we saw this pretty girl:

And I like to think that you know, boy met girl, and thus we stumbled upon this little precious.

Can you see her?  She's kind of small.  She's to the left of the tree that is closest to the fence.

We also got to see Miss Featherbottom, pictured below. 

I'm told that she's a grouse.  Up close, she appears to be a cross between a chicken and a turkey.  Hey, no judgement.

And then we also saw this fellow.  Just minding his own business.  I'm not sure if coyotes hybernate or not, but this one looks to me like he just woke up.  He was very chillaxed.

And no we did not get out of the car to get this picture.  Next to a grouse, sure why not.  But a coyote?  Hey, unless his name is Wiley and he in the form of a cardboard cutout, we'll stay in the car thankyouverymuch.

Speaking of cartoon friends like ole Wiley, we also ran into Chip.  I mean Dale.  No I mean Chip.  Ugh... I don't know.  I always get those two little rascals mixed up.

One of these days, we will see a bear.  From a distance.  But close enough to get a good picture.  But not close enough that it eats my camera.  Or my family.  K?  We're working on it.

The Difference of 6 Months

Six months ago, when we went to Yosemite, we stopped to take these pictures.

Are those pretty?

And check this out...

Is it normal for a boy to change so much in six months?!

Seriously.

Then:

Now:

WOAH.

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." -Ecclesiastes 3:1

"A season for snow capped hills, a season for lush green bushes.  A season for a boy to look like a boy and a season for a boy to look more like a man." -Lindsey

Something tells me these next few years are going to be flying by.

Monterey

The morning we all ventured to Monterey, we began our day at Huckleberry's here in town.  Now would be a good time to note that I didn't take many pictures during the day, so these pictures are from my father in law.  Thank you for letting me use them! :)

We then made our way to Monterey, where the boys walked down by bay (where the watermelons grow....back to my home, I dare not go...).  Wait, do watermelons really grow by the bay?  Am I missing something here?  I digress.

Austin has been wearing his jacket like that lately.  I'm really not sure why.  I remember being a little younger than him and attempting to wear my sweater like that because that's how the girls would wear it in old fashioned movies, but it didn't really stay on me very well.  It seems to work for Austin.  Maybe he likes thinking of it as a cape instead of a jacket :)

This quote was on the wall of the aquarium... along with things like "Don't flash the octopus" which had Carl and I in stitches.  (They meant camera flashes, guys, California isn't that crazy....)  I don't know why we didn't get a picture of one of the funny quotes.  I'm kind of kicking myself now.

We ended our day in Santa Cruz where Carl, Austin and Tom rode some rides.  Ann and I chowed down on some ice cream even though it was super cold outside (who can resist Dippin Dots and a dipped cone? I mean seriously..)  The only ride that Ann and I indulged in was the gondola.  And that was to get us from point A to point B.  We are practical ladies ;)

I love how the guy in blue is smiling for this picture as well.

It was really a fun day had by all. 

Tom and Ann, come back any time.  We enjoyed our adventures with you!  Love ya'll!

Signs

In Florida, we are accustomed to seeing this:

In California, they are accustomed to seeing this:

Exploring Yosemite

First off, let me just say... don't worry, this is the last Yosemite post.  I know you folks are like "Sheesh how many pictures did the girl take?!"  More than enough.  More than enough.

So we arrived at Yosemite and we all flew out of the car.  Being in a tiny car on windy roads= no fun.  Especially if you're like me and having to take pills for car sickness!  But thankfully, they do work.  When we first arrived in Yosemite, we discovered blackberry bushes.  What fun!  We all picked a few and scarfed them down.  Yum!

At the entrance to the park, we were in awe of the large mountains and flowing streams.  They were just beautiful.  And the lush green bushes.

"Hello, nature.  Nice to have you around."

(No, he did not really say that.)

Here is Austin and his grandma.  We are all still at the base of Yosemite in this shot.  And, it's starting to drizzle.  I was super excited to see rain, but today was not really the day I was hoping for it to come. 

Right after this picture was taken, Tom decided to chuck a pinecone toward Austin.  This picture below cracks me up because it looks like Austin is using the force to hold the pinecone in mid-air. (Thanks for not letting me down, iPhone.  You took some good pics for us.)

Our second stop of the day was Bridalveil Falls.  Gorgeous.

We actually got out of the car and walked right up to the base of the falls. Carl and Austin actually hiked a little ways up the falls, as seen in the following pictures.

After Bridalveil falls, we headed over to Curry Village and ate lunch.

It was there that we saw this fellow.

He was eating lunch too.  Of the tree variety.

Curry Village had lots of fat little squirrels running around, practically screaming about how hungry they were.  (However, judging by their weight, I'd say they were lying about being hungry.)  If you weren't careful, they'd take the food out of your hand while eating.  They even would sneak into the restaurant to try to grab some grub.

After Curry Village, we started making our drive toward Glacier Point.

It was then that I remembered that the temperature drastically changes when you go up several thousand feet.

Brrrrrr.

At this lookout, I refused to get out of the car.  So of course, Carl took a picture. 

I have no idea why I made that face.  'Scuze me.

Carl went and snapped a few shots without me.

This might've been the tree Austin claimed.  Not sure.  Eh hem.  Moving on.

Then, my dear mother in law Ann had Carl bring me her jacket so I could enjoy the scenery as well.  THANK YOU!

I had bundled up in it because I was wearing a pink shirt underneath and didn't want to look like I was colorblind. 

Not that there's anything wrong with being colorblind.

Just for pictures.

Anyhoo...

And after seeing the following picture, I begged my hair stylist to not make me look like my hair was orange.  Now it's kind of white.  But whatever, it's just hair.

It was 65 degrees up here and Ann was taking one for the team here.  Or for me, I guess.  And Austin?  He doesn't feel the cold.  I have to beg him to put a jacket on in the winter because he makes me cold just looking at him. PS- is that not the cutest baby you have ever seen?!  Smiling for the picture and all.  Quit making my ovaries cry, kid.

AAAAAAH Proof of the orange hair... and that is halfdome in the back if you can look past the carrot that is my head.  Note- natural red heads, y'all look lovely.  Me?  I look like a cheetah. And not in a good way.  I wanted blond for Pete's sake!  Not red.  And especially not red and yellow stripes.  I digress.

Oh, and this is at Glacier Point, in case you wanted to know.

Or maybe more like a zebra?  I don't know.  It was pretty striped.  And not in a pretty way.  It was a "Oh I think I need you to come back next week" (says my {note: old} hair stylist) way.

The lighting isn't so great in this shot.  I just might play around with it in photoshop to try to make it better. This was once again at Glacier Point.

Better?  Not really.  Different? Absolutely.

Here Austin, let me play with your picture too.

And the different version.

Makes the weather look much more picturesque, if nothing else.

 

Here is Austin pointing at Half Dome.

Wow, a full day traveling and driving through the mountains and here is a blog post pushed out in about 30 minutes.  Oh well, just linger on each picture if you want the full effect.  Thanks for reading!

Tidbits

Carl's parents have been in town visiting us these past few days, so I've stepped away from blogging.  Since I'm already having to be on the computer during the day for work, I try to spend time with them in the evenings instead of blogging.  Sorry I have been missing, folks!  They are out of town now for a couple of days, so I'll fill y'all in on what's been happening.  Boy have we been busy.

-Austin is now on the cross country team at his school!  It's really helping him in numerous ways.  He's actually tired at the end of the day, he is learning more discipline (either that or the light finally got through to him that his dad and I have been trying desperately to invoke in his daily routine....)  His grades are on the up and up, meaning so far he's getting mostly A's!  Woohoo!  He comes home every day, hauls is bag up to his room and does his homework.  It takes him a little under an hour every day and that's mostly because his dad and I have him read thirty minutes each day.  Then he comes downstairs, has a snack, and he gets to enjoy the rest of his afternoon.  Pretty sweet.

-Before my inlaws came into town, I got my hair touched up so it would look it's best for when they saw me the first time as a blond.  I got there and started chatting away with my hair girl, who had given me a fabulous haircut several months ago.  I had assumed that touchups would take an hour TOPS.  Boy was I wrong. 

4  Hours later.... I came out with ORANGE hair.  I couldn't tell at first because it was dusk outside.  Now I have to go fork out more money to have this mistake corrected.  The worst part?  (Other than the money...) The day after I get my hair done, I typically have a migraine.  So now I have to choose when to have my migraine and waste another day in the salon.  Bleh.

-We did a lot of traveling last week.  So much that we couldn't leave Belle at home, so our friends watched her for us.  Thank you, guys!  We appreciate you!  Belle came home from their house and b-lined for the bed.  Her BFF Beldar really wears her out.  :)

-On one of our excursions, we went to Monterey where we visited the aquarium.  It was pretty nice, but if you have ever been to the Tampa Bay Aquarium, you may not be very impressed.  But still, it was a nice day that we got to spend with family.  However, while we were at the aquarium, Austin decided to do something....er....silly.

Why did you stick your legs through those bars?
"I wanted to see if they would fit.."
Um... but didn't you think about the possibility of them not fitting?
"No..."

Carl had to tug and tug to get him loose.  We were thisclose to calling the fire department.  I couldn't help but laugh at the situation because this is totally something that would happen to us.  And Carl practically forced me to take pictures.  Seriously.  *I know some of y'all are going to have a hay day with this, *cough* Daniel *cough*... all I ask is 1, you don't go TOO hard on him, and 2, you don't name your source.  :-P

It's his knees that are locking him in place.  The pictures are hard to tell because (believe it or not) I felt like a horrible parent snapping pictures while our kid was stuck.  And yes, we had onlookers.  "Is that little boy stuck?"  "My kid did that once...." "Oh boy, good luck....."

-On a more relaxed note, I'll now show you a picture of the Pacific ocean.  Enjoy.  :)