Where I'm going to live one day... (Part III)

The view from the balcony at Lake Tahoe: Incline Village

I've never been to Tahoe before. I never want to go there and leave again. It's my favorite place. Not only is it gorgeous...clear blue skies, snow capped mountains dipping into a crystal lake...the weather is amazing! I know that it's not 70 degrees year round, that it gets crazy cold in the winter. However, I'd be happy to hole up in my cabin in some cute furry Uggs sipping my chai tea lattes while I look at the view.
So Tahoe was a amazing. It was the perfect place to wrap our tres-destination getaway because it was beautiful and relaxing. We had a wonderful meal at Jason's Beachside grill (the salad bar was top notch) as we drove into town. It was so chilly and wonderful getting to bundle up in our jeans and sweatshirts and walk on the beach. After a great meal, we headed to the condo and settled in.

This was the view from the balcony, where you can see the ski run.

It was no coincidence that we were in Nevada, so the boys headed out to hit the craps tables while the girls settled in for a movie night. The next day I visited the Hyatt spa which was heavenly. I always feel like a new person after a good massage. There was also plenty of time to read, read, read on this trip, which we all four love to do. This time we all were devouring The Hunger Games (pun somewhat intended). If you haven't read this series...do...now. You won't regret it. It was fun as we kept waiting for everyone to catch up to the same parts so we could discuss amongst ourselves. We got all dolled up that night for one of the best meals I've ever had at Lone Eagle Grill. It's on the beach so we took advantage of the photo ops and beautiful view. It was funny because we asked a gentleman if he would take a group shot and he said sure. After some chit-chat (the least we could do after he's taking our pics), he told us he was a professional photographer. Nice.

Someone forgot to tell Marc and Trisha to make the "smolder" look.
Ross and I really pulled it off.

The last day was spent getting a facial (I really do love the spa) and laying out by the lake. The beaches are so clean and nice, it's like the ocean, but the water is calmer and a little darker. We split up the last night and had "date night". Ross and I enjoyed dinner and a walk on the beach and watched the para-sailors land...not an easy task.
The next day we took a great walk and soaked up as much scenery and cool fresh air as we could. We also brainstormed about what we could do to be able to live in Tahoe. It was really, really, REALLY hard to leave. I honestly don't know if we would have gone back if it hadn't been for these little guys waiting for us.

I missed them terribly, but this trip was priceless and goes down in the history books. It's going to be hard to top this one, but we're brainstorming already.

The End

Would you like a little cheese with that wine? (Part Deux)

After a fantastic time in San Fransisco, we packed up the Trendy Traverse and headed East to Napa Valley. I have always wanted to go here and this was the perfect time to go. As you are driving out of the mountains and see this beautiful valley below you with rows and rows of green vines, you know why so many people come here (and of course the wine). It was a great drive and I really do enjoy road trips with friends. There was lots of time to ask all kinds of "what if" questions and "what would you do" scenarios to discuss. They got a little crazy.
Anyways, we stopped in town and of course the weather was AMAZING and had lunch in a local restaurant. Then we drove to Sterling Vineyards which Miss Pennie and Mr Brock had recommended to us. It was beautiful. One of the best features is you get to ride a gondola to the top of the mountain where the actual winery sits above the vineyard. Of course we got to see how the wine was made, but the thing that interested us the most was the barrels and how does one make a barrel so that it doesn't leak wine all over the place. Especially those barrels that are two stories high. I guess a lot of people ask this question, because they've made a video explaining just that. The wine was delicious, but we didn't buy any seeing as we couldn't bring it on the plane with us. However, this vineyard sells a lot of their wines in stores, so we've been able to stock up a little. We had 5 different ones, the Cabernet Sauvignon being my favorite. It was so relaxing just to sit on the balconies and look at the valley while sipping our yummy wines. Cheers!

When the lights go down in the city... (Part 1)

This summer we took what has probably been my most favorite trip to date. It was all around wonderful, beautiful and fun! One reason we had such a great time was our tried and true traveling buddies, Team Matthews, joined us and another is that it was a tres-destination trip. We got to go to three amazing American places, none of which I had been to before.
(Note: there are a lot of details, for my memory's sake, so bear with)
Here's the long version...
Part 1
We met my parents in Waco the evening before and dropped the boys off with them. Trisha had the great idea to make "packets" to use each day when they needed to help distract the kiddos and hopefully keep them from meltdown point. I loved this idea and threw together "theme days" that included "Puzzle & Game Day", "CARS (Disney) Day", "Space Day", "Art Day" and "Pirate Day". My hope was these might help make Nana and Papa's job a little bit easier. The boys were in great hands though, so I had no worries. The next morning, Ross and I flew into San Jose (cheaper flights) and picked up the rental car (Traverse...nice!). The second we stepped out of the airport stress was stripped away from us. The weather was AMAZING! After intense heat in Texas, it was literally a breath of fresh air that was clean and cool. (I miss it soo much). We stopped and had lunch at In & Out Burger. This was our first time to eat there, even though they just opened one in Allen. However, there wasn't a line like ours. The ruling was pretty good...but the fries were not my favorite. After lunch we were headed to San Fran to meet up with Marc and Trisha who had flown in earlier that day. Since we were in San Jose (I felt so much like Felicity, who I related very much to in college...don't ask me why), we decided to stop at Stanford.

We wanted to go up in the tower, but the line was too long and it cost $$$...we moved on.

Ross really enjoys seeing different University stadiums, and I enjoy the beautiful campuses. This one did not disappoint. Not only is it surrounded by oak trees, the buildings are old mission style. It created such a calm atmosphere (perfect for a school), and made me want to go build a new house.

I loved this tree, probably because it was my favorite color!

We headed North to San Fran and I was amazed at the houses...everywhere! They were so tightly packed in it was crazy. As we approached our hotel the roads really started the up and down pattern and I started getting really nervous. At each stop sign I knew we were going to start rolling back either into the intersection behind us or into someones car. Ross gunned it each time and we made it through them. I know I drove him crazy with my screams, but I was a little panicked. We got to the Hotel Drisco and it did not disappoint. I love old buildings that have been restored and taken care of and that's exactly what this Hotel was. It was charming and quaint and I could have stayed there a month. For me, it's a great bed, a clean hotel and the "little touches" that make it a five star for me. They are a five star hotel in my book. The citrus water they set out everyday in the sitting room, the breakfast they served (very European) and the wine and cheese hour made it the perfect destination. Plus they were walking distance from the Promenade and nestled around some fabulous homes.

A house in the Prominade (which was a military base at one point).

We settled in and then rented bikes to ride through Golden Gate park which is 1000 acres of pine trees and lush green meadows. It was breathtaking and chilly enough that we needed sweatshirts. Trisha and I thought that our choice of bikes was nostalgic and fun, but quickly realized the gear bikes would have been a better choice with all the hills. Noted.

They really were cute bikes, just not functional.

I think he wishes he was an Aggie. ;)

That evening we drove over the bridge (which is huge and a little intimidating) to Tiberon on the other side of the bay. We had an amazing dinner on the bay with a great view of the bridge and San Fran. Day one was fantastic!!

The ladies...

...and gents.

I want to live here.

The next day we headed over to Fishermans wharf for our ferry ride to Alcatraz Island. It was much colder and foggy that day, and we all bundled up for our windy ride. Thankfully the skies cleared and we had a great tour of the island.

The fog had definitely rolled in.

Little did I know that Alcatraz was originally a military prison, then converted to a federal penitentiary for not-so-nice men. You would think it might not be such a bad place to be seeing as it's an island in the middle of a beautiful city, but it actually could get pretty chilly and stayed obviously damp. Plus, it was almost torturous for the prisoners to be so close to freedom and society that was going on without them. There were several break out attempts (clever ones too), but the only one that was possibly successful they don't know for sure. The prisoners were never seen or heard from, so they either drowned or made it.

This was part of the military prison.

The wives of the officers that lived on the island worked to spruce it up. There was beautiful foliage everywhere.

Living in here...
...might make you do this.

Which in turn, gets you sent here (solitary confinement).

And after that you definitely would need to stop here. (Rumor is that the men got to take hot showers so they couldn't acclimate themselves to cold water in case they were thinking about making a break for it in the chilly bay.)

We spent the rest of the day going to see the famous trolleys (thankfully next to a Starbucks, because I needed a hot drink) and then napping. I love naps and thankfully they were included on the trip itinerary. Dinner was at a great little dive near the hotel and Irish Coffees afterwards at Buena Vistas. Then it was off for one last night sleep in our grand hotel before part 2 of Tres Destination...

*A picture for Luke...a Wall-e robot.