We Didn't Have Any Fun At All...

That was sarcasm.  It was awesome.  And to prove it, I uploaded 23,000 pictures for your viewing pleasure - cause let's face it, the pictures are the best part.

Hitting the road.  So happy!!

Where we stayed...

We noodled around the harbor that the hotel was located at and got our bearings and found some yummy restaurants to try out...

My super generous father in law lent me his super cool Kindle!!  Honestly, when I first heard of Kindles, I was a little bit of a snob and thought it was really weird - why would you want to replace a book?  I like the way new books smell and the way the pages rustle and crinkle and it makes sense to snuggle up with one.  But when they asked me what books I had packed for the trip and I replied no new ones since the one I had thought I might buy was still in hardback and $30.00.  My FIL said that we could download it to his Kindle for half the price.  So I gave it a shot - and it was wonderful.  So lightweight and convenient.  I may have to invest in one of those suckers.

We went to Cowell Ranch State Beach and it was pretty much deserted.  Perfect spot for a picnic lunch.

This is what happens when you and your husband leave your spot to see something in water.   Don't worry, we helped the seagull after we got the shot!

These were the only other people at the beach - fishermen.  I was really surprised because it seemed like shallow water to be fishing in.  They were pretty fascinating to watch.

We found unexpected little things all over the place... different from what you find in our quiet hometown.

Joe took a 5 hour guided kayak tour from the harbor we were at out into the ocean and 9 miles up the coast... can ya tell he's just a wee bit excited??

This guy kept me company as I watched Joe suit up and take off... closest I've even been to a pelican...

Yeah, he's all for kayaking now.  If you know Joe at all, you know that he is a passionate person and goes into something whole hog.  He has gone through many a hobby... so it looks like kayaking is in our future.  He's all set to head back to Half Moon Bay to get some classes and experience under his belt and dig deeper into it.  

And what did I do while he was gone for 5 hours?

I drove the truck into downtown Half Moon Bay and explored a little, then headed back to the hotel and got some coffee and a pedicure at the spa where we had gotten a couples massage earlier in the week.  I was a happy camper.

OK, so when we knew we were heading to the coast, we HAD to go to Gorilla BBQ in Pacifica, which is like a 15 minute drive from where we were staying.  We had seen it on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives on the Food Network and oh baby, it did not disappoint.  I really love good BBQ and this ranked right up there on my list.  My brisket sandwich was melt in your mouth!!

Like all good things, it did have to come to an end.  But it was so so so wonderful to get away - and it didn't take a faraway trip to really make a big difference.  Just taking ourselves out of the normal routine was like a breath of fresh air.  No cleaning, meal planning or shopping - just relaxing and going with the flow.  Best of all was getting that reconnection with Joe.  I married me a good guy.  I like him. I enjoy spending time with him.  I can't wait for the next chance to get away with him.  But 'til then, I will think back often to these last couple of days and be thankful at what we were able to do.

A Change of Location

About two weeks ago I was all poised to purchase our flight tickets to New York.  I had already found a great apartment on Craig's list to rent for a few nights in the city (which incidentally was an awesome way to do it.  way more $$$ friendly than a hotel and you get a real taste of the local flavor. oh, and the place was nicer than our house - like newer and completely remodeled.) and then we were thinking we would head to New Jersey to stay with Joe's brother Jake and his lovely wife Lisa so we could see what their life there is like.  But I wanted to run the final flight times by Joe before I hit the "buy" button.

He was already into his shift at work.  Sometimes that doesn't make for the greatest serious conversation environment - what with the radio and walkie-talkie going off with calls for service and people messaging him on his computer asking questions and stuff.  But that night seemed to be a little slow.  So I filled him in on what I had found.  And he was quiet.

I should probably point out now that the funding for this vacation was anonymously gathered and delivered to us - for us to be able to get away and relax.  I can't tell you how completely wonderful, surprising and humbling it made me feel to open up the envelope and see what had been so generously gifted to us. (THANK YOU if any of you who gave are reading this...)  The money would cover our tickets and lodging in NY.  I had figured that all the extras we would cover.

He finally said that he had been thinking that a trip like that wouldn't be very relaxing or romantic  - more like a family vacation staying with his brother and hustling here and there trying to cram all the sights in.  Plus, we would need to stick to a stricter budget - so hopefully see a show but beyond that try and be frugal.  He had been thinking that if we stayed in California and nixed the airfare, we could really, REALLY treat ourselves to something wonderful and completely pampering... like massages and room service.

Massages?!?!  Say no more.  I was in.  New York will still be there for another time.  Point me to the spa!

So that night I searched out quaint and cozy B&Bs and was thinking that it would be awfully nice to head down the coast to see Hearst Castle and stay in Cayucos or Morro Bay.  I have fond memories of vacationing there with my family for a few summers through Jr. High and High School and would love to share it with Joe.  But unfortunately most of the cute places were booked for the dates we needed.  So I expanded my search parameters and called Joe again and asked if he had any ideas.  He suggested Half Moon Bay, which isn't all that far from where we are and I was a little bummed because that meant there wouldn't be much of a road trip... and we have an awful lot of fun on road trips together.  But then I found this place and that melted away.   It just seemed so appropriate for what we were aiming for... besides, don't you think that the ocean is healing and soothing?  I sure do.  The beauty and vastness of it just completely reminds me of the bigness and thoughtfulness of it's Creator. 

Oh yeah, it's gonna be awesome!!  It feels so nice to look forward to something... 3 more days.  I think I can make it.

Blitz's first time at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, our 4th anniversary 1/29/09

Skeedaddle off to San Diego

In less than 12 hours we'll be on the road bound for sunny San Diego, and this sweet, sweet resort (thank you Hotwire!) which we got a steal of a deal on.  Then it's up to Long Beach to see folks we love.  I think the laptop is coming with us, so I might post some pics along the way... have a great week!

A Little More Rome & Florence Photos

********This is rather long. Grab a cup of coffee or tea. Get cozy.*********

I realized that I hadn't shown any more of our amazing trip this summer...and I thought this was the easiest way to do it. We all need to give an extra round of applause to Joe for his skillz with the Sistine Chapel pictures - photography in there is a big no-no. So he had to nonchalantly stand with the camera at his hip, and snap away, and he got some great, non-blurry shots. Is he amazing or what? Also, I feel duty bound to tell you that the pictures of the "David" are of a copy, not the real one. The real one is in a tiny, tiny museum with about 6 security cameras aimed at it and many people monitoring it walking around it, enforcing the no picture rule. Joe wanted to try anyway, but I was scared they would take the camera or something. Which is too bad, because it is beautiful, immense, and looks like at any moment he's going to stride off the pedestal. Incredible. Be on the lookout the next couple days for a slide show of Venice. Pinky-swear promise!

East Coast VaCa (from, oh, two months ago)

So have I been the poster child for a bad blogger or what? You know it is bad when your husband sends you not so subtle hints that you should update your blog accompanied by sighs and stares.


Tsk, tsk.


Here's my feeble attempt to make up for my rudeness, because really, that is what it is. I've still been reading other's work, just not caring to contribute any of my own. Now, we have been swamped by a lot here recently, but I can't even really play that card when half the people that I read have at least one child if not more so you know they've got their hands full, and they faithfully find the time to keep me entertained. The cycle must stop! So follow me while I reminisce about our trek to Virginia and DC.


Jefferson's beautiful Monticello.

The real reason for the trip: Jerrod, Amanda, John and Tyler. We love them! It was so great to be able to spend time with them, see what their lives are like, and relax in their home. Thank you four so much for your warmth and hospitality. We can't wait to return the favor when you guys can make it out to Cali! I even got to meet some blogging pals too!! Candace and Kelly, thank you both so much. It meant a lot that you took time out of your very busy lives to come spend an evening with us! You both are as sweet, funny and warm as your writing portrays you to be.

Oh, sweet baby Tyler. I held him every single chance I got. What a happy little guy.

Mt. Vernon, Washington's home, was one of my favorite historical sights that we saw. Because we were there in the extreme off season, it was like it was open just for us. I could've sat out on the back porch for a long time. So peaceful and quiet looking onto the Potomac.

OK all you Ugg haters (my SIL Amy!), take note. I wore mine in the freezing snow, sock less, and this girl who always has cold feet and hands, had toasty warm toes. They are awesome, and I will use them forever. So there.

Some fun facts about Virginia: I had my first Chick-a-Fillet and Cracker Barrel experiences. They were tasty. The speed limit feels extremely slow. Most traffic seems to amble along at 40-45mph, verses the Bay Area's 80mph freeways. It drove Joe nuts at times. Also, road signage is very confusing. When we were heading to Lynchburg at one point we saw sings that told us we were on 129 South and (I think) 52 North at the same time. Not sure how, but we were. All in all, I really liked it.

Moving on to the DC portion... we stayed in the historic Foggy Bottom section which is about 5 blocks from the Georgetown area, and it was great!! Waaaaaayyyy too cold, and so I think to do DC justice we'll have to head back in the spring sometime. For instance, the last day there we had planned to do a open air bus tour so we could see all the monuments, and we woke up that morning to a raging snow and ice storm. There was a lot we missed. Owell. Reasons to head back, right?

I started noticing that most of the old churches have bright red doors. Love it!!

We were able to go to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which obviously has a lot of meaning to us. It's nice to see those heroes honored.

Me and Rex getting friendly at the Smithsonian.

The Hope Diamond. Which was really sparkly.

This was the closest we got to it walking to dinner one night. On our way to the Old Ebbitt Grill, actually. I would love to go back - the flavor there is older, and you really get a sense of America's roots, which as a history person and lover of all things old, I connected with.

I'm already set to go back. As usual, travel only whets my appetite for more of it!

Scurry, scurry

So.

We found out this afternoon that the trip is a go, so off we fly to DC tomorrow bright and early, and then drive 3 hours into Virginia to see family. We're super happy that we get to see Jerrod, Amanda, John and Tyler, even though we will probably have to come home early (cutting into the DC part of the trip) so Joe can do the court thing. Oh well. Family time is most important (and hopefully meeting a VA blogging acquaintance or two?!?), anything after that will be like icing on the cake.

Since I had pretty much convinced myself that we would be sticking around here and cancelling, you can imagine that I've been dashing all over like a crazy woman. It feels like there are forty-two thousand loose ends all needing to be set straight (house stuff, loan stuff, laundry, packing, yada, yada, yada) and even though I have my trusty lists to make me feel like I'm in control, I'm sure that I forgot something. But I won't fret about that now because I must tuck myself in because my fabulous chauffeur of a brother-in-law Josh will be here way too early for my taste to take me to the airport.

So have a good week! We'll chat when I return...and then (gulp) only 2 weeks till the new house... :)

R*O*M*E #1

Seeing as how my posts have been kinda text heavy and picture light, I'll let the pics do most of the talking about the Rome portion of our sojourn to Italy this past August...in no particular order... Oh the Trevi Fountain... so beautiful. It is absolutely huge. And randomly placed; you turn the corner of a little alley way, and there it is.

These are all the nice people that shared the view with us. Other than the Sistine Chapel, this was one of the most crowded places of the whole trip. I especially like the guy in the left hand corner. He looks like his name should be Guido, and is your stereotypical Italian guy, puffin' away in 100 degree weather.
Us. We found the guy with the best looking camera in that mass of people and ask him to take our picture. He was from Australia and very nice. What the picture doesn't really convey is just how hot and humid it was. Our backs were completely drenched. My bermuda shorts were clinging to my body. Even in the shade, standing absolutely still, there was constant dripping. That night, there was a ring of salt around my head from the evaporated sweat. I don't think that's ever happened to me before. It is easy to understand why people liked the toga - the less clothes the better! Luckily, there was this right around the corner:
Ohhh, gelato. I'm drooling just thinking about it now. This was one of the things that made that Mediterranean heat bearable.
My lemon is on the left, Joe's cream is on the right. NOTHING is as refreshing. And unfortunately, nothing here matches it. Sadness.

These two are of the outside of the Pantheon, which is one of the oldest buildings in Rome. It was a temple to one of the gods before Constantine converted it into a church.
The inside shot.
Little street performer who was around the back. She really added a lot to the atmosphere. It was very, very nice to be walking around little side streets hand in hand with my honey to the wafting sounds of accordion music.
The Piazza Navona...full of art, people and cafes.
Joe was obsessed with the massive doors on the majority of buildings in the city. They were wood and iron with really ornate knockers (ha ha - sorry, Joe & his dad's juvenile senses of humor are starting to rub off on me), nobs, key holes, spikes, you name it they had it.
A shot of the River Tiber one night as we headed back to our tiny hotel, that was close to the Vatican & St. Peter's Basilica, which you can see the dome of.
I am really lucky that the Colosseum is not a woman, because if it were, Joe would probably leave me for it. I know that this was his favorite thing that we saw in the whole trip. We spent a lot of time here during the day and the very final night of the whole trip. It is SO OLD. It was built around 80 A.D. It is just hard to wrap your mind around the fact of something so ancient, and big and is still here. There's the whole technical aspect as to how did they really construct that with only manual labor? How did they really make the arena flood with water for mock sea ship battles? Listening to the audio guide also made me think about just what an evil place it really was. For the opening ceremony of the Colosseum they killed something like 10,000 people and 20,000 animals.

When I saw this view of the arena, it made me think of Hadassah, from the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers, and what happened to her there. Many were murdered for their faith there.

It really gets you thinking about the early church. I mean, you're walking the streets that Paul walked. And Peter. And the Caesars. And the great artists like da Vinci and Michelangelo. It makes you feel very small and insignificant.
Well, tune in to the next installment of Rome, where Joe & I got separated at the Vatican for about an hour. True story.
Shouldn't I get a gold star for uploading all these pictures?