On the Homestretch

We started the day off with breakfast at the Yosemite Rose - the greatest breakfast we have had on the trip! Pancakes, eggs, bacon...yum! After breakfast, we relaxed on the patio with Tuppy, the resident dog, until we hit the road (see picture).

We had about a three hour drive to Auburn, but it was bearable because we stopped in Columbia, CA on the way. Columbia used to be a gold mining town, and had a pretty big population back in the day. The woman who owned the B&B told us that Columbia was almost chosen as the capital of California, but politics got in the way. A little fun fact, we thought. Now, the town is a state park. Most of the buildings have been restored, and the people there are dressed as they were back then. It was neat to step back in time for a little bit. David and I took a picture in front of the stagecoach.

Then, it was on to Auburn, CA. The road was curvy and twisty (shocking!), but not too bad. We made it into town about 2 p.m., which let us just enough time to stop at Weiner Works for lunch. This is one of David's favorite spots to eat in Auburn, and every time I have been before with David it was closed. It was very good and the french fries were sooo good!

After lunch, we drove around a little bit, stopping at his grandparent's graves, and then took a drive into downtown Auburn. We went to the Soda Fountain where his parents used to go on dates and got a couple of ice cream floats to go. We also stopped by Roper's Jeweler's, where David got my engagement ring. They were happy to hear I was happy! :)

We got to David's parent's house in the late afternoon, and were very excited to see all the animals. Paddy and Badger (the dogs) were ecstatic to see us, as was Lucy (the cat). They followed us out to say hi to Notebook (the horse) and then played around with us in the house. We have also been out to see the other horses. The baby horses have grown so much and were excited to see us!

We head home tomorrow, and thus the blog will end (sad day!). But I'll send everyone the link to the Flickr pictures once I get them up (if you are interested). It's been a great trip!! Now, on to wedding planning! ;)

Life of Leisure

Today was a pretty relaxing day. We left Three Rivers and headed toward Yosemite National Park. Once we got into the park, the view was breathtaking (see pictures of El Capitan and David with Half Dome). We did a little bit of hiking, but the Yosemite Falls was dry. Our original plan was to hike down to see them, so our hike was cut a little short.

We decided to head to the Yosemite Rose, the bed and breakfast we are staying at for the night in Groveland, to enjoy some R&R. The Yosemite Rose is beautiful, as is the surrounding acreage around it. The woman who owns the B & B suggested we go swimming at Rainbow Pools, so we took her up on it (it was about 100 degrees outside!). These pools are natural, and a part of the Tuolumne River. The most visible pool was packed with people, so we hiked down a little way to a more secluded pool. There, we were able to wade in the water (David went swimming), and we had a nice, peaceful time.

Back at the Yosemite Rose, we lounged outside on the patio and had some wine with some of the other guests. We talked awhile with a nice guy who was visiting from Europe, and enjoyed being able to relax with nowhere to go. We went to dinner in town at a Mexican Restaurant. It was okay, but just goes to show you should not eat Mexican food outside of Texas. ;)

Tomorrow we head to Auburn, where we will stay at David's parents before heading back to Texas on Sunday. We get to see Notebook tomorrow - yay!

Fear on High!

We left the coastline today (and, thankfully Hwy 1!), and started making the turn back to Auburn and Sacramento. Once we got on the road, we had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Visalia, CA. David's family is from there, and that is where his great uncle Mack was from (a little background for those of you who don't know - Mack was killed when his P-38 fighter crashed on the coast of England after coming back from escorting bombers in WWII - David has done a lot of research about the 55th Fighter group and Mack - we even went to the 55th reunion in May). We stopped at the Visalia cemetary and paid our respects to Mack, his Great-Grandfather, and Great-Grandmother, whose ashes are in the Mosilium (see picture of David).

Our lunch stop was in Visalia at Togo's Sandwiches, and we happened to get there right when the high school students were on their lunch break. Watching all of them made us glad we were out of high school! :) We took a short stroll through downtown Visalia, which is a very cute place!

Then, it was off to Three Rivers, CA, where we are staying tonight. The hotel couldn't check us in right away, so we headed straight for Sequoia National Park. We got to see all the beautiful Sequoias (which are slightly similiar to the Muir Redwoods - the major differences are that the Sequoias are shorter, have a wider circumference, and are a lot older). We saw General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world (meaning that it has more volume than any other tree). There was a Park Ranger who was giving a talk about the Sequoias, and he encouraged us to hug one before we left. So, Allyson, the third pic is for you - I'm a treehugger! ;) Also, we noted that there was a chat about Marmots at the Giant Trees Museum, but we missed it (Sorry, Nadine, David made me put it in there!).

Our last stop in the park was at Moro Rock. When David was about 6 or 7, he and his family took a trip up to Moro Rock. David was CONVINCED that his father was going to dangle him off the side of the rock, and therefore crawled, kicking and screaming, to the rock. Needless to say, he did not climb all the way up the rock that day, but he conquered his fear today. David climbed all the way to the top of Moro Rock, which at it's highest is 6,725 feet in elevation. The fourth picture is of him climbing (and he's only about 1/2 of the way up). Unfortunately, David did not get any pictures of him at the top (except for one he took of himself with his phone), because I was not about to climb that thing. I made it to about 1/3 of the climb before I was clutching the handrails and plastering my body against the rock. I can admit it - I'm 26 and scared to death of situations like that. :) So, I climbed down and waited for David at the bottom. Yay for David for making it to the top, though - he felt so good!

Once David conquered Moro Rock, we headed back to the hotel for another early night. Tomorrow is Yosemite!

Suprise Destination!

We woke up early this morning in Big Sur, and David had a 1/2 day of hiking planned for us before we headed to San Simeon. The original plan was to hike up to the Pfeiffer Falls, but due to the forest fires recently, that trail was closed due to fire damage. We did get a chance to hike up a trail called Valley View, which was very beautiful. After that, we stopped at McWay Falls, which was right on the coastline, and my favorite spot of the day (see pic of David and I).

Then, we coasted right into San Simeon off of Highway 1, and stayed at my favorite hotel of ALL time, SeaBreeze Inn (of course, when I say fav hotel, I am being extremely sarcastic). ;) Let's just say the SeaBreeze Inn does not compare to my surprise destination, but I am surviving. ;)

Once checked in, we traveled to Cambria, CA, a couple of miles down the road for lunch. It is such a cute and quaint little beach town, and the food there is very good as well. Then, we headed off to my surprise destination. Wanna know where it was??

We went to Hearst Castle, which is the castle built by William Randolph Hearst, a famous newspaper publisher back in the day. I did not know much about the castle, but it was so fantastic. It was elaborate and excessive, and I loved every minute of the tour. ;) The picture I posted is of Neptune's Pool on the property. The tour guide said that guests of the castle included Cary Grant, Charlie Chaplin, and Charles Lindbergh. Amazing!

After our castle tour, we took one of the bottles of wine we bought in the wine country (V.Sattui Family Red), and went down to the beach (which was in walking distance of our hotel). The great thing about this beach is that it is secluded and quiet, so we found a spot all to ourselves and had some wine. We got to see dolphins jumping and playing off the coast line, and saw a sea otter as well. David is posing with the wine bottle in front of the coast.

We drove into Cambria again for dinner, and had some great Italian food at Lombardi's Restaurant. Now we're tired, and looking to catch up on some sleep before heading out early again tomorrow. Good night!

Making our way down the coast

I'm sitting in the bar at the Big Sur Inn on Highway 1 as I write this. David and I just finished dinner at the Inn, and are staying here tonight. The last picture posted is of the Inn - beautiful setting, isn't it?

We left San Carlos about 9:15 this morning, and headed toward Carmel Valley for lunch. There was a lot of driving involved, but luckily, nothing as scary as yesterday's drive. We ate at a little cafe in Carmel Valley, which was nice and quaint. We did not stay as long in Carmel Valley as planned - turns out there isn't much to do there as we thought, and I'm convinced we were the youngest people in town. Clint Eastwood lives there, but apparently he didn't want to eat lunch with us. Oh well. :)

After a short drive, we arrived in Monterey Bay. We stopped and spent some time at the aquarium. The penguins were one of our favorite exhibits (as you can see from the pic, the penguins liked to have their pictures taken too).

We got to Big Sur about 5 p.m. (after another beautiful drive - see middle picture), and we promptly took a nap! Once we got up, we went to eat and now, here we sit. David has a little bit of research to do online, and then it's an early bedtime. We are planning another hike tomorrow morning, and then a surprise destination (for me) in the afternoon. Tune in to see where we go!

So Much To See!

Day Two of the trip was filled with a tight schedule. After we got packed up and hit the road out of Healdsburg, we headed straight for Point Reyes. It was a beautiful drive, and since David was driving just slow enough (in order to get the most MPG), we got to really take it in. ;)

Our first stop was at the Point Reyes lighthouse. It is right along the coastline (I guess that's kinda obvious since it's a lighthouse!), but it was breathtaking. We actually beat the park ranger there who had the keys to the gate which led to the lighthouse, so we were able to take lots of pictures. Once the gate was open, we headed down the 300 or so stairs. It was great going down there, but 300 or so stairs is not very much fun to climb back. We took advantage of the benches along the way and eventually made our way back up. Next stop was a hike in Point Reyes National Park. And yes, for those of you who know me, I said hike. It was really pretty, and David took me on an easy trail. :)

After that, we got back in the car to drive to Sausalito for lunch. I was the lucky one who got to drive this leg, and we went down the coastline on Highway 1. Um, that drive is not very much fun at all. It is the curviest road I have ever been on, and while the views were great, neither one of us could really enjoy it because we felt we were going to fly off the cliffs at any moment. The picture of the road sign pretty much sums it up - crazy twists and turns while trying to fight oncoming traffic. Whew - glad that's over!

We eventually made it into Sausalito and were starving. Unfortunately, tourists on bikes were everywhere. I mean, everywhere. And they did not have a care in the world about the cars trying to drive past them! Needless to say, we got frustrated, and decided to go somewhere else for lunch. About that time, my camera died. And, I forgot the charger for it. So, we had lunch at a pizza place and then went to Best Buy to buy a charger. Luckily, we found the nicest manager at Best Buy who let us charge the camera in the store so that we could take pics for the rest of the day.

After Best Buy, we went to the Muir Redwoods (see picture). It was so pretty, but it was jam packed with tourists. We took in as much as we could, and then headed back to the bay.

We ended the day in San Francisco. I got to have my shopping spree at H&M, which was not as exciting as other H&M shopping trips, but alas, I did find some cute things to buy. Then, it was off to dinner at Scoma's - the best restaurant in San Fran as far as we are concerned. After a quick stop at Ghiradelli Square, we were on our way to the hotel. We are staying in San Carlos tonight.

Up next - Big Sur!

We're Engaged!

Right after leaving the Sacramento airport, where David's parents brought us lunch (and later, I found out, the ring as well!), we headed straight for Napa Valley. Our first stop was at Rubicon Estates (http://www.rubiconestate.com/site.php), which is the vineyard that Francis Ford Coppola owns.

David had a private wine tour set up, and we headed to the top of the winery, which had amazing views. There was a little table set up, and our tour guide, Melanie, said she "forgot" something, and went back down to get it (I completely believed her). Once we sat down, David opened the bottle of champagne (and the cork flew about 30 feet straight up!), and I got out my camera to start snapping pictures (later, David will tell me he was like, Courtney, put the camera down - I have something to ask you!). We were also sitting in the sun, and I kept telling him that I was going to get burned. I was so oblivious to his nervousness and the planning (so oblivious, I didn't even see the ring box sticking out of his pocket either)! Once I took all the pics I felt I needed, David proposed! Of course, I said yes!

After that, we went down and had a wine tasting, which came with olives, cheese, and crackers. It was delicious, and a nice place to relax and have a good time. We took some more pictures, and then headed to V.Sattui winery. We had a nice wine tasting there as well, and then headed to the Camilla Inn, a bed and breakfast in Healdsburg. The inn is really pretty, and they had a wine and cheese hour going when we got there. Needless to say, my head hurts this morning from all the wine!

I have to say, the weekend of August 9 & 10 might be the best one I have ever had! First, I graduated with my Master's degree, and then David and I get engaged! Now, I am calling this our "engagement" trip...haha!

Today, we are heading to Point Reyes and San Francisco (H&M!). More to come!

It's time for California!

Hi everyone! As I was preparing for my Northern California tour, I decided that I should blog our trip so that everyone can travel along with us. I promise to try to post as often as I can, but depending on the internet (and my laziness), I might not get to it everyday.

Hope you enjoy and feel free NOT to read if you so choose. :) haha