I Love CA: Golden Gate Bridge

It's iconic.  It's beautiful.  It's a symbol of California I love so well.

I wasn't even sure we'd see it on this trip, but at the last minute we found ourselves taking a different route back to San Francisco from Napa that had us stopping in Sausalito just north of this famous bridge for dinner.  And instead of just driving over the bridge to our hotel, we decided on a whim to follow some small curvy roads to a perfect viewing spot on the North side.

It was breathtakingly beautiful (and cold).  I wanted to capture some shots of the bridge, but photographing in the dark is so difficult.  I knew I couldn't hold the camera still enough during the long exposure required.  I was feeling so upset about the missed opportunity when I remembered I had a tiny tripod in my camera bag.  It's only about 6 inches tall, but it screws into the bottom of my camera just like my regular tripod.  I was able to position the camera on the roof of the rental car and snap away.  I was so thankful for my emergency tripod!

It was pitch dark outside, so even with a very long exposure, this is the image I captured:

I think it's beautiful, but a tiny bit too dark.  I adjusted it two different ways in iPhoto.  I can't decide which way I prefer.  So, I'm opening a poll on the side bar of the blog and giving you a chance to vote for image 1 or 2.  If you get a chance, tell me in the comments why you chose as you did.  I'm curious!

one

two

I Love CA: Napa Wine

The Napa Valley is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  And it's a prime destination for those who love wine and food.  There are hundreds of vineyards in a small area and dozens of gourmet restaurants, too.  We were only in Napa for a day, so we looked up advice on which winery would be good to visit because we only had time to see one.  All signs pointed to the Hendry Winery as having an incredibly informative tour with a great tasting to follow.  It didn't disappoint!

The Hendry ranch is located about 10 minutes outside of downtown Napa.  It's a family owned farm that started planting vineyards in the 70's.  Our tour guide was George Hendry himself...the owner.  He has lived here since his family bought the place in 1939 when he was two years old.  I was mighty impressed that he didn't pass off the winery tour to lesser employees but took the time to give us a thorough history of his family ranch and explanation of the wine making process.

Because he is an engineer, he was detailed in describing the process from planting up until bottling.  There were so many things I had not known before this tour.  We tasted 9 wines after the tour, and he did an amazing job of explaining the role/properties of tannins and tips for pairing wine with food.  He had us doing experiments while tasting several wines together to prove his points.

We would enjoy spending a longer time in Napa if we return, especially since the stores and wineries close down around 5 PM leaving only restaurants to fill the evening hours.  We did hit two wonderful restaurants...Bottega and Brix.  At Bottega, my veal bolognese was tasty while Cody's braised short ribs were glazed with something so delicious I wanted to lick the plate.  Then for dessert we ate a chocolate almond lava cake that was packed with flavor and finished the meal perfectly.

Wine making is a complex, fascinating art that requires so much knowledge and skill.  We will never look at a bottle of wine the same way after our illuminating tour given by a master of this craft.

I Love CA: The Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is vastly different from the Gulf waters where we like to rent a beach house south of Galveston.  Despite being named "peaceful," it does not beckon to people with calm warm waves.  Instead, I practically hear it saying stay back!  I'm angry and cold.  If you try to wade into me I'm going to knock you down!  

I could stand and watch the ocean waves forever.  I'm not exaggerating much...just provide some food and a port-o-potty and I'd stay an entire day.  The endless crashing of the waters, the rolling waves in the distance and closer...it all draws me into a state of meditative bliss.  It was a given that we'd head over to the coast, a brief hour and a half drive through a pretty forest, at some point on our trip.

I thought I was at a safe distance, but those waves are tricky!  I felt like a child when I suddenly realized a larger wave had crashed and I was about to get drenched!  Cody was snapping pictures of me and laughing...

I was laughing, too.  I couldn't believe I had soaked my jeans up to my shins.  They were still damp many hours later.

I love the moment when a wave first starts to curl over on itself.

And I love the splash as it hits the beach.

I love the foam and bubbles.

I love the ocean.  It's so...big.  I'm in awe of its power, and the power of the One who created it.  I'm humbled by my smallness.  I'm thankful for beauty.

I Love CA: Stanford

Architectural delights abound at Stanford University.

The campus is beautiful, both the elegant buildings and the landscape that surrounds them.  And it holds a special place in our hearts because here is where we spent our first year of marriage.  Cody was getting a Masters in structural engineering.  I was teaching elementary music part time.  We had a tiny apartment on the 8th (the very top...the penthouse!) floor of a student housing building.  We spent one year sightseeing as much as time, money,  and Cody's studies would allow.

We met some of our dearest friends here at Stanford.  The Ceaicovschis were fellow students that we formed a lifelong friendship with...in fact we just visited their family in Montana this summer.

I love the vibe at Stanford.  It's classy and ancient, yet progressive all at once.  I didn't appreciate it as much as a 21 year old as I would appreciate it now.  Everywhere I turned on this trip I seemed to exclaim, why didn't we do this when we were here?!?  Cody often reminded me we were young, poor, and busy when we lived at Stanford.  We did what we could.  As 30-somethings our lives, interests, and abilities are different.  Not better, just different.

One of the things I didn't even know existed when we were at Stanford so long ago is the Gamble Gardens.  This several acre haven from the city is full of gorgeous plants and garden features.  We strolled about and I went a little crazy with the camera.  I narrowed my many shots down to a few to showcase the beauty we saw in this garden.

Another fun thing we did was visit our old church family on Sunday morning after we ran a 5K.  It had been almost 15 years, but they remembered us.  It was great to catch up with them and to see their families...the children we remember as being 3-4 years old were so grown up.  They were practically college bound and one had a mustache!  That group of Christians was so loving toward us and challenged us to grow spiritually during our time at Stanford.  They have a special place in our hearts.

I love Stanford and its neighboring town of Palo Alto so much.  If 2 bedroom houses didn't cost half a million dollars, we might even consider living there!   I did get a pretty cool souvenir from the Silicon Valley.  We popped by the Apple store and picked up an iPhone 5.  I thought it was neat to get one so near the source.

I Love CA: Chinatown

Get used to the series title "I Love CA: -----" because there are a lot of things I love about California, and this trip was a perfect reminder of it.

I mean, what's not to like about the fabulous state of my birth?  (Oh yes, I was born in Berkeley in the 70's and we all know what that means...)  Wait.  You don't know what that means?  Well, I tend to imagine a city of hippies, peace and love, sex and rock and roll...even though my parents were probably not really caught up in all of that.  And every time I visit California I feel like I am coming home.  Cody laughs at me about it and occasionally insinuates I'm slightly crazy...but I feel it!  It's this sense of belonging.  I wouldn't even be surprised if the words "back off, this is my town" came out.  For the record, they haven't.  I'm just saying it could happen.

San Francisco is, in my humble opinion, the best city in the USA.  It's 10 times better than the runners up.  It has everything anyone could want.  We flew into the city and had only half a day to absorb its greatness before moving on to a different area.  So we decided to stroll through one of my favorite areas...Chinatown.  The city was busy (several festivals were going on), the Blue Angels were buzzing us every 5 minutes or so, and Chinatown was hopping as usual.  The smells, colors, bustle, shops piled high with baubles, restaurants, everything pulls me in and wakes up my senses.

We walked around for a few hours then hit a top rated restaurant in the North Beach area called Albona Ristorante.  It was my favorite meal of the trip.  I was tired from walking, so the cozy little restaurant was a haven of rest.  The food made me think I was in Italy.  We had gnocchi in a beef broth that melted in our mouths.  My ravioli with sage butter sauce and Cody's Adriatic stew were both amazing.  We spent a long time relaxing and talking...it was the perfect beginning for our trip.

Cody, being the gentleman that he is, even walked back to get our car while I rested on a park bench outside after the meal.  I had not worn the best walking shoes and my ankles were killing me.  Full and happy, we settled in for the hour drive South to Palo Alto...

more to follow!

October Run: Cody and the Theta Breakers 5K

This is hard to believe, but Cody and I had never run an event together before this weekend.  We have run the same event once, but we didn't stay together.  This past weekend we ran a 5K in California and stayed together during the run (except for the last 50 yards or so when I took off and smoked him.)

The best thing about this run was that it took place in CALIFORNIA.  Not just any old town in CA, but in Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University.  This place was our stomping grounds back in the day almost 15 years ago when Cody was getting his Masters Degree and I was teaching music part time in the local school district.  Stanford has a lovely campus.

The 5K actually took place on campus because it was hosted by some sorority.  Unfortunately it didn't include paths by the most famous or beautiful architecture on campus like the church above.  But that was okay since we had already explored the day before.

It was a really fun race.  A good crowd participated, and there were plenty of sorority girls cheering us on as we ran.  I almost set a new PR and Cody finished 3rd in his age group.  After the race we went back to the hotel to shower and dress quickly so we could make it to church.  We got to visit with people there we had not seen in ages.  It was such a fun morning.  The temperature was perfect, the setting surreal, and the company a special treat.  I see lots of future races for me and Cody.  We love running together.

But wait, the race wasn't the only fun thing we did in California.  I have a million things to share about this trip.  It was one of the best get-aways I have ever experienced.  You can expect quite a few blog posts about our travels...coming soon!