California Dreamin'

Whew - after 19 days on the road, we made it back to North Carolina! Beyond our brief stop in Athens, we dropped Dewey off with his grandparents and flew to California for our summer vacation. The CA portion of our trip was inspired by Jon's annual company conference, which is held in different parts of the country each June and always happens to fall on our anniversary. So, rather than celebrate our marriage a continent apart, we decided to make a whole vacation out of it! We spent 5 days enjoying the emerald blue water and surrounding towering mountains of Lake Tahoe. While Jon had to "work" in a windowless casino, I got to spend my days hiking, biking, and picnicking. We also had a few opportunities to sneak Jon away from the conference and enjoy some hiking and kayaking together. It was a really relaxing way to start my vacation; however, I was thankful for his conference ending so I could have my travel buddy back to myself.

Once our time in Tahoe was finished, we drove across the state to spend the weekend in San Francisco. This city has long been on my TOP list of cities in which I would like to live someday (if we were to suddenly become independently wealthy!). I enjoy the vibrance of the city coupled with easy access to space, fresh air, and nature. Since we were only there for two days, and it was Jon's first visit to the city, we mostly stuck to your typical tourist itinerary. We feasted on Boudin's sourdough bread, amused ourselves watching the sea lions at Pier 39, hiked up and down ridiculously steep streets, rode classic cable cars, explored from China to Italy, indulged in Ghirardelli chocolate, and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge. What a city!

After leaving San Francisco, we headed down the California coastline for a drive along famous Highway 1. Typically this drive would be a scenic view of picturesque cliffs and crashing waves; however, our experience was more along the lines of overcast, drizzly, and COLD. Despite the weather, we did enjoy this much more low-key, desolate portion of the state. It amazes me how quickly you can leave behind the densely populated city and find yourself miles and miles from another human being! Our "scenic" drive ended with a night in Carmel-by-the-sea. If any of you are ever in Carmel, you MUST eat at The Forge in the Forest if for no other reason than simply to enjoy their chocolate chip cookie dessert. It's absurdly amazing!

The last leg of our adventure took us to Napa Valley. I have been to Napa once before; however, I was not yet 21 years old at that time and could not truly enjoy the Napa winery experience. This time was a whole new experience. We stayed in a really charming B&B overnight and boarded the Napa Valley Wine Train the following day. The Wine Train is a great way to get an overview of the entire valley, see the vineyards up close, and enjoy a leisurely day of eating and wine-tasting. It's definitely a region worth visiting!