Lake Tahoe

Mark Twain once said, "Three days of camp life at Lake Tahoe would restore an Egyptian Mummy to his pristine Vigor and give him an appetite like an alligator."

Won't you save me San Francisco?

Going to San Francisco was one of the day trips I was most excited about.  As a life-long 49ers and Full House fan, the desire to go there was rather strong.  We hit the usual tourist sights:

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog

View of the Bay from the other side

Can you tell we love California?

Is that Danny Tanner???

I love how the bridge disappears into the fog.  Classic SF.

I wouldn't mind being out on one of those boats!

Rice-A-Roni!

What an amazing view!  

We saw this on our way up to the Coit Tower, which we did not end up climbing.

Imagine living there?!

Perfect.

This view of the Bay Bridge was taken from the Ferry Building.

We had tons of fun in Chinatown!

He is a natural at trolley-riding.

This was one of the most fun parts of the trip! I can't wait to go back to San Francisco!

Vacation Day One

I will be writing about our trip to California and Nevada in pieces since it would  be a novel to do it any other way!

Our first day there, Dave's sister Sara took us to Carmel and Monterrey.  The drive there was long and filled with curvy roads.  We were both a bit green in the gills by the time we arrived.  We walked around for a bit before having lunch at a yummy Mediterranean place.

Nothing about us screams tourists, right? 

This is the beach at Carmel.  This was my first view of the Pacific Ocean.  Wow, is it big and cold!  It was a hazy and windy day, but we still managed to enjoy laying on the beach and getting a tan.

Our trademark shot!

This is Pebble Beach Golf Course.  Apparently, it is one of the best in the country!?  We could see it from our spot on the beach.  Pretty cool.

One major difference between east coast and west coast beaches were the trees that were ON the beach.  These huge trees were so beautiful that I couldn't resist.

On to Monterrey, former home and inspiration of John Steinbeck.  

We also drove by Salinas (setting Of Mice and Men) on our way to Monterrey.  

After doing a bit of research and coming up empty handed, I can't help but wonder if this building was mentioned in Steinbeck's Cannery Row. 

 I have added that book to my To Read List, so I will keep you posted!

This is the view from a bay front market.  I was able to purchase a new pan flute CD here.

This was a great day.  

Quick Updates

The last month has been a CRAZY month for us!  Here is what's new:

1.  Our well went bad on us, and we have been without water for a week. It has been frustrating to say the least.

2.  We leave for our big Ohio and California trip tomorrow! There are no words to express how excited we are to go.  Dave's sister Sara and her family are just the best, and we are so happy to spend the week with them.  Dave's college roommate is also getting married tomorrow in Ohio, which is what began this whole "let's go west!" idea.

3.  We are matched! We are keeping all of the details quiet to respect the privacy of all involved.  I will share more when the time is right. :-)

Evening Hike

Dave and I were tossing around ideas about what to do tonight that would be fun and free.  We came up with hiking!  We have been wanting to go for months, and our area is FULL of trails of all ability levels so we decided to give it a go.

Here are some photos from our adventure!

Kid Post

I was recently updating my Pinterest, and I saw that there was a dominating theme on my Kid Stuff board.

Mid-Year Reading Update

I just  finished Book #25, and I am half way to my goal of 50.  Since it is the beginning of July, I will have 6 months to read 25 more.  That means I will need to read 4.2 books per month.  That is a lot, but in the summer, I easily can read a book or two a week.


I just finished The Bungalow by Sarah Jio, and it is the best book I have read this year. It is a book that has been on my To Read List for about 6 months, and it was worth the wait! As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am on a historical fiction kick. I want to review the book, but I do not want to risk giving the ending away. For once, it is a love story that is not quite predictable.


Here is the summary from Goodreads: In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war.  A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses-of life, and of love-that have haunted her for seventy years.