Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Howdy folks!  We just finished an entire month in the great state of Texas.  It was full of family, friends, and lots of festivities.  It started off in Graham where we got a big dose of my entire family.  It was so great to spend quality time with everyone while we were in town.  We did manage to sneak away for a night to Oklahoma City to visit my friend Rachel from TCU.  She recently got engaged (yay!) and I couldn't miss making a trip up there.  We toured around Bricktown which is a really cool area to hang out and grab drinks or dinner.  We also checked out the Oklahoma City bombing memorial.  It was so beautifully done and very touching to see that even after 17 years the victims are still being honored.

This is the reflecting pool where a street used to run beside the building.  At either end there is a gate, one stamped with the time 9:01, and the other with 9:03.  The pool represents the time of the blast at 9:02.

Next to the pool is a field of chairs for each victim of the bombing.  They are positioned according to what floor they were on that day and represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of their families.

After we had dinner on the river walk, Rachel and Chris took us to a neat piece of public art.  OKC is a fun little city that seems to be on the rise.

The next weekend, we celebrated the Fourth of July on Possum Kingdom Lake!  We had all the fixins  to honor 'Merica the right way: A big group of friends, a pontoon boat, Hell's Gate, and a pretty sweet bandana too.

Our next Texas stop was Ft. Worth where we met up with our friends Meredith and Brittni.  We enjoyed a great dinner at Winslow's and a few after dinner brewskies at The Gingerman.  Before we left town though, we had to check out my old stomping grounds and the new stadium.  Get ready Big 12, the Horned Frogs aren't messing around.

San Antonio was next on the list.  We stayed right downtown a couple of blocks off the river walk.  We had mexican food for dinner and of course, remembered the Alamo.

After a few days on the road, we made it down to S. Padre Island.  It had been 8 years since I had been, but remember it fondly growing up.  It did not disappoint.  We relaxed and cooked a lot of shrimp and fish.  And worked on our golden tans for two weeks.  It's hard to believe we have another beach trip coming up soon!

Check back soon for some NOLA and Hotlanta posts!

One Last Taste of Colorado

Surprise!  I'm still doing the blog.  We have obviously gotten a little lazy over the last couple of weeks, but not to worry, we're back on track.

Let's do a little catching up.  We left off after the Grand Canyon and started toward Telluride.  We have always heard fantastic things about it, but never made it that far south from Denver.  So, we made it a must see on our road trip.  On the way we stopped at the Four Corners and stood in four states at once!

Telluride definitely lived up to expectations.  It was a beautiful little town tucked into the mountains.  We shopped along the main street and decided to have a beer at Smuggler's Brewpub.  We didn't stay the night in Telluride, but would love to go back for some great skiing!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a new post full of Texas, Texas, and more Texas!

Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon

We have made it across the desert to Texas!  We saw some amazing things along the way.  Our first stop out of Vegas was the Hoover Dam.  Honestly, I was skeptical of the stop and thought, "Who hasn't seen a dam?"  Well, it was pretty awesome.  The Arizona/Nevada state line split it right down the middle.  If you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend seeing it.

You could actually walk across the Memorial Bridge behind us.  My fear of heights decided against it.  We did drive over it though!

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon, and I cannot put in words how amazing it was.  Pictures will not do it justice.  We stopped at the south rim which isn't quite as high as the north rim and has less vegetation.  Either way, it was still beautiful.

We were really surprised by the number of non-American tourists at both of these places.  It really makes you appreciate the wonders we have here in the good ol' US of A.  So next time you're planning that family vacay or road trip, definitely put these on the list!

Hey Baby Let's Go To Vegas

Aaah, back to civilization...cell service, wifi, and cable.  Even though we didn't have any of these things in Tahoe, we had a great time.  Our weather was near perfect most days, and the few that were cooler, we made use of our time elsewhere.  We ventured to Reno, South Lake, and Truckee.  We enjoyed a couple of evenings on Sunnyside's deck and ate at Fire Sign our last morning (best breakfast potatoes I've ever had!).

Here are some pictures that we haven't been able to post yet.

After 11 relaxing days in Tahoe, we hit the road and decided on Vegas as a pit stop for a couple of nights.  We got in later last night, had dinner, walked the strip, and came back to hit the hay.  This morning (or afternoon), we woke up to do some shopping.  Since the temps are in the high 90's here, we thought we should take advantage of the MGM pool and beverages.

We're planning on an early departure tomorrow to make the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon.  Fingers crossed we hit the big money tonight!

Living The Good Life

Hi friends and family! We have been back in Tahoe for five days now, and hating it! Obviously kidding. We are having the most relaxing time. We're exercising every day, cooking a lot, and spending ample time by the water. We are getting more bronze by the day. Yesterday, we went to Truckee and shopped around. We had lunch and a beer at Fifty/Fifty brewing. And today, we were back on the beach. Unfortunately, the iPad won't let me post pictures. But, they would only make you jealous. Check back in a few days for an update!!

Is It Wrong to Drink Margaritas In Wine Country?

We had a great time in wine country!  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Beautiful blue skies and warm temperature made for a wonderful couple of days eating and tasting wine.

We arrived in Sonoma on Tuesday afternoon and walked the cute little square.  We stopped in at the Roche tasting room and enjoyed a flight on the patio.  I struck up conversation with a guy that works at Roche, and found out he grew up in Olney, TX!  For those of you who aren't familiar with small-town Texas, it is 30 miles from Graham.  And he took piano lessons from the same family that I did!  Super small world.  Anyway, we found out there was a farmer's market going on with food, music and vendors, so we did a quick loop through the market.

We decided on Mexican food and margs for dinner since we were going to be drinking so much wine the next day.  

We got a pretty early start on the second day.  We ended up stopping at 5 wineries, each one better than the last.  The first was Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma.  They had beautiful grounds, and pretty tasty wines.

Next, we stopped in Kunde, which is also in Sonoma.  It was a little bit smaller than the first, but they had caves where they store all the wine which was neat.

After that, we drove over to Napa and went to Cakebread which was by far our favorite of the day.  During the tasting, we got a private tour of the facility which was really special and personal.  It's one of the only family-owned wineries still around.  And I highly recommend any of their wines!

We stopped at Silver Oak next.  My dad is a HUGE Silver Oak fan.  They specialize only in Cabernet's and they were all phenomenal.  The staff was very friendly and helped us choose our next destination.  And we got two complimentary wine glasses with the tasting!

Our last stop of the day was at Regusci, and I think it was the prettiest property we had seen all day.  It is a third generation family owned winery in Napa, and the children of the first generation owners still live on the property.  It was a great last tasting of the day.

We drove back to Sonoma and had dinner at a great restaurant...The Girl and The Fig, which was amazing.

Now 9 bottles heavier, we're headed back to Tahoe!  We're excited for relaxing, sunning, and home made cooking.

San Francisco

We toured San Francisco for two days, and I had a great tour guide.  Ty lived in the area when he was young, and has a ton of family here.  So, we were lucky enough to skip the hotel costs, and shack up with his grandparents in Palo Alto for a few nights.  I got to meet the entire family (well, close) and celebrate his Granpa's 91st birthday!

And let me warn you...we did really touristy things in SF because I had never been here.  Don't judge.

The first day, we started off on Lombard Street which is "The crookedest, most winding street in the world".  It was crazy!  Can you imagine having your driveway connect to that?

After that, we parked the car down at Fisherman's Wharf and walked A LOT.  We walked along the wharf to Ghirardelli.

Then backtracked the other way to the Ferry Building.  It was such a cute area.  There were a ton of food stalls inside and people having lunch on a busy Monday.  We picked up some gelato and had it in the park across the street.

After our little snack, we went up to the shopping mecca, Union Square.  We bought a couple of original screen printed tees from a young guy on the street, had a beer at Hops and Hominy, and road the tram back to the wharf!

 Once we made it back to the car, we drove up to Coit Tower to get some great views of the city.

And that was only the first day!  Needless to say, we were both worn out.  We drove back to Palo Alto and had dinner at an Italian Restaurant and hit the sack.

Our second day wasn't quite as eventful.  We went down to The Haight for some yummy sandwiches at Ike's Place, and again had them in the park.  Then we parked the car and walked up and down Haight-Ashbury.  It's such a cool little neighborhood with tons of shops and restaurants.  And I had to take the iconic picture.

We shopped around and then headed for the Golden Gate Bridge.  We pulled off to take some pictures and then it was on to the next destination...Wine Country!