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!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Hello friends and family!  We had a short break from internet access.  Sorry for the delay!  Our last few days have been filled with fun and family in San Francisco.  We started off with a game at AT&T park on Friday.  It was a little cool and windy, but the Rangers won, so I was happy (and Ty was not).

The park is right on the water and was beautiful.  And just to clarify, that is a red sweater, not orange.

We ate some famous garlic fries that were so yummy!  And a hot dog of course.

We stopped to snap this picture on our way out.  It was a gorgeous night and a must-do in SF.

Happy Friday!

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days.  Honestly, there wasn't much to discuss.  I was super lazy on Wednesday and Ty pretty much came back after his class (with mas baguettes) and immediately fell asleep.  Really exciting!  However, we did get out for a bit last night.  We went to Southern Pacific Brewery for some yummy pizza and a couple of beers.  It was a recommendation from a fellow classmate of Ty's.  It was in an old warehouse and they had done a great job remodeling it, but keeping it very industrial.  There was a big patio out front and community tables inside.  Just what we needed for a laid-back evening.

We have big plans for tonight, but I'm going to keep it a secret until our next post.  Tomorrow, we head to Palo Alto to visit Ty's grandparents for a few days.  Oh, I almost forgot!  Ty brought home some awesome bread yesterday!  Like, amazing.  Baguettes no more!  The three on the left are egg bread, one plain, one with sesame seeds, and one with poppy seeds.  They were delicious.  The one in the middle with flour on the outside is a rye.  Not a huge fan of the flavor.  And the one on the far right is the multi grain that was really tasty.

On the back side...the big loaf is plain white bread and was definitely my favorite.  I could have toasted that up for a grilled cheese no problem.  And the round one on the right is whole wheat which was also good (if you're looking to stay healthy of course).

I would say the bread baking class was a success!  We'll get one more day of freshly baked bread today.  I'll let you know our overall faves tomorrow.  We'll check back in from Palo alto!

Mmmm Pasta

It was a prettier day here in SSF.  A little cool, and really windy, but no rain.  I slept in a little, hit the gym, and ventured out to a nearby Starbucks to read and enjoy a coffee while the room was cleaned.  Once Ty got home with 3 more baguettes (tomorrow will be something new), we were off to the Mission District to have dinner at Flour + Water.

It was DELICIOUS.  All pastas are made in house and the pizza looked amazing.  We stuck to pasta tonight, and were not disappointed.

Ty had the special; rabbit sausage with a fancy pasta that was shaped like a hat.  And I had the veal raviolini with caramelized onions and horseradish.  And to top it off, a bottle of fantastic wine.  Not too shabby.  Tomorrow will probably be a more low-key evening of staying in.  I'm looking forward to our Friday plans, so don't miss out!

Baguettes-YUM!

Today was a very rainy day in South San Francisco.  Ty left for his first day of bread class early this morning, and I was pretty lazy, minus some time in the gym.  And at 4:00 pm, this is what he brought home...

Not only do they look good, but they taste good too!  Tomorrow we are going to have a delicious dinner in the city.  We'd love to hear any recommendations.

Tahoe Tease

We had a wonderful Saturday in Lake Tahoe.  The weather could not have been more beautiful, and Ty and I got a good base layer tan.  The water was a frigid 54 degrees.  Needless to say, my big toe barely made it in before I was scurrying back to my towel.  We had dinner on the patio at Sunnyside (which is the hot spot apparently), and are now very well rested for Ty to start his bread baking class tomorrow!  We checked out the location today and it is close enough for him to walk to from the hotel.  I will be using the hotel gym, hulu-ing shows to catch up on, and hopefully enjoying some non-burnt, freshly baked bread daily.  Oh, and exploring San Francisco of course!

Off The Grid

I wasn't aware we had so many avid readers! So sorry that there wasn't a post yesterday. Not much to report. After yellowstone, we stayed the night in Idaho Falls. Definitely not a lot going on there. We quickly got on the road and headed for the cute town of Ogden, UT. We had a great lunch at Rooster Brewery and Grill. The tag line on the t-shirts was "I tried polygamy in Utah" after their Polygamy IPA. Ha. Ty proceeded to take a 2 hour nap, and then we had a fantastic mexican meal at Sonora Grill. We made fast friends with the bartender, Fernando, and we enjoyed some margs. Today, we made the LONG drive to Tahoe! And it's beautiful. The weather is perfect, and we look forward to coming back in a week for an extended stay. We're headed to San Francisco on Sunday. Hopefully we'll find some wifi by then so we can upload some more pictures! We're off the grid right now as I post this on my OG iPhone. Check back Sunday for an update.