I Love You, California!

When Sunday morning came around the sun was bright and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. I really didn't want to head home just yet so I talked Will into a few more stops! The first was a visit at a winery just outside of Monterey, Ventana. There was a large group there and it was pretty busy anyway, so we didn't have an opportunity to get any pictures, but we were able to taste the wine and even bought some to enjoy at home. There area many great things about Ventana; they are an estate winery, so that means that they grow all of their own grapes rather than purchasing them from other vineyards, their wine tastes great, and it's very affordable! After wine tasting we headed north on Hwy 1 toward Santa Cruz. Along the highway there are several stands set up by the local farmers (fields of strawberries, artichokes, and other veggies fill the land along the coastline) and we stopped at one to gather some fruits and veggies for the week. The prices are much lower than the

Monterey has been the farthest south along the coast that we have been, so we were excited to have the opportunity to drive farther along! We started by driving through Monterey. We stopped at Lover's Point for a post Valentine's Day kiss! Waves crashing Cool "bush" with a pretty bird if you can see him in there! We continued through Pacific Grove with Carmel as our next destination. We stopped there for a delicious lunch of pizza and salad at Little Napoli. We walked around town, got some coffee, and looked in a few boutiques. Then we went down to the beautiful beach. It was a little chilly and foggy, so not the best weather for a beach walk, but we made the best of it for a little while. Path leading to the Thomas Kinkade Gallery. So pretty! We skipped over the 17-mile-drive that goes through Pebble Beach; they charge you for that! No way! But then we were able to get back along the coast to drive toward Big Sur. We stopped many ti

Last year when we visited Monterey to explore the museum and the city, I noticed that not only were there many sea otters swimming around in the Monterey Bay, there were people kayaking right next to them! I had no previous knowledge that this was a possibility, so ever since it had been on my to-do list for the near future. As Will and I were thinking about what we might like to do to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, I noticed that I had a four day weekend from work due to Presidents' Day and Lincoln Day, and it would provide a good opportunity to go somewhere. And what better place to go than Monterey to play with the otters! Thanks to Will's frequent travel which results in points for everything from airlines to hotels, we got our nights for free at the Holiday Inn Seaside, CA. As Will researched kayaking in Monterey Bay, he came across information about the Elkhorn Slough (pronounced "slew"), which is a little north of Monterey, and provides amazing

On Christmas Eve we went bowling with our neighbors. While there, Will dropped his business card into the box for a drawing to win a bowling party. A few weeks later, we got a letter in the mail with a certificate for a bowling party for 8-10 people! Will won!! We were able to get most of our "Rockridge Crew" together for the event and had a fun afternoon bowling. We've been getting a lot of rain the last few days so it was the perfect activity. Will and I had some pretty good games, too! I got a 139 on my second game and came in second overall out of eight people. Winner!!

It's been two years since the first weekend we came to Oakland for Will's interview with Terviva. We had such a wonderful time exploring around the city that weekend, that we've made it a tradition to spend the first Saturday of the first weekend in February to enjoy our city. This year we followed in the footsteps of our first visit by walking up and down College Ave, the main drag right out our front door. We started the day with pizza at Zachery's Pizza. We continued on the way and stopped at a little market to get an orange for a snack, just like we did our first time in Rockridge! As we kept going, we stopped in at a few shops and art stores. The next stop was The Beanery, a fabulous coffee shop in the Elmwood neighborhood on College, that we stumbled upon that first weekend and have been back to several times since. One of the many things we love about The Beanery is the garden patio out back that gets amazing afternoon sunshine. We enjoyed basking in the sun wh