Chipmunks, Coyotes, & Bears...Oh My!

Over the weekend, we drove 4.5 hours southeast to Sequoia National Park to enjoy the wilderness. Sequoia National Park, which borders Kings Canyon National Park, is known for its meadows, wildlife, and, of course, the gargantuan Sequoia trees. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, but Celia and Sean had been there since Friday night. It was a "Welcome to California" camping trip for Sean; he has officially moved here. After we set up camp, we cooked dinner (Mmmmmm...hotdogs) under the starry sky illuminated by the full moon. That is when we had our first unwanted "visitor"--a coyote stopped in to see if we had any leftover S'mores. 

After an attempt at sleeping, we awoke to a chilly but beautiful morning. We drove towards Moro Rock, our first trail of the day, and came across another "visitor", a black bear. He walked straight towards our car and veered off onto the shoulder. Sean got a few great photos of him. After the road was clear we were able to climb Moro Rock.

Throughout the remainder of the weekend we saw General Sherman's Tree, Tharp Log, 

Tunnel Log, General Grant's Tree (the nation's Christmas tree), and Panoramic Point (views of Kings Canyon--the forest version of the Grand Canyon, and deeper than it in some areas). 

Spa-tacular!

This past weekend, we drove north, past Napa valley, to the quaint town of Calistoga. Calistoga is known for their mineral water springs and spa treatments. Surprisingly, Calistoga is also home to the "Worlds Largest Petrified Forest" and "California's Old Faithful"; which, of course, we visited.  The geyser place also had these "fainting goats" that Cheyenne fed.  The goats don't actually faint, I guess they have some genetic mutation where their body freezes up when they get scared, and they just fall over.  Interesting.  I thought we should test out that theory, but Cheyenne wouldn't let me.  

The second day we got up and enjoyed a couples massage followed by showers in the mineral spring water.  We then took our time heading back home through the wine country stopping in the little towns for shopping and snacking.   A great weekend to finish celebrating our anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!

We're celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary this week!  Over Labor Day weekend we had a lot of little stuff to do--playing catch up with errands, chores, and work stuff in anticipation that the next few months were going to get real crazy around here.  John has had the summer off, but his MBA classes resumed this week, and Cheyenne is taking one more massage therapy course this semester (2 nights/wk) so she can finish what she started before physical therapy school and sit for the national exam.  After 2 years of working as a PT, Cheyenne is also now a "clinical instructor" for an intern for the next 8 weeks at work.  So needless to say, we didn't do too much anniversary celebrating over Labor Day weekend.  We did manage to get out and enjoy one lunch at a Greek Festival to reminisce about our honeymoon in Greece....ahh, the memories.

On our actual anniversary, the 3rd, which happened to be a Wednesday this year, we didn't even see each other!  John left for work before Cheyenne got up, and then Cheyenne had her class right after work and when she got home at 11pm, John was in bed.  But Cheyenne did have a nice surprise at work that day...beautiful flowers!  Here's Sienna EATING them...

And here is Sienna's all-time favorite pose.  She's so lady like!!  In the last couple weeks you can find her pretty much in this pose 24/7, we think because we've been having a heat wave, and she's trying to cool off :)

You know us though, we couldn't let our anniversary go without using it as an excuse to travel...so this weekend, we are heading north a couple hours to a town called Calistoga (north of Napa) to finish celebrating.  We'll post more when we get back!

Rockin' and Rollin'

Last night, I was laying in bed watching a movie when the bed starting to move gently. I just thought that the cat was playing around underneath or had jumped up on the bed. Nope, she was laying at my feet. Then it clicked...EARTHQUAKE!!  I walked out to the living room and Cheyenne was sitting straight up on the couch, she had felt it too.  Sienna had assumed her typical earthquake pose as well--back arched, nails dug into the carpet.  Yep, we had an earthquake last night. It was a 4.2 magnitude, about 40 miles east of here. 

Not only that, but it has been bloody hot here. Not the usual constant 70 degree temperatures. I am talking 90's. That is way too hot for me now that I am acclimated to the 60 to 70 degree range.

"Part of your World" & "Take me out to the Ballgame"

I was looking for something for Celia and I to do on Saturday in the San Francisco area and I came across something that just made me laugh...I thought to myself, "there might not be anyone else i know that would enjoy this, but Celia and I would!"  Are you curious now?  We went to the Castro district of San Fran (do you see the rainbow flag?) to the old theatre (very ornate inside with an organ that comes out of the floor for your pre-show entertainment), and saw Disney's "The Little Mermaid".  Now that doesn't sound sooo bad right?  Well, this was a sing-a-long...complete with a goodie bag for each person filled with a princess crown, a string of pearls, a glow in the dark wand, noise makers, bubbles, and a "dinglehopper".  So picture a whole room of people with their goodies and singing at the top of their lungs and reminiscing about their childhood.  Good times.  

Sunday, we went to the SF Giants baseball game with some of John's friends as part of a match-making project for a couple of single people.  Not sure if it worked out that way, but the game was fun. 

August

I'm back from my hiatus...i got mad at the computer one day because it wouldn't download my pictures, but we're friends again...so here's what we've been up to the past few weekends.  I apologize to those who are friends with both Cecelia and I...you can skim if you want...

1st weekend:

Another girls weekend in Monterey...Celia and I had sushi for dinner (a treat we get to enjoy when our boys aren't around) and then joined Celia's friend Andy for the Will Smith movie, Hanncock--an entertaining movie if you haven't seen it.  The next day we hopped the $4.50 shuttle bus, the "Grapevine Express" for a Carmel Valley wine tour.  4 wineries later we were glad to be taking the shuttle home.  Here's one of our "teachers" who put up with our lack of knowledge!  :)

2nd weekend:

John and I finally decided to take advantage of our apartment's top floor social area and throw a poker party for John's co-workers.  So we rented it out (1/2 indoor, 1/2 outdoor) and had a BBQ pot-luck and played a little poker.   We gave Celia, the rookie, a quick run down on the rules, and guess who beat us both?!  :)  

After a great breakfast out the next AM, we walked around our neighbor town's festival.  And that evening, Celia and I made a picnic dinner and took in the musical, Pericles, at San Mateo's "Shakespeare in the Park"

3rd weekend:

Well, before the weekend, John's company had one of their "offsites"--they basically take the day off and go do something fun together, fully paid for by Genentech, in addition to getting paid that day..I know, rough.  This time they took a Bay cruise in San Francisco.

John stayed home over the weekend again to go to a co-worker's birthday party and go to his hockey game.  I joined Celia in Monterey.  Saturday night her friend Andy treated us to free wine tasting at a place in Cannery Row right on the waterfront where he is a member.  When we asked the guy serving us the wine where he would recommend eating, he recommended a sushi place, so we were off for more sushi!  

The next day, Celia and I went to the Monterey County Fair for some good ol' fashioned fair food, exhibits, and a fun dog trick show.

Uppies re-unite again!!!

Q:  What do you get when you combine traveling + dancing + great people + culture + zero sleep??

A:  Up With People of course!  

This time the occasion for our mini-reunion (Sheena, Kris, Andrew, Bernie, and Me) was Sheena's wedding in Nova Scotia.  After an a 12 hour traveling day (overnight with 2 layovers), I arrived on Friday AM.  I met Andrew at the airport and we were picked up by the groom's best man and his wife.  After a quick shower to freshen up, we took a walking tour of Antigonish (a university town) and then met the bridal party/family for dinner.  Andrew and I were then off to the airport again (2 hour drive one-way) to pick up Bernie from Germany and David from Africa/London (one of Sheena's friends from the International House she lived in) for their midnight arrival.  

This is Eelyn, Kris's newest addition to her family (after twin boys)

Just when we thought we could sleep in on Saturday AM, we were jolted from deep sleep by at least 100 bagpipers outside our windows!!  All we could do to keep from screaming, was laugh. We spent a couple hours at the Highland Games (Scottish festival) watching some dancing and tug of war (did you know there's actually strategy and synchronized movements in competitive tug of war?)  Then it was time to head to the wedding, which was amazing.  The ceremony was held outdoors on a bluff overlooking the ocean.  The reception was a ton of fun for us veteran dancers as Sheena's family/friends taught us the traditional Scottish social step dance (an amazing workout and tons of fun!)  That evening a group of us talked into the wee hours of the night back in our hotel (sheena's brother and his girlfriend/sheena's ex-roommate from the Czech, and Sheena's friend Jessidee from Cuba/Florida).

Here is a video of about 1/10th of the dance

 

Sunday we had brunch at Sheena's parents house, then played at the beach for a bit, and ended the evening back at the Highland Games to show off our new dancing skills and to listen to Sheena's bridesmaid, Kim Fraser--a professional fiddler.  www.kimberleyfraser.com

Monday Sheena, Phil, Phil's daughter, and Sheena's highschool friend, and us Uppies piled into a van and drove to the airport and had one last meal together before we parted ways again, already longing for our next reunion...

For those who were there...I finally got my Timbits at my layover in Toronto!  :)

Our Weekend with Sara Strube

This past weekend we had another visitor: Cheyenne's cousin, Sara Strube. 

Thursday evening, we went to San Mateo's Central Park to grab some dinner and listen to "Music in the Park". 

Friday, both Cheyenne and I had to work so Sara toured our adorable little town by herself and then left to go to a party in the city with an old friend. 

On Saturday, the girls took a scenic drive to Half Moon Bay to window shop and hang out on the beach. Upon returning to San Mateo, they enjoyed take-out Chinese, wine, and a movie. As for myself, I was out with my hockey buddy, Andrew, watching Step Brothers and eating some delicious San Jose pizza! 

Sunday, we all drove down to Gilroy to meet Cecelia for the world-famous Gilroy Garlic Festival. We ate garlic flavored EVERYTHING -- including ice cream. We even watched a garlic food competition which imitated the TV show Iron Chef. One of the contestants was San Francisco's own Ryan Scott, who was on Bravo's Top Chef -- he was the fan favorite. On our way home we hit up the Gilroy Outlet Mall. 

Monday, we drove through our foggy city and over the bridge to Muir Woods where we enjoyed a nice walk. We then went to Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, and China town. After a steak dinner, the girls went out to see the "Dark Knight". 

Then, early Tuesday morning Cheyenne dropped Sara off at the airport and we said goodbye to another visitor. 

Do you feel like visiting us? Well, we have some availability for later this year and next year. Call 414-732-1807 to make reservations. Hurry! We are booking up fast.  Ha.

Jenni Visit!

This is out of order (it occurred the day before we left for Alaska), but I had forgotten my camera and Jenni just emailed me this picture.  Jenni came out to CA for a bachelorette party for one of her friends and they graciously let Celia and I crash it one day so we could see her!  We had a great time in Napa followed by dinner in San Fran.  The best quote of the day was Jenni's friend that kept calling Napa "fairy-tale land" (after a few glasses of wine this was much more amusing than it probably seems)--northern CA really is beautiful country and it's great to have visitors to remind us not to take it for granted!

A day in San Fran

John and I began the day at the 1st annual Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco--it was a lot of really creative young adults with their creations--artwork, jewelry, clothing, etc.  Then we window shopped, snacked, and people watched in a "yuppie" neighborhood near the marina.  

It was then time to rest our feet and relax by the Bay--gotta love self taken photos!
After a quick dinner, we saw a great musical at Pier 39 called "Insignificant Others"--about a group of friends from the Midwest who move to San Fran--a good laugh and fun to relate to.  

Celtic Festival

Here's John, thrilled to be doing "girl" things with Celia and I this weekend--shopping and attending a poorly done rendition of the musical "Evita" at Carmel's outdoor local theater. We gave him little hair clips to make him feel like he fit in, but for some reason this didn't help! :) 

In order to make John believe it was ok for men to look like girls sometimes, we then took him to the Celtic festival full of men in skirts, i mean kilts.  

Here I am eating a yummy pastie--kinda like a pot pie turnover.

And a picture from a fun sheepdog herding demonstration.

Check out this video to get a good feel for the festival--bagpipes amaze me!

After enough meat and potatoes at the festival, we grabbed some seafood at a restaurant walking distance from Celia's place.  Celia and I had some great Crab ravioli...any guesses as to what John ate?  :)

Forbes

Forbes magazine just rated the top 20 counties in America to raise a family in...guess what was #8???....WAUKESHA, WI!!!  Ozaukee, WI was #2.  Now we know why WE turned out so great!  ;)  And I guess since Forbes says so, we'll have to move back to WI to raise our family.  

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th from our "family"!!

Aren't we adorable in our red, white, and blue?  And by looking at this photo you'd think CA didn't have any sun huh? I am whiter than our white walls.  ha.

Today is also our 3 year anniversary of our engagement, and Sienna's 2nd birthday!

Our apartment complex hosted a BBQ in our social room on the top floor.  Our friend the hummingbird can always be found in the garden there.  :)  

We'll watch the town's fireworks from the roof tonight!

Family

It's been a rough week for our families...Cheyenne's dad had triple bypass surgery on Monday and John's grandpa had a partial hip replacement on Wednesday after a fall.  Please keep them in your prayers for a speedy recovery!  Difficult times for us to be away from home--we love and miss you all.  

Mendocino

Last weekend Celia and I took a road trip about 3 hrs north to a little town called Mendocino.  We went horseback riding on the black sand beach, walked around the cute town of victorian houses, shops, and restaurants, sat at a coffee shop with live entertainment, and completed the weekend at a small spa where Celia got a hot stone massage and I had a facial.  Very nice girls weekend!  Unfortunately, we had to drive through areas of heavy smoke to get there, and most of our weekend the smoke masked the sun--pray the CA fires will stop soon!  I forgot to take pics of anything except the horseback riding, sorry!  

ALASKA!!!

John and I joined Celia and Sean for a 10 day cruise to Alaska, roundtrip from San Francisco.  We spent a lot of time on the ship (6 days) and ate, played cards, ate, played trivia, ate, watched a movie, ate, played cards, ate, watched a show, drank, and went to bed.  :)  Our 4 days in port however, were jam packed with great scenery, exciting activities, and great luck with the weather.  The sun always seemed to shine when we got off the ship, and it would only rain once we got back on.  Here's a bit about what we did in each port:

Ketchikan, AK:  traditional lumberjack show, walking tour of the town, totem pole museum, salmon hatchery tour, and a hike 1/2 way up a mountain

Juneau, AK:  zip lining, downhill bike riding, hiking around the Mendenhall glacier and a huge waterfall

Skagway, AK:  helicopter tour over the mountains and glacier...they then dropped us off in the middle of the mountains where we were led by a great trail guide on a hike and then picked up by a train for a scenic ride back to town.  Our group then split up--John, Celia, and Sean went to a glass blowing factory, and Cheyenne went on an old brothel tour followed by a historical show/musical about the gold rush era

Tracey Arm scenic cruising:  we didn't get off the ship this day, but the ship cruised slowly through a narrow passage surrounded by mountains and waterfalls amidst lots of icebergs--unfortunately, there were too many icebergs and our ship had to turn around before we got to the climactic end, the glaciers.  it was a pretty cloudy, ugly day too, so not great for picture taking or spending prolonged amounts of time on deck!

Victoria, BC:  sailing lesson on a 35ft sailboat, walking tour of the town, and traditional british "high tea" followed by fish and chips at their fisherman's wharf 

Please check out our PHOTOS!

If you click "slideshow" the photos will be pretty small, so click on the 1st photo and then keep clicking "next"

Celia and Sean will probably post some of their photos too on their blog.

Here is a video clip overview of our helicopter trip in Skagway.

2nd weekend with Celia

To see what Chey did the first weekend in June, check out the June 11th entry at Celia's blog at:  http://ceceliaandsean.blogspot.com