Epic Road Trip, Part 2!

CW from left: 1. Cute SMS 2. I am not sure if he is even paddling in this picture 3. Bridge over Stow Lake

After our Redwood stroll, we headed off to San Francisco!  First stop- lunch for the best meatball sandwich ever.  To be totally honest, the first one I ever had was the best (in 2009 with my co-worker Chris), but this one was also pretty delicious!  After lunch, we checked into the hotel and then drove through the Presidio to the Golden Gate Park.  We walked around and came upon Stow Lake.  There were people paddle boating and it looked like so much fun and quintessential tourist that we had to do it!  We rented a paddle boat and had so much fun going around the lake.  It was beautiful and wonderful.

SF Eats!  Italian sodas at Mario's and Oysters at "Rocks"

Next, we headed to Hog & Rocks for dinner.  We feasted on chef's choice $1 oysters (all day Sunday!),  Trotter Tots, ham sampler (Iowa, Spain, Italy) and heirloom tomato salad.  We walked around the Mission district for a little bit after dinner and tasted chocolate at Dandelion Chocolate.  We picked up a handout on how chocolate is made (magic) and bought a chocolate sampler to do more tastings at home!

The next day, it was on the the outdoors-y phase of our vacation.  We left San Francisco and headed out to South Lake Tahoe.  We stopped for lunch at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento.  So delicious!  We split a Banh Mi sandwich and a Smoked Trout and Del Rio Tomato sandwich.  They were both so, so good.  Sacramento (at least the part we were in) seems like such a cute town.  But, no time to dally, we were off on our next adventure!

South Lake Tahoe panorama

I called ahead and booked a room at the Strawberry Lodge.  It was the perfect place to stay because it was right next to Lover's Leap, our rock climbing destination!  We were there early enough in the afternoon that we were able to climb a two-pitch route that afternoon called The Farce.  It was fun but I was rusty on my outdoor skills.  I'm glad we did it because I was more prepared for the next day's climb.  After The Farce, we headed into Tahoe.  We took some sunset pictures, then headed to MacDuff's for some dinner.  I had a delicious chicken pot pie with puffed pastry crust and SMS had a stew.

CW from top left: Lover's Leap, Phantom Spires, far away shot of Lover's Leap, me with rope, me in parking lot where we cooked our breakfast outside the hotel b/c no one was working the "restaurant," SMS and I at Lover's Leap

The next day, we headed back over to the rock and climbed the three pitch Bear's Reach.  It was a great climb and the view was incredible.  I loved the Tahoe area and want to live there!   Maybe I'll buy the Strawberry Lodge although if I do, I may have to fight the deranged Billy Treat.  He's a young guy who I'm fairly certain is legitimately crazy and goes around telling people about his big plans for taking over the place.  He is a "pro snowmobiler" who knows everyone and wears a medal to prove it.  The medal, however, is for 10th place in the 1997 West Division Sectional.

Billy Treat's Business Card

After the Bear's Reach, we hiked into the Phantom Spires and climbed the two-pitch Gingerbread route.  It was a pretty quick climb.  After a great day of climbing, we went back to MacDuff's and had another tasty meal.

The next day, we headed out to Tuolumne Meadows.  We stopped at the Tioga Pass Mobil station and ate lunch at the famous rest stop restaurant.  We headed into Yosemite, where admission was free for active duty!  Our campsite was pretty sweet and we were by a beautiful river where SMS took some more amazing photos.

1. Waiting underneath the chimney- 3 pitches down! 2. Eichorn's Pinnacle with climbers on top 3. View from the Cathedral Peak Summit- it was VERY windy

The next day, we hiked to Cathedral Peak and had an amazing 6 pitch day.  The views were unbelievable and I felt so amazing and accomplished.  As SMS said, I never would have imagined myself on the top of a huge peak 9 months ago and here we are!  It's an amazing adventure!

L-R: 1. View of Half Dome from Olmsted Pass 2. Rim Fire smoke cloud from the summit 3. Lightening struck tree on the way out from Cathedral

We headed out that afternoon and spent the night in Bishop at a lovely bed and breakfast named Joseph House Inn.  The innkeeper was very sweet.  Breakfast was delicious and tranquil since we ate outside on the patio.  The yard/gardens were beautiful and it was such a nice find for our last night!  

Manzanar Pillar of Solace pictures flanking picture of the guard tower

We headed home with two more stops.  We went to Manzanar, one of 10 Japanese interment camps from WWII.  We toured the site and visitor center, where we watched a documentary with several former detainees.  It was really sad and almost incomprehensible that rights and freedoms were so quickly and easily taken away from an entire group of people based only on their ethnic background.  It really highlighted the importance of preserving and protecting individual rights of citizens in order to prevent mistakes that go against the ideals of freedom and democracy.  

We also stopped at the Mt. Whitney visitor center.  I hope to hike that mountain someday!  After that, we made the long push home apart from a quick picnic stop to eat our "Mule kicker" sandwich that we had bought at the Erick Schat bakery in Bishop on our innkeeper's recommendation.  It was pretty delicious!  

Our hard copy itinerary

Epic Road Trip, Part I

SMS and I have done a lot of traveling this Summer.  It's been awesome!  We've seen so many cool, beautiful places and we travel so well together.  It's been an amazing newlywed Summer and I definitely feel very bittersweet about leaving San Diego.  But as I told SMS last night on the old Banker Hill apartment rooftop (my front door code still works!), I'm definitely going to be sad and miss him but I'm so glad I have him to miss!

So, yesterday marked our return to San Diego after an epic California road trip.  SMS had two weeks off from school after a crazy busy, successful Summer term and I was done with my job ages ago (ha, ha).  I checked out from the command on the 14th and on the 16th, we were off.

We got a slightly late start due to an id card appointment and last-minute errands at work.  By 1 o'clock, we were on the road to Morro Bay.  We hit some LA traffic but missed the worst of rush hour (I think).  We stopped in beautiful Santa Barbara for dinner at La Super-Rica Taqueria, which was delicious although the portions were smaller than I thought.  Never fear, the delicious cheesiness of our dishes were very sating.  I also loved stopping in Santa Barbara since I have a soft spot for the town.

From CW starting left: 1. SMS sets up his tripod 2. Underwater exploration vehicle dry-docked in MB 3. The Rock!

That night, we spent the night with 30 of our new closest friends at the Morro Bay State Beach.  SMS noted that, "I've been to many campsites and this is certainly the friendliest one I've ever been to."  He was referring not to the people themselves, but the fact that the campground was essentially a parking lot with tents pitched behind the car.  Our next-door neighbors were only six feet away.  Awkward when peeing at night, that's for sure!  (Kidding.  There were bathroom facilities that were actually quite clean and nice.  Although, when camping, clean = nice).

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Frankie & Lola's Front St Cafe for a little breakfast.  It was a cute place with delicious food!  We got the French Toast Brûlée, soufflé, flambé and the corned beef hash with poached eggs.  So good!  Before breakfast, we got a few pictures of the Rock, which was good since the fog rolled in during breakfast and completely obscured it.  Gooooooo, good timing!

Random spots in Big Sur.  Bottom left is Julia Pfieffer Burns SP with the waterfall on the beach

We hit the road and drove up the Coast through Big Sur.  We stopped at several beautiful places including Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.  SMS took some beautiful pictures and we stopped at the Big Sur Bakery for lunch after trying Nepenthe, which had a CRAZY line.  I turned it into a brunch and got the breakfast pizza (delicious!) and SMS got a fish special that was pretty good.

CW from top left: Cannery building, kelp forest, jellyfish lab, jellyfish!!!

Speaking of fish, we then headed up to Monterey to see the aquarium.  A childhood friend of mine from Rota, Spain lives there now and works at the aquarium.  Our tickets were comped and we toured the place.  The highlights for me were the jellyfish, sea horses and the kelp forest.  I could probably think of even more but I'll try and keep my favorites manageable!  Cat and Joe met us at 5 and we got a brief behind the scenes tour of the rooftop area where the kelp forest receives its sun and wave motion.  The rescue seal tanks are also on the roof.  We also went behind the scenes of the jellyfish exhibit and saw tanks and tanks of jellyfish.  Some were destined for display while others were destined to be the dinner of the other jellyfish.  Creepy!

We went to Lopez Restaurante Y Cantina, which was pretty delicious.  I had a molé dish that was awesome.   It was so much fun to catch up with Cat and meet Joe.  I feel very lucky to have rekindled a friendship from so long ago!

SMS and I left Monterey and headed to Big Basin Redwood SP for another night of camping.  The stars were amazing and this was real camping in real woods!  The next morning, we woke up and walked the .6 mile Redwood trail that hit a lot of the park's Redwood highlights, including the oldest and largest trees.  How courteous that all the highlights are in such close proximity!  We stopped by the gift shop where Mark advised me not to actually buy the coonskin hat I modeled.  Sad, but definitely the wise fashion choice.

Not a good look

To be continued!

East Coast Weekend!

This past weekend, SMS and I headed to the East Coast for Marissa and Blake's wedding!  

First, we arrived on Friday at LGA and picked up our rental car.  We headed to my uncle's house, about 25 minutes from West Point.  We spent the night with Rick, Jen, Tahoe and Vegas (the dogs).  It was really nice to see them and hang out a little longer than we were able to at the wedding.  

The next day, I was stressed because I had forgotten my uniform shirt.  Dumb, dumb, dumb!  When will I learn to double check that EVERYTHING is there?  Since my other shirt was on its merry way to Japan, we left Rick's, picked up Karen in Garrison and went to the PX.  Fortunately, we got there with plenty of time.  We dropped our stuff off at my med school friends' house then headed out to the wedding.  

The West Point chapel is BEAUTIFUL!  It was a really nice ceremony and the first kiss was awesome!  Then, I was in the sword arch, which was my first one ever.  I was really honored and excited to be a part of it!  

That afternoon, we went out to lunch and then I took a nap.  We got ready for the reception and the three of us headed out to the West Point club.  We had a great time and it was a beautiful setting.  All my college friends except Laddie were there.  I was really grateful to have the chance to see everyone before leaving for Japan.

The three house guests!  Thanks Brian and Deb!

Toast by the Best Man!

Photobooth fun!

The next day, we went to a brunch at the Thayer Hotel and said our goodbyes.  Then we went out to lunch with Brian and Deb to a cute French place in Cold Spring, Brasserie Le Bouchon.  SMS and I had delicious salads and French onion soup.  Brian had yummy mussels and Deb had half a chicken.  All of the food was awesome and we finished off with popsicles from next-door.

SMS and I left and headed off to Little Silver.  We went out to Navesink CC for dinner and everyone had delicious fish dishes.  Maria and Brady were there too which was totally awesome!  I was so happy to see both of them.  After dinner SMS and I dropped Brady off in the city so she could catch the bus to Boston.  We went to the High Line Park, which was super-cool.  We also went to Serendipity for dessert.  I'm so glad we had a mini-outing in the city rather than just go to the hotel.  

Building on the High Line

Tower along the High Line

Who is this gorgeous man!?!?

The next morning, we were off to LaGuardia.  We had to switch our flights around due to a delayed first flight but we got back in time for SMS' class, preceded by a Chick-fil-a stop, since I had said there was one at every airport we were at and I kept dashing the hopes of SMS since I was always wrong!

Mixed emotions

Today is the pack-out for my "unaccompanied baggage."  Apart from being an awesome term for psychological issues, this is the first stage of my physical leaving for Japan. Although there has been a LOT of paperwork and admin behind this, it still feels unreal that I'm actually leaving. 

Ka-PEW!

Bang, bang!  Guess who's an EXPERT in the pistol and rifle qualifications?!?!?   Me!  I am so excited! My boss felt very strongly that all graduating chiefs should have weapons experience so he generously picked up the tab for some kick-ass instruction by the awesome Kurt!  My previous rifle experience was in Norfolk, VA and it wasn't a very good one.  There was no instruction, only a safety brief and when I didn't qualify, well, how was that a surprise?  But since I'm really competitive, I felt badly and swore off ever wanting to shoot again.  But my boss was very persistent and well, he's my boss, so I went yesterday.

SMS likes to imitate me by saying, "I'm not competitive, I just like to win."  Yesterday, I learned how to sight with the pistol and rifle and it was so much fun.  The pistol was easy.  The rifle was a lot harder.  The sight was supposed to line up with the target in a "perfect lollipop," which is hard to do with the sway I had in the stand and prone position.  I can't wait to upload my targets but in my excitement, I forgot them!  Fortunately, Dr. J picked them up for me.  All I know is, my first child's name will now be Berreta, boy or girl.  (Ha, ha I just had to look up how to spell it since my tastes lean more towards Burrata then Berreta!)

Today is my unaccompanied baggage move.  So, I'm sticking around the house for the "time window" of 8-5.  Geez, thanks for that.  But I am grateful to get some of my stuff over there since the rest of it won't be there until October now that my move is so late thanks to missing DEA paperwork!  The pack-out is 3 Sept and I'll already be gone but SMS and I got a POA for him so we're all set.

Uh oh...

Once a week blogging alert!  Well, it's the end of a great weekend and I have lots to report.

The work week (ha ha) was a blur of paperwork and office visits trying to get the PCS order complete. Since SMS is coming in Spring 2014, I didn't think his DEA (Dependent Entrance Authorization) was that important to finish quickly.  WRONG!!  They actually won't move my stuff without it.

Fortunately, I can get my unaccompanied baggage moved without it but now the main shipment will lag my arrival in Japan by 2-3 months.  Great.

Anyway.  Boring.  Moving onto the weekend.  Yesterday, I ran a lot of errands.  Wait, how is this more exciting?  Well, I was doing errands and cooking in preparation for SMS' birthday picnic today!  His birthday is this Thursday and he has class so we celebrated today.  We had a picnic at Fiddler's Cove.  I made double mustard apricot chicken salad, a carrot cake and brought lots of snacks.  I also grilled bratwursts, which ended up being toasted in the flames of mini-grease fires.  We also rented paddle boards and most people took a short spin in the bay.

Earlier today, SMS and I went to a promotion ceremony that featured a talk by Louis Zamperini.  His story is incredible for the endurance and success in facing incomprehensible adversity.   The perseverance of the human spirit in the face of unfathomable, dehumanized cruelty is inspirational.  Afterwards, I felt a renewed sense of appreciation for how lucky I've been in my life and the happiness I have.

I finished a book tonight, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  There was a passage at the end that one of the main characters recalls which highlights the power and transformation that forgiveness allows.  I don't know if I would be a good enough person to live this truth, but it is another way of articulating a deep truth.

"'But how?  How can you just get over these things, darling?' she had asked him.  'You've had so much strife but you're always happy.  How do you do it?'

'I choose to,' he said.  'I can leave myself to rot in the past, spend my time hating people for what happened, like my father did, or I can forgive and forget.'

'But it's not that easy.'

He smiled that Frank smile. 'Oh, but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting.  You only have to forgive once.  To resent, you have to do it all day, every day.  You have to keep remembering all the bad things.'  He laughed, pretending to wipe sweat from his brow.  'I would have to make a list, a very, very long list and make sure I hated the people on it the right amount.  That I did a very proper job of hating, too: very Teutonic!  No' - his voice became sober- ' we always have a choice.  All of us.'"

Golden State!

Here's a neat photo from a Paramount Studios book documenting parts of California that can stand in for other locations in the world.  It looks like it's sourced several times over but the original appears on Flickr.

This weekend, we were somewhere between Sherwood Forest and the Kentucky Mountains.  We went up to Big Bear for a great weekend of camping, rock climbing, playing in the lake and hanging out with friends.  It was so much fun!

We left Friday around 3:30.  We meant to leave at 1 but then had several errands we wanted to do before we left town.  The errands were very successful- we got fabric for our couch reupholstering and we each had a delicious hot dog with a side of shared "Frings" (fries and onion rings).   I am pretty stoked about the couch reupholstering.  We got a heather gray microfiber that looked great on furniture in the store.  It looks like it will hold up pretty well and will be able to withstand a little bit of abuse.  Linen sounded a little too high-maintanance and stain-prone.  The "performance velvet" felt amazing and looked pretty cool but we could see that it might look dated in a few years.  We considered wool for a second but the one they had looked too pill-y so we nixed it.  So, I can't wait for the fabric to come in and then we'll drop the couch off at Hillcrest Upholstery, which has great reviews online.  Hopefully, I'll have an awesome before and after post in the near future!

So, off we went to Big Bear.  We hit some traffic but it wasn't terrible.  We met up with Kelly and Steffanie at North Shore Cafe.  I had a delicious salad with a side of chicken.  I wanted to go heavy on the vegetables before a Saturday filled with S'mores and Dinty Moore (that rhymes!).  Constance joined us and then we headed out to the campsite on a 4WD road.  Um, the Prius has 4WD?  Nope, but we only had one close call in the mud so success!  The stars were amazing.  We admired them for about five minutes and went to bed.

The next day was AWESOME!  SMS did a great 5.11d lead up Public Hanging.  The crux move was a reach over the roof to a hold that took a little bit of movement.  I was nervous about the potential fall but he did great!  We read the guidebook later which says the bolt can be clipped in blindly before the move but SMS said he didn't see how.  I was really happy and proud of his awesome climbing!

Leading "Shoot at Will" and celebrating with Kelly at the end!

I also had a great day!  I did my first two outdoor leads.  I lead a 5.6 early in the day and then a 5.8 later.  The 5.8 was challenging and I was really proud of myself.  Kelly was my belay and she was really encouraging.  SMS had taught me the basics of leading and was also cheering me on but it was nice having two different people help me out.

After a great morning/early afternoon of climbing, we headed to the lake.  We had a great swim.   The shoreline had reeds out to about 20 feet off-shore, but it wasn't slimy and gross.  It was just thick brush, but in the water.  SMS, Constance, Kelly and I paddled around and had so much fun. 

Genius idea!

We headed back to camp minus Steffanie and plus Alexis, a friend of Constance.  We had Dinty Moore beef stew and shared our S'mores supplies.  The S'mores were the winner for awesome campsite food (clearly) but Alexis came in close second with her STACKED wines.  They were four self-sealed plastic glasses of wine that locked into each other in a really neat piece of packaging.  I had a glass of the Cabernet and it was pretty good!  

Lovely ladies and close-up of the picnic food.  No books in sight!

On Sunday, we headed back to San Diego so I could meet up with my book club friends for a picnic in Balboa Park.  It was such a gorgeous day and we had a delicious spread of food.  I had so much fun and really like all the women in that group.  After a few hours, I left to pick up Stacy's birthday cake at Extraordinary Desserts.  It was the chocolate feast called the Viking and it was delicious.  Don't worry, I didn't take a tester taste!  I waited until the birthday girl cut the cake later that evening!  SMS and I went down to Chula Vista and had a great dinner of grilled salmon, asparagus and salad with my in-laws.    Then I had the aforementioned cake and promptly fell asleep at the table.  Kidding!  I made it home before the food/activity coma hit!  

This week, it's time to buckle down and get two papers written (sounds like college!).  I'm also off to Miramar tomorrow to get my household goods shipping dates set.  Although the website said they would call me, the lady on the phone Friday cheerfully said that wasn't true and the service member had to contact them.  Sooo....a few days lost but not too bad.  Definitely wasn't the first and won't be the last hiccup during this PCS.