To the North!

Northern California, that is.  We went there for a week and had a grand old time, full of sights and seeing.  Here's how it all happened:

For months we contemplated having a vacation before the Speck arrives--a "babymoon", if you prefer the jargon--but never decided on anything.  Then towards the end of March Drew's boss suggested he come out to California to finally visit the office (he works remotely, you may recall).  To which I said "Vacation!!!" and that was that.  So, not only did we get vacation, we got part of it paid for, since Drew was doing work stuff for a few days.  Partly paid for trips are really the best kind of trips.

We went a lot of places and saw a lot of things, and by golly, if I can boil a Mediterranean cruise down to one post, I can surely do the same for this trip!  But as usual, Drew has covered it in greater detail, if you are looking for detail.  Let's take it place by place:

1) Sacramento: home of the airport and our arrival after an uneventful flight.  We picked up our rental car and headed to...

2) Rancho Cordova: our nearby destination and home of Drew's office.  We checked into our hotel, and tried without success to find a Hmong restaurant in the area.  In the end we went to the recommended Adalberto's for Mexican.  

It turns out their menu is almost identical to the places here, but the food was a lot less greasy, came with free salsa and chips and didn't require a Tums later.  Win-win-win!  From RC, we went a ways up the road to...

3) El Dorado Hills!  We lived here for several years when I was a lass--it's the place and house I remember best from my childhood and it's where we moved from when we went to Missouri.  It was strange and fun to visit, where some things looked so much the same and so many things looked totally different.  It would have been fun to be there with my family, who remember so much more than me, but I did all right on my own.  It was much greener and prettier (scenically speaking) than I remembered.  In some ways it reminded me very much of Missouri, which I did not expect.

My old house!  My room was upstairs in the far right corner.  I wonder if the Strawberry Shortcake wallpaper is still up...

My beloved elementary school.  Go Badgers!  Who are now, apparently, bears. 

At the end of our EDH exploring, we went back to Rancho and picked up a (pricey) pizza from Round Table Pizza, just because I remembered it.  It was very good, and Drew is so nice not to complain when I want a vegetable pizza.

The next three days we stayed in Rancho, and Drew went to work while I sat by the pool in the morning and did little projects at the hotel in the afternoon.  The weather was perfect the entire trip, though the locals apologized many times that it wasn't "better." 

Drewbles went into more detail about this, but I will mention it too.  He's been listening to this particular Survivor podcast for a number of years now, and the people who do it live near Rancho.  So on Wednesday night we watched Survivor with them and then featured on the recap podcast after!  We are like celebrities or at least celebrity adjacent.  Anyway, they were extremely nice and very conscientious hosts and never let my water glass run out.  We stayed up very, very late, but it was really fun and Drew was beside himself with glee.  The next morning we checked out and headed off to...

4) The Jelly Belly Factory: It is exactly what it sounds like--a factory for making jelly bellies.  It also includes this soaring jelly belly man and a lot of Ronald Reagan art made from jelly bellies.

We bought a bag of Belly Flops, had some samples, wore our hats on the tour and then got back on the road for...  

5) The Walt Disney Family Museum: This was our first stop in San Francisco, and it is also much what it sounds like (though it is not owned or run by the Disney company).  We had some navigational issues getting there, but still had plenty of time to see it all.  Highlights include a model of Disneyland and the frequent benches that I took advantage of.  

 

 

After a few hours here, it was evening time and we headed into...

6) San Francisco (proper): We started our first night there by sitting down on the bed and...didn't get up again.  We ordered some Thai and watched a lot of Wife Swap while waiting for Project Runway, which didn't come on until 9 and was TWO HOURS and I fell asleep at the end.  It was good to take it easy because the next day started early with...

6a) Fisherman's Wharf/Aquarium of the Bay/Pier 39: I very much enjoy the sight and smell of fresh seafood, even though I am sometimes grossed out by seeing their glassy eyeballs.  The aquarium was a bit on the small side, but I enjoyed their multiple tunnels and baby rays that would pop their little faces out of the water--has anyone ever seen full-grown rays do that?  I never have seen the like!  Anyway, the chowder from Boudin's made a very excellent lunch.

 

 

 

 

We also saw Hugh Jackman.

6b) Alcatraz: there are so many places I never thought I would actually see in my life, and this is one of them.  One of the good things about Drew is that he DOES stuff instead of wishing to do stuff or talking about doing stuff.  I am less of a doer so he is good for me that way.  Anyhoo, Alcatraz!  It was a very interesting place to visit and kind of spooky too, being an old prison and all.  What a horrible place to live!  Then again, the people who lived there were pretty horrible themselves so...

 

 

One tourist lady in particular was taking these super excited photos throughout. I decided to try her method in the solitary confinement area.  No light or human contact, woot!

6c) Lombard Street: It's...curvy...?  We spent the rest of the night watching Wife Swap (again) and waiting for the new episode of Grimm to come on, only to get a repeat in the end.  Thwarted!

6d) Muir Woods: When I was girl in EDH, we learned about Redwoods in school and all got a tiny sapling to plant.  I remember having ideas about planting it under a trampoline and the tree growing up through it.  This was a silly idea, not least because we didn't even HAVE a trampoline.  Anyway, it was been a lifelong goal of mine to see the Redwoods, and we did it!  (Also, I have to give Rise of the Planet of the Apes credit for my knowing there were Redwoods near San Francisco.)

 

 

 

Sometimes when I see something like this that I've always wanted to see, it feels kind of anticlimactic when it actually happens.  I don't know what I expect--that there will be streamers or fireworks or people congratulating me?  I am learning to just be impressed and glad on my own.  And the trees were SO tall and lovely and it smelled so nice.  Muir Woods itself is a very nice place to visit, with wide, smooth paths to walk on and numerous options for trails of various lengths.  I would love to go back one day and do a longer one, with Drew carrying the Speck around instead of me.  We left there with a little tree model carved from--what else--a Redwood and a nifty pair of earrings made of tiny Redwood pinecones.

6e) The Golden Gate Bridge: We drove over it four times and took lots of pictures.  It is, um, a good, sturdy bridge.

(For all our awkward-on-purpose picture taking, sometimes we look kind of awkward on accident.  It keeps us humble?)

6f) Ocean Beach: Neither of us knew SF housed such a great, sandy beach!  I could have sat there all day, and I would be happy to live in earshot of waves.  Alas, I know from House Hunters that that can be a very expensive place to live.  We did some sand writing, I found some more shells for my collection and we were grossed out by the many partial bodies of crabs in the sand.

  
6g) Ghiradelli Square: We wound up going here for dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant and I had more chowder (not as good as Boudin's!).  True fact: I couldn't eat all my bread bowl but since I cannot let a bread bowl go to waste, I brought it all the way back home. 

And that, essentially, was the end of our trip!  The next morning we packed, I wore my dress as a skirt (awesome), I maybe cried about not being able to pack a suitcase right (um), we went back to Sacramento and a short flight and drive later we were back at home.

It was the perfect length of trip, and it was fun to see a new place and so many new things.  I was a little nervous beforehand about my ability to do stuff, and while I wasn't as fast as usual, I was quite pleased with how well I kept up and how not-hard it was.  Go me!  I suppose the Speck deserves a little credit there too.  *high fives tummy*  Thanks for the trip, Husb and Husb's work!

(Final side note: people in California were much more prone to stare at my stomach than Utahers.  Also much more prone to say things like "When are you due!?!?  *googly eyes*"  Newbs.)

A Shocking Lack of Vomit

I will start out with the depressing part.  Most of the time I am okay with the fact that I don't live near any of my immediate family.  Partly because it's been that way for so long and partly because, well, that's how it is.  But sometimes it just kind of stinks, like when you want your Mama to pat you on the head or when there's a new Fast and the Furious but all of your Fast and the Furious buddies live states away.  Anyway, the point is that when you only see some of your family once a year or so, it is very exciting. 

That is why it was ever so exciting when Marci, my sister of all sisters, came to visit me!  You may recall that her last visit did not go *quite* as planned so we were extra determined that this trip would be all fun and no barfing.  'All fun' apparently translated to 'eat everything in the world'.  So here was our weekend, according to the food:

Thursday night: On the way home from the airport we stopped at IKEA for dinner.  I got the soup and mac and cheese--a winning combination?  (We also got a new shelf for the laundry room, wheeeee!)

Friday: We hit Brick Oven for lunch, after a morning of YouTube and Pilates and probably some kind of healthyish breakfast.  Brick Oven...is not so healthy, but it WAS tasty.  I got a lil calzone and Drew finally got that sandwich he'd been threatening to order for the last 4 years or so.

After seeing G.I. Joe (of course!) we stopped at the mall for some See's, then hopped over to Drew's mission reunion.  They had pistachios sans shells and we ate a lot of them. 

Once home we got some Indian takeout, since Marci hadn't really ever had it before.  Isn't Indian food just the best?  We ate it while watching The Help, because Marci hadn't seen it, and if that's not a mix of cultures I don't know what is.  That was Friday.  Apparently we took no pictures on that day.  

Saturday I had Raisin Nut Bran for breakfast.  Don't pretend you aren't fascinated!!!  After that exciting breakfast we took the train up to Salt Lake and got there just in time to beat the lunch crowd at the Lion House on Temple Square.  Marci had never been on a train OR eaten at the Lion House so maybe this weekend was as much about food as it was about doing things Marci had never done.  Look, we are on the train:

It was much more fun to ride during the day, when we could see all the dirt piles and junk yards.

After lunch, we parted ways for the afternoon session of General Conference.  Marci and I got excellent tickets from a nice random fellow while Drew scurried off to translate.  There was no food involved in this portion of the day, but I did have a lady tell me it looks like I've dropped.  No, I don't think that happens when you still have almost two months to go, LADY.  Look, here we are at Temple Square:

...

(Also, that's a Hmong tie...hearts aren't Drewbles's usual tie aesthetic)

(Not that hearts on ties are a bad thing)

Glamo!

 We were front and center on the plaza!

A few hours later--and a few purchases at H&M later (where Marci had never bought anything before!  So many firsts!)--we rode the train back to Provo for some Skyfall and some dinner from....In-n-Out!  We were nervous.  

(Oh hai, belly button.)

The (only) upside to our prior visit was that we got certificates for free meals and finally, all these months later, we put them to use.  Did we survive the night?!!?!?

Yes, yes, we did.  And there was much rejoicing in the morn!  It was sleepy rejoicing because we stayed up way too late discussing our childhood.  Luckily we had time for naps during the last sessions of General Conference on TV.  Hahaha, just kidding, Mom. 

Earlier that week a copy of the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook had arrived at the library for me, so on Sunday we feasted upon her New York Breakfast Casserole.  I can't link to the recipe obviously, but it is worth checking out her book for.  It's a mix of cut-up bagels, grape tomatoes, red onions and cream cheese, with an egg and milk mixture holding it all together.  Delicious!

For dinner we had grilled Reubens made with a corned beef brisket (I had never had corned beef brisket!).  I have been smelling sauerkraut in the kitchen ever since, but fortunately I love sauerkraut. "Sauerkraut, sauerkraut!...Forget that sauerkraut, you need to get to the store!" 

I told Marci that I would make her a red velvet cake.  So I did.  But since it also happened to be my brother's birthday, we called it his birthday cake.  It was a tasty accompaniment to some Daria and Dr. Doctor Who.

I used the SK recipe--two thumbs up, but double the frosting.

And then it was time for bed!  And before we knew it, it was Monday morning and we were driving back to the airport in the rain.  And parking by the wrong terminal.  And walking to the right one.  And saying farewell at security!  D:  

Baby, why you so big?

Don't I have such a pretty sister?

Alas and alack.  I guess it's back to phonecalls and Facebook.    

In Which I Boil Down a Two-Week Vacation into a Single Post

The nice thing about not sharing a blog with the Husband is that he sometimes writes about events in detail, which spares me from having to do the same.  So, if you want all the details about our big trip, check out his blog, where he has recounted the whole thing.  We did a lot of amazing things so I'm glad he got into the nitty gritty of it.  I'm also glad because now I can just whittle the whole trip down to a single top ten list.  It's numerical (duh) but not ordered in importance.  Well, except for #1. 

(I should also say that one of the highlights of any trip, regardless of the destination, is the company you have.  Drewbles is always good company, but it was fun to spend so much time with Elise and Jeff throughout.  Jeff is a pro navigatron and Elise makes awesome sandwiches.  Of course it was nice to see Emily and KC again too, who are excellent hosts with excellent food.)

1)  The Colosseum.  

This building (or the remains thereof) has had a special, large chunk of my heart ever since it almost singlehandedly led to my decision to switch from Illustration to Art History in college.  It's so grand and old and Roman!  

 

This was a recurring theme of the trip, but it is so strange to see something in person that a) you never thought you would see for yourself and b) you'd only seen in pictures.  In some ways it was hard to even grasp that this was, in fact, the ACTUAL Colosseum.  I am still processing this, but as it is, I loved it and stroked the travertine with much fondness (I tried to find patches that looked less tourist-touched).  

(See?)

2) Food!

We ate SO much food and it was all so good.  A few of my personal highlights were: the sandwiches Elise made for our trip to NYC.  Yes, they were just meat and cheese (turkey and provolone, if I remember correctly?) on potato bread, but I was so hungry and I will never, ever forget those sandwiches.  

*Ahem*  Aside from those delicious things, the breakfast buffet on the ship was truly magnificent (aside from their dry bagels and low-fat cream cheese--travesties, both). Gelato and pizza in Italy were always winners and the nightly sourdough rolls at dinner were my favorites.  Also, there was a turkey and Swiss panini I got more than once from room service.  Free room service!  That's how life should be.

Chocolate gelato in Florence!  It's amazing Drew got any of this.

Pizza in Pompei!

More gelato in Rome!

 3) The D.C. Museums

Because my trip tunnel vision was focused on the Colosseum, I didn't really stop to think about, you know, the Smithsonian and stuff.  We spent most of our first day in D.C. at various (free!) museums, and I was both amazed and impressed at what we saw.  There were so many artists and paintings that I have loved and never seen myself, like Gilbert Stuart and John Singleton Copley.  Be still, my American art-loving heart. 

The other highlight, which must be mentioned, was seeing the ACTUAL Star-Spangled Banner.  For some reason, I did not expect this flag to be real (???) or to still exist.  And then it was just THERE in its own exhibit and it was just amazing to me.  It was so large, so grand and...so full of holes from Americans wanting souvenirs. 

4) The David

Here's a secret: I have never loved Michelangelo's David.  I always preferred (and still do) Bernini's version.  But I will say that seeing Michelangelo's in person was really quite awe-inspiring.  Awe-inspiring enough to not notice the hordes of people everywhere. 

5) Arts

So many arts!  So many things I have only seen in slides!  I saw some Caravaggio, some Gentileschi, some El Greco, some Velasquez, a copy of Laocoon, some John Singer Sargent, some Mucha...so many beautiful things.  I bought many postcards and a guidebook from almost every museum.

6) The European Coast

 

Um...need I say more?  (No.)

7) London!

Okay, our time here was short (exTREMEly short on the way over), but it was so delightful and inspiring to be back on English soil, even if it was only Heathrow soil.  I'm happy to say that we loaded up on pretty much every English chocolate and candy we could.  And no, we have not eaten it all yet because I want to keep it forever. 

 

8) Markets

So many markets!  And so many delicious looking things!  I don't even know what to do with most of the goods available, but I wanted to buy them based on how pretty they were.  Wouldn't it be amazing to have something like this in our neck of the woods?  The closest comparison I can think of is the Bloomington farmers market and sadly, that is not in my neck of the woods anymore.

The Barcelona market

 

French market

9) Supreezes: Barcelona and Sorrento

Here's another secret: I have never had any interest in Spain.  I have no explanation or reasoning for this, other than that I can only have so many countries in my heart at once and the ones already there aren't budging.  But both of these cities were such pleasant surprises, and were so pretty and interesting and full of interesting things.  Barcelona had the amazing market, and Sorrento had the ocean views and narrow streets you expect from Europe.

10) Seeing-all-those-things-you-never-think-you'll-actually-see-in-your-lifetime.

 

 

(Insert like 20 more pictures here...too much work)

Like I said, this was a recurring theme.  I always have trouble registering when I am in a new place after being hundreds of miles away the day before and this happened many days in a row.  So, I am still absorbing the fact that I have, in fact, seen the Duomo, been to Italy, walked through Pompei and dipped my toes in the chilly Mediterranean.  I will probably still be processing this in a year, but I do really enjoy seeing these places on TV thanks to hours of international House Hunters and recognizing them.  I always SAID I would surely go to this country or that one, but I don't think I ever thought I would ACTUALLY go.  And now I have!  Wacky.  I like this life of mine.

(No, this won't be followed up by a list of 10 Lowlights.  But in case you're wondering, it has one item and it's called "Too many airplanes.")