napa pt i

My first trip to the Napa Valley, a romantic day trip with my pal Theresa.


Lunch and wine at the Rutherford Grill
Perusing the homemade delectables at Woodhouse Chocolates




Little gourmet bites (and more wine!) at the Culinary Institute of America

It was a very good day. Thanks for the adventure, T!

just the three of us

We went for a weekend staycation at Dana Point (via Rincon, where Tim and I just could NOT lose, it was amazing) when Tim's dad went out of town for a couple weeks. These beaches I will miss. And also that french toast.

philadelphia

There are lots of places that I never went to whilst living on the east coast, including Philadelphia. Actually, I may have been there, but I just don't remember it (just ask my mom). In July, Tim officiated the marriage of our friends Pat and Jess in Philly, giving us a good great reason to visit.
We started out with ice coffees and pastry from Old City Coffee. Tim also got an amazing cheesey, yolk-y, bacon-y sandwich from the most efficient food truck I've ever witnessed.
Quick photo ops by City Hall (with that 27 ton bronze statue of William Penn on top) and the Rocky Steps aka the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
I heart cities with outdoor art and history. Philly's got both.
The Prides of Philadelphia: the Liberty Bell and the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich (whiz wit!)
The most unassuming champion of all things Philly? Our friend Nicole (not from Philadelphia), who is quite the Philadelphia enthusiast. She recommended the Franklin Fountain, where we had a fresh peach and blueberry ice cream sundae. Delightful!

Sorry about the camera phone pictures. More photos to come (we forgot the camera and spent $9 on one of these).

alaska: part iv

We took the Tonsina Coastal Trail as far as we could go. It was high tide and there's a bit that becomes completely submerged and inaccessible. It's a gorgeous walk up the wooded cliffs, into a field of wild irises (!!), through a soft mossy forest, past a clear deep stream, and then down to the windy pebble beach.


The sun didn't go down until 11 pm, and even then it was still light. We caught the sunset in Turnagain on our way home around 10.

alaska: part iii

You don't need to take pictures when David and Phil are around, our talented shutter-happy cousins, because their photos are just so good. See David's Alaska photos here, and Phil's here. We didn't end up taking as many as we usually do, but here they are anyway.

Ghost forests were left behind by the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Due to the land shift, some trees/roots fell below sea level and soaked up salt water, killing them on the spot and preserving them for years.

We saw a lot of marine life on the glacier cruise that our Aunt took us on (whales, porpoises, sea otters, the bald eagle!) but we didn't see any bears the whole time we were in Alaska. We did see my spirit animal hopping along the side of the mountain, though. (Tim thinks mountain goats must be my spirit animal because I like climbing on things, and I'll pretty much eat anything.)
However, should a bear attack, here's some good advice...(emphasis mine, in case you can't tell the red line was photoshopped on there)
That was the warning on our easy hike to Exit Glacier, a huge piedmont glacier near Seward. We went on an easy hike to the glacier, which is shrinking like so many other ice masses on the planet. It's summer though, and the glaciers melt a little now and regain a little back in the winter (sadly, melting > gaining, according to the rangers). Next to the glacier, you can feel the cold wind come off the ice and hear the rush of under-ice waterfalls.


Where's the exit...glacier? hahaha.

More Alaska pictures coming up...