This is a mix of various trips/activities in the Los Angeles area. For my birthday, my friends Jessica and David went with me to Santa Barbara for the weekend of March 31st, 2012. We drove up on Saturday and enjoyed some wine tastings. Lincourt was my favorite of the day, and of course I decided to join their wine club.
The following day on our drive back to LA, we stopped in Malibu to go hiking. What an amazing view of the ocean from the top! After our hike we treated ourselves with a great lunch at Malibu Seafood. On April 11th, 2012 - still part of my extended birthday activities - Jessica and David surprised me and took me to Griffith Observatory after work. I had wanted to go there for a while - so that was a fun night. The lights of the city from up there are just amazing. Finally there is the mud run on April 15th, 2012. My project decided to get a big group of people together to run in the 5k Mud Run. I really enjoyed getting muddy, but I did not enjoy the insanely steep hill we had to run (barely crawl) up during the first mile. However running down the hill…awesome! Then after finishing the race probably the worst thing of the day was the beyond ice cold water we had to rinse off in afterwards. That might have been more traumatizing than the 5k! But despite that, it was still a really great day. Check our some more of my photos here - Santa Barbara & Malibu Photos and Mud Run Photos
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My friend David and I drove to Las Vegas this weekend from Los Angeles (where we were both working on a project). He is a big rugby fan, being from Kenya, so I tagged along to see what all the fuss was about. Watching the Rugby Sevens games was actually really fun. I learned a lot about rugby (probably more than I ever cared to know) and had fun watching the Kenyan crowds sing and yell at the refs! On our way out of town on the last day we drove to the Hoover Dam. I had been to Vegas numerous times but had never made it over there, so he was pretty excited he got to take me somewhere I hadn’t been yet.
Too bad I didn’t have a “behind the scenes” of this foot picture - it was pretty funny. I was sitting on top of a trashcan, dangling my feet over the edge of the Hoover Dam while David held onto me for dear life! Got the pic though! You can check out some more pics from our Vegas Rugby weekend here - Vegas Photos I was babysitting for my niece and nephew and I figured I would try to get a feet picture with all three of us. At 3 and 4 years old they pretty much thought their aunt was crazy. But after bribing them, probably with a piece of chocolate, they stood still and let me take a picture. I like the way it turned out!
My mom and her best friend Cathy decided to take a much-needed girls-trip to Arizona for the weekend. We stayed at the Phoenician Spa & hotel in Scottsdale with the goal of relaxing and pampering ourselves for the weekend. We took advantage of some of the spa services at the hotel, and then enjoyed some walks around the property, which had this neat cactus garden just off our room. On our last day in town my mom and I took a short hike up Camelback Mountain.
Check out some more photos from my trip here - Scottsdale Photos My friend Kylee and I took a girl's trip to Maui this year. We stayed at the Westin Maui Resort and had a really great long weekend.
Our first day we took the shuttle to Lahaina and walked around the town for a bit to window-shop, see the Banyan tree and the old prison (Hale Pa-ahao). We took a drive out to Honalua Bay, rented snorkeling gear for the weekend and then drove back to our resort to enjoy the water. We went down the beach to Black Rock and snorkeled around there. Kylee and I figured out we need to work on our under-water signals. I’m not a big water person to begin with and then as we’re snorkeling she starts pointing to something behind me (which of course I take to mean a shark or something – ha), and when I turn around it’s a gigantic turtle. Pretty cool! After some good time in the water we then sat on the Ka'anapali Beach and watched the sunset. There were a few restaurants within walking distance of our hotel and that night we ate at Hula Grill. The next day we drove to the Haleakala summit. Such amazing views from the top at 10,023 feet elevation! What a contrast it was up there from the hot weather at the beach to the cold air at the summit. That night we got dressed up and went to the Old Lahaina Luau. It's definitely something you need to experience once. We actually had a great time - good food and good entertainment – and our waiter was definitely not bad to look at! The following day we decided to take an R&R day. We hung out at the resort pool, enjoyed some more snorkeling, and just took it easy. At sunset we watched the Sunset Torch Lighting at Black Rock, and then went back to the Hula Grill for dinner. They had this chili-oil dip with their bread that we were just craving again! On the next morning we got up early and set out in our car to drive the Road to Hana. Kylee was in charge of the guidebook, I navigated the fun winding roads, and we stopped at all of the waterfalls and lookout spots we could find. That was a fun day! Some of our stops included the Kaumahina State Wayside lookout, Three Bears Falls, hiking up the Wailua Iki Trail to the Falls at Wailua Iki, Lower fall at Pua'a Ka'a State Park, and then the highlight was hiking up the very muddy trail to the Upper fall at Pua'a Ka'a State Park. We met up with a couple other people also trying to find the upper fall, and finally after some very good instructions in the guidebook we made it there. We decided to get in the water and swim to the falls - and on my goodness...that water was absolutely freezing!!! We swam to the falls, snapped a picture and swam back as fast as we could! So much fun! After that experience we continued on our way and stopped at Hanawi Falls, enjoyed the amazing coastline view from Nahiku Road and finally made it to Black Sand Beach. It was getting late afternoon by that point and I didn't want to be on that winding road at dark, so we turned around at that point. We made it back to our hotel and grabbed dinner at Leilani's. On our last day we drove around the island to meet up with our Molokini Snorkeling Tour. We boarded our boat and enjoyed a great tour of the island - seeing west Maui, the Maui South Coast beach, Haleakala and finally getting a great show from the dolphins. We made our way over to Molokini Crater and snorkeled for a while. We then got back on the boat and they took us to Turtle Bay for some more snorkeling. It took a while but we finally came across some of the huge turtles. One came up for air right in front of me - so cool! What a great end to a great vacation. Check out some more photos from my trip here - Maui Photos I decided to stay in Santa Monica this weekend. No real plans, just wanted to hang out and explore the city instead of flying back to Texas for the weekend.
On Friday night I walked around the Santa Monica Pier. Ate dinner at Marisol's on the end of the Pier while watching the sunset. On Saturday, I went out to the Getty Museum. When I got back to Santa Monica I rented a bike and took the bike path from Santa Monica down to Venice Beach. Walked around some of the interesting shops there, then made my way back. That night I went and had a great dinner at Duke's in Malibu. Sunday was by far the best day. I decided to take a Trapeze class that I saw was offered on the Pier. I have a gymnastics background, so swinging on the bar and flying upside down was right up my alley! (Sadly though I am not in near as good of shape as I was back in my gymnastics days – talk about being sore the next day!) There were about 6 of us in the class and we each took turns climbing up to the platform and attempting various stunts. First we would swing, then hook our legs, then go through the motions of releasing, and finally an actual release and catch with a partner. Now that was a rush! After my adrenaline rush from the trapeze class ended, I finished off my day by going over to Hollywood Blvd and walking up and down the Hollywood Stars and looking at the hand/foot prints in front of the Chinese Theater. Check out some more photos from this trip here - Santa Monica & LA Photos For Christmas I surprised my dad with a business class ticket to Italy. (I fly so much I used my airline points). He was beyond excited, and in April my mom, dad and I took off for our trip! We were doing a tour with Tauck, but we also had an extra day before the tour started and a couple days at the end. Pompeii – Amalfi Coast When we arrived in Rome, we checked into the Hotel Majestic. We walked around the town for a bit just to help with the jet lag, grabbed some dinner and then turned in for the night. The next day we had a day tour booked and they picked us up around 6am. We went to Pompeii and took a guided tour of the site for a couple hours. It is a pretty fascinating place, with so much to see and learn about. One thing I thought was interesting was that in the ground you saw these marble chips. They acted as “night lights” when the moon reflected off of them. After Pompeii we grabbed some lunch and then proceeded on to Positano. The views from the winding coastal roads were just incredible. We stopped in Positano for a bit then went on to Amalfi before finally turning around to head back to Rome. We got home after 10:30pm, so that was definitely a long, but fun first day in Italy. Rome – Vatican City The next morning my mom and I took a Taxi to the Jewish museum in the Jewish Ghetto. We walked around that area for a while, seeing some ruins, the river, and a couple Piazzos. We walked back to our hotel in the afternoon then rested until our welcome dinner started with the tour. On our first day of the tour we headed to the Colosseum. Next we drove over to the Spanish Steps and had lunch at Ristorante Ciampini. After lunch we went on a walking tour, stopping at Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and then the Piazza Navona. Dinner was on our own tonight and my parents and I found a place near the hotel for some pizza and chianti – can’t beat that in Italy. The next day we were off to the Vatican. We walked through the Candelabra, Tapestry and Map rooms. The funniest thing about that feet picture in the Map room was that my dad said the minute I laid down on the floor a security guard starting coming towards me. Thankfully I took my picture quick and was up before he made it there! After that we went into the Sistine Chapel. I could have stared at that ceiling for hours – it was so amazing. As many pictures as you’ve seen, it just doesn’t do it justice. Next we went to the Bascilica of St. Peter and finally out to the main Piazza. That night my parents and I made reservations at Osteria Allegro Pachino for dinner, very close to the Trevi Fountain. We had a great dinner and went to look at the fountain at night afterwards. Orvieto – Assisi – Sienna This morning we packed our bags and got on the bus to head to Orvieto. We toured the Cathedral (Duomo), had lunch in town, and then I walked up the 240 steps of the Clock Tower to enjoy some breathtaking views of the town and countryside! We slowly made our way through the cobblestone streets to the plaza where there was another lookout area that was just as amazing. After Orvieto we went on to Perugia where we checked into the Hotel Brufani. That night we had dinner at La Taverna and then called it a night. The next morning we drove to Assisi and took a tour of the Basilica of St. Francis, and then drove to the town of Torgiano to have lunch at Tre Vaselle winery. We got back to Orvieto in the afternoon, and after our wine lunch I took a nap! It was raining outside, but we ventured out that night to check out some of the chocolate shops (Perugia is known for their hazelnut chocolate), then we found a pizza shop called Merlin’s to eat dinner. Florence – Pisa - Chianti This morning we packed and headed towards Florence. On the way we stopped in Sienna, where we walked around the town, went to St. Catherine’s church, walked through the Piazza del Campo and went in the amazing Cathedral (The Duomo). This cathedral had the most phenomenal black and white striped marble – just beautiful. After lunch we continued on to Florence, arriving in the late afternoon. We went straight to the Gallerie dell’ Academia to see Michelangelo’s David statue, then checked into the Hotel Bernini. We had a really great Art history presentation at the hotel (sounds boring, but it was actually interesting) and then finished the evening with a group dinner in the hotel. On our last day of the Tauck tour we started with a walking tour of Florence, followed by a tour of the Uffizi Gallery. Before lunch we went to a shop for an olive oil and wine tasting that was really fun. Then we grabbed lunch at Finesterrae Mediterranean in the Santa Croce plaza. After lunch I went with a few ladies from the tour to the Cathedral of Santa Maria, where we stood in line for almost an hour to climb the 423 steps to the top of the Cupola. It was definitely worth the wait – as the views from the Cupola were amazing! In the afternoon my mom and I did some shopping and then walked over the Ponte Vecchio bridge (from the 1300s), and we finally ended the day with our farewell dinner at Restaurant Frescobaldi. Our last two nights in Florence, my parents and I stayed at the Westin Excelsior. Today we were taking a tour to Pisa. We met our tour guide at the Hotel Baglione and after lunch departed for Pisa. We toured the Baptistery, Leaning Tower and the Cathedral in the afternoon. The feet picture at the leaning tower was definitely a highlight! I normally have a rule that I am the one taking the picture of my feet, but in this case it was a joint effort! I was sitting on a pole, leaning back while my dad was supporting me and my mom was taking the picture. It took us numerous tries but we finally got the perfect shot! After our tour we made it back to Florence around 7pm. We had dinner at a small family restaurant, Profeta, very close to the hotel, that ended up being our favorite meal of the entire trip. After an amazing dinner they brought us complimentary limoncello, which just capped off a great day! On our last day in Florence my parents and I did different activities. They took a cooking class in town, and I went on a bike tour of Chianti through the company Active Tours. Our first stop was Pappiano Castle from 1199. We toured the wine bottling and labeling area, the wine cellars and the olive oil drying and pressing room. Then we went up the watchtower for some more amazing views of the countryside. After the tour we got on our bikes and started our ride through Chianti. We stopped for lunch at Ristorante Il Ponte, and then continued on our ride. I got back to Florence around 5pm, met back up with my parents and we went out for our final dinner in Italy at Cirghiali Bianco. It wasn’t our favorite, but we also think by this point we might have just been tired of Italian food and ready to go home. We grabbed one last gelato and called our trip complete. What an incredible vacation and memories made with my parents! Check out some more photos from my trip here -
Pompeii, Amalfi Coast Photos Rome, Vatican City Photos Orvieto, Assisi, Sienna Photos Florence, Pisa, Chianti Photos I was looking for a fun winter adventure in December, and really wanted to go snowshoeing again - since I hadn't done it since my REI trip in Utah the year before. My cousin, Mary, lives in Greeley, Colorado so I flew in to go hang out with her and her family for a few days.
On our first day we drove out to Rocky Mountain National Park and went snowshoeing with a few friends. It was snowing pretty hard on us, but we had a great time. The views and scenery were just amazing. My grandparents lived in Cheyenne, WY at the time, so on our next day we drove up there to visit them for a bit, and then that afternoon we drove to Frisco, CO. The roads got pretty bad as the sun was going down, but thankfully Mary is an expert driver and got us there safe and sound! The next day we met up with a guided group to go snowmobiling on the Continental Divide. We started at Freemont Pass and the weather was pretty bad. I was a bit nervous, as this was my first time on a snowmobile. On the way up the weather got so bad it was almost white out conditions. I could just barely make out the flags on each side of the trail and that was all I could see! We finally made it to the top of the mountain and I just loved Mary saying - so normally this is an amazing view! Ha. I only saw white... We hung out at the top for a bit, Mary had fun making snow angels, then we made our way down the hill. Thankfully the way down was much better. We were blocked by the trees so actually being able to see where I was going made the experience much more enjoyable! We stopped at a hut on the way down for some hot chocolate and then finished our ride. Hopefully some day I will try it again in a little better weather. We got back to Frisco that afternoon and Mary and I went snowshoeing on the Mt. Royal Hiking Trail. The frozen trees along the path were just amazing! On our last day we took a couple more hikes along the Blue River in Silverthorne and then along a trail with great views of the Old Dillion Reservoir. Thanks Mary for a great winter adventure! Check out some more photos from this trip here - Colorado Photos My friend David and I decided to do the Bike Around the Bay ride this year. It was a 2-day 150-mile ride that started in Anahuac, TX. On day 1 we biked south to the coast, rode along Crystal Beach road and then took the ferry across to Galveston. Day 2 started in Galveston and then went up along the bay, through Kemah, and finally to Baytown. Day 2 had a lot of bridges, and the highlight was the Fred Hartman Bridge. Killer to get up, but going down at 30 mph was pretty awesome!
I had a lot of time to be bored out on the road, so to pass a few minutes I attempted to take some feet pictures while riding. I managed to get both feet in the picture, so I think I succeeded! Then at the end of the day when the shoes and socks come off, I just had to laugh at the road grime / tan line that remained! Check out some more photos from this trip here - Bike Photos I met my friend Kylee in San Francisco this weekend. We were so excited, because we were finally getting to wine country! I had a free hotel night, so we stayed in the very posh St. Regis hotel! It was really nice, but we definitely felt out of place. That night we had a great dinner at Kokkari - sharing a bottle of Greek white wine and splitting some small plates.
The next day we started by exploring San Francisco. We walked to Powell Street to ride the cable car, which we rode down to Fisherman's Wharf. We walked down to Pier 39, saw the sea lions and a view of Alcatraz. Then grabbed a crab sandwich from one of the sidewalk vendors, took the trolley back to our hotel, packed up and headed on our way to Napa Valley. We stayed at the Westin Versa in Napa and wow was it a great room! Full kitchen, dining and living room, with 2 king suites. We were spoiled for sure! As soon as we checked in we left again for our wine tour and tasting at Beringer. We were actually really impressed with the winery. That night we took it easy - grabbed a quick dinner at Gott's diner, then went in the Oxbow market to grab some snacks. The next day we were taking a bike tour with a couple of our friends - Crissy and Oliver, who were celebrating their engagement. We met at Napa Valley Bike Tours and got our bikes for the day. Our first stop was at Cakebread winery, and then we went on to St. Supery. We all really enjoyed their wines. Next we went in the Napa Olive Oil shop and then rode to Rutherford Hill Winery. And boy was that a steep hill getting to the top - I didn't think I would be working that hard on a wine tasting bike tour! We finally made it up though, and then our lunch picnic baskets were waiting for us. After lunch we sampled some wine at Rutherford Hill, then hopped back on our bikes for one more winery - Miner Family Winery. By this point in the day it was so extremely hot (Napa was having an unusual heat wave) - the temp on the road was around 106! So needless to say I really just wanted water not wine. We finished at the last winery and then made our way back to the bike shop just before 5pm. That night Kylee and I ate at an Italian restaurant - Ristorante Allegria in downtown Napa. We had a nice dinner and then called it an early night. The following day we drove down to St. Helena where we got breakfast and coffee at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co. We then went to Grgich Hills Estate mainly to do the grape stomp! I knew it would be a fun feet picture. After that we drove up to Chateau Montelena for a tasting. It was by far the best wine we had all weekend! I even decided to join their wine club. Next we decided to give ourselves a wine break and go look at California's Old Faithful Geyser. I have to admit...it was pretty cheesy...but we were there and so we couldn't leave until the silly thing actually went off! After the geyser we got back in our car and drove to Sonoma. We stopped at Alexander Valley Vineyards, then Geyser Peak Winery. We did the reserve tasting at Geyser Peak, which was very nice - overlooking their barrel room in the warehouse. Our last stop was Silver Oak Winery before driving down to San Rafael for the night. We flew out the next day from San Francisco, so we grabbed an early dinner and called it a night. Check out some more photos from this trip - San Francisco & Napa Photos |
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