Getting back to the daily grind is incredibly difficult after vacation. Ergo why there have been no recent post. The ten year anniversary trip was so incredible though that it begs to be shared.
Let me apologize up front for this post of a lot of selfies. I’m no photographer. Daniel does better work than I do. For Christmas, Daniel bought me a camera via my request to hone this skill. I need to be great at capturing life’s moments before they sneak past with very few pictures of my children in them. This picture is a teaser Daniel sent me since he was in California a few days prior to my arrival.
The trip spanned the west coast. We started in Laguna and finished in Seattle. Even with the miles covered, it was an incredibly relaxing trip. Our agendas were wide open besides the towns we planned to lay our heads.
The start of the trip, Daniel had to work so I spent some time working as well. May not seem like that much fun, but I much prefer to keep up with my work list during vacation (if/when time permits) then be slammed with it upon return. Plus, with the time change I was up in the middle of the night ready to go. I get up early eastern time to run anyways so I was awake entirely too early the first few nights pacific time.
The first morning we went for a run on the Newport Bay Mountains to the Sea Trail and Bikeway. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather.
Since Daniel’s favorite part of traveling is eating, I have to make sure I get some exercise. This picture was the view from the Rooftop bar.
Luckily, we also spent a lot of time just walking around enjoying the local festivities and exploring before and after all the delicious meals.
Just the scenery on the drive was amazing. The hills…
The coast…
The wildlife…
We stopped by to visit the elephant seals.
Let wild elk pass on the street.
Rainbows are always magical and we saw plenty.
One of my favorite towns we encountered was Cambria, CA. I have not researched, but I am guessing there is some town ordinance to keep the town in its time capsulesque appearance of the old wild west. There were plenty of great meals in a small stretch of town. 
Bonus, Cambria is on the way to Hearst Castle . William Hearst seemed like a force to be reckoned with. His vision on this castle he constantly changed left the castle incomplete, but no less amazing. His work ethic and usage of funds was both ridiculous and inspiring.
We geeked out whenever possible. Here is some Harry Potter inspiration:
I would definitely be interested to get into all of the swimming pools both indoor and outdoor. The outdoor pool was under construction to re-tile the bottom. However, it looks like a place you’d see the Greek gods sunbathing.
Viewing the coast from the castle is stunning. It’s pretty easy to understand why the castle was carefully positioned on top of the hill.
A delightful surprise on the trip, all the Starbucks had stevia packs! Stevia is my go to sweetener of choice. This made coffee ever more so enjoyable when out. Most of the restaurants carried stevia as well. In Kentucky, there’s only ever Equal, Sweet-n-low or Splenda which I don’t prefer any of.
Paso Robles had many wineries to choose from for tasting. Peachy Canyon was fantastic. Sadly, only bought one bottle of wine since they didn’t ship to Kentucky. I did appreciate that everyone we met was as interested in our Kentucky bourbon as we were the California wine.
We stayed at the Allegretto resort and vineyard. Daniel really wanted to play table tennis which I simply refused. I should have been a better wife, but I care nothing for the game! It didn’t take him long to give up on me.
The wine tasting events were more my speed. I’d show up for those with bells on!
San Francisco was cool. As much on the temperature side as anything else. I felt like I was in Chicago with the chilly winter weather. There were clothing stores galore along the streets for us silly tourist who thought it would be warm. Fortunately Daniel had given me a heads up, but I still was freezing in my winter gear. If the sun wasn’t out, there was no hope to be warm.
We went through the wharf just lollygagging and scoping out the city. Always on a mission for delectable grub and beverage.
My Keto readers, don’t shame me too much for this treat. How could I possibly pass up Ghirardelli’s?
I mentioned Daniel’s favorite thing to do was eat on vacation? I love this snap I captured as he paid one of our higher dinner bills.
Daniel was adamant to view Alcatraz so we did. It wasn’t my favorite tour. The island was interesting, but the tour was self-guided and/or audio. I found the audio too slow. The view of San Francisco was awesome though.
My need for exploration was more on nature’s side. I loved the view from the forts of San Francisco.
I was able to check off a bucket list item for running the Golden Gate Bridge!
I enjoyed the hilly streets.
Geeking out again with the Painted Ladies from Full House.
The best part of the trip was the bed and breakfast in Callistoga. Just being in Sonoma & Napa Valley wine area was relaxing.
Cakebread Cellars is one of my favorite wines so no holding back there!
Callistoga was a great town and we already want to go back! The bed and breakfast was right in town so you could walk to any restaurant or wine tasting room. There was also a shuttle to drive you around for free.
The Castella Di Amorosa was a great tour and tasting. Maybe I just really like castles?
Northern California and Oregan were beautiful to drive through, but they reminded me a lot of my eastern Kentucky roots. Having the hills plus the coast is quite magical. The redwoods were massively beautiful.
I learned a few things about Oregan that I liked. First, there is no sales tax. If my suit case wasn’t already exploding from an extended trip I probably would have went a little crazy school shopping for the kiddos. As it was, I was already gonna have trouble getting some of the purchased wine home! There were shippers I could have taken stuff too, but that was more work than I was interested in on vacation.
Second, all of the Chevron gas stations were still full service. Yes, please fill up my tank! I would be happy to never refill gas. To never be cold and hold a gas nozzle.
The last bit of geekdom we did was in Portland. We liked the show The Grimm. We went to Fuller’s Coffee House as seen in the show. It was great.
We also took a selfie in front of Nick and Juliette’s original house.
Viewed Portland from Mt. Tabor park.
I really enjoyed Portland and its hipster town vibe. If only the sky could be more vibrant instead of always grey.
Mt. Saint Helen’s was a beautiful along with its reservoirs.
Our journey ended in Seattle where we failed to take any pictures except for into the city.
Now, what do I start planning for 20 year anniversary?