Desert Blooms

April 12, 2017April 12, 2017Leave a comment

Friends, I had the opportunity to head down to Borrego Springs a few weeks ago to check out the “Wildflower Superbloom.” Words simply cannot describe this glorious scenery, and the smells… oh the smells. Standing in the valley floaor at sunset, completely surrounded by a seemingly infinite supply of wildflowers, is a feeling I will never forget. We went to this valley the first evening and it was insane! Driving by it’s a beautifully vast landscape, but getting out of the car and among the flowers was a different world.

The smell of these flowers was like honey and heaven

The next day we headed to Anza-Borrego State Park – with the swarms of other folks. I happened to be staying with some locals and we went the opposite way of the crowds and had these hills to ourselves (thank God!)

Choose your path wisely 🙂

The purples mixed with yellows was just so lovely!

Flowers or butterflies?

And of course the cacti…

Mr. Bee getting busy. If you can, zoom in!

How many types of flowers do you see…

Look at the multi-color stems! Looks like they belong underwater

This fence!

What an incredible experience! We were told the blooms hadn’t been this glorious in 38 years. Blessed to have seen it.

God is good friends. God is good.

A Fall Day in Wine Country

November 5, 2016Leave a comment

Being a Californian, I’ve always heard “you haven’t seen a real fall”, and while I know it’s true, I do savor the glimpses I do get. I am very blessed to live a hop, skip and a jump away from wine country, so I try to make it up as much as possible, especially when I know the leaves will be radiant with color.

For my latest trip I got spoiled. Normally I do a decent amount of research into where I want to go to breakfast, wineries with the prettiest grounds, yada yada. But for this trip my friend had everything planned out! What a treat 🙂

Here’s what we did:

Stop 1, Breakfast at the Sunflower Café in Sonoma Square

This place is just heavenly! You order your food at the counter and find a seat. It started pouring rain when we arrived, but we snatched an amazing covered table on the back patio where we were toasted by the heaters and serenaded by the sound of rain. I’ve never dined outside while it was raining, and this experience alone was therapeutic. All their food is sustainably sourced from local businesses – and is quite delicious! We arrived around 10:30 on Saturday morning and had no trouble finding a spot. After your meal, make sure to swing by the shop next door – Global Heart – where you can find fair trade goodies for all ages! If you have extra time, stroll around the square, there are tons of cute spots to see.

Stop 2, Domaine Carneros, Napa

Driving up to this winery makes you feel like you’re approaching an English Country Château- it’s enchantingly elegant. Stroll up the beautiful staircase and take in the colorful vineyards and roses on either side. If it’s a nice day out, the patio will be loaded with champagne connoisseurs enjoying the view. If it’s a rainy day, like ours was, get a reservation so they save you a seat in their lovely dining room. You will spend a bit more on tastings here (starting at $30), but it’s worth every penny (*they offer a military discount for my fellow service members). We sat here for literally hours, sipping our champagne and taking it all in.

Stop 3, Oxbow Public Market, Napa

This place is ah-mazing. The market is loaded with unique restaurants, goodies, gifts, you name it! If we hadn’t still been stuffed on breakfast, we would have indulged in one of the tempting restaurants. Since we were stuffed, we sauntered around the little “shops”, tasting olive oils and chocolate sauces, getting googly-eyed over cupcakes and assortments of cheeses and meats, smelled the extensive collection of every spice you could think of, and sniffed more flavors of bitters one knew existed. We grabbed a couple of rainy day weather brews from Fieldwork Brewery and sat out on the patio and took it all in. We ended our day walking along the river, watching the locals fish.

While only hitting 3 spots doesn’t sound like much, we took our time at each spot, and before we knew it, it was evening. This truly was a beautiful, delicious, and leisurely day. Now, go, explore, indulge, have fun! Surround yourself with good company, have good conversations, and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you.

God id good friends. God is good.

God’s Country: Yosemite Valley

May 17, 2015May 17, 2015Leave a comment

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
My childhood summer vacations were spent exploring around Yosemite Valley, wondering through the Ahwahnee dreaming of what it would be like to stay there, basking in the sun and playing in the freezing cold river, laying in the meadow gazing up El Capitan & Half Dome, and taking deep, deep breaths of rejuvenating mountain air. As a kid we stayed in the cabins, which were flooded and ruined in 1997, so we moved to Yosemite Lodge. My brother and I would be packed up in my dad’s old, yellow Mercedes, and meet all his buddies and their kids. It was the greatest experience a kid could ask for. Yosemite is home for me.

If you’ve never been to Yosemite Valley, it’s hard to describe the feeling you get looking up at the massive granite walls surrounding you. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring; it’s unreal. I try to go at least once a year, either for a day trip or a weekend of camping. To get a weekend campsite is a bit of a challenge – as it fills up right when reservations open. I was fortunate enough to grab the last spot in North Pines Campground for this weekend.

The weather was overcast when we rolled in on Friday afternoon, so we unpacked and rode around (you must bring bikes!) the valley. It was my beau’s first time, so it was fun for me to take him around. We went to shops in the Yosemite Village, Ansel Adam’s store, walked around the Indian site and explored the museum, and wrapped up with some hot coco from the cafeteria at Yosemite Lodge. We came back to our site, lit a fire, made some dinner (steak fajitas!) and tucked in with a good book (the BFG – Roald Dahl) right as the rain rolled in.

If I ever get married (again) it’s happening here!

Even though we’re in a drought, the falls were mighty!

On Saturday – we woke up to a b-e-a-utiful day! We woke up leisurley, enjoyed some breakfast and hoped on our bikes to lower Yosemite falls. We walked up the trail and enjoyed the views – and debated doing the much longer hike to the upper falls, and decided a drink at the Ahwahnee sounded a little better! Ha! We got a seat on the patio, ordered coffee, tea and cheesecake (of course) and enjoyed our afternoon. We then went back to the site for a little nap, and got back on our bikes to stroll around Mirror Pond and Curry Village. We wrapped up the evening with chili and cornbread by the fire.

Best spot in the house!

Sunday morning we woke, enjoyed some delicious blueberry pancakes and packed up camp. As we were heading out, we realized we had a dead battery! Luckily, we had a very nice neighbor who jump started us, and we were on our way.

I truly can’t express how amazing Yosemite is. There’s places to stay (and eat) for any budget, tons of hikes, amazing scenery and neat things to do. It’s a must visit for anyone!

Oh ya, we saw this guy too:

God is good friends. God is good.

The sunset that took my breath away

May 13, 2015May 13, 20151 Comment

Have you EVER seen anything so glorious? No, no you haven’t. I promise you my friends, there are no filters on this image. I took this photo in my back yard when I lived in Colorado. I remember walking outside, feeling like I just stepped into Heaven. This is one of those “Awe” moments. The world stops, it takes your breath away, makes you feel so incredibly small yet so blessed for experiencing it. Friends, I have witnessed some amazing sky-scapes, but this one, this one… there’s no words. God is good friends. God is good.