Bolinas

We decided to rent a restored barn in Bolinas through VRBO for (near) Xmas (yes, this is a very delayed post). We had plans to head to Death Valley or Joshua Tree, but we procrastinated. It was an awesome space, especially once the fire actually warmed it up! Bolinas, itself, is a little weird. The first full day we were there, we were driving down the road and saw someone dressed as a scarecrow, just sitting on the side of the road. Neither Tim nor myself actually said anything for a good 30 seconds. Then, we were both like, "What the hell was that?"

Here are some photos taken of the barn:

And some of around town(ish):

Amador County Wine Country

It's been a while. I got a new computer and am still figuring out how to use it. My photos are all on my external drive except for a few, including the ones below of our trip before Xmas to Amador County. Unlike Napa Valley, all the wine tasting is freeeee!!!! We headed up there to get a birthday present for Tim's mom at a place that makes grappa! Before we headed out, I snapped the above photo of my street with all the pretty fall leaves. The winery had this random dog head that came from some diner in SF. We stopped at a cute little town on the way home and ate a delicious lunch.

Guerneville, CA

Tim and I decided to do a quick overnight trip to Guerneville. It's in Sonoma County. We started by heading to the ocean and found an awesome beach with only a couple people. Turkey got in some swimmin' time. We stayed at a place called Dawn Ranch, a cute place that had freshly painted and updated cabins. It also has great food. In the morning, we ate at a popular local diner. By then, it was late enough to justify some tasting at Korbel. We hit up a farm stand for some "fresh off the tree" apples and couple of antique shops. I spotted a super cool desk right when I walked in and - given the reasonable price - bought it up! I think we are going to use as a dinning room table. It's the perfect time of year to see all the leaves changing not only one trees, but also in the vineyards. We live in an amazing state!

NCCC Reunion

I had a great visit with old friends a couple weeks ago. I flew into Atlanta to hang out with my bestest friend from my Corps Member AmeriCorps days. Heather and I were only together 10 months in that program, but our friendship will last a lifetime. Last time I saw her, she was prego with her first, who is now almost 7! Besides catching up a lot and getting to know the kiddos, we went to the Dekalb Farmers Market, which is really an international market. It was awesome! We drove up to Chattanooga to visit another NCCC buddy. Rudy works for a foundation, but in her free time she is a blacksmith! Here are some photos from the trip.

Rudy doing her thing.

Heather and Rude making an attempt at using cardboard to slide down the Cardboard Hill (not it's official name, I just made that up).

Our visit to "The Junk Man." He's got A LOT of shit and I would be in troub-le if I lived there.

We took a very scary tram to the top of the mountain and road bikes down.

And ate delicious breakfast.

Rudy's place is crafty. She makes cool stuff, such at these towel rack/hands!

We visited one of the many studios in the area. This one was a glassblowing studio.

Another handmade item from Rude. Genius: using leather belts to make woven seats.

Painter cans turned plant holders.

A hand-crafted fence with pockets for herbs.

Some of the many dead fish we saw at the market. I didn't realize I couldn't take pictures until after our visit to the fish section!

I realized I didn't take any photos of me and Heather together and this makes me sad. I also regret not getting at least one photo of her beautiful family and adorable children. However, the trip reminded me of the important people in my life that bring me happiness.

(The Exotic) Yolo Causeway

Turkey and I went for a walk this morning on the causeway. This is the wetlands(ish) area between Davis and Sacramento. During migration season, there are tons of birds on the side we can't walk with Turkey off-leash. There are also rice fields nearby (which always makes me wonder how much poop ends up in our rice). Although the freeway/bridge runs through the area, it's still purty. Every time I drive over the causeway, I'm blown away by how beautiful something right off the freeway can be. And, having the freeway as part of "nature" brings me back to all the "nature" in the Chicago area.





I played around a bit with my exposures today. That top photo, which is super exposed, kinda looks like a watercolor or lithograph to me. I donno, I like it! The bottom one of Turkey had the shutter speed a bit to slow; I was trying to catch him in action. I thought it was still kinda funny and cool.

Portland: Even Better Than the Last Time

Tim and I drove up to Portland to meet up with some friends from Chicago that were in town. It was a great trip. We love it there. If there were actually jobs up there, we would probably move there. I think we may go back in winter to see how bad the weather sucks. One of the most memorable places we ate? The Waffle Window. I'm pretty sure it's one of the best ideas ever. We also went back to Andina with a big group, which was delicious (and much fancier than the Window, imagine that). We took one day to drive up and two to drive back. On the way home, we stayed at the oldest hotel in the Pac. Northwest! I was certain it would be haunted, but as far as I could tell, it wasn't. I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad about that.