Holidays in Review

Happy New Year!
Time for a review of the holiday season which will most likely will come in parts.

Turkey Travels:
Our Thanksgiving road trip to California was perfect. We loved going to bed when we were tired and waking up when we weren't, reading a lot, hot spring visits, the ocean, the wine, and a friendly visit from our friend Joe. Our first days brought us to San Louis Obispo and Pismo State Beach. We explored the cute little town and ventured on our 'biking' tour of wineries. We rented bikes from a friendly gentleman in a side alley and set out up the hill out into the country - wine country. Five miles later with inches of a bike lane and cars whizzing past at about 65 mph, we decide to turn around and come back with our car. Smart move on our part but it was fun believing we could tour the wineries on our bikes.

We ditched the road to ride on the beach and then ditched the bikes to read and drink wine on the beach

We moved onto Refugio State Beach north of Santa Barbara. We hiked up to our first hot springs and met with the tell tale smell of sulfur. It was everything we expected, foreigners and naked bodies.

Our last few nights brought us into the mountains, creek side near Ojai for Thanksgiving and meeting Joe. We had a great campsite and cooked an AMAZING thanksgiving dinner on the fire. Gabe and Joe prepared our cornish game hens over the fire and we had the appropriate sides from boxes. It was so so delicious. We walked off our food indulgence and made friends with our neighbors whom passed on directions from a hippie to another hot spring. We were all game and successfully found them based on these directions:

Drive about 3 miles down the road, you'll see 3 blue trash containers, turn right? (2people think left. Drive until you see a flashing light - park there and head left. You'll see them below.

By the time we go, maybe 6ish, it is pitch black but lucky for us we find them and they are glorious. Right next to a quickly flowing river, the hot springs were much clearer (i could see my leg under the water and moonlight), larger therefore less smelly, and so so warm. We were pleased we ventured out only to return to our campsite to eat an entire pumpkin pie with coffee. So on vacation...

The next day we ventured back to Tempe on a fun road trip listening to audio TAPES :) It was restful, rejuvenating, blissful and everything we had dreamed of.

View from the Outside

We are so excited to share this blog with you! Our first guest bloggers, our dear friends Joe and Courtney, are here sharing our wonderful adventures we had together on their visit here in early November. Enjoy the story filled with fun, excitement and big words in many languages.

Words (about the) Warm, Witty, Wise, Wonderful, Worry-less, Welcoming Wheelers

Describing our experience with the Wheelers carries all the gimmickery and pizzazz of a tourist commercial; describing scenic vistas looking over desert landscapes, informational mini-lectures on the flora and fauna of the Great Southwest, cultural immersion into the “real” Phoenix that exists outside the golf courses and retirement complexes. But what gets missed is that which fuels this whole endeavor: the hospitality, energy, and Midwestern charm of Gabe and Shannon Wheelier (French, pronounced “Wheely-a”)

Interested? You better be.

1. Upon arriving to their cozy, homemade handi-work filled apartment after a 7 hour trek from Los Angeles, Courtney and I were treated to a smorgasboard of gourmet beers personally selected by Gabe & Shannon.

2. Gabe was kind enough to invite me to play with his rec league soccer team, making for a mini-reunion of the infamous Blue Jay soccer team of 2000. You think soccer is boring to watch? Nope! Not when Courtney is accompanied by a fascinating and insightful conversationalist like Shannon. BFF’s

3. Late night stomach rumbling? Not a problem with Gabe in the kitchen, whipping together a gourmet pizza much to our enjoyment.

4. Perhaps we felt like we are at home a little too much in the Wheeler residence? Courtney and I slept like hibernating grizzly bears in the comfortable bed in the guest room.

5. Shannon led us on a private behind-the-scenes tour of the garden where she works, wow-ing us with her acute knowledge of all things desert-related, and further convincing us that she’s going to be nominated for Arizona Teacher of the Year, 2009-10.

6. Gabe & Shannon then treated us to an evening of Western-style entertainment. We dined at Cave Creek Coffee Company, sidled on over to guzzle a few Pabst Blue Ribbons while watching the cowboys lose to the bulls at the rodeo, and continued the evening at Greasewood Flats, an off-the-beaten path saloon where we made fast friends with a wayward New Zealander.

7. The following morning, Gabe & Shannon took us on a hike, where we were further exposed to desert plantlife in its native habitat. You haven’t hiked until you’ve hiked with the Wheelers: virtually every “What’s that?” question does not go unanswered, and it makes you feel all the more “present” in your surroundings as you hike along

8. Beer Fest? Yes please. We met up with Jesse Frey, another high school classmate, his partner Kristen, and a couple of their friends, and enjoyed an afternoon posing as beer aficionados. We hate to admit that all the beers began to blend together about halfway through…

9. To finish our well-rounded weekend, we tested our intelligence as 9 of us went to compete in bar trivia. We handily took 4th place despite having about twice as many people as the other trivia teams, but at least the nachos were amazing, AND we learned some new country codes.

10. Our amazing weekend was capped off with a delicious breakfast of sourdough pancakes and fruit prepared by Chez Wheeliers. Our morning conversation was a flurry of inside jokes, fond memories, and gratitude for the time spent together.

So, there it is, folks. Go to Tempe and spend time with the Wheelers: you’ll be sure to live life to its fullest and come out glowing after all that hospitality and love is showered upon you during your stay.

(This message paid for by the Bureau of Cambodifornia Tourism)

dream

We all have moments in life where it feels like we are dreaming. There are also those moments in life that we wish we were dreaming or we are so thankful that we actually were dreaming. Last weekend I gleefully was living the life that it feels like you are dreaming.

On thursday night when I walked through our door, getting home from yoga, I was greeted by this face.
Ms. Lindsay Mangan, my dear elusive friend whom I rarely see because of her unique field biology jobs. My wonderful husband cooked up this dream for me. I was surprised and in for the weekend of a lifetime.

Gabe's dear friend flew in as well and the four of us were on our way to funness for three full days. We traveled southeast to Mount Graham where we stayed at Shannon Campground :) at about 9000 ft elevation. It was beautiful and full of great adventures and storms. We even saw a bobcat and got hailed upon, two highlights that I don't come by too often.

This man that I love is better than what I could come up with in my dreams.

good conversation, good company, just goodness

It has been awhile since a little update has happened. We've had company!! It's so fun to have company. Joe and Andrew were both down here last weekend and what loads of fun it was. It is always great to have good, old time friends back into our lives beyond the phone even if their main purpose of their visit was to make the blog. Joe lives in California going to grad school and Andrew lives in Illinois, also going to grad school. It was just good karma that their trips down here coincided with one another.

I learned a lot from these two while they were down here, it must be their advanced thinking being in grad school and all. let me share my list:

• in joe's profession (clinical psychology) he connects either emotions to words or words to emotions.
• real men wear blue
• joe makes amazing granola
• gabe and i have a lot of condiments in our refrigerator door
• there's A LOT to know about bowling
• you need different bowling balls for how you want the throw to break which depends upon how the place has oiled their lanes
• you have two different shoes on your feet, one for sliding and one for not sliding. If you leave the bowling area (to get beverages or to the bathroom) there is a booty you wear over your slider shoe
• you can order balls that smell like apple pie, orange chocolate, black cherry, grape...
• tequila is made from agave's which bats pollinate so therefore without bats there would be no tequila but its definitely all about the bats
• joe really likes wal-mart
• there are extra-terrestrial sphericals in the air. andrew can collect them on his mailbox
• joe learns a lot from his travels
• andrew and joe are pretty skilled at playing yard games, gabe and i are skilled at making them
  

That's just a little of all that i learned this past weekend. thanks andrew and joe for such good times. Aaaallloohhm.

Bestest Friend in the whole darn world

I got a sweet surprise in the mail today. It was perfect after me dreaming about fall in the northern states. Andrea and Jeremy (the cutest newlyweds) went on a fall hike last weekend and she collected these beautiful fall leaves and sent them to me in the mail! I got them today with a sweet note from her. They even have the scent of fall! I think i'm going to press them a little longer and then frame them in one of those glass frames where pictures look like they float. That way I'll have a little Duluth fall all year round. It's one of the hardest things, being away from those you love dearly. Thank you andrea, you are the dearest friend! Love and miss you muchos...