Our First Anniversary

A week ago, Patrick and I celebrated our first year of marriage. We wanted to do something special and were longing to spend some time in nature so we booked a cabin just outside the mountain town of Julian. Julian is a small town approximately 2 1/2 hours southeast of LA. It was originally established as a gold mining town but is now known for their apple orchards and apple pies. The town is only about 3 blocks long, but is full of quirky little shops. There are numerous pie shops, each one with a signature apple pie. So, of course, we had to try as many as our stomachs could handle.

The majority of our time was spent at the cabin, though. Our cabin was so amazing. It was originally built in 1929 in the craftsman style. The fireplace was my favorite part. It was hand laid and the original builders incorporated some Native American artifacts (which, of course, today would not be PC). Both nights we were there we had wonderful fires. In the mornings, when the cabin was cold, we would sit on the window seat to be warmed by the sunshine. Each afternoon, we sat outside with mugs of tea and slices of apple nut bread. It was so relaxing. Our cabin had an amazing view and, all three days we were there, we saw deer and wild turkeys. The last night, Patrick cooked us a wonderful anniversary dinner on the antique Wedgewood stove. All three days spent in Julian were amazing and we can't wait to go again.

View from the cabin. The owners say on clear days you can see the ocean.

The Cabin

The cabin had great character!

Deer eating bird seed.

Patrick basking in the morning sun.

Relaxing by the fire with a glass of wine. It doesn't get any better than this.

Bowling Date

A few weekends ago, Patrick and I decided to go bowling. We hadn't been bowling in years, but we figured it would be a cheap date. We played three games. The first game, true to history, I totally kicked Patrick's butt. Patrick, in high school, had taken a rec class that had a bowling section in which he learned he really sucked at bowling. So, it was no surprise that he lost the first game. It was an easy ego boost for me. However, the next 2 games he gained some skills and whooped me. We still can't figure it out because every time we've ever been bowling I've won. Patrick was so psyched, he almost went up to the counter to see if they could print off the scores so he could post them on the refrigerator. I think it was just a fluke, though. We'll have to go back again soon to see if the fluke lasts.

Ma and Pa Sears Visit

In August, Patrick's parents drove down from Oregon for a visit. We had a relaxing few days with them. We took them to Huntington Botanical Gardens. It was one of our many 100 degree days so we took a lot of rests in the shade as we walked the gardens. If you could get over how hot and sticky it was, the gardens were really wonderful. We also, drove out to Beverly Hills for a self guided driving tour of some old stars homes. We saw houses that once were owned by Lucille Ball, Diane Keaton, Jimmy Stewart, Steve Martin and other classic stars.

The last night they were here, we took them to the Bigfoot Lodge for bingo night. This is a funky bar, where they play old movies on a projector and have free bingo. The bartender is dressed as a boyscout and they serve drinks called "the girlscout" and "toasted marshmallow." For the toasted marshmallow drink, they actually light a marshmallow on fire on top of the drink. Very fun (who doesn't like fire?). We played bingo for a couple hours and Patrick's dad won twice!

Bigfoot Lodge

Cousin Comes for a Visit

In July, my cousin Jonny came for a visit. He stayed with Patrick and I for a few days and we showed him around LA. We took him to Hollywood to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame (the stars on the sidewalk), Grauman's Chinese Theatre (where there are imprints of all the big stars hands and feet), the Kodak Theatre (where they hold the Academy Awards every year) and the Hollywood Sign. We took him to Huntington Beach where we went boogie boarding for the true Southern California experience. And of course we had to take him to Disneyland.

It was Jonny's first time to Disneyland. It was so neat to experience his first time there. We had a lot of fun. We were there by 8:30 AM and didn't leave until 11:00 PM. We were exhausted by the time we left and still had an hour's drive to get home. Needless to say, we slept in the next morning.

Patrick and I in front of the castle at Disneyland

Jonny and I in the Alice in Wonderland teacup at Disneyland

Lake Isabella

In June, for my birthday, Patrick and I went camping at Lake Isabella (about 2 1/2 hours north of LA). It was over 100 degrees for the 3 days we were there. During the day it wasn't so bad cause you could get in the lake, but at night it was miserable in the tent. Patrick actually slept in one of the camp chairs out side the tent, which was brave of him since I heard some one screaming for help from the bathroom cause there was a snake in there.

Besides the nights, we had a blast. We played in the lake, went lake kayaking as well as white water kayaking and drove further into the mountains to Sequoia National Park and saw the giant Sequoia trees. We also hiked into some natural waterslides and spent a large portion of one of our afternoons there. Patrick was having way too much fun to pull him away. It was great to get out of the city.

Sequoia National Forest

Patrick catching air off the waterslide. The water in the pool he is about to land in is breath-takingly freezing.

Let it Rain

It's raining for the first time in 4 months! For the Oregonians, it is more an intermittent shower. I actually haven't seen it rain for more than 2 minutes at a time yet. I'm holding out hope it will be like this all day, though.

Rain is such a rare occurrence here, Patrick actually called me from work to tell me that it was raining. He didn't want me to miss it, in case I hadn't looked out the window. So, I'm going to take full advantage of this gloomy day (it won't be gloomy for long, it might only be 20 minutes). I've got my mug of coffee and some books to read, but first I'll share a little of what we have been up to this summer. Let it rain, let it rain!

Welcome

Patrick and I are jumping on the bandwagon of blogging. Never thought we would, but we have so enjoyed reading our friends' blogs that we thought it would be fun to start our own. We have lived so many places in the last 8 years that we have wonderful friends all over the US (In this time, we have never lived in the same apartment for more than a year). Our hope is to share our lives through this blog with those friends and family we don't get to see as often as we would like. So, welcome, and we hope you will check in from time to time to see what we are up to.