All Wedding and No Play.....

During the year before the wedding, we enjoyed a few breaks from wedding planning by exploring our surroundings in California and beyond. We also made time to go to school for Mark - Physics and Chemistry ruled many of our weekends...

In November 2003, we took a quick trip to Las Vegas to visit with Mark's family and, thanks to Mark's great luck, we came home a little richer. Of course, if I had known that he was playing a slot machine that cost $10 every time he pulled the lever, this probably wouldn't have been the case, but I'm considering just not paying attention at what Mark's playing the next time we visit!

One of our favorite adventures was to Napa Valley. A stop by the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory in Fairfield, California, on the way was a memorable detour! Once we finished appeasing our sweet tooth, we followed Highway 29 up through the entire Napa Valley region - from Napa to Calistoga. Along the way, we found our favorite winery - V. Sattui. This winery is a family owned winery that was established in 1885. It has many award winning wines. Our favorite is the Gamay Rouge. The Off-Dry Riesling is also fabulous. We enjoyed a relaxing picnic lunch complete with wine and goodies from their store before heading on our way.

We also enjoyed traipsing around San Francisco. We participated in the Bridge to Bridge race, the Bay to Breakers race (a race with WAY too many naked old men!), and we took it upon ourselves to walk across the Golden Gate bridge - what a cool time! The views of the city are spectacular. The only nerve wracking thing is that there isn't much space between you and the cars!

We also took a hike up a "hill of death" to visit Coit Tower where we were able to view the city from on high. Here's a picture of the Bay Bridge we took while at the base of the tower which resembles a fire hose nozzle!

We spent our first 4th of July here in California in San Francisco at Pier 39 where "and the rockets red glare..." took on new meaning due to the fog. We probably won't be going to San Francisco for a fireworks show again, but it was definitely a unique experience!

In addition to San Francisco and Napa, we visited Santa Rosa to see the Charles Schulz museum. I am an avid Snoopy and Peanuts collector so I was very excited about this adventure. It was even more exciting when I won a prize by stumping the resident "Peanuts Expert." I asked him to name the three books which used peanuts comic strips to illustrate the Bible's teachings. The books - written by Robert Short are "The Gospel According to Peanuts," "Short Meditations on Peanuts," and "Parables of Peanuts." Check them out for a an uplifting read! The museum was a very cool place - even the sidewalk was in the shape of Charlie Brown Shirt Stripe!

One of our best adventures took place about a month prior to the wedding. We took advantage of a three-day weekend and traveled to Monterey. While there, we enjoyed the Monterey Bay Aquarium (see the funny lookin' penguin Mark snapped a picture of!) and took a scenic drive around the Pebble Beach golf course. One of the highlights of the visit was staying at the Centrella Bed and Breakfast Inn in Pacific Grove - the Monarch Butterfly Capital of the World! It was beautiful and terribly romantic - and a very welcome experience after we spent our first night in a motel with a horrible bed next to a very noisy gas station!

We should also mention one of our most exciting adventures - chasing a little black kitten whom I had met at the BART station all over a Safeway parking lot. That adventure had a very happy ending because Banshee joined our family. Since I lost Robin (my Nanday conure) a couple of weeks before this, Banshee, a very loving, though frequently naughty kitty, came at the perfect time to sooth my sad heart.

Other highlights included a trip to an Oakland A's game with our friends Kevin and Josephine, visiting the Oakland Zoo, and having fun in the sun at Paramount's Great America with some friends from Mark's school. We also had a Thanksgiving week visit from Uncle Max and a visit to Jack London Square in Oakland which included a fun dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (thanks for the tip Uncle Max!)

And how could we forget our trip home to Colorado for Christmas (especially since my brother Chris was able to be home, too) and our first home purchase together in January 2004. We upgraded from our apartment at Pinnacle City Centre to a new (for us!) town home in one of the most sought after neighborhoods in Hayward - Diamond Crossing. We didn't relish the act of moving, but we have enjoyed transforming it from a house into a home!