It's been such a great first week of our Babymoon and we still have a full week left! Here's a look at our trip so far...
Day 1: Ellensburg, WA
We started off our trip in Ellensburg to celebrate Alfonso and Nina's birthdays with friends, beer hot chocolate and a pig roast. The wind was icy cold and whipping through Ellensburg so we were all bundled up but that didn't stop the music and fun!
Kyle testing out the impromptu driving range.
Jake turning the pig.
The "Rotisserie" Crew
Maria and her pup.
Pilot.
Adrian playing the drums.
My best friend Marion (on the right) and her sister, Crystal.
Marion's Dad carving the pig with a machete.
Bundled up.
Kyle about to dig in.
Day 2: Astoria, OR
Early in the morning we packed up out of Ellensburg and headed toward the coast. It was a long day of driving but we were ready to relax. We put Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix into the CD player and I knitted away at a hat (which I finished before we got to Astoria). We arrived at our destination around 4 o'cock and set up camp at Fort Steven's State Park. We made turkey burritos for dinner with yummy, organic ingredients we had packed up before we left. We built a campfire and settled in with hot chocolate for several rounds of Yahtzee!
Setting up camp.
Eating dinner while wearing my newly knitted hat.
Our neighboors flamingo.
Day 3: Driving from Astoria, OR to Newport, OR
It rained on and off throughout the night and in the morning we woke up early with the sun and made delicious pancakes and french press coffee. It was pretty grey out but it wasn't raining! We packed up our stuff and began to make our way a few hours South down to Newport. Our first stop was in Cannon Beach, OR where we had to stop at the Sleepy Monk which is a fantastic coffee roaster and shop...I worked at their sister shop in Redmond, WA for a while called Victor's Celtic Coffee Company (which in my opinion is one of the best coffee roasters in the Northwest). If you find yourself in either of these locations stop in for a fantastic cup of coffee, latte, cappuccino or one of their delicious special drinks. The first part of our drive was pretty drizzly and we couldn't see the ocean, but eventually it burned off and it was gorgeous! We stopped in Depot Bay, OR so I could show Kyle the restaruant that was used as a location for The Burning Plain which I worked on a couple of years ago. We got to Newport pretty early in the day and set up camp at our great site at the South Beach Campground before heading into the bay for dinner at Local Ocean Seafoods for dinner which was recommended by a few people. The food was simple and delicious! After dinner we had time for a brief walk to the beach before we built up another campfire and, a short time later, headed to bed.
Yummy buttermilk pancakes (from Trader Joe's mix) for breakfast.
The Sleepy Monk.
The Druid's Delight... espresso, milk, vanilla, caramel and chocolate whip cream! Perfect for a cold, wet drive!
The sun came out!!!
The view from The Burning Plain location.
Gorgeous sunset from the location while shooting.
Newport:
Funny seals.
Local Oceans.
Grilled fish and chips with fennel slaw.
Coconut prawns.
Curry mussels.
Day 3: Driving and camping in the Redwoods, CA.
We woke up in Newport and hit the road right away because we had a long drive ahead of us through the Redwoods. It was grey and wet again and stayed that way through most of the Northern Redwoods. The trees are so dense and beautiful! It's impossible to describe their size! We got to where we were going to camp but it was still very cold and rainy so we opted to keep driving South and inland along our route in the hopes that the weather would warm up a little bit. Luckily, it did and we set up camp in the Southern part of the Redwoods, made a quick dinner with our burrito leftovers and had hot chocolate and a few more rounds of Yahtzee!
Some very damp plants along the coast.
Day 4: Driving from the Redwoods, CA to Santa Rosa, CA.
Since we'd driven a little extra the previous day we had a fairly short drive into Santa Rosa. We stayed with Kyle's Uncle Craig and after quickly settling in and taking two much needed showers we went out to dinner with Craig and his two wonderful daughters Kellie and Katie at one of Kyle's favorite breweries, Russian River.
Katie, Kellie, Craig and Kyle at Russian River.
Day 5: Driving through Napa, CA and into San Francisco, CA.
We had headed to bed early and, after plenty of sleep, we got up and packed up, ready to head through Napa and into San Francisco. We got coffee with an old friend and met her new baby girl before hitting the road. The drive through Napa was gorgeous although it was a bit torturous as I couldn't have the wine! A friend had recommended the Rutherford Grill for lunch so we stopped for a great chicken salad (for me) and prime rib a jus sandwich (for Kyle). Then we headed to the Coppola Vineyard right across the steet (which the same friend had recommended) to check it out. The winery was absolutely gorgeous! It felt like being at a French villa. The wine tasting was about $50 so we opted not to partake, but the stop was worth it just to check out the vineyard and museum-like winery. We arrived in San Francisco and got settled in at Kyle's Aunt Lynsie's house in Foster City (a suburb just South of the city) and then headed over to Kyle's cousins Derek and Brandon and Brandon's wife Anifisa's house for dinner. Anifsa is pregnant and due just a week after me, so we had lots to talk about! Dinner was great although we spent most of the night glued to the window (watching the fire) and the television (watching the news) because the San Bruno explosion/fire was just minutes away from their house.
Waiting for our table at the Rutherford Grill.
The Coppola winery.
Arriving in San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Still to come... Our weekend in San Francisco (I'm too sleepy to post all about it now... speaking of which, I apologize if there are any misspellings in my post!), our drive through Yosemite (after careful consideration, we've opted not to stay in Yosemite due to the fact that it sounds like it may be too physically demanding since I'm quickly heading towards the six month pregnancy mark), a stay with my Aunt Carla, a bit more camping and the Pendelton Roundup!