*Vaca*

I spent last week in California visiting my Guy.

We took daily “mini-trips” and spent our (non)relaxing week on-the-go. It was worth it. We had plenty of car time and other down time to talk; I think we both continue to discover more about each other in wondrous (hopefully, good) ways. I find myself falling in love with him more with each second.

Thursday night, I arrived in Oakland. On Friday, we wandered around town and made plans for the week. Guy wanted to take an impromptu trip to Lake Tahoe so we found some guidebooks at the Livermore Public Library. Our first stop was the Alameda County Fair. We wandered into the “Beer and Wine Garden” and relaxed while enjoying the perfect 80 degree weather, live music, and company of Guy’s work friends. The most exciting part of the evening was the bee attack during the fireworks show; luckily, none of us suffered being stung.

Saturday we headed into SF to the Mission District. We wandered around and shopped at a thrift store before heading to the Monk’s Kettle, a gastropub with a yummy draught selection of beers. After some yummy tastes of the brew, (I suggest “Left for Dead,” a sour smash ale), we also shared a burrito from a taqueria and the amazing pastries of the famous Tartine Bakery.

Saturday we headed back to SF, after a Bart ride to our hotel along Embarcadero, which had an amazing view of the Bay. We headed to Fisherman’s Wharf with 100,000 of our closest friends. We fought among the crowds to find a fireworks-viewing spot along Pier 39. Unfortunately, after finding a spot at a bar for some not-so-great clam chowder breadbowls, we paid $10 each for entry to a private-area on the pier with heatlamps. The heatlamps, despite their names, did not produce heat and we were left freezing in the 45-degree weather waiting for the fireworks show. Such a build-up, left us disappointed that the fog made it impossible to see the fireworks.

Monday morning we took the Bart to the car and drove to Murphys, CA for lunch. It was a cute/quaint little town hidden in the hills inland, past Stockton. We had a yummy lunch, bought spices in a cute spice-shop, and indulged in fro-yo.

We made it to South Lake Tahoe around 5:30 p.m. and immediately met up with my college-roommate, Wendy, and her family. We wandered around a bit and chatted, and I played peek-a-boo with her little boy. Then, we walked through the casinos and headed to our cool hotel, called 986 Park Hotel. The next day we went kayaking, it was SO FUN. It was by far, one of my highlights of the entire trip. I hope we have many more kayak trips in our future.

After returning to Livermore, we set out Wednesday morning for Trader Joe’s to stock up for camping at Bodega Bay at Sonoma County State Beach. Guy set up the tent after our journey and I unpacked the car with our sleeping bags and camp pads. Then we had a short dinner before opening cheap wine from TJs. We slept with the sound of the waves crashing and cuddled together to stay warm in the freezing coastal weather.

In the morning, we made a brief stop at Armstrong Woods State Reserve and the cute town of Windsor. We stopped at KC’s restaurant for an infamous breakfast that I remember from my last trip to the area. We arrived five-minutes after breakfast ended, and my only option was lunch. It was a disappointment and I should have begged the waitress for the breakfast menu, but Guy’s fish and chips was yummy enough to make up for it. We left, and after a brief stop in the Windsor Bike store for Guy to accessorize his bike, we finally found our way to Sonoma. We stopped at a winery for a quick taste and then checked into our hotel. After relaxing and watching Harry Potter in our room, we went for Nepalese food in Sonoma’s town plaza (super-YUM). Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and sat by the firepit chatting with other guests.

On Friday, we ventured out for wine tastings. After having three rude people pretend to help us at the very-pretentious Chateau St. Jean, we met up with my friend from law school, Tara. Her boyfriend drove us to a few more wine tastings at large, beautiful vinyards, and we had a great experience (with no pretension).

Friday night we went to Berkeley and meet up with some of Guy’s friends. They were a lot of fun and we walked around awhile, found a drink and good food, and made good conversation. I drove us back to Livermore in a scary drive trying to find the correct interstate and not take us into the Oakland-ghetto at 1:00 a.m.

Whew, that was a lot for one week. I'm glad to be home, but I miss my Guy, who I left in Livermore. He’ll be home in a few weeks, though.