California - Monday

Monday, January 30th
Monday morning we took the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods to see the famous redwood trees. It was a little chilly in the forrest, but neat to see these large trees so close to the big city.

After that we headed back to the city and took a (1 hr) side-trip to grab In-N-Out burger. By the time we got it and made it back to the Golden Gate Park, it was time for our Segway tour at 1:30pm. So, we ended up saving our burgers for afterwards and they were still quite tasty. The Segway tour was a lot of fun - I just wish it had been a little warmer! As you can see, we have many, many layers on for this 2 hr tour of the park. Its a great way to see a large area and not as hard as I would have thought. My parents did really great on the segways - I was the only one who managed to take a tiny spill and bang up my knee with a good bruise. We were the only ones on our tour, so unfortunately we had to laugh at every joke our tour guide provided... No really, it was interesting and we learned a lot about the park and city.

Our tour guide told us of a great place for golden gate bridge viewing - Baker's Beach - so we made our way there after the segway tour. It was beautiful and somehow 10 degrees warmer than in the park! After a few pictures, we headed over to the bridge itself, so that we could actually walk out on it. Dad usually skips this part due his distaste for heights, but he mustered up the courage and went to the half-way part with us only pausing momentarily for a picture. It was sunset and a great time to see the sights.

Dinner Monday night was at a place one of my dad's patients recommended - The Stinking Rose. It was a garlic restaurant in the North Beach/Broadway area. Once we sat down, our waitress said she hoped we enjoyed our stinkin' experience! Everything on the menu had garlic, garlic, and more garlic on it. I got the pork chop w/ caramelized apples, garlic potatoes and it was delicious. After dinner we had to take dad to the airport so he could catch his red-eye flight. Sad for his part of the trip to end, but I think we managed to do and see alot in the 4 days we were all together!!

San Francisco Sunday

Sunday, January 29th
We spent Sunday and Monday exploring all San Francisco had to offer. Dad's birthday was Sunday, so we told him he could make all the decisions for the day... :-) as long as he stayed with the general itinerary Mom & I had arranged of course! After breakfast at the hotel we took our first trolley ride to the Ferry Building/Pier 1. It was a great area to explore and there were lots of restaraunts, bakery's and shops inside the ferry building.

We walked along the Embarcadero and the Piers. Next, we started making our way to Coit tower - which is a 210 ft tower in the Telegraph Hill area. It has a great view point of the city, bridges, Alcatrez, etc. It was quite a climb to get there! But worth the trip.

We discovered the city bus at the top and took it back down to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf. There weren't as many seals at the Wharf as I was expecting. Very touristy area, but nice. We were told to have the Clam Chowder in sourdough breadbowls at Boudin Bakery. So, we ate upstairs at the Bistro for lunch and ordered some soup for our appetizers. Well, it never came and after finishing our entrees we just told our waitress to cancel the orders! So sad!

We continued walking in the Wharf/marina area after lunch and found ourselves in Ghiradeli Square. Couldn't resist a little chocolate treat here...

We hopped on a city bus back to Pier 33 where we boarded the 4:30pm boat for Alcatraz. It was really a neat experience and I'm glad we took the evening boat, so that we could see the sunset and the night lights of San Francisco from the bay. Once we arrived on the island we walked through the facility with the audio tour. Sometimes it was a little difficult to see everything because of the many people in our group. I can understand how the prisioners there had a hard time seeing the city and being "so close, yet so far away."

Once back to the Pier, we made our way back to the Ferry Building for a birthday dinner for Dad at The Slanted Door - an upscale Vietnamese restaurant that was our favorite meal of the trip. I highly recommend it!! The dessert was especially yummy - apple bread pudding. Happy Birthday to the best Dad a girl could ask for!!

(not a great picture, but you get the idea)

California Trip begins

Friday, January 27th - Saturday, January 28th
Our trip to California was a blast! Mom & I decided to take this trip to celebrate my 30th birthday. Since my dad's birthday is just a few days before mine, and we were going to be gone on his big day, we invited him along for most of the trip! :-) I am so thankful to be able to spend quality time with them and really appreciate their willingness to make this a special trip.
We got to San Francisco late Thursday night (more like 0330am CST fri) after a long 8 days at work. I was certainly ready to be in vacation mode. Unfortunately, my parents don't require as much sleep as I do, so we hit the road to Napa Valley Friday morning. We made a quick drive down the famous Lombard St on our way out of town.



Our first stop in Napa Valley was at Artessa Vineyards. It has a really unique building that is set up high on the hills. Beautiful scenary. My mom's cousin, Dave, had arranged for us to have a wine tasting there. We especially enjoyed sitting out on the patio overlooking the beautiful countryside. Next, we had a casual lunch at Hurley's in Yountville.




The vineyards are obviously bare at this time of year, but it was still beautiful to see them. The mustards were in full bloom which definitely added some color to the landscape.

We had an afternoon wine tasting and tour at Rutherford Hill. We were the only ones on this tour, so it was nice to be able to ask questions and take our time. Learned a lot about the Bordeaux varietals...


Our accomidations for the evening were at Napa Valley Lodge which was a quaint little boutique hotel in Yountville. Dad enjoyed meeting a local vineyard owner in the lobby during the "cocktail" hour.

We had dinner at Mustards Grill in Yountville and it was one of our favorite restaraunts of the whole trip! Great service and delicious food.

Day 2
Our first stop Saturday morning was at Duckhorn Vineyards in St. Helena. This was my favorite wine tasting experience. We had a nice tour of the facilities and then a sit-down wine tasting with cheese pairings. It was nice to be able to try the wines side by side and really distinguish which ones you liked better. My favorites were the Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and the Three Palms Vineyard Merlot.


We met some of my mom's extended family at Rutherford Grill for lunch on Saturday. My mom's aunt Neta moved to Napa at age 18, met her husband, Al Gonsalves, and has been out there ever since. Neta, Al, their daughter Jana, and son Dave and his wife Cynthia met us for lunch. We really enjoyed getting to know each other better and hearing stories about my grandmother's family. Cynthia made me a cute birthday cake and Jana brought me a great bottle of champagne from Mumm Napa vineyards - so thoughtful of them!




After lunch, we took some time to drive around more of the valley until dark. I hated to leave this area and really hope to be able to return some day during the harvest.



We made it back to San Francisco and got settled in our hotel about 6pm. We stayed at a cute, little, bed & breakfast inn called the White Swan Inn on Bush St. My parents had stayed here about 25 years ago and from their recollection, the decor hasn't changed. We were so full from all of our wonderful meals, that we cancelled our dinner reservations! Our hotel was only a few blocks from Union Square so we walked there and explored the surrounding streets. We managed to find a cheesecake factory there and brought some cheesecake back to our hotel for our "dinner."

Great first 2 days in California - more to come!

I hate green beans

Several people have told me to read the blog: www.Ihategreenbeans.com - it is quite funny. And the recaps of The Bachelor are hilarious and WAY better than the show itself!! She also wrote a blog post about singleness that provided some good laughs and truth: http://www.singleroots.com/singled-out-for-being-single/

Pictures from my San Francisco trip coming soon!

2011 Year in Review

Can't believe it is 2012!! I enjoyed going back through my pictures and finding the highlights of my 2011:



January - Trip to Arizona for the National Championship Game
Feb - My 29th Birthday, Campbell's 4th birthday party, & Alex's arrival

March - Road trip to Will's golf tournament at Reynolds Plantation & visit to Charleston

April - Residency conference in Memphis, Meeting Macy Margaret, Amy's engagement

May - Will's college graduation, Sweet time with grandma before her passing

June - Savannah's arrival, Amy's bridal shower, Finishing Residency!

July - Papa's 80th Bday, Trip to Zambia, Africa & Victoria Falls

August - Moving to Birmingham, Unpacking, Lake Martin, starting my job and catching up with old friends

Sept - Road trip to AUx2 and Clemson, Katie's 30th

October - Lauren's wedding, AU/Fl game, Halloween, Passing BCPS

November - Many road trips - AU, UGA game, Nashville for Lady A, Iron Bowl & Thanksgiving

December - Decorating my house for Christmas, Katie's baby shower & CHRISTMAS!

A very blessed year indeed. Now on to 2012 - which is the year I turn 30!! I have to admit, I am NOT excited about this little milestone that is occuring in less than 2 weeks... And that is because of my expectations with where I would be at this point. I definitely thought I would be married by age 30 and have at least one child, but that has not been the Lord's plan for me at this point. (And we know it is about HIM and not about me!) It is definitely something I desire and therefore struggle with many days. I'm so happy to have friends that have been married for up to 8 years and have precious children that I adore - but sometimes I just long to be in the same "place" as them. We all have longings here on this earth - whether it be for a career, a spouse, children, the next phase of life, etc. But underneath we all know that nothing on this earth can truly satisfy us and they merely represent a longing for heaven where we will be made complete. They may in fact be good longings, but we have to keep the perspective that they are not our identity. Our identity is in Christ and in Christ alone.

I have complete faith that the Lord is the only one who knows what is best for me. I will keep standing in that strength, because that is what I know to be true. To the Lord, 30 is just a number. Maybe a more important number to him is 20 years, the number of years I have been walking with Him and trusting Him for the next step. He is faithful!

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest - I know most of my close friends know this about me, but sometimes it's just the practice of putting it out there and letting it go, that brings comfort.

Moving on...one thing I AM definitely looking forward to in 2012 is... A birthday trip to San Francisco/Napa/Monterey!!! SO excited to be leaving in a few days with my parents for this little adventure. Also excited to use my new camera and share our fun memories. So stay tuned. Here's to more blogging in 2012!!!

Can't finish without a sneak peak of my new "nephew" Foster Compton. SO precious: