We managed to fly-drive into/out of 10 cities. Some flights/drives more tolerable than others.
First destination was Tahoe to meet up with my Pop Pop & baby brother, Josh.
Josh & Dad were there a few days before us, so they were able to show us around.
A gondola ride was our first bit of sight seeing.
The gondola was $34 per adult. I think for the views we saw it was well worth the cost.
This is one of the many shots from while in the gondola. It took us to two seperate areas. One observation deck-walk around and view the lake and trees, second stop view of the trees & mountains. The second stop had a bunch of things for kids to do & a restaurant.
This pic is from the observation deck with the lake behind us.
Paul convinced some child to snap the pic of us.
This is what we suspect to be a Joshua tree.
Dad & Josh had a Toyota Yaris. It's the smallest car I've ever been in.
But Josh managed to fit in the back & he's a tall drink of water.
Second stop of the day was a drive to Emerald Bay. Only about 25 minutes out of town. We drove a bit further to the left of this picture. Once we arrived at the stop it was a mile walk down a windy trail to the water. The water was absolutely crystal clear with gold flecks. It was incredible. My one regret of the trip is not having my swim suit, to take a dip in the water.
The beauty of Tahoe is that it's not huge.
So we were able to do the Gondola & Emerald Bay in only one day with out being rushed.
Brittany & Andy were married on a beach called Zephyr Cove. The ceremony was at 6pm, about an hour before sunset. The weather was perfect. It was a bit gloomy the day of the wedding & managed to clear up just before the wedding for an amazing backdrop.
Mr. & Mrs. Bruno! Britt was absolutely glowing all day long. Her dress was perfect for a beach wedding. A silk slip, with a lace covering. Her dress was actually two seperate pieces, with a waist belt. Her makeup was done by the makeup artist from Desperate Housewives. Only at a California wedding ;)
Mr. & Mrs. Bruno during their first dance. Her dress increased in beauty throughout the day.
Love this girl so much. So happy to have been a part of hers & Andy's big day.
Midwest girls! Mandy, Mara, Myself, and Maggie. We cut a serious rug at the reception.
Sunset at Zephyr Cove at about dinner time.
It's a public beach, so there were boats all around.
My handsome boyfriend and I had a few slow dances. He was happy about that :)
Next stop-Kentucky! 5 days in Kentucky.
Paul's work has a location in Louisville, KY.
He was able to check it out while we were in the states.
We went to the Jim Beam distillery. It was about a 30 minute drive out of Louisville. This was free, with a Bourbon tasting. The Bourbon made my mouth numb.
I usually drink Jameson if I drink Whiskey. But it was cool to check out.
We drove about 30 minutes away from the distillery. We stumbled upon a small town while looking for a public beach-to no avail! We went to a self proclaimed antique mall. Paul found two old records. One being Culture Club well worth the $2 they were charging. I bought two glass bowls-I was channeling my inner old lady. We went to an old bar for a beer that Jesse James used to frequent in the days of old west. According to the antique mall owners there are still bullet holes in the bar.
These were in the small town next to the bar. These I took for my Dad.
We have two pics of Josh & I about 10 years apart in these things at Disney world.
This is the great Kentucky State Fair. It was about a quarter of the size of the Mn. fair. The only food on a stick I saw was cotton candy. They had some of the weirdest things on display for blue ribbons-tobacco leaves, corn on the cob, & honey baked ham, yes honey baked ham. It was definitely good for people watching. Kentucky is weird. I will say though, Kentucky seemed to be cost effective. We ate out every night & most meals were $20 or under. I would recommend an area on Bardstown Road. It reminded me of something similar to Uptown, Mpls with less dweebs.
We drove down to the river for sunset. There were three seperate brides all next to each other over the river one on each side of this bridge. One of the bridges took us to Indiana the next day. Five days in Louisville was plenty for the both of us. Because of the fair everyone was driving golf carts everywhere. At first it was funny. But after the first two days it lost it's novelty & I was OVER yielding to golf carts on busy roads.
Later Kentucky-back to La for a six hour layover!
We took a cab ride to Venice Beach from Lax to grab a bite & take in sunset. This area is special to us. While we were living apart we took several trips to Venice Beach to meet up. I absolutely adore Venice. People aren't afraid to be themselves. There are million dollar homes lining the boardwalk. But just down the boardwalk there are street vendors, bums napping in the grass, bikers/joggers/skate boarders. We rented bikes on one of our trips & biked from Venice to Santa Monica. It was rad! I wouldn't recommend doing it after dark. There are some sketchy characters. During the day though it's safe. There are 'Marijuana Doctors' just about every third vendor, people selling art, and dogs galore. I would recommend Venice to anyone with an open mind & a laid back personality.
After 12 days or so with out a home base I was ready to come home. Waking up everyday before housekeeping knocks on the door, or eating out every night is only fun for so long. We've now been home for four days. We're slowly getting back into our regular sleeping/eating habits. The first day home we flew in at about 9 am, arrived home about 10 am, and I slept from about 10:30 am until the next day at 5 am when Paul went to work. He's much stronger when it comes to jet lag than me. I get very lathargic & need lots of time to re-aclimate to my surroundings. We've been getting out & going for a few shorts walks. The more active we are the better it seems to be for me.
Only another two and a half months until we're back in the states for Thanksgiving!
Better remind Dad to set up our bedroom!
xo, Meaghan
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