Day 7 (7.25.09) Yosemite

El Capitan.


Half Dome through pine.


one of the many waterfalls.


we saw these deer across from said waterfall.

we woke at 7:00 am, broke camp and headed straight over to yosemite. first stop: coffee! if you've never been to yosemite, you'd be amazed at all the amenities it has to offer, including a full grocery store. i'm mixed on the idea of having so much access to things in one of the most amazing, natural national forests we've got.


but, since we had access, we made a protein fueled lunch of tuna, string cheese, avocado and lettuce. we used our fancy olive oil and cabernet sav. vinegar (purchased in Monterey, but why not use it here) to create a luscious dressing/sauce. we even had kettle chips on the side.


we spent much of the day driving through the forest, stopping to admire nature's finest along the way. i was surprised that even though there were loads of people everywhere, we were able to find lots of secluded spots. we found a great swimming spot with to die for views. geeg is a water baby; she jumped right in and had a ball! we love seeing her that alive & happy.

The Kapp's!

Day 6 (7.24.09) Lost Claim

we hoped to get as close to yosemite as possible today. we drove for over 4 hours and landed in a town called Harden Flat. i don't know if it can truly be considered a "town" due its very small population (i tried to look it up on wikipedia, but no info there). we found a campsite nearby called Lost Claim. it was some of the weirdest camping we had ever experienced. our neighbors to the left had a generator to play, get ready for this...video games! and our neighbors to the right blared country music all night long.

the water pump on site was very cool looking.


we tried another new wine tonight, this one was by Stephen Vincent. i purchased a new (cheap!) wine opener, and as you can see, we didn't even get one use out of it. nick and one of his many trusty tools saved the day.

we spent the last part of our night planning out our drive into yosemite. it's a bit of a bummer that we're attempting to explore it on a saturday, but we're hoping to see lots by the time the crowds come...

Day 5 (7.23.09) celebration

a HUGE thanks to the Kapp family for helping us celebrate our union.  your generosity, warmth and excitement is still being felt.  it couldn't have been possible without Liza, nick's sis and my new sister-in-law.  she thought of everything from champagne to flower centerpieces.  

Larry's world famous posole was delicious and the perfect way to bring family together.  he spent 2 days slaving over the stove to create this masterpiece.

meet Lefty, our other favorite dog.  look at that face!

Day 4 (7.22.09) good-bye Carmel, hello Bay

throughout our time in Carmel we stayed in our own cottage(!) at the Lincoln Green Inn.  ivy & foliage everywhere, our own backyard, large porch, and tons of privacy.  we splurged in order to stay here, but it was well worth it.  


our last breakfast at Lincoln Green Inn.  it was pretty chilly, but we decided to eat in the backyard.  we made croissant sandwiches with left over prosciutto di parma and gruyere cheese.  we placed them in the oven for 7 minutes, just until the cheese started to melt.  this is my favorite sandwich of all time.


we drove for a little over an hour to Santa Cruz, nick's old stomping ground.  we made a plan (months ago when we first started planning this trip) to eat lunch at our favorite nor cal taco spot:  Tacos Moreno.  nick swears he ate here at least 3x/week as a grad student.  delicious and affordable, i'd have done the same.  we both ordered the "Burrito Supreme, al pastor" and it did not disappoint.  the al pastor, or bbq pork, was super crispy and tasty.  


Tacos Moreno supplies its customers with large squeeze bottles of their amazing salsa.  since we ate in the car, we were pretty sure we couldn't smuggle one of those out the door (although we thought about it!), so we had to get a few to go.  we're still trying to figure out the exact mix of ingredients.  this time i swear i tasted roasted garlic.  we think they also use a blend of dried chili's.  we'll have to experiment.


and even though we were super stuffed from lunch, we had to stop by Marianne's. i like that someone in yelp called it "hella bomb"--fitting bay area slang. 


we ordered two junior scoops:  red raspberry cheesecake & coffee almond fudge.  they make all their ice cream in-house, and create all sorts of exotic flavors, like lavender and licorice.

Day 3 (7.21.09) we're married!

good morning!  we spent a good part of the day informing our parents, grandparents and siblings that we eloped.  everyone was surprised and so happy.  in case you're wondering, we did not tell even one person that we were doing this.  as the date approached, it became harder and harder to keep the news contained.  nick and i even contemplated telling 1 person each but it then became too hard to choose.

this is our first photo as a married couple.  it was taken at the beach 2 blocks from where we stayed.  the day was beautiful:  foggy, misty, and even a little windy.  


we heard about the restaurant and inn that Clint Eastwood once owned (apparently he still lives in Carmel), Hog's Breath Inn. everything on the menu sounded delicious!  we decided to order on the light side:  grilled chicken salad (they forgot the vinaigrette), artichoke soup and homemade onion rings.  the artichoke soup was fantastic.  a little on the sour side, which seemed to come naturally from the vegetable that is grown in this region.  

and of course we had to wash all that good food down with something equally superb.  nick found this Lagunitas ale, Hop Stoopid, in the small local market.  super hoppy but smooth.  

Day 2 (7.20.09) new adventures

we took chelsea a.k.a "geeg," "le stinque," "pookie face," and about a million other loving names to the dog beach early in the day.  in this photo you'll notice she's actually smiling.  she can't get enough of the ocean and she certainly has a hard time knowing her physical limits now that she's 9 years old.  later, we had a late lunch at Forge in the Forest where we ordered her a grilled kosher hot dog that came cut in bite size pieces in a dog dish.  man, Carmel knows how to treat dogs.

drinking coffee and making earrings in the kitchen nook.  long ago, my grams gave me some special grey and white beads that i have been holding onto for the just-right project.  i used those beads and others based on the color of the dress i'll be wearing for a very special engagement we're attending tonight... 

SURPRISE!  we eloped!  here are a few photos from the super secret event.  i'll post more once we get them from terry, our trusty photographer from santa cruz.

this was taken just after we said farewell to our officiant.  terry wanted to snap a few shots before we embarked on our walk from the cliffs to the beach.  nick wore grey slacks and a white pin striped shirt by Calvin Klein.  my dress is by Brian Reyes (no relation to me, darn).  green and all, i knew from the second i saw it i had to wear it on this day.  the wind was blowing slightly which helped the dress flutter and flow.  and geeg is sporting a new black leash.

back at the cottage and ready for dinner.  we were excited to stay in and have our favorite meal of all time: charcuterie plate with prosciutto di parma, fancy salami from berkeley, goat brie aged in ash, cave aged gruyere, sourdough bread, spanish olive oil, olives and organic cherries.  a feast fit for royalty!

Day 1 (7.19.09) here we go!

9:00am.  all packed and ready to hit the road.  we invested in a roof bag, which holds an incredible amount of stuff (my clothes!).

12:15pm.  1st stop, In-N-Out.  we brought a cooler with nick's famous homemade guacamole, and added it to the burgers.  take that secret menu!

4:30pm.  we arrived in Carmel.  we tucked into a little food from whole foods, and then headed to the ribera rd. beach.  this beach is considered a "locals only" spot because it's only accessible via a residential street.  neither of us had ever been to this particular spot and were instantly blown away by its beauty.  

5:30pm.  on ribera rd. beach.  these amazing rocks were all over!  we couldn't get over the super clear bluish-green water.  high tide was quickly approaching, so we didn't stay too long.

platform sandals

Bronx, fancy cork platform heel

Ash, ozzy t-strap sandals on wooden heel

photos via Shopbop.com

i have been eyeballing these simple, yet sturdy heels for weeks. now that Shopbop.com is in the midst of their HUGE summer sale, i think it's the time to splurge.