California Part 1: The smell of coffee and jet fuel...

Happy Day after Halloween!

  

I hope you had a fantastic night of watching your little ones work their little heinys off to collect all that candy only to steal all the Snickers from their stash after they went to bed.

 

I love All Hallows Eve. 

 

 I love the scary movies, the sweet treats, and walking the streets late at night...

 

...ahhh, the life of a working girl....

 

But that's enough about that. I'd like to share with you the details of our wonderful trip to California! We love California. I truly feel like we belong there, but considering our businesses are here, we are building the Farmhouse here, and the cost of living out there is so high that even my children would need to seek employment, then I suppose we will stay put for now.

 

Ahhh, one day...

 

....excuse me for a moment while I daydream about retiring at 35 and moving to wine country...

 

Okay. Done now.

 

So, I have a lot to share with you about our trip, therefore I have decided it best to break our excellent adventure down into a few posts.

 

1. Time to Go!

2. Hardcore Espresso

3. Northern California Bakery Tour and Good Eats
4. Random Cool Stuff
5. Olive's Birthday
6. Farmers Market Bliss

Got that?
 

 So, let's start shall we?

California
 Part 1: Time to Go!
 

It was a cold, dark, Friday morning, and a baby was awoken from her sweet, sweet slumber...

 

 

 

...and wasn't too thrilled about it.

She was very tired, but as soon as I reminded her that she got to go on an airplane, she forgave us for the ridiculously early wake up call.

 

We got the girls dressed, threw the suitcases in the back of the car, and we were on our way.  Our flight left at 6:20am, so we were on the road by 4:45am. 

 

I love super early morning flights that take off when it's still dark outside. I'm not sure if it's because I feel like I'm getting a good jump start on my vaca, or if it's because this is the one and only time that I am happy to hear the obnoxious clanging of my alarm clock at such an ungodly hour... either way, I love early morning flights.

 

We arrived at the airport, gathered our two suitcases, 3 carry-ons, 2 children and 1 pillow, and we made the trek through the cold airport parking garage to the warm skywalk that connects the parking garage and the airport itself. 

 

We got a lot of looks of  "Damn that's a good idea!" for our method of transporting our offspring through the airport.

 

I love that first step into an airport. There's something about the smell of fresh coffee and jet fuel that makes me want to do a little jig.

 

We checked our bags, made it through security, and grabbed a snack from the Scooters Coffee inside the terminal. 5 minutes later we were ready to board!

 

An hour and a half later we landed in Denver for our hour layover. Everything went well, and we managed to avoid any meltdowns, lost children, or having to "Home Alone" it through the entire airport from Gate 1 to Gate 865 like we did last time we took this journey.

 

We boarded our second plane, and luckily we were in the very first row with the extra leg room and TV's right up in our grills....

 

...our awesome seats did however come along with a very strict flight attendant who felt the need to remind us no less than a dozen times that all carry-ons, purses, small children, pillows etc. absolutely had to be stowed in the overhead storage. 

 

I really wanted to offer to buy her a drink, but she probably wouldn't have enjoyed my humor.

 

Our flight went by smoothly and after a little while the uptight flight attendant just accepted that we had a lot of stuff and that we were a family of mess makers, so she simply gave up.

 

We arrived in San Francisco at about 10:00am. Once I set foot into the airport I was once again greeted by that wonderful smell of Starbucks and hotel shuttle exhaust fumes.

 

We made our way down to the baggage claim and we hand our bags in hand in no time. My mom showed up a few minutes later pulling the Little Tykes wagon that she always brings to tote the girls around in. 

 

THEY. WERE. STOKED!!!

 

 

15 minutes later in the car...

 

My mom lives with her best friend Bonnie in Sebastopol, which is about an hour north of San Francisco. You can read more about my Mom's here.

 

Northern California is beautiful. If you've never been there, you must go. There are rolling hills, beautiful trees of every shape and color, and there are vineyards and apple trees as far as the eye can see. 

This is a lovely tree lined driveway out in the country near my mom's home.  See that tiny little blue arch at the waaaaayyyy back of the driveway? yeah, that's where this postcard line of trees ends. 

 

 I saw the lady who lives there one day walking back up to the house from her mailbox. She was strolling along under the trees, completely stress and care free, wearing a big floppy hat and gardening gloves...

 

...My God...

 

*queue the revelation*

 

I think it was Meryl Streep

 

A short while later we arrived at my mom's house. Up a long hill, and then up an even longer driveway.

 

 

I love this house. It is my, as well as my husbands, happy place.

Every time we set foot in this house, we are immediately transported to a place of calm and happiness.  I often find myself wandering around this place like a hippie at Woodstock.

 

The views from the front yard aren't too shabby either...

 

Those little specs are not fleas on your screen. They are cows. 

 

Happy Cows come from California.

 

Anyways, after a good 20 minutes of sun on my face, deep breathing, and brainstorming ways to afford a North California mortgage, we decided to head inside to unpack and relax. 

 

Then five days later I was forced to pack my bags and come home. The End.

 

 

Sorry...I'm still a wee bit bitter that I had to leave.

 

Anyways, more good stories from sunny California coming up!

 

Part 2 will be soon to follow.

 

:) Ashley

 

 

 

Now go eat some more of your children's hard earned Halloween candy.

 

I just stole a Snickers...

 

...it may have been the last one...

 

crap