"Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." ~ Michael Leunig

As soon as we got back from MMA's bachelorette bash, we were all ecstatic to hear that HBK got engaged!!

[picture stolen from HBK's facebook]

That weekend we went out for dinner and celebratory drinks starting at Oyster House.

We had a dozen at the oyster bar and then sat for a delicious lobster roll.  Yum!

After dinner we went for a few drinks at Misconduct Tavern.  Its a fantastic dive bar that simulates being in the hull of a ship with cheap beers and a different flavored shot every night.

[love birds at Misconduct]

[us in the cab on the way home... probably one flavored shot too many]

The next night we went to a housewarming party at our pal's house in Manayunk.  He kept it simple with pizza, chips, and an ice luge (which he had to modify with a drill when it wasn't working property at the start of the night).

Don't try this at home kids!!

It was a great weekend in Philly before our anniversary trip to California.  B's high school friend was getting married in Solvang (wine country about an hour outside of Santa Barbara) on our 5-year anniversary so we decided to go out a few days early and make a trip of it.

For the first few days we stayed at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara.  When we arrived there was a bouquet of tulips (my fav!) from B waiting for me.

After a good night's rest, we woke to a beautiful view, a work out, massages, a fish tacos by the pool.

That night we went to a fantastic dinner at Seagrass in Santa Barbara.  For starters B had the oysters and I had the grilled watermelon with pistachios and a red wine syrup.

The oysters were fresh and the watermelon clean with a nice zip.  For dinner B had slow baked sea bream and I had the diver scallop appetizer.

The sea bream was served over creamy leeks and topped with matchstick potatoes.  I didn't love the taste of the fish, but the contrast of textures was nice.  The scallop, served with a turnip and parsnip puree and carrot orange sauce infused with vanilla bean and cardamom, was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.  Paired with a nice bottle of wine, it was a great start to the trip.

The next morning, B and I hit the breakfast buffet at the hotel to carb up before a day of wine tasting.  The buffet was amazing - lox and bagels, eggs benedict, omelets made to order, fruit, pastries, etc. - and for the price of the buffet you also had free reign to order anything off the regular menu at no additional cost.  I opted for the blueberry waffle with maple cinnamon butter.

It was to die for.  After the buffet we met our driver, who took us to Los Olivos and surrounding areas. We started at the Fess Parker winery, which was featured under another name in the movie Sideways (the scene when Paul Giamatti's character finds out his book hasn't been picked up and ends up drinking out of the discard bucket.

We loved our barista and randomly met two old couples from South Jersey to chat up.  Next we went to another vineyard owned by the Firestones, as in Andrew Firestone former bachelor.  It was a little smaller and our barista wasn't as interested in making friends so we finished our wine quickly and moved on to Los Olivos - a cute little town with tons of tasting rooms and little shops.  On recommendation from our concierge we did a tasting at Carhartt - a cute log cabin of a tasting room run by a friendly hippie - and then grabbed sandwiches to take on a picnic at our final vineyard.

We ended our tour with a bottle of wine and a picnic under the trees at the Rustica vineyard.

It was an amazing day, which came to a perfect end when we ordered pizza in our hotel room that we ate on the balcony while watching the Olympics.

The following day we packed up and headed to Solvang for the wedding weekend kick off.  We did a bike tour from Solvang to Los Olivos and back (with a much needed chipwich break half way).

That night the weekend began with a cookout at a nearby national park.  The food was great, and the vibe very chill, just like the bride and groom.

Saturday we went into Los Olivos for lunch with the group before catching the buses to an amazing vineyard for the ceremony and reception.

We had an amazing trip and could not think of a better way to spend our 5 year anniversary than celebrating the union of a great couple!

"Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles." - Frank Lloyd Wright

For the third and final leg of our trip we started out bright and early for a drive down the Pacific Coast highway from Monterey to Los Angeles.

Among many beautiful sights, we saw Bixby Bridge...

The lighthouse at Point Sur State Historic Park...

 And more beautiful coastlines.

At one point we stopped for coffee at a random general store in the mountains and the shop keep informed us that Route 1 was closed ahead and drew us a wonderfully helpful detour map.  While talking, he mentioned a waterfall in the Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park.  He said it was an easy walk so we decided to take his advice.

So glad we did (adorably someone had written "will you marry me" to their girlfriend in the sand... we didn't see the couple, just the question left in the sand below, but we thought that was pretty good)

 Our detour wound us up into the mountains so we had a fantastic aerial view of Route 1.

 

Toward the end of our detour, we drove through an army base.  The terrain seemed like something out of Jurassic Park.

Although we missed Hearst Castle due to the detour, we did get to check out Big Sur and randomly stopped for a pretty good Mexican meal in Grover Beach.

All along the sights were beautiful, but not exactly what I had expected of southern California.  That is until we reached Santa Barbara.  It was the California of my imagination for sure.

When we finally got to LA our hotel in West Hollywood was amazing, and we had a great dinner at Koi.  We started with the edamame and the spicy crunchy yellowtail tar tar.  The tar tar was exceptional.  For dinner we split the baked crab hand roll, the spicy rock shrimp tempura hand roll, the dragon roll, and a spicy tuna roll.  With the exception of the baked crab hand roll, which was relatively bland, everything was delicious (I decided not to tag us as complete tourists with pictures of each course).

After dinner, exhausted from a full day of driving, we went back to our hotel and crashed.  The next morning we met with another set of B's high school friends for brunch at R+D Kitchen in Santa Monica.  B had the burger and I had the omlett (with goat cheese, spinach, and mushrooms).  Both were amazing and we split a side of delicious shoestring fries.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and headed off to take in the touristy "must sees" - Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood sign (from afar), Venice Beach, Pinkberry (hello delicious), and the Chinese Theater.

[Samuel L. Jackson!]

Although the driving and the red eye were the most relaxing we really had a fantastic vacation. 

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." Greg Anderson

So, after enjoying a few days in San Francisco last week, we headed to Hertz to pick up our convertible for a cruise down the Pacific coast highway.  Although we were slightly derailed by the fact that we had to trade in the sleek little convertible we'd rented for a Chevy sedan due to our oversized luggage (whoopsies), the switch turned out to be a good thing because it rained/drizzled almost every day of our trip.  After securing our new whip, we were ready to head off down the coast for Monterey. 

 [B handled the driving]

 [breathtaking views the whole way]

[just a little rain...]

Our first official stop was Half Moon Bay to see Mavericks, a famous surf break.  Although the misty weather made for some really picturesque scenery:

There weren't many waves to speak of:

Our next stop was Santa Cruz.  Before hitting the boardwalk, we had lunch at Tacos Moreno.  We got the name from one of our guidebooks as a must-see hole in the wall Mexican joint.  B had the pork burrito.

Served with beans, cabbage, onion, cilantro, and salsa (no rice), B found it one of the best burritos he'd ever had (for a Mexican food aficionado like himself, that's really saying something).  I thought it was good, but no match for my quesadilla al pastor.

Served simply with jack cheese and perfectly cooked pork al pastor, I was in cheesy, meaty heaven.

After lunch we went to the boardwalk for some people watching, arcade games (I beat B in air hockey, Galaga and Pac Man!), and a slush puppy before heading off to our final destination.

[the streets of Santa Cruz]

 

[one of the many beautiful cliffside viewpoints on the way to Monterey]

After arriving in Monterey, we relaxed a bit before heading out to explore.

 [Monterey Bay]

Our hotel was in between Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf, so we decided to walk over to the Wharf for dinner and drinks.  The Wharf was as touristy and kitschy as it comes, one clam chowder hawking sea-food joint after another, so we decided to do an appetizer-laden bar crawl in lieu of a sit-down meal.  Our first stop was for oysters.

Nestled in a fog of dry-ice, these size-five jumbo oysters were actually pretty good (though 2 was more than enough for me).  Our next stop was for loaded potato skins.

These babies were more like twice-baked potatoes, and after we finished the plate we were out of room for additional "hopping", but they were really darn good.

The next day we walked through the Cannery Row area to have brunch at First Awakening.

 [Cannery Row]

 [an homage to John Steinbeck ]

Hidden in a strip mall, First Awakening doesn't look like much from the outside.  That being said, it hasn't won best breakfast place in Monterey every year since 2006 for nothing.  I had the "bluegerm" pancake (blueberry wheat germ) with a side of sausage, and B had the "Buenos Dias Tortillas."

The pancake was fantastic.  I absolutely love anything blueberry, and the wheat germ gave the pancake an interesting flaky quality that did not interfere with the pancake's moist fluffiness.

The "Buenos Dias Tortillas," scrambled eggs, mushrooms, onion, and homemade chorizo wrapped in a flour tortilla and covered with jack and cheddar cheeses, diced tomato, sour cream, and chives, was similarly amazing - we finished every bite!

After brunch we strolled back to the hotel for our our spa appointments then B explored a couple area record stores before showering and dressing for dinner.  On our way to dinner we stopped by a cute antique mall and ended up picking up an adorable old-school salt and pepper set and then we rode the 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach.

After the 17 mile ride we walked around downtown Carmel for a bit before traveling to Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley for dinner.

While we waited for our dinner we had cocktails at Wickets.  The place was adorable and my cocktail in particular, a sea cucumber (cucumber, rum, tequila, lime, and mint), was fantastic.

Next we headed to Marinus for dinner.  When we were seated in our lovely corner booth we were met with a bite-sized gruyere cheese ball, then a delicious little amuse bouche of a bite-sized veggie spring roll sitting in yuzu soy sauce.  It was a fresh, tasty palate cleanser before our first courses.  I had the ham, which was thinly sliced, laced with fat, and served with almonds, frisee, and drizzle balsamic.  It was just a simple dish, but it was fantastic.  B had the trotters (aka pigs feet).  They were deep fried and served on top of slightly pickled cucumber with a dijon mustard.  If you could get past what they are, they were actually quite good.

For the entree I had the foie gras.  It was perfectly seared and served with 2 slices of duck and a marinated strawberry.  Wonderful in its simplicity, this was probably the best plate of food I have ever had.  B got the ribeye with rosemary.  Although it paled in comparison to my dinner, it was fantastic in its own right.

We finished with a progressive cheese plate - a California cheddar served with almonds, followed by an Italian goat/sheep milk cheese served with honey, and finished with a blue cheese served with apples.  Each was better than the next.

Although I didn't take any pictures of our fantastic food (B was getting a little sick of the flash at every step of each meal), I did get one shot of the restaurant from our table:

If you find yourself in Carmel Valley California, you must have dinner at Marinus.  We unanimously agreed this was one of the best, if not the best, fine dining experience we've had in our lives.

The next morning we got up early to head on our way down the Pacific coast highway to LA.  Stay tuned....