Las Vegas - February 2011

I almost thought George Strait was going to skip his Super Bowl weekend show in Vegas this year.  They didn’t announce the ticket sales until later than usual.  I guess he had too much fun touring with Reba McIntyre and LeAnn Womack that he decided to keep touring with them.  This year we would have slightly better seats and would get there in time to see LeAnn.  There was a miscommunication on the start time of the concert last year that we missed most of LeAnn’s performance.

Lake Tahoe Ski Trip - January 2011

When we go skiing in Tahoe, we usually stay at a friend's family condo.  We flew into Reno one weekend on a Friday and drove to South Lake Tahoe to the condo at Lake Village Resort.  It was snowing and foggy when we landed.  We usually take the quick route through Carson City, but decided to take the scenic route along the lakeside.  We drove from the 395 to 431 to 28 to 50.  It's about the same distance, but the roads are more windy.

Romantic Napa Valley - December 2010

There is so much wine country in California to explore.  I’ve been to Napa Valley twice, both times basing ourselves in the town of Napa.  I like Napa, but I want to stay in other places to see more of the valley.  I decided to plan a trip staying in Calistoga, the northern end of Napa Valley.  I wanted it to be a romantic weekend for the husband and me, sort of a late anniversary trip.  It was different seeing the vines in the winter with no grapes.

Anza Borrego - October 2010

We decided to get away from the cool, wet weather we were having in San Diego and wanted to go camping.  We contemplated between the beach spots at Dana Point or the desert in Anza Borrego.  The weather called for mild, dry temps in the desert, so we booked a weekend at Tamarisk Grove Campground.  We camped there the last time we went to the park in April 2010.  When we got to the campground, there was only 1 other site being used and only 1 other couple came later, so the campground was pretty quiet.

Girls Weekend in Napa Valley - October 2010

I had never been on a girls' trip and always thought it would be fun.  Some friends that I’ve known since high school invited me to Napa for a long weekend.  Good friends and good wine, I could hardly wait.  We all flew into San Francisco and had our flights timed within 20 minutes of each other.  We all ended up being delayed due to the fog in the bay area, but still managed to all get there about the same time.  We rented a car with Fox Rental and got a Chrysler 300 and it looks like a Bentley, so we kept referring to it as “The Bentley” the whole weekend.  We got some really strange looks when we called it that in public around other people.

Santa Ynez Valley - Sept 2010

A weekend filled with wine tasting and scuba diving seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit Santa Barbara.  I grew up watching Santa Barbara soap opera.  I had an image of beautiful coast line and a peaceful place. 

Mammoth and Bluesapalooza - August 2010

Mammoth is a cool destination for skiing in California, but we usually ski once a year and go to either Colorado or Lake Tahoe.  I’d always heard stories of the traffic being a nightmare trying to go to ski resorts in CA.  Mike is a member of the website Meet Up and joined a group that likes to camp and hike.  A member made up an event to attend Mammoth’s Bluesapalooza.  Mike forwarded me the info and I said sure, let’s go.  If nothing else, it would be a good excuse to finally get up to Mammoth to check it out.