Dear California.

Hey there, Cali. We had a swell time! Thanks for the cooler temps, the gorgeous scenery, and time away from the piles of work sitting on the dining room table. Love, Ginger

D and I have been planning our trip to California for over a year. He went to school in the Bay area and has wanted to share his favorite spots with me. We flew into SFO and then headed SOUTH (that's for you, mom) to Monterey. We were able to eat some great food and catch up with some old friends. I wore a jacket every day on this vacation. It was glorious. It felt like March in Phoenix.

D wanted to show off Napa and Sonoma. I had never experienced Wine country and found the setting to be gorgeous! The grapes weren't bad either. ;)

From Napa we made our way back to the Bay for two days of very tourist-y activities: cable car, sight seeing, shopping, eating. (Catching a theme?)

We stopped at The Stinking Rose for a garlic laden meal on the last night. Yes, that is a vat of garlic for eating.

We spent a chilly final morning out on the Berkley pier. I really thought my camera was going to blow off into the ocean. Obviously... it didn't.

I'm heading back to Texas for work in a few weeks, but other than that - we only have one more trip scheduled for the year. It's to Texas - SURPRISE. We are heading to my cousin's wedding in Houston and then plan to stay somewhere fairly close to celebrate our 1st anniversary for a day or two. We've tossed around San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Galveston, New Braunfels and the like. Any recommendations? We don't need any fancy activities, but a B&B or hotel decorated sometime in the last 10 years would be awesome.

Cheers!

p.s. My pics would be cooler if they were taken on Valerie's phone.