Wednesday, June 30, 2010

West Coast Tour - part 3

Day 4 and 5
On the morning of Day 4, we drove 170 miles from San Jose to our hotel in Oakhurst, just outside the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park. We immediately made the drive up to Glacier Point for views overlooking the Yosemite Valley....
DSC_3591
DSC_3595
DSC_3620
DSC_3643

On our way out of the park, we made a quick stop at the Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias....
DSC_3666

The Fallen Monarch....
DSC_3685

On Day 5, we drove through the Yosemite Valley and Tioga Road on our way to Reno, NV.
DSC_3698
DSC_3730
DSC_3761
DSC_3772
DSC_3787
DSC_3806

Here are maps of our travels so far...
driving map 1

Monday, June 28, 2010

West Coast Tour - part 2

Day 2 and 3
On Day 2, we drove 200 miles from San Luis Obispo to San Jose. We chose to take the slower, more scenic Highway 1 instead of Highway 101.
DSC_3410
DSC_3413

Lunch in Monterey, CA
DSC_3433
DSC_3424
DSC_3451

Pool day with our friends in San Jose.
In all of our time living in Santa Barbara, and even having a pool at our last place, Ryan had never been in a pool. It was exciting to finally let him have his first "swimming" experience.

Sporting a swim diaper and getting slathered with sunscreen....
DSC_3467

Dressed in swimwear on loan from his 2 year old pal DT...
DSC_3480

Ryan cried for a couple of minutes when he first got in the pool, but after that, he really enjoyed floating on the water....
DSC_3499
DSC_3504
DSC_3516

Great dinner at Yuki Sushi. Ryan loves noodles....
DSC_3555
DSC_3562

Bedtime story....
DSC_3566

Sunday, June 27, 2010

West Coast Tour

We've had a very busy month of June...
Brooke defended her dissertation and got her PhD,
We had family in town for graduation,
We sold my beloved Subaru so that we'd only have one car for the drive back to Seattle,
We hired professional movers and rented a storage facility in the Seattle area,
We hosted a birthday party for Ryan and other birthing class babies,
We had Ryan's 1-year pediatrician appointment and Ryan's final helmet appointment (that's right...no more helmet)
We boxed-up all of our things,
and on Saturday June 19th, the movers came to take away all of our things, we returned the keys to our apartment, and we officially became homeless.

So here's a summary our migration back to Seattle....

Day 0 - Moving Day
We had to pull an all-nighter, and even then we weren't ready when the professional movers arrived at 7:30am. We ended up haphazardly stuffing random boxes with the remaining items, so unpacking will be difficult.

This pic shows our apartment just hours before the movers were scheduled to arrive....
DSC_3248

It was evening before we finished cleaning the apartment and turned in the keys, so we decided to stay in a Santa Barbara hotel that night.

Day 1
Staying an extra day worked out well because it allowed us to say goodbye to a few friends one last time. That morning we had breakfast with A/C and the Twins at the East Beach Grill. It was nice to hang out in an area that holds so many memories for us from triathlons, to hundreds (maybe even thousands) of games of volleyball.
DSC_0077
DSC_3271
DSC_3278
DSC_3280

Later in the day, we went through our regular Sunday morning routine of going to the farmer's market and getting coffee at Starbucks. We also met up with the wine crew for what else but drinks at Hollister Brewing Company. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos.
DSC_3290
DSC_3304


We managed to drive only 100 miles north before deciding to stop at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

The main dinner room. Frightening, huh?
DSC_3396

We figured that if we're going to stay at the Madonna Inn, with its over-priced rates and gaudy decor, we might as well select the most extreme and memorable room: The Caveman.
The room is built into the side of the hill and is covered with rock from ceiling to floor.
DSC_3326
DSC_3361
DSC_3344

The room was equipped with a pair of caveman clubs....
DSC_3337

The room was completely impractical and even dangerous for a child that's learning to walk,(we made Ryan wear his helmet) but it was definitely a memorable experience.

For a guided tour, click here....

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

1st Birthday Party

Last Thursday we hosted a birthday party for ten babies from our birthing class. We were excited for Ryan to play with his old friends; however, from the start, it was obvious he didn't enjoy being in such a large group. All the other babies seemed to handle it fine, but Ryan was grumpy the entire time.

Of the ten babies, four were able to walk. Nobody could tell that Ryan was a part of this group because he refused to be put down.
DSC_3101
DSC_3108
DSC_3123

DSC_3144
DSC_3125

One mom had the idea to place all the babies around the birthday cake and allow them to attack it. The result was a bit more tame than what I had expected. Most babies were indifferent to the cake, but a few brave girls finally got their hands into it, and one of these girls managed to collect all the strawberries. As expected, Ryan just became hysterical when we set him down.
DSC_3147
DSC_3166
DSC_3182_R

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Graduation Weekend

Does this gown make my butt look big?
DSC_2933_R

---- Update 6/22/2010 ----

Graduation weekend was really busy, but a lot of fun. Brooke's parents, grandparents, and brother were in town. Having relatives in town gave us an excuse to do a few more Santa Barbara tourist things before we go.

Photos from the SB courthouse....
DSC_2843_R
DSC_2847_R

Hanging out by the pool...
DSC_2806_R

Drinks at The Brewhouse...
DSC_2854_R

Commencement ceremony...
DSC_2982_R
DSC_2989_R
DSC_2943_R

DSC_2959_R
DSC_2963_R
DSC_0175_R
DSC_3038_R