One Year and Still Going Strong

Cameron and I celebrated our 1-year Anniversary last weekend. He surprised me with a weekend getaway to Fort Bragg. He had told me a surprise would arrive mid-afternoon Friday. We had also been talking about going out to a nice dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Then Thursday morning after asking about a pair of pants that were in the ironing basket, Cameron asked me what I would be wearing for our dinner. Not too surprised, assumed he was just making sure he didn't need those pants or something else ironed to coordinate. But he then asked which shoes I would be wearing. I had too much on my mind at the moment to really think about it. It was during my washing dishes by hand that night after he had loaded the dishwasher that I thought about the shoe comment and realized he would only care about my shoes if he was packing for me. So by bed on Thursday I knew where we were going.

We packed up the corvette and headed to Fort Bragg around 3 pm Friday. We stopped in for a bathroom break at Granzella's in Williams before getting onto HWY 20. The place burnt down a few years ago. It was good to see the rebuild kept the same charm of the old building but improved areas that needed improving including a women's bathroom with several stalls and sinks versus 1.

On to HWY 20 and the winding road. Cameron sure had fun driving the vette on this road. We could have done without the crow that tried to attach the car along the way. On the way home we saw a crow limping on the side of the road - we like to think it was the same crow that got too close to another car. Of course, then on the way home a sparrow tried to attack the car as well! He would not have won that battle.

We stayed at the Pine Beach Inn that has access to a private beach. It was foggy when we arrived, but still light out, so we headed down and wandered a little bit, but our hungry tummies got to us soon after we hiked down there.

After a little perusing of the local magazine guides and Cameron on the computer, we settled on the North Coast Brewing Co. in Fort Bragg for dinner. Between the garlic waffle fries and beer battered onion rings, not to mention the burgers we had, we definitely had our share of grease that night. After dinner we stopped in at Safeway to grab our breakfast (two diet pepsis) and a bottle of champagne. We couldn't remember if our hotel room even had real glasses or plastic, so we also picked up some plastic glasses - they ended up being a better option than the hotel plastic glasses. So classy! We seem to find ourselves drinking champagne out of plastic cups when on vacation - guess its a tradition.

Saturday we headed to glass beach. We went to the wrong beach at first so we took a walk along the cliffs and enjoyed the scenery. Once we got to glass beach we began the beach combing. The poor beach has been picked through quite a bit as compared to previous visits years ago. Cameron had fun finding and playing in the tide pools as well. For lunch we headed into Mendocino, settling on Bayview Cafe which has gorgeous views of the ocean. After lunch we ended up shopping a little and purchasing a bottle of wine for Lynde, since she and Matt were watching Mel for us and a magnum of J champagne to be opened when we move into the new house. We also picked up a Christmas tree ornament. We have a tradition of getting a Christmas ornament any where we go on vacation that represents where we went. It makes decorating the tree that more enjoyable as we remember each trip together.

After an afternoon nap, we headed to The Cliff House for our special dinner and then drove up the coast for a little while before it got too dark. All in all we had a wonderful and relaxing few days away on the cool and foggy coast. Sunday we got up early and headed home. We didn't want to miss the BBQ at Matt & Lynde's. The Fosters came with their two dogs, Bella and Guinness as did the McGraths - between the four dogs and Kaley running around, it was pretty funny. And both families walked over to our house with us to see the progress.

We're only about a month out from getting our keys! We went by yesterday - tiling is started and cabinets are in! We can hardly wait!

Tootles,
Sarah

Anniversary Trip to Fort Bragg, CA

House Update!

The week after the Jensen Family Reunion in Wyoming, Cameron and I received some great news - it was time for our frame walk through! On Friday July 10th, we made it out to the house, where the super walked us through all our electrical outlets, light switches and additional electrical items, like the gas stub for the BBQ and AMP for a future hot tub.

Then we were given our close date. And that's when things got interesting. We've always been told that closing was usually about 5 weeks from the frame walk through. Which would have put us at August 14. We looked at the 9/11 date and really didn't think too much of it - we initially thought it was a few days earlier then we expected. It wasn't until I said September 11 out loud that Cameron and I both realized that our close date was 9 weeks out! We quickly went back to the sales office to investigate. Even Cindy hadn't caught on to it. After some investigation on our part and Cindy's, the date is staying at September 11. We spoke with Matt & Lynde and they didn't close until 7 weeks after their frame walk through, and they have a one story house. And Cindy found out the delay is due to the cabinet makers. They've laid people off during the slowdown and while they are busier now, don't want to hire again in case another slowdown occurs.

We're actually just happy to have a close date. This works at pretty well for us, as most of our weekends are busy from here until September 19, which is when we would schedule movers. I'm headed to San Diego with Lynde on the actual close date, but Cameron would be able to use the weekend to get the backyard trenched and readied for cement. We're working on scheduling Comcast for now. once we get Comcast gets nailed down we'll be able to schedule movers and a landscaper for pouring the back porch the way we want it.

Until then, we're slowly packing. As the day its closer, we'll pack more.

Tootles,
Sarah

July 4th

Cameron and I spent the July 4th holiday in Lander, Wyoming. Cameron was getting introduced to the rest of my mom's family, as the Jensens were getting together for a family reunion. This many of us haven't gotten together since my grandmother passed away in December 2004.

We arrived early July 2 in Salt Lake City. We then waited 2 hours in the baggage claim waiting for my parents to arrive. For some reason we thought they were coming in 10 minutes after us. Nope, that was our flights home. Once we secured the rental car onward to Lander - a 5 hour drive that took us 6 1/2 due to potty breaks, food breaks and road construction where the road became dirt.

Most of the family showed up Friday afternoon. Cameron, my dad, Uncle Chris and cousin Adam spent that day golfing, while my mom and I helped my Aunt Cynde prepare for the masses. Cameron and I stayed up late chatting with my cousin Brenda and her friends that came to see her, Laurie and T, who drove out from Modesto.

Of course, Saturday morning, and the 4th of July Lander parade came quickly. We met the family up on the roof top patio of Tony's Pizza on Main street. Perfect for watching the parade and launching water balloons. Just not a family reunion without them. After the parade, Cameron and I grabbed a quick lunch and a nap before the big family dinner and photos.

Sunday some family began to leave. Cameron and my dad played another round of golf with Chris and Adam, while those who weren't hitting the road just yet headed up to the Sinks. This is where the river disappears into a mountain and trickles through it before showing up on the other side, known as the Rise. The rise is also where huge Trout gather and kids can feed after puchasing a handful of fish food.

All in all it was a great trip, catching up with family and introducing Cameron to them. We don't get together often being that there are so many of us, but its a fun time when we do.

Annual Wine Trip

Whew...didn't realize its been so long since I blogged. And we've been busy. So to start where I left off.

The weekend after my 10 year reunion was our annual wine trip. So on Saturday, June 13, a group of our friends all met up at the Double Tree in Rohnert Park. We'd be touring the Russian River Valley for this year's trip. After some early check ins, we all climbed into the Limo and headed out.


First stop, Sunce. The staff there was really nice and let us taste bottles not on the tasting list but on sale in the tasting room. Ended up purchasing a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. We spent a bit of time here as one couple was late to meeting us at the hotel so they had to take a cab to meet up with us.

We then went to Hook & Ladder, where we enjoyed a couple different chardonnays and other white wines. The biggest hit with this location was the Fireman's Hot Sauce. We ended up with a bottle of one of the Chardonnays and a bottle of the hot sauce.

Next stop was Harvest Moon Winery. The owner actually conducted the tasting, along with his dog Charlotte Brown, a very sweet chocolate lab mix. This place featured many different reds, including Zinfandels. Cameron bought a more expensive Zin that the owner signed and told us to hold on to for another year before it would be perfect for consuming.

We then headed to one last winery. I don't remember the name - I just remember it was in a large barn and the tasting room was also the brew room and it was freezing in there. We did make one small purchase of Sun-dried tomato pesto, which was very yummy on some crackers. I spent most of the time at this winery in the limo or sun!

Since we still had the limo for another hour, though the wineries were closing, our limo driver took us to a general tasting room downtown. But nothing intrigued us there.

After some downtime, most of us regrouped for dinner. Some went bowling after that, while Cameron, Matt & I called it a night. Lynde had called it a night before dinner. We also all decided that in a few years our annual wine trip needs to take place in France or Italy. I wonder where we'll go next year?

10 Year High School Reunion

This past Saturday was my high school 10 year reunion. I can't believe its been 10 years, and then again I can. So much has changed from those days. It was wonderful to see the people that used to be so much a part of my every day life and to reconnect on some level. Most of us are married or engaged, some with kids. And it was great to meet those families and have them meet mine.

Cameron and I started the day earlier, heading up to Marysville to visit Grandma Betty. Before long we had to finish our journey, as I had a hair appointment with my long-time hairstylist, Martin. From there our plans fell through and we found ourselves with 3 hours before dinner with my old friends. So we did what only we could do - we headed to Sierra Nevada for a beer. Cameron got to try the new Harvest Ale, which is made from the hops grown on the Brewery property. I enjoyed a Crystal wheat.

We also got to catch up with Sara's parents Gwyneth and Alan. We hadn't seen them since Christmas so it was a nice visit but too short. I still can't believe their crazy dog Maggie is still trotting around - she's 16! She's definitely not as crazy as she once was.

Saturday ended late. We went to the bars after the reunion ended to get in just a little more time in with old friends. In other news, we found out last Friday that we are about 8 weeks from our house being completed! That means we may be moving in early August. How fun would it be for us to get our keys on our 1 year Anniversary! We'll see. Still have a lot of packing to do. Luckily I have another week off in July and my mom is coming that month as well and has said she can help a little too.