Wow lots of changes since the last post.... my bad!

So there have been a ton of changes in our lives since I last posted something on our blog. Our lives are about to changes significantly around early October:

It was go time... so we went!

Sausalito to Carmel (June 27-June 30)

First Leg: Sausalito 6/27/07

Highway 1 vacation

Brooke and I decided to test out the wheels on the new Mini and took a trip down scenic Highway 1. We started out North of San Francisco in Sausalito and it was absolutely gorgeous. For those that have not been, Sausalito has some of the most amazing views of the bay. You can see Alcatraz, San Francisco, The Golden Gate (parts of it anyway), Angel Island, etc. We had dinner at the Spinnaker. The restaurant is right on the water and we had an amazing view of the sunset. We stayed at the Casa Madrona which is walking distance from the Spinnaker. It was a very relaxing evening and we both felt totally refreshed after a long half week.

Second Leg: Sausalito to Half Moon Bay 6/28/07 - 6/29/07

HMB is not very far from Sausalito but the drive is absolutely gorgeous. You start out going back over the Golden Gate and wind your way through parts of San Francisco before getting out to the really scenic part. It's an unusual drive for a Texan. At any one point you could be next to a sheer cliff, the pacific ocean, or eucalyptus trees. Here are a few pictures of the drive:



This one is Brooke walking down Gray Whale Beach:


And this one is from the top of that beach:


The drive was absolutely amazing (did I already mention that?). There was only one problem, as you see from the pictures above it was pretty foggy. You could see the fog rolling across the road and up over the hills. Brooke equated it to being at the beginning of a horror movie. I thought what a perfect opportunity to scare the crap out of Brooke, then thought against it. I figured a punch to the face would have been a bad way to start the vacation. Once we rolled into HMB we quickly found out hotel( Beach-House). We had an amazing view of the water (and Mavericks) right from our room. We didn't stay in HMB for very long. After our short trip to HMB from Sausalito we realized there was so much to see along the way so we set out early.





Third Leg: HMB to Monterey/Carmel (and then back home) 06/29/2007-06/30/2007

On the road we stopped at several beaches and also stopped at Bonny Doon winery, which was really interesting. The drive was marked with periodic (and welcome) breaks in the fog. It was really interesting to drive through thick fog and turn a corner to see a beach covered in sun. On our trip to Monterey we drove through Santa Cruz without even stopping which was kind of funny since we spend so much time there, but we were on a mission! This leg of the trip was by far the most scenic. We stayed at Cannery Row (Monterey Plaza Hotel) and the hotel was amazing. Its situated right over the bay and our room had a fantastic view of the water. We also ate at the Duck Club Grill and had the good fortune of watching the sea otters and the moon rise over the hills. The next day we decided to take a drive down 17 mile drive and also a little bit further down Highway 1. For those of you that have never been down scenic 17 mile drive you should definitely go. It is home to some of the best golf courses in the world including Pebble beach, but ohh... bring $9 because thats what they will charge you to drive around. Its worth it though: We had an amazing time sight seeing and recommend this exact drive to anyone else as a fun and different vacation. Well for now this is it, but you can see more photos by going to our photo page over to the right.

Sorry, we've been slacking off!

Well it's father's day and Brooke and I love you guys so much! We wanted to update you on the past month and a half so here we go...... we moved, got a new car and went on a trip to the mountains. Wow we are awesome!

Ok so on May 16 Brooke, Shiner and I moved into a brand new 90 year old house. Its 1400 sq foot, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. We absolutely love living here but it was bitter sweet move in because our GREAT friends Josh and Sara moved out of the house to go back to Texas. Today we are officially moved in with everything on the walls and out of the boxes. I took a bunch of photos today for everyone to view and you can see those by clicking the link below. There are some funny things that come with a house thats 10 years older than my Grandad, like this weird vent that sucks hot air out of the house through the roof. Also, we dont have a real dishwasher, we actually have to roll it over to the sink and hook it up to the faucet to wash our dishes:) We have a lot of space so if any of our friends/family want to come visit you will always have a space to stay.

06/09/07

Brooke and I traveled to Bear Valley, CA to meet up with some friends at a house in the mountains (getting close to Tahoe). It was absolutely beautiful up there and we are determined to make it back when we have a long weekend.


06/14/2007

Did I mention what a great husband I am yet? I probably deserve a back rub or ten.... i'll let you know in a later post if that actually happens. The reason for my greatness, I surprised Brooke with a 2006 Mini Cooper S. It's a red hatchback w/ white roof and is really fun to drive. Here's how it happend:


Brooke and I have been looking for the perfect Mini (and by perfect, i mean her idea of perfect). I got a pretty big scrape on my leg playing softball and I couldn't sleep one night because Shiner kept kicking it. I check the internet and found the exact car that Brooke had been bugging me to buy. I called the dealership first thing in the morning and got the paperwork rolling. At around 4:45 I caught a flight to LA and bought the car. I was going to try and keep things secret until I pulled into the driveway, but I hadn't had enough time to hatch a fool proof plan. I ended up coiming clean on the way to the dealership and she was really excited to say the least. Aren't I great (that was a rhetorical question)? I tried to make it back to Mountain View that very night but I didnt leave the dealership until close to 9pm. I had to sleep about 3/4 of the way there and rolled into work around 9:00 am the next day. It was a really fun drive and an extremely fun car! Click the link for more pics of the house and car:

Mini Cooper S and House

Preview of posts to come:

John is going to Vegas baby (for work) and Brooke and I will be driving down scenic Highway 1 on a small vacation to get away from things and open up the Mini. Stay tuned for more stories of how great I am.

Worst Dog Ever

This is our awful doggy, Shiner or Shine Dog (or to The Tyson - Shine Shine). She has been known to eat my favorite shoes, an entire CD case (including Toadies, Pearl Jam, and Elton John), sunglasses, and electric cords. She is very sweet when she is not awake. We love her.

Oakland Athletics Game 6/04/2007

Well this being our first entry and all, I thought I might talk about how great the A's are, aren't they great? Brooke and I went to watch the Oakland Athletics destroy the Boston Redsox. We actually got on TV when David Ortiz sent a towering foul ball our way. Step one when trying to catch a David Ortiz high pop up thats coming right towards you:

1.) Soil yourself
2.) Find someone to throw in front of you to take the impact of the ball
3.) If no one is around, let it drop to the ground and hope you get it.

I tried step 1 and 3. I was successful and the tv didnt even get my whiz stains! Here is a picture of Brooke and I at an A's game from last season.