Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle was built in the 1920s-1930s by a man who sought to create Europe in rural California. This "house" was actually lived in and used. The amount and type of antiquities Hearst used to furnish his house is baffling.

Original Baroque ceiling panels

Authentic Roman mosaic floor.

the swimming pool, modeled after Greek bath houses

Busting out the Nerdiness

Dave and I decided to be social and throw a party. Not just any party: A STAR WARS party. We had it on May the 4th, because it is Star Wars day since it sounds like "May the force.." With Star Wars costumes, themed food, and a trivia contest, i think we out-nerded some of our friends, and came out as nerds to others. 

I'd like to say this was all Dave's idea... but really, I was the driving force. Dave asked me, "If you were to go back to 20-year-old Annie and tell her about this party, what would she say?" I probably would have just looked confused. I definitely didn't think this is what I'd be doing...hah!

Here are some photos of our nerd-fest. 

Fall

It's as if God told Mother Nature that it must be Autumn starting October 1 (which also coincides with the new fiscal year). After literally 6 months of nothing but "hot and sunny" in the forecast, we finally have some variations! On cue, October 1, there were clouds in the sky. I couldn't figure out what felt different about the day until I realized there were these weird fluffy white things in the sky: CLOUDS. Oh clouds! I haven't seen you for so long!! There were so many days over the spring and summer that I just wanted to sit and mope and demanded that the weather reflect my moods. It's a lot harder to be depressed when it's bright and sunny out.

So every day - ok say it's been 4 days - since Oct 1 there has been real weather: A chance of showers, a chance of thunderstorms, the unexpected shower, clouds. It's great. You don't realize how much you miss the variations until you no longer have them.

Our leaves haven't changed color. I doubt they will. Our green-leafed trees just don't seem too healthy; the leaves have been brown around the edges since July. I credit the extreme heat for that.

Whenever I go to someone's house who's been married longer than I have, I am always envious of their seasonal decorations. It takes so long to build up that stock-pile. Well, I've added to mine. Last week my friend, Rachel, and I went to Color Me Mine, a paint-it-yourself ceramic shop.

BEFORE

AFTER

Rachel and I with our pumpkins.

So there you have it. Some homemade decor. It's about the only halloween decor I have. But I'm sure time and children will grow my collection.

Avila Beach

On September 25, the Conklins crunched into our car - with our third row in use - and we drove to the coast. We had a relaxing afternoon at Avila Beach. After a week of the mid to upper 70s all week, the valley had a heat wave again - reaching 98 on Saturday. But at the beach it was a balmy breezy 85 - also known as perfect. On our way back from the beach, we stopped at a few wineries. A good balance of kid friendly and adult friendly. 

Maya and Tom realize the water's freezing.

Mr. Entertainment

Dave and I

Tom and Caleb

I love katie's face in this photo!

Camping and Hiking

Dave and I decided to finally put that tent he bought for me in 2008 to good use. Last weekend we went camping in Sequoia National Park at Atwell Mill. While we had a rocky start to getting out the door (returning home three times after leaving to retrieve various important items) by the time we got on the road it was a straight shot: 198E, take a right on to a windy mountain road and keep straight on till morning. We arrived around 6pm and had plenty of campsites to choose from (they are all first-come-first-serve).


We were able to unpack and get the tent set up, a fire going, before it was dark. A Good thing too- it's very very dark out there.  All of our food and "smelly" things such as tooth paste, deoderant, charcoal, and hot dogs - had to be kept in bear-proof boxes - steal containers with a bear-proof handle.

Dave turning hot dogs over the fire.

Dave was very proud of himself - and I was, too - for starting the fire without anything but matches - no starter-logs or anything! As you can see, it was roaring. We didn't feel the chill of the night at all until we'd retired to the tent to play Banana-grams. I was petrified the entire night of bears. I would make Dave check things out outside routinely (sorry, hun). I know what squirrels sound like and that was NOT a squirrel outside the tent. The next morning, as Dave is re-lighting the fire for a breakfast of eggs and coffee, a Park Ranger pulled up to our campsite to write down our receipt number. She informed us that a bear lives on the ridge just above where we camped. And I mean, JUST ABOVE.

The bear lives and walks right up there! On the upper left. Awesome. No wonder I couldn't sleep.

So my fears were legitimate. We told the Ranger we thought we heard him last night and she said, "Well, then that was a deer you heard. If it were a bear, you wouldn't have heard a thing. For as large as they are, they don't make a sound walking about." Again, I'm terrified.

As we were finishing breakfast, some of Dave's squadron-mates pulled up to our campsite. They knew that we were camping, and were on their way to go hiking, decided to drop by (it's on the way) and see if we wanted to come. The hike, TJ describes, is "a moderate 6 mile hike, shouldn't be too easy, but not overly hard." So Dave and I agree. 

Dave at the beginning of the trail.

The Valley. See that far peak in the distance? That's our destination. (Dave and I didn't know that at the time.)

Look! A  picture of Dave and me!

A meadow closer to the top of the mountain.

The view from the top - we are level with most of those peaks. 

The reason we hiked up hill for three miles - crystal clear, all-natural, melted snow lake.

We finally made it!

On the way down, we saw an adolescent black bear. He was 10 feet away from us, munching on some berries.
This only reinforces my fear of bears. 

We had a great time camping and hiking. Hiking- way more difficult than we thought. We thought we'd be walking around, not necessarily up to the top of a mountain. Worth it, though, and we'd do it again. And we discovered that I have a fear of bears.... And caterpillars.