After returning from NY I worked one day then the next morning caught a plane to head back to the West Coast. This time the destination was a little further south than Oregon. On the agenda was a visit with Grandma White in San Diego followed by
a bachelorette weekend in Temecula, the "Napa of Southern CA".
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| Of course, after arriving in San Diego, the first stop must be fish tacos with Sandy! |
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| It was great to visit with Grandma. I still can't believe she lives just down the road from Sandy! It was also nice to be familiar with the area already (since I came to San Diego last year with Bo) and I was able to find my previous running trails in Balboa Park. |
On Friday night Kate, Sandy and I picked up the bride, Monica, with two of her New Mexico friends at the airport. The trip was a complete surprise for Monica--even her flight was booked for her!
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| Dinner with the girls at Sandy's favorite local Italian place. Squid ink gnocchi with scallops, shrimp, and a saffron cream sauce. I never had anything like that while living in Italy! |
After dinner we drove about an hour north to Temecula, the southern wine country. Monica still didn't know where we were taking her!
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| In the morning a blanket of thick fog obscured the view on my run. I miss that poor CA visibility! |
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| I think there might have been a hot air balloon behind those clouds |
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| The view from our front deck |
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| We told Monica to dress up because she was going to do something special (we continued to try to keep everything a surprise for her) |
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| Our limo was ready for our wine tour! |
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| It felt like prom all over again, except the dates were replaced with alcohol |
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| Blue RaspGary, our driver (he was a good sport) |
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| Feelin' like a rapper |
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| The after party |
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| Our picturesque Airbnb house for the weekend |
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| Those of us who weren't too "sleepy" from the wine tour got to enjoy an evening with Shakespeare in the Vines. |
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| The fog remained at bay the next morning. |
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| With the clear skies I was surprised to find hot air balloons being launch just at the end of the road! |
The six of us checked out on Sunday morning and said good bye to Temecula. However, the fun wasn't over yet! We stopped by the Ranch (near Julian) for a picnic lunch. Too bad it was sweltering hot :o(
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| It felt like home |
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| Jennifer, MG, and Kate taking in the views |
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| A trip to the Ranch wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Julian Pie Co! |
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| A quick visit to the old cemetary |
It was a great weekend! We should have bachelorette parties more often :o)
