We visited lovely Western Colorado last weekend for a much needed visit home. We had a great time with Chris' parents touring the San Juan mountains. Here are a few photos.
On Saturday, we drove to Telluride and rode the gondola from downtown Telluride to Mountain Village.
While in Mountain Village we did the most Telluride of activities...we went shopping at The North Face and scored big-time on some end-of-summer sales:
We also toured downtown T-ride where Chris is pretty sure he saw a movie star...but he couldn't remember what her name was, or what movies she had been in. So, obviously, it was a pretty big deal.
The drive from Montrose to Telluride is quite lovely:
We also toured Chris' parent's new house for the first time. It is very comfortable and has sunflowers:
Olivia and Fran tour the new garden:
On the following day, we hiked around the town of Ouray on a new trail.
Here is a view down a beautiful gorge above Ouray:
and into the recently opened tunnel:
We also celebrated our birthdays. Happy birthday us! and thanks mom and dad for such a great visit!
Once upon a time, in Woodbridge, New Jersey in February, Chris was sitting at a hotel bar talking with a fellow traveler and Californian about things to do in Northern California. This computer consultant/hotel bar enthusiast mentioned that he and his wife rent cabins in Mendocino from a company called Serenisea and that the cabins were reasonably priced and in great locations. Chris quickly emailled Olivia this information and before he returned home, Olivia had booked a weekend -- her birthday weekend -- in a small cabin on the Mendocino Coast in Gualala, California.
Fast forward five fast months and suddenly we realized it was time to go north, to Mendocino, for Olivia's birthday. We had a good time. Here are some photos:
We spent a few hours on Schooner Beach, a lonely, cliff lined beach a few miles north of our cabin:
Olivia befriended some local wildlife:
The bird watching was quite entertaining. Here two pelican soar over our heads like WWII bombers:
This is the view from the hot tub. We spent many hours in this hot tub. You can see why:
It was pretty chilly at night. A roaring fire and some wine kept us toasty!
No birthday is complete without cake!
Happy birthday O!
The next day we drove to Manchester Beach, six miles of lonely, windy sand:
We drove through the Anderson River Valley on our way home. Many of you may know about Anderson River Valley wines, but this verdant Mendocino Valley is also home to a fantastic West Coast Brewery called Anderson Valley Brewing Company (AVBC). The AVBC is in Booneville, California, a town, which, owing to its isolation in the 19th century, developed its own language known as Bootling. We stopped by for some beer tasting. We bearly made it home!
A trip "Up North" wouldn't be complete without a stop at a winery. Here Olivia checks out an old truck at the Maple Creek Winery:
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We had a great time and before we knew it, it was Sunday night, and back to the grind.
