After I got the go-ahead to travel from the OB out in California, Andrew and I decided to continue up the California coast to finish our vacation. We already had the rental car and the plane tickets out of San Francisco (first class!) so it became more of a “healing journey” than a vacation, but it was still quite beautiful. If your heart is ever heavy, I recommend a few sunsets over the Pacific Ocean to make you feel better.

I wanted to share these with you as a small way of saying thank you for caring for our little family.

We love to travel, but we don’t do enough of it. I blame working in politics, where election-year travel ranges from difficult-to-impossible. I also blame living so far from our loved ones, which means most of our days off are spent visiting family & friends, or going to weddings. Which we love! But still, it eats up the paid time off.

So we scoured the globe for an epic 2011 vacation. Europe? Plane tickets were looking outrageous. Mexico or the Caribbean? Not in the middle of summer. Isle of Palms, SC? Gorgeous, but not exactly epic. Iceland? That’s certainly appealing but I don’t even know where to begin planning a trip there.

Instead we’ve settled on something a little more domestic. But still with tons of things to see and do and explore. For two weeks in August, we’re going to drive the coast of California from Orange County to Napa Valley. How amazing does that sound?

But we could use some advice! Plans are only very roughly sketched out right now. Start in Huntington Beach visiting dear cousins. (Should we trek down to San Diego or skip it?) Spend a few days checking out Los Angeles. (But what’s worth seeing in LA and what’s not?) Eat fish tacos. Eat In-n-Out Burger. Drive up the coast a bit to Santa Barbara, or Ojai. Head to San Luis Obispo and stay with old friends. Keep driving north to Monterrey, or Carmel, or Big Sur, or …? (Try not to drive off a cliff.) Keep heading north, visit some friends in the Bay Area. Spend a few days eating sushi and taking in the craziness of San Francisco. Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Then end the trip with a few days in Napa or Sonoma, in a peaceful, serene, wine-y setting. (But where exactly?)

So please tell me: What’s your favorite thing in California, something we just can’t miss. It could be a restaurant, a shop, a sight, a town, a winery, a hotel or inn, the best place to see a sunset…anything! We like things a bit off the beaten path, a little quirky, and not too corporate. It can be frugal or splurgy — in fact we’re hoping for a mix of both.

Go forth with your mission and plan my epic vacation! I seriously cannot wait to read these answers, so thank you in advance.

(image source)

Yes, photos from Sardinia and Paris are here!

I think the photos pretty much tell the story. In Sardinia we were in the middle of nowhere. We had a little villa up in the hills, and almost every day we would wake up late, make a big breakfast, hop in the car to go explore a beach, lay out til we were fried, then come home and make a big dinner. We only went out for two meals all week! (Oh, but we ate a lot of gelato. At least once per day.) It was fun to make pizza and pasta, and indulge on local cheeses and wine.

The beaches were stunning. The landscape was dry and rugged, and the ocean met up with either cliffs or white sandy beaches. There must have been dozens of beaches and we only saw a fraction of them, but we were pretty sure we found the best one on the southern coast.

There was no cell service, no television, no Americans, no computers, and only an intermittent Blackberry data signal. It was so nice to just shut off.

We left Italy very well rested and a few notches more tan (freckled) and made our way to Paris for just two nights and a day. We picnicked under the Eiffel tower, took a tour down the river Seine, walked around the Notre Dame cathedral….and went to the military history museum? Yes, I am the Best Wife Ever. We also ate croissants and croque monsieurs and wished vacation would never end!

But alas, we are home, where the cats shed and the laundry piles and alarm clock buzzes. Life moves on, and soon I will begin plotting our next vacation…

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I feel a bit odd announcing this, but I always hate it when people keep their birthdays a secret, so when you find out at the very end of the day or when the day has already passed, you feel terribly guilty for not knowing and therefore not wishing them a happy birthday the first 17 times you saw them that day, so I will just tell you now that my birthday is tomorrow (Wednesday)! I anticipate getting lots of Facebook wall posts, having lunch with my sister-in-law, and prying my husband away from his office to hang out with me in the evening. Oh, and instead of cake at my obligatory office celebration, I requested vodka. Nope, not even kidding. I’ll let you know if they indulge me! Happy very boring 28th birthday to meeeeee!

Until I have the mental capacity to post more, here are just a few snapshots of the week. I’ve missed you all – please fill me in on what happened in your worlds while I way away.