Tag: U.S. Cities

Spontaneous Day Trip to Temecula

Today, we felt like making Sunday a Fun Day – so we hopped in the car and drove out to Temecula. Seems kinda random, but we wanted a long drive and a tasty lunch. We were also pretty motivated to drive through the Wine Country and see what they had out there. It’s a mere 2 hours away via the scenic route, so we went for it.


Once we rolled into Temecula, we embarked upon Old Town. It’s kinda cheesy with its old West vibe, but it was fun. We definitely thought if Huell Hauser hasn’t been already, it’s a destination he’ll be visiting soon! We saw a Mexican Restaurant called “The Bank” – and sure enough, the restaurant exists in the town’s old bank building, originally built in 1914. Since today was Sunday, they were serving menudo.

Menudo makes Ed a very happy boy.


The highlight of the day was hitting up Temecula Olive Oil Company, where they do Olive Oil tastings! We had no idea that tasting Olive Oil could be so interesting and fun! We learned a lot about the olive oils they make themselves, as well as some very unique vinegars. One of the most interesting combos we tried was their California Pomegranate Vinegar mixed with their Citus Reserve olive oil. We came home with a bottle of their Mission Late Harvest Olive Oil, which stands out due to its smooth, buttery taste. Can’t wait to saute some fresh summer veggies with this one! We also picked up their “Just Dress it!” which is gonna be awesome for some fish marinade!!!


 Finally, we arrived in wine country. Since we were driving, it was kind of a tease. We couldn’t do a lot of tasting … but just going along the vineyard-lined roads was really relaxing and beautiful. But we’d be lying if we said we weren’t seriously jonsing for all of the wine! Needless to say, we can’t wait to go back with some sort of driver. There were probably about 20 wineries in the area. Some were really pretty, especially Leonesse, which we stopped at to look around, but didn’t taste. :(


Once we came up on Maurice Car’rie, we figured we HAD to stop … I supposed I was a little influenced by the name. :) We did taste the wines here … and we were not disappointed! Nothing like a little spontaneous wine tasting!

Ed’s Faves: the 2008 Riesling and the 2007 Muscat Canelli.

Carrie’s faves: Pineapple Champagne (okay, I admit – it sounds more like a Wine cooler than a wine, but it was goood!!!) and the 2008 Chenin Blanc. Both of us chose pretty light wines, but it was 99 degrees out there today!

All in all, we had a very fun day! Now, who wants to go on one of those wine tours with us?!?

We love Portland.


This past Labor Day weekend, we finally made it to Portland to visit our dear friends, Rebecca & Jody (You may know Rebecca as our very talented friend who made our wedding cake topper). They have a BEAUTIFUL mid-century modern home in Portland, and were the best hosts we’ve ever had the pleasure of staying with. They had a full weekend planned for us with lots of sightseeing, and they even made us breakfast every morning! Thanks for the pumpkin pancakes and home-grown veggie scramble, you two!

We were a little concerned about the madness of Labor Day weekend travel at LAX, but we just had to grin and bear it. Vacation time off is limited, so when a “free day” comes along, we just gotta take it! However we were pleasantly surprised* – it was an absolute GHOST TOWN at 5:30pm on the Friday evening of this holiday weekend! Here’s the proof:

*Okay, maybe we were slightly freaked out by the fact that it was so empty, like What the heck is going on?, but after we got over that, the pleasantly surprised part settled in …

Portland is a pretty great place. Lots of young folks just like us, a real artistic vibe, and a general concern for things like locally grown foods and independent businesses. No McDonald’s on every corner in Portland! As soon as we got off the plane, Rebecca and Jody drove us downtown, so we could visit the famous, Voodoo Doughnuts. They are known for some pretty wacky creations (check the menu!) – including their famous Maple Bar, topped with a giant piece of bacon. We went for the kitschier variety – Ed got the Captain Crunch doughnut, and Carrie opted for the Fruit Loops. Sweetness overload!

There are so many fun foods to document about Portland, but we’ll cut to the chase and get to the pictures! Feel free to click the “Portland” link under the photos too, if you want to check out the entire album.

Some favorites:

Rebecca & Jody at a local Cafe

Ed’s heart attack on a plate – Scotch Eggs. Huh?

Portland is known for their beers – and here, they feature a Beer Float! Ed says they taste great.

Vietnamese cuisine is pretty popular in Portland, and we couldn’t be happier. This is Jody after his giant crepe arrived at the table!

Now for the pretty stuff. On Sunday, we took a full day to just drive and enjoy the gorgeous Portland Scenery. We had to admit, for two city people like us, we were pretty enamored with Oregon’s green. We’re typically not the nature-y type, but we definitely fell in love!

Beautiful views on our way up to The Gorge

One of many waterfalls, peeking through the green.

Crazy for trees!

Self-explanatory.

After all of the falls, our grand finale was to visit Timberline Lodge, a historic ski lodge at the top of Mt. Hood. The place was amazing. It’s also the lodge you see in The Shining. We didn’t see Jack Nicholson, but we did see SNOW – on the last day of August! It was pretty cool.


To wrap up our trip, we flew home 1st Class – just by pure luck! Our trip was courtesy of Delta (thank you, Frequent Flyer miles!) and on the way home, they just happened to put us in 1st class!

We admit it – we are happier in 1st class. :)

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Thank you, Rebecca & Jody for being such fantastic hosts! Check out the album for more beauty …

Portland

San Diego Stylin’ – sadly comes to an end.

To wrap up our San Diego experience, we decided to grab some lunch at Bondi, an interesting and artful Austrailian restaurant. We were intrigued, as you don’t often hear about “Australian cuisine.” We discovered that it’s not all that different from our American palates, it’s just simply prepared food that’s done extremely well.


Of course, the fact that it boasted a contemporary setting wasn’t bad either. They have these super cool bamboo Pods” that you can enjoy drinks and appetizers in. We were all over it.



After our drink, we decided to move to a table so we could better enjoy what was coming from the kitchen. Check out the presentation! This is Carrie’s grilled chicken breast with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus.

We decided there could’ve been no better way to wrap up such a stylish trip!


San Diego Stylin’, part two

Besides checking out cool modern boutique hotels, we also really enjoy scoping out fantastic restaurants. We knew San Diego wouldn’t disappoint. Tonight, we visited The Red Pearl Kitchen for some delicious asian fusion. From the dim sum to the shrimp-bacon-garlic fried rice – we left the establishment properly satisfied and super-styled.



After dinner, we needed to check out The Confidential, where we had the most delicious martinis ever – and that’s saying a lot coming from the two of us. The place was very easy on the eyes, and surprisingly, very friendly.



Now we’re back at The Keating …


So much to do tonight!

San Diego Stylin’

To celebrate Ed’s big 35th birthday, we have headed down to San Diego for the weekend. We had an ulterior motive – we’ve long awaited a reason to stay at the Keating Hotel, located downtown in the Gaslamp, and finally, we have arrived! This place is fantastic – it’s designed by the famous italian design house, Pininfarina (who is best known for their Ferrari designs, but has now expanded on to even more exciting things, like architectural and industrial design). It is absolutely amazing, true italian modern at it’s best. And, with a connection to car design, and a color scheme that’s all red & white (Carrie’s fave colors), it couldn’t be better suited for the two of us!


This is what the lobby looks like!

We got an even better surprise when we arrived this afternoon – we were told at check-in that we were given a free upgrade X2, to the “Stanza Chic” – a junior suite! What could possibly be better! This is what our suite looks like:

This room is amazing. We have our own espresso machine, Bang & Olufsen electronics and a shower the size of our bathroom at home! Here are a few more photos we stole from the web, we’ll post our own later.


These are our his & her sinks in the room – this is some serious italian design! We LOVE it!


Our shower! Check out the size of that shower head on the ceiling!

We’re still a little awe-struck, so check back later for more pics and details of our trip …