Anacapa & Santa Cruz Islands

We found the perfect day trip in Southern California. Two separate Saturdays in January we took boat rides with Island Packers to the Channel Islands. Our first trip was to Anacapa and the second was Santa Cruz. What a way to spend the day--exploring the islands and spotting gray whales - 45 in all. Anacapa is full of sea lions and pelicans and breathtaking views from the top of shear cliffs. If you ever find you have a free day a Channel Island trip is definitely worth your while.

New England

What an amazing trip...autumn in New England.

From the world's best lobster roll and fried clams to seventeenth century villages to Ivy league colleges, we pretty much saw the best the area had to offer.

Some of the highlights were Yale University with striking gothic architecture and character, Watch Hill, Rhode Island with it's spectacular ocean setting and breath-taking mansions, Boston's perfect dichotomy of old and new, Portsmouth's quintessential New England style downtown located in a beautiful harbor and Woodstock, Vermont possibly the most charming town in that region.

We took advantage of New England's outstanding seafood: our favorites were fried clams at the Clam Box and homemade hot apple cider at Russell Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts and lobster rolls at Red's in Wiscasset, Maine, and scallop chowder at the Ice Box in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. And we bought a bag of the freshest and yummiest Honey Crisp apples the first day and devoured all but four during our nine day trip.

{1. Love 2. Love 3. Love}

Three years together and our love is stronger than ever. We had such a fabulous day. Scott took me to BLD, a cool place he found up in L.A., for breakfast. It was delicious. They serve the best bacon on the planet [smokiest and thickest ever], fried eggs, homemade English muffins and blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup.

Then we went to an endowment session in the LA temple which was the first for both of us. It is such a huge temple and we loved it. Very fun.

For dinner Scott found this little French bistro called Marché Moderne [our new favorite restaurant] at the Penthouse in South Coast Plaza. We are so spoiled. It was divine. I decided to bring my camera so we could remember this decadent meal forever [photos above].

We were surprised with an amuse-bouche or "tantalize the tongue" to kick off our meal. It was this tiny one-bite-hors d'oeuvre of corn flan with parmesan and chorizo crisps. Then our salad of candied pecans, green apple and baby greens topped with shavings of Manchego cheese. Yum. Scott ordered the lamb which was incredibly tender and succulent. I got the Peruvian scallops, with two little crispy pig trotter sausages on greens. The scallops were melt in your mouth tender and the sauce was ridiculous. Incredible hot-out-of-the-oven bread was continuously offered to us throughout the meal. And it was fabulous. Dessert was warm chocolate soufflé with homemade coconut/mango ice cream. Heavenly...the entire experience. Our absolute favorite.

After dinner we went to see the Pacific symphony perform Tchaikovsky's Spectacular at the Verizon Amphitheater. It was truly spectacular...ending with cannons and amazing fireworks.

A fabulous day for such a special occasion. We can't stop talking about how incredible our day was.

1. Love 2. Love 3. Love. Many more to come. I love you my lover.

Rock Climbing Idyllwild: Tahquitz Rock

Scott had the time of his life free-climbing Tahquitz Rock. We had a delightful lunch in Idyllwild where we ate the best crab cakes we've ever had on the patio at Gastrinome while we enjoyed the mountains and fresh air.

Happy Spring!

Love love love the spring blossoms.

~Point Reyes Obsession~

While many couples enjoy a candle lit dinner and a box of chocolates to celebrate Valentine's, we prefer a taste of adventure at Point Reyes National Seashore. This, our third visit, took us to Chimney Rock, Bodega Head, the lighthouse and an eight mile round-trip hike to Arch Rock. As always, we enjoyed breathtaking scenery and a bounty of wildlife. We were also blown away by the 20-30 foot swells crashing into the coastline. New surprises this trip: the best wood-fired artisan pizza at Ghiringhelli's, the best pastries at Bovine bakery, and the best organic ice cream at The Fairfax Scoop. We want to go back!