North Shore, Lake Tahoe - July 4th, 2010

Hello again everyone,

It has been way too long since my last post but my day job has been keeping me busy leading up to our new product launch. No excuses though! I was able to sneak away for a long weekend up in Lake Tahoe over the 4th of July weekend and had the most wonderful time staying in the beautiful Incline Village and exploring the North Shore.

We headed up on Thursday afternoon and started the weekend with cocktails and snacks on the deck of Jake's On The Lake overlooking the lake. A couple of fruity cocktails and an Ahi Poke Roll later (which was delicious by the way), I was feeling nice and relaxed and ready to have a fun weekend. We headed to Incline and got ready for a nice dinner at the Lone Eagle Grill right on the lake -- fabulous service and amazing food! Such a treat if you are looking for a nice night on the town.

The weekend continued with lunch at Garwoods in Kings Beach - no, we did not have the Wet Woody's this time because we had a tee time right afterwards... but I will definitely be trying one or two the next time I go! Here are a few pics from the beach outside of Garwoods.

We golfed both the Championship Course and the Mountain Course in Incline Village over the course of the weekend and the courses won both matchups. Don't worry -- I'll be back soon and plan to redeem myself...

Championship Course

And of course, the 4th of July would not be complete without a fireworks display. We attended a party at the Lone Eagle and then watched the fireworks from the dock. What a beautiful night with friends and family. Definitely a weekend to remember -- I just did not want to leave...

Enjoy the fireworks and maybe we'll see you there next year?

San Francisco's Painted Ladies

Since being back in the Bay Area and spending time in San Francisco again, I have discovered my latest fascination... old Victorian architecture. So many buildings and apartments in San Francisco are so beautifully decorated with intricate details from the Victorian era. The most famous of these old Victorians are the "Painted Ladies" or "Seven Sisters" which are located opposite Alamo Square Park in Hayes Valley. These Victorians have been featured in many movies over the years with sweeping views over the San Francisco skyline, and also happened to be the home of the family from the TV show "Full House" back in the '80's. I hope you enjoy my photo tribute to these gorgeous buildings below.

The Painted Ladies

San Francisco - Home Sweet Home... Again!

Okay, so San Francisco is not entirely my home again but close enough! :-) I recently moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area and am still deciding where I want to live "full-time", but I have been spending time back in the beautiful city of San Francisco and the gorgeous weekends that I have experienced recently are a definite sign that I should seriously consider moving back there for good!

Last weekend I was treated to 70 degree weather with hardly a cloud in the sky so I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. I went down to Chrissy Fields after breakfast on Saturday morning and took some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge from the beach. What a phenomenal site -- one of the best places to view the Golden Gate and SF Bay. I hope you enjoy these pics below.

Black and White Africa Photos

(Photo above is Sunrise over Kruger National Park, South Africa)

Hello everyone! I apologize for my long absence but I have moved back to Northern California and started my new job so things have been pretty busy... I am very excited because I just bought my new Canon 50D camera and am ready to start taking pics again! My new camera also inspired me to go back through my photos from my recent Africa trip and pull out some of my faves that I have not yet posted here on my blog. I am also learning some new editing techniques in Photoshop so please bear with me as some of these are total experiments...

(Photo below taken at the beach in Hermanus, South Africa)

(Photo below is a Baby Zebra in Kruger National Park, South Africa)

(Photo below is my favorite lion from the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana)

(Photo below is a Baby Elephant with Mama Elephant in Kruger National Park, South Africa)

(Photo below is a rare sight - Hyena's resting in Kruger National Park, South Africa)

(Below, moving back to the beautiful beach in Hermanus, South Africa)

(Below, our place on the rocks for "sun-downers" in Hermanus, South Africa)

(Below, a gorgeous sunset in Hermanus, South Africa)

(On the Midlands Meander outside of Pietermaritzberg, South Africa -- Barbed wire fencing is a harsh contrast to the beauty of the countryside)

(Not far from the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa)

(First glimpse of the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa)

Music Quiz!

Okay, so this is not exactly a travel tip but since I always carry an iPod (or sometimes multiple iPods) with me when I travel I thought this would be a fun quiz to pass along. My sister-in-law Shelby and her friend Lyndsy just completed this quiz and the results were pretty funny so I thought I would play along too! Enjoy! :-)

The Rules:

1. Put your iTunes/ ipod (or any mp3 player) on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

4. Encourage others to play along!

My Results:

1) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

Lady Madonna – The Beatles

2) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

Always on Time – Ja Rule (Amen!)

3) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Track 02 (apparently I have no purpose...)

4) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

Hey You – No Doubt

5) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

What’s Left of Me – Nick Lachey (ummm, not good!)

6) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?

Crazy – Aerosmith

7) WHAT IS 2+2?

Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Something – The Beatles

9) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Beyond Belief – Elvis Costello

10) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones (yeah baby!)

11) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

No One Said It Would Be Easy – Sheryl Crow

12) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Punky Reggae Party – Bob Marley & The Wailers

13) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

Chances Are – Bob Marley

14) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?

Not For You – Pearl Jam (hmmmm… not a good omen…)

15) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Badfish – Sublime (seriously?!)

16) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Morphine & Chocolate – 4 Non Blondes (hahaha)

17) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Frail and Bedazzled – Smashing Pumpkins (not true, I promise!!)

18) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?

Hound Dog – Elvis Presley (LMAO!!!)

19) HOW WILL YOU DIE?

Franklin’s Tower – Grateful Dead

20) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?

Going Under - Evanescence

21) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Mr. Jones – Counting Crows

22) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?

That’s It, That’s All – The Beastie Boys

23) WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?

Madness in the Hood – Spearhead (I’m doomed!)

24) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

Sweet Sacrifice – Evanescence

25) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?

Life, In a Nutshell – Barenaked Ladies

26) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

Here With Me – Dido

27) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynrd Skynrd