California 2017 - The Rest of Our Adventures

We didn't spend the entire time at the beach, I promise.  Here are a few of my favorite non-beach photos from our trip...

Airports & plane rides, selfies & bike rides, smoothies & tree hangs, hiking & zoo time, breweries & delish food, sunsets & flying home...

We love California so much.  It holds a special place in our hearts, especially since we lived there for a short time.  We try to go back as often as possible to get our Cali fix, so we aren't tempted to move back... ;)

And our next fix is coming soon!

Dear April, please come faster...

California, we're ready for you!*

Thanksgiving in California...

Even though we weren't able to make it home for Thanksgiving this year, we still had a great holiday!  A bit different than our normal traditions, but a whole lot of fun nonetheless...

A gorgeous sunset hike at Crystal Cove

Coffee & the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

A glorious bike ride down to the water

(to compensate for the massive consumption of food later...)

Brett prepping our HUGE turkey breast for two

(A whole turkey would have been way too much food)

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!

It may not be quite the same as home, but we made the best of it =)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

And now onto CHRISTMAS!!!*

Scenes from the Weekend

Stumbled upon an awesome bar in Costa Mesa Friday night: Goat Hill Tavern

Then met up with our friend Brandon for dinner and drinks - fun times!

Saturday morning breakfast on the beach!

Headed up to the mountains for a hike in the Cleveland National Forest

We made patatas bravas!!

(An authentic Spanish dish that we ate almost every night while we were in Spain - so delicious!)

A leisurely Sunday walk around Irvine Regional Park while Brett mountain biked

Sunday afternoon beers at Noble Ale Works!

And winding down from the weekend with some tasty snacks, delicious wine, and our owl friend =)

 Lots on the agenda for this week, so here we go!

Happy (?) Monday!*

Scenes from the Weekend

Brett's parents came to visit!

 We headed up to Solvang in Central California for some wine tasting

Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard
(aka the Davy Crockett winery - they were excited)

Beckman Vineyards - one of our faves!

Sunstone Winery

Bridlewood Winery - so pretty!

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. for dinner - one of our fave breweries!

On our way home from Solvang on Sunday,
we stopped at some really cool beaches along the way!

These beaches had big starfish everywhere - so cool!

We had a great weekend showing Brett's parents around some cool spots in California.  They'll be here until Saturday, so we've got plenty of time to show them lots more!  Hope you all had a great weekend as well!*

Sunset Bike Rides & Date Night

Last night, we went for a bike ride along the back bay.  We started biking this route last week and plan on making it a weekly tradition!  It's the perfect amount of miles (around 30) to get in after work right before the sun sets beyond the horizon.  And not a bad view either. ;)

After our bike ride, we headed down to Laguna Beach for date night!  We had dinner at House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer which we personally renamed "House of Small Fish and Expensive Beer", but it was still delicious!  So after said small dinner (and not successfully refueling our calories needed), we stopped at Taco Loco down the street for "second dinner", because duh.  And then we topped off the night with a couple Belgium beers at Brussels Bistro.  Fun night out with my guy!*

Mom & Dad Visit Southern California!

Well, we dropped my parents off at the airport on Sunday morning.  Womp womp.  We had the BEST time with them visiting this past week.  Our time together flew by way too fast and I miss them already.  We had such a good time showing them around California and definitely did a ton of FUN stuff!

While my parents were here, we...

 Walked along the beach at Crystal Cove in Laguna

Checked out Downtown Disney & the awesome Lego store

 Took the walk with Hanson =)

Went to the Hanson concert at House of Blues Anaheim!
(Dad & Brett did not partake in this part...haha)

Checked out the Griffith Observatory and awesome views

 Saw the Hollywood sign

Introduced Mom & Dad to the amazing In-N-Out

Walked down Hollywood Blvd
(My Mom's nickname is "Fred" haha)

And my Dad got interviewed for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
(and he was ON that night!)

Took another walk with Hanson on Sunset Blvd =)

Made some delicious homemade pizza

Went biking along the beach

Took them to the Top of the World!

Went to Downtown Disney again for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

Explored Tablerock Beach

And walked along Thousand Steps Beach

Found the Elephant Parade at Dana Point

Witnessed a beautiful San Clemente sunset

And hung out on the pier before dinner at Fisherman's Wharf for their last night

We had such an amazing time together.  Seeing my parents made us miss home even more.  We can't wait until we can get back to Pittsburgh and see everyone!  What a wonderful week we had together.

Counting down the days until we can see them again!