San Francisco

Believe it or not, I think I still have two more posts of trip pictures in me. Indulge me, if you will, with our pics of San Francisco.

Check out the swimmer in the bay!

The architecture in SF never disappoints

Hanging out on Haight Street

The sundaes at Ghirardelli are one of the many reasons I couldn't say no to dairy on this trip.

Spending a little time in Beat country

Vesuvio Cafe, a regular hangout of the Beat poets

Waiting for the trolley!

A view of Golden Gate Park from the observatory tower in the de Young Museum

We finished our SF stay with dinner at Millenium, one of the most fantastic vegan restaurants in the country. I could have cried it was so good--and so exciting to have my pick of anything on the menu!

Los Angeles

Here's a few photos from our trip to LA. The beach was lovely, though my favorite part of LA was definitely the food! There were so many vegetarian, vegan, and raw options. . . as far as I was concerned, I was in food heaven.

Stop #1 was Rahel's, where we had vegan Ethopian food. Deelish!

Smiling with our Ethiopian goodness

Dan's sister treated us to organic raw vegan food at Planet Raw. I was so excited!

More organic vegan food--this time at Real Food Daily. Check out my brunch spread of French toast, a tofu scramble, bacon and fruit! This was followed by a tasty vegan chocolate chip cookie.

Dan and his sister Anisa at RFD

Dan was feeling a bit under the weather during our trip. Anisa insisted that wheatgrass would help. Here we are with our daily shot. (Hey, if you're going LA, I say go all the way!)

My monstrous French toast at The Griddle Cafe. Anisa and I shared this and her Nutella French toast. It was so good, though I have to confess that I felt a bit sick afterward because it was so rich--that is a ginormous pat of butter on top!

Me and Sally after our trip out for vegan pizza and desserts!

Getting my toes in the sand at the beach in Santa Monica

Dan with the beach umbrella--it was way too windy for it to be useful, but it sure does make a nice accessory!

The Redwoods

If you're into trees, there are more photos here on Facebook.

Yosemite

I can't think of a more relaxing, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping place to have spent my birthday. It literally took my breath away. Standing amongst all of this, you can't possibly worry about a thing in the world. You feel so small--and yet part of something so big--all at the same time.






If you're interested in seeing more photos, there are others posted here on Facebook.

California: Pacific Coast Highway

I'm back! My trip was amazing. . . Dan and I both agree the natural beauty of California is unsurpassed by anything else we've seen. It's so beautiful that it has inspired a new look for my blog--I took the header photo at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Here are a few other pics from the Pacific Coast Highway; I also posted a dozen or so on Facebook.





Traveling around California--we covered over 1000 miles--is like traveling to four different countries all at once. There's a Mediterranean feel on the coast; a European feel in San Francisco; a bit of Scotland in California's rolling hills; and then the Redwoods and Yosemite, which are like an entire country all their own. They're so different--and so equally beautiful--that I'll be posting the photos in series so you can get a feel for each one (with the added bonus of giving me some additional time to cull through them all!). And, of course, there will be photos of the family and friends we saw. And food. Lots of food.