It's Aliiiive!!!

My blog, that is. It hasn't died. Not without a fight.

I've been very busy lately, what can I say? I go through phases; sometimes I'm hyper creative, other times I'm more into my social life, and still others I am on fitness kicks. Whatever the case, I'm always trying to be active. These days I've been hiking nearly everyday of the week (weekends don't count), which has monopolized my time. Traveling is also a favorite pastime, and although I feel like everyone says that... I really mean it.

So this past Memorial Day weekend I went traveling with my honey, John. For those of you who haven't met him:

The doctors still haven't figured out what's wrong with him... but they're working diligently to determine the source of the problem and they feel confident that, in time, they will find a cure.

We arrived in Cambria late on Friday night and stayed in the most adorable little B&B all weekend. The Bridge Street Inn was incredibly charming, complete with the sweetest Burmese Mountain Dog/teddy bear, Max. All the other travelers who were staying there were friendly and interesting, with plenty of exciting experiences and knowledgeable tips to go around.

On Saturday we had grand plans of going on a hike and visiting some hot springs, but wouldn't you know it, the highway you must take to the hot springs leads straight through Paso Robles wine country... and we never made it out. But that was fine too. So we spent Saturday visiting 4 or 5 wineries before swaggering back to the B&B where John made us dinner.

On Sunday we got to know our vacation base town a little better by walking around and checking out all the local shops. Cambria has plenty of little (and big) antique shops, gardens & galleries to get lost in. We grabbed a beer and caught a performance by the local band of middle aged hippies, Rough House. In the evening we went on a tour of the Hearst Castle. It was amazing, obviously. Afterwards we watched the sun set over ocean (which I took an extensive photo journal of) and went out to a fabulous dinner.

On Monday we headed up to Big Sur for a hike. This leg of the trip really made an impression on me. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and I'm so happy we made it happen (since we had discussed a hike everyday but didn't get around to it until the end of the trip). God, the views were amazing and the hills looked like ones you'd see on a tropical island. On our way back to Cambria we stopped at a resort that had a good vista and noticed that the band playing on the restaurant patio was none other than our old pals, Rough House. On our way out of town we hit up two more wineries, ate dinner in San Luis Obispo, and drove through the Dutch town of Solvang before heading home.

Oh, by the way: I took 400 pictures during this trip - I know, it's pretty ridiculous. Regardless, you can view them here.

The Big Cheese

We had another big event last night for the DVD release of Ratatouille, held at Social Hollywood. It was actually a really cute, fun, and majorly expansive setup, far larger than I had anticipated. I was wishing last night that I had brought my camera to take pictures of the extravaganza, but it seems that I never have my camera with me at the opportune times. My coworker took a couple photos on her phone, so below is one of the inside bar area. In addition to that room (and all the delicious gourmet buffet food) there was a huge entry room that housed a "Cars" Blu-ray setup.

But by far, my favorite part was the French inspired patio where an all night tasting of high end cheeses and wines ensued. My god, was that fantastic. I definitely gorged myself last night... if you know me, you know how passionate I am about cheese. The top notch cheese that was being served was a triple creme sheep's milk that goes for over $100/lb!! The best part: the cheese server noticed how enthralled I was with their offerings so he packed up at least a quarter lb. of that triple cream, as well as some fantastic aged Gouda for me to take home. I have about $60 worth of delectable cheese in my fridge at home, all compacted onto one tiny plastic to-go plate. I got the cheese shop's card, and it turns out they are local (as opposed to the wine experts, whom I believe were not). However, I don't see myself heading to the valley to spend $25 on a slice of cheese any time soon... unfortunately.

Before I could enjoy the open bar and wine/cheese tasting, however, I had to help manage the red carpet. Notable names included Brian Dennehy, John Ratzenberger, Patton Oswalt, the Oscar winning creators of movies like Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille, and probably my favorite of all, Cheech Marin. No, I didn't shake any hands, but I did rub some shoulders, literally... it gets crowded on the carpet. Oh, and I also shared an intimate moment with THIS guy, who had the audacity to grab the glass of Cafe Boheme from my hands and take a taste for himself. Sure, I could have said 'no' but I have too many fond movie memories of him from childhood as 'that guy who's in everything'. I hold him near and dear.