Sunday, July 24, 2011

On The Road Again


We’re in El Paso, Texas!  We made it!

We loaded our two cars to the max, said our goodbyes and headed out. It’s about a 12-hour drive from SoCal to El Paso, TX. Thankfully we had a one-night pit stop in the Phoenix area to visit my “big sis” and her family. This was the first road trip I’ve had to drive myself and I decided rather quickly that I’m not a fan. You can’t nap when you’re driving! And besides snacking nonstop, napping is my second favorite part of road trips. Plus, I was in the car with the kids and there are only so many times a person can listen to Veggie Tales CDs and stay sane. 

Our last In-N-Out stop...G's shirt says it all.
 
We realized that between all of us we had to stop every 1.5 hours to use the bathroom and/or refuel. We stopped a lot...here’s a photo of us picnicking outside of Burger King. The kids were hungry and this was the last stop before we left the Tucson area. There wasn’t any outside seating so we sat on the curb in the parking lot, ate our food, and let the doggie stretch his legs. It was really classy. 


Why are we squinting? The 105-degree sun is in our eyes, that's why.

Between Tucson and El Paso there isn’t much to see. We really are in the middle of nowhere. Just a lot, lot of desert. I never thought I’d be so happy to see El Paso. In fact, I was so happy to see any type of urban activity. Cacti are lonely things. 

From the road

We’ve been here for a few days now and have made some large strides toward getting settled in. House and school situation is settled. Learned our lesson on which hotels to stay at and which ones to avoid. Found a park. We’re learning the streets. And, overall, our initial impressions are favorable. Having grown up in Southern California, this feels more like “home” to us than Georgia. There is no real suburb, the city stretches on forever with a mix of industry and residential and the airport and main post is in the middle of it all. The city seems to be in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills. The valley is shared between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, and at various parts of the city, you can see stretches of both cities. It’s beautiful sparkly lights at night.

The view from our hotel room...that's the 10 FWY folks...

The weather is not unbearable. In fact, this dry heat is so much more tolerable than the humidity in the South. The sunsets are gorgeous and we've seen some awe-inspiring afternoon lightening storms too. It's bizarre to watch storms that are miles and miles away from you, the sun shining on your face while you watch the rain pour on someone else.

There is so much more to say but the kids and dog are bouncing off the hotel room walls. Can’t wait to be in our house…with a yard…although, having someone else make our beds is a nice perk to hotel living. Oh, and one side note about extended hotel living, packing my French press and favorite canister of coffee seemed crazy at the time but might be the best idea that I’ve ever had. It’s made hotel living so much more pleasant and homey.

More to come soon…Hasta Luego!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Finding Nature In SoCal


I think this is the first time I’ve felt like a tourist in my hometown. It’s definitely our first fun-filled, action-packed vacation to SoCal.  We’ve done a lot of the touristy things – Disneyland, Downtown Disney, Knott’s Berry Farm, the beach, etc. – and we’ve been eating and drinking like we’re on vacation. It’s like a vacation with all your friends and family – in short, it’s totally awesome! And we’re having a great time! We’ve been visiting with people almost morning, noon and night for the past couple of weeks and we still don't/won’t have time to see everyone we love and care about…talk about being overwhelmed (in a good way!!) with all the blessings (our friends and family) in our life! 

There is so much I could tell you about - and I might at a later date (probably when I’m gone and missing California terribly) - but I want to focus on our recent trip to Big Bear Lake. In my opinion, Big Bear Lake is the best escape-to-nature in SoCal. It's a year-round destination (skiing in the winter, boating in the summer), found in the local mountain range, and surrounded by the National San Bernardino National Forest. 

You could call this trip “our vacation from our vacation.” It was the most relaxing few days that I’ve had in a really long time. 

Picturesque landscape…



wind in your hair…



lots of yummy treats…



and good company…



What more could you ask for?!

We were lucky enough to be there with friends that have a cabin and a boat (yay!). No worries if you don’t have a boat, there are lots of rental options (kayaks, jet-skis, etc.) and a small beach with a water slide. The beach looks perfect for families with younger kids.  Click here for more info.

If you need a place to stay, try the Northwood Inn Resort.  My hubby has stayed there many times for work.  Click here for more info.

We ate at Village Pizza (40568 Villge Dr). It has decent pizza, is family-friendly and relatively inexpensive. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the Taco Pizza. It was a fun change from ordinary pepperoni pizza.

We also found a cute little bakery, Sugar Pine Bake Shop. It has limited operating hours so check the website or call before you go. I recommend the Hoosier Pie – a cross between Crème Brulee and Bread Pudding – and the chocolate chip cookies – which have an unexpected but delicious burst of cinnamon and nutmeg flavor. I wouldn’t turn down a cupcake either.

As for nightlife, near "the Village," there is a fun, hole-in-the-wall, dive-bar with karaoke nights – I can’t remember the name (did it even have a name?!) – where the locals seem to hang out. If you go, I highly recommend you sing only country songs. Trust me on this...I learned the hard way. 

One last note, if you happen to get car sick, research “the back way” up the mountain. The front way (Hwy 330) has many sharp twist and turns. 

Sunday, July 3, 2011

American as Apple Pie

Happy 4th of July weekend!  

I found this recipe on Pocket Cocktails and thought it'd be a perfect drink for this holiday weekend.  Enjoy, but please, drink responsibly!

Apple Pie Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ oz vodka

• ¾ oz Goldschlager

• 1 ½ oz apple juice

• 1 ½ oz red cranberry juice


Recipe:

1) Fill a shaker halfway with ice cubes.

2) Add the vodka, Goldschlager, apple juice and cranberry juice to the shaker.

3) Shake the mixture vigorously for 5 to 10 seconds.

4) Strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an apple slice.

 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Super Easy Banana Bread

I'm in consumerism heaven right now.  Here, in Southern California, I have easy and quick access to all my favorite stores and restaurants - Trader Joe's, In-N-Out, Cost Plus World Market, etc., to name a few. There is no shortage of shopping options, that's for certain. 

I was most happy to go to Trader Joe's.  I love that store.  Here's one of my favorite, easiest recipes, made possible by the friendly and genius people at Trader Joe's. 

Super Easy Banana Bread

1 package of Trader Joe's Banana Bread Mix
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup of chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking chips)

Follow the directions on the package. Mix the ingredients called for on the package, along with the mashed banana and chocolate chips. Bake, as directed. You might need to add about 5 minutes to the baking time. 

As Sienna would say, "easy peasy lemon squeezey."  And delicious!