Marky Mark

Go see The Fighter. You will not be disappointed. Mark Wahlberg will tug at your little heartstrings in his quiet struggle and Christian Bale is at his method-acting finest. Seriously. They are SOOOOO good together. And, as an added bonus, you get to see some very, very fine examples of classy southie hair and clothing. Thank god midriff baring, daisy dukes and teased bangs went away - at least in most parts of the country...

And, we're starting to see that all of the theatres here are old art-deco houses. They're gorgeous! If only I could ever remember the camera!!!

For all the cat lovers...

Meet my other co-worker. He may have fleas right now, but he's still the sweetest, cuddliest, ginormous orange kitty you've ever met. I'm in love. He must weigh 25 pounds. Normally, he snuggles up all day on the top of the pantry next to the refrigerator (about 7 feet off the ground). Since the cleaning man was vacuuming, he was banished to his other favorite spot, the flower pot. Not the best pictures but....

Don't you think Simon needs a friend?

Napaaaaaaaaahhhh

Disclaimer: Minneapolites, we know that you were the victims of a snownami this weekend so if you don't want to read about a glorious, sunny day in Napa, you may not want to continue reading. 

This weekend was Aaron's virgin trip to California wine country. And, it was good.

Two things happen when one visits Napa. It is, afterall, the happiest place on earth, according to Mara.

1. You believe you are independently wealthy.
2. You believe you are invincible and that you can drink copious amounts of wine while retaining both your intelligent conversational skills and your very refined palate.

We rented a car and drove up early Saturday morning. The fog was just lifting off of the hills and the clouds were splitting to reveal a gorgeous blue sky. It was warm, still, and absolutely beautiful. The fantastic thing about going to Napa during the off season is that there is NO TRAFFIC. We made it from Berkeley to St. Helena in under an hour. During the high season, this trip can easily take up to 2 hours.

We started at Freemark Abbey, my favorite winery (in my limited experience). They have been around forever (since way before Prohibition) and were the first winery to be owned and operated by a woman, Josephine Tychson. They have had the same winemaker for almost 30 years, making wines in the old world style, blending the reds in the French tradition, and making truly amazing wines. 

Picnic grounds beside tasting room at Freemark Abbey

It is a pretty fantastic place to begin. We were the only ones there for the first hour so we had Diane's undivided attention. We also decided to join their wine club so we were offered everything - library wines, their signature red blend, their dessert wine...the list goes on. In any case, go there. You will not be disappointed. The only problem is that you don't want to dump anything because it is all so fine. It probably should have been our only stop for the day... ;) 

Incidentally, today I learned that my co-worker's father was a famous winemaker for over 30 years in Napa and Sonoma AND...he was a partner at Freemark in the 60's. Too crazy. Also, the current winemaker at Freemark was my co-worker's TA for her viticulture class at UC Davis many moons ago!!! What a small world. She told me story upon story about her father's amazing farming and scientific skills. She was so proud of him; it was awesome. Again, crazy serendipity.

Next, our friend Diane from Freemark sent us down the road to St. Clement winery. The tasting room is up a very steep hill in a late 19th-century estate with spectacular views. Their specialty is cabernet sauvignon, but they had just released a chardonnay that knocked both of our socks off. I'm not a chardonnay drinker AT ALL but this one was so soft and floral, it tasted like it was blended with muscat.

St. Clement estate

And, here's the view from the top of the hill. Pretty nice, huh? They also have several picnic tables and a fire pit and are very encouraging of hillside picnics...

I won't detail every single stop but the last winery we went to was Hope & Grace in Yountville, the home of the famous French Laundry, Bouchon, Bottega, etc. etc. And every. street. looks. like. this. It really is the happiest place on earth.

Hope & Grace is known for its lush, delicious pinots and Malbecs. And, one of the tasting room attendants brings his dog, Romeo, to work with him so that's an added bonus. Romeo is going to be featured in the next Winery Dogs of Napa Valley. We also met a chef there this weekend who was Welsh so, OF COURSE, we had to ask him the most obvious question. Do you know Bryn Terfel? And, of course, he did. Seriously. He told us a couple of stories and made our night with that hilarious accent.

And with that, we were off...back to the farmer's market, Christmas parties, and the realities of Monday morning. Well, at least for one of us :)

The Brussels Sprout Diet

I suppose that, by now, some of you out there in Readerland are wondering, "Just what the hell is Aaron doing with his time, given that he currently has no job and has not penned a single entry to this outstanding blog?" (It's more likely that you're not wondering that. Unfortunately for you, I'm going to tell you what I've been up to anyway). Well, he has been developing an exciting new nutritional plan: The All-Brussels-Sprout-Diet. Will it make you ride faster up mountains? Will it make you run faster and further than you ever thought possible? Will it make you more attractive to the opposite (or same, we are in the Bay Area, after all) sex? I cannot guarantee any of these things. What I can tell you is this: Brussels sprouts are damn delicious, and boy are they cheap in California.

What you see above is a stalk of the delectable sprouts in their wild form. For me, this was an incredible discovery. For the first thirty years of my life, I thought that they grew in freezer bags or in miniature cabbage patches. But no, they actually exist as some sort of Mother Nature's ninja attack weapon. The stalk itself is roughly two-and-a-half feet long, and I would say that it contains at least 50 individual sprouts. The cost of this beauty? $2.95 at the local Berkeley Bowl market. And, they're organically grown. We have also purchased the tiny cabbages at the Temescal Farmer's Market. It's a five-minute walk from our apartment, in the parking lot of the DMV. Here is what the walking path looks like:

The path is beautiful, if fraught with runaway children like the one pictured above. I don't know how many times we have nearly tripped over a wayward child or narrowly escaped being trampled by a parent's desperate dash after a child headed straight for the small ravine next to the path. It's a dangerous trip, but worth the risk for the aforementioned Brussels sprouts and other assorted goodies.

You can also buy these at the Farmer's Market, but we haven't done so yet. We learned our lesson living with Mara and Stu.

We have experimented with Brussels sprouts in several forms: pan-seared in the style of the 112 Eatery, roasted, and finely chopped and sauteed. While we have not yet embarked on an all Brussels sprout diet, we may have eaten our weight in the fine vegetable over the past two weeks. (At the risk of sharing too much, I think that my stomach started to rebel against all of the fiber this morning). They are delicious as a side dish, a main course, or on tacos. (And what of tacos? We have a blossoming addiction to them, thanks to their versatility and the proliferation of great tortillas at the grocery stores here.)

Tonight's dinner was a galette of roasted vegetables with a side of shredded Brussels sprouts. (Recipe courtesy of Eating for England. Lil' A, if you're reading, I highly recommend the linked post for her thoughts re: MPLS) A smashing success and great team effort, this is a recipe that we will try again for sure.

If it appears that the galette dough contains chocolate chip cookies, that's because it has olives in it. A stroke of genius.

And finally, the star of today's post: the glorious sprouts in their final form.

I know not how far down the path toward an All-Brussels-Sprouts-Diet we will go. I will happily update you all regarding future adventures in Sproutsville and other culinary locales. Until next time...

Sunshine on my shoulders

Um. I'm not trying to gloat or anything but, um, it is sunny and 62 today in the Oakland Hills. Gorgeous. I can't believe it is December 6. Wow.

Christmas, O-Town Style

Friday night Oakland held its main tree-lighting ceremony at Jack London Square. We were promised "snow showers" every half-hour, a talent contest, reindeer, and a 55 foot tree. Now, this is not the sort of event we would ever go to in Minnesota but, you know, when you're far away from the Midwest you miss watching the snow fall just a little bit (but not that much).

However, before the official lighting ceremony, we found ourselves back at Beer Revolution for the happiest of hours. Not only do they offer delicious and unusual beers from all over the world, but they also are next door to another revolution, Souley Vegan. This place is fantastic. They offer all of the typical Southern foods - yams, okra, black eyed peas, collards, lentils, etc., but EVERYTHING is vegan. The restaurant itself is nothing to look at and one would be very tempted to pass it by (vegan soul food, WHA?!?!) but it is totally worth a stop. We were afraid to try the mac and cheese (no one can really beat Ross's F.C. version) so we stuck to lentils, collards and a ridiculously tasty sandwich. The sandwich had BBQ tofu AND fried tofu. The BBQ tofu was spicy and seriously addictive, and the fried tofu was like a pillow of happiness. It had a perfect cornmeal crust, was as light as air, and so savory you never wanted it to end. ALSO, you order at Souley Vegan and it is delivered right to your bar stool at Beer Revolution. Awesome. We actually had to stop back on the way to the tree-lighting and have a piece of cornbread. So, so, good. We'll be going back. 

Anyway, on to the main event. This is how O-Town decorates for Christmas:

They may not have snow, they may not have pine trees, but they sure do have Christmas spirit! They also have these:

That's right! Reindeer at Jack London Square. They probably vacation here to escape the cold of the North Pole. For some reason, none of the kids at the event had any interest in the reindeer. I wanted to watch them all night. Maybe if the reindeer had worn their sleigh bell harnesses the kids would have been more interested.

And, just for BCSM, they had Miss California with a tender offering of Whitney's "Who Could Imagine a King?" I wish I could include a soundfile. It was very, very special. She had a VERY serious tiara.

Then, on to the main event. The tree-lighting ceremony. They had to light up a 55 foot tree so they enlisted the help of several volunteers, including out-going Mayor Ron Dellums, and Oakland's new Mayor, Jean Quan. There wasn't any of the promised snow, but the tree sure looked pretty.

**********************************************************************************

It has been a little cloudy this week but the rain that was expected never came.  I walk 20 minutes to my bus in the morning and all around me, the morning mist creates views like this:

You can barely see the hills in the background but usually by the time I get to work, the mist has cleared, the sun has broken through the clouds and the hills are flooded with light. I am in awe of the geography of this city every time I look up. The other great thing about Northern California, that you can sort of see in this picture, is that they do actually have trees whose leaves change colors! Let's face it, fall colors are one of the best things about the Midwest and I was so afraid we'd miss that. Thankfully, many of the trees are still in the red/gold phase here.

When I leave work (in the hills), it looks like this. Every. Single. Evening. 

Lastly, for my cat-loving friends, meet my new co-worker. She works hard for her money. Also, I have never met a cat who talks so much. We have to tell her to be quiet when we're on the phone. She works (sleeps) in the office all day long.

Sunday Fun(?)day

So...no farmer's market photos for you today. I forgot the camera (surprise, surprise). The stands are now filled with greens, root vegetables, peppers, onions, beets, radishes, and carrots. The tomatoes are basically finished; there are a few die-hard apples to be had. Pears are just beginning to show up and the star of the fruit show is currently the persimmon. Or, rather, persimmons. Who knew that there were so many varieties of persimmons? We've tried 2 so far and find them pretty tasty. Aaron calls them the love-child of a tomato and mango. Add a little papaya into that mix and I think the description is pretty apt. In any case, it is fascinating to learn the growing season in a new climate; each week we look forward to seeing the newcomers at the market. 

Yesterday, despite the grey drizzle, we went to the Ferry Building farmer's market. While it does have an amazing produce selection, the real draw is all of the prepared foods and gourmet offerings within the building itself. It's pretty spectacular. I've since learned that the Ferry building was just renovated in 2003. (Little A - you'll love it - the grandeur of a train/ferry station has been preserved in its beautiful ceilings and marble halls.) It was an unexploited gem of the city until after the 1989 earthquake. It had been "covered up" by a freeway overpass until the freeway fell down (Yikes!) and they had to rebuild the area. Now it is front and center where Market and Embarcadero meet. And the area has undergone "seismic retrofitting," as they say.

Aaron was pumped because 4505 Meats has a booth there; their motto is "Bacon is the new black" and they supposedly make the best hot dog in the city (or perhaps in the country). The hot dogs are, um, stuffed with bacon. Needless to say, I didn't eat there. It did smell pretty fantastic, though. Besides the bountiful organic produce offerings, the market has everything from wild mushrooms to organic honey to smoked fish to unfiltered olive oils to a wine bar. We also learned that their oyster bar (oysters from Marin county) has a happy hour Monday-Thursday during which oysters are $1 and beers are $3.50. It's like heaven for Aaron. I just like the view overlooking the water. This is basically what it looks like, even on a grey day.

See those white cranes in the background? That's Oakland. Almost all of the shipping is done through the Oakland ports now. In the foreground is the new Bay Bridge and the edge of Yerba Buena Island.

We've already started to become wimps about the weather. Despite chuckling all weekend about how we'd escaped the Midwest winter just in time, we find ourselves freezing and hunkered down in front of our heater today. It is still sunny and in the 50's but our cold, hard Minnesotan exteriors have started to crack already.

After the Temescal Farmer's market this morning, Aaron took me on what was probably the single most physically challenging experience of my life. We climbed the mountain on the way to Grizzly Peak. Now, I'm in decent shape and bike to work, run or walk every day but nothing prepared me for this. This makes the hills outside of Stillwater look like child's play. It isn't even that the road up is that steep, but that for 6 miles, you are climbing, climbing, climbing up the mountain without any time for recovery. The views from the top are amazing, but it was grueling. Aaron, of course, was barely breathing hard. The other thing that makes the climb so incredibly humbling is when 60-70 year old men pass you and are gone around the next bend before you can say "boo."

We were about .7 miles from the top and I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath. A man and a woman (in very good shape) passed us and we started up after them. I was chasing my spirit animal by that point. Around the next bend, we heard/saw them stopped. She was kneeling on the ground next to her bike, throwing up. I could totally relate. It's pretty hard.

However, you are rewarded when you get to the top and survey the view. When you first turn onto Grizzly Peak Road, you climb through the trees and come to the first clearing to the east. You can't really get a sense of perspective from the picture below because I was too afraid to get close enough to the edge but the valley is vast. There are no houses or anything on this side of the mountain. It is beautiful. 

Then we carried on until we saw this:

The Bay Bridge/San Francisco is straight ahead, port of Oakland to the left where the white cranes are.

Here, the Golden Gate Bridge is in the background, and the tiny island in the center of the picture is Alcatraz. Downtown Oakland is right behind the pine tree.

In the photo below, please note the gold house at the edge of the mountain. Next time I'm out, I'll take a picture of that house from where we live to show how high it is. It's pretty phenomenal. I think they might make a little more cash than we do if they can afford those views.

Needless to say, the way down is much easier. That is, except the fact that you descend for 6 straight miles on a bumpy road in very cold wind, so that by the time you reach the bottom of the mountain, you can't feel your hands or feet. Three hours later, our feet have finally thawed out. Oakland is a beautiful, curious city.

One last thing. Thanksgiving night, Aaron and I went to explore a new dive bar, the Kingfish. The most exciting thing about this bar is that the awesome Ethiopian restaurant across the street delivers!!! However, they weren't open on Thanksgiving night. BUT...the bartender had deep-friend an entire turkey, made mashed potatoes and gravy, and brought it all into the bar for whoever wanted some. He explained that since not everyone has family in the Bay Area, he wanted to make sure everyone had some turkey. It was awesome. Later, he was talking to another patron about the awesome ammunition sale starting on Black Friday, but he IS from Nevada so we let that one pass...

Simon's settling in well and is contemplating a new job. For the time being, he's helping his dad keep up on his internet reading and advising him on his Fantasy football choices.

Layers

So, winter has arrived in Oakland. This is what it looks like:

Seriously. Simon has found aaaaallllllll of the sunny spots in our apartment and is hibernating. We're laughing our heads off because people are talking about how "freezing" it is. Yesterday the low was 46. However, last night there was a crazy storm that involved high winds, torrential rain, and very dark skies - nothing unusual for Midwesterners, but Californians think it is time to batten down the hatches.

Today the clouds broke and after we went to the farmer's market (pics to come next week!) Aaron rode up the mountain for the first time (despite my protestations about his broken arm). Um...these mountains are harder than Minnesota hills. We both have a lot of training to do. We also rode out and back on the path that I'll take to work last Thursday. My commute to work is 5 miles and approximately 58 times harder than my commute was in Mpls. Basically, I have to cross 3 major sets of hills ranging from a 5-9% grade on each incline. For those of you who don't bike, that's pretty hard. But, I've found a safe route through very pretty areas of Oakland and Piedmont (more on Piedmont another time) including one street that is called Trestle Glen. Apparently, the amazing homes on this street used to be summer homes for richie-richies from San Francisco. The weather is better in Oakland, you know ;)

Anyway, Oakland's proximity to unbelievable natural beauty is pretty incredible. If we walk about 30 minutes from our apartment up Ocean View Terrace to the top of the hill, we can survey the entire Bay. It is gorgeous. We don't have pics of that yet but we do have some of today's walk to Lake Temescal Regional Park. It is a 1.8 mile walk (according to google maps) from our front door and you can't believe that you are only 4 miles from downtown Oakland. So, enjoy some of the sights of our neighborhood...

Our street and our Miami Vice building (not our car):

The Claremont Golf Course, a few blocks from our apartment. The walking path goes right through this area.

Broadway Terrace takes us directly to the park. It is a very, very steep climb near the end. You can just see the Bay in this picture. If I was a better photographer, you'd be more satisfied.

The south entrance to the park:

Some pictures of the park from the walking path. The lake is man-made (by damming Temescal creek) and is in a tiny valley formed by one of the many fault lines that "decorate" the Bay Area.

The swimming beach:

The birds have found a pretty fantastic viewing area:

The view on the way back down the hill into Rockridge:

See that city over there? That's San Francisco. And the Bay Bridge.

We've had a fantastic weekend. Heard Kites and Crows in the city atVelo Rouge Cafe on Friday night after a great dinner at Pizzetta 211. Went to 2 wineries on Saturday and had a fabulous time. This is our kind of town!

Can't write anymore right now because I start my job tomorrow and need to get organized tonight! Wish me luck - I have my commuter bike lights all set to go! :)

Why Oakland?

Alright. Now, for all of you skeptics out there who went bananas when we told you we were moving to, dear lord, Oakland, CA!?!?!?!?, just settle down. The neighborhoods of Oakland vary widely, as is the case in any big city, and we have chosen carefully. Yes, there are some parts of Oakland where we would choose not to spend our time, but we love our neighborhood. We are neatly situated at the foothills of Oakland, right where Oakland and Berkeley merge. We're a 10 minute walk from the bart and our neighborhood is filled with Craftsman houses, children, friendly neighbors, friendly dogs, and kitties sunning themselves on nearly every front stoop. We are also a 10 minute bike ride from downtown, Lake Merritt and perhaps the most fabulous beer shop on the face of the earth (more on that later). Since husboyf broke his arm before our move, we haven't been biking yet, but we have our virgin tour planned for tomorrow.

I was offered a job a week after we moved out here and start work next Monday. We are INCREDIBLY thankful for that income but did not expect our funemployment to be so brief. So, we are trying to take advantage of our few days off together by being tourists in our new city. We've had amazing weather since we arrived with higher than average temperatures (70-80 most days!), beautiful sun, and no fog. While errybody knows that Oakland has better weather than San Francisco, this week SF gave Oakland a run for its money! Yesterday, since neither of us had ever done so, we walked the Golden Gate Bridge. It is 1.7 miles each way and is truly spectacular. On a clear day, you can see the entire city, Alcatraz, Angel Island, Sausalito, the Oakland and Berkeley Hills, and the Pacific Ocean. It is indescribably beautiful. Especially if you go on a day without fog. Now, I do have to warn you that if you are afraid of heights, this is NOT the outing for you. Boats look like toys below you and the vibrations from the traffic are extremely noticeable. It is pretty fantastic when you look up at this bridge, built nearly 80 years ago, that connects a city built on some of the craziest terrain EVER, to a county that offers anything a nature lover could desire.

After this little tourist outing, and a bus route that took us somewhere VERY unexpected, we made our way back into the city, namely, the Mission district. It's one of the most colorful parts of the city and one must make note of 2 wonderful items.

1. TARTINE BAKERY. This bakery may, quite literally, be the best bakery I have EVER been too. And that includes (sorry, France) many of the bakeries I've visited in Europe. Their bread is sold out every day and is a wet dough that takes 7 days to make. Many have called it the best bread in the country, if not the world. Now, besides the bread, they also have fantastic pastries, pressed sandwiches, and other items that make you want to bathe in a sea of their goodies. It is really that good. If you are in the San Francisco area, please go there. You will NOT be sorry.

2. MONK'S KETTLE. We discovered this place when we were visiting in October, looking for an apartment in Oakland. They have 24 taps and over 150 offerings in bottle and these offerings are something to write home about. Local microbrews, Belgians, English ales...you name it, they have something similar - or better! The employees know their stuff and can find you exactly what you want - even if you can't put your finger on it! It is a mecca of beer. And perhaps the most important aspect of our latest visit was our server hipping us to the best beer joints in Oakland. Um, also, by the way, he lives in Oakland, because that's where all the cool kids live.

So, as we were leaving the Monk's Kettle to go back across the bay to our humble little town :) we were musing on how much we loved Oakland. Ironic, right? But it is our kind of town. Urban, gritty, cosmopolitan (in its own way) yet still quiet, full of people who want to tell you what's up and encourage you to explore whatever it is that they know about Oakland. We've met so many people who are from somewhere else, have friends/relatives in Minneapolis, or simply know where Minneapolis is (sorry, New Yorkers!). Now, there are still a lot of crazies here but people generally give you the time of day, are friendly, and are interested in conversation. It's great.

Our server at the Monk's Kettle revealed the great Beer Revolution to us yesterday. It's a mom-and-pop joint down in Jack London Square (sitting on the dock of the bay, anyone?) and it is fabulous! Unlike Minnesota, California has very progressive liquor laws. Namely, they don't really care when it is sold or how. At Beer Revolution, you can drink while you shop or buy a bottle and pay a $1 corkage fee to drink it at their counter or on their lovely patio. They have any type of beer you could imagine from an extensive stock of Belgians, domestic IPAs, stouts, ales, etc.... We were served by one of the owners of the joint who intimately knew everything they had to offer and was eager to spend the time explaining their products to us. It. was. awesome. So awesome, in fact, that we decided we would spend every Friday night there and began making a list of all of our friends/family who would enjoy it so we would have another excuse to go back. The best part of our trip was the fact that 2 patrons purchased a bottle of Belgian sour ale for anyone to share. Just because they wanted to try it. The beer itself was fantastic but the fact that these gentlemen simply left the beer for anyone else to try was even better.

So, in case you were still wondering? We like Oakland better. (No disrespect, San Francisco.)

Transplants.

So, here we are. Living in Oakland, California after being Minneapolites for over 10 years. A week and a half ago, we packed up everything we owned into a 16 foot truck and drove across the country in 3.5 days. Our cat, Simon (see picture) was awesome. He freaked out every morning for a half-hour until we stopped for coffee. After we stopped, he just settled into his little pet taxi, as if he somehow understood that driving was his destiny for the day and he might as well enjoy it. You know how cats do.

For the most part, the drive was beautiful. Well, that is, except for most of Nebraska (sorry, Ross). Wyoming was one of the most amazingly desolate places either of us has ever seen, but was beautiful in its own right. We were, however, exceedingly happy when we realized that we had driven 350 of the 401 miles through Wyoming. Utah was by far the most attractive part of the drive. The day we drove into Salt Lake City was a 12 hour driving day, but the red hills, roadside ravines, and fall foliage was spectacular. Driving out of Salt Lake City, however, was another thing all together. We left before the sun came up as we had another long day ahead of us. The city is nestled in a valley (as are most cities in the mountains) and as we drove away from the city, past the "Great Salt Lake" (love you, BOH) and through the salt flats, we both felt as if we were on some other planet. The salt flats go on FOREVER. Really. Like, for 100 miles, you drive on the straightest road you've ever seen, toward the mountains, without ever getting closer. There is NOTHING around you except a railroad, I-80, salt flats and the occasional salt refinery. It's crazy. I know it's an optical illusion, but it hypnotized both of us to the point of being freaked out a little. Once we climbed over the first ridge of mountains into Nevada, we both were relieved that we had actually escaped the Twilight Zone.

Sidenote: driving across the country teaches you many things; i.e. why Sinclair gas has a dinosaur on its sign and from where the Morton salt girl comes. It's worth the trip. Really.

We had fabulous weather for the entire trip EXCEPT for the last day. We stayed in Reno, which is only about 3.5 hours from the Bay Area. We considered driving straight through but the thought of unpacking our truck after 12+ hours of driving was too much for us. So...we arrived in Reno at 4, went for a run and blamed our horrendous performance on "altitude," went to Floyd's Fireside lounge for a $3 microbrew (served by a woman in an awesome 80's black lace, see-through top), relaxed and ate delicious, vegan pizza for dinner while Simon explored the scents that our hotel room had to offer. The following morning, we left Reno at 6:30 and the rain started. Now, I'm a nervous driver anyway but driving a moving truck through the Sierra Nevada mountains when it is raining/snowing is my personal hell. It rained the ENTIRE TIME and just about the time I was celebrating the fact that we had survived Donner Pass, I realized that we had only survived the EXIT for Donner Pass. And, just about that time, the snow started falling. Heavily. And, just about the time you think that the worst part of driving through the mountains is over, you realize that you have to descend 7300 feet. In a moving truck. It was not. fun. at. all. Don't ask me what it's like around Tahoe because I have absolutely no idea. I was merely saying hail Marys. But, my husboyf is an amazing driver (even with a broken arm) and we survived. The crazy thing about the Sierra Nevadas is that as soon as you finish the descent, you are in farm country! Hello, Sacramento!!! And, thanks to our dear friend Miss T, hello coffee!

The rest of the drive was uneventful since it was a Sunday morning and we found our way to our new home. The only bummer of the day was the rain. Oh, and the fact that we hit a tree with the moving truck. Sorry, tree! Fortunately, they didn't notice the sizeable dent when we returned the truck...And now, thanks to my cousin and his partner, we are moved in, relatively settled, and enjoying Oakland!!!