Saturday, August 25, 2012

Wine Country with the Folks!

The Allees returned to California last week to spend some time in Sonoma Valley (aka wine country)!  My parents rented a house with their friends so Shane and I (as well as their daughter, from San Diego) had the pleasure visiting for the weekend to check out a few wineries and get out of the city and into the sunshine!

Our adorable accomodations
Isn't she radiant? That's my Momma :-)
Dad, constantly making us laugh :-)
Just wanted to show off my new photog skills, thanks to my new camera!
(b-day gift from the Parentals)


Total wine connoisseur now


Cheers!


Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Allees Visit the City by the Bay

That's right, folks! My parents made the big trek from Pass Christian, Mississippi to the city by the bay.  They stayed for 4 magical days and saw everything (well, almost everything) that San Francisco has to offer...

Day 1:
My glorious boss allowed me the day off, so I was able to ease into the morning with coffee with my parents while Shane headed into work.  We met him for lunch at his office and got take-out grilled cheese to eat on Trulia's roof deck (his office rules, btw).  After lunch, my parents and I headed down to the Wharf to taste some delicious seafood and check out the Musee Mecanique (vintage arcade games, etc.).  On our way home, we realized we were near the Hyatt Regency where Mel Brook's High Anxiety was filmed.  Being Mel Brooks fans and curious tourists, we went in to check it out.  There wasn't much to see related to the film but there was a really cool installation promoting The Exploratorium, one of which used a two-way mirror to superimpose your face onto someone else's face (so hard to explain, but the pictures are pretty cool).













Day 2:
Off to another day of experiencing San Francisco, we headed to the now infamous La Corneta Taqueria for a delicious taco lunch.  After we practically ate our weight in carne asada, we headed back to the Wharf for a bay cruise! What a cool way to experience San Francisco -- you get to see everything and learn so much about the history of the city!  We finished off the day with a walk through Washington Square, then Chinatown and then a sushi dinner at home -- yum!












Day 3:
Happy birthday to my dad!  Birthday boy's pick was a baseball game: The Oakland Athletics versus The New York Yankees (his and Shane's favorite team).  It was an amazing game -- it even went into extra innings! The Yankees ultimately lost (boo!), but we had such a fun time!  Then we headed home for a relaxing evening in and Chef Shane prepared a tenderloin with mashed potatoes and strawberry shortcake for dessert! 











Day 4:
For my parents' last day in San Francisco, we intended to explore the Marina district but we stopped off in the Mission District for lunch and decided to stick around and explore that area for the rest of the day! We found some great little boutiques, saw a ton of colorful murals (that's sort of what The Mission is known for), and mom bought a cool painting! We didn't take very many photos :-(




Things on the to-do list for their next visit:
  • San Francisco Giants Game
  • Tour of Alcatraz
  • Sausalito
  • Japantown
  • Haight Ashbury

Now doesn't this make YOU want to visit?? We're ready for you!!!