Happy New Year!

We hope you all are well rested and recovered from your New Year's celebrations.  Are you sticking to your New Year's Resolutions?  Some of my resolutions include spending less, walking more, taking better care of my health and not letting the small stuff get me down.

So here's to an exciting 2011.  Before I turn the page completely on 2010, I just want to say what a great year it was.  If you don't already know, we got engaged over Thanksgiving!  Michael and I had been talking about marriage for a good part of the year and then one day we just found ourselves at a ring shop.  After a week or so of looking around we found the "right" one and thus began the frenzy that is wedding planning.

2010 also marks my first complete year away from the East Coast. I was just reflecting on this today as I was trying to remember the exact date I moved to Pennsylvania in 2002.  I now remember it was over Memorial weekend that I took my last plane flight to the Philadelphia airport with my 2 cats (with the gracious help of Michelle H) and then a few days later the huge moving truck arrived with all my belongings and my little red truck. Michael was able to make a quick trip back to New Jersey in early December. Unfortunately it was for a sad occasion as he said goodbye to a dear friend and coworker that passed away suddenly.

So here's to 2011. I know our year will be full of wedding planning, decisions to make, dresses to try on.  (The wedding isn't until early 2012 so there is plenty of time to get everything done.)  What are you looking forward to in this new year?  Hopefully we will get a chance to catch up with all of you, our friends and family all across the country.

Gilroy Garlic Festival 2010

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is a big deal around here.  We had so much fun at the Festival last year that we made sure to go again. First up, some garlic fries (above). And then we made our way to Gourmet Alley and the battling flames.

Gourmet Alley is where the famous shrimp scampi and calamari are made, among other foods of the festival.  The frying pans are all lined up and see some serious heat.  These guys really draw the crowds as they create an amazing show.

The other big event that happens at the festival is a garlic cookoff.  Here teams that made it into the final round compete live in front of an audience.

Guest celebrity chef Fabio Viviani of Top Chef fame, did a cooking demo as well as hosted the Garlic Cookoff.

We waited in line after the cooking demo to get a copy of his cookbook and take a picture.  Little did I know back then that he would be the first Top Chef contestant that I would meet. (Check out my chef blog to read about the event I did with Richard Blais.)

Our favorite find of the festival was this artist who uses old grape vines as the base for tables.

We would love to have something like this in our house one day.  We didnt buy anything from him at the festival, but we will keep him in mind.

Sailing Again, This Time Up the Coast

We joined our friends on the boat again, this time for a sail on the ocean. They sailed the Sea Angel out of the San Francisco Bay and down the coast to Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. We met them the next day to sail the boat back up the coast and return it home.

First on the agenda, a Hand and Foot tournament that went well in to the night.

We woke up to this view of the sunrise over the mountain the next morning. This harbor is full of fishing boats.

Pillar Point Harbor is known for the fresh caught fish that is sold directly to the public by the local fishermen. Any day of the week you can walk the pier to find fresh abalone, shrimp and other fish for sale. It is the only commercial fishing harbor in San Mateo County.

I know this harbor because of Ketch Joanne (best carrot cake ever) and this handsome fisherman who stands out front of their restaurant.

All the crabbing nets stacked on the pier ready to go out the next day (boy did they smell).

This time the boat was closer to the condition it would be in for paid charters complete with floral arrangements and all the wood nicely polished.

This is a great shot of the Sea Angel at the Half Moon Bay Harbor before we took off. This would be the calmest waters we saw that day.

Sailing out in the ocean is very different from being inside the protected waters of the Bay. Even those with the best sea legs can get a little uncomfortable from all the rocking in high waves. The picture below is just a small sample of the waves that hit the bow of the ship.

This was Michael's first time sailing on such rough waters and was a little green during the 3 hour trip. He did really well considering this was only his second time ever being on a sailboat. As we sailed up the coast we spied the Golden Gate which meant we were close to home.

View of San Francisco beyond the bridge.

Passing under the bridge was an incredible view and we all took out our cameras to snap pictures.

Another view...


And another....

Thank you Sea Angel for another amazing day out on the water.

Bay To Breakers: 12k across San Francisco

For those of you not from the Bay Area, the Bay To Breakers is something of an iconic footrace/moving block party through the streets of San Francisco. Every year in May thousands of people go through the backs of their closets, the drawer they never open, that bag that should have been donated to the Goodwill, to find the most ridiculous clothing they have ever owned... and then they go out in public in it. At least half of the 60,000 runners and walkers dress in their best Halloween costumes, participate in group centipedes, create elaborate floats, or take everything off to walk naked. I decided that this year, Michael and I had to participate.

The annual Bay To Breakers is also a serious 12k race that brings runners from all of the world to compete. The winners finished the race in under 38 minutes while we all took 2.5 hours. The race started as a way to lift the city's spirits after the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The first run was in 1912 and was known as the Cross City Race. It is the longest consecutively run footrace in the world.

So early Sunday morning Michael, Erlinda, Serafina and I found our way to the start line and joined the crowds standing waiting for the official start of the race. Apparently Thor and Wolverine are fans of the B2B as well...

We participated in the traditional throwing of the tortillas while we waited. Here is a video of the tortilla tossing in action. Then finally the race began and the crowds started to move forward. Here we are approaching Hayes Hill, the only elevated part of the race. I happened to catch a snap of the guy in front of me dressed as the unpronounceable active Volcano in Iceland.

The best part of walking the Bay To Breakers is the people watching. Here are some of our favorite costumes....

A group of adult babies....

The Bay To Breakers brings many people out of their homes to the streets to cheer on the participants. This group of Chefs stood by, beer in hand. Not sure what Flash was doing there, perhaps considering a change of career?

This is the first group of synchronized swimmers we came across...

Here is the second...
Mmmmmm, bacon makes everything better....


The best moment of the day was when we witnessed the spontaneous celebration that occurred when two groups of Crayola Crayons found each other.

And no race is complete without a keg of beer. An impressive use of a skateboard.

The race started in the financial district on the east side of the city close to the Bay and wound through the city. We crossed the 7 mile marker in Golden Gate Park. Now we knew we were getting close to the ocean and the finish line.

Ah, the ocean and the last turn before the finish line...

We made it!

A Year Later....

I have been thinking a lot lately about where I was a year ago... packing up the house in Egg Harbor Township, NJ and preparing to get on the road for 5 weeks. Thankfully we have this blog that captured all of our travels. I cannot believe we havent written anything since September. Remember when we were writing for you all every day??! Since we left New Jersey a year ago so much has happened. We both have started new jobs, Michael's Mom has a new knee, good friends of ours got married, and so many other great things. One of the things I am most thankful for is reconnecting with old friends here in CA.

Our lives certainly have calmed down since those days of driving across the country but we are still having many adventures around our new home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Just recently we spent our anniversary weekend in San Francisco, tasted some wines here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, checked out the Tech Museum in San Jose and started walking to work. We have lots to share with you and will get busy writing very soon.

One of the funnest adventures we have had lately was sailing aboard the Sea Angel, an 88 foot boat, in the San Francisco Bay. I promise, more about that to come.

We want you to know we miss you all back in New Jersey and wish we could have brought you with us. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Sailing in the San Francisco Bay

We recently had the pleasure of joining my good friend Katy and her husband Jan (Yan) aboard the beautiful boat he currently works on. Katy and I have known each other since college and have had an active sailing past. We were lucky enough to spend 8 glorious days sailing around the Tahitian Islands as well as racing around the Monterey Bay on various boats back 15 years ago. I have greatly missed sailing and my good friend.

What a wonderful twist of fate that we would both relocate back to the Bay Area within a year of each other. Katy and her husband planned an afternoon sail around the Bay and invited us to join. The Sea Angel is currently docked in Richmond which is just over the bridge from San Francisco. We arrived at the Sea Angel Friday night and enjoyed a late dinner aboard the boat. At 88 feet long this boat has a lot of amenities, sitting rooms and sleeping quarters. This is one of the sitting rooms down below.

This is the dining table off the kitchen.

And our room for the night.

We slept through the night and woke up early Saturday morning. Jan had a few things to do around the boat so Michael, Katy and I went into town for some breakfast at Bette's.

We got seats at the counter which allowed us to watch these two short-order masters at work.

We headed back to the boat and around noon the guests began to arrive. We prepared to sail.

We left the dock and headed towards San Francisco.

Our trusty captain at the wheel.

Once we go out far enough to catch some wind, Jan opened up the main sails.

Michael at the bow of the ship enjoying the view.

The crew and guests enjoyed some socializing in between enjoying the beautiful scenery.


And what would a day out on the Bay be without food? Everyone brought a little something to share.



The sailing cant be that rough... our captain kicking back, everything under control.

We sailed by the historic Alcatraz Island, with the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance.


Saw a few sea lions hanging out on the buoys.

Great day out on the Bay, now it was time to head back in.

Michael enjoyed his first time sailing. We hope to be invited back again soon.