The Elusive Morel

Every May my Dad and I hit the woods to hunt down the elusive morel mushroom. For those that don't know, they are a very tasty wild mushroom that are only out for a few weeks each year...but beware the false morel could kill you. I save up my vacation days just for this purpose every April and May. It may sound odd, but trust me it is very addicting and VERY secretive. Sometimes people only find out about good spots when they are willed to them after someone's death. The morel in this photo I took on Friday was one of the easier to find ones...can you see it?

California...finally!

Whoooweee, this is a long one. Here are the pics from my recent trip to Carmel, Ca. I went with my friend Cindy and we hung out with her former roommate Daisy who now lives out there. It was great fun and a much needed vacation I might add. We tromped around Pebble Beach, Carmel, Monterey and I took a side trip to San Luis Obispo to visit my Aunt Joan. So here they are....to start I'll show you the first breakfast I woke up to at Daisy's place. If there was one person on earth to stay with on vacation, it would be Daisy. She says presentation counts and I beleive her. Not only was this the best waffle ever but it was definitely a great way to start the foodfest...I mean vacation.


After our great breakfast we headed out to Carmel Valley to do some wine tasting. Chateau Julien was our first stop and we had a good time with our guide (Shawn). This was my favorite wine...

This is Shawn...did you know they plant rosebushes at the end of many grape rows? Apparently rosebushes get the same bugs n' stuff that wine grapes do, but a week sooner, so they use the roses as a gauge. Mmmmm wine......


The Pebble Beach Cypress Tree - we stopped along the 17 mile drive to check out this Pebble Beach landmark. Daisy is just working for PB for the year while her husband finished his masters, then they are off to Arizona. Trust me, it's great to go this part of the country with someone who lives there! (otherwise I'd still be driving around PB trying to find the out...wait a minute, maybe that's not a bad thing.) If you've never been to PB, it's quite a place. Their motto is to make your visit a once in a lifetime experience...and they live up to it.


Daisy, Cindy and me on the PB porch. Best. Desserts. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Traps bar at PB. Best. Drinks. Ever.


We drove down to Big Sur one day. This is McQuay falls in Julia Pfeffer State Park. It was really nice when we were there, the only down side was the constant haze.



Sunset at Pebble Beach.


We stayed at the Carmel Vally Ranch in a big old fancy room with an enourmous bathroom. I've never stayed in luxury like that but could definitely get used to it. We got a great rate by going during the off season and I would recommend this place if you needed to get away. I wanted to put more pictures of the place we stayed but I think I'm already over the limit. :)


I have an odd affection for rocks on a beach...the water was COOOOOLLLLD and I could not believe people were surfing in it.


Sunset in Carmel


More affection for odd rocks...


We then headed off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium...


This was the biggest, doofiest fish I have ever seen. Just to give you a hint of how big it was...it was as tall as I am.


You may be thinking "scrabble on vaca?" Oh boy, Daisy and Cindy are HARDCORE long time scrabble players and I still can't believe they let me join. It was quite the relaxing entertainment however, I have to give a special kudos to Jeff and Matt at the Flint Journal. We played one round sans a dictionary and we needed some emergency lookups...so who else did we decide to call at 3am Michigan time...but the guys on the sports desk! :)


On the way to San Luis Obispo - I stumbled upon a really stinky collection of elephant seals. They really are quite interesting to watch.


Welcome to San Luis O...


Disclaimer: San Luis O. is one of the coolest towns I've been to but I could not resist some pictures of the town's more eccentric features. This is the reason why I will NEVER chew gum again if I can help it. This is bubblegum alley...it has BILLIONS of people's chewed gum stuck to the walls. And much of it includes wonderful displays of artwork...

Yeee-uuu-cccc-kkk...but very creative. :)


And last but not least, The Madonna Inn. Wow. If you go and need a once in a lifetime funky place to stay...stay here. It's quite the landmark (ww.madonnainn.com) and this lone picture just doesn't do it justice. Apparently in the men's room (which we didn't get to go into) when men pee, it triggers a waterfall to start up from the ceiling. Who wouldn't want to stay in a place like that! I think I need to stay in the Caveman room...although I'm not sure I could get to sleep in the "what's left" room.


OK, well that's it. There's soo much more fun that we had, but I had to cut the pictures off somewhere. Let me know if you're headed that way and I'll be glad to pass over some good eat places and some good places to visit.

All at once...

Just so you're aware, yes, I've fallen off the face o the earth. Finals, tests, a long paper, the semester start at work (our busiest time), turkey season, softball season, golf league season, baby/wedding shower season and mushroom season have all fallen at the same juncture in time. Just think volleyball season starts shortly too! So that's a really long winded excuse to say, hey I'm sorry I haven't responded to email or phone calls but I'm trying slowly but surely...

I just realized that I signed up for a LOT of stuff but didn't put together that it was all happening at once. Oh well, it should be fun. :) And yes, Cindy, I know I'm a picture hostage but the California pictures are coming...just not until I get back from Detroit. :)

this is what they call burning the candle at both ends. who? me?

even now I'm slacking on studying for a final because I cannot possibly get any more counseling theories into my brain.

ok, now I'm really going.

maybe i should just check the radar quick. (shut up Jeff)

stillllll procrastinating.

ok, i'm out.

peace.

Covered in Frosting in Your Birthday Suit

What could be better? Carter officially turned the big 0-1 last weekend and on a wonderful 80 degree day, we celebrated in style. First of all, before I get to the birthday fun, I promise there are California pictures coming...there's around 300 of them to dig through and I have to get through finals first. Trust me, it will be worth the wait. Where else can you get the most disgusting and most beautiful vacation pictures but this blog...and trust me I unless you've been to this particluar locale, you can't even imagine the horror that awaits. I'll give you a hint: I'll never chew gum again. ever.

OK, on to the birthday boy...for some reason, Jenny and Jeff's boys like to use their hair as a napkin...must be some sort of new fancy "frosting spa treatment for hair". :)



Only a wonderful ChaCha Peggy would make the BEST number one cake ever...but you'd better keep your eye on that cake....



Yep, and that's it on the floor two seconds later. Ooopsie.



Here is the official cake...Jenny and Peggy outdid themselves making this barn (sorry it's upside down). I thought we had made the best cake ever when we tackled the rocket ship last year...but I think Jenny and Peggy win with this one.


How can you not love a boy that cute...




Aunt Peggy and Carter...Carter can say a few words, mama, vaccuum (heehee, he's addicted to them just like his brother), and all of a sudden he blurted out PEGGY last Saturday. Can you tell which auntie is wrapped right around Carter's pudgy little finger?

Leavin' on a jet plane...

I'm out! First official vacation that incorporates the spa. I may post whilest I'm away but I'm sure I'll be too busy hiking Big Sur, walking the beaches of Carmel, and getting a facial at the spa. :) Best of all...it doesn't snow there in April! WOOHOO! Catch y'all on the flip side...

Hall of Justice

Everyone needs a floor like this. Last Thursday a group I belong to took a field trip to Lansing to discuss politics and meet with legislators. This is the floor just outside the Supreme Court of Michigan's chambers - I love the tile work on this floor. Nerdy, I know. The capitol is outside the window, but a bad exposure on my part cut it out.

One of the topics we are working with is how to make this area more of a "region" rather than three separate cities. If you have any thoughts on that, feel free to post away. I'm discovering many people have some very strong opinions on the idea of Midland/BC/Saginaw all being grouped together - but when you look at the big picture we really do have a lot in common.

Evie

It's been awhile since some cute baby pictures have shown up on this website...so here's Evie. This is the daughter (Evelyn) of Melissa and Gabe - Melissa works with me at Davenport and I was lucky enough to spend a Saturday morning with the whole family!