back in town

I know I know, I am full of false promises. I talked about how now that I moved and have more time I would commit more time to blogging. Well, turns out I had all this vacation time and didn't realize so I was off a week, on for my three days, and off again. Poor me, I know.  So, instead of blogging I hit the road (er, air)... this time to San Jose to see Kelly.  It was a blast to see where she's been living for the last year and to be with someone else who likes to be outdoors, get active, eat well, drink plenty, and visit places. Not to mention that when we are together, ridiculous things seem to happen.

Five fun days touring...

Redwoods at Muir Woods... 

including a 4 mile hike. :)

Our trusty rental car. The little guy grew on me.  

San Francisco...

... we could have watched these guys all day if they didn't smell so bad.

Alcatraz from afar... the tour will have to come next time.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Painted Ladies. Or, more importantly, the Tanner residence. Clearly this was the most important part of my SF tour. Not embarrassed of my Full House love. 

We also hit Monterey for the aquarium and the 17 mile drive. The drive had views that were unreal. The only problem is that it made me want to go in the water... being by the beach and NOT being able to go in the water is torture.

After Cali, it was back to my NJ home for a few days before hitting Manhattan on Sunday, which was a whirlwind of cooking, brunch in Brooklyn, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, and work. 

Glad to have a night off and to be back in my place. I love traveling but I am ready to stay home and explore my new neighborhood for awhile. Totally fell back into the cooking and running routine over the last few days, so more updates will come. Now that I am staying put with no foreseeable vacations the blogging life will hopefully be easier to integrate. 

p.s. All these pictures are from my iPhone, and yes I did play with lots of different effects.