napa

our girls getaway last wkend started with a drive up to san jose on fri. we were lucky to be able to save on hotel costs by staying at susan's cousin bo's house in san jose [and oh what a house it was!] on sat, we got up early and headed over to napa valley. we spent ALL day there...from about 10:15am to 6:00pm. that's a lot of wine, folks. about halfway through the afternoon, i noticed that all the wines were tasting the same to me. so much for my sophisticated taste buds. the grandest tasting was in the morning, at Domaine Carneros [or, as mary put it, the "faux chateau"]. it was their Gate pinot noir, and ohmygawed it was absolutely divine! nothing we tried after even came close to its' flavor and texture. the most interesting tasting was experienced at the Del Dotto cave [created generations ago by the railroad builders who literally picked their way to create the cave - no dynamite used!] unbelievable, huh? but for the most part, the wineries we visited were all different...meaning, they each had their own "theme"...one was very french countryside [Domaine Carneros], another was ubermodern [the tasting room was built into the hillside], another was started by an 80's infomercial king in a cave [Del Dotto], yet another had a swanky "lawrence of arabia" exotic dessert vibe [sunhee called it "vegas"] and still others were more "rustic" in feel [one even reminded me of a little farm]. who knew we would find such an eclectic mix in wine country?

alcatraz

since we didn't have much time to spend in s.f., we decided to maximize our time and go somewhere few of us have been: alcatraz. i'm not one for audio tours, but i must say, it was by far the BEST audio tour i've ever experienced. i understand why it's award-winning...it's rich and detailed, and combined with your actual presence inside the Rock, the overall effect is moving. i looked inside the cells [some of them with actual artifacts of the prisoners] and couldn't help but feel bad for the inmates there. but then mary gave me a dose of realism by stating, "they were criminals hannah...they did really bad things." still, i couldn't help but feel a little sad when the narrator said that the day the inmates looked forward to the most was new year's eve...not coz of anything special going inside alcatraz, but because the inmates could hear peoples' laughter on passing yacht parties from the Rock's windows...and they suddenly didn't feel so alone. by the time the tour ended, my feet had callouses all over them [note: if you're going to visit, wear comfortable shoes!] and the rainbow that had greeted our arrival had disappeared. it may have been the touristy thing to do, but seriously folks, it's worth a visit!

laguna beach picts

our day in laguna last week couldn't have been more picturesque. joo, nick and i couldn't help but marvel at how perfect the weather was, and since it was a week day, it wasn't too crowded. we began with a leisurely lunch at Las Brisas [my fav restaurant there] and then continued our afternoon strolling through along the walkways to the "downtown" area and finally, to the beach itself. though the drive back up from laguna to newport was pretty, i think we were all a bit sad to leave that little piece of paradise.

the power of girlfriends

this past wkend feels like a dream. well, the past month, really! this past wkend though, was especially poignant. i had the priviledge of spending it [thanks to the most understanding husband in the world] with "my girls," "my posse"...and we had a great time! never mind that the wkend flew by on the wings of laughter [so much that we teared up laughing!] and adventure [11 wineries in napa AND a jaunt through san francisco!]...what got me the most was when i woke up this morning to a misty gray sky and silence...joo was gone. the wkend was over. her visit had ended. and then i cried. not for a long time, but for a bit. and as i got ready for the day, my mind wandered to images and memories from our time together and i got emotional again, but for a different reason. i realized that i'm at a place i never thought i'd ever be again. i'm at a place where i have girlfriends who i feel free to trust. and a feeling of immense gratitude just washed over me. i remembered the verse in the Bible that says something about God restoring the years the locusts have eaten [i don't remember it exactly], and it dawned on me that perhaps that's what He has slowly been doing for me. though i never dared to explicitly ask for it, it was always a plea hidden in my heart. so i found myself thankful today, in the midst of the rain and dreary color outside...thankful for the women in my life...for certain women in particular who, unbeknownst to them, have contributed to the restoration of my heart simply by being an active part of my life, and by allowing me to be a part of theirs. i really can't ask for better girlfriends.

visit to the getty villa

on monday joo and i went to the getty villa near malibu. it was a first for the both of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it! it's smaller than the getty center, and the vibe is much more old world, although i did think there were certain areas that seemed awkwardly contemporary compared to the rest of the grounds, but overall it was absolutely lovely and i took close to a 100 pictures. the one thing that was kinda irksome were the statues...the male ones...most of them had a little hole where their poker should be. we couldn't figure it out, but honestly, i think ALL of the male statues had holes in that area except for one statue that stood alone in a room all by itself [pictured below]. that was joo's only gripe...the missing pokers [my terminology, not hers].