HOME SWEET HOME – CURLY MOM REFLECTIONS

Hey everyone!!!!  As you know we have now been home for about a week.  The drive home through PA was very very long!!  With torrential rain.  And fog.  The good news from that is my forearms look like Popeye’s!!  No, seriously, they do!!!  We were happy to see that the house was still standing and was pretty darn clean!!!  Thank you Luke!!  The boys (Luke, Ted, Jeff) helped us unload the car and piled everything in the kitchen.  I wish I had a picture of that!!!  I took two days to hibernate…was feeling a bit sad about the journey ending. Not that I wasn’t excited to see Luke and catch up on Ted hugs…but this was an over a year in the making DREAM!!!  And even though I know Curly J loved it, I think as a mom the meaning of it all just overwhelms me. I also have a problem with endings…maybe that’s why I don’t like just one period at the end of a sentence…

So, here are some random curly thoughts about our adventure…

1. A thought…this all started with a thought…and a dream.
2. Vision boards work!!!!
3. Coffee is a fabulous thing!!!!!
4. I love that Curly J inherited my goofy genes!!!  We really could write a musical because we were always bursting out in song.  It could be titled “Free Range Cows”.
5. Getting to read a love note from your boyfriend every morning was the sweetest and most romantic thing ever!!!!!
6. Be in the moment…learn to enjoy exactly where you are…whether it’s something spectacular like the Grand Canyon or just sitting quietly with a cup of coffee.  It’s our choice to be happy!!
7. Watching the Kentucky Derby Triple Crown winner was awesome…but laughing with my family and friends and getting a sticky kiss from Baby J was the best part.
8. I love and cherish all the imperfect little nuances of others and the world.  We are all works in progress.  I must learn to do the same for myself.
9. My daughter is such a natural beauty. So comfortable in her own skin.  I strive to be like that.  One day…
10. Our country is soooooooooo beautiful!!!  So many places actually brought tears to my eyes.  Felt so very grateful to be an American.
11. I loved meeting so many friendly and different people.  It breaks my heart that there is so much prejudice and hate in this world.  From the tattooed goth innkeeper to the young cowboy from Texas who had never been out of his state, to the wrinkled old waitress serving our omelets to the weathered beaten down homeless man in New Orleans who cried when we talked about our journey…I just wanted to hug them all.  Actually, I did hug quite a few!
12. Facing our fears…it is amazing what one can do if you just take that first step.  And let someone hold your hand a little.  This is why I want to do my JOY workshops.  I am good at holding hands and want to help people discover their inner strength.
13. We really do need to put down our cell phones and look out the window.  There is some cool stuff to see out there!!
14. Thanks again to Janie and Malcolm and Mary Kate for being the most amazing hosts!!!  Definitely hi-lights from our journey!!!
15. I try to not have too many expectations from others…but I sometimes fail at that.  I must remember that we all are just doing the best we can.  And it’s not always about me…
16. I am not a natural at learning languages.  I am not.
17. Music makes my heart sing!!!  We heard it all!!!  I so loved meeting Sons N Britches in Nashville (played your CD a lot!!!) and all the street musicians in New Orleans.  And the country dudes in South Dakota.  I love watching people express themselves…music, theatre, dance.  It feels good to let out your song…or story.
18. Never underestimate how powerful a simple gesture can be!! I was so touched and overwhelmed by all the feed back that we received.  Every single one!!!!  Whether you wrote me a long private message or just said “cool pics” on the blog…it made me smile and know that you were out there!!!  We were thankful and thought of “you” every time we used a DD or Starbucks gift certificate.  We thanked you every time we used the coffee mugs or ate a yummy treat you gave us. Our car was stuffed with treats and cards and games and good thoughts from everyone and we felt you on our journey!!!  We love you!!!!
19. Lots of things can be a little scary…do them anyway!
20. I can’t wait to plan the next adventure!!!!!  Who wants to join me?
21. Wine tasting is such a civilized activity.
22. I want a buffalo.

I could go on and on and on….but will “tell all” in our upcoming book.  Thank you so much for being a part of this journey.  I have had so many of you tell me that you read our blog with your morning coffee and you will miss it.  Do you know much that means to me?!!  If you want to sit down for a cup of coffee or a glass a wine and talk more about this amazing adventure…I would love to share.  Just give me a holler!!!!

Hugs and curly kisses to all!!!!

Curly Mom

CURLY J’S WRAP UP

Hey everyone! I know it’s been quite a while since we last blogged. Who knew transitioning into reality would have taken so long?! We thank everyone for all the questions, well-wishes, and positive vibes. Judging by all the catastrophe in the US weather-wise, we made it out safely thanks to all of YOUR thoughts. Also, you have no idea how grateful we are to hear “every morning we sat down with some coffee and read your blogs” and even those who have said our trip inspired them to make adventures of their own!

So in attempt of a wrap-up blog before I go off to help run a sleep-away summer camp – Shameless Plug: Lindley G. Cook 4-H Camp in Stokes State Forest a.k.a. the best place on earth… contact me for details – I’ve attempted to sum up my MANY thoughts about the trip and what I’ve learned. These are very general – specifics will come out in the book!

22 Lessons Learned from the 22 Year Old

1. People should really be required to go barefoot one day a week.
2. Parents will over-do what their parents didn’t do, which will make you over-do what your parent’s didn’t do. Don’t fight the give-and-take cycle, be aware of it, and make positive changes.
3. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! Sitting for too long in life makes your blood and lifeline turn to glue. Get your juices flowing and get out there.
4. Meditation is WAY harder than expected.
5. You CAN manufacture happiness and fun. If you fake a smile or force a laugh long enough, your body and brain will happily catch up !
6. The world is a patchwork of people. The same country can have 100 different cultures, accents, landscapes, and still be strangers to each other. Bridge the gap in any way you can.
7. Sometimes you have to agree to disagree.
8. Wear the same clothes for a week, it’s refreshing to not give a damn!
9. BE WEIRD. BE YOU. 9/10 times it’ll put a smile on someone’s face.
10. Small talk can go a long way.
11. Test your limits. Endurance of the heart is an admirable way to train.
12. SOAK UP YOUR SURROUNDINGS. Who knows when that exact moment will ever exist again? With the same people? With your same self?
13. Fighting is natural. Learn your fighting style and your partner’s or parent’s. If their style is incompatible with yours make an escape plan.
14. Don’t judge a soul by its wrappings.
15. Despite all the ugliness, we do live in a beautiful world.
16. Sometimes there’s nothing a good beer can’t fix.
17. PEOPLE NEED TO HUG MORE.
18. Family is such a loose term. Spread the love.
19. Every single person on this planet is just trying their best. Even if their “best” isn’t to your standards. Attempt compassion when it is hardest.
20. Practice what you preach.
21. Learn how to feel small. Giant animals, mountains, storms, stars, landscapes remind us to stay humble.
22. Tall, fat, short, skinny, black, white, rich, poor – there’s beauty in all walks of life. Find it.

Of course there was SO MUCH MORE LEARNED and experienced on this trip. That’s why we’re taking a year to write our book! Although we won’t be able to greet you with a blog every morning with your coffee, we will do our very best at keeping you updated with the Curly Girl’s book. We’re hoping to promote better mother-daughter relationships and share our past stories and how they tangled up and wound up popping up on our trip. I am so thankful for my mother who is incredibly strong and beyond inspirational. I could go on and on and on about how fabulous she is – but hey, we have a whole book to write. Stay tuned and thank you so much for all of your support!

Love,

Curly J

PS. It’s Mama’s birthday tomorrow 🙂

SOUTH DAKOTA!

Ba-ba-bad-bad!!!!! Ba-ba-bad-bad!!!!! Lands!!!!  (Mom, that’s not a song.)

I was soooo looking forward to visiting South Dakota. I had such fond memories of when I did summer stock at the Black Hills Playhouse a gazillion years ago.  I recall such an exciting summer of theatre, buffalo, new friends and beautiful country!!  I couldn’t wait to share it with Curly J.  Now, we had just come from Wyoming and the gorgeousness of the Great Tetons and Yellowstone.  Even the long (VERY LONG) drive across Oregon did not damper our visions from Wyoming.  So, we finally get to S.D. and our first stop was Jewel Cave. I love caves and was very excited about exploring this one.  We get to the ticket office and they tell us the elevator to the caves is broken and all tours are cancelled for the day.  Bummer!!!!!  (The first actually noted ‘bummer’ in the trip!)

So off we go to see Crazy Horse.  They charge us $11 each to enter and bombard us with everything touristy and cheeky.  I did appreciate the Native American museum/artifacts area, but everything else was just crappy tourist stuff. (It sucked.) I know I know, I sound so negative, which is unlike me, but I have officially turned into a National Park Snob!!!!  I am completely jaded after the Grand Canyon and Great Tetons, that I did not appreciate being bombarded with trinkets that are not even made here.  So we finally make it to where we can view Crazy Horse, which you can hardly make out anything…part of the full face is done.  I was not impressed.  (We are in no way belittling its cause and what it stands for – it just was not at all impressive.)

And then you can’t even hike close to it because of the blasting area, so to get close you have to pay extra to take the bus which will drive there.  Now maybe if there was some blasting or something going on I would have enjoyed it, but it was a waste of time.  Save your money.  (Seriously just google it, or stare at these pictures we’ve posted.) Julia and I did share a moment when we were making a pit stop in the restroom before we left and the bathroom was just being cleaned.  The two gentlemen cleaning it must have been around 40 and late 50’s.  Both veterans.  They were sweet and smiling and we shared a laugh about something silly.  Seems I have seen lots of vets working at the national parks and memorials.  My heart just swells a little and I wish I could take everyone’s hurt away.  Maybe they have no hurt.  Maybe I’m just feeling so grateful that they would risk their lives for me. So thank you…to all the brave men and women.  I hope our country works harder at taking care of all the vets who do come back wounded…they deserve that.  Okay, I digress…

Next stop was Mount Rushmore.  Definitely more impressive and you get to take a nice hike up lots of stairs to get close. We both enjoyed that and the museum that explained how they actually did the carvings.  Impressive.  Worth the visit.

By this time we are ready to eat.  So we find a hotel in Keystone, SD.  Very touristy little town, but lots of fun shops to look around in.  After reorganizing the car (we definitely packed too much stuff – my prediction of claustrophobia on the trip has fully revealed itself) and a quick work out, we went to search for food.  It was 9:00 p.m. so not a lot open, but we found the Red Ruby Restaurant.  A cute little country, western bar decorated with guns, animal heads and of course the waitresses had little outfits with fringe and a red garter.  The best part was the two man band playing and singing some good ole country music…some Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and original tunes.  True country redneck boys just singing their hearts out and we loved every minute of it.  (Mom did, I just support the arts.) And looking around there were all these cute older couples just tapping their feet, fingers and nodding their heads to the country tunes.  All smiling!  So cute.  Good food, good drink, good music!!  What’s not to love!!!!  (Maybe the creepy animal heads on the wall…)

The next morning we headed out to the Badlands.  They were kind of like The Petrified Forest…we were just going to drive through not expecting much and POW!!!!  We are accosted with amazing beauty!!!!  More crazy curvy roads and the gorgeous rock formations and prairies!!!  We see a field with tons of little dirt mounts and these cute little critters (they’re called prairie dogs Mom) scurrying all over the place!!!  We drive through taking lots of pics and wowing at the mountain goats just hanging out on these narrow ridges of the rock formations!!!  Finally we get to an area where we can hike.  The trail started on the rocky dry desert rocks and mountains…then winds its way through and we are in the prairie.  No one else was near us so when we stopped walking you could hear a symphony of birds chirping, frogs croaking, some kind of rattly thing (Definitely SNAKES), the wind blowing….  It was peaceful, warm (finally) and quite nice (except for the rattlesnake sounds).  We hiked for a little over an hour and finally felt that South Dakota had redeemed itself!!!  The Badlands are soooo worth the visit, but the state as a whole is not on my top 10 list.

Lots of driving to do on this leg of the journey.  We are power listening through my 12 CD set of Mike Dooley’s Infinite Possibilities which has given us so much deep stuff to talk about. (I have no choice in the matter. We have shared the front space of a car for like three weeks, there’s nowhere to run.) I’m planning on teaching some workshops when I get home….about choosing the positive things in life…love, joy, fun, adventure.  I hope some of you might want to join me. (All of you would be fools to pass on my mother’s inspiration.)

I can’t believe our Curly Adventure is coming to an end.  I miss Luke and my loved ones and clients and classes and all….but the month has really flown by.  Savoring all the last moments that we have.  Off to Wisconsin to stay a couple nights with friends.  Can’t wait!!!

I appreciate all of you following us out there…sooooo much!!  And your comments and notes mean so much to us! (Seriously, it brings me to tears the comments and notes that have been given to us. We’re happy to have brightened some mornings!)

Love,

Curly Mom

YELLOWSTONE PART 2 – ANIMAL ADVENTURES!

(Disclaimer: You might want to grab a coffee and donut for this one. It is LONG. To be fair, our horseback adventure was probably just as long-winded as my fabulous mother.)

After a fun morning of enjoying the stinky, but beautiful geysers…we took a lovely drive through Yellowstone NP.  We were really planning on a big hiking day, but Yellowstone turned out to be more of a drive-thru park.  Super duper curvy, but we were used to driving the roller-coaster curly-Q roads.  And it was quite beautiful.  Amazing how the trees change so drastically from one part of the country to another!

The highlight of our day was getting up close and personal with some buffalo!!!  Goodness gracious these are majestic and HUGE animals!!!  (H.U.G.E.) Their heads are sooo big that their eyes are actually on either side of their head.  Apparently they can sprint three times faster than you can run!!!!  So not an animal to be messed with.  Our first buffalo sighting was in a field…we pulled over with the rest of the tourists and shouted “Oh my god…those are real buffalo!!!!”  I had been face to face to them many, many years ago when I did summer stock at the Black Hills Playhouse in South Dakota.  But this sighting was just as exciting.  And Curly J was ecstatic!!!  It was her big goal for the day, to see a buffalo!  As we were safely in our car snapping pics, one of them slowly ambles our way.  Julia was FREAKING!!! (As you can tell from the videos.) I wasn’t really scared because they had done that when I was in the Black Hills.  They are used to humans and cars and mostly just ignore them.  However, if they wanted to turn a car over or smash it, that could easily happen as well….so a little fear and respect is a good thing!! (Seriously, this big ol’ thing rolls up in front of our car, glances at us, then walks on.) Here’s some footage that Julia took….

Our adrenaline was pumping…so very very cool to be that close to these strong handsome creatures!!!  We were lucky enough to see them at other various locations throughout the park and it was just as excited every time!  We stopped to see Old Faithful and walk around and on our way out there was a buffalo just moseying across the parking lot. (STRAIGHT UP CHILLIN’) We didn’t see it till we were almost on top of it.  Whew!!!!  Julia and I are both now huge fans of the buffalo!!!  Our Curly Girl mascot maybe?

We also saw some elk, moose, white tailed deer….sooo awesome!!  Julia and I realized that hiking where you might run into a buffalo would completely freak us out so we were happy to be in the safety of our car.  We did not see a bear, oh no we did not.

The next morning we took a short run – such a beautiful thing to do while enjoying the view of the Great Tetons!!!  I MUST return to Wyoming just to explore them.  The snow covered Tetons really drew me in. I’m finding some kind of weird spiritual connection with the mountains and I could look at them all day!!!  After showering and checking out we went to take the scenic ski lift ride.  Just an easy ride with incredible views.  Julia was quite brave to go since she is scared of heights.  Of course it started sprinkling on us as we took off.  At least with curly hair, it just gets curlier!

Julia and I have found a nice balance between comfortable silence, pure silliness and discussing life, and all it’s complexities. We found ourselves talking about our relationships quite a lot which is kind of interesting that we are in the same place a bit, and pondered about our futures and the possibilities… we’ll save all that for another blog!!! So back to the ski lift…going up wasn’t too bad.  We got off at the top to enjoy the view and take a few pics.  Chatted with the guy at the top…he’s been in Wyoming most his life and loves it.  It was a slow morning and it was apparent he was not going to let us back on the lift until he had told us ALL the stories he needed to.  We smiled and nodded appropriately and finally I had to remind him that we had booked a horse back riding trip.  This sent him off on another tangent cause it was in the town where he lives now.  Finally he let us back on the lift.   A lot scarier on the way down…Julia did her breathing exercises and managed not to hyperventilate.  I just smiled and looked at the stunning Great Tetons!!

Some shopping, coffee, then off to our horseback riding adventure!!!  Now to keep this real, I have to tell you that Curly J and I had our third little tiff.  Which I think is pretty damn good considered we have been inseparable for   26 full days…eating, exploring, driving, shopping and sleeping together!! This one was about me being over-sensitive blah blah blah and Curly J being too outspoken blah blah blah and just not getting where I was coming from.  I pouted while Julia fumed.  A curly sight to behold. (Our fighting styles are completely incompatible. Being in the car with someone for the amount of time we are, sometimes you have to agree to disagree.)

So, we drove in silence for the hour it took to get there.  We pulled in to the ranch and it was rustic and very scenic.  Cowboy Joe met us at the check in spot and had us fill out paperwork…the kind that tells you how dangerous it can be….so much small print…didn’t read it cause I didn’t want to think of any of those things.  Our guide, Cowboy Case, pulled in with the his first group of riders.  They spoke Italian and got off the horses rubbing their butts and limping.  This looked like fun.

Cowboy Case was a sweet young man from Texas who was working as an intern.  He was the well raised “yes m’am, no m’am” kind of kid. I was raised that way, but never succeeded in getting my kids to say that. (No, m’am.) He assigned us our horses.  I got Prince…an over-fed dapper guy, and Julia got Whirly…a handsome stubborn gent who did not feel like following rules that day!!!

By the time we got on our horses…both of us scared as hell…we were smiling at each other and all was forgotten of the previous tiff.  We headed out and almost immediately it started raining.  Yes…rain…not sprinkles!  (Then POURING). Case thought it should stop in a few minutes so we kept going.  It did not stop.

(pre-down-pour-for-three-hours)

So we stopped to put on the big yellow slickers.  Case helped Julia first and held her horse while she put on the rain jacket.  Prince whinnied and started backing up…he was not happy with the big yellow slicker.  Case then got mine out and Prince went crazy!!!  I got off and Case tried waving the slicker around so Prince would get used to it.  He did not and bolted halfway down the hill.  (This was hilarious, by the way.)

I held the reins to Case’s horse while he chased after Prince.  He apologized and I said it’s fine, I was wet anyway so could do without the slicker.  In a true gentlemanly style, Case did not put on his slicker either.  So off we go.  Now I have always been afraid of horses, which pains me as a Kentucky gal, and wherever I go I always sign up for the horse tour thinking maybe this time I won’t be scared.  But I am and somehow I still enjoy the thrill of it.

So, here we go up and down some steep muddy hills an over some shallow creeks…for over two hours!!!!  It really was a lot of fun and Case taught us a lot about the area and some interesting facts.  About halfway through I realized that I couldn’t move my hands due to the cold rain, shivering and holding on to the rein with super-human grip!  Normally being cold and wet is a sure combination for extreme grumpiness for me, but I was having so much fun and the adrenaline was pumping!!!  Julia’s horse, Whirly, decided he wasn’t going to move.  He reminded us of our bulldog Boris who was super stubborn like that and if he didn’t want to move no one was going to make him!!!!  So Case had to take the rope and pull Whirly along. Our ride was supposed to be 2 hours, but we were gone about 3!!!  Such a fun adventure!!!  We finally got back and there was no place to change except in our car or the porta-john’s…which happened to be cleaner than most bathrooms I’ve been in!!!!  Somehow I peeled the wet clothes off which were wet through 3 layers!!!  We put the heat on full blast and set out for a few hours of driving.

The next couple hours we were driving through the Great Teton NP on roller coaster roads and the temp went from 61 to 37 and snow!!!!  The top of the Tetons were glowing and it was just such a beautiful drive!!!  Then we caught  something moving and saw 3 little deer mule goat like critters.  They were hopping and skipping just like in a cartoon!!!! (Like big bunnies.) The cutest thing I’ve ever seen!!!!!  Overall, we had a very adventurous and full day.  And we still love each other! It’s all good here in our curly adventure.

Love,

Curly Mom

PS  I know I’m much longer winded than Julia, but I just want you to feel like you were with us.  Love me anyway…okay?

YELLOWSTONE PART 1 – GEYSERS, GEYSERS, GEYERS!

Yellowstone is the bubbling volcanic crusty epicenter of all the geysers! I’ve never seen these colorful bubbling pools of hot water and minerals before – and to be honest – I even felt underwhelmed at the thought of them. I mean we hiked the Grand Canyon, the Red Rocks of Sedona, hugged Sequoia trees, seen the West Coast – could these bubbly pits find a way into my heart? I wasn’t sure. I still don’t think I quite understand them, but they sure were pretty. Smelly. Very smelly. But pretty. Even though the stinky pools may have not made my top-three sights, Yellowstone as a whole surely has.

We drove from Jackson, WY through the amazing snow-capped Great Tetons up to the South Entrance of Yellowstone. We came to learn that the bridge was out to Old Faithful which forced us to drive around the circle of Yellowstone… 2 times (meaning HOURS of extra driving…hours!!!!) Because we couldn’t just go to Yellowstone for a day and not say we haven’t been to Old Faithful. We have to make the cut to be tourists, people. (Hell yeah!!!)

Yellowstone’s trees and mountains are unfathomably (good word!!) gorgeous with lakes and rivers that run throughout it. It seems completely untouched. A glimpse in a land before all our industrial creations. The trees looked like little thin pencils that stuck straight up with green feathers. And the curvy roads provided a scenic view of the Great Teton Mountains hugged in between the Yellowstone pencil-tree mountains.

We first passed through the “Mud Volcanos” and geysers. If you weren’t prepared for the smell, it would knock you on your butt. (I’ve got the butt bruises to prove it!!) Little board-walked paths weaved in between the bubbling pits and steaming pools and we got to get up close and personal to them. My favorite active one was the “Dragon-Mouthed Geyser.” It sounded like the earth breathing in and out in a deep slumber. (I was just picturing a great place to do the Shakespeare witches cauldron scenes!)

Along the long drive through Yellowstone there were so many clusters of these colorful geysers and basins. The steamy stink that we inhaled definitely made me burp Sulfur for half the day. (Amongst other things!!! Peeeuuuuu!!!!)

I wish we were able to do more hiking throughout Yellowstone, but because of the bridge being out we were pressed for time to make it back to Jackson before dark! Needless to say – it sure was pretty! (Very!!!)

Look at Part 2 of our Yellowstone adventure where Mom talks about all the wildlife we encountered like how a buffalo gave us a dirty look in front of our car and our tumultuous Wyoming horseback ride!

Keep It Curly,

Curly J

LAST DAY IN CA!

The west coastline is truly beautiful!!  I will miss it!!  We drove about 3 hours – the same roller-coaster mountainous curvy roads through and around the mountain.  I’m feeling quite confident with all this technical driving. I think maybe I’m ready to challenge Luke to a video game!!! (Woah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves).

(As a side note, we had to stop by this famous tree. Super cute. But super tight. We didn’t drive through it because the last thing we needed were broken side mirrors to get all the way back to Jersey!)

Then Curly J, who is a most excellent navigator, found us this awesome little beach: Trinidad Beach.  Yep, I couldn’t help but attempt a tropical accent when talking about it!  We picked up some lunch…yep, more fish taco’s…but these are homemade ones and super yummy (On this trip I’ve seriously lived off of Tex-Mex and fish tacos. Not a bad way to live.) We set off to have lunch and relax on the beach for a few hours.  It was still chilly, 59 degrees – so unfortunately no bikinis!!

There was a trail so we followed it…and followed it!  (And followed some more.) We caught glimpses of the magnificent Pacific, but it was one of those “ya can’t get there from here” kind of moments.  Julia spotted a path going down so we took it.  I was wearing flip-flops…not particularly suited for mountain climbing.  Of course I slip and fall and we both laughed (Well, mostly me, Mom was trying not to pee in her pants) and got a nice ab workout in the process.  I crawled out (she actually crawled) and we tried a different path.  The hike was beautiful and reminded me of the rainforest in Costa Rica.

But we didn’t want to hike!!!  We just wanted to eat our fish tacos on the beach!!  As we trudge along…fish taco smell wafting in the air…I keep picturing a parade of forest creatures following us…mostly worried about the bears.  And I wonder if they’ll go after Julia with the fish tacos (thanks Mom) or me because I’m the meatier one?  Luckily we ran into a couple of humans who sent us back and told us where the beach trail was.  Frustrated, we found a picnic table and scarfed down the tacos….yum yum yum!!  Blood sugar back in order, we set off for the beach again.

After a steep, yet not impossible hike down, we are rewarded with such a gorgeous beach!!  Driftwood, cliffs, chilly but sunny, a few dogs running and playing and a guy playing guitar and singing.   A bit of paradise!!  We read, napped, and chatted…the perfect last day in CA!!

Reluctantly, we left and drove a few hours to Crescent City and found a place to stay and called it a night.

Less than 2 weeks left on this amazing adventure and I want to soak in every bit of every moment.  Sweet dreams everyone!!

Joyfully,

Curly Mom

MENDOCINO, CA PART 1 – HEADLANDS STATE PARK

After catching some amazing local crab sandwiches at Fisherman’s Cove in Bodega Bay on a less than stellar foggy, rainy day – our introduction to the “sunny” west coast of California didn’t start off so bright. But then there it was! A starting glimpse of the future of Highway 1 of California’s rocky north coast! There was hope! (It was like driving on a roller coaster…but the views were breath-taking!!!) The next day we entered into Mendocino’s Headlands State Park and were met with the beautiful post-card views everyone awed about. (I love it here!!!  I want to plan a retreat here soon…who would like to join me?)

Wild irises, pink wildflowers yellow buttercups popped up in flower fields near cliff edges. These little beaten down narrow paths align the cliff side for people to peer over in amazement at the beauty of the ocean crashing into its side. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The northern rocky west coast has definitely made it to my top-favorites list. (Mine too!!!) After we hiked more and more trails searching for the sea lions we kept hearing, we sat down to journal for a bit (I wrote a poem…oh yes I did!!) when the sun finally shown through. We could still see little sea lions pop their little heads in and out of the water. The Pacific is different than the Atlantic. A little blue-er, a little rougher, and a lot more untouched!

We had to split up Mendocino to show you more pictures! It’s gorgeous!

Keep It Curly,

Curly J

WINE COUNTRY WHEE!

Oh how I love wine tasting!!!  And champagne tasting?!!!  Be still my heart!!!   So Janie, Julia and I took off for a day of tasting splendor.  First of all thanks for all your suggestions out there!!!!  I wish I had a week of wine tasting to get to them all.  I have kept note of them and plan a return trip to try them all.  Would you like to join me? (Just make sure Mom doesn’t drive.)

Janie had coffee waiting for us this morning and she’s not even a coffee drinker!!  You took such good care of us!!!  We had a nice breakfast to prepare our bellies for the yummy grapes. (Clearly not enough for Mom’s sake.) The drive was quite beautiful to the Napa Valley.  Our first stop was Domaine Chandon!  Yes I am saying that with a French accent.  Oooh la la!!!  (Mom was speaking with the French accent BEFORE she even had a sip of wine. Slurred a bit too. )

Domaine Chandon is a very classy and beautiful vineyard.  We went upstairs to the tasting room and there was a lovely outside area to sip and look at the gardens.  We each chose a different tasting flight so we could taste them all.  They were quite generous with their servings.  We chose to sit outside with our glasses of liquid heaven.  So civilized, so relaxing… I was tipsy after the first tasting…yep, I’m a lightweight!  We had 2 more tastings to go…both full glasses…and before lunch!!!  (To my mother’s defense, the first three glasses we consumed that day were FULL.)

I’m sure I couldn’t have smiled anymore.  I only banged the back of my head a few times.  Yeah, you see, I am not a very graceful laugher…if I find something funny my mouth opens automatically in a contorted-mouth-wide-open kind of way, and my head flings backwards often banging into chairs, walls or other humans that might be too close. (I wish I had a picture)  It is not something I can control…it happens with or without alcohol…it is not very pretty. (It’s like Shamoo-the-whale-wide-open-waiting-for-some-fish laughter.) Still love me?

So…back to wine.  After the lovely tasting at Domaine Chandon, of course I bought a few bottles, and we headed for lunch.  We each had just drank 3 glasses of champagne/wine each!!!!  They gave very generous servings!  (Mom likes to repeat herself when she drinks. Or just in general.) Lunch was magnificent!!  Janie chose the Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch…scrumptious farm to table food…fresh, yummy, and helped soak up some of the alcohol…especially the cheddar biscuits with honey butter and the decadent beignets for dessert.  The restaurant was so beautifully rustically decorated…a gorgeous place for a wedding…yep…all that wine had us talking about weddings (Seriously we talked about weddings for 4 hours straight.)

We 3 leisurely gals had time for one more winery….Janie chose one of her favorites…Rombauer Vineyard…a small boutique winery with an amazing view and a gorgeous flower and sculpture garden. Too small for a wedding, but maybe a little bitty gathering. A completely different experience and such personal attention by Christian. I LOVED it!!!

Janie refrained from tasting since she was driving (not at all like the college dancing drinking stories Mom and Janie mentioned to me) so Julia and I chose 2 different flights so we could share.  The portions were much smaller, but we also tasted about 6 wines each and Christian was so informative and sweet – he even let us taste the dessert wine called JOY which was not on our menu.  I loved it cause of the name, which you will hear about my workshop series very soon, and it was scrumptious!!!  Of course I had to buy a bottle… among a few others. (No more room in our back seat.) And we got to take cool pictures with the cow sculpture!!!  Mooo!!! (Mom was trying to do cow impersonations after the wine tastings. I can’t take her anywhere.)

Such an awesome day!!!  Drinking, eating and lots of laughing.  We headed back to Janie’s to get in our comfy clothes, snuggle with Louie, and watched The Bachelorette.  I’m so happy Janie shares in my guilty pleasure. (Watching the Bachelorette should not be publicly displayed on wordpress, Mom.) Do not judge us…do not!!!  Thank you Janie for another amazing day!!!  You are loved by the Curly Girls!!!

Hugs to all,

Curly Mom

SAN FRANCISCO!

First off, our experience in San Francisco wouldn’t have been what it was without the amazing Janie. Janie the sweetheart. Let me tell you. This fantastic woman is like all the beautiful things in life wrapped up into a bubbly laughing, generous, caring human being. I have had the pleasure to meet her by being my mother’s daughter – and I sure am lucky! My mother and Janie knew each other from the good ol’ college days and they’ve reunited since this short visit! Love it! (It was like we had seen each other yesterday!!!  So happy we are reconnected and planning a visit in the fall…yeah!!!)

Anyway, Janie helped us tour San Francisco and it was perfect. Thank goodness she drove and gave us a break because 1) If we drove any further without a break our eyes would fall out of our heads 2) San Franciscan highways, streets, and drivers are CRAZY. NYC and Boston have nothing on San Francisco. (Absolutely nothing!!!  They were literally flying down all those crazy hills!!) It’s like driving a roller coaster. Up, down, curve around – we got honked at so much because 1) possession of a New Jersey license plate, 2) we were going 40mph on the freeway because if we went any faster, it felt like we were going to fly off into the Pacific Ocean.

Once arriving safely to San Francisco, Janie showed us Pier 39 where we got to see silly sea lions wallow in front of all the boats. They just crawl all over each other and make funny noises. Slippery suckers. Mom was like a little kid at a petting zoo and became such a sea-lion fan-girl. (They were so much fun to watch!!!  Especially when the made a roaring/honking sound!!!)

After the sea lions we went on a good ol’ Pier 39 Boat Tour (big thanks to Janie’s friend for the tickets!!!) and went under the Golden Gate Bridge and saw Alcatrez pretty close! It was windy and cloudy as anything though! (my friend Cathy has been trying to talk me into doing the Swim to Alcatraz…first of all I can’t imagine doing the side stroke that far and second, is it ever warm enough to actually get in the water?!!)

San Fran also has the famous hot fudge sundae by Ghirardelli !! So instead of a healthy well-rounded lunch, we decided to just eat ice-cream for lunch. We had cookie dough, fudge, ice cream, coffee – SO GOOD! (Sooooooo very good!!!  Except for the mustached waiter who kept singing to me!!!)

Later that day we finally were lucky enough to grab a cable car ride after seeing the most crooked street and toured through old Victorian homes! Being in a cable car was pretty fun. The steepness of the hills and roads is kind of like that carnival ride that moves everyone on the bench to one-side and then the other, but much slower. You get a chance to see down the steep hills and the colorful houses crammed together throughout the mountains. We even struck up a conversation with a kind woman who was holding onto the side of the cable car! Try that in New York City. West Coast and East Coast are very similar, but overall San Franciscans are much friendlier.

 

To end off our fun-filled day we had a final dinner at Perry’s where I got to meet MY college friend, Kelly. (Such a sweetie!)The four of us, all old college buddies, reconnected eating yummy food with some beers (wine for Curly mom!) was amazing. I’m so happy I got to see her and experience my mother and Janie reconnect right before my eyes! Everyone has those friends where they don’t see them for 20 years and it’s as if nothing happened. It means it’s a good one.

Stay tuned for our Wine-Touring Adventure with Janie!

Keep it curly,
Curly J

HELLO CALI!

California here we come!!!  After a few good nights of sleep we are off to the coast.  Very excited!  Our first destination is Carmel…wow…just wow!  A quaint little town filled with fun little stores, beautiful flowers, twisted trees and steep sidewalks. A very wealthy town and quite charming.  We walked to the beach and it was perfect – okay a tad warmer would have been perfect – but pretty darn close.  We took off our shoes and “earthed” with the sand and families with their dogs running around were everywhere…we were in heaven

Curly J and I sat and attempted to meditate…one of those to do list items that we so far haven’t gotten to!! (I swear, I still have the attention span of a goldfish.)  I kept breaking the silence, laughing and snorting and letting out other bodily sounds that kept breaking the mood (She’s getting too comfortable.)  It just felt wonderful to be on the beach with those amazing blue California skies and breathing in fresh air!!!  Yet another place I could see myself living.  We did a little shopping (more like looked, Carmel is HIGH END) and we were on our way to….

Santa Cruz reminded us a bit of the Jersey Shore – except the skies are just insanely gorgeous (And it was WAY cleaner.)  We didn’t have a lot of time to spend so we went to the Boardwalk.  Their boardwalk wasn’t quite made with “boards” like ours, which I prefer, but it was incredibly clean!!!  I find the people in central to northern CA more of a beautiful mix of diversity like we have in the east. They aren’t all Barbie-blondes surfers – not that there is anything wrong with that – but I like a rainbow of colors and accents.  Curly J finally let me buy a t-shirt and my first tye-dye shirt and we had ice cream for lunch!!!!  Just a fun couple hours although I couldn’t convince her to ride the roller coaster. (I don’t trust boardwalk rides. When you can see screws rattle, it ain’t right.)

  Next stop San Francisco!!!  Curly J was determined to walk the Golden Gate Bridge.  We made it to Crissy Field, a park near the beach that had a walking path to the bridge.  A looooong walking path.  It was chilly so we added some layers and headed out.  They close the pedestrian bridge at 9:00 p.m. sharp and if you happen to be on it then that’s where you will be sleeping for the night.  So we hustled to get there.

Legs and glutes are back to normal after the Grand Canyon massacre so we were feeling good.  I love the Dr. Seuss-like flowers they have here!  We had a beautiful and hilly hike up to the bridge…soooo cool!!!!  There wasn’t enough time to go all the way across and back…1.7 miles each way…but we did make it to the first big pillar which felt like an accomplishment enough.  Julia wasn’t loving the height of it all and scorned when I walked too close to the edge still, which I’m used to that by now.  A long dark walk back to the car, it’s about 9 p.m – so off for dinner…I know…a very long day but packed with everything awesome!!!

  

We had dinner at the Fisherman’s wharf at a wonderful seafood restaurant.  Now mind you we had ice cream cones for lunch so we were STARVING!!!!  The bread basket came and we devoured the whole thing within minutes. (Like the ladies we are.)  I wish we had taken a picture of the waiter’s face…kind of quizzical look like did he really just bring us some bread?!!  We apologized for being little piggies, but explained our very long wonderful day and that earned us an extra basket of bread…which of course we consumed as well.  The meal was eaten in record time and enjoyed every bite!!!

Finally we headed to my college buddy Janie’s house about a half hour away.  I haven’t seen Janie for YEARS!!!!!!  But it was like we just hung out yesterday!!!!  Janie (and her handsome stud of a dog Louie) made us feel right at home.  We stayed up till almost 1:00 a.m. catching up.  Bed never felt so good!!!!  We are almost at our halfway point in the journey…and will talk about that in another post.  Happy Curly Girls we are…sweet dreams everyone…tomorrow is a San Francisco kind of day.  Can’t wait!!!

Love,

Curly Mom