Meet Max

Need I say more?

"Ashley! You need to post!"

My Mac is on its way out the door. The poor little thing has hung in there for some 4+ years, and just recently I have started to make some funeral arrangements. So sad :(. One of the major issues is with iPhoto. I no longer have any room for anymore pictures and I don't even have that many pictures. I believe that this is my Mac's way of letting me know it's on its last leg. Ahh!

So... lack of posts. Here's why. One, I am forgetting to post. I said it! Two, I want to include some of my favorite pictures from my past two getaways and I can't because of Mr. Mac. But because I want to hold onto YOU my followers... I am going to post anyway and you will all have to forgive me for my lack of interesting photos. Deal?

Ali and Marisa, this is for you! Love you girls!

Summer Getaway #3: Mooresville, North Carolina & The Western Caribbean

Thursday, July 8th: Sacramento to Mooresville, North Carolina
Friday, July 9th: Cohlmia Estate
Saturday, July 10th: Cohlmia Estate

In Mooresville, North Carolina we got to spend time with our dear friends the Cohlmias: Jane, Brad, Alex, and Carrie. Jane Cohlmia as a matter of fact is the "Jane" I love and adore and always wanted to be named after! And the story comes full circle... haha! While visiting we got stay in their beautiful home located a hop-skip away from Lake Norman. All day, each day, was spent at the lake, on the boat, basking in the hot hot East Coast sun. So good. Needless to say, it was bittersweet having to leave them behind for a cruise. Oh how how we wish we did not live so far from them here in California.



Sunday, July 11th: Fly to Orlando to board the "Freedom of the Seas" in Port Canaveral, Florida
Monday, July 12th: At Sea
Tuesday, July 13th: Labadee, Haiti
Wednesday, July 14th: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Thursday, July 15th: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Friday, July 16th: Cozumel, Mexico
Saturday, July 17th: At Sea
Sunday, July 18th: Back to Florida and the journey to HOME!

And the best part of the whole trip...

Kissing a stingray in the beautiful and gorgeous Grand Cayman= seven years of good luck! This very moment is by far one of the highlight moments of my life. Absolutely amazing!

This family vacation was awesome! We had such a great time. Such good family time with lots of laughs and hilarious stories to tell.

Toward the end of the cruise we did "high's and low's" as a family. My high of the trip was Grand Cayman and this moment captured in the photo above. After our stingray excursion we went to the 7 Mile Beach (which was actually 7 miles of beautiful beach) and ate lunch at a little beach hut. Not expecting the food to really be much, much to our surprise it turned out to be so good, and the "Caybrew", the island's number one beer, was another delicious little treat there in paradise. I could have stayed in Grand Cayman for some days. It was exactly what I was hoping for on this vacation.

Low of the trip: Jamaica. So sad because we all had such high expectations for Jamaica and it just wasn't a good stop at all. Very touristy, very poor, very sad... just not good. Jamaican's haggle you on the streets big time, follow you, and hound you to get in their taxis so that they can show you the "real Jamaica". Sounds like a great idea, and if you hate tourism like myself... it sounds like an even better plan, but oh boy was it a sketch situation. Just walking down the street one felt very taken advantage of and very uncomfortable. I don't know how else to explain it and I so wish I had better things to say. I do want to go back someday, and I want to do my research ahead of time. I know Jamaica has a lot to offer and is a really neat place... and my hope is that I can one day experience that "real Jamaica".

And as the Jamaican staff on board our cruise ship (some of the most awesome people in the world by the way) would say, this trip was "so, nice. Nice, nice."

Summer Getaway #2: Portland, OR

That's right! I went to visit Katie and Wes. And here's the kicker... I got to be with Katie on her birthday! This trip folks was a win-win.

We ate, talked, laughed, talked, cooked, walked, shopped, laughed, shopped, hiked..... you get the picture. It was sheer bliss. I arrived on Wednesday, June 30th and left on the evening of July 4th. This was my longest chunk of time visiting and it still was not long enough!

Highlights of my time:

-Going to Palios

-Cooking a magnificent dinner

-Shopping, rain and shine!

-Saturday market, driving over the bridge accidentally when trying to find parking, Kenny and Zukes, and our kind of/ sort of trip to the rose garden...... and temporarily parking in a handicap parking lot to view the roses/eat our picnic from afar!

-Slappy cakes

-Great conversation and catching up for 5 days solid. Mmm mmm good.

-Hiking Multnomah Falls and witnessing some very strange and mysterious things. Ie: man burying something and a young child's sweatshirt laying in a nearby bush. We filed a police report.

-Tasting and liking agave syrup. Yumm.

-Eating Lebanese food. So good.

-Drinking wine and eating cheese at the Avignon Bar.

-The Laura Mercier make-up counter.

Katie and Wes, thank you for having me! My time visiting you was amazing and everything I needed. Love you guys!

Check out this rad blog for some really great pictures of my time spent with Katie.