California, Wedding Things and WINE

Just like anything that is highly anticipated and seems so far away, the wedding has come and gone in what felt like a nano moment. Brian and I arrived in San Diego on May 15th and spent the week catching up with my sister and future brother-in-law and helping them with last minute things for the wedding. We didn't have too much time for sight seeing but Rick took us to the San Diego Padre's game at his company's box suite, which was sweet. On Thursday the guys flew to Vegas for just a night to celebrate Rick's last few days as a bachelor. I took the camper (all by myself) to an awesome campground in Temecula called Lake Skinner, in preparation for the wedding weekend. On Friday, I threw Val's bachelorette party. A group of five fabulous ladies took a trolley wine tour of some of the top vineyards in the country. We had an absolute blast. Later, we crashed in Val and Rick's wedding suite they reserved for the weekend at Ponte Winery. Ponte is their wedding venue; a breathtaking winery with fantastic wine, an awesome cellar bar and a heavenly view. Each morning we watched hot air balloons float majestically over the grape vines.

Most of my family arrived between Friday and Saturday. We enjoyed seeing everyone all together so much. Thanks to Rick's parents, Sandy and Mike Turturro, the two kindest people on this planet, the MacPhees' and Turturros all sat down to the rehearsal dinner. Dinner was delicious, steak and mashed potatoes with fresh vegetables paired with Ponte's Angry Wife red and white wines and tiramisu for dessert. Rick also has two lovely sisters, Becca and Katie, two of my favorite people. Brian also really bonded with the guys on the Vegas trip. Rick, Brian, Josh and Jose all came back calling themselves the "Wolfpack" and laughing at endless inside jokes from the trip.

Sunday was the big day and I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, my sister was the most exquisite bride I have ever seen. She looked so happy and so beautiful. I stood by her side as the matron of honor with bridesmaids Becca and Katie while Brian was on Rick's side with Josh, the best man and Jeff, Becca's fiancé. I got through my speech, shaking like a Chihuahua, then enjoyed the rest of the evening eating cake, dancing and drinking wine with my awesome family. Everything was beautiful and absolutely flawless.

Val and Rick took off for their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas on Monday morning after breakfast. We helped them pack up and bring things back to San Diego and said goodbye to Rick's family. Most of my family was flying out on Tuesday so we had one last she-bang at Val and Rick's house. I always hate saying goodbye but we had such a great time with our family and friends, I know I will think about this joyful event often.

Well this is me signing out, as we have reached the last destination for this trip and Brian has flown back to work for another tour at sea. If you are not aware already, I am staying here in San Diego at Bernardo Shores RV Park, two blocks from Val and Rick and a couple more from the beach, until July 15th. On July 16th I am flying back to Alaska, I took a 6 week fishing job with the Sitka Sound Science Center. I will be working as a fisheries technician collecting data for the hatchery/wild project from post-spawn Chum salmon. Brian and I will meet back here in San Diego the first week of September. We had such an incredible journey from Florida to California and loved every minute of it. Though it is nice to get back to a routine, we are just as excited to get started on our next trip in the fall.

The Bachelorette:

Lu (Val's co-worker), Katie (Rick's youngest sister), the Bride, MaryKate (my 1st cousin) and me!

 Val and her four wine servers

Temecula Cable Car Wine Tours

Ponte Winery:

Parents of the Bride

And by far the cutest flower girl, Ella

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere"

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

A Joshua tree is, in fact, not a tree but a species of Yucca and part of the Agave family. They can grow up to 40 feet and look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Joshua Tree National Park is made up of two interesting desert ecosystems. The Colorado Desert is the low desert with lower elevation and higher temperatures and home to the creosote bush and ocotillos. The western part of the park turns into the high desert which is higher in elevation, wetter and cooler in temperatures. This section is part of the Mojave Desert and also hosts the special habitat of the infamous Joshua tree.

We parked the camper at Black Rock campground at a big site in between the Joshua trees. There were great hiking trails starting right from the campground. This is the last National Park we are visiting on this leg of the road trip so we took time to relax, hike and enjoy our last few days of alone time together. Our favorite hike was a 7 mile loop called the panoramic loop. It was a slow and steady climb on a sandy trail to the prettiest desert view I've ever seen. We saw quail and horny toads, two snakes, lizards and bunny rabbits. We caught a glimpse of the last few cactus blooms and admired the enormity of certain Joshua trees. The sun was shining and the temperature was just right. We ate peanut butter sandwiches with my Gram's homemade grape jelly at the peak and then enjoyed the easier way down the sandy trail. 

We are moving on to our final stop, San Diego, on Friday. My sister is getting married on May 24th at a very nice winery in Temecula, CA. We are looking forward to spending time with her and her fiancé, Rick, and touring around San Diego. 

 Brian and Danielle, sitting in a [Joshua] tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g

Next Stop: San Diego, CA

Vegas, Baby, Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada, wow, wow, wow. There isn't much more that I could imagine to be in Vegas than there was. The things people dressed up as and performed for tips was wild. My friend Janyne is currently living in Vegas with her aunt and uncle. She has goals to be a aquarist and take care of the sea creatures at one of the big casinos, in which most have mini aquariums. My other friend, Laney, drove from Santa Cruz, CA to spend the weekend with us. Janyne, Laney and I worked together in Alaska as observers (yes, more Alaskan observer friends). Brian and I kept the camper at a KOA next to a casino north of the downtown. Janyne's family are frequent visitors of the Silverton Casino and she had a few nights to spend at their hotel. The whole weekend went about as fast as R.E.M.'s lyrics to "It's the End of the World".

We saw a mermaid, bears, Where's Waldo? and magicians. We walked downFreemont Street drinking meter drinks filled with frozen daiquiris and margaritas. We gambled, mostly on black jack, and it left us only wanting to play more. We visited the Strip and saw the Welcome to Vegas sign. We admired the Golden Nugget, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Luxor, Excaliber, Mirage, the Venetian and Caesar's Palace casinos. We played beer pong on the street and took hamburger shots. We rode around the High Roller ferris wheel and enjoyed the city lights. We watched the water show at the Bellagio to the sound of the Beatles. We drank bootleg Corona's and played black jack on the street. We stayed out late and slept in late. We did some other touristy things too. We drove through a sea of solar panels in the Mojave Desert on our way to see the Grapevine Canyon, famous for it's petroglyphs left by Prehistoric Indians. We played hacky-sack and ate Lays potato chips and drank tall boys around the tail gate. Lastly, we hung out with the Pawn Stars crew at the infamous Pawn Shop (not the real casting crew, but still) and we saw where Elvis, Bon Jovi and Judy Garland all tied the knot.

Janyne had to work on Sunday so Laney and Brian and I drove to see the Hoover Dam. We checked it out from the bridge above and from the dam below. We bid farewell to Laney Bird at Janyne's place of work, Cactus Joe's, after picking out our new favorite house pets, as she had to be back for work on Monday. Brian and I stayed an extra night to recoup and reorganize. We cooked out and then went bowling and Janyne spent the night. We said goodbye in the morning and left with farm fresh eggs.

I somehow lost half of my pictures from this crazy adventure. I must have made a mistake importing them on my computer but I can't entirely be sure (ARGH%$^#!) but we will always have the memories.

Next Stop: Joshua Tree National Park, CA