Out with a Bang!!!

We began our morning with a delicious breakfast with Casey in Santa Barbara. We then headed to Hollywood! We stopped to see the Hollywood sign, which happens to be in Griffith Park!

Next we headed to the Wax Museum to pose with some stars. 

With the purchase of the Wax tickets, we also got into Ripley's Believe it or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records. They had some interesting facts and interactive activities. 

The photo below sums up how much weight we have gained...

After LA, we went to see Kyle in Newport. It was fantastic. We spent our first evening of the trip with Kyle in Vegas and last night we spent our last evening with him! He really showed us a good time, a great end to a great trip. He took us out to a fancy dinner and made us feel like ladies. We followed the meal with a dive bar with a photo booth! 

We ended the evening on a dock with Kyle serenading us with beautiful self-written music. Jensen even jumped in the water to enjoy the tunes while floating. A truly fantastic end. 

All in all:

14 different states

6,000+ Miles driven

100+ hours driving

10-30 pounds gained

Free Falling!

Ahhhhhhhh! What a surprise! 

The morning began with our goodbyes to the Flemings. We hit the road early because we had a 'BBQ' in Santa Barbara with a friend. When Jensen asked Jess for the address, she gave her an address in Lompok.... Jensen looked worried, and explained to Jess that Lombok is not a place you want to go for a BBQ. A bit later, Jensen ruined her own surprise by googling the address and finding out the location was actually a skydiving place! Jess had made up the BBQ to get Jensen to Lompok to take her skydiving! She was ecstatic and surprised. Not only had Jess gotten her a skydive, she had gotten her one at 18,000ft, the highest possible tandem jump! 

She even had to wear an oxygen mask on the plane--90 seconds of free fall! It was one of the most amazing experiences of her life. She had a great tandem partner that took her spinning and did awesome maneuvers. She could not wipe the smile off of her face. Thank you Jess :) 

After that rush we headed to Los Olivos for lunch and had delicious sandwiches. We stopped to see cute miniature horses. 

After that we headed to a winery in Solvang to visit Jensen's old friend, Casey. We had a tasting in a wine library; it was nice to get out of the sun. 

The drive to Casey's house in Santa Barbara was beautiful. We had to stop to admire the view and listen to some great music. 

Our bodies are beginning to wear out, so we opted out of a big night and instead had a nice dinner followed by a cuddle with the house puppies :)

Fun Times with the Flemings

SLO is so cute! Such a great vibe and we can't get enough of the sun! We had a SLO start this morning due to our big night out. We had some lunch around 1pm and then had to make a quick stop at the bar we were at the night before so Jess could pick up her credit card!

On route to the bar we passed bubblegum alley. It was so gross and had a funky smell to it. Kinda looked really cool tho. 

When we arrived at the bar the bartender refused to give my card to me unless I purchased a drink! So we both had a breakfast shot. Irish maple whiskey with an oj chaser and bacon. Quite good actually. The movie was relaxing. We saw Don Jon. 

That night we had the Fleming family together for dinner. Diane cooked us a fabulous dinner! Eggplant parm and a strawberry walnut salad. We enjoyed a couple of the six bottles of wine purchased at the winery the day before. 

We had a wonderful night. There was lots of laughing and inappropriate story telling. 

This is Jess writing. I want to tell all who are reading that I have a surprise planned  for Jensen... It's going to be bad ass, she will freak! Tune in tomorrow to see what she has to say about it :)

SLOing it Down...

Apologies to our swarm of followers who have been on the edge of thier seats waiting for the next post. We have been very busy in San Luis Obispo. We have been gifted with the most beautiful weather since our arrival. 

On the first day we went hiking up Bishop's Peak. A mammoth up hill hike involving some rock climbing.. Okay so it wasn't that advanced but it proved to be a little bit of a challenge. 

The view was beyond amazing we could see the whole town, an ant's village below us. It was very rewarding getting to the top. 

Unfortunately Jess did not have appropriate footwear to be rock climbing up a mountain. So around the time we arrived at the top she had a few blisters forming. Eventually she ditched the shoes and continued barefoot to the bottom! 

That evening we attended girls night out at a local winery. It was very entertaining. We indulged in tasty wine and the ladies swapped stories. 

After quick outfit change due to the temperature drop, we headed to the local farmer's market with Chase and Yulia. It was bustling with activity. We had a few drinks at the local pub then home to sleep it off.

Then next morning we hit up Firestone for a late brunch. The food was insane. Steak salad and a tri tip sando to split between us. On our agenda that afternoon was wine tasting in paso Robles. First stop was Daou, a beautiful winery on top of a hill. We sipped on a glass of wine while we enjoyed the rolling hills. Next up Le Cuvier, a much smaller winery, and we opted for a tasting and pairing session. It was fantastic and ultimately they won Mark and Diane over and they became members.

The sun was beaming the wine was flowing. Our tummies were rumbling.

The four of us went out for dinner to the Pony Club. A fancy wine bar with great ambiance and live music. The conversation was golden, we had such a nice evening with the parents. 

Strolling around Paso we stumbled across this mini house. A prop for when Santa makes his yearly visits.

We also got frisky with some display of vegetables... may have been something in the wine. 

Mr. Fleming dropped us in downtown SLO via their way home and we continued the party at a few local bars.  The camera was forgotten at this point along with any thoughts of an early night... 

Ooooohtaah...

Early to bed, early to rise. Feeling very good having slept in a motel and not on the side of the road. It was a short drive to Zion National Park. We stopped at deep creek coffee for a light snack before entering the park. We met very some interesting locals, super friendly folk.

The park was great! It was similar to some of what we have seen but a Lot larger!! We drove a loop around the park stopping for photos along the way.

When we ended up near the start we parked the car and walked to the 'shuttle only' area. We caught a shuttle into the canyons and got off at the visitors lodge.

From there we took a mellow hike into the valley in search if the Emerald Pools. 

The walk was very enjoyable and not too strenuous as our legs were still a little shaky from our mountain biking.

The Emerald Pools were not entirely what we had expected but lovely never the less. There was a subtle waterfall coming from pools higher up, it was very cool. Unfortunately upon arriving back to our car we were yelled at and given a parking ticket by the park warden. Apparently we were parked in the road obstructing traffic... Bit extreme we thought. Feeling like we had seen some of the most spectacular scenery on offer in the last week we decided to skip Bryce and the $30 fee (better spent on parking tickets). We began our final long distance drive to California! 

Again we passed through Arizona, just for a minute. The hills and rocks disappeared turning back into flat desert.

For those of you who read about "Big Red" our stray retriever friend; we were also wondering how he was coping. We called the shelter and were given the wonderful news. He has been adopted!! He is very happy at his new home.

Again we passed through Nevada and Las Vegas... Tempted as we were we did not stop. We thought about spending one night but agreed it would probably abruptly end out trip. The driving continues...

Just outside of California Jess became very restless. Jensen came to the conclusion that she might be 'hangry' (Angry due to hungriness). With little food options Jensen bought her a happy meal from the infamous Maccas. This kept her quiet for a bit and she was very pleased with her toy. It just so happened to be a Wizard of Oz themed meal. Fitting as we were in Kansas a week ago.

Welcome back to California!!!... Least exciting state sign so far! The trips not finished yet though. The central coast of California is the destination. Time for Jess to meet Miss Jensen's parents :)

Close Call in Utah

Tuesday morning was gorgeous! It began with a 12 mile bike ride around the lake with Phillip. 

The sun was shining after Monday morning's blizzard! The air was crisp and the sky was so blue.

It was difficult at first, as the air was extremely thin and it was only our second time exercising this month. But we did it! And boy was it fun and beautiful. 

Phillip kicked our butts. Partially because Jensen stopped every 50ft to take a photo. 

Jess looked extra cool in her sweatshirt and vest. Her ears were freezing so she had to wear the hood. 

We had to move on earlier then we would have liked but we still have a few places to stop before home. We left the mountains and began driving towards Utah. The landscape changed a lot.

Our first Utah stop was Arches National Park, very close to where that guy (played by James Franco) was trapped for 127 hours and had to cut his own arm off. It really had us thinking about what it would have been like! 

The rock formations were stunning.

We made it before sundown, which was pretty important. The sun on the rocks had them glowing a light copper red.

Beautiful vast landscapes. 

And beautiful colors. 

Back on the road, we wanted to cover some more ground before stoppping to sleep somewhere. Our trip was extended as we stopped on the side of the road for Jensen to say hi to Lightening McQueen. 

And a few more times for her to take sunset panoramas. 

It was all worth it as this was probably the most amazing sunset of the trip. 

Stretching across the horizon and out over the valley. The open space with sillouettes of flat top mountains. The colors were unreal! 

Shortly after sundown we realized we needed to get gas fairly soon. As we came to this revelation, we saw a 'no service for 100 miles' sign. Thanks for the warning Utah!!! Jensen reassured Jess that the car could make it far enough, even though she was mildly panicking in her head. After a few big hills and a few less dots on the dash, we began praying and wishing upon stars. 40 miles down,  in the middle of nowhere, we decided to take our shot at a little town 10 miles off the 70, Emery. It took us further into the middle of nowhere down a dirt road increasing our stress levels. We made it!!! Below is our tribute to Randy's Gas Station. 

Finally in our motel room we can rest easy.