430 Days

My fiance proposed to me 22 days ago, and we are getting married on November 4th, 2013 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. In the last 3 weeks we have definitely decided on 3 places where we were going to get married, but i'm pretty sure this is the one. So, Here's the plan. October 30th - leave in a big van with 15 people to drive from California to Miami,Florida. Woo Hoo road trip! November 1st - Arrive in Miami, Florida, and it'll probably be more like Woo Hoo! the road trip is over! Which is fine, because we'll be relaxed enough soon, and it'll all just be a funny memory of the arguments over who's driving and who has to pee for the 20th time in 10 miles. November 2nd - We board our cruise ship! Yay! Excitement is in the air and bruised egos and exhausted bodies are revamped and ready for fun and relaxation. November 3rd - Drinkin pina coladas and chillin in the pools on our way to Jamaica man! Well, in the morning anyways, the second half of the day will more likely be spent in wedding prep, making sure everything is ready for tomorrow, and getting a really good night's sleep. Am I supposed to sleep in the same room as the groom the day before our wedding? hm...have to think about that one. Also, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner will probably be on this night. Wow, writing all of this is really helping me think of things I was forgetting. November 4th - Here comes the bride! And it better be a damn good entrance, I do love a good entrance. Busy morning, running around like chicken's with our head's cut off, champagne toast with the girls while we get ready, and a shot of Captain Mo as well if I have anything to say about it. ;-) take some photos around the ship with the photographer, and get in the boat to get over to the shore for our wedding. Have our beautiful, short and cavity creatingly sweet wedding ceremony, and enjoy our 1 hour reception. Then take the whole gang into Ocho Rios and do some exploring before our wedding dinner at a restaurant I still need to look into picking. November 5th - So, now we need to decide if we are going to go to Grand Cayman with everybody, or go onto our honeymoon from here...If we decide to go on from here, i think a couple of days in Jamaica sounds find to me. :-) From this point on, it's all up in the air, but here's the more tentative part of my plan: November 8th - Leave Jamaica for the Dominican Republic. November 13th - Leave the Dominican Republic for Puerto Rico. November 19th - Leave Puerto Rico for BVI November 21st - Leave BVI for Antigua and Barbuda November 23rd - Leave Antigua and Barbuda for Montserrat November 25th - Leave Montserrat for Dominica where we will spend the last week. December 2nd - Fly from Dominica to Puerto Rico December 3rd - Fly from Puerto Rico to LAX and go home :-( December 5th - Update this blog with fantastic stories to fill in all the blanks!

Somewhere in Cabo

So, I just went on my first cruise with my boyfriend. We had one of our shore days in Cabo San Lucas and decided to check out Cabo Wabo since that seems to be the place to go. Well, it was pretty busy already, and we stopped at the bar and checked out the menu. The drinks were more expensive than almost all the bars in the town I live in back in California! I was bummed out, but I wanted to have a drink at the famous bar, so we ordered a couble of Cabo Wabo-ritas. $9 and a few minutes later the tiny drinks were gone. So, we left the bar and wandered around the streets for a moment, till we came across a bar not far from there with a sign out that said, "3 beers and 2 shots - $6.50" That was the Mexican hospitality I was looking for! So we went in, and dollars were all over the walls with people's writing on them, and they handed us a marker to sign the other part of the wall with. The bartender ended up being a young 20-something from Wyoming. It was the perfect little spot, and we went back the next day!

Tough Mudder SoCal 2012

Three girls embarked on their second Tough Mudder journey to a place in the desert 7 hours from home. Starting with an overnight camping trip, which began with setting up in the dark, cooking pasta in a pot that never boiled, and freezing our asses off. Did we mind? Not at all, true Tough Mudders can handle a few little camping mishaps. Especially as it was all 3 of our first time camping without any guys to help us out with building fires, setting up, and keeping us warm. The next morning we woke early after a good 10 hours of sleep and proceeded to braid hair, make oatmeal, get dressed, and break camp. After that we cranked up the music in the Landcruiser and set out for Tough Mudder. Bouncing and laughing through the dirt parking lot we smiled and shouted excitedly with other future Mudders as we made our way to our parking spot. Then we got in line with a large group to catch buses to the main event. The excitement and trepidation never wearing thin all the way through registration and to the starting line. At the starting line, we immediately were faced with an obstacle, an 8 foot wall to scale, just to be allowed to start. Climbing it easily as we were veterans at this, we jumped down and joined our fellow mudders in the buzz of excitement. Hopping up and down and and listening to our charismatic MC we got ready to embark on our journey. Stilling our nerves and excitement long enough to listen to the National Anthem was difficult, but well worth the beauty of that glorious song, and it's impeccable deliverance. Finally, after raising our hands and shouting out the Tough Mudder Pledge, we were off, and straight into sneaker sucking mud! I braced my teammates as they struggled not to lose their shoes. Mine were duct-taped on, so no worries there. After that, we were off to the death march. Living up to its name, I literally felt about to pass out from the heat after those first couple of gruelling miles, but the first part is always the worst, and not for the faint of heart. The day proceeded in true Tough Mudder fashion, unforeseen obstacles loomed ahead, crawling through dirt, climbing over scratchy logs, and getting knocked flat on my stomach as I crawled under shock wires. A jolt going through my whole body woke me up and continued to tingle as the sight of water to drink finally came into view. We scrambled on our hands and knees to drink from a spigot sticking a foot out of the ground and then on to the unknown. Over walls, and through breath sucking ice water, off a drop into more cold water, that seemed a lot higher than I remembered, and off again for more running through hills and dirt, water and mud. Spashing through creeks, and balancing on boards, climbing muddy slopes, and over cargo nets. Several were forced to stop and lose their breakfasts by the trails side, others had to stop to retie shoes, and help fallen comrads. Onward we went though, helping and being helped along the way, making cheerful exhausted chit chat with total strangers, and always pushing ourselves ever onward to find out just what we are made of. The entire environment was surrounded by a sense of fellowship and cameraderie that is difficult to find anywhere else. When you are pushed to your limits, and everybody around you is in the same situation, it's truly an awesome sight to see humanity come together. For me, that's what Tough Mudder is all about.

Bon Temps Creole Cafe

So, I heard about this place on the radio, but I'm not sure the ad is doing it any good. It's a little restaurant overshadowed by a hotel that was equally as empty and quiet seeming. It might have been the time of year we are in, but anyways. The lights were too bright, the decor looked as if a hundred sorority girls had just flashed somebody on Mardi Gras, but all in all, that was exactly what it was supossed to be. The waitress was one of the most pleasant servers I have ever been blessed to have be served by. Charming, cheerful, anticipatory of my needs etc. I have never eaten Cajun food before, so this was a new experience for me. I don't really have anything to base the food off of, but the cornbread was good, I tried alligator for the first time, not bad, and the entree was good as well. It was definitely more spicy than I am used to, but not more so than I expected from Louisiana style cooking. The Filet medallions were perfectly tender and flavorful, and the fried shrimp on top was some of the best shrimp I have ever had, and I don't usually eat shellfish because of my religious beliefs, but I couldn't stop popping them into my mouth! I would definitely go back there again, maybe I will go check it out for Mardi Gras and see how packed the place is.

By Chance

One evening I happened upon a little winery on the way home from work called Per Cazo, which means "By Chance" in Italian. They had the cutest little story of how they had aquired the place, which they told us as they invited us into their home, sat us down at their kitchen table, and conducted their wine tasting as if we were relatives over for a visit. I have done a lot of wine tasting, as I live in the heart of wine country, and that was by far one of the greatest experiences I have had wine tasting before and since. They brought out some bread and crackers, some cheeses, olives, and prosciutto. It was fantastic.

Finding one's way

In the words of Captain Barbossa, "You best start believin in ghost stories Miss Turner, you're in one." Oh wait, wrong quote, it was this one, "For sure, you have to be lost to find a place that can't be found, elseways everyone would know where it was." That's my motto in creating this blog. I'm hoping, if anybody ever even reads this, that it will reach the right crowd of people, those looking for "lost" little places themselves, not to bring too much traffic or attention to them, but to enjoy their rustic appeal and charm, because they are only well known to those that will truly enjoy them. One such place I found in my own back yard of Paso Robles, CA is Monteleone's Rock. A little whole in the wall bar with couches and games, beers i'd never heard of, and a jolly Hawaiian man as the owner. Unfortunately it has since been shut down, changed ownership, and re-opened under the name The Pour House. It still has some of it's charm, but it does seem to be gaining in popularity. It's kind of hard to find, but if you can find the Firestone Brewery just off the Highway 101, you are almost there! In my travels I hope to find many more interesting little places to write about, and I hope that other travellers who are interesting in the same thing might happen upon my blog and be able to embark on journeys to awesome little "hole-in-the-wall" places!