Point Reyes Hike - Bear Valley Trail

Travis and I had the opportunity to go hiking yesterday!  We drove to Point Reyes National Seashore and hiked from the visitor center to Arch Rock (8.2 mi. round trip).  The trail was very easy to hike on.  It was wide and none of the hills were steep.  It was such a relaxing day!  The trail was almost completely covered in trees, so we were in the shade for the majority of the hike.  We passed (and were passed by) a lot of other hikers, as well as bicyclists and people on horseback.  Unfortunately, we did have to avoid the many horse droppings, but since the trail was wide, that wasn't too difficult.  The weather was amazing yesterday.  I believe the high was in the 80s, but under the shade of the trees it was cooler.  The sky was sunny and clear.

Bear Creek ran alongside the trail.  It was so nice to listen to the water while we hiked!  A lot of the trees we passed were covered in moss.

There were also a lot of trees that had fallen over along the side of the trail.  Most of them crossed over the creek.  Travis decided to walk to the middle of one, so I took a picture to prove that he did.

You can't tell from this picture, but he was standing over a drop off of about 8-10 feet.

We saw (and heard) a lot of wildlife while we were hiking.  It was mostly birds, bugs, chipmunks, etc.  We joked around about what we'd do if we encountered a mountain lion or bear.  I said I'd take it's picture.  ;)  Thankfully, we didn't see any.

Big Spiderweb

Gigantor Slug - This thing was at least 6 inches long!

When we reached Arch Rock , honestly, we were disappointed.  We were expecting to see some awesome gigantic rock with a big hole through it or something.  As it turns out, I think we were standing on Arch Rock, and therefore couldn't see it properly.  However, there were some nice views of the Pacific Ocean, and we had fun listening to the waves crash against the cliffs.

So after hanging out by the ocean for a little while, we started heading back.  As we walked back the way we came, we didn't encounter nearly as many people as before.  In fact, we felt very solitary and isolated.  The sun was starting to set, so instead of seeing sun beams on the trail, we saw the tops of the trees glowing in yellow light.  It was beautiful!  

It was a prefect day for hiking!  I'm really looking forward to hiking some more in the near future.  :)

Beringer Winery

Back in July, Travis' parents came to visit us.  We took them to do several sightseeing things in the area, but I only took my camera along to one - the Beringer winery!  We got to tour the wine caves, taste a couple wines, and walk around the grounds.  It was really fun!

Inside the caves:

Outside the caves, at the end of our tour:

The big house at the winery, which is now a souvenir shop and place to buy wine:

Sharing a nice bottle of wine:

Pretty flowers we saw while walking around the grounds:

It was a beautiful day to be in Napa Valley!  :)

The Fire Pit

My parents bought a fire pit for Travis for his birthday, and it came in the mail today!  I see lots of s'mores in my future...  ;)

{Isn't it beautiful?}

{A closer look at the copper details.}

Love it!  I can't wait to try it out!

Travis' 29th Birthday

Today is Travis' birthday!  Last night he convinced me to let him have his presents, even though I was originally going to give them to him this afternoon.  I couldn't help it, though!  I've had his presents for months, now, and I was so excited to give them to him!  He had mentioned something last week or so about thinking it would be fun for me to send him on a scavenger hunt, so I did.  I thought of hiding places and clues to help him find them.  It was so fun to come up with everything!

{My awesome clues.}

It was hilarious to watch him try to work out the clues.  He did really well!  I helped him mostly with just the first one, but in the end he even figured that one out without too much assistance.  At the end of the trail was his big present.

{I'm proud of my pretty bow!}

He had no idea what I had gotten him, so I was really anxious for him to open it.  I got him the blu-ray extended edition of all three The Lord of the Rings movies, complete with his very own THE ONE RING.  haha!

{About to open the present.}

He was so excited when he opened it!  He's been wanting the blu-ray edition ever since he first saw that they were coming out with it.  It was a GREAT night!  To complete the birthday fun, I baked him a chocolate birthday cake today while he was at work, and we are about to go eat out at Texas Roadhouse.

Happy birthday, Travis!  I love you!!