Curly Sue: an Amanda Condra Designs Blog: california

Last weekend we went to California to visit Wyatt's aunt and to attend a memorial service. Though we wish it was under better circumstances, we were thrilled to get to spend some time with Wyatt's aunt. We haven't been out to visit her since 2016. We left Thursday afternoon out of Chicago (thank you direct flights to the west coast) and arrived late on Thursday night. Of course we had to stop for some In-N-Out once we landed! We had the entire day to spend alone with Tia. It was gorgeous weather after coming from Indiana and having just had snow the week before we left. We drove over to Santa Cruz for lunch at the Harbor Cafe and then took a walk down to the beach. On our way back to Tia's house, we stopped at Aver Family Vineyards for a tasting. My favorites were the Faith and the Hope Rhone Blend wines. We had dinner in Morgan Hill that night at Ledera. It was delicious!

On Saturday we attended the nicest memorial service for CJ at the school where he taught. It was so moving to hear from so many people about how he positively impacted their lives.

On Sunday we had an early flight and made it back to Chicago in the late afternoon. We hope to get back to the west coast again with a little more time next time and sooner than later too.

I mentioned in my Throwback Thursday post last week that I was headed to California. Wyatt and I flew out for a quick weekend trip to visit his Aunt Marianne and celebrate her retirement at a party she was hosting at her home on Saturday. We were so happy we could make it all work and managed to get out there for her party! We flew into San Francisco Thursday night (just barely making our connecting flight with little time to spare) and of course, our first stop after landing was In-N-Out so Wyatt could finally try it! We spent Friday morning sight seeing before driving down to Morgan Hill that afternoon. In my research I stumbled upon the Tiled Steps and added it to our must do list. We started with the steps. They were gorgeous and I was glad we made the time to stop and walk up them. It was still foggy so we didn't go all the way to the top of Grand View Park which is just above the top of the Tiled Steps.

Top: Lilly Pulitzer | Jeans: Vineyard Vines | Sandals: Jack Rogers

After the Tiled Steps, we drove down Lombard Street and then headed over to Pier 39 to see the sea lions and have lunch. We ate at the Eagle Cafe for lunch and I had the lobster bisque (so good!) and the fried fish and clams platter. After lunch we drove over to Alamo Square Park so we could see the Painted Ladies before we went over to the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge was covered in fog as we first drove across but by the time we made it to the other side it was clear with bright, sunny, clear blue skies!

A video posted by Amanda Condra 🍍🎀💄 (@ascondra) on Aug 1, 2016 at 8:38pm PDT

After driving across the bridge and back, we made our way to Wyatt's aunt's house in Morgan Hill. Since his parents and Pa's flight was delayed, we ended up having dinner out at a local restaurant with Marianne and CJ. Saturday was devoted to Marianne's party to celebrate her retirement from her incredible teaching career. One thing was evident during the party, Marianne is very much loved by her friends, family, and colleagues. We enjoyed the day visiting with her friends and family. Since I had to return to work on Monday, Wyatt and I caught and early (8:00 a.m.) flight back to Indiana. It was a whirlwind and half but we were so glad to have made the trip out to California and hope to be able to make a real visit again soon!