11th Anniversary

Our cabin 

It has been 11 years since the wife and I were married in the Los Angeles Temple. It hard to believe it has been that long. As we failed to celebrate the 10th year anniversary we decided to do something different and go zip lining. I was OK with it as I am not a big planner when it comes to these types of things. We left on a Friday and drove out to Cobb Mountain. The drive was fine except that the car started overheating as it often does in warmer weather and especially climbing up mountainous terrain. We forgot to bring water and so it was quite hot at the early evening hours.  We got this cabin and were immediately in total frustration as the lock box was not working and we were totally locked out of the cabin. We tried to open it for almost 10 or 15 minutes and then began calling and emailing the owner of the place. As we left I had the impression to ask the neighbors if they had problems getting into their place. The husband said that his wife struggled with theirs and offered to help us. He messed around with it for a while and then tried a couple of numbers slightly different than our combination and what do you know, it worked! We were so relieved. It felt amazing to go in and turn on the AC unit. We were hungry though and so we ventured out to get some food. We first stopped at a nearby pizza place. We went there originally because they had a coupon at the cabin and thought why not. As soon as we walked into the restaurant we could smell fish and it looked like an old diner. My wife smelled the fish and we were out of there. We drove for another 15 minutes or maybe more and eventually happened upon an amazing hole in the wall milk shake place. It really was amazing. I'm not sure if that was because we were so hot and thirsty at the time but I will always look back on that place with fondness. We made it make to our place where my wife sacked out pretty quickly with me as I watched the Dark Knight.

The next day we got up at like 6:30 AM in order to make it all the way to Occidental near Sonoma where we went zip lining. We got out there like an hour early. The place was called Sonoma Canopy Tours. The host at the base of the park was quite funny and youthful. The signed our release forms and left our phones in the car. We signed up for the high definition video which was a good choice. I had no idea how terrified my wife was of heights until that day. We got our harnesses and headed up to the trees. The first zip line was pretty simple and it felt good as the first trees were not redwoods. I had no idea that redwood trees swayed that much. The trees on the other zip lines moved and swayed quite a bit and the swaying of these redwood trees is supposed to be a sign of health. We gradually made it through the course and repelled back onto solid ground. For lunch we met my brother and his significant other for lunch. The food was pretty good. I got a goat wrap and my wife had something with pork. I was surprised as I could not even attempt to eat what she had it was really fatty. It really was nice to see them both and just visit. That evening we ventured down to Calistoga where I missed my wife's cooking again. We had pizza there but I was left wanting. I am not really that picky when it comes to food, but we just were not doing well in that regard on this trip.

French Laundry 

The next morning we had breakfast at the nearby golf course where I had Eggs Benedict. That was probably the best meal we had besides the milk shakes. One of the best things about this trip was allowing my wife to sleep and enjoy a very comfortable bed. A comfortable bed is a must for any kind of getaway like this. No I did not eat at the French Laundry, but I wanted to drive by after hearing about a family members experience.