Monday, December 3, 2012

Belated Honeymoon




I am so excited! My husband and I began making our Christmas plans over the weekend, which also happen to be belated honeymoon plans and one-year anniversary plans. Can you guess where we're going?


Napa Valley and San Francisco!


We couldn't be happier. You see, we've been trying to go on our honeymoon for a year, ever since our wedding, after which we took a lovely mini honeymoon in New York and excitedly awaited an opportunity to take a longer vacation together. Originally our plans were to go to Rome, but life (aka. The Army) had other plans for us. After trying to make a European trip happen for months and having no luck, we decided that going on our honeymoon and spending time together was more important than holding out for a vacation abroad. So we embraced the spontaneity that is sometimes required in military life and decided to take our honeymoon here in the USA! And as my mother-in-law pointed out, Napa Valley is as close to Italy as is possible while staying in the States. Indeed.

We are staying in a cozy B&B/Inn in Napa Valley for one week and then driving down to San Francisco to explore the city for five days. One of my best friends from college just bought her first home in the marina area in San Francisco and she has graciously offered to let us stay with her for a few nights, and I found a gorgeous hotel that we'll stay in (at winter/government rates!) for our anniversary and New Years Eve. 

We have plans to eat incredible food the whole 12 days, visit several wineries, attend a cooking demonstration at the Culinary Institute of America, hopefully attend a Christmas concert, and spend a lot of time walking and exploring and sleeping in and just chatting together. We are looking forward to finding a beautiful church to attend on Christmas Eve and are very excited that our room has a fireplace in it, to make Christmas morning extra cozy. My husband has been to the San Francisco area before and he wants to take me to see the Redwoods--he said he wants to watch my eyes as we drive up to the forest. I hope to see some museums and art galleries when we're in the city, too. 

There's so much to do, and SO much to celebrate! The one piece we will miss this Christmas is seeing both of our families, but they have been so understanding and are just as excited as we are that we're finally taking our honeymoon. We hope to see them early in 2013.

Now--do any of you have recommendations for us? Restaurants, your favorite wineries, things to do in the Bay Area? If you're from California or have visited, we'd appreciate any and all suggestions. We leave in two and a half weeks!



14 comments:

  1. That sounds amazing! What a way to celebrate all the holidays and your anniversary in one! I have never been to Napa Valley, but it sounds beautiful. My family went to San Francisco a long time ago on vacation, and I still remember the view of the golden gate bridge, and all of us holding hands around a giant redwood and not even getting all the way around. Hope you have a wonderful time!

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    1. I'm so looking forward to seeing those redwoods :)

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  2. The Navy had other plans for us, too; so when we got married two days after Christmas, our "honeymoon" was a drive from Upstate NY down to Corpus Christ, TX (where Mr. Pearl was in flight school), with a stop at the Superdome in New Orleans to watch ND's bowl game. We had a belated honeymoon in Cancun when Mr. Pearl got his wings a year and a half after our wedding--and it was wonderful!

    Your trip sounds great. Have a wonderful time!

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    1. Thanks, Mrs. Pearl! How funny that our anniversary dates are only 3 days apart, and our weddings were both in Upstate NY...and the military forced us both to take belated honeymoons! Haha. Yours sounds like it was wonderful. :)

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  3. Point Reyes -- north of SF -- is amazingly empty, beautiful countryside. Lots of hiking and biking trails. Rolling hills, dairy cows (several famous cheesemaking operations here). Dramatic ocean cliffs and seascapes, with lots of fog and a picturesque old lighthouse at the end of a beautiful long winding drive.

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    1. That all sounds just perfect. I looked up Point Reyes on the map, and I think it would be an ideal stopover on our drive from Napa to SF. I think we will plan to spend the whole afternoon here before driving on to the city--thank you!!

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  4. Even though it's quite low-key, some of my favorite San Francisco memories include sitting on Fisherman's wharf with a bread-bowl of clam chowder. Such unique people collect in cities and I enjoy people watching! :) I also have fond memories of taking a boat over to Alcatraz island.

    These are classic 'touristy' things to do, so a local might scoff at my suggestions. but I've been to SF several times and these are the things I always want to do again.

    I hope you have a wonderful trip!

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    1. Thanks for these suggestions Natalie! I especially love the clam chowder idea--my husband is a seafood FANATIC so I'm sure he'll love it even more. :)

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  5. Eeeeeee!!!! I'm so excited for you Kate! Can't wait to hear all about it, so take lots and lots of pictures, ok? What a wonderful way to spend the holidays!

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  7. It sounds like a lovely honeymoon! I hope your days are filled with good gifts.

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    1. Thanks Mrs. Qualls! I have no doubt it will be well worth the long wait.

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  8. Ahhh this will be such a fantastic trip for you. My husband and I got married in Napa and the planning process allowed us to spend time in both regions. It's positively fabulous. Enjoy!

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  9. Oh, this sounds just ahhhmazing! So exciting to finally go on a more 'official' honeymoon. My sister did the same thing in terms of delaying her honeymoon too. It worked out great because they were able to save up for a dream trip to Hawaii.

    Also, I've got a European trip on my dream list too. One of these days....

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