"CRAP! IT'S NYE!?"

Sequoia National Park

[ It’s 10 days to New Years Eve and we realize “CRAP! IT’S 10 DAYS TO NEW YEARS EVE!” ]

Living in a major city, it’s expensive and somewhat difficult to go out for NYE, especially last minute! So we were left scrambling for things to do. It was our first New Year as a married couple and our previous New Year was spent playing duo Monopoly, saying “HAPPY NEW YEAR” and going to bed at 12:03, literally. So this time around, I refused to be THAT boring while bringing in the New Year.

So with the 10 (technically 9) days left to plan, we scoured the internet for last minute, close and CHEAP options to ring in the New Year and came across Sequoia on handy dandy Expedia. We’ve both always wanted to visit Sequoia but never found the time to make it happen so I jumped on this as soon as the option was presented.

All of the resorts at the top of the mountain were booked [ unfortunately ] but we were able to score a nice little Bed and Breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in a town called Lemon Cove. The BnB was actually really cozy and we were able to talk some friends into coming up with us so it wasn’t as awkward as we had envisioned (this was our first BnB experience). Not to mention, the place had an awesome backyard (that we didn’t get to really enjoy considering it was 12* outside), hot tub, fireplace in our room, and a living room full of games to play. All for about $120 bucks - for New Years Eve, it wasn't too shabby).

Backyard of our BnB. Conveniently called "Plantation Bed and Breakfast"

Questionable art work that was in our room

If we had to do it all over again, we’d absolutely stay at the top of the mountain (ideally at Wuksachi Lodge).

Wuksachi Lodge

That way, the only time you have to worry about driving up and down the ICY/SNOWY mountain is at the beginning and end of your trip. And too, you’re surrounded by a winter wonderland when you stay up the hill.

Considering this trip was last minute, we experienced some expected hiccups and other “road blocks” that we weren’t exactly prepared for. We’ll dive into this trip over the next few posts.

Cheers to '17!

Trippin'. Road Trippin'

CA-1 Highway (Pacific Coast Highway)

 There’s an unwritten law that states: “One may not live in the state of CA and simply NOT drive the PCH.” For valid reason too.

 We decided to humor everyone that raves about this drive and took on the Pacific Coast Highway. Turns out, the road is legit! It ended up being one of our favorite road trips of all time. Not only were there great views, THE ENTIRE WAY, but there’s so many different cities that you can pop in and out of along the way. Unfortunately, our time was limited on the route up to SF so we didn’t have too much time to explore endlessly; however, we made as many stops as possible. Let’s recap, shall we?

We cheated a little bit and stayed the night in Ventura to get a 4 hour head start on our day. Doesn't sound that pressing, but when you’re trying to visit/explore/tour more than 10 cities in 16 hours, every. Second. Counts. Here's how our trip went:

1. San Diego, CA (Starting Point)

2. Ventura, CA (Resting Point)

3. San Luis Obispo, CA (Gas point and apparently Car Wash Point)

4. Morro Bay, CA

5. Hearst Castle

6. McWay Falls

7. Bixby Bridge

8. Santa Cruz

9. Mystery Spot

10. San Francisco

We made our trip up the CA-1 in literally 3 days and it was manageable but we'd absolutely recommend taking your time with this drive. We're talking a full week, plus some, kind of time. Trust us - it is beyond worth it. There's truly so many things you can do and see on this route - to this day, we're continuously learning about a lot of the stops, views, trails, etc. that we missed out on since we didn't have the time to truly take on the 1. But you bet your bottom dollar we will be re-visiting this scenic route very soon!

Have you been on the CA-1 before? What was your favorite pit stop? 

#Sixteenbefore16: 2 of 16

Where are our Ice Cream lovers at!? If you don't know this by now, I (Tey) am obsessed with Ice Cream. To the point where I used to consume 32 ounces of ice cream in less than 24 hours... true story. This was before my metabolism decided to jump ship so I try not to do it as often but I still have no issue making ice cream my appetizer, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd course for dinner and of course dessert. With this in mind, you'll understand why I put up a good fight to add at least 15 ice cream shops to our "Sixteen Before 16" Challenge - didn't quite happen but we agreed on adding one.

CREAM is relatively new to our city and it's been on our "to-try" list since it first opened up earlier this year. More than just a creative acronym (Cookies Rule Everything Around Me) CREAM offers up amazingly delicious cookie/ice cream sandwiches at an inexpensive price. One thing that we LOVED about CREAM - the plethora of options they have. Hellooooo free samples! With over 25 flavors of ice cream, 15 toppings, and 16 cookies - there truly is an option for EVERYONE. Including cookies for Vegans, those that are gluten Intolerant, and even ice cream for those that are lactose intolerant! They thought about everyone and their pocketbooks.

First things first, we decided if we wanted a classic ice cream sandwich, cup, cone, malt, shake, float, cream taco, coffee drink or Sundae (...we weren't kidding when we told you they had a plethora of options). Aaron decided on a sundae in a cup and I went with the cream taco: #bestlifechoiceever! After marrying the man of my dreams of course.  13 samples later (literally) we both decided on what flavors of ice cream we wanted to throw in the mix and lastly selected what toppings we wanted to add to these glorious creations.

I'd say we made some solid picks:
Aaron - Cup Sundae // Chocoholic Ice Cream // Chocolate Chip Cookie // M&Ms and Peanut Butter
Tey - Cream Taco // Very Berry Strawberry, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Royal Carmel Swirl Ice Cream // Oreo and Nutella Toppings

The only bad news about this amazing company - if you're not living in California, you may be sorry out of luck as currently, nearly all locations are located in Cali (with ONE located in Viva Las Vegas). Good news being, we have high bets that these well kept west coast treats will surely be traveling north and east real soon. Be sure to check out their IG page and website to see what it's like when you purchase this heavenly treat.

IG: @Cream_Nation

Website: www.creamnation.com