Fall in Sonoma

Mike and I were given a special wedding gift back in March - gift certificates for a weekend away at an inn in Sonoma in the heart of the California wine country. The Four Sisters Inns are group of Inns along the west coast that are welcoming and comfortable with homemade cookies in the cookie jar in the lobby! When I first started looking at when to go I soon realized it was a very popular place and had to book our weekend many months out. So needless to say I had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time.

I'd been missing the Fall lately since most of the trees in our area don't change colour and it's still pretty warm. Well this was just what I needed. The trees were beautiful, all full of colour and the air was crisp just like it should be in the Fall.

It was a very relaxing weekend. Sonoma is a quaint little town with more wineries than you can imagine within just a few miles. I would definitely go back and most probably will!

This is where we stayed....

This is the Ledson winery.

A beautiful shot of the leaves in the vineyards changing colour...

Through the Fog

Until we moved to California my experience with fog consisted of the odd morning in the spring or fall when the fog rolled in and swirled it's way through the trees Jackson Park.

Well here it's called a Marine Layer instead of fog and it's a whole different experience that comes in almost daily right now.

Mike and I decided to go for a drive down the coast on Sunday since it was such a beautiful day. About halfway to our destination we saw what looked like smoke rising above the trees up ahead. Moments later we were totally engulfed in a thick layer of fog. It also dropped the temperature significantly. On our way back we realized it was moving north so the majority of the coast was now covered. You couldn't even see the ocean anymore. It was kind of creepy, especially since we didn't expect it.

This is what I deal with on a daily basis right now. The fog rolls in at some point during the night and hangs around until about noon the next day. It's horrible on my sinuses!

Here are a couple of pictures that we took on the weekend. The ocean is out there somewhere...

Sharks!!

Ok - not the real kind, the hockey kind!

One of my co-workers put together a package deal so on Friday night we attended our first hockey game since arriving out here. It was the San Jose Sharks vs. the LA Kings.

We were in what amounted to a box with plenty of room and tables and chairs instead of tiny little stadium seats. We had table-side food and a private bar. It was definitely my preferred way to see a game.

Four of my co-workers who attended had never been to a hockey game before (how is that even possible??). So my hockey knowledge was tested as I tried to explain the rules and why the play kept stopping, and what are the big circles on the ice for and why isn't the puck illuminated like it is on TV?

The Sharks lost. But it was a good time.

5.6!

Well after being in California for 15 months (has it really been that long already??) Mike and I experienced our first (and second) earthquakes this week.

We were just starting to watch the "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and at first I thought someone had slammed a door in our building. I soon realized it wasn't a door and the whole building was moving. We both realized at the same time what was going on and jumped up to stand in the doorway. The floor felt like it was rolling and it lasted for about 13 seconds. Fortunately there was no damage or injuries. One of my co-workers who lives much closer to the epicenter said all of the cans fell out of her cupboards and all of her dresser drawers came open. I think I would have been much more freaked out if that had happened here.

We had a 3.7 aftershock which didn't last quite as long but was just as nerve jangling.

So now we're waiting - the sizmologists say there is a 10% chance that a larger one will hit within a week. I've secured as much as I can in the apartment so now we just have to sit and wait.

Mike's boss gave him a lecture about not having a survival kit together. Apparently a crowbar is the tool of choice to have in your kit. If the building shifts, the doors will probably get wedged and then you can't get out. All the other normal survival stuff is supposed to be in there too: water, battery operated radio, can opener etc.

So we're going shopping for a crowbar this weekend.

Flights from Hell

I went to San Diego this weekend and what should have been a short 1.5 hour flight in each direction turned in to much more.

After an on time departure Saturday we began our decent about an hour later over San Diego. After getting pretty low to the ground we were suddenly headed upward again. The pilot announces on the overhead that even though the sky outside our windows was completely clear the airport was fogged in so we're going to fly around for a "few minutes" in the hopes the fog will clear enough to land. 35 minutes later we attempt another landing with the same results, only this time when the pilot gets on the overhead he announces that we are now out of gas and have to make an emergency, diverted landing at the Ontario airport (just outside of LA) which is about a 25 minute flight. He says our ground time will be short. 65 minutes later we are back in the air and finally make a successful landing in San Diego - whew. The 1.5 hour flight was over after 4 hours.

Sunday - we board the plane right on time. The flight is very full but that's ok, it's only a 1.5 hour flight. Right at our scheduled departure time the pilot gets on the overhead and announces that there were some maintenance issues with the plane and the mechanics are still working on them - it should only be about 5-10 minutes and we'll be set to depart. 35 minutes later we're off. About half of the people on the very full flight have connections to make in San Francisco so we're asked to politely let them exit the plane first in order for them to make those connections - sure, not a problem. After landing, the pilot announces that there isn't a gate for us to exit from and we would have to wait on the runway until they arranged for one. We are finally assigned a gate and pull up and there is no one available to work the jetway to allow us to exit. So 60 minutes after landing we were finally off the plane. Most of the people who had connections missed them. Thankfully I didn't have to go any further. This 90 minute flight only lasted 3 hours.

What do they say about making promises you can't keep? I think that's what bothered me most - don't tell me it's going to be 5 minutes if it's really going to be 45.

Sorry to sound bitchy - I guess I just needed to vent. I'm so glad to be home.

Blog More or Come Home

So the hardest part of getting this blog set up was coming up with a title. They say it should be short and let readers know what to expect. I tried to come up with something clever but I'm not feeling very creative at the moment - probably not the best time to start a blog but I figured what the heck. So Kristal's Reflections it is - it's short and it lets you know what to expect. And maybe I can change it later if I come up with something more interesting.

I started a blog when we first moved to California and then let it go once we were settled. I didn't think there was anything very exciting to talk about since I was just sitting around most days looking for jobs. Well things have picked up significantly since then so I thought I would start the blog up again. And I very much enjoy reading Colleen's blog (even though she hasn't updated it in a while ;) ) and I'm hoping some of you will enjoy reading this blog as I enjoy reading hers.

I was recently told, "Blog more or come home" so here it is.

Please feel free to leave comments to let me know what you're thinking and that someone out there is really reading.