Cali Road Trip

After Zach and Veena's wedding in Napa, I tagged along with Clint on his road trip down to San Diego. With his car packed to the gills, and trailering his motorcycles, we headed out of Napa towards Monterey...in the rain.

coffee in (a henna tattooed) hand

When we got to Monterey, we stopped at the aquarium to visit the fishies. Some of our friends were also road tripping from Napa to San Diego (for a second wedding), so we met up with them there. Afterwards, we grabbed dinner at a Mexican place in town, then continued our drive to San Simeon where we stayed for the night. Unfortunately, Highway 1 was closed due to mudslides, so we had to drive inland. I was looking forward to crossing the Bixby Creek Bridge after watching Big Little Lies on HBO, but I guess we'll just have to make another trip down sometime!

kelp forest feeding time

rainy day in Monterey

these jellyfish were my favorite

Clint getting ready for his Baja trip

penguin diving for lunch

finding all the Nemos

After staying the night in Cambria at the Pelican Inn (cute place right on the water), we ate our complimentary breakfast and hit the road. We made a stop in Morro Bay to see the big rock, then onward to Buellyon where we stopped at Andersen's for some famous split pea soup.

morning coffee before leaving the hotel

stop in Morro Bay

Who knew this was a thing?

pea soup feast

Our final destination that day was Santa Barbara. We drove around the waterfront checking prices of the hotels we saw online before settling on Hotel Milo. It was perfect, right on the waterfront and they had complimentary wine with check in and we were able to take some bicycles out to ride to the pier and along the boardwalk.

cheers!

bike ride to the pier

Later that night, we walked back out along the pier to grab fish and chips for dinner. 

The next morning, after a quick workout in the hotel fitness center and breakfast, we packed up the car and set out to finish our road trip. We made a pit stop in Capistrano for some coffee, and then made it to our final destination – San Diego. And the rest? To be continued...

coffee and ice cream stop

Zach and Veena get hitched in Napa: Part 2

The next day, those of us who weren't in the wedding and didn't need to rehearse headed into the town of Napa. We hit up the Oxbow Public Market first for lunch. This was a cute place that reminded me of Pike Place with tons of yummy options to eat. We opted for breakfast tacos and donut bites for dessert.

donut bites with caramel bacon dipping sauce, yum!

After we ate, we walked around and found a restaurant by the river to grab a drink. Once they realized we weren't eating there, our waitress moved us from the nice white table clothed table with a view to a couple of bistro tables on the sidewalk practically in the parking lot. Fortunately we aren't picky, and she took $20 off our bill.

Cheers to Napa...from the parking lot

Davis, Eric and Matt

Clint's seat in the bushes, VIP treatment

Since wedding festivities started at 2:30p, we headed back to the hotel to get ready. We started off the celebrating by meeting in the courtyard for the traditional Baratt, an all-singing all-dancing wedding procession of the groom and his friends and family. We played music, danced, someone had a drum, and we even had a drone flying over to film the whole thing. We paraded through the resort, and up the stairs to where the ceremony would be held in the vineyards. This is where Veena's parents welcomed Zach, and performed a Hindu ritual welcoming him into the family.

start of the Baratt

Zach being welcomed by Veena's parents

The guests were provided umbrellas, a nice touch to keep the hot sun off of us, and we all sat for the ceremony. This is a fun article that explains all the traditions of an Indian wedding. Zach let Veena put the garland on him first, which means she'll have the upper hand in the marriage, what a guy! 

peek-a-boo view of the ceremony through all the umbrellas

After the ceremony, we moved on to cocktail hour before sitting for dinner. The food was great, the toasts were touching, and the dancing was epic...a great reception! We took photos in the photo booth, and then after the reception we all headed to the bowling alley at the resort for some late night snacks and after party.

Eric and Clint sharing a chair, so sweet

most of the guys – Zach H, Eric, Davis, Duane, Ed,
Matt and Clint

our photo booth photos, Clint thought there were
only two shots and left me hanging

Clint and I with the groom

late night bowling

This wedding definitely hit our top list! We had such a fun time, and are so happy for Zach and Veena, congrats!

Zach and Veena get hitched in Napa: Part 1

Clint's buddy Zach from college invited us to his wedding down in Napa. Him and his now wife live in Silicon Valley. He works for Tesla, and Veena is a pediatrician at Stanford Hospital. We couldn't wait for the wedding, since it was going to be an all out party – traditional Indian style!

Clint decided to drive and turn it into a road trip all the way to San Diego so that he could take some stuff down to his parents, and he could take his old dirt bike on the trailer to leave down at his brother's place (we're working on downsizing since we'll be limited on space once we live in the condo together). So, Clint left on Thursday before I flew down on Friday to meet him in Napa.

Clint leaving on his road trip

goodbye Seattle

hello Oakland

Clint's friend Matt was on my flight to Oakland, so we rented a car for the drive in to Napa. Once we got to the resort (the Meritage), Clint was still a few hours out so we went in to town with some other friends for lunch. Clint made it in, and we did some exploring around the resort before it was time to get ready for the Bollywood themed Sanjeet party that night.

vineyard right outside our room

The Sanjeet was held in the winery's cave. There was Indian food, bindis and bangles for the girls, and even a henna tattoo artist. She was able to give tattoos to everyone who wanted them, she was so speedy! Definitely the highlight of the night.

Clint and I in Indian wear we bought
before the wedding

Yenna, me and Michele after
watching YouTube videos to learn how
to get dressed

you let this dry until it hardens and flakes off,
leaving a tattoo that lasts a couple weeks

henna tattoos for Clint and I

The night was filled with dancing (the mother and bride performed together), and even a skit put on by the bridal party to tell how Zach and Veena met and got engaged.

The night was a blast! It convinced Clint and I that we need to have an Indian wedding, or at least throw a Sanjeet of our own!