Weekend in the Mountains

I come from a tiny town at the very tip of California.

Most people, especially people in the Bay Area don't realize that California extends above San Francisco. It does, in fact, and quite a bit actually.

Fun fact: there's about 6 more hours worth of California before it becomes Oregon.

 

Sometimes the traffic and the work week becomes too much to bear and I need to escape. Back to my tiny town with 4 stop lights, back to the comfort of my mom and dad, to made from scratch pancakes and the smell of the wood stoves burning in every house on the block. This past month has been one of those months that makes me crave simplicity. Nick and I have been busy, and we have been stressed, the need for an escape became overwhelming.  

 

We took off Friday afternoon before the impending doom of the BART strike traffic got underway. After spending 2 hours a day sitting on the freeway surrounded by other commuters, there is no better feeling than driving 80 on a highway with no other cars in sight.

 

 

 

We got to my dad's late and after a warm welcome from the dogs, we had a glass of wine and went to bed. We woke up Saturday morning to the sounds of coffee brewing and the nails of the impatient pups clicking on the wood floors. My dad made some amazing pancakes from a recipe in his head and we spent a long time talking and catching up. We went down to the river to see the salmon run and took some deep breaths. My favorite part of a trip home in the fall is the colors. The trees explode into bright reds, oranges, and yellow up there. It is just so beautiful.

 

Saturday night we made dinner at my mom's, took a walk to the park I played in as a kid, drank more wine and caught up with mama. The next morning we cooked a delicious breakfast and packed up to head back home. On our way out of town we stopped for stuffed breadsticks at my favorite small town pizza place and to see my friend Katelyn and her boys Benjamin & Noah. I love some quick snuggles with those big babies.

 

 

Sunday night as we got closer to home the freeway started to clog and we both sighed. Our escapes to the mountain always go by too quickly but Monday always feels just a little more relaxing after even a quick trip. Also? this is only a 4 day work week for me and that is preeetty awesome.