Ariel et Tom
Happy Valentines Day! ❤️
First Date
📍 Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge 📅 10/26/2020
Where it all began 😊. This was our first date IRL. Prior to this, we had only had a virtual date over Zoom. I met with Ariel and her friend Chandra for an evening hike at Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge in Fremont. After we finished the hike, Chandra left and Ariel and I went to get dessert at Meet Fresh. It was here that I actually go to see her face, as we had both been masked at Don Edwards. Wow what a cutie!
First Santa Cruz Date
📍 Natural Bridges State Beach 📅 11/7/2020
Our first date in Santa Cruz! I remember being so excited that Ariel was interested enough in me to come all the way to Santa Cruz, which I learned that she never visited because of the scary highway 17. I took her to Natural Bridges to see the monarch butterflies 🦋 which normally would be migrating and overwintering here, but just my luck! That year was a historically poor year for the butterflies and hardly any were to be seen. All was not lost though. After walking through the trails we went to the lookout point and I spotted dolphins 🐬 in the distance. I had my binos with me and quickly shared them with Ariel. I remembered her saying that she hadn't seen dolphins around before so I was ecstatic that I could help her spot some!
Mount Shasta 🏔️
📍 Mount Shasta 📅 12/28/2020
The first vacation we ever took together was at Mount Shasta. In the the middle of the pandemic, Shasta County was the only one in the state without travel restrictions so that's where we decided to go 😆. We stayed at nice AirBnB that was right in the backyard of Mount Shasta. You could literally see it through the window! Ariel took me cross-country skiing ⛷️ for the first time! I really had no idea what I was getting into but I trusted her that it would be a good time, and it was. We lucked out on some spectacular weather, and there was hardly anyone around. It felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves. We somehow ended up on a black diamond slope and I recall eating it a couple times, but boy what a thrill.
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 1
📍 Monte Rio 📅 4/21/2021
On our next vacation we spent 5 days up north. At our first stop we stayed in Monte Rio at a lodge sitting along the Russian River, a lovely spot that reminded me a lot of the PNW. We adventured our way up the jagged north coast and made our way to Van Damme State Park where we camped ⛺, went up further to the cute town of Mendocino, and kayaked up the pristine waters of Big River on an outrigger made of redwoods!
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 2
📍 Duncan's Cove 📅 4/22/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 3
📍 Sonoma Coast State Park 📅 4/23/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 4
📍 Gerstle Cove State Marine Reserve 📅 4/23/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 5
📍 Sea Ranch Chapel ⛪ 📅 4/23/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 6
📍 Van Damme State Park 📅 4/23/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 7
📍 Mendocino Headlands State Park 📅 4/24/2021
Russian River & Van Damme 🏞️ pt. 8
📍 Big River 📅 4/24/2021
Tom's Dirty 3️0️ pt. 1
📍 Morro Bay 📅 5/29/2021
For my big 3 0, we went on another vacay this time down south. Solvang was this Danish styled town both in architecture and food, where we enjoyed beers 🍺 and marveled in this adult Disneyland. However, the highlight of the trip was the Channel Islands! It took a about 1.5 hours by ferry 🛥️ to get to this idyllic island off the coast of Santa Barbara. Santa Cruz island to be exact. What a beautiful island, with stunning views along the trails, and my absolute favorite part of the trip - seeing the endemic and super cute island fox 🦊! The little guys were the size of cats and very curious.
Tom's Dirty 3️0️ pt. 2
📍 Solvang 📅 5/29/2021
Tom's Dirty 3️0️ pt. 3
📍 Santa Barbara 📅 5/29/2021
Tom's Dirty 3️0️ pt. 4
📍 Channel Islands National Park 📅 5/30/2021
Tom's Dirty 3️0️ pt. 5
📍 Dinosaur 🦖 Caves Park 📅 5/31/2021
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 1
📍 Soda Springs 📅 6/3/2021
What a unique experience. Ariel connected with a friend of her's that had an opportunity to do a photoshoot 📸 for Fujifilm in Tahoe as models. When she asked if I wanted to join, I was a little hesitant but I'm so glad that I went through with it! We got paid to go live in an AirBnB near Lake Tahoe and have photos of ourselves taken with Fujifilm gear. I couldn't believe that a normie like myself was a part of this operation with people who actually model for a living. Afterwards, we went on our own mini trip through Lake Tahoe since we were already so close. I had heard about it from so many people, but I had no idea how stunning it truly is.
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 2
📍 Azalea Lake 📅 6/4/2021
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 3
📍 Lake Tahoe 📅 6/5/2021
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 4
📍 Lake Tahoe 📅 6/5/2021
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 5
📍 South Lake Tahoe 📅 6/5/2021
Fujifilm + Lake Tahoe pt. 6
📍 Emerald 💎 Bay State Park 📅 6/6/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 1
📍 Downtown 📅 6/26/2021
Ariel and I's first international trip together was all the way in Mexico 🇲🇽! We went back and forth about where we wanted to go but ultimately decided on Mexico City where we wanted to have a grand food tour 🍴. We stayed at several locations along the time, but the first was the Downtown Hotel. It was easily the most luxurious hotel I had ever stayed at, and will always remember. Boy, looking back we did a ton of walking and got to see so many parts of the city. We got to see the landmarks of centro histórico, the hip neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa, and the cobbled streets of Coyoacán. From street food 🌮 to fine dining 🍸, cochinita pibil to Vietnamese tamarind prawns 🍤, CDMX showed us what a vibrant city it is.
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 2
📍 Zocalo 📅 6/26/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 3
📍 Alameda Central 📅 6/26/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 4
📍 Churrería El Moro 📅 6/27/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 5
📍 Tacos Los Güeros 📅 6/27/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 6
📍 Izakaya KURA 🍣 📅 6/28/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 7
📍 Comedor de los Milagros 📅 6/28/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 8
📍 Coyoacán 📅 6/29/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 9
📍 Kiin Thai-Viet Eatery 📅 6/29/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 10
📍 Bou 📅 6/30/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 11
📍 La Pitahaya Vegana 📅 6/30/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 12
📍 La Capital 📅 6/30/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 13
📍 Koku 🍱 📅 7/1/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 14
📍 Contramar 📅 7/1/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 15
📍 Blend Station 📅 7/2/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 16
📍 Expendio de Maiz Sin Nombre 📅 7/2/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 17
📍 Bosque de Chapultepec 📅 7/2/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 18
📍 Quintonil 📅 7/2/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 19
📍 Kaminari Tonkotsu Ramen 🍜 📅 7/3/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 20
📍 Joe Gelato 🍨 📅 7/3/2021
Mexico 🇲🇽 pt. 21
📍 Taquería El Califa 📅 7/4/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 1
📍 Tony's Seafood Restaurant 📅 12/30/2021
Our most recent vacation was at Point Reyes National Seashore. We spent the end of 2021 together at a quaint inn (and stables 🐎). It was a lovely getaway for the two of us to just relax and enjoy this beautiful area. In all, we actually got to see quite a bit of the entire park. The trip began at Tony's Seafood Restaurant, where we celebrated free oyster 🦪 day. Those BBQ oysters are bomb dot com. It was just a perfect trip enjoying what we love to do - see nature, eat good food, and spend time together 💖.
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 2
📍 Doran Regional Park 📅 12/30/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 3
📍 Point Reyes Country Inn and Stables 🐴 📅 12/30/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 4
📍 Heart's Desire Beach 💚 📅 12/31/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 5
📍 Tomales Point Trail 📅 12/31/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 6
📍 McClures Beach 📅 12/31/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 7
📍 Point Reyes Lighthouse 📅 12/31/2021
Point Reyes National Seashore pt. 8
📍 Sculptured Beach 📅 12/31/2021
