On to the trip details...

Los Angeles

* A quick note. I bought a new camera for the trip - something portable we could take to the castle since I wasn't lugging my 50 lb. bag in my dress and heels. I'm not really thrilled with the camera - I didn't heed my own best advice - I never finished the manual. I was reading it instead of packing on Sunday night and G said - why don't you save that for the plane and then I knit the whole time on the plane and never read the damn thing. This camera is really for G - the lack of control I had killed me. So anyway, the pictures aren't up to snuff as far as I'm concerned. It really bothers me, but it is what it is. Oh and all the yarn pictures are taken with the GOOD camera at home.

We arrived in LA on Monday noonish (after missing our flight at JFK. LONG story. Suffice it to say we were on the 10AM instead of the 8AM.) and headed straight to our favorite LA spot - the IN-N-OUT right by the airport. Not only is it IN-N-OUT, but you get to watch super huge jet airliners fly right over your head as they land. One of the highlights of the trip was flying OVER the spot we had stood five days earlier as we flew in from SLO to our connection in LA. We're weird, okay?

Then we headed out to our hotel, The Chamberlain, in West Hollywood. Got to say, very nice boutique hotel. They had just finished a refurb and everything looked very nice. It's a sister to The Viceroy in Santa Monica where we stayed last year, but I prefer this one. Much quieter, not as funky. The room was great.

We decided to take a little walk. YES, CALIFORNIANS, I SAID WALK! People literally looked at us like we were crazy as we made our way down La Cienega from Santa Monica to Melrose. I wanted to check out Julia's home away from home (although her home again!) Knit Cafe. What a bright, cozy, inviting place! Suzan, the owner was there and she was very solicitous. Her store is beautiful, and as we were there near close, it was empty but for one lone knitter. I walked around three times trying so hard to find something to buy. I've decided that on these trips of mine, I'm only going to buy yarn that is different than what I can get at home. And since I live in a large Metropolitan Area, there's not much I CAN'T get at home. I was about to buy a t-shirt and then there was some Lorna's Laces, but she only had one skein of the color I liked, so I passed. But a great shop if you're in the neighborhood! I would definitely go again. Thanks Julia for the recommendation! Suzan and I talked about what a great help you've been to her - I'm sure she's so thrilled you're coming home.

On our walk home, I passed a storefront with these casts in the window. It was very spooky.

The neighborhood had mostly antique/furniture/rug stores, but this one didn't even have a name. Just these faces in the window.

Once back at the hotel, we had some time to kill before meeting up with my brother for dinner. What to do, what to do? How about a swim?

Wildfiber

MJ and I had finally connected via email and it was my plan to meet her at Wildfiber before we left LA for Santa Barbara. I thought we might miss her because the plan changed and we were going to leave early, but the office called and we didn't get to see MJ until after noon! And I'm so glad we did! This was one of the highlights of the trip! MJ is wonderful in person - so sweet and I really, really enjoyed meeting her - even if it was really quick. And Wildfibers? Oh my god - all I have to say is MJ is one lucky, lucky girl that this place is her LYS.

I bought some of the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen there - MJ helped me pick it out and man was it expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Tanglewood Fiber Creations, 100% Superwash Merino, hand dyed, hand spun - softer than soft. Now I have a question for all you spinners out there (not that I'm interested. Okay? OKAY?) - what is it called that gives you the ply where all the different colors are combined - do you know what I'm talking about? Where in one strand you've got lights and dark and I'm thinking this is the twist or something, right? Anyway, it's gorgeous. This is the kind of handspun I really, really love. I wish I had the money to buy more. But it was ALOT. I did get 404 yards, but still. A LOT.

I also bought some Socks that Rock! I've been wanting to try this and I even bought a colorway that closely matches the Lorna's I had wanted over at Knit Cafe. The colorway is Cobalt Bloom.

We said goodbye to LA and MJ and headed out to SB....

Santa Barbara

It took us no time to drive up the coast to SB and after we checked into our hotel, we found a tux for G, had a taco snack and finally headed off to State Street for dinner. The next day was really fun - BB's Knits in the morning. Great store - and they were expecting me! (Thanks Kathie!) I wandered around - what a packed store for a little space and ended up with some Interlacements Toasty Toes (in the Tanglewood Colorway - LOL) and Koigu. Once again, I'm hitting the same color palate.

By sheer coincidence, I ended up a block from In Stitches, which was, to be honest, quite a disappointment. It was nearly empty - of yarn. About night and day from BB's.

Then it was off to the beach - and sock time!

SB was a very nice community - interesting mix of people, stores - it was so much bigger than we expected. We liked our motel/inn - you really could see the beach from our room, surprisingly enough. Overall, a very pleasant stay.

Pismo Beach, San Simeon, Cambria

We made our way to Pismo Beach on Thursday morning - again the office caused delays! We needed to get there with enough time to get ready for dinner that night - the buses were leaving the hotel at 4PM. We got there with time to spare - a quick trip to check out the beach and take a rest by the pool (a balmy 85 degrees, thank you very much!)

Getting on the bus to go to the Castle was pretty funny. Here are all these women and men - dressed to the nines - dripping in jewels (literally - there was one woman who was OOZING diamonds) getting on buses. The trip took about an hour to San Simeon, and then we got off that bus and walked through the tourist center (even funnier - the looks we got) to get on yet another bus to take us to the top - and the castle.

What a ride! The whole time, you can see the castle in your sights, you can't help but think - how the hell did he get all that crap UP THERE!?! It's a twisty, single lane road with lots of drop offs and this is 2005! Imagine it in the 20s, 30s and 40s when they were building it. Incredible, really. There's no other way to describe it.

Once off the bus, we were given the option of a tour. Needless to say, we took it!

La Casa Grande - the main house.
Designed to look like a Spanish Cathedral - with all the trimmings!



A stairway among the elaborate gardens.
(God I wish I had the good camera!)


Outside of a guest house.


The view - the ocean is in the distance.





Can you see the moon peeking out between the trees?



The amazing pool - set at a wonderful 79 degrees!

There was a photographer by the pool taking "prom" pictures. I'm not kidding - G and I had one taken and I'm sure it's the goofiest thing ever - considering how I look in this picture:

Can you say FRUMPY?

That's it - no more pictures of me. I am NOT happy with my body these days. Maybe Jen can take a nice picture of me with the shawl - we'll see. Just know it was perfect and I still love it.

They served hors d'oeuvres along the pool and it got pretty hot up there. We found a shady spot and watched the sun get lower and lower until it was time for dinner. This was what awaited us!

NINE wine glasses per person!

It was craziness! The first course was a foie gras and some other stuff and they served a VERY sweet white. Next was the fish course - DELICIOUS! - lobster in a creamed corn. Yummy. Two whites. The Fowl course was duck - also very nice - two reds - one of my favorites of the night - a Hitching Post 2003 Highliner Pinot Noir. Meat Course was Dry Aged Beef - two reds. The Cheese course - two reds. I was pretty surprised there was no wine with dessert.

Every time a course was served, two sommeliers would come around and pour wine. They never filled the glass, just a taste (a generous taste!) and if you liked it and wanted more, all you had to do was ask. Georgie and I agreed on the wines all night - and it was the left hand side for us every course! (The wine glasses stood side to side and you identified the ones you liked by whether it was on the left or right.)

Here's what the table looked like at the Fowl Course:

And here's the view when I turned to my right while sitting at the table:

All in all it was a tremendous evening! I had way more fun than I thought I would. I'm so glad we got to have the experience!

The next day G had some business meetings in the morning, so I ordered in a nice big breakfast and tried to surf the Internet. We had such poor connections the whole trip - it was weird. Well, LA was good, but other than that - very, very slow. And since G had a lot of work, I had barely any time online. Which was good too. I had a nice break - but, I did miss my blog (and all of you!)

After breakfast, we decided to make the drive up to Cambria to go to Ball & Skein. We also thought we might be able to hit the IN-N-OUT in Atascadero on the drive back - since it would most definitely be our last chance to get there. The shop was very nice - I bought some gifty type items that I won't show here - not yarn - think tools. And while they had a SHITLOAD of yarn, falling off the shelves, to be honest, I didn't buy anything. Sticking to my rule (and honestly totally going overboard at Wildfiber), I was a good girl. I was thisclose to buying some Noro Blossom for Vicki, but luckily she already found some! Cambria was a very pretty town and it would've been nice, if we had more time, to hang out there. But we wanted to go to the beach - always a top priority - and find that IN-N-OUT!

The ride to Atascadero was exciting to say the least - we started out on Route 1 and crossed about 26 miles of Route 46 to get to Route 101. It was NOTHINGness - unless you count rolling hills, sheer drops and cows. I swear I had a panic attack. I was convinced we'd get stuck like Margene! Georgie was sitting in the passenger seat oohing and ahhing and video-ing the NOTHINGness and I could barely breathe OR keep my hands on the wheel. In the end it was worth it - we found the illustrious IN-N-OUT!

We had a nice dinner that evening at Pelican Point in Pismo - with enough Sideways moments (not us - the table next to us - actually it was The Big Chill meets Sideways. Amusing to say the least....) to last about ten years. Seriously. Is it necessary to stick your whole freaking face INTO the wine glass? Maybe if you just drank it.... Who am I? I know nothing about wines. (Athough I do know what tastes good!)

We left the next morning. Whew! What a trip! Glad to be home. Lots of laundry and work to do. G will be out most of the week with work stuff, so I'll miss him even more than I usually do after spending the week 24/7 together. But you'll keep me company right?

Thanks for reading!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 12:07 AM | Comments (29)

July 15, 2005

Close your eyes...

and feel the sun rest sweet kisses on your shoulders as it sails out beyond the sea. Smell the cool pine usher in the evening. Hear the birds agree to disagree as the violins envelope the night. Bear witness as the oranges and reds and blues battle against the sky, surrendering to a royal purple. Taste the oaky sweet spice of wine caress your tongue.

I’m still drunk from the evening and I’m pretty sure that the nine glasses of wine that were set before me at dinner has nothing to do with it. It was an abundance of senses and I hope I can do it justice. What a magical evening! Certainly, though, my favorite part of the night was coming down the dark turning hills in the dense fog, the stars peaking through like beacons, the air thick with seawater and pine, the wind rushing in my face, as I sought a place to rest my head. I wanted to dream the night all over again....

We’re back home tomorrow night. Much to report. I've missed you all.

Posted by Cara at 11:53 AM | Comments (9)

March 20, 2005

What happens in Vegas, Stays in...

Ah fuck it! You didn't think I wasn't gonna tell, did you? [It's a freaking novel - so don't say you weren't warned!]

But first - I am thisclose to finishing the sleeves on Ribby Cardi. They WILL be done today! If my fingers have to bleed they WILL be done today.

Okay.

So Vegas.

God help me, I think I love the place. Walking onto the casino floor with the dull lighting, timeless nature, stale smoke smell, lights flashing enough to give you an epileptic seizure - not to mention the bells going off every three seconds - the comatose, zombie like nature of the people that have been there for more than ten seconds - and the hopeful, jubilant excitment of the ones who just arrived - I swear I get a little chill down my spine.

This goes against everything my family stood for growing up - gambling was the ULTIMATE sin - throwing away your hard earned money? Only the truly STUPID (yet another of the ultimate sins) would do that. I can remember my father talking about it like THOU SHALL NOT GAMBLE was the 11th commandment. I guess it's a rebellion thing because I LOVE IT! Georgie's a Black Jack man, which I think is boring as hell - only slightly above the slots and Roulette. I USED to play the slots back when I was still young enough to be thrown out of the casinos - G would play his 21 and I would wander around bored, being picked up and alternately cursed (when I won) by single men in tuxes. Finally we had a long weekend in Puerto Rico and a kind man took pity on me and taught me to play at the big girl table. I studied that CRAPS game for days - until the dealers finally convinced me it was time to play. And I've been hooked ever since. I'm a dice girl for sure. I can stand there for hours - and never get bored.

Now that I'm boring you, let's get to the important stuff. The room.
We got to Vegas at around 4 (I won't go into the fact that we left 'Zona at 4 - while we were in the air - a half an hour EARLIER than we left - Georgie informed me we could do whatever we wanted on the flight because it wouldn't count. What were we going to do? No. Not that. I'm sorry - but you've been in one of those airplane bathrooms right? I'm too busy trying not breathe so I don't puke while pee is dripping down my leg to even think about that. Gross. Anyway - the whole time space continuum thing had me slightly fucked up.) So we get to the hotel around 5 - the lobby looks like it does at 3AM, 7AM, 1PM, 10PM, etc. Packed. We finally get to the front of the line and the woman types in her little computer, looks up and says, "You're going to LOVE me." Apparently the hotel was overbooked - and since we came in late and were checking out the next morning - we're talking a mere 19 hours in the room - they bumped us up to a Penthouse Suite on the 35 floor. And not just any suite - one that overlooked the strip and the WORLD FAMOUS BELAGGIO FOUNTAINS! (And that tall structure across the street - I think they call it the Eiffel Tower....)

The view from the room.

Just so you know, while my husband does have connections in the travel biz, all over the world, this reservation was made through ORBITZ. Orbitz people! We were doubly shocked at the upgrade because the hotels pretty much ignore people who book through the cheapy sites. Georgie couldn't believe we weren't walked.

A few Vegas stories before I get to the suite pictures (of which there will be plenty.)

My best friend came to visit us in our palatial suite with the girls and after oohing and ahhing we headed out for a gondola ride at the Venetian. The thing about Vegas is that everything seems much closer than it is - the ride was fun. We had a good gondolier. He would sing songs, and my friend's little girl would say again, again whenever he stopped. But really, how many times can he sing Volare without wanting to go overboard?

That's me on the left.

We walked back amidst the throngs and said good night - we spent the evening with them the next day - I miss them so much! The girls are growing up and I'm not there and it's really sad for me. The oldest was my first real baby - we babysat for her - we were so close! We're still close, but miles take their toll.

On to dinner. I got dressed (okay, first I blogged) and met Georgie for dinner at Circo, son of Le Cirque. Tuscan food. Very nice. Even nicer was while we were sipping our water and perusing our menus, the Maitre'D came over to our table and apoligizing profusely asked us if he could move us to a bigger table with a better view. At this point, we were like, whatever.... ;-) What is it with those Belaggio folks - everything's gotta be bigger and better with them? Dinner was lovely, overlooking the fountains. Again.

After dinner it was time to play. Georgie came to the table with me for a little while, because I do like to have company until I scope things out and make friends with the dealers. They like to help you - especially if you're a grrl playing dice. Not too many of us around. In fact the dealer at Georgie's table was making chit chat and he asked the particulars and when Georgie said he was here with his wife, the dealer asked if I was at the slots. Georgie, very proudly I might add, informed him that no. I play Craps. (Yeah Baby!!!)

So I'm establishing my position at the table, next to the dealer in the middle - the one right across from the pit boss - and there's an old guy standing closest to the dealer to the left of the pit boss who's smoking a cigar - it was disgusting. He only brought it out every now and then - so I was already ensconced before I realized it. Georgie asked if I wanted to leave, but there really weren't that many $10 tables and I liked the dealer so I stayed. Things were not good. I was down to my last $7 - not counting what I had on the table (about $25) - I started with $200. Meahwhile, some heavy rollers had moved in next to Smokey (that's what the dealers were calling the guy - they were particularly offended by his cigar). I say they were heavy rollers because they cashed out about 7K when they left - that's pretty heavy to me. All of a sudden it's Smokey's time to roll - and while things had been pretty bad, all of a sudden they're starting to look better. The nice thing about craps is that generally everyone wins and loses together - it's all about the shooter. Well Smokey's on fire now and Georgie whispers to me - hey, he's not smoking anymore. And he wasn't - it was like the whole vibe of the table turned around! By the time Georgie went off to his own games, I was back on track - I had won back all $200 I lost and then some - I was up like $50! Once Smokey left, one of the dealers was talking to the pit boss - the Holy Roller had paid Smokey $200 to STOP SMOKING! I said, hell if I knew that I would've chipped in! The whole luck of the table changed when that guy put out his phallus.

The whole thing about gambling is knowing when to leave, but I was having fun - so I put my $200 in my pocket and took out another $40 which I promptly lost when some amateurs came to the table. I mean, c'mon. You don't need to be playing when you cash in your $10 bills every time you want to place a bet. Either be in it to win it, or go back to your video games.

I came back later to a different table and lost $100 in like five minutes. I never went back, which I regret. I hate leaving with a bad taste in my mouth.

When we finally got back to the room it was about 3AM. I insisted on a whirlpool bubble bath, which was heavenly. I finally convinced G to get in with me and we watched some TV while we soaked. Funniest thing ever: there was some hardcore porn on - lots of girl on girl stuff that honestly looked really uncomfortable to me - but ONLY ON THE BATHROOM TV. When we finally went to bed, we were flipping around and there was no porn to be found. I guess they think it's easier to clean the rooms that way. It was really, really funny. Okay, disgusting too, but still funny.

The next day we had to leave pretty early. Georgie went to play some more while I tried to read for my class - neither of us was very successful. Then we hit the Belaggio pool for a short bit before we headed out to my friend's. He so graciously let me drag him to two yarn stores I found. Much farther than we thought and pretty disappointing. (Gail Knits and Wooly Wonders) I'm sure they're good for their local customers (although what's the obsession with Collinette? In Scottsdale too!) and Wooly Wonders had everything a spinner could want or need - but I was looking for something different - not to be found unfortunately. (One thing though - SweaterBabe is a great resource for finding yarn stores on the road!)

Whew. That's pretty much it. It was a nice vacation - a little short - but a blast at the end! (Arizona pictures to come....) Thanks for sticking it out.

If you want to take the picture tour, go to the extended entry. Hands in the windows please.

Okay - so I'm standing in the dining room to take this picture. Wet bar to the right - gignormous guest bath dead middle in the picture (open door). The "powder room" was as big as my office at home.

Standing in the living room - you can see the bedroom door in the back. The wet bar is to the left. Fridge, sink, mini bar in the wet bar. The woman at the front desk warned us not to TOUCH anything in the mini bar. It's all sensor activated so if you even THINK about eating that Snickers bar they're gonna charge you for it.

The Combo Living Room/Dining Room

Living Room Altogether, if you count the bathrooms, there were four tvs in the suite.

I like this image because I think it is a good representation of the size of the suite. I'm standing by the desk in the living room - looking into the bedroom. If it seems far away - it's because it WAS far away. Ridiculous. I don't really have a picture of the bedroom - but it wasn't much. The room was actually small, compared to the rest of the suite - the bed, a tv, a table, a chair - most of the space was for the bathrooms.

Okay - so there were two main baths. What I like to call a "Ladies" room with whirlpool bath, bidet, toilet, mirrored and lighted vanity, closet, etc. Next door, through a tiny hallway, was the "Gentlemen" bath, with a shower that had a steam setting, toilet, closet, sink, etc. They were both all marble and crap. Both had tvs. Although it was a little difficult to watch TV when you were in the shower. But I did it anyway.

This is the famous Belaggio Fountain at night. Our room overlooked it - you can see the base of the Eiffel Tower at the top of the picture. The fountains are choreographed (I'm telling you this is the right word - even if we're talking about glorified sprinklers here!) to music - and since the room was pretty soundproof - you can turn the TV to the Belaggio station so you can hear the music. Very cool. Although when the fountains shoot up twenty stories is sounds like a bomb going off. Not so cool to those of us prone to startling.

Night. Sin City.

Posted by Cara at 12:40 AM | Comments (8)

March 16, 2005

Luck be a Lady Tonight!

Or how about a penthouse suite at the Bellagio?

That's right - for our one night in Sin City we've got a deluxe penthouse on the 35th floor overlooking the fountains.

We're not sleeping and we're not leaving the room. They'll have to bring the Craps tables up to me, baby.

Details later - I'm off to dinner. This is freaking crazy!

Posted by Cara at 12:20 AM | Comments (5)

March 15, 2005

Vegas, Baby!

Today we leave 'Zona and head off to Vegas, Baby! The plane trip is short, just enough time to catch up on my Craps game. Thankfully I didn't forget my little how to book - I can never remember the right play on the come line - the MOST important play in craps, after odds on the pass line.

The clouds rolled in yesterday and so did cooler temperatures, but that was fine because we spent the afternoon in the high desert (okay, not too high, but high enough at around 3000 ft.) Rosanna was our guide for our Sonora Desert Adventure, and she was quite knowledgable. The lecture she gave us on the rattlesnakes, gila monsters, javelinas and scorpions, not to mention the horned toads (actually lizards) that shoot freaking blood out of their eyes when threatened, was enough to ensure I would NOT be getting out of the jeep. But I did, and we didn't see any wild animals. (I have to admit, I would've liked to have caught a glimpse at least.)

What we did see were miles of Saguaro - these cacti are amazing. A mature Saguaro weighs about 10 tons and can grow about 50 ft with a lifespan of around 150 years. Amazingly, they are soft inside, have a wood core, but don't fall over in heavy winds. They are graceful giants and they are everywhere around here. There are some wonderful Native American legends about the Saguaro - like they are reincarnated soldiers (the name Saguaro means sentinal, I think) and the arms represent wives. If an arm bends downward, it means the wife was unfaithful. Another legend says that all the arms represent family members, and the downturned arms represent someone in the family who was sick or passed on. I hope to have lots of pictures to show you when I get back.

[Edited to add pictures]

We also saw lots of wildflowers - desert lavendar, tobacco, Mexican poppies - and cacti - cholla (these "teddy bear" cacti are lethal! They're pricklies get in you, apparently, and don't let go. They'll shoot out a root system and grow out of your ass. Literally. We had to check our shoes everytime we got in the jeep to make sure we didn't have any brambles stuck in our shoes.), agave, barrel cactus, prickly pear (the javelina eat these - you see these desimated plants and you know they've been around), yucca - it was a wonderful tour. We were the only ones too, so we had extra special attention.

[Edited to add pictures]

Rosanna told lots of stories about the Wild Southwest, including stories of Pearl Hart - the only woman known to rob a stagecoach and also the person responsible for the last stagecoach robbery in Arizona. And Charlie (Charlotte) Parkhurst, the best stagecoach driver ever, who worked for Wells Fargo and was only found to be a woman AFTER she died. Apparently she only had one eye and was a genius with a whip. Definitely interesting stuff. Add to that Rosanna's gigantuan tweezers which she used to pluck cactus needles out of my ass (yes, I made the mistake of backing up - the funny thing was that we were still at the hotel when I did it!) and her pearl handled knife and you get quite a character. She used to pilot helicopters on tours in the Grand Canyon. Loved the red nail polish and lipstick too!

Barely any knitting has been done - I did move onto ball three of Pinwheel. And barely any reading. I'm forty pages into Jonathan Strange - and I like it. But I have four stories to read for my LAST CLASS(!) on Thursday and that needs to get done. We're getting home pretty early Thursday morning, but I'd like to sleep instead of work before class that night. Ugh.

Can't wait to see Margo and the girls! Vegas here we come....

Posted by Cara at 10:18 AM | Comments (5)

March 12, 2005

'Zona

All's well in the Grand Canyon State! Right now, I'm sitting in our room, the fire blazing, the crickets chirping just past our balcony and Terms of Endearment is on the TV. George is working out.

The weather has been spectacular. Mid-80s, the bluest skies I've ever seen, nice breeze and NO SWEAT. Things have been pretty quiet at the pool - which is lovely. Today I read about thirty pages of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell. I'm actually looking forward to reading it tomorrow.

I'm regretting (just a little) the road trip we took this afternoon to two yarn stores in Scottsdale. (By the way - who knew Scottsdale was so big!) The first, Arizona Knitting & Needlepoint, was situated next to an abandoned gun supply store with the most disturbing logo - a teddy bear holding an automatic weapon. It was called something like Mandel's Shooting Supplies - I kid you not. I so wish I had brought my camera, which I had left behind as we rushed out the door to get there before the store closed. Maybe we'll go back and take a picture. I don't know - but it was just crazy.

Anyway, back to the store. It was small on the outside, but had a lot of stuff on the inside. Georgie came with me and asked a lot of questions. (Can you really knit with this? was my favorite when he picked up some tres funky novelty yarn. - yeah, you can, was my reply. But why would you want to? ;-) )

They had a TON of Colinette and A LOT of novelty yarns. A whole back room with baby yarns and a felting yarn wall. Some Manos. I don't know - nothing really struck me. I don't really need any yarn and was looking for something special - hand painted, local maybe. Everything there I could get somewhere else - and probably a lot cheaper.

Then we went to Jessica Knits. What a beautiful store! Bright and airy - a coushy couch (and Sports Illustrateds among the magazines to read. Georgie was happy.) and chairs. Lots of different kinds of yarns - all fibers - spread around the store in wood cubbies. Great displays in big glassware containers. Interesting one of a kind bags and accessories. If this was my LYS, I'd be quite pleased. But, alas, again - nothing I couldn't have found locally or online. The prices weren't bad, but no great bargains either.

All in all, I'm glad we did the trip because I would've regretted not going - but I also would've liked to stay at the pool a little longer just a little bit more.

Tomorrow we're off the Desert Botanical Gardens - it's picture time! I'm very excited. We're going to go early in the morning before it gets too hot. I'm hoping for some spectacular pictures. And on our way back, we're stopping at the Southwest Regional Alpaca Show! It's at Rawhide, an old-time Western town of sorts. They will have a market as well and I'm hoping to pick up some yarn there.

I have gotten some knitting done - I'm almost through the second skein on the Pinwheel Blanket. It's looking good.

Alright - time to hop in the shower before dinner. We're eating at Roy's tonight. Yummy!

Posted by Cara at 09:27 PM | Comments (4)

March 10, 2005

85 and Sunny

Yup. That's right! That's the forecast.

By noon tomorrow I'll be at the pool, virgin colada in hand. First, we will have made the obligatory homage to the hamburger at THE BEST HAMBURGER JOINT IN THE WORLD. You guessed. Georgie and I don't vacation unless there's an In-N-Out within driving distance. I could tell you stories.

Have no fear, I'll be blogging from Arizona. You won't have to miss me too much.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
Cara

PS: I feel really bad - yesterday I listed all my favorite TV lovers and I missed one of the best ones: Sonnylicious, Port Charles' very own gangsta lova! Mmmm. Delicioso!

Posted by Cara at 02:41 PM | Comments (7)

February 28, 2005

Good Company + Good Yarn = Great Time!

Oh.My.God! What a wonderful weekend!

We flew out Friday morning and thankfully the snow Thursday night, while it did nothing to help me with my class, also didn't hurt our trip. We got in around 11:30 or so and checked into our beautiful junior suite - replete with a lovely tea service waiting for us! After a quick snack, I called Colleen and we arranged to meet for lunch. Colleen didn't have a lot of time, since she was heading down to New York to take in the last of The Gates, but we had a great lunch anyway at the Parish Cafe. I had the Veal Pastrami sandwich and it was very, very good. While we were getting to know each other, Colleen filled me on all the good yarn stores to hit - and hit them I did. Thanks Colleen for showing me a good time!

After lunch I went back to the hotel and took a brief nap in preparation for Wendy and our super yarn crawl.

Wendy was so sweet and brought me a gift, thinking I'd been having some bad days lately. It was a yellow laughing bag! Seriously, there's no defense for this thing. (Unfortunately, I asked Wendy to hold it for me, and I forgot to ask for it back. So I went home without it - but Wendy, know it was very appreciated. I smile every time I think about it!)

Our first stop was Windsor Buttons, then A Good Yarn, finally Circles and then off to dinner.

Here is my haul for the weekend:

Really, there's no yarn left in Boston!

I'm going to go through shop by shop, but I figured I'd spare you the details if you don't want them. So if you want every sordid minute of my fabu trip - keep reading! {Warning - it's a freaking novel!}

Windsor Buttons

I did find some bright orange chenille - Crystal Palace color #2230. I'm thinking it might work very well as a border on the Pinwheel Blanket.

Click for a larger view.

I actually did try to get back to Windsor Buttons on Sunday, but alas, they were closed.

Okay - so off we went onto the T - the old-fashioned green-line - to make our way out to Brookline and A Good Yarn.

A Good Yarn

While we were walking up to the shop from the T, Wendy asked me if I read the blue blog. I said, of course! (I mean, really, who doesn't read the blue blog?) She said, well, this is Alison's LYS that she's always talking about. Good to know!

We went in and we're fondling all the wonderful yarns when someone (I think it was Johanna) calls out Alison! Wendy and I whipped our heads around at the same time with knowing smiles - and then we pounced like only blogstalkers can! Thank you Alison for bearing with us! You were so sweet. We had a fun time helping her pick out some yarn - I pushed hard for the Jo Sharp she ended up with - and didn't do too badly ourselves.

Cascade 220 in (l. to r.) #7810, #7826, #7802, #8895 and #7814.

This is for something special - photography related actually. What will it be knitted? Maybe a super crazy felted bag. Not sure actually. But I'm sure I'll find something neat to do with it eventually.

I also bought some wonderful Manos (color #114):

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For sure this is for the very cool scarf I saw on M.J.'s blog the other day. It's My So Called Scarf and can be found at Sheep in the City. Ends up Wendy's making one of these too! It'll look great with my winter puffy jacket. The pattern calls for two skeins, so of course I bought three. I want fringe baby!

Finally I bought a cute baby sweater pattern - I'm pretty sure Wendy got the same one. I'm going to use the tons of All Season's Cotton I have to match the Pinwheel Blanket.

Alison, Johanna and the gang at A Good Yarn were wonderful! It'a great shop - I'd be thrilled if I had an LYS like that near me - lots of yarn, terrific varieties, good company and great assistance.

Circles

So we jumped on a bus and headed off to Circles. Colleen was nice enough to give me a referral card, so I was good to go with 10% off my purchases (thanks again Colleen!)

My big purchase was three hanks of Chasing Rainbows Tussah/Merino combo in Mary's colorway. This stuff is amazing! I don't have pictures, because I had to order it, but trust me. It's going to be a clapotis for me! Yeah! I also walked away with two skiens of Wildfoote Sock Yarn in Tom Cat:

I also picked up a Takhi Yarns Fall/Winter 2004 Pattern book and the Interweave Knits Fall 2003. Basically, I fell in love with the Short-Row Striped Pullover in the IK:

I've got money left on a Yarnmarket.com gift certificate and I think this would look great in Rowan Wool Cotton. Don't you? That means it would be perfect for winter, spring and fall. I think I'll use different colors though.

Circles was really great - what a great place to meet and knit and relax. Some nice Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach playing in the back room - it was a warm and inviting. You Boston gals sure are lucky!

Wendy and I moved on to dinner (we were starving!) and conversation at Village Sushi & Grill. Another great meal in Beantown! Wendy was sweet enough to drive me back to my hotel. I'm sorry you didn't get to hang out - but thanks for a fantastic night!

Newbury Yarns

Now I have enough for a spicy, firey cardigan! Newbury is set-up by color. Wools, cottons, mohairs - all together by color. It's a little bit strange - but if you were looking for something specific, I'm sure Aldrich would know where it is.

I found some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I liked a lot:

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Feels a lot like Koigu. I think the colorway is Tropical Storm.

Peabody/Salem

I met Georgie back at the hotel and we rented a car. Georgie's mom's family is from Boston - his parents met while his father was a student at Hellenic College. They spent some time up in Peabody and Georgie used to spend a couple weeks in the summer there with his Godparents. They own a tannery. One of his favorite places up there is a roast beef/fried clam eatery called Land & Sea. I've been hearing about this place for over fifteen years. We weren't able to make it up there when we got married, so we went this time. It was only about a 1/2 an hour away - and it was worth the trip.

We had roast beef and Georgie had his fried clams - I think his memory was satisfied. Then we drove around the city a little bit before heading off to Salem. Our first stop in Salem was The House of Seven Gables and Hawthorne's birth house. We took a tour of the house - the tour guide was pretty goofy - and his name was Nate - but it was fun. Nice step back in time.

Then we headed over to the Salem Witch Museum. Now here's a good time! The museum is basically a big room with life size dioramas around the walls. The room goes dark - and a loud booming voice comes over the loudspeaker to tell the fateful story of the Salem "witches." It's like a bad horror movie to be sure, and honestly, when I thought about it, it almost makes a joke of a very dark time in our history.

After all was said and done, I did buy a hat and a Scarlett Letter magnet:

And what would a road trip be without a stop in a yarn store?

Arbella Yarns

Click for a larger view.

Boston

The next morning we had some time to kill before the train, so we headed out to the Public Garden to see the ducks. I promised my nephew that I'd take pictures of the statue erected in honor of Robert McCloskey's book Make Way for Ducklings.

Here we are:

It was FREEZING!

and here's the ducks on their own:

We took the train home yesterday - the Acela Express. It was a wonderful weekend! Wish it had lasted longer. But that's okay because in two weeks were off to Scottsdale, Arizona! All I have to say is it better be warm!

Hope you enjoyed our little trip...thanks for reading.
Love,
Cara

PS - Don't forget! The new K1R2 Discussion has started - c'mon over!

Posted by Cara at 03:47 PM | Comments (14)