Tag Archives: weekend

As you may have read in my Things To Do in Temecula post, a few years ago I decided to surprise Daniel with a big birthday trip to Temecula.  Specifically, to attend the Balloon and Wine Festival!  Daniel has always surprised me with weekend getaways for my birthday, and that particular year I was finally not a starving artist and could reciprocate!  I had many different travel ideas and options, but the Balloon and Wine Festival stood out amongst them all.  Mostly because Daniel and I love to go wine tasting, and the prospect of taking a hot air balloon ride was too amazing to pass up (hello, bucket list)!  It was a clear winner!

The Balloon and Wine Festival is held every year in Temecula, CA, which is about 2-3 hours away from Los Angeles.  Tickets vary based on what you want to see and do, packages, etc.  I bought general admission tickets online for Friday, which were $22 each.  I also bought parking for $5.  The festival typically lasts three days, and offers a variety of entertainment each day.

Obviously, one of the main attractions is the wine.  There are a plethora of local wineries and vendors situated throughout the entire festival.  You’ll need to buy beverage tickets when you arrive – we chose to buy a package that came with commemorative wine glasses ($15 each).  If you like physical mementos, I highly suggest doing the same.  We use the glasses all the time, and they invoke wonderful memories every single time.  Tip:  When we were talking to the woman selling us drink tickets, we mentioned it was our first time attending and she threw in a bunch of tickets for free!  Not saying this will happen to everyone, but worth mentioning just in case, right?!

If I’m remembering correctly, I believe 1 tasting cost 2 tickets and a full glass cost 4 tickets.  Another Tip:  We found a few vendors that gave us full glasses for only 2 tickets.  We chose to mainly go there to get our buzz on, and then dispersed our remaining tickets for the wines and champagnes we were really interested in trying.  Sooo, if you want to get tipsy, be sure to scope out all the booths before you use too many tickets!

They also serve beer if you’re with someone that doesn’t drink wine, and there’s also a bunch of food vendors serving up typical festival fare so you’re not drinking on an empty stomach.  Here are a few of our favorite things we tried:

Grilled sausage with peppers

These fried pickles were AMAZING!

This was an “Indian taco” – the photos don’t do this justice.  It was incredible!

Other than wine, there is also musical entertainment on Friday and Saturday.  Usually it’s either country or popular 90s bands.  It’s a serious flashback if you grew up during that time!

The 2nd big attraction at the festival is the hot air balloons.  The festival coordinates hot air ballon rides in the morning on Saturday and Sunday.  If you read my Hot Air Balloon ride post, then you know that I chose to schedule a private ride for Daniel since it was his birthday.  But the festival rides would be a great option for anyone on a budget, and/or wants one stop shopping.  Tips:  1. Be aware that you will need to be there SUPER early in the morning, balloons have to take off as soon as the sun comes up and they have to get everyone checked in well before that.  2. Dress in layers!  It will start out cold and then become incredibly hot, also bring a hat because the fire overhead will be intense.  3. I also suggest bringing sunglasses, as the sun gets pretty brutal.  4. Lastly, hold on tight and be prepared that it could be a bumpy landing!

General tips:  Even if you’re not taking a balloon ride, be sure to dress in layers for the festival regardless.  It will most likely be very hot during the day and cool off considerably at night.  Bring lots of sunscreen, and something to cover up with – there was practically no shade when we went.

Another main attraction, and what Daniel and I were most looking forward to (besides the wine), was the “Balloon Glow.”  On Friday and Saturday night, local companies bring in their finest hot air balloons to delight festival goers with a spectacular show of light and music.  I’d highly suggest going on Friday or Saturday just so you can see this.  Trust me, you really don’t want to miss it.  Check out some photos below!

Once the sun goes down, you’ll see the balloons start to inflate.  It was pretty amazing to see up close!

Once it’s fully dark, the Balloon Glow will begin.

This champagne shaped hot air balloon was one of the few that was promoting their winery, instead of their sponsor.  We checked out Wilson Creek Winery the next day, which you can read about here.

It was one of the most amazing festivals I’ve ever attended, and an all around incredible experience in Temecula.  I truly hope we’ll be able to go back one day soon!  If I’ve piqued your interest and you’re thinking about attending the festival this year, or just taking a trip to Temecula, be sure to check out my Things To Do in Temecula post.  You’ll find lots of food recommendations, hotel suggestions, and so much more!

Hey guys, long time no see!  Sorry for the lack of posts lately, things have been pretty hectic around here, and I haven’t been able to get as many posts written as I’d like.  BUT I hope this next series of travel posts will make up for it a little!  I am super excited to share one of my favorite weekend getaways, and the most amazing festival I’ve attended to date!

A few years ago, I decided to surprise my boyfriend Daniel with a trip to Temecula, CA.  Daniel has always surprised me with weekend getaways for my birthday, and I was finally in a position where I could reciprocate.  Since I knew it would be a weekend trip, I was mainly looking for travel ideas in California (as we were still living in Los Angeles at the time).  During my research, I came across the Balloon and Wine Festival in Temecula, which you can read all about here.  I pretty much knew it was the winner as soon as I saw it – I mean… hot air balloons?  Wine?  Sold!

Temecula is about 2-3 hours away from Los Angeles, and is a great place to visit if you want to see some California wine country without traveling too far (if you’re in LA).  Now, obviously the festival was going to be an amazing activity, but we were only planning on attending one of the days.  And since we were staying for a 3-day weekend, I still needed other things to do in Temecula to make Daniel’s birthday extra special.  While I was searching for things to do, I knew we absolutely had to take a hot air balloon ride.  I went a little overboard, since I wasn’t sure if I’d get the opportunity to spoil my guy again next year.  I splurged on a private hot air balloon ride for two, and It. Was. INCREDIBLE!  Read all the details here!

Besides extravagant activities, you can also just explore Old Town, which is a very charming area of Temecula.  Everything looks like it’s out of an old Western movie, and there are a lot of great shops and places to eat.  Check out some photos below!

The Old Town Rootbeer Company is a fun shop to explore while you’re in Old Town.  There was literally every flavor of soda you could possibly think of!

We bought a few bottles to enjoy at home, and it was a nice way to remember our vacation as were were instantly thrust back into the work week!

If you’ll be enjoying your soda in Temecula, be sure to add your bottle cap to the collection below!

While we were walking around Old Town, we stopped to eat at Sweet Lumpy’s BBQ for lunch.  The food was delicious, and the restaurant had a good outdoor seating area for catching some sun.  I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the mood for a quiet, casual lunch with some amazing BBQ!

Another tasty lunch spot is Daniel’s Cafe.  Yes, we did go there because it had Daniel’s name in the title… Don’t judge though, because the food was fantastic! It looked like a cute place to dine-in at, but we actually took our food to go so we could it eat at a near by duck pond and park.  It was a lovely place to have a picnic, be sure to check it out during your stay!

If you’re looking for an amazing Italian restaurant for dinner, head on over to Palumbo’s Ristorante in Old Town.  The service and atmosphere was great, and the food was amazing.  Take a look!

Another must do activity in Temecula is exploring a vineyard and going wine tasting.  It is wine country after all!  I wish we could have visited more wineries, but since we had a pretty full schedule we ended up just going to Wilson Creek Winery.  Luckily, we chose one of the most beautiful locations to be our one and only stop, read all about our visit here.

And if you’re looking for an inexpensive hotel option, we stayed at the Old Town Ramada Inn.  It was very central to Old Town, vineyards, and the Balloon and Wine Festival.  Plus, it has a pool and spa, complimentary wifi, and a continental breakfast.  It’s the not fanciest hotel, but you don’t want to be stuck in a hotel room anyway!  It was quiet and clean, and just what we needed to grab some sleep before our next exciting activity.

As you can see, there are many wonderful things to do in Temecula, and we didn’t even scratch the surface!  If you’re looking for a unique and memorable vacation, definitely think about visiting Temecula.  You won’t regret it!

I am so excited to finally say that Daniel and I have our Christmas tree up, and our house is all decorated for the holiday!  It finally feels like Christmas time!  We usually get our trees from a lot near our house, but this year we decided to go to a Christmas tree farm.  I mean, we are in Oregon after all!  I did some quick research and found three farms, all about 20-30 minutes outside of Portland.

One I found was the Sauvie Island Farms, which we decided not to go to because we went to a pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island durin the fall.  We figured it would be fun to go somewhere we haven’t been before.  Our other two options were Quail Creek Ranch and Plumber Pumpkin Patch and Tree Farm.

We chose to go to Quail Creek Ranch because it looked beautiful.  Take a look!

Unlike Plumber Farms, basically everything was free at Quail Creek Ranch (except the trees, of course)!  They provide saws if you want to cut your own tree, but they will also cut them down for you free of charge too.  They also shake, bail, twine, and help tie your tree to your car for free as well!  That was all I really needed to hear to make my decision.  I guess I’m a sucker for the word free!

They also serve complimentary hot chocolate and cider by a big, warm bonfire!

We decided to cut our own tree, since I had never done that before, and Daniel hadn’t in a really long time (ok, maybe Daniel did the cutting).  Plus, now that we’re Oregonians, we wanted to do it the lumberjack way!  There was even some snow on the ground, so it really felt legit!

Quail Creek Ranch has a variety of trees – Douglas Firs ranging from $15-$25, Grand Firs ranging from $20-$35, and Nobles ranging from $50-$100.  We found our tree after searching the farm for about 30 minutes, and we chose a douglas fir this year.  Ours was over 4 feet tall, so it was $25 – not too shabby!  Way better than the $80 we always had to spend in Hollywood!

Everyone at the farm was very friendly and helpful.  All the little complimentary touches really added in making our experience wonderful.  If you haven’t gotten your tree yet, I highly recommend visiting Quail Creek Ranch!  And don’t forget to grab a candy cane on your way out!

Tip:  They don’t really have much of a selection of tree stands, so you will want to pick one up before you go.  We got ours at our local Fred Meyer!

Here’s our tree all decorated!

We have a tradition of buying a new ornament each year, and this year it was a donut!  What are some of your traditions?

Ok, so if you read my Halloweentime at Disneyland travel post, you know that it’s my absolute favorite time to visit.  But a VERY close second is during Christmas Time at Disneyland!  Seriously, if you love the Christmas season, this is the perfect time to plan your Disneyland trip.  Disney goes all out with their decorations, festive food, and entertainment.

The entire park is adorned with holiday touches, aromas of gingerbread waft from cafes, shops have a variety of Christmas gifts and ornaments – but don’t take my word for it, check out some of my photos and tips below!

As you walk into the park, you’ll see Main Street is all decked out!

Make sure to get your picture taken in front of the HUGE Christmas tree!

Sleeping Beauty’s castle gets a Christmas makeover as well.  Another great photo opportunity!

I love how they decorate New Orleans Square within the theme.

I’m sure you can guess that Disneyland’s bakeries would have a plethora of Christmas treats, well, you’re right!  My favorite treat that I had to get every year was the hot chocolate!  I was sort of expecting it to just be a packaged Swiss Miss-like drink, but was pleasantly surprised at the richness and quality of the chocolate.  So good!  Plus, it will help to keep you warm as the sun goes down!

Tip:  While some of you from colder states may think:  “how cold can LA possibly get?”  You’d be surprised!  I’m originally from Maine, and I was often taken aback at the how cold it got, especially at night.  Certainly not that face burning, nose hair freezing frigidness, but it still manages to chill you to the bone!  We would always see tourists looking pretty miserable, because they were unprepared for the cold.  I suggest dressing in layers, wearing warm shoes, and having a stash of gloves, hats, and scarves.  Take advantage of the lockers at the entrance of the park, so you don’t have to carry everything all day long! Read more »

If you read my romantic getaway post about Rockaway Beach, you know I had searched long and hard to find things to do in the area.  Since we went in the off-season, beach activities (which is the main attraction in the summer) were kind of limited.  While we loved enjoying the awesome vacation home we were staying in, I still thought it would be nice to have some outside activities during our stay.  We had already stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory on our way there, so that didn’t leave much more to do unless we wanted to drive up to Seaside.

Luckily, I came across an article about the Rockaway Beach Old-Growth Cedar Wetlands Preserve.  It is a 45-acre home to some of the remaining giant red cedar trees in Oregon – how lucky that it’s right in town!  It is somewhat of a hidden gem, mostly only known by the locals.

Makes sense, as it was pretty hard to find any information about it, even just how to get to there!  The article I found was written in 2009, and unfortunately it seems the trail has changed a lot since then.  By following the directions from the article, we ended up entering a trailhead that you really don’t want to go through.

Very overgrown and fallen trees everywhere, it would be very easy to get turned around, as the trail is no longer a clear path.

One upside of going the wrong way was that we got to see this humongous trunk and all of its roots!

After taking pictures, we were about to give up since we really weren’t sure where the actual trail was.  Fortunately, we heard a couple coming towards us!  They told us how to stay on the path and where the real trailhead was!  The trail you want to take is on Washington and Island.  Directions:  Take Washington St., which is right off the 101 freeway.  You want to take Washington away from the ocean and towards Island St.  Turn left on Island, and there you will find the trailhead.

It’s a very easy and beautiful hike, and it’s only about 1-mile.  Tip:  There are some flat stones on the path that, what I believe, are meant to be stepping-stones.  Be very careful if you step on them, as they are incredibly slippery.  I would also advise dressing in layers, and in shoes you don’t mind getting muddy.

When you get to end of the trail, you will find one of the biggest trees in Oregon, with a circumference of 49 feet!  Take a look at these photos!

So hard to get the scale of this tree in pictures, it really needs to be seen in person.  As you can see from some of the photos, there is a boardwalk surrounding the tree for viewing, and there are benches on the boardwalk as well (not shown).  It was such a beautiful, quiet, and peaceful spot – it would make a great place to eat lunch.  We are definitely going to pack some sandwiches next time we go!  This tree, as well as others in the Wetland Preserve, were truly amazing to see.  If you are in Rockaway Beach, I hope you get the chance to visit this spot.  It is worth it!