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Thirsty Thursday: A Day in Carmel

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Gin and Tonic

Here's several dozen pictures of a day in Garland Park and Carmel with some good friends!

Thirsty Thursday: Garland

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Paraiso "Faite" Pinot Noir Clone 115 Santa Lucia Highlands
Background Tunes: Counting Crows - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby

Typically, when we go to Garland Park, we run to the top. It's grueling for about 30 minutes on the way up (it's pretty steep) and terrifying for about 15 minutes on the way back down (again, it's pretty steep). But this day we didn't make it to the top...we just hiked around somewhere in the middle. Garland is obviously one of Massey's favorite places (and yes she willingly models for us). I think looking at all this pics in order is kind of cool (even the accidental one of the blue sky before we got in the car). Perhaps this weekend or next we'll opt for the run.

Thirsty Thursday: Sobranes Canyon

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2013 Chamisal Edna Valley Rosé Wine

The Sobranes Canyon Trail to the Rocky Ridge Trail is always one of our favorite short hikes. We typically go through the canyon first because we like to work for our view. Besides, I think it's better to see the ocean on the way down. It makes the hike a little more relaxing. My favorite part may be watching Massey ping-pong between me and Beth as we stop to take pictures of things. Mas does a pretty decent job of keeping us together (of course, that's until we reach the open spaces at the top). Or, it could be the variety of the terrain that the trail takes you through in a short distance. All in all, the view at the top is worth the hike. See you all out on the trails!

Thirsty Thursday: Thirstagrams!

Rambler: Terry

Drink in Hand: 2009 Cima Collina Pinot Noir

I'm not going to lie, it's been a busy week. Tonight seemed to be no different as I sit her next to Massey sipping Pinot goodness. I didn't feel like digging through the archives so I instead decided to draft this post from my iPhone and use shots from the camera roll. Most of these are from Instagram, so if you follow us on Instagram you'll see some shots again. TGTIF. can't wait for Sat!

Thirsty Thursday: Garland Ranch

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Paraiso Chardonnay

Thursday snuck up on me this week, but after a little archive digging, here's a few shots from some of our hikes at Garland Ranch near Carmel Valley Village. I really like the one of Massey and Beth walk down the trail under the moss (I've always found moss hard to shoot). It may not be Garland this weekend, but I'm sure we'll be hiking (or running...cue Massey ears) somewhere!

Thirsty Thursday: Random Weekend

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2012 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas

Okay, a quick note about this wine. It's a Rhône. The color is awesome. A good nose with a smooth taste with a hint of spice at the end. Very nice for the price. Here's an excerpt from the Tablas website:

"The Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas is a blend of four red Rhône varietals: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise. The wine incorporates fruit from several of the top Rhône vineyards in Paso Robles, each vineyard selected for its quality. Like many red wines from the Rhône Valley, it is based on the dark fruit, mineral and spice of Syrah, with the brightness and fresh acidity of Grenache, the structure and meatiness of Mourvèdre and a small addition of Counoise for complexity."

This is a bit of a random post, but last weekend itself was a bit random. We randomly decided on Friday to head to Solvang, CA. Of course, being the planners that we are, we booked a hotel room the night before in Lompoc, CA. It was the only place available that would let Massey stay the night. If only the other hotels could meet Massey, they'd understand. Anyways, we didn't have much of a plan other than exploring Solvang (which is a cute little town), hiking or running somewhere, and drinking some wine. Of course, we had our cameras, but I think we were both just wanting to chill a bit with out it. Solvang was definitely cool and we had some decent tastings and an awesome meal. Check out our recent Instagram activity for pictures of that.

On Sunday, we decided to summit a tall hill. The peak we climbed to the top was Gaviota Peak. It's somewhere just off the 101 between Solvang and Santa Barbara, CA, but closer to the later. I think Strava thought the hike was somewhere between 6.8 and 7.1 miles (depends on your GPS device. . . I had an iPhone and Beth had her Garmin). It was a descent hike. Not my favorite, but he view was cool from the top. I know that Massey had a good time. She's such a good travel dog. So here's a few pics from that hike.

On Monday, we headed back home but stopped at Tablas Creek Vineyard outside of Paso Robles. We are now members there as their wine is fantastic. A couple of our other wine memberships are now in jeopardy of being cut (yes, they will be cut soon). Unfortunately, we can't be members everywhere. I'm sure we'll be posting more pics from our future Tablas Creek adventures. For now, here's a couple.

Thirsty Thursday: Analog

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Paraiso Zinfandel Irie

It's been a long week since last Thursday. In fact, the days have blended together and I find myself wondering how it can be another Thursday already. Last weekend I had hoped to go through some of my Germany / Italy pictures, but it's amazing how fast plans change. These are the shots that I was able to edit throughout blur of last week. Unlike most of my edits (which are almost completely done in Apple Aperture), I discovered that my Nik Software Aperture plugins were automatically updated by Google. I'm still not thrilled that Google felt that it could update software on my computer without my knowledge (not even a notification). However, I have fallen in love with Nik Analog Efex Pro. I'm actually quite surprised that I enjoy these type of finishes so much. Many moons ago when I started to get serious about photography, I found myself waiting for the digital era. I didn't want a film camera. I didn't want a Holga. I suppose I was just naïve. I just wanted a DSLR. I didn't want to deal with developing film. I wanted sharp and crisp images with vivid colors. I wasn't a big fan of black and white photography. I didn't like the imperfect artifacts of film. But that's something's changed lately. I simply love it. There's something about the imperfections and the textures that I love. In fact, some of the images weren't perfect to start with. . . a bit blurry or maybe a poor composition. All of these images were taken with my Canon 5DMKII and processed through the Nik Analog Efex Pro plugin for Aperture. This set is a mixture of images from both Germany and Italy. I hope you enjoy them and all their imperfections. They seem a bit more real to me.

Massey Monday: Two Favorite Girls

To my sweetest friend...

It's been quite a while...a shade over 10 years. I don't think we'll ever need to start again, but the song felt right. Love you!

"Come To Me"
by the Goo Goo Dolls

I'll be kind, if you'll be faithful
You be sweet and I'll be grateful
Cover me with kisses dear
Lighten up the atmosphere
Keep me warm inside our bed
I got dreams of you all through my head
Fortune teller said I'd be free
And that's the day you came to me
Came to me

Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

Come to me my sweetest friend
Can you feel my heart again
I'll take you back where you belong
And this will be our favorite song
Come to me with secrets bare
I'll love you more so don't be scared
When we're old and near the end
We'll go home and start again

Ooo Ooo Oooo, Ooo Ooo Oooo

I caught you burnin' photographs
Like that could save you from your past
History is like gravity
It holds you down away from me
You and me, we've both got sins
I don't care about where you've been
Don't be sad and don't explain
This is where we start again
Start again

Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

Today's the day I'll make you mine
So get me to the church on time
Take my hand in this empty room
You're my girl, and I'm your groom

Come to me my sweetest friend
This is where we start again, again

Come to me my sweetest friend
Can you feel my heart again
Take you back where you belong
This will be our favorite song
Come to me with secrets bare
I'll love you more so don't be scared
When we're old and near the end
We'll go home and start again (yeah)
Start again (yeah)

Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

Thirsty Thursday: Inyo Wilderness

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Joyce Chardonnay

Around this time last year, teamwelliver was backpacking in the Inyo Wilderness. Great time! This year, we're a bit separated. Beth is off in Nicaragua (you can follow her adventure at http://pdxnica.tumblr.com/). Pretty cool to be getting an MBA and traveling to cool places. She'll be putting together a documentary of the trip so stay tuned.

The Mas and I are headed up to Feather Falls, CA for a bit of exploring. We're not backpacking this time, just day hikes around the area. We'll be basing out of Chico, CA. The good thing is that we'll (well, I'll...she's always) be unplugged. Enjoy your weekend!

Massey Monday: Buddies

Best Buds!

Thirsty Thursday: An Adventure

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Red Table Wine

Another weekend is near and another adventure is scheduled. I'm not sure where we're going yet, but here are some shots from a previous adventure (or hike). Depending on the amount of homework and other work we have this weekend, we may be heading south to SLO for some vino and other exploring. A break from the normal is definitely needed. I know the Mas (whom is resting near me as I write this) will be up for it!

Thirsty Thursday: Stuck on Lupines

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2008 Twomey Merlot

Not much to say this week. Work has been keeping us both pretty busy but we've been lucky enough to get the Mas out for some short runs. As far as shooting outings, they've been few and far between again. I think this may be my last post of lupines for the season, but they were sure awesome this year. Hopefully, we (and you) can get out there this weekend for a mini-adventure!

Thirsty Thursday: More Lupines!

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Red Table Wine (again)

The lupines at Ft Ord are fading fast. The long grass has pretty much overtaken them. They are still visible, but not as grand a couple weeks ago. In last Thursday's post, Beth posted a few of her lupine photos. I always find it surprising the different compositions we find at the same location. If I remember right, she was shooting with her trusty 24-70mm and for my shots, I started with a 40mm and then switched to 180mm. Prime lenses are just awesome. I still think she may have taken the shot of the day (first picture from last week's post). I'm not sure if we'll be able to get out this weekend to shoot, but I know the Mas and us with have some sort of adventure (always do). Happy almost Friday!

oh, and of course, the mas loved the entire shoot...

Thirsty Thursday: Instagram Lupines

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Montoya Merlot

We've made a mistake recently. It's actually tragic. There is a field full of lupines very near here that we have yet to photograph with proper cameras. Although the old saying goes that the best camera is the one you have on you, it would be nice to get a few photographs with something other than an iPhone. I mean, they are okay, but we could do better...we should do better. Perhaps this weekend we can sneak away (about a mile from here) and capture some of the magic. For now, enjoy the Instas!

Massey Monday: Just Another Day Hike

This is a continuation of last week's Thirsty Thursday. Massey enjoyed the 8 mile hike but was always looking away from me (at least mostly) so I didn't get to many shots of her running at me or the smile she had on her face (I assure you that she was smiling the entire hike). I did get a shot of her running to see her best friend with her "Big Paws" :-) .

Thirsty Thursday: Wildflower Season

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2011 Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay

It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks. I think that Beth and I have worked more in the last couple of weeks than we have all year. Perhaps it's because we're both trying to change our organizations. I think we are both making progress, but change is slow. Always was, always will be. That's probably a good thing. Sometime through the mix of staring at computer screens, editing pages, and creating content we found time to get out for an 8 mile hike. It was refreshing to get away from it all and watch Massey do her thing. It's also the start of wildflower season! Yay! The hills are so gorgeous and now covered with lupines. Last weekend when we went on the hike, little yellow flowers were everywhere. I've heard it may rain this weekend, but hopefully we (and you) can get out there and take some more photographs or just enjoy the outdoors!

Thirsty Thursday: Views from Fort Ord

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Monterey Red Wine (Table)

Not a bad week. Fairly productive at work (still a few too many meetings, but it's been worse). The photographying was a bit sparse again and so was the editing. I think tonight, I'll just put on a little Friends and just relax. Perhaps I'll edit some more Thailand photos.

A few words about tonight's post. Most of the time, when we're at Fort Ord, we're either running without a camera trying keep up with the Massey or we have a camera and we're taking pictures of her. So, here's some of the views we get to see while doing both of those...at least when it's nice outside.

Thirsty Thursday: Last Hike of 2012

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel

The last day of 2012 and the last hike of the year. It was supposed to be a casual hike, but the Mas decided to make it interesting. She was her typical rambunctious self...but this time it caught up to her. She decided to go vertical (i.e., up the side of a cliff) and in doing so, she sliced (yes I said sliced) her paws. Actually, she sliced a front one and a back one. So, that pretty much ended the hike and poor little Massey is now out of commission. After a visit to the vet, she's okay, but she won't be running until probably next week. Tear. So, our simple hike turned into a "Let's get Massey back to the house (and to the vet) so that she can rest." But, Thirsty Thursdays aren't really about the adventures of Massey (check out Massey Mondays for those). Before she decided to go vertical, she discovered this little stream where we were able to blur the water in the shadows. It was a pretty peaceful place. Sometimes I think the little pup has eye (or nose) for finding us spots to shoot. So, even though the hike turned into a bit of a diaster, we were still able to get some decent shots. Here's to some even better shots in 2013 and injury free hikes (at least for the Mas).