#213 Luke’s Noodles
01 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Went to Andy & Shelly’s for some homemade pasta and an evening with their family. Luke was quite entertaining, especially as he’s starting to walk a little better and is eating more foods, like really long noodles.
#214 Ally’s Farm
02 August 2014 // Fresno, California
On our drive north, we got to stop at Ally’s family’s farm in Fresno and had lunch with Deanna’s old sophomore year roommate. We were treated to some amazing sandwiches and chips and sent off with a big bag of almonds. We arrived in Sacramento by nightfall and it was a great day on the road.
#215 The Fuzz
03 August 2014 // Reno, Nevada
I wanted to make sure I would fit in at one of the ultimate outdoor supply shops, Cabela’s, so I decided to model in the aisles. This sheet of camouflage fuzz is sure to be all the rage come fall season.
#216 Greetings From Boise
04 August 2014 // Boise, Idaho
Boise is a very, very underrated city, and has neat places like Rediscovered Books and the Boise Fry Company. At the bookshop I found these hand drawn vintage postcards. Love the look of old travel posters and postcards.
#217 Hauser Lake
05 August 2014 // Helena, Montana
We wanted to go swim in a lake while we were in Montana so we drove around until we found this site just north of Helena. It was peaceful and pretty, but we definitely weren’t alone. Had the company of beavers.
#218 National Bison Reserve
06 August 2014 // Saint Igantius, Montana
At the top of my list of things to do in Montana was going bison viewing. The National Bison Reserve was the best place possible. The bison hung out right outside our windows in groups, it was basically drive-thru bison hanging for a twenty mile circuit in scenic Montana hills
#219 Glacier National Park
07 August 2014 // Glacier National Park, Montana
Finally got to visit one of the places in the United States that’s been calling my name the longest. It was absolutely gorgeous and we went at the perfect time of year. The mountains were a very true purple and the glacier streams a bright blue.
#220 The Very Best Campsite
08 August 2014 // Glacier National Park, Montana
We couldn’t have asked for a better campsite inside the park. At the Fish Creek campground, they gave us a spot right on Lake McDonald, set apart and secluded which gave us a lot of fun to fish and have fun.
#221 Golden Hills
09 August 2014 // Toyiabe National Forest, Nevada
Took a day full of driving through middle of nowhere places in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. The drive was pretty beautiful most of the way, surrounded by isolated golden hills.
#222 Lengthwise Brewing
10 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
With Deanna’s cousins Jon and Caity in town, we decided to go out for a drink at Bakersfield’s Lengthwise Brewery. The two of them are on a brewery tour of Southern California. I went with a Kern River Porter for the day, and I stand by my decision.
#223 Messed Up Brake
11 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Deanna’s dad helped me take the wheels off my car to address a concerning issue- the sudden disappearance of a brake pad and the nastiest grinding sound whenever using my brakes. Problem was solved, but the brake shoe and rotor that needed to be replaced weren’t pretty.
#224 Hot Cookin’
12 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Never had I ever had Hamburger Helper. Deanna decided to remedy that by cooking up some of the lasagna variety.
#225 The Family Wall
13 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
With Deanna and I both off of work for most of this summer, I’ve been spending a lot more time at her place, mostly doing small errands and planning things. It’s definitely become a second home to me while in Bakersfield and I totally appreciate the warm welcome I’ve gotten.
#226 The Cultural Experience
14 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
It only recently occurred to me that I had never participated in the American Cultural Experience of baking something, running out of an ingredient, and going to your neighbors to “borrow an egg.” Deanna finally helped me remedy that. We didn’t borrow an egg, but we did go to get some baking powder to make pancakes.
#227 Return to State Street
15 August 2014 // Santa Barbara, California
We arrived back in Santa Barbara for the weekend! We went out with Bre for some sushi in the evening. It was tough treating this like a normal day knowing what was to come up later in the weekend.
#228 The Decoy Date
16 August 2014 // Santa Barbara, California
Just the night before I proposed to Deanna, I took her on a date to the French Restaurant where we had our first date, and to the Santa Barbara Mission where we hung out just beforehand. It would’ve been a great time to propose, but I held out knowing what was coming the next day. Also, I knew she was suspicious about us being in Santa Barbara, so I had to throw her off for Sunday somehow.
#229 Will You Marry Me?
17 August 2014 // Goleta, California
This was absolutely the most beautiful, happy day of my life. After two years of adventures, dating, and learning how to grow in Love and grace, I asked Deanna if she would be my wife. I did so by going back to the site where it all began, the Goleta Pier, and turning a small piece of it into a restaurant staffed by some of our most dear friends and family members. As Gabe’s song puts it, both the future and the view look so good.
#230 Grandma Sees The Ring
18 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
After an unforgettable weekend in Santa Barbara, we went back to Bakersfield to tell some very important people the good news. Deanna’s grandma is a jewelry aficionado, especially when it comes to diamonds. It was definitely a thrill to watch her eyes light up at the one I got for Deanna.
#231 Centennial Girls
19 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Deanna and I got off to an early start with planning the wedding, at least the guest list and venue. We took time off to continue celebrating, though, and we did so at Panera with friends of ours Deanna has known for many years. Aubrey also gave me the photos she took from the Sunday before, and they were amazing.
#232 Sammy’s Neighborhood
20 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
All the zipping around California and my many adventures of the second half of this amazing summer wouldn’t be possible without the kindness of my friend Sammy who’s been letting me crash at his place until it’s time for me to move out.
#233 Best Binder
21 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Joanna Payne helped get our engagement started off well with this very practical engagement binder– no doubt I’m going to be seeing a lot of this guy over the next several months, but Joanna is awesome at what she does, which is planning and organizing the most memorable events.
#234 Fútbol Simoncello
22 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Had the joy of going out to see my soon-to-be-nephew’s first AYSO soccer game. It was a surprisingly pleasant day to be outside in Bakersfield, at least in the evening, and it was a blast to watch him work the field.
#235 Cousins in Vegas
23 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Got to join my cousins in Las Vegas for a cousin-only-family-reunion and a night on the strip. Pretty fun times and Vanessa was able to fly out from Illinois to join the rest of us West Coasters.
#236 Vanessa and Dee in Las Vegas
24 August 2014 // Las Vegas, Nevada
Vanessa stuck around Las Vegas an extra day, so Dee and I spent an extra night over there to keep her company. A couple of trips out to the strip were taken, along with some quality time in the pool and the discovery of an Asian inspired night market.
#237 Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas
25 August 2014 // Las Vegas, Nevada
My second Hofbrauhaus experience. There were quite a few obvious differences between the Munich experience and the Vegas version, but jumbo pretzels are good no matter where you have them. Not to mention, it’s been over a year since I’ve had a proper radler, so that was long overdue.
#238 Vietnamese Pho
26 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
A quick observation– one of my most frequently taken pictures is that of a bowl of pho. Ben got back into town from Houston, so he and I got to catch up over some Vietnamese food and have a pretty fun night all things considered.
#239 Old Cameras
27 August 2014 // Bakersfield, California
Deanna and I wanted to take a break from all the wedding planning stuff and enjoy going out for some creative inspiration, so we went out to the Mill Creek Antique Mall, where we found quite the fun collection of old vintage cameras. Might be buying more than one of these in the near future.
#240 L.A. Grand Central Market
28 August 2014 // Los Angeles, California
Deanna and I spent our day in L.A. catching up with Jonathan, Bree, and Sherri. It was a very fun and very social day. JFlo took us out to the L.A. Grand Central Market for the first time where I got the largest burrito of my life. Had fun seeing this side of Los Angeles.
#241 Carson Summer
29 August 2014 // Carson, California
Spent the day at my Auntie Ella and Auntie Fely’s place. Put in a few hours of completely clearing out my car so that I could repopulate it with my belongings to move to Oregon. I’ve spent quite a good amount of time over here this summer and it has been worth every visit.
#242 Legos by Joseph Kim
30 August 2014 // Long Beach, California
I finally got to meet Joseph– a friendly face to the LiNK family and speaker of one of my favorite TED Talks. Everybody raves about how friendly and awesome this guy is, and he truly lives up to it! I got to meet him as he was building his ever Lego set. Here’s hoping we get to meet again! It was a good day overall for reuniting with members of the LiNK Family.
#243 Sharon’s in L.A.
31 August 2014 // Norwalk, California
So glad I got to see Sharon, in person for the first time since tour almost two years ago! Also glad that I got to run into her in L.A., where she’ll be doing some amazing things with a dance ministry. Good catch up session at a fun coffee shop + bookstore in Norwalk.