US Post Office and Tacos?

Last weekend we took our annual trip to the amazing city of Washington DC for the White House Easter Egg Roll.  We were fortunate enough to have my Mother in Law along with us so that my husband and I could have some alone time. 

On one of our last days we snuck out for a quick bite to eat.  We walked north on 14th St where our hotel the Hamilton was.  Wow!  We were so surprised to see how much that neighborhood had been revitalized in the last few years.  There are endless hipster restaurants, bars, and bake shops.  It was so hard to choose where we were gonna eat.  We made a stop at a cross walk and out of the corner of our eye we saw an old US Post Office that had been turned into a Taqueria. 

We were so curious we had to stop and boy are we glad we did.  The place is Taqueria Nacional.  Its located at 1409 T St NW.  Its just 2 blocks from the U St Metro Stop on the Green Line. Their tag line is "Authentic Mexican tacos made with carefully sourced ingredients, seasoned with love."  The decor is hip and the food is outstanding. 

Jamie had shrimp tacos with slaw and lamb tacos with pickled vegetables.  The lamb was so tender it melted in your mouth.  Yum!  I had the tostados which were equally fabulous and a fresh squeezed margarita. 

I highly recommend popping in this neighborhood joint.  The front is open with a courtyard out front.  You won't want to leave!

Napa 2014 With the Girls Part I

I left my boys behind in Phoenix and I headed to San Francisco for a long weekend in Napa Valley with some of my college girlfriends.  We spent the first night and following day in San Francisco before we headed to Napa for an amazing weekend get away.

Our first night in San Francisco we decided to check out a recommendation of our concierge for dinner.  The restaurant was called Trattoria Contadina.  It was one of the best Italian meals I have had to date.  The restaurant was small and had a nice cozy vibe to it.  We all sampled each others pasta and it was hard to choose a favorite.

Before turning in for the night we took a nice walk down by the Wharf to catch a quick peek of Alcatraz.  Though I've seen it many time I have never had enough time to take a tour.  Is it worth it?  I've always wanted to make it happen. 

The next day we decided to get in as much site seeing as we could before heading out to Napa.  We first made a stop at the famous Lombard St.  It is famous for its steep east to west drive down to the bottom of the street. There is also a great view of the city from the top.

 

Next stop was breakfast and mimosas in the Mission District of San Francisco.  After some quick Google research we decided to try out Mission Beach Cafe.  We were so glad we did.  I had an incredibly buttery and delicious chocolate croissant. 

Of course we had to make the all important Full House stop.  We cranked up the theme song and headed over to the park to get a few shots of the house that is on the opening of the show.  

 

Last but certainly not lease we made the stop at the Golden Gate Bridge.  Unfortunately the fog had rolled in so we weren't even able to see the bridge as we drove across.  We were able to go to a higher point and look down at the bridge over the top of the fog.  It was just as beautiful as it always is.  

Next stop Napa Valley....

Halloween 2014 in Phoenix, AZ

This year we spent Halloween at my mother in laws in Phoenix, AZ.  The weather was beautiful and warm.  We ate waaaaaay too much candy.  Here are a few pictures of our Cowboy and Teddy Bear.

Catching Up

I'm so far behind I know!!!!  We have had a few family health issues that have all worked out now but for a brief period flipped our lives upside down.  I've been so excited to share my Napa experience on the blog.  I promise it's coming soon!!!!

A Day of Hiking in Sedona, AZ

We were staying in Flagstaff and decided to take a day trip to Sedona to do some hiking.  We were so glad that we did.  While Flagstaff is a cute town it wasn't exactly as great as we thought it would be.  The drive a lone from Flagstaff to Sedona was beyond words.  I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for me in this post.  

We had to ditch our shoes and cross a creek in order to get to the other side of the trail.  Oh that water was cold!

The other side of Cathedral Rock.

Getting Closer to Cathedral Rock.

At the Base.

Little Hikers.

View from Cathedral Rock.

Simply Breathtaking.  

Santa Fe, New Mexico 2014

After talking to a few people about New Mexico we decided to bypass Albuquerque and head straight for Santa Fe.  We are so glad we decided to drive a little further north to see this historical town.  We parked the camper in a nice campground that allowed us to walked into downtown.  Once downtown we didn't waste a second diving into the local food, shops and gorgeous old churches.

First stop for lunch was Tomasita's for the local delicacy of green chilies. It was recommended that we have the green chili fries, and oh they did not disappoint.  They were delish!  

A taste of the downtown architecture. 

After lunch we bobbed into several historical churches to stay out of the rain.  The were all lovely.  Even Jamie agreed that they were fascinating.  Usually I have to drag him through these sort of things. 

Touching sculpture on one of the church walls.

The doorway to one of the churches we toured.

One incredibly special church that we toured was Loretto Chapel.  FYI there is a fee of $3.00 to enter the chapel.  It is small but it is worth it.  

The Rosary Tree in front of Loretto Chapel.

The Miraculous Staircase. 

Loretto used to be a girls school.  The little chapel was built without a staircase to the choir loft.  There wasn't much room to put a staircase.  The chapel was so small that putting in a normal staircase would wipe out a few rows of pews.  One day a carpenter dropped in and said he could build the staircase.  Here is the story http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html.  It is worth reading.

Austin TX 2014

After a brief stop in Dallas we headed to Austin, TX.  Jamie works at Austin City Limits every year.  This years headliners were Outkast, Pearl Jam, Calvin Harris, Eminem, and Lorde to name a few.  We always have a great time at this festival and really enjoy the city of Austin.

The boys playing drums in Austin Kiddie Limits

We stay at Zilker Park which has a lot of great activities within the park.  There is a natural swimming pool that is filled from an underground spring.  Its average yearly temp is 68 degrees.  Across from the swimming area is a train that takes you on a ride throughout the park.  Miles loves to ride every year several times.  Its 2.00 a ride. If you choose to get some exercise you can walk/run the running path that surrounds the Colorado River.  There are all kinds of kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddle boarders in the river.

Our favorite Park activity was to walk to the Nature preserve.  It is free to enter and right now they are featuring the Robot Zoo.  There are robotic bug and animals that you can interact with.  You are able to see how a frog can shoot its tongue to catch to catch a bug, or climb a wall and see literally what it is like to be a fly on the wall.  After leaving the Robot Zoo we headed back to the dinosaur fossil dig.  There are 4 large sand pits with dinosaur fossils and all the tools you need to uncover them.

Miles digging for fossils at the Nature Preserve.

Riding the train through Zilker Park

This year while Jamie was loading out my parents came to visit.  We took them to a lot of our favorite places to eat and this year we tried something new.  We went to Jack Allen's.  It is a farm to table restaurants and it is amazing.  We decided to just order several appetizers because we wanted to try several things.  We loved everything!  Here are some must haves: House Made Pimiento cheese, BLT Sliders (with pork belly), Smashed Guacamole with pumpkin seeds, and Smoked Beef Rib Quesadilla.

Avacado Margarita

We also had a great day at the Thinkery which is Austin's Children's Museum.  Its one of the best that I've been too.  They have an entire water room that they provide each child with a smock and a pair of crocks, a kitchen area to shop and weigh food, an area just for infants in the theme of a spring garden, and a room where you can build your own airplane and then launch it with an air compressor.  There was so much more but those were a few of our highlights.

Austin is up there as one of my favorite US cities.  There is so much to do with or without kids.  If you like the outdoors, Tex Mex and music then Austin is a city you should check out.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

 Here are a few more pictures of our
stay in Austin:

The Golden Potty (only 6 people get to use it at the festival)

Miles in front of one of Jamie's stages

Jonah Bear outside of the camper backstage

Miles at the Austin Zoo