Guy Fawkes Night 2011

Last November, our dear friends the Jongs held their annual Guy Fawkes Night party. Guy Fawkes Night, if you don't know, is basically the most British holiday there is. It's basically a night where you burn a dummy in effigy. Here are photos from it!

Rhianwen in Chicago

Been a while since we updated the blog, huh? Anyone still out there? Hello? We'll just pick up where we left off and pretend it hasn't taken us forever to post anything.


So in October, Rhianwen went to Chicago for work. She hadn't been to Chicago before (other than her one sick day when we were driving through on our way out to LA) and she loved it! By complete coincidence, our old friends Christine and Jeff happened to be there for the weekend and they got to hang out. Fun! Here are some photos.

Vegas!

After three years in LA, we finally made the not-such-a-big trip to Vegas! It's just a four-hour drive that we had often thought about making, but never got around to doing it. Then Aunt Janet and Uncle Steve were there for a conference and invited us up for the weekend -- the offer included dune buggy riding -- and we made it.

We had a blast! Rhianwen enjoyed the most delicious mojito of her life at the Vdara hotel bar. Our hearts raced as we zipped around the desert and flew over dunes in the dune buggy. We saw our first Cirque du Soleil show, Ka, which was incredible. And we had fun just hanging out with Janet and Steve. We were strategic in our sight seeing, so while we were only there a for 2 days we saw a lot of the strip. Rhianwen learned how addicting gambling can be, as she lost some money to the slot machines. She's set on winning next time. Benner secretly won a million dollars, but he's not telling anyone.

It was a great trip! Thanks Janet and Steve for having us!

5 years of Benner Bliss at the Hearst Castle

Also in August, we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary with a trip to the Central Coast! Inspired by our friend's trip to Hearst Castle and Rhianwen's love for turn of the century architecture, off we went. Beautiful landscapes surrounded us as we drove north, the views of the rocky oceanside terrain and waves crashing upon it were just lovely.

The history of Hearst Castle is fascinating. It was built by Julia Morgan, the only female architect in California at the time, and took nearly thirty years to construct. While the land was expansive, it was challenging to build on the terrain -- lots of rocks. Hearst is of course a controversial figure but his home was majestic and was a meeting place for all sorts of characters -- political figures, hollywood celebrities, athletes, inventors, (some notable names were Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant and Franklin Roosevelt.) They would come by invitation only to enjoy all the amenities from the pools (indoor and outdoor), tennis court, private zoo, the theater or simply enjoy his extensive collection of fine art. Apparently he would never ask anyone to leave, but you knew if you were seated furthest from him at the dining room table you had overstayed your welcome. Here are some photos:

We went to Portland

Before we ever came close to setting foot inside the city, we kind of just knew we were going to love Portland. It's one of those places everyone speaks of in glowing, adoring terms, where everything is idyllic and perfect and made from gold. So before we returned home to LA from a ten day jaunt in Philly, we decided to swing by Portland and check it out for a few days.

We were not disappointed! Here is a smattering of photos from the trip. Highlights include: Lewis cousins; gorgeous modern design everywhere you look; Rhianwen manning a submarine; a marshland planted right in the middle of the city; a chance encounter with a friend/talented musician named Jamie Drake; delicious doughnuts.

Enjoy!