Monday, June 30, 2014

The 4th Highest Bridge in the United States

Have you ever heard of the Foresthill Bridge? No? Neither had I until Beezy started talking about it. The Foresthill Bridge is located in Auburn, California and is the 4th highest bridge in the United States of America. The bridge is also famous from being featured in the movie XXX starring Vin Diesel.

Looks like an ordinary bridge but then you see how far up from the ground you really are...
Now you can see why Vin Diesel's XXX scene is pretty famous. At 730 feet tall it's no surprise this scene would become famous and people would want to cross over the bridge. I believe you can also walk the trails that are underneath the bridge.
Here's some more photos so you can get an idea of how long and how high this bridge it. It really does deserve it's place in the top 5 tallest of the U.S.A.


If you are ever in Auburn make the stop and see the bridge!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Saturday Smiles

Every Saturday, I'm going to try and post five things that made me smile during the week. Often I find myself getting caught up in the small stuff but this year I'm making an effort to be conscious of it. This year is about being happy and finding happiness even in the small things! Want to join me? Go ahead and post your Saturday Smiles!
 
1. Free stays in hotels.
2. Romancing the Stone books!!
3. Hair appointments.
4. Beezy.
5. Vacations!
 
What's making you smile?

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Old City of Auburn

Auburn, California is known as a Gold Rush town. Many people in America flocked to Auburn during the Gold Rush so they could try to strike it rich! Today the town is full of antique stores, shops, restaurants and some remnants of the old gold days.
 
 The town is definitely proud to remember it's gold rush days. They've got a little area set up the moment you get into town. As you can see their settler looking for gold is very large.
 It tells a little bit about the town and it's history.
 My mom had a little fun with the gold rush memorabilia.

After we stopped by the area about the gold rush, we strolled around town and took in some of the sights. We also stopped into two antique stores. We found a store that I can't wait to go back to and get tons of things for the yard. Everything inside is hand crafted in Mexico and brought over. It was all so cute and crafty.



 In the antique store with an antique hair dryer.

Maybe even found a wedding dress? lol


And that's Auburn!

Thursday, June 26, 2014

South Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, California.

Beezy had been trying for months to get me over to South Lake Tahoe but I was waiting for my mother to come visit. We had talked last year about visiting there but couldn't fit it in. This time at his suggestion we made the trek over. He warned us that the road got a little tight on the drive over but I figured it couldn't be too rough considered I made the drive to Reno last year. Oh boy! Was I wrong! First of all California rarely has guard rails on the side of the road. So you are driving along beside a major drop off on a cliff with nothing to hold you in just in case. Um... scary! Check out this road... this is the one place they actually have a long stretch of guard rails and brick up.

As soon as we arrived to South Lake Tahoe we parked the car and headed straight to the Heavenly Sky Tram. We decided to take it to the top of the mountain and even though Beezy isn't a fan of heights he was a really good sport. The lift ticket is good for the entire day but we only rode up once due to time constraints.
 Working our way up the mountain...

The first stop on the tram and the only look out point besides being on the top of the mountain is here at 9,300 feet...

 The tram ride back down....
Once we got down off the mountain it was time for food! I of course carried on the tradition of getting a corn dog. We have photos of either my mom or I eating a corn dog in tons of cities!
 Then we drove over to the lake and found some awesome pine cones.


The next time in Tahoe I'm headed to the Brewery!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Sutter Creek & The Preston Castle

The third thing we did while I was on vacation with my mom was head to Sutter Creek, California. If you've never heard of Sutter Creek it's home to the Gold Rush that took place in Northern California.
Sutter Creek is home to tons of fabulous old buildings and numerous antique stores. One thing my mom absolutely loves to do is browse antique shops. Naturally that's what we did...
Beezy had never really been antiquing so it was a new experience for him. I know my mother very well and already knew what we were in for because she could spend hours in one store if you'd let her. In one of the stores I found this cute little glass whale. It became mine.

 
The town itself isn't large but they've kept that 1800s feeling.

And then there's the fascinating J. Monteverde General Store.
The general store opened in 1898 and kept their doors open well into the 1970s. When the owners in the 1970's decided to put a sign in the window saying the store would be closed for a few days. A few days turned into forever. The owners just never came back. The store has remained completely in tack with all of the stuff remaining inside from the day the store was closed. I found it so odd and fascinating that the owners just never came back. Where did they go? Why would you leave an entire store?




 
Once we left Sutter Creek we stopped at Preston Castle.
Preston Castle is located in Ione, California and was built in 1890 to originally house juvenile offenders who were being rehabilitated. We kept seeing signs through the town that it was open for touring and since it only happens on certain Saturdays we were excited that it was open. However, once we got there it turns out they weren't open for inside tours. The state had shut them down from letting people inside because they don't have a sprinkler system. They were waiting on some kind of new ownership to allow them to be able to offer tours again.
 The outside however was interesting....

 I peeked inside and it desperately needs some TLC.
Hopefully the next time we are in Ione it'll be open for touring again!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

June Ipsy Bag

June was a good Ipsy month! This month was called Pretty In Paradise! As always the items come in a use again pouch and this months was designed by Rebecca Minkoff.  It's so perfect to take to Hawaii. Out of the products that came inside,I got some products I can use now and a few I can save for later. I love that!
Now for the actual products...
 
I had never heard of this when I pulled it out of my bag. I mean I'd heard of the singer Marc Anthony but not this spray. I have yet to try it but I'm packing it for Hawaii because I think it's going to be great there since my hair will be wet most of the day and I'll need it dry in the evenings.
I have green eyes so for me to get the Nicka K Eyeliner in green, I was pretty excited. I also try to do my eye make-up in a different color other than green but to have the eyeliner in green works! This eyeliner has a built in glitter that makes it shimmer. I've used it once so far and it goes on smooth. The eyeliner is a liquid so I've got to get better at practicing it.
This was probably the one item that I wasn't too thrilled about getting. I have very sensitive lips and rarely use a gloss, lipstick or tint on them. I love the NYX brand but this gloss won't get used for a long time or I'll gift it to someone else who will actually use it.

This is a cover up/sunscreen! It makes your skin feel moisturized, look even, cover up imperfections and protect your skin from the sun. I'm saving this gem for Hawaii evenings. It came in three different shades so the darker I get, the more I can keep using this product. I'll have three options and I'll be able to keep picking a darker shade. If the sun dries my skin out this will help moisturize it in the evenings.
 
This brand is amazing. When I saw that it was included in my June bag I smiled. I've used this before but the full size bottles seem a little pricey to me. Since I'm going to Hawaii, I'm saving this sunscreen sample to take to the beach. It won't be a giant bottle that I'm lugging down to the sand. This will also be a good bottle to take on excursions and hiking.

That was my June bag! Are you an Ipsy subscriber? What did you get in your bag? I was hoping to get the new Bombshell mascara but sadly I did not. I had just bought the new Loreal Manga Mascara so it worked out that I didn't get it. I would have just had to wait to use it. I'm weird like that. I won't open up two mascaras at the same time.