Weekend Getaway

Now that I've started back up at school I have this strange longing for Summer again!  Of course it still feels like summer (hello mid-80s and monsoons), but the spontaneous Summer trips have come to an end.

I am particularly nostalgic for a specific weekend Andrew and I shared with a couple friends.  It was such an incredible weekend!

Arrived at our favorite airport.  Seriously, avoid LAX whenever possible!

A fabulous weekend would be nothing without getting off to a great start on the Friday evening.  Andrew's parents spoiled us kids by inviting us to join them in their box at the Hollywood Bowl to see none other than Willie Nelson!

I took my Nikon in to get some good shots of the gang and the stage, but they stopped me at the gate and said I couldn't bring in my snazzy camera.  Well jokes on them because I have an iPhone 5 that happens to take incredible pictures too!

Being silly at dinner

The whole concert was just incredible.  Lyle Lovett & His Large Band opened and Willie played his entire album Stardust.

Hollywood Bowl

Lyle Lovette

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson

The next morning we got up bright and early (no hangovers in this crowd, but that can't be said for everyone who attended the concert) to drove up to the cabin.

The drive was stunning, as always, although this time the mountains were trapping the smoke that was coming off a huge fire in Southern California.

We then proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend lounging and playing around on the boat.

Friends from New York enjoying the California summer!

Andrew, our fearless captain.

All smiles in the water

Kirsten being her stunning self

Half of the fun of playing around on the lake is perving on all the beautiful homes that surround the water!  This one isn't nearly one of the biggest lake-side homes, but I love those huge windows!

The only picture of Andrew and I.  This is the sad reality of always being behind the camera!

What a handsome devil!

We only had a few hours to play on the boat on Sunday, so water skiing it was!

This is before he realized how cold the water was!

Showing off

Gotta keep that flag up!

You can check out the rest of the photos here.

Leisurely Nature Stroll

Andrew doesn't like hiking, but in my attempt to stay active while away for the weekend I convinced all our friends and Andrew to go on a 'leisurely nature stroll'!  This was certainly not a hike.  It ended up being a little shorter than I was hoping it to be, only 0.7 miles, but we did get to see a beautiful part of California!

Photos taken by me

Fireworks

I know I already said it, but fireworks are my favorite part of July 4th.  There's something so captivating about them!  My fiance's family has a tradition of being on their boat for the show.  Unfortunately this year we were not able to do so.  Something terrible happened to the engine earlier that day which meant we couldn't take the boat out on the lake.  Instead, we crashed a family friends house and viewed the fireworks from their deck.  Everyone was pretty bummed we couldn't be on the boat...except secretly I was glad because I was able to get some pretty cool shots (which wouldn't have been possible had we been on the boat).

Here are an assortment of photos from the fireworks display I witnessed this year.

Photos taken by me

Click below for full photos.