We've now been Fresno residents for about 2 months. In that time, we've really made it a point to dive into our new community, and take in every experience possible. It's been busy, exciting, and worthwhile -- Evan just commented the other day, how driving around doesn't feel as foreign. We're settling in, and no longer feeling like we're on a really long, working vacation. Hallelujah.
By this point, I can tell you we really like it here. As much as I love Lubbock and our time there, the truth is -- there is so much more going on in Fresno. A farmer's market on every corner, wine festivals, festivals of whatever you want (we once stumbled upon a koi festival, who'da thunk those existed?) arts, entertainment.
I give you now, a rundown of the fun we've gotten ourselves into.
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| First Fresno Grizzlies game! |
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| The Giants just sold the franchise to the Houston Astros -- yay, Texas! |
Another bonus to living in Fresno, is it's proximity to the entire state. A quick weekend road trip can get you to the beach (in under 2 hours) or the mountains (again, under 2 hours.) Our first day-trip was to Shaver Lake for lunch.
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| Shaver Lake |
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| Quaint little town surrounding the water. |
We've also traded in our Big 12 for the Mountain West conference. Admittedly, the tailgate experience is lacking to how we do it in Texas. It starts 2-hours to game-time and ends at kick-off (seriously, you have to pack everything up and be outta there) but still... it's football, and we're so happy to have a new team to cheer for. Here's a look from our first Fresno State football game!
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| Go Bulldogs! |
This is random, but one thing that is still so weird to me -- you can buy liquor at grocery stores, including Target! It still catches me off guard when I see tequila down the aisles, right next to the cases of water. Okay... moving on.
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Lucky for us, the Central Valley is a major wine-producing area. There's always some new tasting event happening around every corner -- we are happy to oblige.
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| Evan's co-anchor Stefani and her husband joined us on the Clovis Wine Walk! |
The Big Fresno Fair is a really big deal here. They have concerts, horse racing, a shark tank and of course -- livestock shows, fried food, and rides. Evan and I went to check it out, and had a great time.
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| Watching the horse races; we got there too late to make a bet, but still fun to watch! |
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On the boardwalk.
Evan even faced his fears and rode the ferris wheel with me. Let's give that boy a round of applause! |
The next day (I told you, we keep busy!) we got up early and drove to the coast. Got to Pismo Beach right as the fog burned off, and watched these surfers brave the waves. That water looks so cold... I am impressed by them, just for that fact.
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| Pismo Beach |
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| More Pismo |
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| We stopped for lunch at a little local joint, and had -- what else? -- clam chowder and fish & chips. |
From Pismo, we drove back east through San Luis Obispo, where Evan's dad went to college. Then, it was on to Paso Robles (Paso, as we "locals" call it) for a day of wine tasting. We also snuck an olive oil tasting stop in there, and if you've never done one of those -- come visit. I'll go with you. It was amazing.
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| 2nd stop, Opolo's. |
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| The drive is gorgeous -- vineyards as far as the eye can see. Paso is considered the new Napa when it comes to quality wines. The soil here is on-point for grape growing. |
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| View from our last stop, where we enjoyed our wine with a cheese pairing. Hello, favorite things. |
We stayed overnight at the historic Paso Robles Inn, had dinner in the downtown square, then capped off the weekend with brunch. This Bloody Mary might be one of the best I've ever had. Simple, and topped with prosciutto salt. PROSCIUTTO SALT. Oh, and house-made pickles. I'm craving one right this second.
Fast forward a week, and we decided to head the other direction from Fresno, up to Kings Canyon National Park and get a look at the giant sequoias. Again, only an hour and a half drive - and you're looking up at these.
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| Incredible feat of nature. |
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| Tree model. |
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General Grant is the 3rd largest tree in the WORLD. It's also known as the Nation's Christmas Tree.
Happy Holidays! |
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Taking a picture in front of it is kinda pointless, b/c all you see is the base.
Impossible to get the whole thing. |
The very next week, it snowed several inches at Kings Canyon, and General Grant is now covered in snow. We went just in time to not freeze, but I bet it's even more beautiful now!
As for how we are adjusting when we are *on the clock, it's still a little weird. I get out of bed when Evan gets in, and we have about an hour together each weekday from when I get home, and he goes in. Not great, but we're both loving our jobs so it's a fair trade.
Even the dog thinks it's weird what time I go to work. Every morning, when he hears me heading out the door, he comes and sits down in the hallway and just stares at me. Like, where do you think you're going? Then he goes back to bed. Bear has a rough life.
That gets us just about caught up. It's now November, and the final step to us "settling in" is -- yes -- moving again. We close on our house this week (as I write this) and we are so excited to lay down some roots. Get our stuff out of storage. Use a full set of silverware again, if we can find the rest. Let Bear run to his heart's content in the backyard. Swim, eventually, in our new pool. (Evan's wish list granted.) Organize. Ah. I love that word.
Oh, and Happy Halloween from these two critters -- we're all monkey business, folks.
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Getting creative when you pick out a costume 2 hours before party time.
More fun than a barrel of -- you know. |
