Picture Pick FriYAY: Northern California

Hello blog buddies! Happy FriYAY! Today I want to share with you some pictures from our Northern California trip in January, 2013. We visited Point Reyes National Seashore and Castello di Amorosa. (The most beautiful winery I have ever seen.)

Miles and I visited my brother (Shane) and my sister-in-law (Jen) while my brother was stationed in Petaluma, California. This trip was pre-kiddos, which seems so long ago. Wow, how our lives have changed in three years!

Point Reyes National Seashore

Shane

Shane & Jen at “H” Ranch.

Me & Miles at “H” Ranch.

We are goofey.

Castello di Amorosa

“Castello di Amorosa appears to be an authentic castle for one reason only: it is an authentic castle, though fancified. We either used construction methods and materials that would have been used 1,000 years ago, or we used very old hand-made materials that had survived up to modern times. A fireplace predating Christopher Columbus adorns the Great Hall, and Iron Maiden from the late Renaissance dominates the torture chamber. A wrought iron dragon from the times of Napoleon hovers over the massive main door. More than 8,000 tons of stone were chiseled, not sawed, by hand to be absolutely authentic. Nearly 200 containers of old, hand made materials were shipped from Europe to lend authenticity.” (Castello di Amorosa-Blog)

 

I’m standing in the doorway to one of the surrounding buildings of Castello di Amorosa.

Miles is standing in front of an outer building at Castello di Amorosa.

If you have any questions about the places that I feature, the trip, or the photography itself, please ask away in the comment section. I would be happy to answer your questions. Unless it’s photography-technique related, I will have Miles answer those.

I encourage you to read about the fascinating history behind Castello di Amorosa on their blog.

The white barn that we are standing in at Point Reyes is called “H Ranch”. The hisorical barn is a relic from early dairy settlers who built their dairy farms at Point Reyes during the 19th century. The land was plotted and given a letter in the alphabet to represent each farm. To read more about early dairy farming at Point Reyes visit the National Park Service website here.

Love & Cheers,

Rachel McKee