What a busy August. The month got started with a bang as we packed up the Mercedes, dropped Frasier off at Wags and Wiggles, and drove to Paso Robles for a weekend stay at Allegretto Vineyard Resort. Our original plan was to drive straight to Napa and stay at The Alila, but we found out a week before that they wouldn’t allow a crib in our room. We made a last-minute pivot to Paso Robles, and it turned out great. We arrived there a little after 3 PM and checked into our large room overlooking the pool and vineyard. We spent a few minutes getting acclimated before going down for a 4 PM wine tasting at the hotel’s vineyard. We had a massive couch and chairs, which were perfect to let Elle stretch out and us enjoy our wine. With each day, Elle wanted to walk more and more, and I’ll never forget us taking turns walking her around the hotel’s courtyard, letting the other person enjoy the wine and cheese. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant shortly before calling it a night.

The next day was my 39th birthday. It’s sort of crazy to even write that down. I’m going to be 40 next year. Thankfully, that’s still 300+ days away, and I had a great time celebrating my 39th birthday. We started the day strong with a light breakfast from Starbucks and a local coffee shop. During Elle’s first nap, I went for a long walk around the property, and we immediately got in the car and drove to Cass Winery. We got a table towards the side of the outdoor patio, where Jenn enjoyed a glass of Rosé, and I had their tasting. We split their meat board and a pizza while enjoying the hot but beautiful morning. Similar to yesterday, Elle wanted to walk, and so we would hold her hands and walk her around the vineyards with tons of people saying how beautiful she was.

We arrived back for her nap at the hotel. Jenn decided to take a nap at the same time, so I went to the pool. It was busy and hot, but it was nice to listen to my book and relax. Immediately after Elle woke up, we rushed over to our reservations at Paris Valley Road Estate Winery. We split a wine flight and were able to spread out as we were the last reservation for the evening. The wine was not as good as Cass but it was a much better temperature out, and we had a great time. From there, we went to dinner at In Bloom. We sat outside to give Elle a bit more breathing room, and she did exceptionally. The food here was great, but the pace was insanely slow, and it was trying all of our patience by the end of the evening.

The next day was, of course, Jenn’s birthday. We needed to make our way up to San Francisco, where we’d be staying for the next 10 nights. Jenn had lots of options for her birthday, but she decided, after 2 decades of asking for it, to finally go to Hearst Castle. We left after breakfast and made our way to Hearst Castle at 10:30, just missing our assigned tour but quickly making the 10:45 tour. After taking the bus up to the castle, we had an hour tour of the pools and some of the property. Elle did amazing. It wasn’t always easy, but Jenn was super Mom, keeping her walking and engaged while trying not to interrupt the overly enthusiastic tour guide. It was such a beautiful and perfect day to do this, and I’m so glad we did it early because by the time we left, it was getting quite hot.

From there, it was time to drive to San Francisco. We thought about stopping at a restaurant in Paso, but instead got a quick bite at McDonald’s, and made our way to the Jay Hotel, where we’d be staying for the next five nights. The drive up to SF was easy; we did stop at a Starbucks to get some extra fuel, but outside of a little traffic, we made it there rather painlessly. I made us reservations at Waterbar Restaurant to celebrate Jenn’s birthday. We got a window seat overlooking the Bay Bridge. Elle continued her streak of being amazing at restaurants, making fellow diners’ nights with her waves and hellos. We both had cocktails, split an appetizer and dessert, and had two amazing fish entrees. It was such a beautiful night that we walked along the waterfront before making our way back to the Jay Hotel where we went to our top floor room and called it a night.

From August 4th to August 8th, Jenn was slammed with meetings and dinners. Elle and I would wake up and walk across the street most mornings to Devil’s Teeth Baking Company. I love this place. Not only does it have great coffee and pastries, but it also serves Elle’s favorite scrambled eggs and has a small curated bookstore attached to it. It was a godsend as Elle had started to become a pickier eater over the course of July and August. I tried to plan out activities for us to do, similar to what we did in Denver in June. On our first day, we did a long walk and ended up at Sue Bierman Park. The next day, we spent a glorious afternoon at Golden Gate Park. And like that we found different things to do in San Francisco while Jenn was off busy working.

When Friday arrived, we switched hotels to the absolutely stunning Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. It’s a few miles from the Jay, where we had spent the last five nights, and gave us a much bigger room for Elle to explore, including a beautiful bathtub. Before we could check in, we took Elle to the California Academy of Sciences. It wasn’t cheap ($50 per adult), but it was worth it. Elle loved it from the animal exhibits to the live penguins, dinosaur models, and the amazing aquarium and rain forest. It was spectacular, and having Jenn with us to do it made it so much easier to enjoy and to create lasting memories. It was a great afternoon.

On Sunday, we left San Francisco early in the morning and drove to Napa Valley for two wine tastings. We arrived at Sterling Vineyards right as they opened. We took the gondola up to the top of the hill where the wine tastings were and walked to a table overlooking the vineyard. Jenn and I both had the cabernet flight, which was four different vintages, and shared a cheese board. It was a particularly warm day, but under the canopies and a light breeze, we enjoyed our hour there before buying a bottle of wine and heading to lunch. We made our way down the street to Sam’s Social Club and had a late brunch. Our final stop before heading back to San Francisco was at ‎⁨Castello di Amorosa⁩. Jenn and Amy went there a few years ago, and it’s a beautiful castle that has not-so-great wine. I’ll never forget sitting down, and the first wine came from Temecula, and both Jenn and I laughed. Luckily, Elle loved walking around the castle and getting love from everyone passing by. We left in the late afternoon and on our drive back, made a quick photo stop ahead of the Golden Gate Bridge. We didn’t pack a jacket for Elle (or ourselves) and made a run for the picture and then back to our car.

We enjoyed a few more days in San Francisco and at the Ritz before driving home. The following weekend, we drove down to Menifee with my Grandma in town. The entire Szerlip clan got together, including all of Elle’s cousins, and had a family lunch. The highlight was watching Elle play with her cousins. She gave Teddy the biggest hug and was enamored with Gracie and Abby. It was fun to see them start to watch Elle grow up a bit and interact.

Thanks to Jenn’s dad and Joan, we had a quick date night at Five Crowns, which we hadn’t been back to since we lived here in 2020. It wasn’t as good as we remembered it, but it was nice to get away and have a meal together just the two of us. We closed out the month by going to OCMA for the first time. It’s a small art museum that, ironically, used to be located right across from our apartment at The Colony and is now near the theaters in Costa Mesa. We had a great time and will be back for the next exhibits. The highlight was watching Elle walk around and see her get excited with all of the art and her walking.

Elle and I visited Amy and her cousins one more time, and we took Frasier to the dog beach at the end of August. The pure joy on his face is literally one of the best stress relievers in the world. I wish we could take him there every day! Before the month turned to September, we did get to witness one major milestone. On August 28th, at around 7 PM, Elle took her very first independent steps. It’s one of those moments you hope to be around for, and we were all there, including Jake, and it was a magical moment. She’s been increasing in confidence since the start of August, and it was magical to watch her take her first steps. Unfortunately, after that day, she has only done it a handful of times since, but she’s on the right track! I’ll never forget the glee on her face when she took her first steps or her saying “walk walk walk” while we walk around the neighborhood each night.

TV WE WATCHED

While we spent a good chunk of August in San Francisco, we didn’t watch much TV up there. However, when we got back, we did catch up on some of our favorites. Returning for its final season is Acapulco. I’d argue the show is criminally underrated, even if the later seasons have fallen off a bit. I wrapped up the final season of Squid Game, which I enjoyed. I know critics were mixed, but for the dark, brooding world of the show, I think it worked, and I’m excited if they do a US version.

I had Jenn watch most of the first season of Mo on Netflix, a show I had watched a few years ago and wanted her to catch up on, so we could watch the second season together. I love the show and am excited for the next season. I started Stick on Apple TV+, which is the most mediocre show I’ve watched all year. It’s not bad per se, but it could have been so much better. I haven’t finished the first season yet, but I’m sure I will soon, if nothing else but background noise.

The best show of August (and maybe the year) is the third season of Gilded Age. A superb cast, a more engaging storyline, and a cliffhanger end to the third season that we thought was spectacular. And finally, Platonic, a show that had a fine first season and seems to be another fine 30-minute comedy that has some highs and lows.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

Four books in August, starting with my favorite of the month, Interpreter of Maladies. It was a beautiful string of short stories, each poignant, engaging, and at times tragic. I’ve found that the more I read books of short stories, the more I like them, and this was no exception. Jenn and I (and I guess Elle) listened to Nate Bargatze’s book Big Dumb Eyes on our drive to and from San Francisco. We listened to it in small chunks, and it was a good mix of stories and some of his stand-up. I don’t think I would have read it if it weren’t for the drive, but it made the late-night drive back home a lot more enjoyable.

Such a Fun Age is a book I’ve had on my TBR (to be read) list for years, and finally got around to it. It felt almost quaint given today’s political and racial climate. I liked the book, I liked the characters, and I loved the twist that happens about halfway through. But it also felt slightly preachy and had some unearned grandstanding. And finally, I read Making it So, which was written and read by Sir Patrick Stewart. I’m not a Star Trek fan, nor am I the biggest X-Men fan, but I really found my deep appreciation for Patrick Stewart doing COVID when he read Shakespeare’s sonnets each day during the very early days of the pandemic. They were both an introduction for me to Shakespeare’s sonnets as well as something to look forward to each day. His biography was good, not great. Some incredible stories of his time in the theater, getting some big breaks in Hollywood, and his early life.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

This is our second month of Friday Night Movie Night, although we missed a few weeks traveling and getting busy.

The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) - Joel’s Pick
The Worst Person in the World (2021) - Jenn’s Pick

Both movies were phenomenal, but I think the nod this month goes to my pick, The Ballad of Wallis Island, which might have been one of the best movies of the year. Simple, sweet, heartbreaking, and at times very funny. This is what great movies are made of. Jenn’s one pick this month was The Worst Person in the World. Not nearly as emotionally uplifting as my pick, but it’s a movie that I thought about for days after. I think it’s a great exploration of someone’s inner dialogue and how it can manifest itself in your life.

I went to see Weapons with Jake at The Lot in Fashion Island. It had received such high praise, and I enjoyed it, although horror movies are never completely my jam. And the worst movie I’ve seen all year was Drop. Just dumb.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

Most of my video game time this month has been with Madden NFL 26, and it might be one of the strongest entries in the series in a while. I’m loving it. Towards the end of August, I finally got back into playing Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and I still love it. It’s just such a big game, and it’s hard to play in small bursts, which are the most likely chances I get to play the game these days.