How to Earn Your Rosé (A Hike in Auburn)

Last weekend, at the end of our friend's birthday/bachelorette extravaganza, my dear friend, Steph (hi esteph!), and I were chatting about getting together the following weekend before boarding our respective flights home.  Auburn seemed like a good choice because both of our boyfriend's enjoy hiking, and we'd all get to spend time together while getting a good workout in.  Plus, my boyfriend Evan is really into hiking and I almost always refuse him.  In fact, I think the last time he had asked me to go was the weekend after his birthday.  I'd agreed to go, but we ended up staying in because it started raining.  

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy nature and a nice, brisk trail walk as much as the next person, but I also get kind of anxious about not knowing how long we'll be gone, where exactly we're going, or if there'll be bikers.  And I always wonder, "will my shoes get dirty?!"  I'm serious, and yes, I'm told that's a terrible reason for refusing to go on a hike.  My boyfriend's always like, "just wear whatever shoes you don't care about!"  To which I reply, "but I care about them all!" 😉 

So imagine Evan's face when I told we'd finally be going on that hike.  Steph and her boyfriend, Casey, met us at our house around noon this past Saturday and we headed toward at 12:30 pm.  I'm told you normally start a hike earlier in the day to account for the heat, and the wildlife (e.g. mountain lions, when we used to live in Costa Mesa and hiked near Laguna Beach), but I think we knew we wouldn't have those problems here.  

We got there around 1 p.m. and hiked until about 4 or 4:30 p.m.  I honestly thought we were hiking a black diamond course but was gently informed about the toddlers on our trail.  I think at one point I told the rest of the group to, "just leave me," but thankfully no one listened.  I did manage to save us from certain death, though, when I spotted a baby rattlesnake by a boulder Steph had just jumped over.  Needless to say, we got out of that area slowly.  We had our hiking snacks by the water (and away from the baby rattlesnake) before heading back up to my car.  I have to say I did a lot better on the way back up than I did coming down.  Once we got to my car, we started bumpin' the 90s jams on our way to dinner.  ⇝

We decided to go to Milestone in El Dorado Hills because Evan used to work there and is still friends with the owners.   We shared two bottles of rose, the crispy brussels, blistered padron peppers, and parmesan and bread crumb mac & cheese.  I also had the chef's burger for dinner (divine), and Steph and Evan both had items off the daily specials menu while Casey ordered the ribs.  I ended up leaving (and losing) my beloved sunglasses at the restaurant, but the good food (and fact that they were only $7 from amazon) made up for it.  I'll sure miss them, though, since they were polarized and looked more expensive.  On our way back, we decided to stop for coffees and a quick trip to H&M.  You'll never be quicker than when you're dirty, can't really try stuff on, and have two tired boyfriends waiting for you.  Steph and I even managed to score a few pieces .  We ended the evening and decided that our next hike would be somewhere in SF.  Til next time 💕

xo, Glory