Monterey, California

Thanks to the generosity of a coworker (letting me use accrued miles for a free plane ticket), we were able to fly home for a short vaca in California with my folks this month. Let me just say this a huge deal because the alternative is only going home once a year at Christmas - and well, I am finding that I really do need to see my family more than once a year. But instead of sitting at home for four days looking at each other, we decided to hit a favorite McIntosh vacation spot: Monterey. Overcast, cool beach weather was just what we needed before heading into our Texas summer!

We left a few days after David finished up his semester & arrived (after some flight delays) @ 10am in LA on Thursday, May 13 & immediately began to make our way north to the beach. And yes, we made our mandatory stop for in-n-out =)

After 6 hours of driving, my parents surprised us with a luxurious hotel right on Cannery Row (complete with a balcony overlooking the ocean AND a mini Zen garden) - it was pretty amazing. We settled in, had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp & went out to see Iron Man 2, even though we were all pretty tired from the long day of travel.

Our first full day was mainly spent at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium (I love this place!!), and if you're with someone like me, who needs to see & touch everything, then it can take a while to get through =) David's favorite creatures were the sea turtles & mine were the sea otters, as usual, although they had an awesome display of seahorses too.

We took the rest of the afternoon pretty easy. We drove leisurely up & down the coast, David & I climbed around on the rocks searching in tidepools for more things to stick our fingers in, although we never did find a starfish. David wasn't sure they existed outside the Aquarium after that. We walked down the wharf & attempted to see the seals we could hear in the harbor, although we learned you have to be quick when using those timed binoculars if you want to see anything =) We grabbed some dinner at El Torito (a CA favorite - yum!) & headed back to the hotel for some game time

Saturday we spent most of the morning on the 17-mile drive, a route along the coast that ends in Pebble Beach, with markers along the way of interesting places to hop out & take pictures (including the Lone Cypress pictured below). I like to stop at pretty much every one, even in the cold (good thing we stashed up on our saltwater taffy before the drive - not sure why, but Monterey has the best!). My mom & I had some girl time @ the outlets in the afternoon, while the guys took their afternoon naps. After dinner & a walk on Cannery Row, we spent the evening getting whooped by my parents at cards.

Oh, and did I mention that the breakfast at our hotel was amazing? Well it was - almost everything came with fresh berries - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & raspberries piled on. Heaven & certainly worth mentioning...even though this post is getting long. I'm just disappointed I didn't get a picture...I was too distracted with eating it I guess.

Sunday (after aforementioned awesome breakfast), we headed for home, but we made a couple of stops along the way. First pit-stop: SLO-town, well Avila really @ Avila Vally Barn...and I got some Divinity Fudge, an old favorite =) My dad got his boysenberry jelly. Second stop: Carpenteria. My uncle Terry was camping at the beach there with my Aunt Cheryl & Grandma Mac, so we got to stop & have dinner with them & hang out for a bit. And before flying back to Dallas the next day, we had breakfast with my Grandma Lockwood, so I got to see her too! Yep, that's pretty much my entire family =) So good to see them even just briefly!

The trip went by very quickly, but it was relaxing & SO good to see my family & spend some good quality time with my parents. Now summer in Dallas is underway & there is no turning back...no more trips to the beach for an escape =)

Thanks Mom & Dad for everything you do & for a great trip - so good to be with you guys!!!