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.
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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!!!
How wonderful, Linds! Fact: I found a starfish over spring break. AND saved its life. So, yes...they do exist. Also, otters are my favorite, too. :)
ReplyDeleteHey guys! I have been thinking about you today. Hope all is going well in Dallas. Miss you a lot! I get to see you in only a couple weeks which I am happy about....despite the fact you drove through SLO without even stopping to see me. : (
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