We flew into San Francisco, and we spent a couple of days in the city. El Nino set in right as we got there, so it poured the rain the first couple of days. It didn't matter to us. It was part of the memory.
From there, we drove down to Monterey. It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We stayed on Cannery Row, and we could hear the waves crash as we slept. That sounds super romanticized, but it's actually true. My only regret about Monterey was not getting to stay longer.
As we left Monterey, the weather finally broke, and the sun started to shine. We drove through Big Sur on one of the bluest days I'd seen in a while. Before we knew it, we came upon Bixby Bridge, and it took our breath. Every car commercial I've ever seen couldn't have prepared us for this. I kind of hate posting pictures of it because I don't think I can even do it justice.
We also stopped at Pebble Beach along this route, which I hear is a pretty famous golf course...haha... Beyond Monterey, we spent the night in Pismo Beach, which had the rolling green hills to the left balanced by the Pacific Ocean to the right. We met a great couple who retired and opened a wine tasting shop in downtown Pismo. As we tried different varieties they offered, it was time for the owners to go home. She let me in on the fact that the Italian place next door was one of the best meals to be had in the town. They were headed there for dinner, and we told them we were likely headed that way as well. When they got there, she called back over to say that there was a wait, and that she had put our name on the list. It was such a quaint little town that kept a little piece of my heart.
After Pismo Beach we spent the day in Santa Barbara. The red tile roofs were the trademark of the town as well as the art galleries that held unique trinkets. It was there that we picked up the timeless kid's book "Booger Picker" for Kai. It was a hit. We also found a sushi restaurant that reminded us of home.
And then we drove through LA. And drove. And drove. And drove. And by drove I mean sat in LA traffic.
Dinner in Long Beach came right in time. We spent the night in Laguna Beach in the most incredible oceanside room. We met a solider who was there on leave. He had the skinniest legs I've ever seen, and he was dressed like a Holister ad. He was everything I thought Laguna Beach would be, but he was going home to Milwaukee...haha.
We ended our trip in San Diego. Clint's need to take a tour in every city that we visit that offers tours led us to a Mexican restaurant where we watched the kickoff to March Madness.
The strangest/best/most disconcerting thing about the whole trip was not having Kai. We ate sushi in the hotel room one night, and it was so easy. We slept with the windows open. We actually talked to each other. It was nice to remember how life feels when you aren't working 9000 hours a week and trying to maintain your child's respectable presence in Kindergarten.
He was having it really tough while we were gone spending time at the Chattanooga Aquarium, Pigeon Forge, and the movies with his Nan and Pop. He was so sad he could barely stand it.
This trip has been a long time coming. It's been on our "Dream Trip" list for several years, and it was everything we wanted it to be. We are so fortunate to have the support of my mom and dad who allow us to make our marriage a priority. California was hit!
Love that you are blogging! I was so excited to read about this after you told me about it at the meeting we were at together before Spring Break!
ReplyDeleteThat sentence was a run on, but my brain is dead because testing has sucked every last ounce of any kind of sense out of it.
Anyway, loved all of it!