OK, so for Part One you need to scroll down and read that first and then come back to this post for Part Two, which encompasses days 2 and 3 of our little mini vacation.
Day 2:
We started out with a lazy morning breakfast on the patio at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. The suites have kitchenettes and I brought everything we needed to have breakfast in our room every morning and a couple other meals too (one dinner and one lunch) which helped keep costs down and ensure that my kids weren't going to subsist exclusively on grilled cheese or Mac N Cheese for 3 days straight of eating out....
We then headed down to Carmel and walked around for a bit. I got to visit the Anthropologie store (if you know me, you know that is my favorite store in the whole wide world) and got to treat myself to a GORGEOUS plum dress and a beautiful sweater. MAJOR treat. It was my 8 yr wedding anniversary so I used that as the justification for the shopping excursion (something I RARELY do). The kids got to hit the toy store there and get a little surprise too, so they were equally thrilled. We walked down to the beach (a beach I love because the sand there is so fine and silky soft and dogs are allowed to frolick off leash) and the kids played a rousing game of "atttack dad" while I got to sit and chill out soaking in the sunshine and digging my feet into the cool sand. I just love being near the ocean.
Then after lunch we headed south to Point Lobos. I would give anything to be able to jog along that oceanside path/trail every day. Stunning. The landscape reminds me so much of Mendocino. We hiked down to China Beach Cove and the kids had a blast climbing all the rocks around there.
Getting up is one thing, getting down is a whole different matter!
I just want to gobble him up. It's so true what they say about boys and their mamas. Love this kid to pieces.
So, there was this little cove area that you had to time yourself just right to run into before the wave came and they could not get enough of it. Ellie would only go with an escort and here Gavin is jumping up and down with excitement just watching them race into the tunnel. Hilarious!
Monkey #2.
I came, I conquered.
I'm a little crab hiding in the rocks, she said.
I asked her what she was doing and she said: "I see you through my heart", which I found to be quite poetic. :)
Then we came home all pooped and had dinner on the hotel room patio watching the sunset. Dinner was easy: cucumbers, hummus, triscuits, brie, cold baked savory tofu. And wine for the grown ups. Life is good.
DAY 3:
Day three was a half day actually but no less fun. We figured "when in Rome" and decided to try out the little surrey bikes in Monterey. These are those carriage bikes you can bike 2 adults and 2 kids on and th egrown ups pedal side by side. SUPER FUN! Ellie sat in the little basket in front and Gavin was seated between me and Jason. You FEEL like you are going fast (to the kids) but we were going at a pace of 15 minutes per mile. I JOG faster that than!! But hey, we had a blast. Also, because you are seated in a very specific way you are only using ONE leg muscle (your quad) and so that muscle starts burning fairly quickly too. I worked up quite the appetite doing just 3.5 measly miles on this thing! Because we were all seated in together I had to just hold the camera out in front of me with one hand and depress the shutter with my thumb. It's a miracle I got any shots at all but I did manage some really cute ones nonetheless! After that we took the kids to Bubba Gump for lunch and when I told them where we were eating, Ellie goes: "WOW! A restaurant called Bubble Gum! How COOL!" Hahahahaha. Then we headed home, and because I am the highly efficient person that I am, I insisted we stop at Trader Joe's on the way home, knowing we had an empty fridge and I would not be in the mood to go shopping later that night after unloading/unpacking and getting everything ready for Ellie's birthday party the next morning. :)
Everyone had their "speed racer" faces on...
