We are absolutely smitten by Monterey, California. If Utah doesn't work out, we
have to come back here.
Perhaps I am so in love with it because it is small, and in a little mountain-bordered valley. Perhaps I love it because it has a hint more of a change in seasons than Southern California. Maybe because it is surrounded by miles and miles of fruit farms, vineyards, and dairies. Or it might be mostly because Monterey was the place of our first little family vacation.
A couple weeks prior, Mark mentioned a seminar he might want to go to. He said it was in Monterey, and I was too excited to even ask what any of it was about. Later I learned it was a free seminar on how chiropractics can specifically help golfers be better golfers, and though I initially thought that was odd, Mark explained his grand business plans include being known as "the guy who can fix your swing", which would bring in lots of people who were wealthy enough to put a lot of time into their golfing. Smart man.
He then went on to tell me that our friends the Bias' would probably be coming too ... I became a little giddy. We got tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, found the cheapest hotel possible (with a 7.5/10 rating, may I add) and made big plans.
The trip did not disappoint. Prepare you self for my peared-down forty-some-odd photo documentary.
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| The five-hour drive to Monterey was gorgeous. These fruit trees were in full bloom, and I attempted to snap a picture a little too late. |
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| Our $37-a-night hotel was mildly terrifying on the outside, but the inside was clean and well kept. Thank you, Priceline! |
Mac and Seth have become best "Frenemies" over the last few months. They share, hit, scream, giggle, throw everything, and mimic each other to death. They were one raging storm of fun and frustration. It was all very memorable. Mac came away with several new words (including his own name! He says it just like Seth does) and Seth copied nearly every squeak out of Mac's mouth.
The morning after we arrived, Mark and Ryan hustled off to their seminar, while Lindy and I stuffed the boys in the car (where they held contests to see who could yell "Mom" the loudest, played peek-a-boo behind their car seats, and giggled like madmen) and we trekked over to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As we arrived before the aquarium opened, we toured the street a while.
Although the aquarium did not include whales or any captive seals, it featured all the creatures you would find close to shore, specifically in their bay .... which makes sense.
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| Mac now has the word "fish" down. |
Seth completely got the fact that there were really awesome creatures in front of him and would run from tank to tank yelling "Dorrie!" and "Nemo!" and then come back to Lindy and say, "Something else." Mac mostly liked to push buttons and see if he could entwine his legs in the intricate little fences that seperated some areas.
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| Of course Mac loves playing in water, so his favorite part of the actual aquarium had to be the touch pools. He picked up star fish and squished that big red sea slug ... then he looked at his hand for a while, and squished it again. Eeesh. |
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| This was an awesome little viewing platform where you could look down into some massive tidepools and watch wild otters crack open some clams and whatnot. Mac loved the running space. |
We took a break at this point and got the boys home for a nap. (The moms ended up taking one as well.) Mac woke up first, and we played in Seth's room until we heard a "Mac? Mac?" coming from the bathroom where Seth was napping. We hurried back to the aquarium and caught the last hour before it closed. We went straight to the kids play area that had been so overrun earlier, and the boys played practically by themselves.
We met up with the guys after the Aquarium closed, and they told us stories of their heroism while we were off playing. Apparently they got the license plate number of some guy who had hit someone's car and then sped off, so they wrote it down and stuck it on the windshield. Good work, men.
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| A tasty seafood dinner (and pizza for Lindy) right next to the aquarium. |
The next day was sadly our last one, and as the men had only a half day for their seminar, we spent the morning at a random park we discovered; which turned out to be the world's greatest park.
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| Soooo fitting. "Mac" rhymes with a lot of things, but menace isn't one of them. Sometimes I feel that would be the most appropriate nickname for my boy and his recently-discovered stubbornness and attitude. |
We then decided to take the PCH home, so we could get in a little more sighseeing, prolong our stay in gorgeous northern California, and see some elephant seals. This decision ended up adding three hours to our driving time, but it was one hundred percent worth it. In fact, we now want to plan a trip specifically to drive along Highway 1 and stop whenever and wherever we feel like. We passed lighthouses, open houses, hiking trails, scary old motels, Hearst mansion, and miles and miles of breathtaking scenery.
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| There were some cattle ranches on these green lands, and I kept thinking of those commercials claiming that happy cows come from California. After seeing this, and remembering the frost-bitten heifers from my Logan hometown, I can't help but agree. |
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| No, I have not. |
The boys spent most of their time shoving rocks in the chain link fence, and trying to feed these same rocks to the fearless squirrels that followed them like mad.
They ended up just chucking rocks at them. I definitely do not want to raise an animal abuser, but I gotta admit, it was really funny.
And so, eight hours later, we pulled in to our over-crowded, pollution ridden home. I don't think we have stopped talking about Monterey since.
