Day 2 ~ Highway 1 Adventure

We were up by 7:00 a.m. for Day 2. I’m a lover of french toast. Could eat it for any meal. Well, I may have had some of the best ever from a tiny little local place called The Coffee Pot, which had not-so-great service but very yummy food!

Even though I would’ve loved to stay at the Anderson Inn for a full week, we had to get on the road. And so the real adventure heading north on Highway 1 began. My uncle gave the helpful tip that driving the highway northbound as opposed to southbound may alleviate some of the “edge of a cliff” kind of backseat driver issues. Not that I’ve ever been known to have those (ha-ha, if you know any of the Enright women), so both Wade & I were glad we listened to that tip.

The biggest bummer of the entire trip was the weather. This was the day we had the worst of it. Cold, cloudy, rainy, foggy, and cold. I had to work really hard at staying positive. But once you start driving and see sights like this, it’s not that hard.

Our first stop was the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. As I was planning the trip and trying to decide what stops made the cut or not, I almost didn’t include this. I kept thinking what’s the big deal about a rich guy’s big house anyway? It was one of the biggest surprises. We both loved the stop and thought the tour was very impressive. The place is enormous, and you feel like you’re in a European castle. Every inch of the place seemed to have some type of European origin from back to the 16th-17th centuries, but it was built in the 1920s. He had it all brought to the middle of nowhere in California, and the major player politicians and celebrities of that time all came out to stay there. Even after the majority of it was built, he only had a good 15 years to enjoy before he passed away. Kind of sad.

Despite the cold and rain, it was a really interesting tour, but I never could get a good picture of the main building because of the fog and clouds. The bus ride up and down the hill to the castle was impressive on its own. And I shouted out a big apology to these cows. As a thank you gift to my parents for watching Tate for four days, we shipped to them some of the Hearst Ranch steaks. Sorry cows, it’s all our fault.

Then just 5 miles north of the castle, we found this little cove, which is a seasonal home to thousands of elephant seals. I think we could’ve spent several hours here just watching them.

Don’t worry, they’re not dead or sick. It’s their molting season. So they’re all fasting and molting on the beach shore. It was bizarre and really cool at the same time. I loved that the CA Parks Dept. has done its best to keep everything in a natural habitat for them. Nobody is there selling elephant seal merchandise or letting you pay to pose for a picture with them. There are a few educational displays and the seals. That’s it.

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We hopped back in the car and were amazed at the views of the next 60 miles. Here’s a quick video with the hillside and the oceanside views from the car.

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I was very pleased that there didn’t seem to be many people on the road. And Wade & I were both pleased with my restraint. Yes, I asked him to slow down a few times, and I was quick to point out any change in speed limit or signs for a big turn ahead. But I kept telling him it could’ve been much worse. The bad part was when we saw a tow truck pulling a completely demolished car out and up from the edge of the cliff. Lovely.

Also by this point, the rain had stopped so we decided to brave the cold and were determined to take advantage of the convertible we had rented. So with the heat cranked up to high, we put the top down and enjoyed even more of the views. (Please ignore the roots…they should be fixed in just a couple of weeks.)

Next was a stop at the Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur for lunch. One of my favorite meals of the trip! The ambrosia burger was delicious, but the view from where were sitting outside was even better.

Then back on Highway 1 for more jaw-dropping beauty, and the next stop was the 17-mile drive. I’m not a golfer, but I can appreciate the beauty of a nice golf course. This stretch is home to the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course plus several others. It was impressive.

Finally, we headed to dinner at The Whaling Station in Monterey (which also served their artichokes with mayonnaise...I'm not strange after all!) and then to our hotel to crash. And doesn’t everyone need their own zen sand garden?

Day 3 ~ Highway 1 Adventure

We packed up and checked out again (having to do that each day was a little of a beating). Before we left, we took these pictures right outside the balcony. Supposedly, this is the exact area that in the novel Cannery Row by John Steinbeck writes about when Doc (?) works on tide experiments. Steinbeck stuff was all over the place here.

The first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The last time I was there was in junior high. So I had to take a picture in front of the big tank again just like the one from 1989. Only this time I wasn’t wearing a neon Guess T-shirt and rolled up jean shorts.

The exhibits were pretty impressive and really kid-friendly. I hope we can go back in several years to take Tate, because I think he would love it. Right now they have a seahorse exhibit, which was really interesting. Who knew that male seahorses give birth to the babies? Wade didn’t care for the exhibit near as much for some reason?

From there we headed over to beach in Carmel. I was thrilled beyond belief when low and behold, the sun came out! It was still cold, but at least there was finally some sun.

The beach is gorgeous, and Wade was all cute and romantic by marking our 10th anniversary on the beach. It took two tries. I think I’ve watched this video 100 times. Cracks me up.

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And then we had another yummy lunch at a cute little diner, Em Les, in Carmel.

Then we were back in the car for more driving and the most adventurous part of our adventure. The detour off Highway 1 into the Big Basin Redwood Park took forever. Lots of stop lights and small, two-lane streets, but we finally got there and were not disappointed by any means.

This was one of our favorite parts of the trip. There was a short, flat walking trail that you could go on, and it included some of the oldest of the redwoods. It was late-afternoon by this point. So when there are HUGE redwoods clustered together blocking the sun, it makes things really cold on the ground. Before we got on the trail, I added about 5 layers of clothing to warm up.

Wade was doing major eye roll as I took this picture and exclaimed…It looks just like Edward & Bella’s meadow!

Since the drive into the redwood park took forever, we decided to be adventurous and take a short cut out that I found on the map. There are absolutely no pictures from this because I was doing everything possible not to hyperventilate and had my hands in a white-knuckled death grip. The map didn’t quite show that the road was comprised of: a MAJOR incline up the mountain, barely 2-lane road, no shoulder, can’t see the bottom of the redwoods drop-off, with complete snake-like zig zags.

It was way scarier than anywhere on Highway 1. I kept thinking to myself that if we drive off this road, there is no cell phone service and absolutely no living person around us. Scary! Even my Evil Knievel-driving husband admitted to a few nerves during that part.

But we survived and landed back on Highway 1 to see a view like this.

We also pulled over at a small little beach and watched these kite surfers. You can’t tell from the video that it was freezing cold with crazy winds.

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By that point, we were getting closer and closer to the big city. This was when I got all mopey that the trip was almost over. But we pulled off to see the sunset at the Montara Beach for one last picture on Highway 1. So pretty!

We didn’t get into the city until about 7:30 p.m. and got to look out our hotel window at this.

Originally we had big plans to get dressed up and go to a fancy San Francisco restaurant. Clearly being married 10 years has aged us, because we were wiped out and cancelled the reservation. Although, after a quick dinner across the street, I got to give Wade an anniversary surprise. I had secretly had our wedding VHS video converted to a DVD.

So 10 years later, we got to watch the wedding all over again. It was sweet, embarrassing, funny, and wonderful all at the same time. (A separate anniversary post is coming soon.)

Day 4 ~ Highway 1 Adventure

And finally the last day of the trip. We checked out of the hotel and walked across the street to Union Square for a few touristy pictures.

We got back in the car for the last drive through the city. I wasn’t hiding my nerdiness of even taking pictures from the car.

I’ve been to San Francisco numerous times growing up, since lots of family lives in the area. But this was my first time over to the area by the Ferry Building. We enjoyed walking around by all of the vendors and then watching some fishermen on a nearby pier.

They all started yelling and scurrying around when one it was obvious one of the lines had caught something big…a ray! You see them in aquariums all of the time, but it’s pretty shocking to see someone reel it in off a fishing line…and then promptly chop the tail off. That was our cue to head the other way.

We then had a great visit and yummy lunch at Taylor’s with my aunt and two cousins and then headed to the airport to fly home.

I’m sure the only person to make it this far reading is my Mom, but all in all, it was an absolutely wonderful vacation. It was fast with a ton of things crammed in 4 days and 572 miles. And I don’t think the pictures come anywhere near really showing the beauty of these sites. My jaw was dropped most of the time as I was in awe of God’ creation. I loved every minute of the trip and loved experiencing it all with my husband of 10 years!

American Idol ~ Top 5

It’s late, so I’m writing this fast, but I know there are a lot more of you AI addicts out there than I realized. At a girl’s night recently, I found out that many more of you are watching. Speak up and share your thoughts. :)

First off…Jamie Foxx???? What? I was convinced the secret mentor would be Harry Connick, Jr. Clearly I’m stuck in the ‘90s.

I was pleasantly surprised because I thought Danny was the best of the night. I’ve always thought he was good, but it was just kind of the same thing week after week. This wasn’t necessarily really different for him, but I thought he was great. Probably the best song choice of all, and it worked great for his voice. I hope he’ll change some things up, though, in these last few weeks.

Kris ~ I’m a big Kris fan, but I agreed with Simon and didn’t think it was quite as great as the others said. He is still one of my favorites.

Allison ~ I know a lot of you aren’t fans of hers, but I am still so impressed with her talent. I thought she did a great job toning everything down (including her hair!) and sounded really good. I still may not buy any of her music, but I appreciate her talent.

Matt G. ~ I’m thinking he’ll be going home. I love his style and expected big things from him tonight, but it seemed a little off to me. Maybe he was trying too hard? Bummer.

Adam ~ OK Adam, we get the point. I’ve enjoyed all of his big performances, but this was a little much. I’m still a fan and think that he might fit the “American Idol” role the best, but come on. And it didn’t sound near as good as his other songs. I’m sure he’ll still be around for awhile, though.

Thoughts?

The Latest

The last week has been a little eventful around here:

Bird Mom Guilt ~ As a mom, I’m flooded with guilt for all kinds of reasons…some understandable and some really silly. But who knew I would also experience bird mom guilt? The famous Easter egg surprise baby bird eggs are no longer. I came home on Monday to find the nest toppled over and broken eggs on the porch. We’re thinking another bird got into the nest and messed with the eggs. I feel bad for the momma bird and kind of guilty.

Oxygen Levels ~ We had our first experience learning about oxygen levels. Tate had a runny nose, which turned into a cough for a few days. No fever, so we didn’t think much about it. Then he woke up from his nap on Monday with wheezing, labored breathing, and his chest was retracting some. Scary stuff. After a call with the ped. office, we got to spend 2+ hours in the pediatric urgent care clinic. They got his oxygen level from 95 to 97 with a breathing treatment. His chest x-rays cam back normal, so we were free to head home with some meds. I have to give him some credit. I was nervous as to how he would do (considering how hard his experience in the hospital was last year). I guess a year makes a big difference, he did great. I was pretty proud of my big boy and glad that we caught it early enough to be fixed fairly easily.


Vacation ~ My stress level went up a tad considering that the trip to the urgent care clinic was 24 hours before we were scheduled to drop Tate off at my parent’s house for 4 days. The dr. said he should be fine, and gave us “permission” to be OK heading out of town. So Wade & I packed up and spent 4 days together celebrating 10 years of marriage. Here’s a little hint as to where we went and 1 of the 200+ pictures I took. Many more pictures to come.

Nothing says 10 years of marriage like jellyfish!

And a Sister Plug ~ Need some cute burpcloths for your little one, or do you need a gift for a baby shower anytime soon? I’m excited for and proud of my sister for starting her own little business of making baby burpies. They’re adorable, durable, and a good bargain. We see each other pretty often, so for those in Tarrant County, I’m happy to pick up and arrange delivery for any of your orders (or she can ship them). In the first week, she’s sold a ton, so check often for updated inventory. Click here for more info.