Central Coast - Big Sur

Day 2 we drove down to Big Sur.  It was about 40 miles south of us and the fog was pretty heavy in some areas.  We drove thru the clouds on a winding road to get there which made it quite a journey.

We first stopped at McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.  It's a short hike to the viewpoints and you get some amazing views but with the fog so thick it wasn't nearly as dramatic as some of the pictures we've seen of it. 

The hike was really nice though and we got our first views of the coastal redwoods.

We then drove to Pfieffer Burns State Park.  After a short visit to the lodge we did about a 3 mile hike to another falls and to a viewpoint.  It started to warm up as well :)

Everything was nice and green :)

By the end of the hike it was really warm and Jamie started to melt!

We then found a nice little picnic area near the Big Sur River for lunch.  We were pretty hungry and thirsty and it didn't take long for us all to eat everything, lol.

As I mentioned earlier it did warm up and Jamie and I had our water shoes in the truck.  So we walked into the river to cool off for a bit.  The water was pretty cold but it felt really good and it was a lot of fun.  Big Sur was beautiful and it was nice to be outdoors in the forest for the day. 

Central Coast Vacation - Monterey

Well we've been back to the normal grind, sort of, for a few days now (Jamie flew to England so he's not quite back to normal yet).  We had an amazing vacation as usual, we probably did too much and it just wasn't long enough but isn't that how it always is.  We took last week off and travelled up north to Monterey with my parents.  We took  Hwy101 and got on PCH just past San Louis Obispo and then took the coastal route all the way up.

We stayed in Pacific Grove which is just next door to Monterey.  It was a bit cooler than we had thought it would be but we still got plenty of sunshine.  The coast is just amazing.

We explored the seaside and walked up and down the coast on Sunday.  We also explored downtown and got to see the art museum, of course, and one of the oldest adobe homes.  The history of Monterey is pretty amazing.

Sunglasses were needed but sweaters were also required with the cool breeze.  Luckily it gradually got warmer as the week went on but the morning and evening fog did catch us off guard a bit.

You can see the fog hanging out in the background.  You could never tell where or when it would show up, lol.

We were able to see lots of wildlife!

 

But the coastal views were amazing and with the new camera it was great to be able to get some awesome pictures.  Lot of pictures!  I'll be separating this out into a few posts to document our trip.  It's always fun to look back and see what we did each day.

Tucson, Arizona

So this weekend I drove with my Mom to go to a 25th Wedding Anniversary in Tucson Arizona.  We left early Friday morning for the roughly 7 hr drive.  It was my Mom's nephew, Ramons' 25th Wedding Anniversary and they decided to renew their vows in the same church that they got married in.  We made it to Tucson by about 2pm and decided to go wonder around downtown until our hotel was ready.

I wanted to see the Tucson History Museum but unfortunately it was closed on Friday due to illness.  Calling in sick on a Friday seems suspicious but what could I do, I was a bit disappointed about that.  So we drove over to an area that Tata, my Mom's dad lived in during the 1930s.  I know they came to the U.S. in 1919 and settled in El Paso,  TX.  Then in 1929, the family moved to Tucson to work on the roads.  From different documents I've found, I knew they lived at 33 W. Cushing Street.

The area is now a historic block, but at the time was the Mexican Barrio.  The exact location of his house is no longer there, but has now become the Police Department and Jail.  But the view across the street is still there.  So it was still nice to see what him and his family saw as they came out their front door every morning.  Most of the buildings if not all of them, were adobe style houses all painted different colors and some as old as the 1880s.  They are in pretty bad shape now and the city is trying to preserve and re-store them.

These are just a couple of pictures we took.  Of course now I wish I would have taken more but we were pretty tired from the drive and it was over 100F outside.  I'm so happy we were able to walk around and see the area, that's something I'll never forget.  Saturday, we made it to the Tucson Museum of Art in the morning and saw some really amazing southwestern paintings and local artists. 

As for the Anniversary party, Anthony and Laura flew out later on Saturday and we all went to the Church and reception.  It was a lot of fun and nice to see everyone again.  We all drove back together on Sunday.  A super quick trip but a very memorable one.  Only two more weeks till vacation number two :)  At least this one will be longer and slower.

Getty Villa Malibu

Last weekend was Memorial Weekend, which meant three whole days off in a row.  A much needed three days off!  On Saturday, we decided to drive up to Malibu to check out the Getty Villa.  The Villa is the original building, created by J.Paul Getty, to be a museum to house his collection of Greek and Roman antiquities.  Getty made his money in oil and loved the arts and history.  He started collecting and wanted to share his collection with the public. 

So he started construction of a museum.  But this wasn't just any building, he had blue prints to one of his favorite ancient Roman ruins of a villa and combined that with other known sites to create a truly authentic time period house.  He wanted people to experience his collection at the villa as if they had been transported back in time.  As he was an oil man, money wasn't too much of an issue and a lot of thought went in to making everything just right.

It was completed in the 1970s and Getty never saw the finished museum.  It underwent a massive renovation in 1997.  The museum is still free but a ticket must be reserved in advance, of course parking will cost you but for what you get to see, it's worth it.  The collection was amazing and the grounds really put everything into perspective.  Absolutely worth the trip.  Afterwards, we drove down to Santa Monica for some lunch and to walk around.  So much fun and a really beautiful day.  It was a great start to the holiday weekend.  We both were totally relaxed the whole weekend until Tuesday finally creeped up :( 

Karl Strauss Brewery

So I'm playing a little catch up this month.  Back in May, Laura got tickets to the Beach to Brewery Beer and Music Fest.  It's an annual event that Karl Strauss puts on and the only time they actually open up the brewery for tours.  So of course Jamie and I jumped on the chance to go.  It was all the way in Pacific Beach, San Diego so it was quite a drive and of course I was the designated driver which everyone else was happy about.

We weren't really sure what to expect but it was pretty awesome.  It was sheltered from the beach and overcast that day but it was really a great temperature to be outside.  We all got these lovely plastic glasses and 5 free tastings with our ticket. (Note when I say tasting it could be anywhere from a quarter of a glass to 3/4 of a glass which was very dangerous.)

 They had about 4 different bands playing all afternoon, some better than others but it made for a great atmosphere filled with very happy people :)

 Like I said earlier, they opened up the brewery for tours.  Not the best brewery tour we have been on but always interesting none the less.  I think we were the only ones really asking questions and we got a picture of all of us in the cooler but I'm still waiting for that picture from Anthony and Laura...

So I found this picture on the Karl Strauss website.  Anthony is just behind the guy with the blue/teal hat and Jamie is just behind the black hat or at least Jamie's ear is, lol.  For now it's the only proof I have that we were actually there, lol.  Overall it was absolutely worth it.  They had 22 beers on tap, all different kinds and Jamie and Anthony tried the majority of them.  We had an amazing time and this will probably become an annual event.

American Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day and instead of going out and dealing with crowds and pushy waiters, we decided to spend the day at home.  So we had our own brunch :)

Everyone came over to our house for carne asada, eggs, breakfast potatoes and some amazing tortilla's (home made from pico de gallo).  For dessert, Mommy's favorite lemon cake with lemon frosting :)

It wasn't the prettiest day, but we played a few games of croquet and actually got everyone to get together for pictures.

We really don't take enough family pictures

So these should hold us over for a couple of years, lol!

Of course one of us had to actually take the picture.  Anthony and Laura were able to set their camera so that we could all get in.  I'll hopefully receive some of those pictures this week.  This was the first year that Laura had off so we enjoyed having everyone together.  It's amazing how competitive croquet can be!  Mom had a great day.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Easter

We had a really nice Easter Sunday over at my Aunt Milissa's house.  It drizzled all morning but finally the sun came out that afternoon.  We made individual pineapple upside down cakes (my dad's favorite) and carrot cupcakes.  Jamie's mum, Karen, sent me these really cool little bunny wafers that we used to decorate the cupcakes.  They came out amazing and everyone loved them!

Unfortunately, we also got the news that morning that my cousin, Patrick, had past away unexpectedly.  It was sad and difficult and we'll miss him.  The funeral was this last Saturday and it was really nice.  There was so much support from friends and family and I know his mom and brother really appreciated it.