Thanksgiving -- Monterey

Friday morning we left Sacramento and stopped in Monterey.  Along the way, we stopped here for some gas and some M&Ms.  Did not figure out why it was only for me.  ;-)

 

We took the kids to the aquarium, which was really great but really packed!  They loved it.  The best part was that there were lots of touch pools and the kids enjoyed their close encounters with sea critters.  The views were amazing.  We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's which was very family friendly but better tasting than say an Applebee's or TGIF kind of place (my only complaint -- a shrimp combo plate with no stuffed shrimp??).  Outside of the restaurant they had a Christmas reindeer that Sadie insisted she have a picture with.  We got a great deal on our hotel so we were a bit nervous about that but it turned out great.  We were pooped out when we got to the hotel and were very lucky that there was some kind of Spongebob marathon on TV with new episodes so we could veg out (and I worked on my Spider Solitaire skillz in the background).  Yes, the family that watches Spongebob together, stays together.  :-)

                           

We got up the next morning to head for San Diego.  I nearly pancaked a McD's worker when I drove around the side of the restaurant to discover dumpsters instead of a drive-thru window.  Apparently Monterey considers drive-thrus to be beneath them.  I got lucky and found a Trader Joe's so that we could get some YUMMY stuff for a picnic lunch.  Yes, only 4 more days of access to Trader Joe's.  Sigh.

For lunch I bumped into a great place to stop -- Shell Beach (which is one beach up from Avila Beach).  Again, the views were amazing.  What is so interesting is that you find such a variety of beaches here in CA.  At this particular one, the sand was actually teeny tiny little rocks.  We found tidepools of cool critters again, much to everyone's delight.  It was hard to peel away and get back on the road.

                   

We were in the LA area when it was time for a dinner/sanity stop, so I picked a random exit and got off the freeway.  Well dadgum, I found myself on Hollywood Blvd, baby!  Let me tell ya, there is a lot to see in that little stretch of road.  Most importantly, though, were the mentally deranged people that dress up and walk around, like Spiderman, Darth Vader, and some very goth girl on stilts.  My kids were rather flabbergasted, esp by the fact that Spiderman was hopping from garbage can to garbage can.  We ate at the mall there and discovered that we had missed David Archuleta by a couple of hours (important info for my kids who were new AI fans last season).  We got to see the Walk of Fame's stars as we drove by on the way out.

After all of that excitement, we made it home late Saturday night and now it's back to the laundry and the waiting around to hear news of buyout and/or layoff of Ryan's division at work.  On Saturday we'll start our 3-day drive back to TX, and I am very much looking forward to seeing home again.  My two little girls started running fevers last night, and Delaney appears to have a skin infection that we're taking her in for today, so let's hope everyone is well by the time the weekend comes.......

Comments

[Regan]

I just love Monterey. My family used to live up there (well, not right there, but in northern California) and we were members of the aquarium. I can see it being a place your family would love! It really looks like a wonderful trip.