The Angel Face and I had a great trip to the central coastal area of California to visit my brother and his family. We landed in San Francisco and drove down Highway 1 to my brother's house. It adds a few hours to the drive, but it is well worth it just for the views.
We made a lot of stops along the way to enjoy the beauty of the area and explore the beaches. Melody especially loved the Elephant Seal Vista Point. We got to Santa Margarita around 7:30 and visited with my brother, Larry, his wife, Mary, their second son, Chad, and Chad's daughter, Molly, before falling into bed with the Angel Face, remarking that we had traveled for 17 hrs.
Day 2, I awoke early and went for a walk with Chad's wife, Natasha. The Angel face hung out with Molly while Mary and I ran some errands. After lunch, I took the Angel Face and Molly to Avila Beach where they explored the tide pools.
I took a quick nap when we returned home, before preparing a pot pie for dinner. My eldest nephew, Scott, came by for a visit and invited Melody to hang out at their pool while she's here.
When we got home, we headed over to Scott and Julie's for a family dinner. We were missing Scott's eldest, Quinn, who is off to college. Julie coaxed the tortoises, Wilma and Willie, out of hiding with some Romaine, their favorite treat. The girls enjoyed the hot tub, creek, and pool, while the adults caught up.
After lunch, I took a nap, and then we went to Avila Valley Farms, where we fed the animals, did some shopping, and got some ice cream. On the way home, we stopped at Bubble Gum Alley in San Luis Obispo, and the Angel Face made her mark in history.
For dinner, the whole family went to Toshi 1.0, and the Angel Face bought herself a cool t-shirt as a souvenir of the visit. Early to bed tonight....it's been a busy few days.
Day 5 dawned cloudy and colder. Natasha and I enjoyed our walk, and then we rested up until lunch time. The Angel Face took a 2-1/2-hour nap, and then we went to In-N-Out for burgers. After lunch, we went to an Escape Room and finished with 13 seconds to spare.
Woke up to drizzling rain on Day 6. Natasha and I took our last walk and talk, then Larry, Mary, and the girls joined us for breakfast. The Angel Face and Uncle Larry started with a huge cup of hot chocolate.
We said our goodbyes and headed north, meeting up with my friend, Cam, at Quail and Olive in Carmel Valley Village, a specialty food store owned by Cam's friend, Ana. Cam collaborates with Ana and her husband to create menus featuring their products. I had been wanting to check it out, and I was not disappointed. We then walked over to the Big Sur tasting room, owned by her friend, Lenora. We tasted some lovely wines. I ordered products from both stores, so stay tuned for them to be featured in future posts.
We enjoyed dinner with Cam, her husband, Jake, and their eldest son, Riley, at Tarpy's in Monterey. Cam ordered ceviche that came topped with an edible flower that the Angel Face enjoyed trying. Back to the room early enough to enjoy a movie before bedtime.
We stayed at the Olympia Lodge in Pacific Grove on our final night of the trip. This is the view from our room when we returned after dinner and when we left in the morning.
We had a wonderful breakfast at the Red House Cafe, and then we set off to explore the area via the PG Recreational Trail. Angel Face explored down low and up high. It was a beautiful walk with terrain as varied as you chose. You can see the weather moving in on us in the last two photos. God is good. We stayed dry the entire hike.
It was an amazing trip, and the Angel Face suggests that it become an annual tradition. It is so good to be home, settling back into our routine, starting with the Weekly Menu.
On Wednesday, we are attending a wine-pairing dinner at J. Baldwin's with the Luths, and Thursday evening, we are headed downtown for the Broadway in Detroit showing of Suffs. We will have dinner out before the show.
Here is what we are eating the rest of the week.....
Monday
Pork Tenderloin
Sweet Potato Planks
Tuesday
Hamburgers
Wednesday
Wine Pairing Dinner
Thursday
Out before the Theater
Fish Friday
Salmon Packets
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