California Roadtrip: Carmel & Monterey

There's just something charming about the quaint downtown of Carmel 

surrounded by ridiculously expensive real estate.  

We enjoyed wandering, seeing what we could see.

We kicked things off with breakfast at Katy's Place, which was so good, but the portions were enough for a family of four

We drove the 17-mile drive, wishing we were on bikes instead of in our rental 

We stopped for a glass of wine at the Spanish Links and cozied up by the fire.

We walked in on a cocktail party at Pebble Beach 

and ease dropped until our hearts were content

 

We watched the surfers

We held hands

We peeked into photo galleries

We saw whales in Monterey

 We stopped for coffee

We passed through Salinas and saw where a good amount of our food is produced- fascinating

We had dinner at Casanova and La Bicyclette 

and adopted a new strategy to our week long food feast 

with the hope that we'll still be able to fit in our clothes by the time we leave- 

salads for both and an entree to split- 

perfect and delicious and more room for wine!

California Roadtrip: Let's Hike Yosemite

Today is Mr. oh-so-worth-the-wait's birthday. 

Hooray You! 

We have all of our celebrations grouped in a one week period. 

My birthday is just a few days away. 

I say all the more reason to celebrate with a big trip each year. 

Sounds like a good idea to me :)

To celebrate the birthday boy we set off on a hike to Vernal Falls, breathtakingly beautiful and rainbows too. How's that for birthday luck? To get away from the crowds we continued up to Nevada Falls, which was a tougher hike, but worth it. We also came across a stream to swim in, which was incredible because it was h-o-t.  

 There was definitely a theme throughout on our trip- 

Impromptu swim breaks in the crisp clear waters we came across . . 

Ahhh Summer!

As we say goodbye to Yosemite, a few observations. 

It's BEAUTIFUL, 

breathtakingly so, 

and I recommend that everyone go there at least once in their lifetime, 

but people 

if you weigh more than 250+ pounds 

and have never worked out a day in your life 

this is not the place to vacation.

I'm just saying...

California Roadtrip: Yosemite Here We Come

Today is the day, our big 1-year anniversary, more on that here, and 

I couldn't be more excited to get back on the road with my favorite road trip companion. Destination- Yosemite. 

Seriously, what a great way to spend an anniversary, on the open road, surrounded by amazing scenery, rocking out to some great music (thank you Pandora), recapping the highlights of the past year and dreaming of what's to come. 

Oh the possibilities...

Here are some pics from our day:

Ugh oh, look who's behind the wheel

Afternoon swim, clear water, amazing views and not a person in site.

Hello Mr. oh-so-worth the wait! Yep, I married this guy!

Anniversary dinner and drinks at the Ahwahnee Hotel

Our tented accommodations for the evening