This was truly as an amazing experience as everyone says it is. We saw so much beauty.... we even took a hike down to Partington Cove (which was beautiful but not quite what I expected). The drive didn't seem too long as we made a lot of photo stops. I don't think I can ever get sick of having the ocean crashing to the right of me - and the scenery of the coast is stunning... the rocks, the waves, the hills and valleys...
We made a stop at Brown Butter Cookie Company and they truly were incredible. I tried to save some for after dinner, but I couldn't keep them in the bag longer then a few minutes! Salty and sweet, and just amazing. Dinner was incredible ... Italian in Santa Barbara at Toma Restaurant. The weather finally started to get a bit warmer at this point :)
I also truly loved seeing the farmlands south of Santa Barbara. It was incredible, the expanse of fruit and vegetables being grown!
We arrived at our beach house (a small cottage in Malibu) around 9:30pm that night and just chilled and went to bed! The pool was pretty cold so we didn't dare a nighttime swim :) It was an amazing day!
Friday, July 18, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
California, Day 3: Muir Woods, San Francisco & Monterey Bay
Today was a long and amazing day! We started early in the quiet and beauty of Muir Woods. It was my favorite experience so far. Brian convinced me to get up early and start the day very early because Muir woods gets busy quickly. He was right and I'm so glad. We got there and there was hardly anyone around... it was just a beautiful experience. It was cool... silent.. tall... giagantic... other-worldly... peaceful... beautiful... the light was stunning. I have some gorgeous pictures to share. I loved it! What an amazing day.
Then we drove back and over Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at an overlook to view it from the other side. It was very foggy and windy but awesome. The overlook is what used to be an old battery station where they kept guard over the harbor... it was really neat! I kept thinking in all these public places we visited how they would be such awesome spots for photographs and engagement/family sessions, but that they are probably over-used here, just like the spots in Erie are... we only have so many good ones so everyone uses them (naturally) :)
Then we drove BACK to Monterey Bay .... again lol :) We finally got our whale watching trip in. It was a long boat ride out but we saw tons of humpback whales feeding, and they were surrounded by swarms of birds. It was Alfred Hitchcocky in nature, the swarms were huge and encircling us! The whales were in pairs most of the time and it was just so cool. They weren't too active (no jumping or breaching) but they were very beautiful. We did seem them lunge feed. Then we rode back on the boat on the long ride back, and it was very cold.
Overall we've been shocked (pleased and not pleased) by how cold our trip has been! The boat and certain aspects are obviously worse. I bought this cheesy windbreaker jacket and I was so glad I had it. We had p.F. changs for dinner and now packed up and are ready for our drive tomorrow in a convertable down the highway! Not many plans for L.A. aand hope to keep it slow and quiet for our last 2 days once we get there!
I miss my girlies... I am loving my trip but excited to see them when we get home :)
Then we drove back and over Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at an overlook to view it from the other side. It was very foggy and windy but awesome. The overlook is what used to be an old battery station where they kept guard over the harbor... it was really neat! I kept thinking in all these public places we visited how they would be such awesome spots for photographs and engagement/family sessions, but that they are probably over-used here, just like the spots in Erie are... we only have so many good ones so everyone uses them (naturally) :)
Then we drove BACK to Monterey Bay .... again lol :) We finally got our whale watching trip in. It was a long boat ride out but we saw tons of humpback whales feeding, and they were surrounded by swarms of birds. It was Alfred Hitchcocky in nature, the swarms were huge and encircling us! The whales were in pairs most of the time and it was just so cool. They weren't too active (no jumping or breaching) but they were very beautiful. We did seem them lunge feed. Then we rode back on the boat on the long ride back, and it was very cold.
Overall we've been shocked (pleased and not pleased) by how cold our trip has been! The boat and certain aspects are obviously worse. I bought this cheesy windbreaker jacket and I was so glad I had it. We had p.F. changs for dinner and now packed up and are ready for our drive tomorrow in a convertable down the highway! Not many plans for L.A. aand hope to keep it slow and quiet for our last 2 days once we get there!
I miss my girlies... I am loving my trip but excited to see them when we get home :)
California, Day 2: Monterey Bay
We started out earlier today... I could not sleep past 6:15... must be me still on East Coast time! After some motivational talk, Brian convinced me to go get breakfast! We drove out to Chloe's Cafe (I felt like I had to visit my daughter's namesake's place) and walked in just as they were opening, and it was soooo yummy! We made it just in time before there was a wait. It was small... I Loved it. Cinnamon Croissant French Toast. Today we drove about 2 hours south(ish) to Monterey Bay and it was a beautiful drive, seeing the grass and vegetation covered sand dunes off to the right... then water... beautiful water.
We were planning on Whale Watching, but it got cancelled. After a non-remarkable lunch, we ended up just riding the trolley car and sort of wandering, then we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium... a very large and cool place. Although the whole time I wished Chloe was with us, she would have really loved it. They had awesome displays of deep sea fish and reefs... jellyfish, etc. Brian sort of followed me around :)
Then we went on a quest for a cupcake place... and finally ended up in a mall type area and got Kara's Kupcakes... they were so good and so expensive, but to me, worth it ;)
We then drove home and I slept... a lot of the drive! Then we came back here after some yummy Thai food at Basil Thai and I basically fell in bed, and slept more! haha...
Tomorrow - Redwoods at Muir Woods, seeing the Golden Gate Bridge up close nad personal, and hopefully WHALES!!!!!!
We were planning on Whale Watching, but it got cancelled. After a non-remarkable lunch, we ended up just riding the trolley car and sort of wandering, then we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium... a very large and cool place. Although the whole time I wished Chloe was with us, she would have really loved it. They had awesome displays of deep sea fish and reefs... jellyfish, etc. Brian sort of followed me around :)
Then we went on a quest for a cupcake place... and finally ended up in a mall type area and got Kara's Kupcakes... they were so good and so expensive, but to me, worth it ;)
We then drove home and I slept... a lot of the drive! Then we came back here after some yummy Thai food at Basil Thai and I basically fell in bed, and slept more! haha...
Tomorrow - Redwoods at Muir Woods, seeing the Golden Gate Bridge up close nad personal, and hopefully WHALES!!!!!!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
California, Day 1: San Francisco!
Today was a fantastic day. The weather was cool, in the 60s. By the house we rented on Broderick street, it was cloudy but as we got out closer to the water the sun did come out. Brian and I came back pretty nice and burnt on our faces and my shoulders!
Our rented apartment is amazing. It's like an old 1920s style house (reminds us of our old house on 29th street) with gorgeous hardwood floors. But all the furnishings are modern and retro, the bathroom is like a spa and the kitchen is redone totally in Ikea! There is a hot tub which we loved, and a kind of oasis created within the fencing and concrete with palm trees and bamboo.
This morning we started out very late as we were a bit tired and getting used to our jet lag :) We finally got out the door and got out to a place called Brenda's French Soul Food. It was a bit of a wait, and Brian wrote our name on the chalkboard. After a quick detour to a book store (so nice to just be able to go sit and read without worrying about the sitter or the kids being bored ;)), we came back and got seated. We enjoyed an amazing breakfast complete with Beignets.
We then walked to a stop and stood in line and waited for the historic Powell & Market cable cars to come which took us to Lombard Street, the tight and winding steep street. It was super cool. We started at the top and walked down. We then walked down to Fisherman's Wharf and spent time being touristy and watching the water. It was SOOOO windy and cool, we really loved it though. Tons of people, lots to see. Could see the Bay Bridge across the water and Alcatraz. By far our favorite part was the Rocket Boat trip. 30 minute boat ride and they go fast!!! It was such a blast. Wish it was longer!! :)
After this we did a bit more water watching and some stupid maze of mirrors, and then we caught the subway/train back off of Market Street to a cool place called the Grove to eat a light dinner. It was such a cool place, I really liked it. I needed a salad after almost 36 hours of eating almost all fried foods, meat, heavy, and not healthy food! Course, we added a cheese fondue appetizer ;)
We then walked back to our house on Broderick street. We relaxed in the hot tub and took showers, and then Brian decided he wanted to drive more! We drove around and got a little lost and finally made it down to a few different lookout points to see the Golden Gate Bridge lit up at dusk. It was truly beautiful. Got some GREAT pictures. Hope to post them later!
Now we are back and resting. It's 9:40pm but feels like 1 in the morning to me. aaah better sleep soon. We are whale watching tomorrow!!!
Our rented apartment is amazing. It's like an old 1920s style house (reminds us of our old house on 29th street) with gorgeous hardwood floors. But all the furnishings are modern and retro, the bathroom is like a spa and the kitchen is redone totally in Ikea! There is a hot tub which we loved, and a kind of oasis created within the fencing and concrete with palm trees and bamboo.
This morning we started out very late as we were a bit tired and getting used to our jet lag :) We finally got out the door and got out to a place called Brenda's French Soul Food. It was a bit of a wait, and Brian wrote our name on the chalkboard. After a quick detour to a book store (so nice to just be able to go sit and read without worrying about the sitter or the kids being bored ;)), we came back and got seated. We enjoyed an amazing breakfast complete with Beignets.
We then walked to a stop and stood in line and waited for the historic Powell & Market cable cars to come which took us to Lombard Street, the tight and winding steep street. It was super cool. We started at the top and walked down. We then walked down to Fisherman's Wharf and spent time being touristy and watching the water. It was SOOOO windy and cool, we really loved it though. Tons of people, lots to see. Could see the Bay Bridge across the water and Alcatraz. By far our favorite part was the Rocket Boat trip. 30 minute boat ride and they go fast!!! It was such a blast. Wish it was longer!! :)
After this we did a bit more water watching and some stupid maze of mirrors, and then we caught the subway/train back off of Market Street to a cool place called the Grove to eat a light dinner. It was such a cool place, I really liked it. I needed a salad after almost 36 hours of eating almost all fried foods, meat, heavy, and not healthy food! Course, we added a cheese fondue appetizer ;)
We then walked back to our house on Broderick street. We relaxed in the hot tub and took showers, and then Brian decided he wanted to drive more! We drove around and got a little lost and finally made it down to a few different lookout points to see the Golden Gate Bridge lit up at dusk. It was truly beautiful. Got some GREAT pictures. Hope to post them later!
Now we are back and resting. It's 9:40pm but feels like 1 in the morning to me. aaah better sleep soon. We are whale watching tomorrow!!!
Friday, July 4, 2014
So much happening with the girls
I know I haven't written here in years almost... I just thought of a few things and wanted to record them somewhere!
Hannah is 16.5 months now! She is growing leaps and bounds! Her hair is dirty blond and curly and crazy... She started walking around 13 months. She now runs and climbs... she tries to climb into her highchair, she climbs up onto the kitchen table... she will climb up deck chairs to get onto the patio table! She loves to walk around with me on the deck... She loves to clap and dance, spin around and around. She loves music, her sister makes her laugh!!! She is so darn cute we can't stand it! She is speaking so clearly and well. When she sees food she likes she says "yummy yummy, eat, yummy yummy" and starts yelling it if we don't listen! She says Night night for bed, and nap. She can point to nose, eyes, ears, mouth. She loves to "rock a rock" with mommy before bedtime. She is still a bedtime thumb sucker and as soon as she gets her blankie she is ready for sleeping! she is genearlly a good sleeper, sometimes wakes up once a night a little nervous and just needs a quick rock and back to bed! We are so blessed by her. She is very loud though... sometimes between her and Chloe both asking for things I feel a bit nuts!!! Both of the girls are obsessed with Chocolate Chex... cereal, etc. Hannah will ask for "milk-a" and "chex" :) She got sick earlier in the week and was throwing up and having the runs for a few days... she seems to get something like this every 6 months. We all had a horrible stomach virus in February - it was just awful, all at the same time!!! Praying that never happens again. I forgot that Hannah also loves to say "weeeeee" when going down the slide! It's so cute. She calls it the "weeee" and the "wing" (swing). she climbs up the playset on her own!
Chloe is so... old. beautiful. tall. funny. grown up. We can't even believe it. She is 4 and 4 months now... I can't believe in one year she will be in kindergarten! Right now her favorite things is MineCraft... on the tv (xbox 360) with daddy, or on her iPad. (yes she has her own iPad...) She loves to watch videos about Minecraft too! She also adores Waldameer! She is a daredevil and loves going on the Comet and tons of other rides! She is doing gymnastics this summer and seems to like it... she did Dance last school year and did great, but I couldn't tell if she really loved it or if it was just sort of fun for her... but her recital was so beautiful and she loved it and was extremely excited by the whole thing!!! She talks so much, and loves to chat and sing and have conversations. She and I listen to Kari Jobe in the car and she sings along... she went to VBS two weeks ago and did great with it! she is showing a lot of independence in some ways. Others are tougher. She loves to be with mom and dad, but is still mostly a mommy's girl. Depending on the day :) We went to Waldameer last night for July 4th (on the 3rd) and it was insane! Their were flaming fireworks falling from the sky and hitting people in the head. Chloe liked/hated it. We ran out of there. haha!
Here are some photos from the last few months.
Hannah is 16.5 months now! She is growing leaps and bounds! Her hair is dirty blond and curly and crazy... She started walking around 13 months. She now runs and climbs... she tries to climb into her highchair, she climbs up onto the kitchen table... she will climb up deck chairs to get onto the patio table! She loves to walk around with me on the deck... She loves to clap and dance, spin around and around. She loves music, her sister makes her laugh!!! She is so darn cute we can't stand it! She is speaking so clearly and well. When she sees food she likes she says "yummy yummy, eat, yummy yummy" and starts yelling it if we don't listen! She says Night night for bed, and nap. She can point to nose, eyes, ears, mouth. She loves to "rock a rock" with mommy before bedtime. She is still a bedtime thumb sucker and as soon as she gets her blankie she is ready for sleeping! she is genearlly a good sleeper, sometimes wakes up once a night a little nervous and just needs a quick rock and back to bed! We are so blessed by her. She is very loud though... sometimes between her and Chloe both asking for things I feel a bit nuts!!! Both of the girls are obsessed with Chocolate Chex... cereal, etc. Hannah will ask for "milk-a" and "chex" :) She got sick earlier in the week and was throwing up and having the runs for a few days... she seems to get something like this every 6 months. We all had a horrible stomach virus in February - it was just awful, all at the same time!!! Praying that never happens again. I forgot that Hannah also loves to say "weeeeee" when going down the slide! It's so cute. She calls it the "weeee" and the "wing" (swing). she climbs up the playset on her own!
Chloe is so... old. beautiful. tall. funny. grown up. We can't even believe it. She is 4 and 4 months now... I can't believe in one year she will be in kindergarten! Right now her favorite things is MineCraft... on the tv (xbox 360) with daddy, or on her iPad. (yes she has her own iPad...) She loves to watch videos about Minecraft too! She also adores Waldameer! She is a daredevil and loves going on the Comet and tons of other rides! She is doing gymnastics this summer and seems to like it... she did Dance last school year and did great, but I couldn't tell if she really loved it or if it was just sort of fun for her... but her recital was so beautiful and she loved it and was extremely excited by the whole thing!!! She talks so much, and loves to chat and sing and have conversations. She and I listen to Kari Jobe in the car and she sings along... she went to VBS two weeks ago and did great with it! she is showing a lot of independence in some ways. Others are tougher. She loves to be with mom and dad, but is still mostly a mommy's girl. Depending on the day :) We went to Waldameer last night for July 4th (on the 3rd) and it was insane! Their were flaming fireworks falling from the sky and hitting people in the head. Chloe liked/hated it. We ran out of there. haha!
Here are some photos from the last few months.
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